Chapter 7

"Woah, this is your house?" Emilia asked Keefe in disbelief.

"Yup. Home sweet home," he said, a slight bitterness laced in his words.

Sophie stared at him oddly, but Emilia knew why he said it with bitterness. His father wasn't the nicest to him, thinking he was a failure.

Emilia squeezed Keefe's shoulder encouragingly. He stared at the spot.

Emilia gazed upon the massive structure once more. It was a skyscraper containing hundreds of stories, with gigantic columns supporting it.

Keefe snapped out of his daze and started toward the front entrance. The two girls followed him slowly.

They entered the massive entrance hall. Sophie's jaw dropped, but Emilia had barely any reaction to the fancy, ornate decor.

Keefe led them to the vortinator, a fancy staircase that transported you to other floors just by shouting the floor number.

"33!" he shouted, and the vortinator spun upward, causing Sophie and Emilia to hold onto the railing for fear of their life.

The ride of terror stopped after a few seconds, but Sophie was already wide-eyed and slack-jawed. Emilia was sure she looked just as ridiculous.

"I think I'm going to barf," Sophie said.

Emilia laughed. "I know the feeling."

Keefe glanced at them. "You guys coming or not?"

They followed him down a narrow hallway with many doors. Emilia could tell Sophie wanted to know what was behind the doors. She, of course, already knew, but she wasn't going to let them know that she knew.

The hallway ended with a silver door with intricate carvings. Keefe opened up the door, wincing when it creaked.

Sophie gasped, and Emilia smirked. Perhaps living in Candleshade wouldn't be so bad after all.

--

Emilia was sprawled across her new four-poster bed, staring at the starry mural painted on her ceiling.

A knock came at the door, and Emilia got up to let them in.

It was Keefe. He looked nervous.

"What is it?" Emilia asked.

"Someone is here to see you," he said. "They said they know you."

He stepped aside, revealing a woman that had been standing behind him.

She had styled her chin-length black hair in a bob, which sharply contrasted her bone-white skin. But her eyes were the most exciting part about her. Sparkling red, almost like blood, they seemed to stare deep into your soul.

"Emilia?" the woman asked. "Is that you?"

"Um, yeah. Why?" How did this woman know her? A memory tickled the back of her mind, but it was too fuzzy for her to discern what it was.

"We've been trying to find you. When Jul--" the woman's voice broke. "We were so worried."

The memory in the back of Emilia's mind came into focus. She realized who the woman was.

"Es?" she asked.

"You remember," Es said. "This is good. No, it's great!"

Emilia stared at Es. How was this possible? She hadn't seen Es in over 16 years. And now, she suddenly showed up out of the blue. It didn't make sense.

"H-how did you find me?" she asked quietly.

"The fires. The only force powerful enough to put them out was you. I used the energy to track you."

Emilia's mind couldn't quite comprehend the information because it focused on one phrase.

"What do you mean "the only force powerful enough to put them out was me"?" she asked.

"Don't you remember? You are the most powerful of us all. That's why we need you to help us defeat Jul."

Keefe cleared his throat. "Um, what are you guys talking about?"

Emilia frowned. "Can't you understand us?"

"Now I can. But, before, you were speaking a different language."

That was weird. "Okay, well, this is important, so I'm gonna keep talking with Es, okay?"

He shrugged. "Okay. But will you fill me in later? I mean, I am giving you a place to stay and all."

"Fine."

Keefe grinned.

Emilia turned back to Es. "Will you please explain to me what you just said again?"

"Well, basically, you are the goddess of air. Air is in and around everything in existence. Without air, well, nothing would exist. So, since you are the air, you are the most powerful of all of us."

That was a lot to take in at once. But it did make sense. She had been able to do almost everything she wanted to without any effort.

"So, will you help us?" Es asked. "We need you, Fertes."

Fertes. The name was both hers and not hers. It was very odd knowing that Es was talking to her but using her original goddess name.

"Yeah, I guess I can help. But nothing too violent, okay?"

Es nodded. She knew how much Emilia despised violence.

Emilia breathed a sigh of relief. Violence was never the answer. That was why, even though she was the best warrior in existence, she had never used force to get her way.

A door slammed a few stories below. Emilia and Es glanced at each other, fearful of what it was.

Keefe stopped them as they were about to check it out. "Hey, cool it. It's just my dad. He probably had a bad day at work or something."

Emilia tried to believe him, but people didn't slam doors that loud if they had a bad day at work.

Or maybe they did. Emilia wasn't the best at knowing people. After the crash, she became sort of a recluse. It took all she had to perform simple functions.

Es squeezed her shoulder, and Keefe offered her a small smile. Es always knew how she was doing, and Keefe--well, Keefe was an Empath, so he didn't count.

A sharp pain pierced her mind, and she clutched at her head.

No.

It was her only thought as she registered what was happening.

Jul was trying to take over her mind.

And he was winning.