Elemental Guardians Part 1:

Book 1: The Flames shall rise

Prologue

Fire

Fire. It can do good, yet it can do bad. It is a symbol of evil, for the flames of an inferno can destroy lives. The burns that are left from the embers are marks of strength and courage. The power of fire can be a gift, or a curse. So...would you want the flame?\

Kieran watches as the side roof of his home caves in. Images rush through his mind; getting mad, his vision going red, and a sound like a sonic canon going off. Kieran can feel the searing heat of the white hot flames, and places his arm in a form of protection. At only five years of age, Kieran is watching the tragedy of his life.

The firefighters have long since appeared. The try vainly to put the inferno out, but Kieran knows his father has already died from smoke inhalation. He does not know what has happened to his mother for now. But as his heart beats like a war drum, Kieran sees his mother being carted out on a stretcher by the EMT's.

Amber Vega, Kieran's mother, claws at the medic's throat, screaming for her child who is standing at the top of the hill. Police surround the area just as the second floor collapses in on itself. The flashing lights blindside him, and his acute ears are deafened by the sirens. The medic rips his mother's hands away from her throat and shakes her head.

A bloodcurdling scream rips itself from Amber's throat, and Kieran turns and flees into the woods. He leans against a tree. His mother's wails of misery fade into the still night. Then, suddenly, as if by magic, they stop. Kieran lifts his little head and the realization hits him full force seconds later...

Death.

Kieran doesn't know how, but he does know that this night is only the first of many tragedies to come. He knows that somehow this fire is his fault. And he knows that he is not normal, or not as normal as the average child. Kieran sinks to his knees and is overcome with grief, though an average five year old would not know what grief is.

An ice cold wind blows through, and Kieran hugs himself tighter in an effort to warm himself. He cries himself to sleep and fades to darkness.