Chapter Four

A girl awoke to a bright morning sun. When she opened her eyes, clouds drifted peacefully across the sky, the sun shone brightly, and a cool breeze blew across the meadow.

The meadow?

She sat up and looked around. Yes, she had been lying on a meadow. A great oak tree sat in the middle of the field, and wildflowers grew in small patches. It was so peaceful. The girl lay back down to go to sleep.

"So, you woke up," said a voice behind her. The girl sat back up and stared at a familiar boy.

"Who are you?" the girl asked nervously.

"You don't remember me?"

"Who am I?" the girl asked herself.

"You're Kali, no last name," the boy said, "and I'm Gary, no last name."

Everything came flowing back to the girl now. "What happened last night?" she asked, afraid of the answer.

"You got struck by lightning."

"What?!"

"Your mother was performing a spell. You'd be some type of electric demon if you hadn't slipped. Since you slipped, you messed up your mother's spell. You weren't in the middle of the lightning, just on the end. You slipped, cut your back on a sharp rock, got hit by electricity, crawled off a cliff. I barely caught your hand, and I pulled you back up." 

Kali remembered getting struck by lightning. Her back had been sliced open, when she cut it on a rock. The pain must have been magnified because of the lightning, since she didn't feel any pain now.

"Okay. But what happened after that? I blacked out," Kali replied.

"Your mother was horrified at what she had done. She ran away, mumbling something about waiting for another full moon. I have a question for you."

"What?"

"Your mother, she looks nothing like you, and you look nothing like her. Is she really your mother?"

Kali burst out laughing. "Is she really my mother? Well, I certainly hope not! But how could she not be my mother? I've grown up with her since…well, since forever."

"Why did you move out here?"

"I told you, my father died and she was grief-stricken."

"Do you have any memories before that?"

"Do I? Well, yeah, I do, but they never stay long enough for me to grasp what happens. I do know that they're all at a house, a single story house. I know my father's sometimes in the memories. Most of them are good things."

"Right. My father and my grandfather think that she's not your real mother."

"What? Why?"

"Because. When you got struck by lightning, she showed no sympathy. Just anger and frustration."

"But you said she was horrified when I got hit."

"They say it was only because you slipped and didn't get hit in the center."

"What? This is ridiculous! I mean, you're lying, you have to be! I bet it was all just a dream--I bet this is a dream. How can my own mother not love me?"

"Simple. She's not your own mother."

"But that's not simple! Why would anyone want to kidnap me?"

"Because she sensed your energy. She knew that you were the one who would be able to survive lightning, she knew that you could tame it and use it to your own abilities."

Kali pinched herself. "Ow! That wasn't supposed to hurt!"

"If you don't believe me, look at your hands. Look in this mirror. You'll see." Gary handed her a mirror. How he happened to have a mirror, she didn't know.

The person who stared back at her had hair that was floating in all directions. It was full of static. Her blue eyes were rimmed with a bright yellow. When she looked closer, she could see what looked like tiny little lightning bolts jumping around in the blue ring around her pupil. Her gaze went to her hands where static was jumping to and fro. She dropped the mirror and stared in horror at her hands.

"My hands…what's wrong with my hands?!" Kali exclaimed. "And my eyes…and, why is my hair all staticky!"

"I told you," Gary started, calmly, "you were electrocuted. However, unlike most people, your body is able to stand so much electricity. You're an Elemental Witch, as we call them. But the power is still new to your body, and this is a small reaction. The static will go away, though."

"How do you know all of this?" Kali asked hesitantly.

Gary looked at her. "Why?"

"I don't know! I don't know anything right now! I don't even know if I can trust you or not! But I know I have to trust someone, otherwise my life is going to become a living mess! If what you say is true, then my mother-who-isn't-my-mother is some evil sorceress with immense power, only she needs me for some plan. And, if I heard correctly, she needs me to be full of electric power. She wants to turn me into some sort of electric demon. The only reason that this is possible is because I must possess some magic blood, right?

However, I slipped, cut my back on a rock, and missed the center of the lightning by an inch or so, which meant that I wouldn't be totally electric, and I won't be some sort of monster. I almost killed myself by crawling off a cliff. But you saved me. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. But all I want to know is HOW you can know all this stuff! Is that SO much to ask?!"

"It's more than you think," Gary said, standing up.

"Listen to me," Kali begged. "I don't know anything right now. I don't want to get involved in whatever war it is that you and my mom might be in. But if what you say is true, than I don't have a choice. I have to trust you; my life is in your hands. Your grandfather said so. You have to protect me. I know its part of your training or whatever.

"And since my life is in your hands, then I must trust you. Which is really asking much, since I only met you yesterday. Because I trust you, would it not be fair if you were to trust me? I don't want to get stuck on fairness, but honestly, you have to protect me. Part of protecting is trusting! Give me one good reason why you shouldn't trust me!"

Gary looked away from her. He spoke softly; his voice was barely audible. "I am only to protect you. That is the only thing I have to do. I can not let you get hurt. That does not mean that I have to trust you. Like you said, we have only known each other for one day. I do not know if you are worthy of my trust. You do not have to trust me, either. It is just something you think you have to do. Frankly, I do not care whether you trust me or not."

Not having anything to say to this, Kali just looked away, half-sighing, half-grunting in frustration. Gary walked away.

*****

Gary walked along a rocky path. To his left was a fatal drop to the bottom of a narrow valley. To his right loomed more small plateaus of narrow paths. He stopped at a wider spot and sat down, leaning against the grassy cliff wall.

He couldn't tell Kali of his past. Telling anyone was forbidden. No one ever talked about it. It just happened. And, fortunately for him, it happened hidden away from those who could hurt him with it.

Nevertheless, he didn't want Kali to be angry with him. It would be harder to protect her if she was angry. It would be easier for the demons who worked for the sorceress who had raised Kali to take advantage of her. Kali did not understand the importance of this private war, and did not know the terms. And although the hate for her guardian, he thought it would be hard for her to let in the fact that it was not her real mother, and that this person wanted to kill her.

As Gary looked out over the mist-filled valley below him, he remembered the words his grandfather had told him when he was just ten years old, and was just starting his training.

'Under no circumstances must we let her and her demons get hold of the three powers. If they get hold of them, it will only be easier for them to reach success in their plan. To keep them from finding them, we have hidden them in three spots that are well guarded by those of our kind.'

Just the other night, he had heard words regarding this subject. The words echoed inside his head. The footsteps of a creature disrupted his thoughts. Before he could stand up, though, Kali's figure came out of the thick mist. She sat down beside him and looked at the valley below.

"I'm sorry I acted so selfish before," she murmured. "I wasn't being very considerate. If you don't want to tell me about everything, I guess that's okay."

"You guess that's okay?" he replied sarcastically.

Kali smiled. Good. He forgives me. She wasn't sure why, but, for some reason, she was happy that he had forgiven her. She shrugged off the feeling though. "Okay, okay. It is okay." She paused, looking down at the valley. It wasn't the valley that she knew; it was a different one. "So where are we exactly?"

"We're further down the canyon that is on the other side of my cliff. The canyon joins up with the valley, making this strange combination of the two."

"Is it okay if I ask where we are going?"

"No. One of the demons might be watching us right now. I am not allowed to tell anything about our destination."

"So they can't follow us?"

"They can't leave this valley unless their master--your mother--takes off the restraining force fields. If she does do that, though, then that could let others of our kind in. And it takes extra energy to put it up and down. If she doesn't take it down, then they can only leave with her."

"And they know this, right?"

"Of course they do. It's too hard for her to find another person who is capable of transforming into one of her demons. She wouldn't take the chance of losing one because of the force field."

"Can I leave the valley?" Kali questioned.

"We think so. You are not entirely a demon so the full affects of the spell should not apply to you. We don't know what it is that keeps the demons from leaving, but we're almost positive that whatever it is won't affect you."

"Well that sure is comforting."

"Hn…"

"I don't think I'll get any more information out of you tonight. Where's the camp site?"

"Wherever."

"Wherever? You don't know?"

"We've both had our rest." He looked around carefully, then whispered, "I was thinking we should head out tonight and get a head start."

"I guess that sounds like a good idea." Kali stood up. "So let's go."

They followed the trail on the side of the cliff, walking in silence. Slowly, the sun set down behind the opposite mountains. Reds, oranges, purples and golds lit up the path before them, and the mist cleared. The moon rose, bringing a dark purple-blue with it, chasing the reds and golds out of the sky. Stars appeared, as though someone was shining a light on a giant bowl while poking holes in it where the light shone through. The sun was gone.

Kali yawned. They had been walking for hours over a steep, rocky terrain. Twice she had slipped on wet grass and would have plummeted to her doom if Gary had not rescued her. The dark made it hard to see, and because of all the stress on Kali's body, she tired easily.

Kali took another step forward, then another step. As she put her weight on one foot, the rocks came loose and again, she slipped. Quickly, Gary turned and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back to the rock wall beside them. The grass was clearing away.

"Thank you," Kali mumbled before yawning again.

"We're almost to the edge of the valley. There's a turn coming up to our left. We'll turn there and reach a meadow. From there, the land slopes down, and we'll come to level land. We should reach the city in two days."

"That's great," Kali muttered sleepily. "I bet there are beds in the city. Are beds comfortable? I only ever slept on straw…" she continued to mumble useless things in her half-sleep.

"Shh…we have to keep going. We can reach the bottom of the hill by morning. We'll sleep there for tomorrow."

They reached the turn, and Kali slowly followed Gary up a narrow passageway. Above them twinkled the stars.  Kali gazed at them, a black elfish figure leapt over her, across the walls that were on each of her sides.

"Oh look…an elf…how cute," she commented.

"What? An elf? Kali, what are you talking about?" Gary turned around and saw the dreamy look on Kali's face. He caught her before she collapsed onto the rock floor, asleep. Figuring that she had been dreaming, Gary picked her up and carried her to the top of the meadow.

When he reached the top of the hill-passage way, he set Kali down in the grass and surveyed the top of the cliff. "I should have known she'd fall asleep before we made it up here," he muttered under his breath, angry because of the set back, and that he hadn't been considerate of her current situation to make a better plan. He sat down beside her and leaned against a large rock behind him.

He wasn't tired, but he couldn't walk on ahead. Leaving Kali alone at night would be a stupid thing to do. His mind brought back the mention of the elf. It was warning him about something. What could possibly be dangerous that might look like an elf to a weary fourteen-year-old girl?

With alarm, Gary immediately remembered his grandfather's description of a demon.

'At night, they roam the cliffs, waiting for unsuspecting prey. They feed on the fear of common people, people who cannot do anything to them. When there is no fear left, they dispose of the person. They also find anger and sleepiness entertaining too, since those who possess those characteristics won't think straight and can wander into their traps by accident.

They are tall and skinny, with pointed ears that resemble the ears of an elf. They are very agile. They possess a magic so great that it can weaken others who are magic into a deep sleep so they can sneak up on their prey. Most demons are born demons. Ones who are transformed to demons from humans usually possess a greater magic and knowledge and won't stoop to such animal behaviors. They usually serve the one who transformed them, and will obey any commands. They are heartless, and if you ever come across one, very hard to kill. Be careful not to look into it's hypnotizing eyes unless you want to be their next meal…

Kali must have seen a demon. And if she saw a demon, then that meant that somewhere near by, one was watching them. Most likely it was born a demon and was just looking for food. However, because of the fact that Kali's mother was looking for her, there was a small chance that it was one of the more powerful ones.

The demon also must have made Kali so tired. Because of her lack of strength at the time, it made her vulnerable and even easier to weaken.

"Kali!" Gary whispered urgently. "Kali wake up!" He shook her, and she opened her eyes.

"What?"

"We have to get out of here. There's a demon nearby."

"What!" Kali said, coming to her senses. "We have to get out of here! Come on--"

"No, we have to be quiet. We'll need a light, that way we can see in front of us and we have a chance of scaring the demon away."

Kali looked at him, confused. "Are these things more animal then human?"

"I'll explain later, we need a light!"

"What do you expect me to do about it?"

Gary remembered that Kali had not been trained at all with her powers. "Okay, listen carefully. You can give us a light by using your power. Now, clear your head of all thoughts. Do not think of anything."

Kali nodded, and made her head as clear as she could, staring off into space past Gary's face, not thinking anything.

"Now think of a source of light, like a lightning bolt striking the earth, or electricity flowing through a lamp."

Kali thought of the lightning bolt striking the earth.

Gary hesitated for a moment. "Put your fingers together."

Kali did that.

"Now imagine this morning when the static was jumping to and fro on your hands. Only thicker bolts, so we'll have more light."

Kali imagined what he said, and to her amazement, lightning flowed from the tip of her left index finger to the tip of her right index finger, lighting a small circle around them. "Whoa, cool, I didn't know I could do this," Kali stammered.

Gary let out a deep breath, then said, "Okay, let's get going."

They stood up, barely noticed a figure standing in front of them, turned, and started walking.

"Was that a demon?" Kali asked casually.

"Yes, I think it was," Gary replied calmly.

The two looked at each other in amazement. "A demon!"

And, at the same time, they slowly and fearfully turned to look at the tall, slim figure standing before them.

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