Guild of Elements

Guild of Elements ~ Chapter 4

I panic, letting the water glide back into the stage, and darting out the back door. Breathing heavily, I lean against the side of the mansion. This is the first time the guards have interrupted a show before, and I have a feeling it won't be the last if we keep scheduling shows. I needed to leave the building. The city has ways of making us talk, and I've been in the Guild my whole life. Even if I hate the people in it, I still care about the Guild itself.

Looking around the corner of the building, I see the long line of military vehicles. I swallow hard, and seeing the last of the City Guard leave, I leave the safety of the wall. Working quickly, I break into one of the cars, glad the Guard had finally upgraded to cars that didn't require keys. I may be good at sneaking around, but I don't have the skill to nick keys off someone's belt.

Gunning the engine, I pull out, and slam on the gas pedal, topping the speed limit in this area by a good ninety miles. The one hour trip here took twenty minutes on the way back. I just hope the guards haven't noticed a sixteen year old girl in a mask steal their car.

Once I reach the inner city where the Guild is, I slow down. I notice an open garage in an abandoned warehouse, and think it as good as any place to keep the car. Who knows when we would need it again?

I wonder how they found out. Parties amongst the rich aren't uncommon, but guards aren't a usual part of them. And I doubt the guards were there for the punch. They were hunting something, hunting me.

I jump up the windowsills of the surrounding buildings, and jump to the balcony again. Opening the door, I walk right into a meeting. "Who was on patrol today?" I ask harshly. The others look at me strangely.

"Arika, why does it-"

"Answer the question." I interrupt Ella. "Who was on patrol today?" I ask again, glaring at the gathered Elements. "Who was it?"

"It was me." Blake says, standing up. "Why does it matter?" He demands. "You can't barge in here like you own the place. The Old Guild left me-"

"Don't talk to me about the Old Guild." I snarl. "As for why it matters, did you happen to notice three dozen of the City Guard's cars moving out West of the city?"

"Well, yeah, but I didn't think it mattered." Blake responds defensively. "I didn't hurt anybody." he says, folding his arms.

"Didn't hurt anybody?" I echo. "You almost put the entire Guild in danger!" I half-shout at him. "My performance was out West."

"So?" he says. How thick is this guy?

"So, the guards broke into the place I was performing. I was almost caught! It's patrol's job to make sure that this doesn't happen. It was your job!" I shout, walking forward.

"Stop!" Ena shouts. "Arika, did the guards open the place up, looking for you?" she asks, turning to me.

"Sort of. They broke in, but I didn't stay long enough to see what they wanted. It wasn't worth the risk." I answer, trying to keep my anger in check.

"How did you get away?" she asks again. I shrug.

"I stole one of their cars." I say, like it was the most normal thing in the world. Seeing the shock on their faces, I shrug and say, "What? How does that surprise you?"

"I'm not really sure," Ena responds. She mutters something under her breath about Water Elementals, and keeps interrogating me. "Where did you hide it? The car?"

"The abandoned warehouse a few blocks away. As far as I know, the City doesn't know we can access it." I say, gesturing to the store of keys.

"I still don't understand," Blake interrupts, "why it matters that the Guard almost got you? It's not like they can make you talk, and we would be free from an obnoxious Water Spirit," he sneers at me.

I glance over at Ella, ignoring Blake's last remark. "You haven't told him yet, have you?" I ask. The Earth Elemental shakes her head. "They would be able to make me talk, Blake, and I wouldn't have been able to do anything about it."

"Please," he scoffs. "If you can deal with getting blasted by fire on a daily basis when you were twelve, you can take anything the Guard throws at you."

He's not lying. When Ena first came, around four years ago, she was terrified by me. Probably because I was older, and her Opposite, her being fire and me being water. Besides that, when ever we were alone, she would try to literally turn me into a human torch. We made peace a year later, but I don't like thinking about it.

"I'm not talking about torture," I snap. "I'm talking about truth serum. The city got a hold of it, and we have to make sure no one gets caught. It could be the end of all of us."

He stands there in shock. Rolling my eyes, I head to my room to get changed.