They broke off the kiss at the sound of knocking at the door. Keira rushed to put on clothes and Samuel greeted them, urgency in his voice as he spoke, "I have gathered the Council, we meet at once."
They followed him up to the docking levels, giant ships bigger than anything Keira had ever seen were docked. Smaller ones darting between the giants at a speed Keira thought unsafe. Some coming in for a landing and others leaving. As they walked, a doctor escorted them as Samuel listened to the vision they saw of Drackon-El. His face grew more grim as Keira quietly told him what visions he had sent to her head, quietly enough so that Greyson couldn't hear.
They entered into a craft. It was sleek looking and reminded Keira of an airplane. They got strapped into seats as the doctor worked on Keira. He looked human, kind face, he wore glasses which he kept pushing up his nose. Keira studied his hands, which were webbed and he shyly licked his lips, his tongue darting out, it looked as if it was a snakes.
He injected her with a substance, it looked like mercury and then turned her head, moving her hair, she felt a weird sensation, pressure at her temple and the doctor checked her pupils and response time and then he nervously cleared his voice and spoke, "Can you understand me?"
"Why yes I can," She responded, pleasantly surprised. "I have a language implant now?"
The doctor nodded looking relieved. "I wasn't sure if your body would accept it. You are the first Terran Elemental that we have had. Terran's generally can accept all implants, but I wasn't sure if your powers would reject it." He continued on adding enhancements that were needed as Keira looked around the ship. It was a sleek gray color, the seats were molded black that seem to conform around her body as she sat in it. There was screens along the front wall, glowing with information, charts and graphs of the ship and the course it was taking. She strained her eyes to read the neon writing but gave up. Samuel sat across from her and Greyson sat off to the side, as Keira felt a pang of sadness in her gut, wondering if she did something wrong.
Soon she felt the ship move, a dull roar and a screeching metal noise as it was raised off the ground. It was smooth as if they weren't moving, only being able to tell from the viewing ports on the sides of the ship that showed them going up high above the station and through the protection field. Then in the blink of an eye she was in space.
Her nose was pressed to the portal next her as she looked out into the sea of stars, much to the enjoyment of everyone on board. The doctor finished his job, checking her vitals once again. He smiled warmly at her, and for a moment, she missed Pop.
"Everything seems to be in working order. I installed all the necessary implants, think of them as modern day preventive shots. You now have an AMK, Language Translator, your vitals are logged into the UHS, err, Universal Heath System, The nan-tech cleaned out any and all diseases and upgraded your immune system. You should be able to understand almost all languages and able to read most scripture from the most common races. Your body should be able to adjust to gravity fluctuations with the GBP, and your eyes are protected from most extreme light rays, just don't go looking directly into any stars, okay?"
Keira nodded turning to the doctor to thank him. He sat back down still recording things into clear plastic looking sheet, moving different things around with the flick of his fingertips. Samuel cleared his throat bringing her attention back to him, he handed her the book, it felt like an old friend coming back to her, a piece of her life brought into this crazy world.
"I retrieved this from the rubble in the doctors office. You are going to need it. You must learn from it, quickly I'm afraid. And you must not let Drackon-El get his hands on it. You see, we were only able to take him down because he did not have the books. To truly own the gift of an Elemental you need to have bonded with the book. He was so consumed with power he had over looked that and that was his downfall. This time though, he knows of this, and will not stop until he has the power and the books."
Keira swallowed hard and ran her fingers over the symbol on the cover. "I don't know if I'll be able to stop him. I don't even know what's going on with myself." She frowned tears forming in her eyes, "I wish I just left this stupid thing alone."
Samuel shush her, "It was destined to happen. It is a miracle really, that the book had found its next champion, seeing as that it hadn't been open in a century. Out of all the humans in the world, it chose you. I know its a burden to take on, but at the same time, you should feel pride. You are the only Terran Elemental."
"All I feel is scared," Keira bit on her lip nervously. "I have all this power, and this huge threat now. I went from a bookstore owner to something out of a comic book."
"But isn't that how all heroes are born?" Keira looked at Greyson surprised. He offered her a small smile as he turned to look out of his own port. "We're almost there."
Keira looked out and saw them hovering around a planet. It looked orange and green, swirling clouds in the atmosphere. The ship began its decent, passing through the clouds they broke into a clear orange sky, lush green and purple ground greeted them as the ship traveled toward a city.
It was golden, tall statues greeted them, they looked regal, pointing out of the city. Keira could see tall golden spirals, and ivory looking buildings. Ships buzzed around and she could faintly see people, the city felt alive and busy. A knot formed in her throat as they entered into the docking bay, she was nervous as to just what awaited her.
They gathered out of the ship, the doctor giving her a warm good bye as they were escorted by tall golden soldiers through the building and out into the city streets. The soldiers carried a weird staff looking object, blue light crackling from the tip. They wore full plated armor with helmets that had wings attached to the side.
There were all kinds of beings in the city, most stopping to stare at them passing by. Some children waved and Keira smiled at them, much to their excitement. She could hear them whisper, she caught words like, counsel, elemental, terran, war, and hope. Samuel patted her arm gently as they reached a tall looking structure. It had golden spirals piercing the orange sky and Keira gasped as she stepped inside.
The main opening was huge, statues ran along alcoves in the walls, they looked to be made of some sort of marble. Long intricate patterned rugs met with rich red looking furniture. A fountain stood in the middle. Three headed lions rested in the middle of it as Samuel stopped to rub their heads.
"It is a custom here," he whispered to her, "These animals, know as the Jargan, represent the city and its people, you will see many scattered about. Guardians, they must be shown respect to be accepted in."
Keira gently rubbed the mane of one of the statues heads and jerked back when she saw it blink. Samuel just offered her a sly smile as they headed into an oval room. It was big with marble pillars in the middle. Creatures of all kinds were situated around the center, seats going higher up almost like an arena.
And Keira was the show. As soon as they stepped in the room went quiet and all eyes were on her. Samuel motioned for her and Greyson to sit. Keira did but Greyson leaned against one of the pillars, looking as if he didn't want to be there at the moment. Keira looked away from him with a pang of hurt in her chest.
Samuel spoke, addressing the many beings there. "High Council, I have called this meeting to order in the utmost urgency. Drackon-El has been awoken and we have a war on our hands. This young Elemental has a burden to carry now, one so heavy many of us would not be able to lift it. I beseech you to look for the other missing books and their possible Elementals. Our lives, our worlds, and that galaxy as a whole its at risk. We know he will not stop until all power is his again, and if he achieves it, it will mean our deaths."
The council broke out into an uproar. Another blue blob looking creature spoke above the rest. Gathering himself up he asked, "And what proof do you really have that he is back, I thought you elders had stripped him of all powers? What proof of it is that this girl is really an Elemental or that there are others? How do you think we can find the books, years after they've been lost! This is your doing, and not of the Councils."
Samuel went to speak when Keira stood up. "I didn't ask for this, this book chose me," she raised the book above her head for the Council to see. "I was happy with my simple life, it was quiet, predictable, a bit lonely at times but I could not complain. Now I am some sort of conduit to some old power and I'm expected to save a galaxy and fight a being that's older than my great grandmother!" She let the anger sweep over her as she looked upon the masses, her skin glowing, feeling hot. She felt Greyson get closer to her, she could feel all the heart beats in the room, smell the fear on there skin, it felt amazing, but she restrained herself, not wanting to go over the edge.
"You need to find the books, you need to protect your people, and you need to hope I learn what I need to fast enough so maybe, just maybe we will all see tomorrow!"
A burst of flames came off of her as Samuel jumped back. Greyson threw his arms around her but it was too late. The book opened suddenly and swirling ropes of flame coated Keira and threw Greyson, Samuel and the Council all back. In a flash Keira was gone, the book falling to the floor.
The Council slowly recovering, started talking over one another. At the middle in the bottom row sat an old looking purple creature. It had a long neck and long ears. It banged its hand against the walls edge, an echoing boom silencing the room.
"I have seen enough. we shall search for the missing books. All major worlds will be informed of the situation, their armies at the ready. I will not sit by and watch as he devours worlds and kills our family and friends. The elders sacrificed themselves to cage that monster away." He looked at Samuel, "Your wife died to protect all of us. Her death and the lives of others will not be in vain. We will help your Elemental, once shes back from the Plains Trials, if she makes it back. We will fight. And we will die with honor."
Agreement broke out from most of the Council as others objected to deaf ears. Samuel picked up the book, looking at Greyson. "It is settled. As for Keira, I did not want her to take her journey without some guidance, I did not think her outburst would have triggered the book. We will see if she is able to master her powers."
Greyson glanced at the chaos of the Council then back at Samuel, "For the galaxy, and the fate of everyone, I hope so."
----
Keira felt herself being pulled and landed with a thud. She got up slowly, a figure in front of her.
"Pop?" She asked, looking at him. She could see through him, like he was ethereal, just made of flames. He smiled that old familiar smile as Keira held back tears. He looked young, like in the pictures.
