Elements : Book One

Chapter Twenty One

"Chloe Bucker." Chloe states calmly, her green orbs blazing. "I am 19 and Fire Elementalist." She says laconically and looks directly at Andrew with a small smirk plastered on her face.

"Daniel Carter." A boy, who is standing next to Chloe introduces himself with a small smirk already on his lips. His golden blonde hair and icy blue eyes suggest that he is quite a heart-breaker. "I am 20 and like Rea, I have two elements." He states once again. "One is Ice and another is Light." His voice is cold. His powers are similar to Michael's and he acts guarded.

"Uh-huh." Caleb rubs his head awkwardly and offers all of us a smile. "My name is Caleb Connor." He states with a smile. I haven't seen him since that day and now, he is standing in front of me, introducing himself to others. His neon blue eyes are shining more than ever, giving his gray hair a white touch.

"Jacob Morrow." Jay's voice is cold. He looks over others and clicks his tongue. "I am 18 and Light Elementalist." He adds and takes a step back, showing us how much he does not want to be here with us. With him.

"Uh..." Luke looks at Jacob and shakes his head. "My name is Luke Smith, I am 19 and Energy Elementalist." He finishes as soon as he starts and looks at me patiently.

Everyone's gaze turn to me, their eyes eating me alive, making it difficult for me to breath. Their emotions are swirling inside my mind, mixing with one another and creating unwanted feelings deep inside of me.

"My name is Cassie Stewart." I whisper in a low voice. "I am 18 and I am Energy Elementalist." I murmur the last part, as if I am lying to others around me. Their gaze indicates that I am doing exactly that. But I don't feel as if I am lying. We state what we want others to know about us. Luke did not say that he came back from dead, Jacob did not mention that he is in his third year. Chloe did not say that she is scared of harming others. We only stated what we deemed important.

No one says a word. The pregnant silence falls between us. We are all looking at one another, yet avoiding each others' gaze. Sebastian is eyeing all of us. His gaze shifts from one person to another, until he is sure that he has seen enough.

"Okay." He claps his hands and smiles once again. His smile feels anything but serene. "Now that you all know each others' names, I think we are ready to move on the next step." He continues talking, sure of himself, but not so sure about us. "All of you have to grow a lot to reach Dark Ones level. I am not saying that you are weak." He adds quickly when he notices our faces."But you have to work on yourself. "What you saw was nothing compared to what they usually do." He sighs and rubs his temples. "You had... aid on your side." He looks at me. "Cassie's awaken powers have turned the tides... I have to admit that without here, the school would be wiped out."  He adds in ominous tone. Once again, everyone's attention is shifted to me. "To be prepared for the next time, and there will be a next time, we have to be paratus." He smiles at all of us.

I nudge Luke, who chuckles down on me and leans down.

"Paratus means ready in Latin." He whispers in a low voice and straightens.

"When you get ready enough, you will be sent out in the field." He adds in low, sorrowed tone. He looks over all of us, as if sending us in our graves. Some people hold their breath, their eyes are wide open, staring at Sebastian. Panic is rising inside of them. I can feel blood freezing fear emitting from Ellis, Kate is paralyzed with fear, her mind is frozen. "I know that some of you might not be ready for it. Some of you might even wanted to have a peaceful life." He continues with grieving voice. His eyes are glued to his brother. "That's why, you will have chance to withdraw any given moment. But not during missions." He chuckles humorlessly. "Now, you are all dismissed." He waves his hand and students start walking towards the exit doors. I turn away to head towards my bedroom and hide in there until the lessons start. "Cassie, you stay." Sebastian adds last minute.

I nod and stay back, shrugging my shoulders at Luke's questioning gaze. Jacob does not even spare a single glance at my direction as he leaves the cafeteria, followed by Luke. In just two minutes only people left behind are me and Sebastian. I look at him, waiting for him to speak up and say something.

"Tell me what is wrong." Sebastian sighs and looks around. "The way you hold yourself and the way you introduced yourself, indicates that you are hiding yourself and don't feel comfortable with yourself." He sighs once again and rubs his temples.

"I don't know what you mean." I shrug my shoulders and sit on one of the spare chairs. "I feel perfectly fine with myself." My voice and words feel fake even to my ears. And I know that he does not believe me.

"Okay." Sebastian nods and smiles. "If it is what you want to say." He looks around and sits on the chair in front of me. He leans closer and starts whispering. "You should know that if you want to talk, I am always here to listen. I know what you feel and what you are going through. From today, you are my student, hence my responsibility and I will always be there to help." He offers encouraging smile. "But, also... This is not only thing, I left you behind for," He lowers his tone and smile disappears from his face. "I want to warn you. You need to be careful. From today on, I am going to be harsh, harsh on every one of you until all of you reach perfection. You. You are the game-changing weapon for both sides, and you need to be careful. You will have enemies in both side and in your place, I would not trust a lot of people." He talks fast, as if scared. "You have to work extra hard to control your powers, otherwise, it will destroy not only you. Your additional lessons... Work hard and try to connect with your additional mentors, listen to them and try to understand." He sighs and leans back, his usual smile appearing on his face, as if he has been telling me a story from his childhood. "Now, off you go and remember what I told you." He adds with a chuckle and waves me off.