Elemental Rush

Chapter Five

Chapter Five:

            Felix didn’t say anything as we labored toward the gate. He didn’t know I was an Airmaster—no one did—so when he’d said, “His own Airmaster suffocated him?” I’d seized onto that prospect.

            I used to despise being able to hear everyone’s thoughts, but on the march out of Hesterton, I actually wanted to know what the other sentries were thinking. They all accepted that the Airmaster had murdered his Councilman. All of them except Felix. He riddled it around in his mind, constantly asking himself, But why?

            As he had advised me, I kept my mouth shut.

As we approached the gate, I saw the Hesterton Council clustered together. Their orange robes fluttered in the slight wind, and one of them kept glancing at us as we drew closer.

Felix quickened his step so he could reach them first. “What’s going on?” he demanded. I almost cringed at the dominance in his voice. I wondered if I sounded like that when I interrogated people. Of course you do, I told myself. I’d been trained to sound like that. 

The Councilman met Felix’s gaze. “The Elementals you are searching for have turned themselves in.”

Felix peered behind the Council, like Isaiah and his Council were being concealed. “Where are they?”

“I have them contained at my fortress. The Airmaster confessed to killing his Firemaker, and they wish to negotiate their return to Tarpulin.”

I heard the inner workings of Felix’s mind, and he didn’t want to negotiate anything, least of all the survival of four people he’d been commissioned to kill. He wondered if Alex would approve. He wondered how many more Elementals he’d have to kill if he didn’t agree to the negotiations.

I stepped next to him. “Let’s hear them out,” I said very low, so no one would overhear me.

“Our mission—”

“The Earthmover has considerable talent. Perhaps Alex would take him on his Council. Doesn’t Alex need a new Earthmover?”

I’d said the right thing, thankfully. I sensed Felix’s acquiescence before I heard it come from his mind and out of his mouth.

I didn’t feel satisfaction as we retraced our steps toward the Hesterton fortress. I only had room for relief.

#

“Each Councilmember will be isolated,” Felix said, nearing the end of the negotiation. “Each Elemental will be escorted by three sentries back to Tarpulin. Once there, each will be required to register his or her services to the Supreme Elemental, who is holding field trials for the vacant positions on his Council.”

Among his Council, Isaiah alone appeared calm. He’d spoken for them as a group, and he’d avoided my eyes more than once. “The terms are satisfactory,” he said. I noticed the tight grip he had on Cat’s hand, the fear in her eyes.

The Elementals were split, and I made sure to shuffle myself close to Felix. I wanted to accompany Isaiah, but at the same time I needed to ensure that Felix’s Elemental would return to Tarpulin alive.

So I was assigned to the Airmaster, along with Felix and Victor, another sentry. Just as we were preparing to leave, Felix groaned. He fell to his knees, and a flash of orange light emanated through his sentry uniform.

“He’s getting a new assignment,” I said, pressing people back to give him the space he needed to control the pain. He’d obviously had much more experience with pain, because he was able to regain his feet after only a few minutes.