Elemental Souls Read online

  He finished his yoga and headed upstairs to pound out a bit of Wii before dinner.

  Chapter 2

  The week’s monotonous schedule set in, and still Kai hadn’t seen Treegirl. Then again, he hadn’t had the opportunity to miss her much. The newspaper editor fell in love with his first pictures of the football game and named him the sports photographer for all upper-class events including cross country. Apparently, he no longer blended into the surroundings since Ethan had taken an interest in him. According to Ethan, Kai’s new found fame was the result of him.

  Kai continued to avoid him, using the typical homework excuse, so far keeping him at bay. “How long did it take normal people to get used to a schedule anyway?” he wondered. But for now, he kept it going, avoiding the lunchroom, packing around a book [Erin Wolf3]to sell his story of the ever-studious boy. Every day he sat alone by his tree waiting for Treegirl to reappear.

  Kai ate slowly, back against the tree, eyes closed, with an open book propped against his knees in case anyone paid attention. His light became blocked, forcing his eyes up to reveal a beautiful girl. He squinted to focus more clearly.

  “Hey, I’m Beth, do you mind if I sit down?”

  “No, go ahead.” Kai moved his leg slightly, allowing her to share in his shade.

  The girl sat on the ground, resting her hand on the trunk of the tree. “So, you are in my history class,” Beth commented, folding her one long leg on top of the other.

  “Yeah?” Funny Kai hadn’t noticed her before.

  “Yeah. I sit in the back corner. You always sit close to the door.” She shrugged, “I’m not surprised you haven’t noticed me, not very many people do.”

  Kai couldn’t quite see how that was possible. Staring into her blue eyes, he felt he could see the actual ocean waves cresting. “So, are you new here, too?”

  Beth laughed, shaking her long, tight black curls. “No, I wish. I started here in kindergarten; people just don’t tend to see me, that’s all.” She smiled widely, her features taking on a child-like appearance.

  Kai absorbed the air about her, “What year are you?”

  “I am a junior, just like you.” She pulled an apple out of her pocket and took a large bite. Kai shifted focus, staring at the bitten apple. Beth looked at his strange expression, “What? Haven’t you ever seen someone eat an apple before?”

  He forced a smile, working to regain his composure. “No, I guess I had déjà vu.” He straightened his knees one by one nervously. “Tell me, have we met before?”

  Beth swallowed her bite, crinkling her brows and raising them. “Um no, that’s why I introduced myself. Seriously, what’s your deal?”

  “It must have been my imagination.” Kai chuckled half to himself. “So, do we have any other classes together?”

  Beth took another bite, shaking her head, “Nope, just history.”

  “Who do you usually sit with at lunch? I pretty much stick to myself.”

  She pointed to the far corner of the school yard, “I usually sit over there but I thought I would venture over today. I felt a shift in the wind.” Beth inhaled deeply, reveling in the sudden breeze.

  Kai grinned from ear to ear. Not because he found her comment funny, on the contrary he so understood it. It made perfect sense to him.

  “Are you laughing at me?” Beth asked accusingly.

  “No, no, actually, I’m smiling because I understand.”

  “Whatever.” Beth shook her curls back letting them tickle the tops of her square shoulders. “Hey, are you going to the game tomorrow?”

  Kai looked down at his hands. Be cool, he told himself, “Yeah, journalism requirement and all.”

  “Oh, that’s right, you are the new poster child – get it? Poster child?” She laughed, “Anyway, so is it cool if I sit with you, or is this just a one-time thing?”

  Kai blushed immediately, talk about blunt. “No, it’s cool if you want to sit together. I don’t talk a whole lot during the games; I hope you won’t be too bored.”

  “Na, I’m usually too busy yelling at the team for making stupid plays. It isn’t social hour.” She laughed again, her curls bouncing in rhythm. “Well, I’m gonna go- see you tomorrow then, cool?”

  “Sure.” Kai watched her get up, “Or if you want to hang out at lunch tomorrow that’s fine too.”

  “Oh, I won’t be at lunch tomorrow.” Beth looked down at him, the sun filtering through her hair.

  “Why? Where do you get to go?”

  “I have a dentist appointment.” She turned to walk away, “See ya tomorrow night.”

  Kai watched her walk, following her as she drifted through the crowd. It amazed him how he maintained sight of her until she entered the building. The bell rang and Kai got to his feet, trudging off to the rest of his day.

  At home that night, Kai continued to think about Beth. What an interesting girl. Her comment about the wind kept repeating in his mind. “I felt a shift in the wind.” He had felt it on many occasions. Shifts in several things, not just wind. It wasn’t something one shared with people of little or no consequence. In truth, it was something he only shared with his mother.

  Greta knew firsthand what a shift felt like. She spent years teaching Kai what to listen to and look for. She had been his teacher in knowing what was important in all areas of nature. She'd spent years educating her young son on many things normal people didn’t pay attention to. Those normal people called her a witch. Of course, for people like Kai and Greta, "witch" definitely wasn’t the proper term. She didn’t carry a broom or even wear a hat. She technically was a Keeper. She not only kept Kai himself safe, she also was entrusted with the power stone. The original stone keeper had been Kai’s own father, but before Kai was born, his father passed it to her, knowing she could keep them both safe.

  Other than being keepers, his parents were pretty normal. They had held jobs, paid bills and yes, even fell in love. Their love however, created something the world hadn’t seen in centuries, a special boy who embodied spirit as well as many other special abilities.

  Kai was powerful, more powerful than any normal human. After his father’s passing, Greta became the sole protector of him until the time came when he reached the age to handle his gifts responsibly.

  In truth, neither Kai nor Greta knew all of the gifts he held. It had been so long since a child like him had been born, the myths outweighed any true evidence. She did the best she could by teaching him to calm, to center, and above all kindness.

  “Kai honey, lights out, it is late.” His mother’s voice interrupted his tangent thought.

  “Ok, just one more minute,” he replied, trying to make his avatar move through the maze.

  “Kai. Now. You have school tomorrow.”

  He sighed, letting his character die and began shutting down the system.

  “Speaking of school, how are things going?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “Good.”

  “Have you seen the girl again?” Greta leaned carefully on the door frame.

  “No. I don’t know what the deal is.” He paused, thinking through his next comment.

  “What? Come out with it.”

  “Well, I met another girl.” Kai put the controller down avoiding his mom’s eyes.

  “Another girl?” Greta sounded nervous but pressed on. “So, what is she like?”

  “Her name is Beth. She’s really different. I mean cool different, not freak different. She said we have history class together, but I don’t remember her.” He stood up. “Anyway, she just came over and talked to me at lunch today.” He walked into the bathroom, pulling out his toothbrush.

  “Really? She just came over to talk to you?”

  “Yeah.” He brushed his teeth, delaying the conversation.

  “And what did you talk about when she came over?”

  “Well,” he rinsed his mouth out, “she wanted to know if she could sit with me at the football game tomorrow.”

  “And what did you say?”
br />   “I said that was fine.” He shrugged, putting his toothbrush away. “I am going to be taking pictures anyway.”

  “She sounds nice.” Greta’s voice faltered slightly; girl issues were new this year.

  “Yeah, she really is.” Kai paused and looked at his mom, “She said the strangest thing.” Reading Greta’s look he added, “No, it wasn’t anything like that, no prickles honest. It was kind of cool. She said she felt a shift in the winds.”

  Greta swallowed hard. In all of his seventeen years, she had been able to trust Kai to listen to his warnings, but something about this he could tell made even her curious. “Kai, are you sure you didn’t get any sensation in your arm?”

  “No, really. I watched her walk away and focused really hard. Nothing.”

  “Ok. I know you are not going to like this- “

  “I know, you’re coming to the game tomorrow. I figured as much.” He rolled his eyes.

  “I am sorry honey, but you have to understand – “

  “Mom, I do understand. If I didn’t understand, I would’ve never told you.” He turned toward his bed.

  “Well, goodnight honey, see you in the morning.”

  “Goodnight Mom.” Kai crawled under the covers, while Greta watched helplessly from the hall.

  Moments like this made her wonder where the years had gone. She remembered when he used to be small and wouldn’t go to sleep without her near. Now he rolled over, not needing her; he was almost a man.

  She made her way towards her bedroom. Something about the girl's comment intrigued her. Comments like that don’t come out of nowhere, especially for a seventeen-year-old. Tomorrow night would be interesting.

  As promised, Kai turned around in his history class to find Beth sitting in her desk close to the windows. Her eyes stayed focused on the outside, with a longing that washed over her entire expression. Kai turned back towards the front of the room. No way did he want her turning around and seeing him staring. Totally not cool.

  Class broke and he took an extra minute to collect his things. He made it to the door right before her. “Hey.” He nodded, bumping into her shoulder intentionally.

  “Hello. Did you see the sky today? You better bring an umbrella; it’s totally going to rain tonight.” With that she floated down the hall. Again, he watched her mix in and out of the different collections of people without the slightest reaction from them.

  The game finally grew close. At least close enough for Kai to head into the bleachers. They hadn’t made a specific plan as to where to meet, so he tried to be early. He felt silly carrying an umbrella, with skies still clear and no rainstorms predicted. Greta took a seat below and to the side of Kai, making sure she was far enough away to give him some space, but close enough to hear anything important.

  The stands began to fill up and right before the color guard presented the national anthem, a high strong wind came up from nowhere. People grabbed their jackets and hats as the wind picked them up effortlessly and carried them towards to the parking lot. The wind whipped and whistled while it worked through the crowd of spectators trying to keep their possessions in a respectful order.

  Over the wind currents, Greta and Kai exchanged a long look. Greta’s brow spiked knowing full well this to be one more clue that the girl known as Beth was more powerful than anyone else in the stands- anyone except for Kai that is.

  As soon as the wind began to move on to other victims in other parts of the valley, Kai felt the first fat raindrop land squarely on his lap. Gazing across the field, he too felt the wind shift into its colder, damper cousin. The drops grew more intense, demanding the attention of the crowd. Again, Greta looked at Kai while they opened their now very valuable umbrellas. Greta silently moved up and over a bit, securing a safer seat to eavesdrop from.

  Beth came up the bleachers wearing a black trench coat with a sporty hot pink umbrella. “Sorry I am late; everyone just stopped driving in the wind. Seriously, how stupid is that? Did I miss anything?” she asked, immediately turning her attention to the field.

  Kai looked at her and noted her eyes seemed darker tonight. “Um, not really, it just started.”

  “Good, did we win the toss or did they?”

  Kai looked at the field, “I’m not sure. I was taking pictures of the clouds.”

  “Yeah, they’re pretty wild tonight. I don’t know what made them mad, but I could tell it was coming- RUN, RUN, RUN, that’s it! Yes!!!” Beth slapped Kai’s shoulder. “Did you see that? I can’t believe he got almost thirty yards! We’re on fire!” Beth brushed her dark curl behind her ear. “I love football, the air is cool, and the nights are clear – well most of the time.” She laughed.

  “Yeah, football’s great.” Kai looked at the field again, his camera sat forgotten in his lap. “Hey what did you mean you didn’t know what made them mad? Who mad?”

  Beth looked at him briefly, returning her eyes to the field. “Oh, I don’t know. I just say stuff like that sometimes. It doesn’t mean anything.”

  Kai studied her response for a moment, trying to decide if it was the truth or just a cover. He settled on too difficult to tell. It almost appeared like she was trying to convince herself it was just something she said, but deep inside she knew it had to be more. “I have always listened to the wind.” Kai whispered softly under his breath.

  Beth turned towards him ignoring the game for a moment, “What did you say?”

  “I have always listened to the wind.” He looked her straight on, noting his grey eyes reflected the dark blue tones of hers tonight.

  “What on earth does that mean?” Beth broke eye contact and turned back toward the game. Her exterior cracked slightly, but she tried to keep it contained, hiding behind the touchdown on the field. “Yes! Oh, my jellybeans we scored!” Her excitement pushed a bit over the top, but Kai wasn’t fooled. He had gotten to her.

  He picked up his camera clicking away, not really caring who it may be in his shot. The visiting team wasn’t much better than the home team, so overall it turned out to be a bit better of a game than expected. It ended, another loss on the board, and the stands began to clear slowly. “Did you want to get a coffee or something?” Kai asked as non-interested as he could muster.

  “I would like to, but I can’t. Sorry, my Dad is expecting me.”

  “Oh, that’s cool. I’ll see you on Monday?”

  Beth stood. “Hey, give me your phone.” Kai handed it over and in seconds she handed it back. “Ok, now you have my number if you want to get a coffee this weekend or whatever.” Beth jumped down to the bleacher row below them. “I’ll catch ya later, ok?”

  “Yeah, see ya.” Kai watched her as she drifted effortlessly through the exiting mob. Still no warning, no prickle on his arm to indicate she couldn’t be trusted. So, if she wasn’t registering evil, what exactly was she?

  “So, are you ready to go?” Greta quietly stood beside her son. He nodded and they began to head towards the parking lot.

  “She does seem very nice.” Greta commented as she started the car, pushing her blond hair behind her ear. Kai rolled his eyes at her and turned toward the window. “I am just saying she seems nice. Normal mothers say that sort of thing when they meet their son’s girlfriend for the first time.”

  “She’s not my girlfriend.”

  “Ok, not their girlfriend - yet.” Greta glanced over at him. “Come on Kai, she likes you. That’s a good thing right, I mean you like her, don’t you?”

  “MOM- Seriously!”

  She sighed, “Ok, fine. We can talk about something else.”

  “Why don’t we talk about how something is wrong with her?”

  “I thought you said you didn’t”- Greta glanced quickly at him. “Ok. What about it?”

  Kai rolled his eyes, “Mom what is her deal? She knew that storm was coming; she can hear the wind talk. She knows what it’s feeling. Mom, I can’t even do that!”

  “Kai, can I ask you a question?” She took his silence as an answer, “What
are you afraid of more- that she might like you or that she is special like you?”

  Kai remained silent, staring into the darkness.

  “Kai, it is ok to be scared. Just because you’re special, doesn’t mean you’re perfect.”

  “I know I am not perfect.” He turned back toward the window.

  “Kai, look at me.” Greta glanced again at her son, meeting his storm cloud eyes. “It IS ok to be scared.”

  “Not for me.” He turned back toward the window, “Dad died protecting me, protecting all that I am supposed to be. How is there room in that for fear?”

  “Kai, your father died believing you were the most important thing in the world not because of what you possess but because of who you are. You are his son. No matter what kind of power you may have, or abilities you developed as you got older, the most important thing to him - and to me- is who you are. Kai, you are human, you are flawed as we all are, so fear is something you better get used to.” She glanced at her silent boy again, noting he seemed to grow up and shrink back to a toddler at the same time. “And remember the only thing we have to fear- Is”

  “Fear itself.” Kai looked at her briefly, smiling at the historic quote that used to be on their fridge. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.” She put her hand on his knee.

  “So, what should we do? I mean where do we go from here?”

  “I think it’s obvious. You have a date for coffee this weekend.” The engine roared to life and she pulled out of the parking lot.