The Cousins

Prologue - January 23rd

Judith stared at the gravestone in front of her with the new sod sitting in front of it. A tear shed down her cheek, the one she was trying so hard to not let out at the funeral. She stood in the Central Florida Veterans Cemetery in high heels, dark wash jeans, and a faux-fur coat to block the cold. She made sure no one was around as she held her hand open while an open flame crackled and wooshed on her palm. It warmed her, but no matter how much fire she could summon it was impossible for this kind of heat to fill cold, empty voids.

"I always thought you would be the most careful with your powers." Said a voice behind her. She quickly turned around, allowing her signature blonde hair whirl as she spun, letting the flame die out in the process. Thankfully, she recognizes her older brother Hazel. He looked just like their mother with the square jaw and Italian features. The only feature that screamed non-Italian were the blonde hair and blue eyes, that was a signature trait they all had and it dated their ancestors for centuries as a genetic Italian anomaly.

"It's too cold and no one is around!" She said, crossing her arms.

He walked up to her with a smile on his face. "Judy, if we can grow up in New Jersey, you can deal with Florida winters."

"Hey, it's been a while since I've been up there."

A car pulled up and they both turned to see their older brothers Sirocco and Murphy hop out. They were by themselves as they should be, their wives couldn't be here for that. They both solemnly walked towards the grave, Murphy taking longer due to his cane than Sirocco.

They all stood in silence once they reached the grave. Sirocco broke the silence with a genuine smile. "Well, it's good to actually see you guys."

Judith couldn't help but to keep looking at his eldest brother, Murphy. He hadn't reached 70, yet he had a cane. Nice going heart attack. "Don't worry Judy," he said. "I'm not the one in the grave."

They all let out a light giggle, but it quickly died out as they remembered who was in the grave. "Indra Cseszneky" it said. "Loving wife, grandmother, great-grandmother, and devoted catholic." The silence echoed throughout the cemetery, the only thing they could hear was the wind blowing the leaves everywhere. "Ma had a lot of accomplishments." Hazel said.

"I'm just glad she got to see her great-grandchild." Murphy said.

Judith looked away, "Do we have to do this now?" They all turned towards her. She tried to look them in the eyes, and normally she can without hesitation, but today was different.

"If we don't do this now, who knows what will happen to them when we do transfer them." Sirocco said.

"It's actually not what happens to them, it's what happens to us." Hazel intervened. "There must be four descendants to be a conduit of one element, usually it's four siblings but..."

None of them had four children, the most anyone had was Sirocco with three, Judith and Murphy had two, and Hazel only had one daughter. When Hazel got his element of Earth, he studied all he could on his family's history and the relation to the powers. Indra, who had the element of water, had a much easier time teaching Murphy, but she would never hesitate to help Hazel when he had a question.

"Okay, so whom will they transfer to?" Judith asked. "If Kelvin is getting a power, can he get mine?"

"You can't choose who gets what," Hazel said. "It ties with their emotions, their feelings, and their personalities."

"But Kelvin is going through so much with Ma's passing."

"Well, Kelvin might not even be getting it." Hazel said. Everyone's eyes widened.