7. THE FOUR ELEMENTS

Corin and Marcus were headed towards the airport in Vientiane, Laos. The four sisters of the Asian coven lived near there, above the Nam Ngum reservoir, high in the mountains. As they flew overhead Marcus reviewed in his mind everything that he knew about each of them.

An-Mei had been born in Wuyuan, China. Her human life had been spent with her family tilling the fields in their farming community. She was the one who could control the element of the earth. With that gift, animals did not seem to fear her. She could not control them or command them as the Romanian, Octavian, could do. Yet, they befriended her and were drawn to her presence.

Next was Tien. She had been born near Halong Bay in Vietnam. Surrounding the bay were giant cliffs that shot up out of the water. When Tien was a human, she used to cliff dive with her older brothers, feeling the wind rush past her, giving her the sensation of flying. Her ability was to control the wind. With it she could control the weather by drawing in rain clouds or pushing them away. She could summon the most horrific of hurricanes or command them to be still. Some believe that she was responsible for Cyclone Nargis in 2008 off the coast of Burma. More than 140,000 people died.

Jaidee was originally from Thailand. She was from one of the smaller coastal villages on the outskirts of Bangkok. She had always loved the water and would help her father who was a fisherman. She did not mind the smell. The sea was her home. When she turned into a vampire she found that she could control the water. It was a well known fact that she was responsible for the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004. She and An-Mei were having an argument when An-Mei created an earthquake. Jaidee used her power to build up a wave riding on the energy of the earthquake, feeding off of its vibrations. That wave turned into a tsunami that crashed onto the shores of Indonesia and other countries, killing more than 200,000 people.

Lastly was Kajimi. In her human life she had lived at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan. She had witnessed its last eruption in the early 1700's with her own human eyes. She watched her home and family be destroyed. She would have been killed herself if a vampire hadn't come and saved her. He had been the one to change her. Once she was turned, Kajimi learned that she could control fire. Though the sisters considered themselves to be equal, if the Asian coven had a leader, Kajimi would be it.

Marcus remembered when other vampires in Asia had come to the Volturi, complaining that the sisters were creating too much chaos with their powers. They insisted that the Asian coven was guilty of breaking the one rule. However, regardless of their destruction, no human knew that their troubles were due to vampires and not Mother Nature. As long as they could keep the secret, the sisters were free to do as they pleased.

The plane finally began to circle the airport in Laos. Corin instructed Marcus on how to land the plane and they did it together. They parked the private jet into another hanger and left the airport in a rental car. They drove up to the Nam Ngum reservoir and parked. The mountains surrounding it were high in the air, beyond the clouds. That was where the sisters lived- on the mountain tops. Corin and Marcus began the hike up the steep slope. Going at vampire speed, it didn't take them very long to reach the top. Once they passed the clouds, they could clearly see the home of the Asian coven. They jumped from cliff to cliff to make their way over to the right peak.

The four sisters were aware of their presence and stood at the entrance of their home awaiting the new visitors. Marcus and Corin crossed an old rickety bridge to cross the distance between the last peaks.

"Hello Marcus." Kajimi said. "What brings you all the way up here?"

Marcus still wasn't quite sure how to approach this one. "Can't we just visit old friends?"

Kajimi smiled. "Of course. Please, come in."

The two men followed the girls into their home. The space was open and empty; there were no walls, only pillars. They were invited to sit on the floor at a small table. The women were so graceful in the way that they moved, even more so than other vampires. It was almost as if they were floating.

Jaidee admired Corin's beauty. It had been a long time since any male vampires had been to their home. "Are you hungry?" She asked the two men. "There are a couple of lost hikers on these mountains."

"Yes!" Tien joined in. "I could have gusts of wind blow them to us." She smiled mischievously.

"We're fine for now, thank you." Marcus said.

Jaidee frowned. "Oh, you're not one of those new age vegetarian vampires are you? If so, we can always have An-Mei bring in one of her pets." She started laughing and Tien joined her. An-Mei sat back with a scowl on her face. She would never let anyone hurt one of her animals.

"That's enough." Kajimi interrupted their fun. She often had to stop the other two from picking on An-Mei who was the youngest of the group. Youngest in vampire years, that is; they were all generally the same age when they had been turned. Kajimi turned her attention back on her guests. "We are about to start our celebration of the rise of the Fenghuang, or as you call it, the Phoenix. Would you like to stay and watch?"

"Oh yes, that would be wonderful." Marcus answered. It was only something he had heard of before but never witnessed.

In the center of the open floor, Tien took her position while An-Mei played a wooden flute and Jaidee played the mandolin. They brought together a harmonious oriental sound that Tien began a graceful dance to. She used her hands and body to tell the story of the phoenix.

Kajimi interpreted her movements for the guests. "It is believed that the phoenix represents power sent to the empress. She is the 'yin' to the dragon's 'yang'. Like man and woman, they balance each other out. The phoenix only stays when a ruler is without darkness or corruption. It is a symbol of high virtue and grace.

"The legend of the phoenix is that when it dies, its body turns to ashes. Then out of the ashes, new life is created and a new young phoenix rises and flies to the sun. Since we just had our winter solstice where the sun has pulled furthest away from us, we believe that the legendary phoenix has died and now we celebrate the beginning of new life."

Tien used her power to pull in a spiral of wind that swirled around her, lifting her into the air with arms outstretched, representing the flight of the new phoenix. It was the most beautiful sample of performing arts that Marcus or Corin had ever witnessed.

Then Kajimi stood up from her spot next to the boys. She let her fiery red kimono drop to the floor, uncovering a much more revealing red dress underneath. She walked to the edge of the open floor to a large object that had been covered by a dark, gray blanket. The hidden figure stood tall above Kajimi. There were two hearths on either side of it and Kajimi lit them alive by simply blowing a hot breath onto them. Then Tien used her wind to blow the blanket off of the hidden object. It looked like a gong made of jade. In the jade was carved the young phoenix, taking flight and rising to the sun. Kajimi picked up her wooden sticks and tapped the different parts of the gone, bringing forth different notes that complemented the melody already being poured out by Jaidee and An-Mei. Tien continued to dance in the air like a spirit floating in the wind.

Marcus tensed and inconspicuously nudged Corin. "Do you see the jade phoenix?" He whispered so that only Corin could hear him.

Corin picked up on Marcus' attempt to be discrete so he only gave a slight nod.

"Look at the sun." Marcus whispered.

Corin's eyes bulged as he realized the red sun was a smooth, clear stone roughly the size of his palm. He now understood that this was the third stone that they were looking for. He also realized that it was a part of their worship of the phoenix and that they would not part with it willingly.