The six elements

Chapter 24 -Changes-

The night couldnt have been longer. A darkness reigned on my dreams and the fear of waking up in the world that I find myself was gnawing me from inside. Now that I have no one, I should get used to this painful presence, which is my consciousness. The night quietly coming to its end hides slowly the three bright moons illuminating the skyline that stretches for miles in front of me. We are forming a circle around a pool of icy water, waiting without conviction for mister Faceless and Mayas arrival. A few whispers from the other members of the circle put a faint glow of life in the great plain in which we find ourselves. A thick fog has risen and is soaking us up to the level of the knees. I can barely distinguish the moons reflections in the basin.

Ill probably kill her in her sleep, Chris whispers so low that Im the only one who hears him.

I throw a look at the other members of the circle, instinctively shaking my head. I realise that nobody listens to us, so I answer in a breath. And when youll get attached to her and you wont have the strength to do it anymore, Ill take care of it.

He turns his head towards me, but I dont dare confront his look, because of our meeting from the day before. Im sorry, he whispers.

A car rolls towards us and parks a few meters from the circle. The door slam makes me jump, which makes me clench my fists. Ill have to contain myself if I dont want to knock them down on Chris. Maya gets out of the car before mister Faceless with a mischievous smile hanging on her lips. I cant believe this moment will happen. I dont dare imagine what well become with a hypocrite like her in our circle. I already had enough with Miranda and Britney. Maya heads towards the pool of water before greeting Chris and Sophie. She takes off her pants where theres shorts under. Then, she takes off her jacket to reveal a little sport top. She ties her hair when miss Seasy and mister Faceless bring Leilas body beside de basin. I grimace at the sight of her skinny white body. Fortunately, we didnt wait too long, or her body would be in full decomposition I dont dare imagine how Chris must be feeling right now. I have to admit that I didnt know Leila very well. But if she was still alive, she would have been the only one who could have convinced the others that I was still worth it

Normally, we should have the dagger to execute such a ritual but there is a way that is a little more delicate, mister Faceless announces.

He takes out a silver blade from the briefcase on his shoulder, fallowed by a golden cup.

Whats this? Thomas asks, his face deformed by fatigue.

Its a simple cup and a simple blade, he explains while he leans towards the daughter of the waters remains. What really matters is what they are for.

He places the tip of the dagger on Leilas throat and he pushes it slowly in, collecting the little black blood that comes out in the cup. I turn my head to prevent me from throwing up. Chris seems about to explode with rage or burst into tears. Mister Faceless hands the cup to Maya and she takes it, disgusted.

Drink, he orders.

What! Chris exclaims. No!

But already, Maya lays her trembling lips on the edge of the cup and grimacing, she empties the content.

Chris, its now your turn to continue the ritual, mister Faceless finishes, joining miss Seasy near her car.

I hear the son of the water swear under his breath before heading towards Maya. Her mouth is now dark red, almost black. How could she? She gets in the pool where the water goes up to her knees. Chris takes off his leather jacket and kneels while Maya sits in the water. I see a tear run on his cheek when he looks at Leila for the last time. His true partner. Maya takes a big inspiration and plunges her body in the water. I can see the scene much clearer now that the fog disappeared, just like the glow of the three moons. Chris places his hands on Mayas shoulders to prevent her from straightening up. After a few seconds of silence, she begins to struggle and give blows on all sides. The son of the water seems to have difficulty keeping her in place. A short instant later, Maya stops fighting. Shes dead. Leilas chest rises in a frightening way, before a faint white haze evaporates from her half-open mouth. This vision of horror rapidly makes me dizzy and I have to bite my lips to the blood to prevent me from fainting. The horrified faces of the members of the circle confirms that this ritual has something dark and sick. We had never heard of a simple Calzumien taking the powers of a lineage. To be honest, it feels like were in a horror movie. I have just one desire and its to get away from here. This same haze heads quietly in the pool of water where theres the inert body of the future daughter of the water. As soon as it disappears completely, a powerful and icy rain falls on us with all its strength. My clothes are stuck on my skin and my hair on my temples. I try to keep my eyes open, but the pression of the rain makes it difficult. I rapidly begin to tremble with cold and snap my teeth. I look at Thomas whose hand in hand with his partner and I let a tear escape. I can nobody will see me cry in the rain. When all this will be over and this ritual will end what will they do to me? If only Jake was here, behind me, taking me in his arms and whispering that everything will be fine that all of this was only a bad dream. The rain slows down suddenly. Only a small trickle stings my cheeks and the skin of my hands. In the basin, Maya gets out of the water, catching her breath in an exaggerated way. I notice at this moment that her hair seems a lot more bluish than it should be. The two new partners stare at each other, shaking with cold and catching their breaths. Chris approaches his hand from Mayas face, but stops for a moment to contemplate her, completely ignoring Leilas body two steps from him. The first contact is the most important. Its the one that will define the strength and power of the link two individual share and will share until death. He finally touches her face with a delicacy that I didnt know of him. It looks like hes facing a rare pearl. And yet its only this poor mischievous viper! They finally hug, making me look away. I look at Leila, sighing. So her story is ending like that. Shes dead and nobody will talk about her anymore. Its just another life that had been taken away from us, but we have to move on to something else. The children of the earth discreetly slip away hand in hand, rapidly imitated by the children of the fire. Thomas and Miranda despise each other, and yet they walk together, clinging to one another. Its in these moments that we realise how much a partner is important. I turn my head towards Carl who sits in front of the basin and the children of the water. Tomorrow, well face the children of the spirit and then, Ill disappear. Today may be my last day. In fact, Ive reached a point where I hope so.