Elemental: The First.

By Alexandra May.

- Prologue -.

Present day.

The cavernous room was windowless. The lights, higher up the tall walls were ineffectual as the seven seated men stared into the gloomy shadows. They were sat at a rectangular wooden table, a lone candelabrum their only source of authentic light. Only one chair remained empty. The cloaked and hooded men waited, no one spoke. The only sounds were the occasional breath, omitting a warm mist against the dank cold room, or the creak of a wooden chair, so long unused. The men were in a dungeon, and they were all impatient.

The reluctant hinges on the upstairs heavy iron door squealed, the thunderous boot steps audible on the open stone stairs. The large hooded man walked assertively down the short flight into the dark room and took his place in the empty position.

"Gentlemen," his voice echoed loudly in the empty hollow. "We must act fast and act quickly. Now is the time. Our reckoning. We must decide our fate now before it is too late. I have just heard, through my source, that the last of my kind is on the way, a young girl. As you know she will look older than her young years, and has not integrated into her new form yet. Much about this girl is unknown; she has been protected well by her keepers."

The man looked into the black hoods of his silent conspirators and continued relentlessly.

"But this is a new age, the 21st century, a new dawn of time. Do we continue along our path, reaping the rewards that fall our way, or do we disappear quietly like petals in a wind with our quest unfinished?"

He looked into each face, waiting for some sign, a reaction, an eyebrow raise or a nod. He received nothing in return. The hidden faces were still and silent. He persisted anxiously.

"I am not afraid of her. She will be young, inexperienced, and vulnerable. She will be no threat to us. Gentlemen, you have been my advisors, my counsel, but most importantly, my friends. You know that our unity has brought us thus far. We have been together since my own integration, and I value your loyalty. But, please, you must think hard. We are in touching distance of our destiny, it is almost the end.

It is in our grasp. The final conflict and once we kill the last Elemental before her integration we end the blood line once and for all. Halika Dacome has been our greatest enemy during these millennia. For all her goodness and peacekeeping, she is now at her most vulnerable and most defenceless in her form as the human child, this girl. Our two are the last remaining bloodlines of the four. Once she is gone, it will be ended and there will be nothing standing in our way to our ultimate goal. The last bloodline will endure and soon everything we have fought for will be ours. This is our final chance to rid the world of its pestilence, the virus that lives and breathes. But we must strike soon. If we allow her integration, our whole purpose, our whole quest will falter and I cannot allow that to happen. It must not. This is the time, gentlemen, and I need your decision now."

He crashed his clenched fist to the table, its echo thundering off the dense walls. He was feeling euphoric, his blood running hot as he finished. Despite the cool chill in the air he felt sweat beads on his brow and he passed a casual hand to wipe it.

"Benedict," said an older calm voice, beside the speaker. "I have lived long enough to know that, now, in these present times, we cannot continue. There is no point going on. I am an old man. I would rather live the rest of my life in peace, than know Halika Dacome may be coming for me. I have no reason to wish this young girl harm. She is the same age as my granddaughter and I could never forgive myself. Let it be."

There was a whispered agreement from several of the other men.

Benedict looked to his left at the man. "I hear what you're saying, Dunbar, but need I remind you of the peril that Halika Dacome once put your family in? She may be a young girl now but in a few weeks and months she will be powerful. She is not ordinary in any way, and you have grown soft if you think of her that way. She killed your first wife and your first child. Will their deaths be in vain?"

Dunbar sat quietly for a moment, deep in thought.

"What's past is past, and maybe what happened was justified. She fought us and we fought back, and ultimately my family paid the price. Many of our families did, but no worse than we did to the other Elementals. It was the actions of our ancestors that sent the Elementals into hiding. We were lucky to find the first two, to find them and to end them, but it took 740 years of pain and suffering."

Dunbar wheezed a shallow breath and coughed lightly, looking down.

Jacob stood; his chair scraped the floor as it slid back.

"Benedict, no one here dare say this but I shall. Halika Dacome has always been within our grasp, but you didn't act in time, and instead chose your own path, against our wishes, I might add. When you stripped Daisy Frost's force of power, you acted selfishly, and put us all in danger. You coveted her, and she bargained with you. Was the life of your grandson worth it?" Jacob said with acid tone.

"How can you ask me that?" Benedict scoffed. "My grandson is my legacy. I don't doubt that you all thought it foolhardy, but my agenda was not to end his life."

"But that's the bargain you made. She begged you. You would have killed her and then finished him. That would have left you all alone. You could have had your dream there and then. No more Elementals. No more destiny. The Four Primordial powers would all have been yours. But you couldn't do it, you failed, and now there is this young girl, who will become Halika Dacome, and will soon be let loose upon us all. Do you really believe that after all these years, once their memories integrate, she won't be after a little redemption? A little payback? She's been neutered, kept captive. When she returns she will be more dangerous than ever, and the fact that she'll be in a young body will only make things worse. She'll be faster, stronger and her taste for our blood will be...."

"That's why it has to be now," Benedict shouted. "Don't you understand? We have to act now and soon."

"No," another man stood. "Let it go. Let it be. I have a nice life away from all of this. I will not see more slaughter. It's over."

"Andrew Orelian, I never took you for a coward," Benedict gasped. "You might live a cosy existence in South America now but you are the youngest of us all. You alone should understand why this has to be done."

"Why?" Andrew answered. "Because I had nothing before all of this? Because you helped me when I left the orphanage, clothed me and gave me a purpose when I had little else? No, above all things, this life has made me realise that our war should end and this young girl deserves a chance at life, even more than us. I will not agree to this. And neither will your grandson."

"My grandson is well aware of the ultimate price. He knows what he must do. I have taught him well enough and he will do as I say."

"No, Benedict, he won't," Andrew continued. "He won't because he's been brought up in a different life than we had. We had to fight and claw and grasp for everything that we have now. He isn't like us, and you need to know that."

"My grandson will do as I dictate. He will be like us, and so will his Seven. I have ensured it," Benedict said confidently.

"You mean you've brainwashed him?" Andrew retorted.

"No, I've educated him," Benedict smiled wryly.

"Well, I don't want any part of it. Not now, not in the future." Andrew sat again, a chill crept down his spine at the notion but he refused to take his gaze from Benedict's angered face.

"Nor me," another voice said.

"Nor me," Dunbar concurred. "You thought you had won, and in time you might have eliminated the bloodlines leaving yours alone. Until the birth of this girl. When she was born everything changed. Don't you see? They got clever and they evaded us at every stage, and are still evading us. I say this with the best intentions, Benedict, for your own good. You cannot continue down this path."

From the table end, Simon scratched his chin and said nervously. "Do you realise how much danger we're all in if this ever gets out? These are new times, not the old days. Do you know, gentlemen, that there are references to us even on the Internet? The police only have to find one piece of our DNA and any one of us could be implicated in any number of the bad things we've done. With today's scientific analysis we cannot be as thorough as the past. I, for one, would like to sleep at night knowing I'm going to wake up in the morning, and not be murdered where I lay by Halika Dacome. She is not a killer, she will only attack if she is provoked and you must not forget that she has allies too, they will be powerful enough. We cannot continue. It is too dangerous."

"Simon Perayan, her allies are mostly children! And a few rag tag adults who have been privy to our secret. They can't beat us."

"With all due respect, Benedict, we don't know exactly who her allies are. None of us do. Daisy Frost is known in many circles, in higher echelons that we have little knowledge of."

Benedict looked dismayed. "So, am I to understand that you all feel this way?"

The room echoed with one word, its source masked as the black hooded men spoke at once.

"Yes."

Benedict stood up from his chair and overshadowed the table. His hood slipped back revealing his short grey hair which shone from the faint light above. His expression was pensive, his jaw line taut as he clenched his teeth, and his eyes became ever angrier, darting from one face to another.

He stood tall as the other men appeared to shrink slightly where they sat.

"Then our union is over and our House will fall. We have fought our battles and now we are running. How shameful. For thousands of years my ancestors have battled against the rest of the Elementals, defeating them over and over again, as was our right. Finally we have a chance at grasping our prize." Benedict's voice now boomed over the heads of the men.

They all stood up in unison, chairs scraping, fear and trepidation filling the air. The man called Dunbar spoke. "We have no wish to fight any longer. These are not times as before. Our time is now futile, but precious. Let us grow old in peace. The world has moved on, whereas 'we' have not. The Elementals, now and future ones should be left alone to comply with their own duties. God knows they are needed. You should pass your power onto your heir and leave it in the hands of his fate."

"I agree, Benedict," said Bartholomew. "This is over. We will carry on as if nothing has happened and our alliance never existed. I agree with Dunbar that it is time for your grandson to take control. We are all too old to continue, as are you, Benedict. You don't have the stealth or agility that you did sixty years ago. How would you beat Halika Dacome in her new form?"

"I will find a way, there is always a way," Benedict's eyes were bursting with fury, his euphoric demeanour changed to anger and ferocity.

"What will you do?" Bartholomew asked.

Benedict was quiet for a moment. In truth he had not been surprised by this outcome; he had seen it coming for months.

"I shall continue the fight. I will not give in so easily. I will find the girl, and kill her. As you have said, my friends, these are new times, and science has advanced in leaps and bounds. Now I will find a way to make sure Halika Dacome stays dead this time. The age of the Primord Elementals is over."

He strode past them, his bearing upright and poised. His confident steps not waning as he walked up the stairs and out of the room.

Present Day - West Wiltshire, England It was the beginning of August. Rose opened the car window wider, leaning out with her eyes closed, feeling the rushing breeze on her face. The raging sun was like a furnace in the sky with burning rays filtering down. She breathed in a full deep breath, alleviating the anxiety that had built up, finally feeling the freedom that their exodus was nearly over.

She leaned back in the passenger seat, sipping from a bottle of water. The air in the car had been intolerable, hot and clammy for most of the five hour long drive.

Rose ran her right index finger lightly under the curve of her bracelet, wiping away the moisture where the metal had rubbed against her skin. On the inside of her wrist, the two prongs stung as the blood pumped harder around her body in the heat. She didn't complain.

"Are they still following us?" Rose said quietly to her mother, who peered intensely into the rear view mirror and shook her head.

"No, I think we're safe now," her mother said softly, but her lips were rigid, pursed closed, her jaw clenched. She accelerated a little more and the car surged forward further along the empty road, the distance to their end lessening as the minutes passed.

Rose's mother, Dahlia, was a woman of few words but Rose could feel her mother's apprehension. Once they reached their destination it would not be over. This torrid journey was only the beginning.

Every element of Rose's body ached from being immobile too long. Her long lean legs needed stretching, already aching from idleness. Her throat was parched from breathing the dry searing air, no matter how much she drank. Her stomach growled again in hunger.

Pushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear Rose looked back out the window. Her long copper locks were frequently tied back away from her bright emerald-green eyes. Her wispy hair had a tendency to do its own thing, chiefly falling in her face, so she always had it kept back with a metal hair band. It was less annoying this way. Her heart shaped face was faintly impish; her cheeks flushed slightly with the heat, pale pink hinting through cream soft skin. Her lips were redder now; she had to keep licking them to prevent dryness in the warmth and it was making them sore.

Rose was pretty to look at, but through her own eyes Amy, her sister was the one who stood out from the crowd. Amy always received more attention, stray looks and compliments from boys at their previous schools as her Mediterranean look of thick, brown, wavy hair, warm brown eyes and olive skin made other girls pale by comparison. In Rose's eyes Amy was the prettiest, and she envied her but would never admit it. Now Amy was gone, and Rose felt her heart pang at the thought of being separated permanently from her sister for the first time. There had only been one other occasion, when Amy, at fourteen years old, had spent a week in France on a school holiday.

The sisters had drifted apart as they grew older, times changed and they both grew up, heading in different directions, different friends. They had very little in common. But even now Rose already missed her big sister.

This was a stressful time for all the family. A new move always was. Rose's new home was in the southern county of Wiltshire, England. Weird Wiltshire as it was sometimes called. Crop circles, Stonehenge, and abandoned villages were a few examples of the mystic West and the isolated town of Warminster, Rose's new home, was on the perimeter of the Salisbury Plain, a 300 mile expanse of grass land rich in history, archaeology and mystery. Warminster itself was well known for its army base, which had been established before the Second World War, and UFO stories that had been passed down through generations.

Rose had scanned the internet extensively in the few weeks before the move date, intrigued by her new home. Even now her copy of 'Wiltshire Myths and Legends' was in her backpack by her feet.

Somehow the stories seemed more relevant now as she observed the passing Wiltshire countryside for the first time. How the deep blue sky met the brown earth making the horizon shimmer. The conjoining fields resembled a giant mosaic with their multi tones of green, yellow and brown. The contoured edges lined with hedgerow and trees that spread out for miles in all directions. Not a house was in sight and not a building close by. This remote part of England was extraordinary and intriguing. Rose was anxious to reach the end of this journey.

It would be just Rose, this time. The family were all separating for two years. Jeff, Rose's father, had an assignment overseas, somewhere in the Middle East, and her mother would be joining him. They had been advised that it would be far too dangerous for the whole family to relocate and Rose didn't like the thought of an international school abroad.

Amy would spend the next year completing her A levels, living under the guardianship of the college Head. It was her final year so it would have been unfair on Amy to move. To Amy's delight she had been given the best room at the college, with its own kitchen, and study area. The free access to the internet and phone had also not gone unnoticed. Jeff and Dahlia would be keeping an eye on Amy, whether she liked it or not.

And so Rose was moving in to her grandmother's house. It was only vague holiday memories that Rose recalled of her grandmother, and she had never known her grandfather. When Daisy Frost had offered her granddaughter a place to stay, Rose's parents had not been enthused by the idea, but Daisy had insisted that it was no trouble and was relishing the chance to know her granddaughter again. Rose was not entirely sure what her parents enmity was towards her grandma but there had been a falling out somewhere down the years, resulting in summer holidays spent elsewhere instead of with the only other family member that Rose knew. Rose had been only ten years old when she last said goodbye but her memories had been happy ones.

Dahlia had indicated that living with Daisy would be interesting. Daisy was a social go getter and had an uncanny knack of bringing people together. Within a week Rose was to expect dinner invitations, coffee morning requests and shopping trips. The thought of it made Rose smile. Her grandmother was not the typical frail old lady figure, and from what Rose could gather, Daisy always seemed to attend more social events than the Queen of England herself.

Dahlia and Rose had had a 'talk' prior to the move. Rose was sensible and very mature for her age. She knew about healthy eating, about keeping fit, and getting enough sleep. She'd studied self defence with extra kick boxing sessions whenever there had been an hour to spare, but this time Rose had insisted on one vital clause as was her right. She wanted her independence.

Living with Daisy would be fulfilling all her needs. But Rose wanted to play music loud if she wanted, and to invite friends over or go out without having to ask permission every time. Surely she could be trusted to do these small things now? She didn't want to be nagged about homework or staying out late, and most of all she didn't want to be dragged around by her grandmother. Daisy had understood. Rose's mother had duly provided her with a new touch screen mobile phone complete with video camera for emergencies only, Dahlia had insisted. Rose had been ecstatic.

They had all agreed that from now on it would be about trust. Her grandmother would trust her to act mature and make grown up decisions, and Rose would trust Daisy not to be overbearing. If either of them went too far over the line or faltered, they would renegotiate.

Rose had never been a wild child, and whilst the popular girls, her so-called peers, might have been drinking and smoking behind the caretaker's office at school, she always had the attitude that there was more to life. In ten years, was that the kind of thing she wanted to remember of her school days? Or did she want to be a little proud of what she had achieved. Her precious few school friends had all been inclined the same way too, so school reports had always been good and exam results were exemplary.

This had worked in her favour as in five weeks time Rose would begin the arduous task of starting at a new school, meeting new friends, forming bonds, and basically beginning her life again.

It was her fourth senior school in five years so she felt like a veteran at it now. At least she knew this was the last time as she would be studying her A Levels.

For Rose it was a new moment in time, a new glass shard in the mosaic that was her life.

Only this time things would be different.

Her name was Rose Frost. She was just sixteen years and seven days old, and she knew on that journey that somehow life would never be the same again.

- Chapter One -.

For my sixteenth birthday my father bought me a diary. I remember my quizzical expression when I opened it, and fingered through the blank pages of the dark leather bound A4 size book. I had never kept a diary before, there had always been enough photos and videos taken when I was young to remember our past.

"It's for when you're living at Daisy's. Each night I want you to write in it. All your experiences, all your dreams, everything you do that day. It will be a great reminder for you when you finally come back to us," he said and hugged me closely, kissing my hair.

I never had dreams, not real ones that I could remember anyway. I just hoped that my days would be eventful enough to at least fill a few pages.

My grandmother had bought me a first edition book of 'Wiltshire Myths and Legends', which was appropriate. Every night since my birthday I had been enthralled by the stories of King Sil of Silbury Hill, the headless horsewoman of Savernake forest, the Roman legions who march halfway under the ground at Edington and the story of mysterious birds that fell out of the sky in Warminster. I always loved stories as a small girl, my father would read Greek mythology or Norse tales, while my mother had preferred Winnie the Pooh, or even Harry Potter as I grew older.

Amy hadn't bought me a present but I didn't mind. She handed me a card and shrugged, her mood had been strange, and sometimes wildly over-friendly and other times her look would scare me. I had no idea why she was so flippant, and my parents seemed not to notice.

Knowing that Mum had already given me a new mobile phone I hadn't expected anything else but that night, after we had all celebrated with dinner at a restaurant and a movie, I was in bed and writing my first diary pages about my birthday, when she came in and sat beside me.

My mother was a quiet person, loving to all of us but somehow quietly sad. I wondered whether it had something to do with our constant moving, or her worry about my father's job. But this night her eyes were kind and she reached for my hand and stroked it gently.

"Rose, you are so special. We love you so much and soon we'll all be divided, so I want to give you this to remind you of us."

She reached down and lifted her left sleeve revealing the double bangle silver bracelet that she always wore. In fact, I don't think I had ever seen her not wearing it. She undid the two anchored clasps from the inside of her wrist that ran parallel with her arm, and the two bar bangles opened at the sides like two bird wings opening up to take flight, one upper and one lower.

She held it tenderly in her hand, absently rubbing the silver metal. Her eyes were sparkly in the light of my side lamp, and she smiled. She was so pretty when she smiled.

"This is yours now. You must never take it off. This one was given to me by my grandmother, and she had it from her grandmother too. It's our family heirloom and is one of a pair."

"But Mum, I can't take it if it means so much to you," I said weakly.

"No, Rose. This is something that must be passed on. I received this on my sixteenth birthday too, and Daisy has one also that she was given on the same birthday."

"But what about Amy? Shouldn't she have it?" Amy was after all the oldest, it stood to reason.

"No, Rose, this is yours. No one else's, here give me your left wrist."

I held out my arm as she placed it down closing the two wings either side. The two bars were a perfect fit. She twisted my arm so my wrist was upside.

"Now, this may sting a little but don't cry. And whatever you do, don't take it off. Not even when you bathe."