Disclaimer: I don't own anything.


Kurt

What the actual hell?! My heart was hammering against my chest while my head did its best to process what the hell just happened. I was still standing next to the cliff's edge but was somewhere else with my thoughts, deep under the sea that tried to drown me. My fingers twitched as if they tried to grasp mum, but I couldn't. Not today. Not ten years ago. Because mum's hand slipped away from mine when all hell broke loose.

Just like today because the weather phenomenon still didn't stop when Sebastian had disappeared in flames. It was the opposite. It seemed to get worse with every second that passed, just like my heart that was racing faster and faster. The rain was raining down on me like thousands of needles and buried its way through my clothes. Behind me, the sea was rampant, I have never seen it like that before. A quiet sizzling noise made me look down. Frost was covering the ground. Even though the rain was washing it away, it always came back until it spread to the lawn. Coldness made my breaths visible. I tore my glance away and stared at the spot where that other boy had been standing. Short brown hair, emerald eyes, only dressed in dark trousers and a button down. He didn't look older than me. He was so alien to me as if I had never seen him before, but also … so familiar. It should be impossible to recognize him after all these years, but I did. He had been the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes. No longer in the wild sea, but at the beach, coughing and gasping for air, with grazed arms from the sand. Above me was only the sky and the face of the boy that saved my life.

And now, he was gone. He just disappeared in those flames that came out of nowhere. I didn't even get to throw my dagger at him because he was gone before I could blink. I initially came here after my fight with dad to calm down again, to try to understand, but now, I was more confused than before. A boy that could just turn to flames even though he was no elemental? He definitely didn't look like the monsters I hunted every other night. But that weather chaos without any elementals close to me? How was that possible? I grew up with the knowledge about elementals like other kids that grew up with stories about fairies, Nessie, kings, and queens as well as epic battles. Only I knew that those monsters were real. That they were dangerous. That they were murderers. They caused that ship accident that killed my mum and almost killed me too if Sebastian hadn't saved me.

Sebastian…Who or what was he even? What's the matter with those clans he talked about? I started walking to my car, but even when I started the engine, the weather didn't get better. I was shaking, my school uniform was drenched, and my hair was sticking to my forehead. I glanced back to the sea when I drove down the cliff. The sea always had a reassuring effect on me. I could sit at the beach for hours and stare at the waves. It was the only place that could calm down my nerves instantly. Maybe because it was the only way for me to feel connected to my mum. But at the same time, the merciless waters were scaring me because they took my mum before I got the chance to really get to know her. Those few memories about her seemed to disappear more and more. But whenever I was at the beach or on the cliffs, I could see her smile in front of me. Just like her big blue eyes I had inherited. Only at moments like these, I could hear her voice or breathe in her flowery scent. At least, I felt like that until now. But now, only panic and trepidation stayed back. I glanced to my phone that was blinking on the passenger seat. Probably tons of text from dad. Maybe from Eleanor too. Now that I thought about her, I knew that she was the only one I wanted to talk to even though she didn't know about clans and elementals. But I needed my best friend now.

I knew the way to Eleanor's house by heart because I spent lots of time with her family. Our mums have been friends, back then, we often paid Eleanor's family a visit close to Aberdeen. After mum's death, they even came to Skye to support me and dad – and stayed. Luckily for me because Eleanor and I could grow up like brother and sister that way. Her mum taught me how to bake and her dad always went hiking with my dad, Len, and me during the holidays.

I loved that family as if it was my own…but every now and then, there were those situations that made me sad, especially when I watched Eleanor interact with her mum lovingly and vice versa. On other days, I needed their community so bad it hurt. I was happy at home; I loved my dad and Carole was a great stepmother. But sometimes, I missed mum. It was as if not only she died ten years ago, but also a part of me. And that part was missing in my life. That's why I was longing for the escape at Eleanor's, the cosy kitchen and the warm chimney fire, the tea and the self-made scones of her mother to get distracted.

Even though the sun was shining faintly behind the clouds, the sleet was following me as if a dark cloud was floating over my car. I've never seen an elemental do that – or elementals that looked like normal humans. Without the glowing eyes or branches and rocks as limbs. But Sebastian couldn't be responsible for that unusual weather. He dissolved in flames in front of my eyes and didn't change the weather. Fire must be his element. Could it be that he was right? That I was the cause for the rain, the snow, and the wild sea? Was I about to turn into an elemental? But how? How was it possible?

I forced myself to take deep breaths to not panic. I needed to focus on the traffic, an accident was the last thing I needed. Not that there was much traffic, but there were many hills, and the streets were not straight, either. I could run over a herd of sheep if I didn't pay enough attention to the road in front of me.

But I was lucky and arrived at my destination without harming anyone. I turned off the engine and headed to the door. Before I could know, the door had already been opened.

"Oh my god! Kurt…" Eleanor looked me up and down and noticed my wet clothes. Her already worried face expression turned to alarmed. "Enter, immediately. I will get you a towel and some clothes."

"Th-thanks", I said with clattering teeth. I quickly followed her inside. Other than outside, it was warm and cosy in here, almost as if they knew of the coldness and heated the chimney in time. Maybe it was no supernatural phenomenon but a normal change in weather in Scotland? But snow and ice in June? That was unusual, even for Northern Britain. I shook my head. No, there was something fishy going on, I could feel it. Now, I just needed to find out what. Or whether I was its cause.

Eleanor already went up the stairs to her room. Though when I wanted to follow her, I noticed voices that came from the living room. I immediately recognized her mum's, but there was someone else. A second person. I stopped at the door to the living room and froze.

"Sebastian…?"

He turned around. Surprise was written all over his face, but it disappeared as quickly as he had vanished in thin air in front of me. Or rather in fire.

"What's going on here?" My voice was trembling. "What is he doing here?"

Sebastian didn't look happy to see me either. Disbelieving, he turned to Mrs Jones. "You knew it, right?"

"Knew what?", I repeated and entered the room.

Drops were hammering against the windows from outside. It seemed as if the world was about to end. Or a flood was going to hit Scotland. Nobody said anything. The clock was ticking.

"Here." Eleanor showed up next to me with dry clothes in her hands and a towel. "Change before you get sick, okay?"

I wanted to answer her back, demand answers, and find out why the hell Sebastian was here. I mean, hello? That bloke had fire powers! But no one in that room was even slightly scared of him. No one treated him like an elemental or like … whatever he was supposed to be. Until now, I had been hundred percent sure that the Jones family didn't know about all that. Nothing about supernatural creatures that could control the weather, altered landscapes, or killed innocent humans and animals. But now, I wasn't so sure about that anymore…

Only since I knew Eleanor was right, I took the things she handed me. But the confusion stayed, as well as that lump in my throat that molded because of all these unanswered questions. I went upstairs, quickly got dressed in Eleanor's room and dried my hair with the towel. Since we had sleepovers frequently at each other's homes, I always had a set of clothes at hers and vice versa so that I could put on a new pair of trousers, a white shirt, and dry socks. It was not the first time I showed up at her home, all wet. I expected hot tea, self-made biscuits, and a warm chimney fire as a greeting. Not a boy that could turn into fire. A glance in the mirror was enough for me to see that I looked as pale as a water corpse. Or like the little boy that fought the deadly waves and almost lost. I just needed to close my eyes to see it all again. How I was submerged. How I tried to swim back to the surface and took a deep breath while all hell around my broke loose. Cries. Fire. Wind. Giant waves that tore the ship apart.

A bang let me flinch. With a racing heart, I looked around. Len's room wasn't that spacious. Right next to the bed was a window, the closet was closed, her mirror full of colorful stickers. We had started to stick them onto the mirror when we were little, now, the right side was plastered with funny cartoons. I turned to the table where she normally kept her books and laptop, but now, two glasses and bottles were sitting on the wooden plate as if Eleanor had waited for me. Two of the three bottles had shattered. White and red liquids were overflowing and ran down the floor. What in the world…?

I quickly rushed to the table, grabbed tissues from her nightstand, and tried to dry the mess on the floor.

"What was that? Oh…" Eleanor showed up behind me, then, she disappeared again. A couple of minutes later, she reappeared with a mop and stuff for cleaning. "It's okay. I'll do that."

"What's going on, Len?", I asked, trying my best to stay calm while we both tried to clean the mess of the soda.

She looked tormented. "It's not that easy…"

"Do you know him?" I nodded to the living room.

"I don't, but my parents do. Kind of. It's compli…"

"If you say complicated now, I'm going to flip." I jumped up and threw the wet tissues to the dustbin.

"Please just come downstairs." Eleanor had gotten up as well. "Mum already made tea."

"Do you have any idea who he is? What he is?", I asked persistently.

Guilty, Eleanor shrugged, took my hand, and led me to the kitchen silently. That's where three hot cups of tea as well as a plate with warm scones, butter, and jam were waiting for us. Under different circumstances, I would have eaten those with pleasure, but now, not even the sweet scent of the pastries could lure me.

Mrs Jones was sitting on the table, a cup in her hands, and smiled at us warmly. Sebastian was still walking up and down and stopped abruptly when he saw us enter. Eleanor's dad was nowhere to be seen. He was probably still at work.

"Please, take a seat." Mrs Jones pointed at the table. With her almost black hair that was in a bun, her dark brown eyes, those wrinkles around her eyes and mouth, she looked like an older version of my best friend. Only that her worried frown couldn't be hidden by her smile.

Instead of doing what she said, I turned to Sebastian who hadn't budged either. "What do you want here?"

A condescending smirk appeared on his face. "I could ask you the same…Campbell."

Campbell? What did he mean? That family who owned the Dunvegan Castle and some estates on Skye?

The kettle started vibrating but I ignored it as well as the weird noises in the walls.

"Oh come on." Sebastian came closer to me. "Don't play innocent. I know exactly who you are."

"I have no idea what you are talking about. What I care about is who the hell you are – or whether you will set this house on fire any moment."

He looked at me incredulously. "Not before you waterlog everything in here", he retorted tightly. "Why didn't we know of you? Why did nobody…"

"He doesn't know!", Eleanor blurted out. A gust of wind could be heard outside, but then, it was silent again, apart from the raindrops that hit the windowpanes. We all stared at her. Mrs Jones got up and put her arm around her only daughter.

"What is it I don't know?"

Eleanor looked at me unhappily. "Where you are from. What powers you possess and…"

"Powers?", I repeated, perplexed.

"You need to calm down, Kurt."

"I don't need to do anything. Besides, I am calm!" But while I said those words, my nails buried deeply into the palms of my hands.

"No, you aren't." Sebastian pointed at the whistling kettle and the faucet on his right that didn't stop spraying water. "You are just pretending, and we would buy it if not every drop in this house didn't go haywire. Just like outside", he added for good measure.

I didn't need to look outside to know that the rain got worse and worse. I could feel it, as if every single drop was echoing in my head.

Eleanor took both my hands. "I wanted to tell you for so long, but I wasn't allowed to."

Confused, I looked from her to Mrs Jones who looked just as remorseful. "We had that agreement with your father", she explained quietly.

"With dad…?"

He knew it? He knew that I … that I had those freaky powers that were like those of the elementals? Did he prepare me all my life not because I needed to fight those monsters, but myself? Because I was going to turn into one of them…? The already heavy rain got worse again. Like little arrows, the drops fell down on the roof and drowned out any other noise.

"There are five big clans", Eleanor started hastily and as nervous as I had only seen her at her very first presentation at primary school. "According to tales, the first humans that went to Scotland got presents of fairies. A special gift. Each one got the power over one natural element. Fire", she nodded to Sebastian, "Earth, energy, air,…and water."

She looked at me expectantly as if the explanation would make any sense to me. But I just didn't get the point. I didn't understand anything anymore. The only thing I understood now was that they had all lied me to my face. No, they didn't lie. They had kept something so crucial, so big from me. My best friend. Her parents that were like a second family to me. And my own father.

Seeking help, Eleanor looked to her mother, but then she continued: "Those first people became the founders of the five elemental clans. You belong to one of those clans. You belong to the Campbells."

"And you are the last one that can control water", Sebastian added sharply.

Irritated, Eleanor furrowed her eyebrows. "He is not the last one. There are…"

"Those are rumors." Sebastian stepped forth and for the first time, I felt the heat he emitted. As if his presence reflected the force of the fire. The force of his element. "Or did you encounter anyone of the Campbells with supernatural powers lately?"

Eleanor pressed her lips together and went silent.

"I thought so. The part of the clan with elemental magic doesn't exist anymore." He glanced over to me. "Or at least, that's what we thought. If I hadn't…"

"If you hadn't pulled me out of the water and saved me, it would have stayed like that, right? That's what you wanted to say, right? Is that the reason you are so mad?"

He was not the only one, I was mad too. So mad that the water around me was going crazier. The kettle was trembling, the coffee can bubbled, the liquids in the bottles seethed loudly as if they were going to explode soon. But not Sebastian was the reason for that, I was. Only because I had no idea what to think now, what to believe, or what to feel.

Sebastian didn't need to say it out loud, his own anger was written all over his face. Abruptly, he turned to Eleanor's mum. "I need to inform the tribunal about that."

The tribunal? What tribunal?

"Oh no, you will not." Mrs Jones rushed over to him and planted herself in front of Sebastian. Even though Sebastian was one entire foot taller than her, he stiffened instantly. "No one knows about him, not even his own clan. If they find out that there is still someone with waterpowers…"

"I can't keep that secret."

"Do you really think I don't know why you're really here, Sebastian Smythe?" Sebastian flinched when she said his full name, but Mrs Jones was still not done. "You Smythes had always been a greedy and power-hungry pack. But Skye and the islands still belong to the Campbells. They are the ones that protect those lands. That's always been like that and will stay that way. Even though my family and I live here, we know that we are merely tolerated here. That estate does not belong to us nor you."

"And who will defend it if elementals start overrunning everything?", Sebastian countered. "The three of you? That's the great defense of Skye? Heaven, forbid. Other than you, we have enough people to expel all the outcasts from the islands. Fuck this, we even have an entire troop of storm warriors. You don't have anything!"

"Watch your language, young man." Mrs Jones put her hands on her hips, she looked even scarier than before. It was definitely no good idea to mess with her. "You are just a guest here so act like one, or else, I will inform your father about your lack of diplomacy and your wicked tongue. Besides, we could defend those islands without your help in the past."

"Then you just were lucky, that's all. But that doesn't mean it will stay like that. Cause if you don't…"

My head was spinning. Their voices got louder, but I didn't listen any longer. I didn't want to listen any longer. While the both of them kept bickering back and forth and Eleanor joined them to support her mother, I slowly walked away from them. Outside, the storm was still raging, but I didn't care. Without looking back, I put on my shoes, left the house, and walked on the muddy ground to my car. I came here in hopes I could forget the happenings on the cliffs, instead, I got more explanations than I would care for. None of them made sense. Because if they were true, they meant that every single person that was important to me had lied to me to my face all my life.

Yes, I had kept the hunting secret from the Jones, but just to protect Eleanor, and because dad had told me to not tell anybody. I lied to them – but they hid from me where I came from and who I really was. What I really was. And I had absolutely no idea whether I could forgive them for that.