Project Griffin (Discontinued)

Chapter 9 (Secret Flames)

I woke up in a cold sweat.

I had a nightmare. A fiery nightmare.

Kai had hailed me multiple times through the night. I was exhausted. 

Suddenly, my Imparter went off again.

I groan and pick it up.

"Griffin!" she shouts through the tiny cube. She looks freaked out.

"What did you do now?" I groan.

She looks about to burst. 

"I...I.." she stammered, "I TOLD MARS!"

I smack my forehead and sigh.

"The whole point was to not tell anybody."

"I know, but I had to! I just had to!"

I got her to calm down before she burst into flames again, but I didn't know how to stop her from telling.

"Come to my house," I said, "The only way we can stop you from blowing something up is by gaining some level of control. It's similar to my Hydrokinesis. We can try some stuff.

She nodded quickly and disappeared.

A few minutes later, I met Kai outside of Rivershine. 

We jogged into the surrounding forest, getting further away from the house.

When we finally stopped, we got right down to business.

"Let's see," I said, "can you feel the heat, the fire?"

"Yeah," said Kai, "all the time."

I nodded.

"Pull on it, but not too much."

She closed her eyes and put on a face of effort.

Fire danced along her palm.

"Huh," she said, "It doesn't hurt."

"You know how Pyrokinesis works," I said, "You've read the Keeper books."

She concentrated harder. The flame got larger.

"Woah!" I said.

I pull the lake water up and splash it onto her hand.

She frowned.

"Hey," she said.

After a few more minutes, I realized we were getting nowhere.

"Maybe we could see Marella?" I suggested.

Kai nodded.

"That makes sense."

"I'll hail her and see if she's available," I said.

I walked a bit into the forest and pulled out my Impater.

"Show me Marella Redek."

Her face came into view.

"Hello," she said, "are you Leo's friend?"

"Yeah," I said, "I need your help. Meet me in the Rivershine forest. I explain everything when you get here. Please, it's important."

She looked skeptical but agreed nonetheless.

Later, we saw her walk into view.

"What do you need?" She asked.

"Umm..."

I pointed to Kai.

Kai hesitated a moment, then lit up her hand.

Marella jumped back.

"How?" she asked.

"I don't know," I said, "but we need you to help get it under control."

Marella sighed.

"Come with me to Ironcogg." She said to Kai.

Kai nodded and they leaped off.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————

A few days later at Foxfire, I asked Kai how everything was going.

"Fine," she replied, "I know how to not burst into flames now, so that's a plus."

I nodded.

"Well, keep practicing," I replied, "I'm sure it'll get better."

She nodded and walked away.

"Hey! Griffin!"

I turned to see Leo, excited and running toward me. His long hair whipped around his face and in his eyes.

"I manifested again!" he cried, "Hydrokinetic! Do you think I could come over to your house and practice with you and Marla?"

"I'll have to ask Linh," I replied, "but it shouldn't be a problem."

He looked so happy.

"Thanks!" He called back as he ran off to his next class.

I shake my head and smile. I'll never be able to tell him how much he means to me.

The rest of the day was the same old same old. But after school, I spent 3 hours with Marla and Leo showing him hydrokinesis. 

I wandered tiredly to my bedroom.

Linh came in holding some kind of soup.

"You missed dinner," she said, "so I had the gnomes whip you up some mashed Carissa Roots."

"I faintly remember that name," I said.

Linh handed me the bowl. 

When I took a sip, it tasted like a cheeseburger.

"Yum!" I said happily.

"Glad you like it," said Linh.

"Can I tell you something," I said, "and can you promise to not tell anybody?"

Linh nodded.

"I know someone," I say vaguely, "who manifested a dangerous ability. I set them up with someone who has that ability too, but I don't know how to help."

Linh thought for a moment.

"Maybe, just leave them. Let them figure it out on their own unless they ask. I find that works quite well."

I nodded slowly.

"Ok," I said, "thanks."

"You're welcome."

I drifted off to sleep, with dreams of flight and freedom.

Comment your favorite elemental ability in Keeper. 

Pyro

Hydro

Shade

Flasher

Cryo/Frost

Aero/Gust

Astra/Charger

A/N Update: Also, you may notice some things are different than they were, more explanatory. I've been using the amazingness of Grammarly Go to make my story more immersive. Go check it out!