Chapter 2- The Mage of Storms
"Hello?"
"Tendai, it's Rae. Raye just called me. We need to get to Headquarters, fast!"
"Got it," she heard Tendai's voice respond, followed by a click.
"Ok, now to call Amberle."
Rae tapped her fingers impatiently as she counted the rings from Amberle's phone.
"Hello?" Amberle finally answered.
"Amberle, it's Rae."
"Which one?"
"Wind, not Fire."
"Oh, ok. What's up?"
"Raye just called me and said to get to Headquarters right away!"
"On my way!" A click filled the line, followed by a dial tone.
"And now for Damson," Rae sighed.
The phone had hardly rang before it was picked up.
"Hello?"
"Damson?"
"Hey, honey," she heard a too-deep voice reply.
"Taycon, that's hardly a good impression of your brother. Is he there?"
"Yeah." Taycon said slowly.
"Can I talk to him?"
"No."
"And why the heck not?!" Rae snapped.
"I don't know."
"Then how do you know I can't talk to him?" Rae said, her temper swelling.
"Fine! Fine! I'll go get him. Jeez."
"Thanks for the promptness." Rae said sarcastically.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Damson," Rae sighed.
"Hey, Rae. What's up?"
"Raye called me," Rae explained, "and she told me to call everyone to Headquarters A.S.A.P."
"All right. Bye, Rae."
"Bye, Damson." Finally, she was done.
Everyone called, Rae looked around her house to make sure her parents weren't home. With an "Alliah!" she was at Headquarters.
"Hey, Rae!" Raye called from the balcony.
"Hey, Raye!"
"You are so lazy, you barely live a fourth of a mile away!"
"I know, but this is so much more fun." Rae replied with an over enthusiastic grin. "Hey, there's Tendai. Hi, Tendai!"
"Hey, Rae," he called, then turned to Raye and asked, "Hey, Raye! What's up with not being able to wait 'til 7:30?"
"I'll tell you when Amberle and Damson show up."
"Start talkin'," Amberle called as she and Damson crossed the yard.
"Let's get inside first," Rae declared as she started to climb the ladder. "We don't need anyone else listening in."
As soon as everyone made it up the ladder and two sets of stairs, they sat in his or her designated spots in the Circle of Mages, the ancient table in the Chamber of Stones.
There were empty spaces, of course, because not all mages had been accounted for. As they sat down, they took off their stone and laid it in front of them.
As soon as the stones were in place, Raye started her story. "When I checked my e-mail today at the library, I got an e-mail from some address I didn't know. An address that made it through spam detection."
"What did it say?" Amberle asked excitedly.
"It said they knew who I was, that they would meet me at 8 o'clock, and to be ready." Raye answered.
As the rest of the team absorbed what Raye had said, a gust of wind blew through the open windows, tossing about everyone's hair aimlessly. Everyone hoped that the strength of the wind was not enough to make Rae's emotions change.
They all knew what would happen if Rae lost her temper when the wind got hard. Even when the wind wasn't gusting, Rae was not in the habit of controlling her power too much. The last time Rae got angry was when she found out her now ex-boyfriend, Roland, was cheating on her. Summoning 150 mile per hour winds, she completely obliterated his house and reduced it to a pile of ruble.
"Anyways, this person signed the e-mail Storm," Raye broke the uneasy silence, and the blowing wind calmed back down to a gentle breeze.
"Storm?" Damson questioned. "I didn't think someone could control storms." Surprise showed in his voice.
"That's why we need to teach this Storm how to control his or her power more than anything else," Amberle declared.
Everyone sat in silence as they contemplated what they should do next. After about 5 minutes, Tendai broke the silence, "You said 8, right Raye?"
"Yeah "I'll see you at 8 o'clock. Be ready." Raye recited again what was in the e-mail.
"Where?" Rae asked with a hint of eagerness in her voice.
"I don't know. It didn't say," Raye answered.
"So I guess we'll all stay at Raye's house tonight," Amberle announced.
"Good, but can we practice now so we don't get only half an hour at 7:30?" Tendai asked humorously.
"Yeah, let's go!" Rae exclaimed.
(((
As the clock slowly ticked by, everyone sat in complete silence until a knock at the door sent everyone hurdling out of their seats to answer it. Rae got there first, even though she was the farthest from the door.
As she opened the door, a voice broke the silence, "My name is Yasmin. I think I'm the mage of storms." She paused to take a breath to calm her nerves, "Raye is Fire," as she pointed to Raye, "Rae is Wind," pointing to Rae, "Tendai is Earth and Rae's boyfriend," Yasmin pointed to Tendai, "Damson was Raye's boyfriend, twice, but they are still good friends, and Dark," pointing to Damson, "And Amberle is Spirit." Yasmin's gaze turned unreadable as the eerie silence continued.
"Why are you here?" Damson voiced the question in everyone's mind.
"I need help," Yasmin exclaimed as tears welled up in her eyes. "I don't know what to do about my powers," she continued as she furiously blinked back the tears.
"Why do you think you are the mage of storms?" Raye asked, furious that everyone was becoming soft on someone who could very well be a phony!
"When ever a thunder storm comes, I feel. I feel invincible. Yasmin explained as she let a long sigh out. "When it's gone, it scares me. Once, when I found my dad beating my brothers, I wished that a bolt of lightning would fry him. One hit him just minutes afterwards. Luckily, he's still alive, but. all that power, at my finger tips; it scares me." Yasmin finished as she brought her hands up to hide her tearstained face. "I want to control it. I mean. if I can't. what if I kill someone?"
"Don't worry, Yasmin, we'll help you," Rae rushed up and ushered her inside.
"Hello?"
"Tendai, it's Rae. Raye just called me. We need to get to Headquarters, fast!"
"Got it," she heard Tendai's voice respond, followed by a click.
"Ok, now to call Amberle."
Rae tapped her fingers impatiently as she counted the rings from Amberle's phone.
"Hello?" Amberle finally answered.
"Amberle, it's Rae."
"Which one?"
"Wind, not Fire."
"Oh, ok. What's up?"
"Raye just called me and said to get to Headquarters right away!"
"On my way!" A click filled the line, followed by a dial tone.
"And now for Damson," Rae sighed.
The phone had hardly rang before it was picked up.
"Hello?"
"Damson?"
"Hey, honey," she heard a too-deep voice reply.
"Taycon, that's hardly a good impression of your brother. Is he there?"
"Yeah." Taycon said slowly.
"Can I talk to him?"
"No."
"And why the heck not?!" Rae snapped.
"I don't know."
"Then how do you know I can't talk to him?" Rae said, her temper swelling.
"Fine! Fine! I'll go get him. Jeez."
"Thanks for the promptness." Rae said sarcastically.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Damson," Rae sighed.
"Hey, Rae. What's up?"
"Raye called me," Rae explained, "and she told me to call everyone to Headquarters A.S.A.P."
"All right. Bye, Rae."
"Bye, Damson." Finally, she was done.
Everyone called, Rae looked around her house to make sure her parents weren't home. With an "Alliah!" she was at Headquarters.
"Hey, Rae!" Raye called from the balcony.
"Hey, Raye!"
"You are so lazy, you barely live a fourth of a mile away!"
"I know, but this is so much more fun." Rae replied with an over enthusiastic grin. "Hey, there's Tendai. Hi, Tendai!"
"Hey, Rae," he called, then turned to Raye and asked, "Hey, Raye! What's up with not being able to wait 'til 7:30?"
"I'll tell you when Amberle and Damson show up."
"Start talkin'," Amberle called as she and Damson crossed the yard.
"Let's get inside first," Rae declared as she started to climb the ladder. "We don't need anyone else listening in."
As soon as everyone made it up the ladder and two sets of stairs, they sat in his or her designated spots in the Circle of Mages, the ancient table in the Chamber of Stones.
There were empty spaces, of course, because not all mages had been accounted for. As they sat down, they took off their stone and laid it in front of them.
As soon as the stones were in place, Raye started her story. "When I checked my e-mail today at the library, I got an e-mail from some address I didn't know. An address that made it through spam detection."
"What did it say?" Amberle asked excitedly.
"It said they knew who I was, that they would meet me at 8 o'clock, and to be ready." Raye answered.
As the rest of the team absorbed what Raye had said, a gust of wind blew through the open windows, tossing about everyone's hair aimlessly. Everyone hoped that the strength of the wind was not enough to make Rae's emotions change.
They all knew what would happen if Rae lost her temper when the wind got hard. Even when the wind wasn't gusting, Rae was not in the habit of controlling her power too much. The last time Rae got angry was when she found out her now ex-boyfriend, Roland, was cheating on her. Summoning 150 mile per hour winds, she completely obliterated his house and reduced it to a pile of ruble.
"Anyways, this person signed the e-mail Storm," Raye broke the uneasy silence, and the blowing wind calmed back down to a gentle breeze.
"Storm?" Damson questioned. "I didn't think someone could control storms." Surprise showed in his voice.
"That's why we need to teach this Storm how to control his or her power more than anything else," Amberle declared.
Everyone sat in silence as they contemplated what they should do next. After about 5 minutes, Tendai broke the silence, "You said 8, right Raye?"
"Yeah "I'll see you at 8 o'clock. Be ready." Raye recited again what was in the e-mail.
"Where?" Rae asked with a hint of eagerness in her voice.
"I don't know. It didn't say," Raye answered.
"So I guess we'll all stay at Raye's house tonight," Amberle announced.
"Good, but can we practice now so we don't get only half an hour at 7:30?" Tendai asked humorously.
"Yeah, let's go!" Rae exclaimed.
(((
As the clock slowly ticked by, everyone sat in complete silence until a knock at the door sent everyone hurdling out of their seats to answer it. Rae got there first, even though she was the farthest from the door.
As she opened the door, a voice broke the silence, "My name is Yasmin. I think I'm the mage of storms." She paused to take a breath to calm her nerves, "Raye is Fire," as she pointed to Raye, "Rae is Wind," pointing to Rae, "Tendai is Earth and Rae's boyfriend," Yasmin pointed to Tendai, "Damson was Raye's boyfriend, twice, but they are still good friends, and Dark," pointing to Damson, "And Amberle is Spirit." Yasmin's gaze turned unreadable as the eerie silence continued.
"Why are you here?" Damson voiced the question in everyone's mind.
"I need help," Yasmin exclaimed as tears welled up in her eyes. "I don't know what to do about my powers," she continued as she furiously blinked back the tears.
"Why do you think you are the mage of storms?" Raye asked, furious that everyone was becoming soft on someone who could very well be a phony!
"When ever a thunder storm comes, I feel. I feel invincible. Yasmin explained as she let a long sigh out. "When it's gone, it scares me. Once, when I found my dad beating my brothers, I wished that a bolt of lightning would fry him. One hit him just minutes afterwards. Luckily, he's still alive, but. all that power, at my finger tips; it scares me." Yasmin finished as she brought her hands up to hide her tearstained face. "I want to control it. I mean. if I can't. what if I kill someone?"
"Don't worry, Yasmin, we'll help you," Rae rushed up and ushered her inside.