Adara, the final chapter

Malachite embodied all of their worst nightmares, when he entered the room they could all physically feel the evil he wielded.  As he walked the vegetation around him shrivelled up and died.  He was dressed in a long flowing black cape, his eyes, were empty orbs as black as the clothes he wore, a wry smile on his face sent chills down their spines.  None of them had ever seen such evil before in their life.  1

With one hand, he picked Seth up and threw him across the room, as if he was nothing more than an irritation.  As he continued walking he muttering a word that none of them had ever heard before, it sounded something like Solestiata. 2

Adara fought to get up, desperate to reach Seth who had fallen at her feet, but she couldn’t get out of the chair.  Somehow she and the others were being restrained.  Adara looked over at Ghost girl; she was still very visible and obviously incapable of her usual tricks.  “He must have cast a spell” she thought straining against the invisible bonds.3

“What have you done?” Adara screamed, defiantly looking into the darkness that was Malachite’s eyes.4

“Don’t make me laugh child, resistance is futile. I have bound your powers,” Malachite said as if speaking to a loathsome servant as he calmly walked toward the podium. 5

“No!” Seth screamed, jumping up and running to cut off Malachite’s approach.6

“Oh, how noble. The guardian, the martyr,” Malachite said, closing his hand around Seth’s throat, slowly strangling him. 7

“Stop, please stop! You’re killing him!” Adara yelled a mixture of disbelief and fear in her voice.  Powerless she sat back, staring as Seth’s life edged away.8

“Indestructible? You seem quite fragile to me.” Malachite said, dropping Seth and stepping over him as he made his way to the top of the podium. Seth coughed and wheezed trying to get his breath back. 9

“How could this be?” he asked no one in particular, staring at the ground. He could feel his resolve weakening. Even with all his preparation, Seth knew he was no match for Malachite.  How was he expected to fight one of the most powerful beings in this or any other world?  Seth looked up at Adara with defeat in his eyes.10

“Don’t do that, don’t give up. We need you,” she whispered.11

“Finally I have it!” Malachite said, gently stroking the eternal scroll. “Mine, its all mine.” 12

“We will never let you win - there is too much beauty in this world for us to let you destroy it,” Manzi screamed, his voice quivering in terror, contradicting the bravado of his words.  13

Malachite laughed.  “Even fully trained elementals would have a hard time facing an elder.  Am I to believe that a group of neophytes will be the ones to finally overthrow…ME?”  14

“So what is the master plan, undo creation and what go home?” Adara asked sarcastically.  Whenever she got scared sarcasm was always her first line of defence.  15

“Fools, you thought I wanted to undo creation?”  Malachite laughed very proud of his successful deception.  “Well my motives are far more sinister than that. I have come to LIKE this world of corruption and hate.  I will claim it for myself.” Malachite said, looking around very satisfied with himself. 16

“So, everything and everyone is here.  Eternal scroll, fire, air, water, earth. Mmmmmm.” Malachite said, as if going over a mental check list.  “Yes, everything is in its place.  So there is no more need for you,” he said, a dagger materialising in his hand. He threw it, flying straight and true it hit Seth in the chest.17

Adara wanted to scream, but sheer panic gripped her.  Watching the love of her life bleeding to death at her feet, Adara could feel the fire rising inside her. 18

Feeling his life draining away, Seth knew that there was very little time left.  He looked Adara in the eye desperately searching for the words that would make her realise how much he loved her.  He wanted to tell her that he had lived for hundreds of years yet had never known the happiness he felt when she was in his arms.  He wanted to tell her how unfair it was that he had lifetimes with all the other and mere moments with her.  He desperately tried to think of something to say so that she would always know just how much he had loved her.  Finally, with the last bit of energy he could muster he said, “I would have run with you forever.”19

Adara stared at Seth.  With that sentence he admitted his love and died. Adara looked around hoping that this was all a cruel joke. Some horrible game, but every time she looked back, he was still very much dead.20

“No, no, no,” she repeated quietly at first and them more loudly. As she began to loose control the flames spun in a vortex around the chair, as if trying to reach her.21

“Insolent creature, how dare you!” Malachite boomed, taken aback by this sudden show of force, his binding spell crumbling under the force of the fire. 22

Adara stood up, rage enveloping her as she had never experienced it before.  “You want this world - you want our world of pain and loss?  Well here, have a taste of what it’s really like!” she shrieked, focusing all the fire and rage she could directly at Malachite.  She remembered everything that had ever caused hurt in her life – her parent’s horrible death, the bitter teasing, and the intense solitude. Everything came pouring out in blistering streams of fire. “Here, take it all!” she screamed, her voice filled with the anger and bitterness that had consumed her.23

“No, no, stop! I can’t control this. No !!!!” Malachite screamed, unable to handle the intensity of the flames that engulfed him.  “This is not the end,” he snarled, escaping through the opening in the roof. 24

Adara dropped to the floor, all her energy spent.  She held in her hands the still warm ashes of the man she loved, incinerated by the heat of the fire she had wielded.  The emptiness inside her widened like a chasm as she stared at the dust that had been Seth.  Adara began to sob. Too many dead, too much lost.  The thought rolled over and over in her mind.  She feared in that moment that she would never be able to live again.25

When Adara broke the spell, trapping them in their chairs, she also freed the others.26

By using their abilities they had managed to protect themselves from the intensity of the flames.  Now safe, they all surrounded Adara, who’s tears flowed unabated.  They all felt helpless just standing there unable to do anything.  27

“We can save him,” Saskia said, kneeling down next to Adara.28

“How?” Adara asked, through her tears.  An ember of hope entered her thoughts as she listened to Saskia’s explanation. 29

“My elemental didn’t die the same time as all of yours, she lived till about 2 years ago.  In our time together she taught me many thing, she taught me the ancient secrets.  It will take all of us, but we can save him,”  she said looking around at all of them.  30

“Adara, do you think you have any fire left?” Saskia asked31

“If it can bring Seth back, I have enough,” she said getting to her feet.32

“What do we do?”  Manzi and ghost girl said almost simultaneously.33

“Well talking to Adamina was kind of like talking to a fortune cookie, she always said things like - when the time comes you will know.  I just remember her telling me about it, so I know it is possible and that it will take all of us.  But I don’t have exacts,” Saskia said,34

“Wait, Ghost girl when you were singing yesterday, do you remember the language you were singing in?”  Manzi asked, 35

“No, I don’t, I just kind of knew the words,” she said shrugging her shoulders.36

“Of course!” Manzi exclaimed,37

“Remember what Seth said?  He said that the abilities were passed without the ceremony maybe the knowledge was also passed.  He said we don’t remember the other elementals lives, but what if the knowledge, the actual know how was passed too?” he asked rhetorically “I don’t know about you, Adara but I recognised the language even though I know I hadn’t heard it before,” 38

“Yes, I also recognised it,” she said intrigued by what he was saying.39

“Don’t you guys see, we already know what to do!  Well on some level anyway,” he said, looking around at all of them.40

“What are we waiting for?  Let’s give it a try,” Ghost girl said41

Saskia made a hand gesture in the direction of Seth’s ashes, causing them to gather together, forming a pile in the middle of the floor.  The same spot where moments ago Seth had stood to explain the situation to them.  Adara couldn’t help but think that it felt like a lifetime had passed since then.  42

They formed a circle around the ashes they all seemed to instinctively know what to do. 43

“Ok, what do we do now?” Adara asked, 44

“Lets just start talking, maybe the words will come to us,” Manzi suggested.45

Joining hands, they began to speak.  At first there was nothing strange at all in the English words they used.  But slowly a language unknown to them began to pass their lips, realising the change they looked at each other with renewed hope.  Each of their elements seemed to seep from them, creating a vortex of wind, water, dust and fire which spun around them.46

As they spoke in the alien language the ashes began to rise, spinning slowly at first and then faster until finally there was a spinning vortex inside and outside of their circle.  In the ashes they saw a body begin to take shape.  Then suddenly everything stopped.  There in front of them was the completed body of Seth, but he wasn’t alive yet. 47

“What gives?” Ghost girl asked, confusion in her tone.48

“We are only half way,” Saskia said letting go of the other's hands and stepping forward.  “I must go first,” she said as if in a trance.49

“Earathana,” she breathed touching Seth’s chest as he hung suspended in the air.50

“Watereeniah,” Manzi said, touching Seth’s forehead.  51

“Aireane,” ghost girl said, as a gust of wind surrounded him.52

Lastly Adara stepped forward kissed Seth and said,”Flameria,”   53

Time seemed to stop as they waited to see a reaction.54

“Adara,” Seth said, blinking, life again in the eyes that were vacant moments ago. 55

“We did it!”  Adara screamed jumping up and throwing her arms around Seth’s neck.  Tears once again filling her eyes as the emotion of the moment overwhelmed her.56

“Let’s leave them alone for a moment,” Manzi said motioning toward the door.57

“What happened, how is this possible?”  Seth asked looking around bewildered.58

“We brought you back,” she said, unwilling to let him go, even for a second.59

“What did I do to deserve this?” he asked, 60

“Don’t you ever do that to me again!  You love me and I love you, no denying that or bleeding to death at my feet again.  Do you hear me,” she said still holding on to him.  61

“I can’t make any promises about the bleeding to death part, but as for the rest…..  Adara I will out live you, barring a repeat of today.  I don’t think I can watch you grow old and die, and anyway it is forbidden,” he said lightly pushing her away, reality once again driving a wedge between them.  62

“No, I don’t care if I break every law ever made by the elders.  I refuse to live just one more day without you,” she said, pulling him back to her.   63

Seth picked her up and held her in his arms, whatever the risk he could never stop loving her.  Seth knew that for even just one more day with her he would risk everything.  They stayed like that for a long time, not talking just holding each other, both scared that if they let go the spell would be broken and they would have to go their separate ways.64

“Where were you?” Adara asked, realising that in the confusion she had forgotten to ask him.65

“When?” he asked, loosening his hold on her.66

“The year I was in that place and when I got out, where were you?” she asked again.67

“Preparing,” he said, flashing her his naughtiest smile.68

“What?” she asked, 69

“We needed to be able to compete with Malachite I was working on creating an underground installation for us, somewhere where we could be safe and also a base for our operation.  I had just finished it when I found you guys in the forest,” he explained.70

“That sounds cool, where is it?” she asked71

“Underneath us, I wanted to explain everything before we went in.  I though we were safe here, I wasn’t expecting Malachite to show up that soon, at least he still doesn’t know about it,” he said, relief evident on his face.72

“How did he find us so quickly?” Adara asked, no really expecting a answer.73

“I don’t know, but we have to find out.  Get the rest, let me show you guys your new living quarters,” Seth said74

“I don’t think I want to, not yet,” she said, putting her head on his chest.75

“Don’t worry I’m never letting you go again,” he said hugging her tightly76

“You better not,” she said, letting go of him and walking over to fetch the others.77

She had no idea what would happen next, but she knew that with Seth by her side, they could do anything.  78