Elemental

Chapter Sixteen

Charlie and I burst through the wooden door and lunged into a small cottage kitchen, surveying our surroundings, Charlie gave the all clear and we set to looking through the entire vicinity for evidence of Lilianna's presence. We tore apart the little cottage, searching high and low, in and out, for any sign we were in the right place. It was in the pantry that we found what we needed. A picture. A man in a black suit, and a woman dressed in a white dress. Looking closer, I saw that the lady in the picture was Lilianna. I passed the picture to Charlie, who placed it back on the side and led me out to the living room. It was quaint, with rich reds and homely browns, accompanied by a grand fireplace standing firmly. We sat on the sofa, and waited for the arrival if our target.

"How are things with Ash?" Charlie relaxed back into the chair.

"You are one for idle chitchat aren't you?" He winked. "But yes, I think it's all going splendidly." I dropped my eyes. "It's just hard, you know? I mean, we have school, and this, but we don't have time for each other..." I sighed heavily.

"It won't be like that all the time. Just stuck with it. Perseverance leads to happiness."

"What about you?" I questioned.

"What about me?" He smirked.

I rolled my eyes, "How are things in that department?"

"Empty." He said nonchalantly and dropped his gaze.

Chatting aimlessly, we waited an hour for the arrival of our guest. At 11:27, we heard rustling from outside.

"Ready?" Charlie said standing up and taking his place behind the wall. I nodded and copied his position on the opposite side of the doorway. After a moment, we felt a gust of wind come from the front door, followed by the clicks of the entree's shoes. Charlie raised his hand... One... Two... Three.

He pointed forward and ran full pelt into the woman, knocking her on the floor. I slammed the door closed taking an arm of hers and pinning it to the ground with my knee. I felt the bones attempt to resist the pressure and her hand trying to scratch me off. She chuckled and threw me back into the bookcase with a flick, causing books to fall over me. I felt a sharp pain as the corner of one struck my head. I created a hurricane of pages and sent them towards her as she grappled Charlie; I ran behind it swiping out her legs, as I regained footing, a blazing heat erupted next to me - Lilianna had set the pages alight. Quickly, I opened a storm above it, simmering the flames down. By this time Lilianna was up and halfway to the kitchen, when Charlie blew the shelves off of the walls, knocking her down; this was met by her hurling them towards me. I dodged the first, but was smacked head on by the second, causing me to fall down. I was down for what seemed an eternity, and when I was able to regain my stance, I was drawn to the sight of a bright flare between Lilianna and Charlie. The orb was closer to Charlie than I cared for, and as I was about to join in, a blaze struck him down, singing through his shirt and attacking his skin. Immediately, I conjured up a beachball sized orb and sent it over to Lilianna, putting all of my energy behind it. She attempted a counter attack, but her attempt was feeble, and she was struck backwards into an ash pile. I continued striking her until she was immobile, backed into the corner with piles of books, plates and furniture stacked on top of her.

I stood there for a moment, watching her lifeless body while I regulated my heart rate. Walking into the living area, I picked a sheet out, and set to wrapping her up and taking her to Mr Dartford for our next steps. My attention as I tied the last knot was turned to Charlie, laying there shaking. I ran to his side, backpack in my right hand. "How are you feeling there?" I asked, my bottom lip trembling in fear.

"So-so." He groaned.

"I'm going to fix you up, okay?" I looked down at him, his eyes glazing over. I rummaged through the bag and found the burn cream. "This is going to hurt." I said as I rubbed it gently into his skin. At my touch, Charlie erupted into an agonised scream causing me to back away. "Sorry." I whispered. I searched deeper in the bag for a form of painkiller. "You know," I said as I pulled out a pot if pills, "It'd be so much easier for me if we switched positions." I poured two into my hand. "I have no idea what I'm doing." I gestured for him to take them. Wincing, he swallowed them both and within minutes he was drifting into an unconscious state. "Great." I huffed and softly kissed his cheek. "Guess I'm driving then?"

It took about an hour for me to haul both of them into the car, laying Lilianna in the back, and sitting Charlie in the passenger seat. I set the satnav for home, and started the long, lonely drive back.

As I pulled up at Charlie's, I was greeted by Francesca at the door who helped me drag a semi-conscious Charlie indoors, followed by Mr Dartford who shook my hand and took Lilianna around the back. I walked back inside and sat on the armchair awaiting Ash's arrival. Group after group came back, some triumphant, some on the brink. As it reached midnight, the numbers coming back started to decrease. It wasn't until two in the morning that the door opened and the next group came in. When I didn't hear voices, but frantic hushing, I feared the worst. Ash was hurt and they didn't want me to know. I rushed out, seeing a boy charred on the floor surrounded by the doctor and two men, one was a tall man with long blonde hair tied into a ponytail. The other was Ash.

I ran to him and threw myself into his arms, planting a kiss on his lips. A small tear escaped my eye as I whispered, "I thought you were dead. You took so long to come home. I thought you were gone." He kissed away my tears tenderly, and brushed my hair out of my face.

"I promised you I'd come back, didn't I?" He smiled and kissed my nose. Taking his hand we followed the small blackened boy into the kitchen as we both were to get checked out by Francesca. Ash was given the all clear quickly, but she lingered for a while on the back of my head.

"How did this happen?" She asked, her bloody glove catching my eye.

"Book." I muttered.

"Why didn't you get checked out sooner?"

"Charlie needed help more." I stated.

"You need stitches." She muttered, lacing up my head. After a few minutes, she patted my shoulder, telling me I was all done.

"How's he doing?" I asked her.

"Pretty good thanks to you." She smiled. "He's in his room if you'd like to go and see him. He has been sedated, so you may not get a lot out of him." I nodded and departed the kitchen holding Ash's hand.

Leading me to the front door, Ash opened it and sat me down on the porch. "I have to go home. Ma and Alex'll be wondering if I'm alright." He said stiffly.

"Okay, everyone else is clearing out too." I kissed his cheek and stood up. "See you soon?" I turned and went to go back inside.

"Scarlett's been asking questions again." He murmured. "You need to see her."

"I can't." I shook my head.

"Why? Because it's against the code?" He scoffed. "What about us?" He rolled his eyes.

"Woah, where did this come from?" His gaze dropped. "I can't go and see her, because I don't want to put her in an awkward predicament. I also don't want to put her in danger."

"I'm not asking you to tell her everything, she misses you. I know you miss her too." He touched my cheek with his fingers. "I don't want this job getting on top of you. It'll break you." He kissed my forehead and walked away. I stood there, staring after him. Shocked. Confused. Bewildered. I walked back in doors shaking off Ash's icy behaviour.

Knocking on the door, I let myself into Charlie's room and took a seat at the end of his bed. He looked at me through drowsy eyes. "How're you holding up?" I smiled at him.

"Just fabulous." He laughed, wincing slightly. "Thanks for saving my life."

"Ah, it was nothing. I only did it so I wasn't in your debt." I winked at him.

"I hear you went all psycho bitch on her?"

"Psycho might be a bit strong," I chuckled, "But yeah, I guess. Can't have her attacking you. Where would I sleep?" He laughed lazily. "Oh, sorry, I should let you sleep."

"You don't have to go. Sorry I'm so inhospitable." I laughed at him and sat closer, taking his hand in mine.

"Get some sleep." I murmured softly too him tracing a figure of eight on the back of his hand, humming softly. His breathing evened out, and he started snoring lightly. I took this as my cue to leave. I kissed his forehead lightly and left the room.

Downstairs, I met with Alexander, who informed me of how successful the mission was. He stated that most teams got back, with three quarters of them fulfilling their mission. He said he'd brief us further in the morning as a complete clan, and said I should get some sleep.