Of Fiends and Fire: Chapter 1
"Come on Taranee! You're slowing us down!" The dark skinned girl looked away from the ocean view she had stopped to admire to peer down the the trail. A well curved girl with curly brown hair was waving at her from down the path. She was surrounded by teens carrying baskets and towels down to the shoreline.
"I'm coming, Irma!" Taranee shouted back.
"Well hurry up!" shouted another girl, Cornelia, with a flowing mane of blonde hair. "The sooner we start our vacation and forget about this Narissa nonsense, the better we'll all feel." Taranee felt her stomach lurch at Cornelia's comment. Harsh memories sliced their way into her mind, but she brushed them away with gentle fingers.
Taranee and her friends were unlike most teenage girls. They had all been gifted with magical powers and made the official Guardians of the Veil, an invisible gate between Earth and Meridian. Taranee herself, the shy quiet one of the group, had ironically been given the power over reckless fire. The others (Irma, Cornelia, and Hay Lin) had been given control of the other elements: earth, water, and air. Together, they'd spent the last few months fighting an evil Guardian named Narissa, who'd been trying to steal the Heart of Candracar from Will, Keeper of the Heart and the team's leader. They'd finally managed to subdue Narissa and strip her of all of her powers. Now, the Guardians were enjoying some well earned relaxation time!
Taranee raced down the trail towards her friends, her beaded braid clinking against her neck. When she got to the end of the trail, her beach ready crew had already begun setting up umbrellas and towels on the pale white sand. It was the first day of summer vacation, and the Guardians were celebrating by throwing a private beach party. All of Taranee's girlfriends were there, along with their present crushes. Even Elyon had taken a break from being Queen of Meridian to enjoy the ocean.
"Finally!" tiny, black haired Hay Lin exclaimed as Taranee walked up. "We thought you were going to lag behind forever!" Taranee smiled sheepishly as she set down her things. She felt a pair of strong arms curl around her waist and pull her in closer to them. Taranee turned her head and stared into the cool eyes of her boyfriend, Nigel, as he laid his head on hers.
"Well, she's here now," he murmured into her hair. "And now we can start this party." Nigel kissed her lightly on the cheek, and Taranee felt the butterflies float in her stomach. Nigel made her feel bold and confident, in contrast to her normally bookish attitude.
"It's about time we got this vacation started," Cornelia said, lying down on her towel so her toes barley brushed the water. "I'm in desperate need of a tan."
"Better be careful, Corny," Irma joked, "Too much sun could fry your brain beyond repair. Not that it would be much different than how it is now." Taranee couldn't help but snicker at the water Guardian's taunts. Irma knew exactly how to get under Cornelia's skin.
"Ha-ha! Very funny. And I told you to stop calling me Corny!" Cornelia was rolled onto her stomach to stare directly at Irma, who'd hidden her hands behind her back. The only person who noticed her barely perceptible finger movements was Taranee, who watched thinking that this couldn't end well. And it didn't. Before she could blink, Cornelia was covered head to toe in sea water. She jumped up squealing, sending everyone onto fits of hysteria, including her boyfriend Caleb. Will, who was normally prone to hating these squabbles, did nothing but laugh and fall back into her boyfriend Matt's arms. Cornelia didn't seem to enjoy the group's snickers. In an instant she launched herself at Irma, and soon they were wrestling on the ground in the low tide. Taranee could hear their laughter, so it was clear that neither girl was serious. One by one, others drifted in to assist in the fight, throwing handfuls of ocean at each other. Taranee was about to join them when she felt a slight tug at the back of her mind. Taranee stopped running, trying to probe for the source of the invasion. With her power over fire came a form of telepathy that allowed her to read and communicate with other people's minds. At that moment, Taranee was getting a faint signal that was distant yet familiar. Someone she knew was trying to speak to her, but the limited range prevented her from getting the full message.
Hay Lin, being the closest to Taranee at the time, was the only one who noticed the fire Guardian's pause. Becoming worried, she placed a wet hand on her friend's shoulder.
"You okay, Taranee?" Hay Lin asked gently. The glazed over look in her friend's eyes had scared her silly. Taranee rubbed her forehead before looking up into Hay Lin's dark eyes.
"Yeah," she replied. "It just feels like someone is trying to connect with me and tell me something but I don't-" All of the sudden, Taranee stopped short. Her body felt unnaturally cold and her skin paled. She paid no attention to Hay Lin as she doubled over, grasping her head in pain. Hay Lin's fear doubled in magnitude as she tried to rouse her friend from that icy reverie. Then whatever held Taranee got Hay Lin, too, knocking the air out of her desperate lungs. She dropped to the ground, one hand clutching her throat.
Will was busy throwing ocean water in Matt's face when she heard Nigel scream Taranee's name. Her attention instantly snapped to the shoreline, where she watched first Hay Lin drop, then Taranee. Her joy switched to panic as she waded her way through water to get to where the girls lay unconscious. When she arrived, Will took the moaning Taranee in her arms. To her surprise, the firs Guardian's usually scalding skin was cold as ice. To her left, Eric was cradling his unconscious Hay Lin, who was struggling to get decent air into her lungs.
"What's happening to them?" Nigel snapped, the question revealing his state of panic.
"I don't know," Will replied. "Taranee's so cold and Hay Lin can hardly breathe. It's like their Guardian powers have gone haywire."
"You don't know how right you are, Guardian." Will's head snapped up at the sound of such a familiar voice.
"Luba!" she cried as the cat/woman came stalking down the beach. "What's wrong with them?" Luba looked around cautiously before replying.
"We must get them to Candracar," she said. "Something has gone terribly wrong at the fortress. We must go now!" Will gave her unconscious friends one last glance before nodding.
