(Outdated) The King of Elements (part 2)

Chapter 35

Raheem exhaled as he opened the door to his house, fatigue settled firmly in his muscles. "Finally off," he said half to himself as he and Abigail walked in, quickly becoming enveloped by the coldness of their house. The cool air sent an icy-cold grasp against his sweat-covered shirt, but he didn't mind or care. In fact, he welcomed it. With the distress call from four different regions happening on the same day, Raheem was relieved to finally have some time to relax. He leaned his sword against the doorframe, not caring if any Humans came by and saw it, and made a beeline to the recliner.

"I'm going to go take a shower," Abigail said as she dropped her mace. It fell to the floor with a resounding thump. "Forget cooking today, I'll just order us a pizza," she sighed exhaustedly.

"Sounds good to me babe," he said as he plopped down on the seat, placed his phone down on the coffee table, and picked up the television remote. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh of pure ecstasy as he propped his legs up.

Raheem's phone buzzed on the coffee table moments later. He grumbled as he picked it up; he hadn't even sat down for more than a minute. If it's a call for a mission, I'm going to be mad as hell. Sure enough, the name on the caller I.D. had said Ichinose Kimachi. He let out a sigh as he answered. "This better not be another distress call."

"Oh, no, no, no," Ichi said in his sarcastic tone. "I've already sent out another team to deal with that. However, there is a matter I must speak to you about. I've already let Toney know." His tone shifted, sounding more serious. "It's about the Siren. I'm afraid she's not the only one."

"So, you're saying that the Sirens are breaking the treaty?"

"Not precisely. My theory is that Aggaron has something to do with it. I believe that he's using Samantha to persuade others to join with him."

"Of course," he sighed. "Any ideas?"

"One. But you wouldn't like it. I suggest that we team up the remaining Sirens to try and capture the possessed ones."

"Are you sure that the Sirens didn't possess you? Because that sounds like a stupid idea." He sat up in the recliner, resting his knees on his elbows. "Sirens hate males, remember?"

"Sirens don't like to associate with males," Ichi corrected him. "I believe that this would be the best way to show that the Sirens haven't betrayed us. My guess is that this is all a part of Aggaron's plan: have us mistrust the few people that we can call onto for help. If the Sirens think that we don't trust them, then what's stopping them for running to the clutches of Aggaron? If that were to happen, we'd be in a much direr situation.

"Not to mention that even though this is happening on our planet, it's a fellow sister that's causing this. Should we put her to justice without the consent of the Siren queen, it may create a deeper friction between us, one that may ignite the old flames of hatred." Raheem was silent; he'd forgotten about Ichi's intellect. He was about to speak, until Ichi began again. "I'm not going to force the joining with the other regions. Instead, I'll have our region be the first with the binding, and then persuade the others to do the same."

"That sounds good on paper," Raheem said, "but there's no way that the Sages will agree to that. You know that they hate the Sirens." Ichi should know firsthand the hatred that the Sages has against the Sirens, since his father, Rizael, is the Nature Sage.

"The Sages doesn't concern me, except for the Spirit Sage." Ichi's tone didn't waver. Instead it sounded more confident. "She may have the bad reputation of her colleagues, but she has what the others lack; kindness and patience. I believe that she'd know what would be best."

"I hope you're right about this."

"When have I been wrong?" Ichi chuckled before hanging up.

Moments later, Abigail appeared from the hallway, wearing a pair of maroon pajama bottoms and a white tank top. Her hair was wrapped up in a towel, and she had water seeping from the towel onto her forehead. "You didn't hear me?"

"Sorry. Ichi called." He groaned as he stood, wishing that he didn't, as his legs felt like they were filled with gelatin.

Two pairs of feet thudded up the stairs. Soon enough, the door opened to Dre rushing inside, grinning ear to ear. "What happened to you son? Did you get a date or something?"

"Why is everyone calling this a date?" Dre sighed. "I had a deal with Kimmy. The deal was that if we both passed our elemental test, I'd take her out to lunch-"

"In other words, a date," Ian cut in as he shut the door. "Dre just don't want to admit it."

"Get Rose's number before you try to cut in on my personal life."

That struck a nerve. Fists balled up, Ian asked, "What you say, boy?"

"Get. Rose's. Number."

"Boys, we're too tired for this," Abigail sighed. "If you're going to fight, then do it outside."

Both brothers glared at each other, fists clinched, brows furrowed. "So, you got yourself a date, huh?" Raheem stroked his goatee thoughtfully at Dre's silent nod. "How do you plan on getting there? You know, with everything that's going on on Amity, I won't be able to take you."

Dre made a sound in his throat as his furious glare flushed from his face. "I didn't think of that," he said as he turned to his father, who disappeared into the hallway to his room. "Mom, can I borrow the car?"

"Do you have your license yet?" She asked as she took Raheem spot on the recliner.

With a huff, Dre's shoulders slumped in defeat. "No ma'am," he mumbled.

"Then you just answered your own question. See, if you would've just taken you're driving test like I told you to, then you would already have your own car. And no-" she continued, "the driving instructor won't arrest you if you failed."

He frowned before turning to Ian, who had a look of pure satisfaction on his face, and Dre had already known why. With both of his parents busy on Amity, and Loyalty living forty-four miles away in Texarkana, his only hope was trying to convince Ian to take him. As if to add insult to injury, Ian slid his keys from his pocket and jingled them in front of Dre's face. With a sigh, he finally caved. "Can I borrow-"

"Hell no," he stated before balling his hand around his keys and turning on his heel to the hallway.

"Come on, man," Dre whined as he followed, like a puppy begging for its toy to be thrown. "I've already promised Kimmy that I'd take her to lunch tomorrow if she passed the test, and she was really looking forward to it. You really wouldn't leave your little brother to live the rest of his life lunch-less, would you?"

Stopping in front of his door, Ian turned back towards Dre with his smug smile plastered on his face. "Say that you're taking her on a date, and I'll think about letting you use my car."

Dre's frown deepened, but ultimately he sighed and swallowed his pride. "Ian, O brother of mine, can I use your car to take Kimmy out tomorrow on a date?"

Ian tapped his chin with one of the keys on his key ring, looking up to the ceiling as if he was lost in thought. "Kimmy, Kimmy. I think I know about her. How do you feel about this chick?"

"You are a jerk!"

"Ah, ah." He waved a finger in front of Dre's eyes. "I can feel them slipping."

Dre growled in his throat. "That's what I'm trying to figure out," he said through barred teeth. Ian's smile vanished, though Dre continued. "I can't really explain it. I feel all... different when I'm around her. My head gets clouded, my heart starts pounding in my chest, I lose track of my thoughts. I think that I'm in like with her."

"In like, huh?" He turned back towards his room before tossing the keys over his shoulders. They sang in the air before Dre fumbled over his feet to catch them. "If there's a dent in my car, there's a dent in your ass. Oh," he slid his cell phone from his other pocket and tapped on it before displaying a phone number and a picture of Rose smiling in front of the giant fountain in the middle of the academy courtyard. He looked over his left shoulder and grinned. "Suck on that, nerd."