Original Stories Fan Fiction / Fables/Fairytales Fan Fiction ❯ The Elementalists ❯ Seventeen - Edric Balin Elias ( Chapter 17 )

“I'm sorry to bother you on such short notice,” said Cassiel, bowing respectively in front of Soumei. She stood up, moving her faultless silver hair out of her eyes. “But I don't recall which direction I came from, so may I stay here for a while?”

 

“How long is a while?” Soumei asked apprehensively. He glanced towards Guren, who was glaring holes into the strange woman's back.

 

Cassiel forced a small smile onto her lips. “Two weeks at the very most. Have I come at a bad time…?” she inquired, her eyes traveling to the four girls staring distrustfully at her.

 

Soumei's face hardened, his eyes slightly troubled. He grunted and turned around. “You may stay for two days. After that, you will be escorted out of here immediately.” He looked back at Cassiel, the look in his eyes serious. “Understood?”

 

“Yes!” she answered breathlessly, bowing once again. “Thank you very much for your kind hospitality.” Her eyes wandered once again toward the girls, who were watching her with continually rising suspicion.

 

Soumei grunted again, beckoning Cassiel to follow him up to his last spare room on the third floor. When the two were out of earshot, the apprehension in the room grew less significant, though only to some extent. “So, who is this Cassiel person?” whispered Candis, her eyes darting over to Guren who was leaning against the wall uncomfortably. “Kai said you know her.”

 

Guren sneered, staring at Candis with his cold, dark eyes. “She's Ilias's half-sister,” he answered, glaring up the stairway. “I met her a few times when I visited Ilias, and I can tell you she is definitely bad news. Ilias was a kind, loving elder brother to me, and when he told me he had a sister I thought she may be the same as him. But her mother was different from his. Her mother…” He paused, looking around at the eyes of the people before him. “Her mother was related to Edric Balin Elias. His entire bloodline is cursed with evil, so Cassiel herself was evil by nature.”

 

“You've got to be joking,” murmured Chi, her hand covering her mouth. “Ilias was such a nice man, though… How could he be related to someone who's naturally evil?”

 

“Like I said,” explained Guren, as he pushed himself away from the wall, “She is only his half-sister. She disappeared once Ilias joined the Ministry, and I haven't seen her since. But, unfortunately…” He sighed, walking over to the table and taking a seat next to Florian. “I have heard news lately of a witch with sparkling silver hair. A witch who seduces her victims. You two better had be careful around her,” he added in a hushed voice, looking at Eryk and Florian. “From what I had seen of her when we were still teenagers, she was very strong and very alluring.”

 

“Of course,” said Feng, absently running a hand through her light-blue hair. “A natural talent of wit must also flow through the bloodline of Edric Balin Elias.” Everyone nodded in agreement, at a loss of anything else to say. They tensed upon hearing Cassiel's shoes clinking down the stairs.

 

“So, I guess we'll be spending some more quality time together, huh, Guren?” she said aloud, smiling brightly at the empath. He growled, clenching his teeth. Cassiel merely giggled at his reaction. “What are you, an animal?” she questioned jokingly.

 

“Cut the crap,” said Eryk, glaring very heatedly at Cassiel. “We know who you are. What the hell do you want?”

 

Cassiel giggled again, walking slyly towards Eryk. “I told you, I merely got lost in the forest,” she answered, staring deep within Eryk's eyes.

 

Eryk scoffed, pushing the girl back a few paces. “I like cute girls, but don't think you can trick me with that seduction talent of yours,” he said defensively. Cassiel leaned her weight onto her right leg, placing her hand on her hip, laughing.

 

“What ever are you speaking of?” she asked, feigning innocence. Everyone stood up from their chairs, all on edge, and all scowling at the woman.

 

“Do you take us for a bunch of fools?” asked Florian, his voice raising with his frustration. “We know you're Ilias's half-sister and we know that you're related to Edric Balin Elias.”

 

“Oh, I take it Guren filled you in on that bit of information,” she said, slithering her way to Guren and wrapping her arms around him. Kai found herself getting more livid by the minute as she clenched her teeth, knowing that she was becoming jealous of the girl who was able to touch Guren so easily. “You've never did keep your mouth shut, Guren.”

 

“Get off of me,” he said harshly, pushing the woman away. “Whatever you're here for… If you're here for them,” he said, jerking his head to the Elementalists. “You won't be able to beat them so easily. They aren't as dumb and weak as you take them for.” He then quickly turned on his heel and went back into the temple to speak to Soumei.

 

 

“Are you kidding?!” Kai exclaimed loudly, pulling Candis behind a tree to prevent Cassiel from seeing or hearing them. “She's going to watch us train? What the hell kind of bullshit is that?!”

 

“That's exactly what I said,” said Candis, an annoyed look apparent on her face. “I don't know about you, but I have a hunch that she's working for this Rika chick. We've only got to put up with her for today and tomorrow, but if she's watching us train…”

 

“Then she's trying to figure out our techniques, or weaknesses,” finished Kai. She sighed, burying her face in her hands as she searched through her brain for a solution to their new predicament. “What are we going to do about her? We can't train with her there… Especially if she may work for Rika.”

 

“Maybe we should talk to Soumei,” suggested Candis. Florian briskly and sneakily walked over to them, having overheard Kai's previous shout about Cassiel.

 

“Guren's taking care of that,” he said, stabbing his flame sword into the ground and leaning his weight onto it. “He's not so bad after all, considering he's a thief.” He smiled, sensing the girl's small sense of relief.

 

“Hey, watch where you're sticking that thing!” shouted Kai, jumping away from the sword as the fire blew towards her. Florian laughed, removing the sword from the ground.

 

“Relax, Kai,” he said, muttering a spell to make the flames disappear. “The flames don't spread too far away from the sword. Anyway, we should just lay low for now, meaning no training until she's gone. I have a distinct gut feeling that she's hiding more than that little smirk of hers is letting us know.”

 

The two girls nodded, agreeing as they followed Florian out onto the battle field. Cassiel spotted them and ran up to them, beaming with fake delight.

 

“I was wondering what took you all so long,” she said, grinning at the three. “I heard that you were training for some big battle, so I thought I'd come to see.” She smiled rather strangely, giving the girls and Florian more of a reason to distrust her.

 

“Sorry, Cassiel, but today's our… Secret Holiday,” said Kai, struggling to come up with the excuse of a “secret holiday.”

 

“Y-yeah,” said Candis, staring at Kai with a question in her eyes. “Our Secret Holiday. We only get it every once in a while, so we're taking advantage of this one.” She cleared her throat, looking off into the distance. `What in the hell is a “Secret Holiday?!”' she asked Kai through their mind connection.

 

`I read it in a book once,' she replied. `And it's exactly what you said! They only got a “Secret Holiday”once a year, so what you said is perfect.'

 

`Good thinking, I guess,' commented Florian, his lips curling up into a sort of smile.

 

Cassiel caught the smile forming on his lips and frowned, forming a pout on her face. “Oh, that's too bad… I really wanted to see how you guys fought. When we were kids, Ilias and Guren didn't let me play-fight with them because I was a girl.”

 

“I'll bet it was because they knew you were an evil little girl,” remarked Eryk, walking up to the group with a disgusted look on his face. “Are you blind or something? No one here likes you. We know what you're up to, so get the hell outta here or else we'll—”

 

“Or else you'll what?” dared Cassiel, her blood red eyes filled with fiery rage. “You dare to challenge me? You don't know what you're up against, you fool!” She scoffed, folding her arms. “All of you together couldn't possibly defeat me!”

 

“I, for one, disagree with that,” said a deep and familiar voice, as Guren stepped out of what looked like a portal. “Sorry, sis,” he continued with a bored look in his eyes. “You're no match for them. There's no point in bluffing if you can't back it up. Your only power is deception and seduction.”

 

Cassiel's eyes widened for a brief moment, then narrowed into very evil slits. “You…” She snarled and stared cruelly at Guren, her anger getting the better of her. “You've always pushed me away! You pushed everyone away, everyone except Ilias! Why Ilias?! Why was he so important to you? He was a naïve, immature fool who chose the path of these vermin.” She pointed to the two girls, both gasping quietly at the insult.

 

“Us what?” asked Candis, her hands glowing with fire. Kai stepped closer to Cassiel, rotating water around her hands as she prepared to fight.

 

“Yes, you vermin. Does that hurt? Well, too damn bad!” she shouted, her eyes glowing eerily. “I come with a message from my master, Lady Rika. She will defeat you and—”

 

“Yeah, yeah, we've heard it a million times, lady,” interrupted Eryk, staring uninterested at Cassiel. She sneered at him, then turned back to face Guren.

 

“You've softened, Guren,” she said, staring straight into his outwardly unresponsive eyes. “I can see it in your soul… These pesky wenches have made you much softer. Were you not the one who chose thievery over the Ministry?! You would be praised if you were to join us! Lady Rika would appoint you King, and you two could take over both the Magic World and the Human World! You would be respected there… You would not have to deal with such annoying children as these.” She gestured once again towards Candis and Kai, noticing that Feng and Chi were rushing over. “And of course, those two. That little one's the youngest, correct? She's no good for you, Guren,” she said, lifting Guren's chin up to her face as she stared deep into his soul. “Guren… come with us…”

 

Guren closed his eyes, his eyebrows knit in what looked to be uncertainty. He remained silent for a few moments. Cassiel smirked when his eyes finally opened. “I think I'll pass,” he said, as if the woman's stare had no affect on him. Cassiel's eyes widened.

 

“What?!” she cried, stepping back, her eyes darkening once more.

 

“I'd rather deal with annoying children who can't control their emotions, than a lustful and power-hungry wench like you or Rika,” he said, very straight-forward. “I've no idea what you're talking about when you say I've softened, but you've got another thing coming to you. And thievery is one thing…” He smirked, his eyes full of mischief as he paused for a brief second. “…Being utterly greedy and evil is another.”

 

Cassiel fumed, breathing heavily as she stared crossly at Guren for what felt like an eternity before turning and slicing the air with a dagger, creating a swirling black and purple portal in the air. “You'll all pay!” she cried, stepping through the portal just before it completely evaporated.

 

“Huh, stupid whore,” mumbled Eryk, stretching out his arms. “I think I'm gonna take a nice, long nap.”

 

“This is no time for napping!” Soumei shouted, throwing a sheathed sword at Eryk, who barely caught it before it hit him in the face. “Now that she is gone, you must train twice as hard. I sensed a massive evil aura coming from her… It is likely that Rika is using her to enhance the power of the amulet.”

 

“Yes,” agreed Guren, leaning against a nearby tree. “She was able to cast spells and the like until she disappeared. Then we only heard of her being a prostitute. She had no powers at all just now.”

 

Soumei nodded, stroking his long, white beard thoughtfully. “Well, my hunch is right, then. Rika is sucking up Cassiel's power into the amulet.”

 

“Wait… what?” asked Candis, looking to the others who shared her puzzled look.

 

“But why suck up her powers? The amulet itself should make her powerful enough,” said Feng, fear clearly written on her face.

 

“Since Cassiel is a descendant of Edric Balin Elias, her powers, whatever they may be, enhance the amulet's powers. Rika already was a powerful woman, but once she got hold of the amulet she became even more powerful. I fear…” Soumei looked regretfully to the ground, avoiding eye contact with anyone. “I fear that once she sucks all of Cassiel's life energy into the amulet, she will then put Cassiel's soul in it as well. If that happens… She will be nearly unstoppable.

 

“Originally, the amulet needed human souls to enhance the power of its owner, in this case Edric Balin Elias. He often went to the Human World to buy slaves from greedy crime lords, and once he returned to his lair, he devoured their souls, tearing them apart both physically and spiritually. Edric Balin Elias's soul itself was worth one hundred-thousand human souls, and if I am correct, Cassiel's soul should be worth about the same amount.”

 

The group stood there, stunned, but Soumei had yet to finish. “When Edric Balin Elias had consumed his one thousandth human soul and stored them in the amulet, he turned into a horrific beast… One even more dreadful than the Great Eight-Headed Dragon Orochi.” He paused to sit down on the grass, and the rest of the group followed suit. “The legends say he turned into a giant serpent with four heads—do not be fooled by the fact that it was only half of the heads Orochi had. Each head controlled one of the four Elements… It was not until Amaterasu's descendant, Shiranui, defeated Edric Balin Elias, that peace returned to the Magic World. But it was not an easy task for Shiranui. He nearly died in the process. Before he died, he sent out a small piece of paper with a specific spell on it. The spell…” Soumei looked at each and every one of the four girls, staring directly through them. “…granted that the note reach The Four who are to save the world if evil should rise once again.”

 

Upon hearing such news, everyone sat in complete silence, dazed at all that they were hearing. The note had come from Shiranui? The girls all thought it impossible. That was over one thousand years ago; how could a small piece of paper have traveled around the world for that many years and still be in existence? `Then again, if Shiranui was the descendant of Amaterasu…' thought Kai.

 

“So that explains it then,” murmured Eryk, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “I suppose… you guys are to save the world, then?”

 

“More like worlds,” retorted Candis, picking up a stick and poking at the ground, staring at it with no emotion showing in her eyes.

 

Soumei looked at the girls with concern. “You will face many hard tasks ahead of you,” he said remorsefully. “But I have much faith in you. You will grow to be as strong as Shiranui someday.” He offered a smile to try and bring the girls' cheerfulness back, but it only worked to an extent. He sighed and stood up. “Continue on with your training. Guren, I trust you to make sure that they are not slacking.”

 

Guren nodded sullenly, his eyes closed as he registered the information Soumei had just given them. When he opened them, the girls were chatting amongst themselves about wanting to have a different life while the boys just sat, apparently still in shock. He snorted at all of them. “Don't waste your time sulking. Get to work on fencing,” he said brusquely, hastily walking around the temple and down the many steps.

 

Kai looked annoyed, staring after the thief's quick retreating figure. “And Soumei puts him in charge?” she asked dubiously. She shook her head, standing up and following the rest of the girls, Florian and Eryk trotting slowly behind them.