Note: all characters are over 18, as set out in the story.
*****
Master of Elements: Chapter 2 - Air
"What we have been, or now are, we shall not be tomorrow" β Ovid, Metamorphoses
I was a little surprised that Brigit's parents let her go off with a complete stranger quite so easily. For one thing, although we were both adults, she was 19 and I was 28, a considerable gap in age and experience. The way Brigit explained it to me was that John and Brenda McCarthy had learnt long ago that there was little point in arguing with their daughter when she fully set her mind on something. She thought that I would have got more argument from her older brother Michael who had always been protective of his little sister but he lived and worked in Cork these days. I was just hoping her family eventually got her back in one piece.
Brigit also said that although she was sure her father was ignorant of the fact, she believed her mother knew we had spent the night together. Brenda had said little things which seemed to indicate it. Not that she seemed to explicitly disapprove, merely advising her daughter to be careful. Brigit guessed her mother thought that she was infatuated with me and that it would either deepen into something more meaningful or, more likely, Brigit would come to her senses and return home wiser for the experience. Whatever was the case, I was just grateful they had let her come with me without making too much fuss. I had enough problems without that.
I took Brigit to Dublin and we based ourselves there for about a month. In that time I got to know her a lot better and found, as so often, that first impressions can be somewhat misleading - not about her physical beauty and sexiness which I continued to enjoy to the full nor about the fact that she was a wonderful girl - but rather my belief that she was a sweet and demure young lady. What I discovered was that she possessed some of the characteristics traditionally associated with redheads, namely a fiery temper and an inability to suffer fools gladly but also a passionate zest for life. In addition she had a strong stubborn streak, hence her parents acceptance that she would leave with me.
Fortunately for me, so far her temper had been reserved for others who got in her way, especially with any sort of unnecessary bureaucracy. I was coming to realise that while my job was to try to protect her from greater menaces I had no need to worry about the minor inconveniences of life; she was more than capable of dealing with those.
So much so that, in a way, I felt I had rescued Brigit from the farm. She told me that the plan was for her to go to agricultural college to study land management. As she explained, farming families had an expectation their children would go into farming. Now, I certainly don't want to criticise that lifestyle - we all need to eat - but Brigit had a bright and enquiring mind and the potential to do almost anything with her life. As the man in the pub had said, she seemed ill-suited to being tucked away in a rural backwater when she would grace any setting.
I was keen to expand her horizons and I'll admit some of that was in the bedroom. We were in that first flush of excitement at a new sexual relationship where you can hardly keep your hands off each other, but it was more than that; our joint destinies gave us a deeper emotional connection. Whatever the reason, we made love most days, Brigit ever eager to try new things.
We also discovered that whatever mystic force was intent on stopping Brigit becoming pregnant for the duration of the crisis had done so in the simplest way possible; she had stopped ovulating and that in turn meant no periods. Once I had reassured her that all would return to normal in the long run, Brigit was overjoyed. What woman born wouldn't mind skipping period pains and the general discomfort that goes with it for a while.
Much more complex, since I had no real idea what I was doing, was the question of Brigit mastering her new powers. I started by concentrating on control, first getting her to extinguish fires of increasing size with a thought and then to create ones herself but prevent them getting too large before extinguishing them. For anything beyond match or candle size we practised outdoors, becoming in the process experts on finding secluded rural spots within driving distance of Dublin.
Finally, when I felt her control was good enough, I took Brigit to the coast south of Dublin. We needed to find out what she could really do. Setting off at midnight, by 3 a.m. we were stood on a beach looking out at the Irish Sea, although it was too dark to see much. Although there was no one around we were only going to get one shot at this before we needed to leave. What Brigit was going to do would be noticed.
Leaving her on the breach, I walked a couple of hundred metres away and then used my own limited powers to erect an air barrier moistened with additional water from the sea as a protection and waited. Brigit soon became visible in the dark, firstly by sort of glowing and then she burst into flame. I knew she was safe, although it had taken her ages to master not having all her clothing immediately incinerated.
Brigit let the fire build in size and intensity until she was the centre of a glowing globe of fire. I could feel the heat even through my barrier. Then with a wave of her hand she threw the ball of fire out away from her toward the sea. It moved with incredible speed and ferocity; if it had stuck anything the target would have been immolated instantly. Perhaps Brigit had the same thought as she flicked her hand upward and the fireball rocketed skyward. Finally she thrust her hand down and her creation turned, sped downward and smashed into the sea with a sizzling sound and a cloud of steam.
"Wow," I said in awe, then dropping my defences I ran across the beach to Brigit. She had an immense smile on her face and looked incredibly excited.
"Chris... you have no idea... that was... amazing... such a high." She was babbling happily. "Oh god, what a turn on. I feel so alive, full of energy," she continued. Then turning directly to me, she added, "Master, please fuck me at once, here, now, on this beach."
The idea had some appeal but was not a practical option. "I'm sorry Brigit, but that will have been seen. We have to get out of here before half the neighbourhood turns up to find out what it was. I promise that as soon as we get back to the hotel, I will pin you to the bed and fuck your brains out if that's what you need."
"I'm holding you to that Master," she said, still grinning.
*****
Unfortunately this delightful time alone with Brigit had to be limited. My amulet was telling me that The Mistress of Air was in a direction that pointed toward northern Sweden and I could afford to wait no longer.