Keeper of the Lost Cities: Elysian: How She Was Taken Out of History

Chapter Five

Almost five hours later, Audrey had still not come across anything. Her feet hurt. She wished she had shoes. Her stomach kept growling, though she did her best to keep it at bay. She was also cold - in five hours, her clothes still weren't completely dry. She tried to focus on using her inherent elvin skills to keep her warm and keep her appetite from getting out of hand, but she wasn't succeeding much.

Audrey was about to give up and use her starstone to leap back home, or at least take a rest, when she reached a meadow.

In all honesty, the meadow looked almost identical to what she'd been walking through for the past five hours. But . . . it didn't feel the same.

The river had suddenly gotten far quieter, and there were suddenly strange red butterflies flitting around from tree to tree. Audrey stopped and raised her arms. As a Charger, she was able to sense electrons and control most forms of electricity. She wasn't going to do anything threatening, just see what she could sense in the air. The feeling of the electrons had changed too.

Before she could do anything, suddenly all of her senses just . . . left. She could tell that it was just her abilities and skills, not taste, touch, smell, hearing or sight. But it still left her shaken. She'd been able to sense electrons for so long that to have it taken away felt like losing a limb.

Audrey lowered her arms. "What just happened?" she asked the air, knowing no one would respond.

A few seconds later, a shadowy, gray-cloaked figure stepped out from behind a tree. "I took your abilities away," the woman said calmly.

Audrey felt her hands clench into fists. She was an elf. She was supposed to be able to use her abilities - and not have them taken away by complete strangers, for goodness sake!

The woman rolled her eyes. "I am Elysian. And you are?"

Audrey didn't answer, refusing to dignify this stranger who thought they could just take away an elf's powers.

Elysian rolled her eyes again. "Fine. But perhaps it would motivate you if I told you that I am the power source you're looking for."

"You're Sargon's mother?" Audrey asked, surprised.

Elysian smirked. "He may like to think that. But we are not genetically related. We're not even the same species. I simply raised him."

Audrey crossed her arms. "What are you, then, an elf with the ability to take away abilities of other elves?"

Elysian stretched her neck up to the sky. "I am something else. I am not an elf, nor a human, nor any of the Intelligent Species. I am more similar to what the humans call me, a goddess, than an elf."

"What, you're a goddess of genetics?" Audrey scoffed.

Elysian shrugged. "That is incredibly oversimplified, but if you prefer to see it that way, then yes."

"All right," Audrey said, still skeptical. "So you're a 'goddess' of genetics, who can control elves' abilities."

"Sure."

"Why'd you take mine away?"

Elysian crossed her arms. "In case you were a threat. You know, no one but Sargon has visited me here in centuries."

"Well, I'm not a threat. You can give me back my abilities now."

"Yes, and you aren't clenching your fists in anger right now."

Audrey forced herself to relax. The whole thing just seemed so . . . outrageous. This random person could control her abilities? This random person could control her? Audrey didn't like it one bit.

She took a deep breath, keeping herself focused on why she'd gone on this investigation in the first place. "How about you come back with me, and then my colleagues can meet you?"

"I'm not stupid."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," Elysian said, exasperated, "that you're planning to obtain my powers for yourself - and that means that you are a threat and I can't trust you."

"Why would I do that?"

Elysian rolled her eyes for the gazillionth time. "Because you're an elf, and elves are selfish."

"So humans are better?"

Elysian shrugged. "Not by much. But they pose less of a threat. I mean, they haven't even discovered electricity! Whereas, you elves have too many powers and too much wealth already. You build castles of diamonds, and use your abilities to control the elements and flaunt your wealth in front of everybody. You are conduits of the elements, able to harness them in ways other species can't. In contrast, humans are the underdogs. They don't have any special abilities, can barely control fire, just learned how to farm - and they learned all those things from you. Well, and the gnomes. My point is, the elves don't need help. Nor do any other species. Only humans - and I believe it would be unwise to help any other species, because then they can take over the planet. But humans will never be that powerful, so it's safe to help them."

Audrey started to argue, about to say that she was trying to keep Elysian's power source from the other species, for peace reasons, not because she wanted to use it. Besides, saying that humans would never be that powerful sounded like dark foreshadowing.

Elysian rolled her eyes again. "Oh, stop it. Quit trying to get your way. It won't work."

The last thing Audrey saw before she landed back in the Tigris was Elysian flicking a finger toward her.