Reaching Madness

Chapter Three

“Breathe” he whispered to me. I couldn’t look away from his eyes, and when I felt my arm heat where he touched I looked down and saw flames dancing across his skin and mine. Shocked, I pulled away, grabbed my stuff and ran out the door. I heard him and the teacher call my name as I left. I made it all the way out the front of the school into the scorching heat and fresh air, taking deep breaths I tried to calm myself down.

What was going on, everything and everyone was acting so strange. That symbol in class though, it can’t have been what is saw. None of what Mr. Lithlo said can possibly be true, magic isn’t real. I’m in my own head and don’t even realise that someone has approached me until he speaks.

“Wren?” he asks cautiously. I glance up and see a tall muscular man with tattoos downs his arms, black hair and bright blue eyes.

“Do I know you?” I asked, standing up straight.

“You don’t remember me? No of course you don’t, he took your memories. Don’t trust Luther.” Everything he said made no sense, who was he. Before I could process anything he said he started to walk away.

“Who are you?” I called after him. He turned around and with longing and sadness in his eyes he answered, “Roam” and with that he was gone. I stared at the spot he disappeared to in the hopes he would reappear and answer all the questions now raging around in my head.

I was grabbing my things and about to head back into the school when I heard voices arguing, whoever it was they couldn’t see me.

“She’s dangerous Luther, you saw the marking on the ground at the park” Luther? And who was this person they were arguing about.

“I don’t think she knows anything David. The look in her eyes this morning and then when she saw my flames. She was terrified.” Luther stated. No they can’t possibly be talking about me, can they? I move closer so I could make out more of the conversation.

“Until she figures it out, what happens when they meet up again, when their souls merge? She will be unstoppable and with their souls aligned there will be no bringing him back!” the man speaking with Luther was angry and I could see from his shadow how much he was gesturing.

“She won’t figure it out and they aren’t going to merge. If I win her over and merge with her first then we won’t be repeating this same crap for the rest of our lives. Then he can’t merge with her and the Dragos line will die out. Vlad will be back and we can leave this god forsaken place.” Luther finished their conversation and left the other man standing there. They definitely can’t be talking about anything real. Dragos and Vlad? That’s from today’s lesson and all of that was make believe. The man goes to leave and he starts heading my way so I quickly make my way back into the school and head to the canteen for lunch.

After putting all my books in my locker and eventually finding the canteen I look around trying to find Lucille and trying to forget everything I had heard and seen today. I spot Lucille in the lunch line so I grab a tray and join it. After getting my food I make my way over to where I saw Lucille sit down with several other students.

“Hey Wren!” she smiled up at me shuffled her chair over for me to sit down. “How’s your first day going?” she asked while biting into her apple.

“Um, yeah its ok I guess” I try to smile but it feels flat even to me but I don’t think she notices. She smiles and starts gesturing to the other people at the table and introducing us.

“This is Blaine” she points to the skinny dark haired boy with glasses, I smiled and give a little wave to him, “Georgia” pointing to the blonde girl with freckles, “Adam” a short boy who was busy reading a comic book. “And that’s Alicia” she indicates the red head girl sitting next to her. I smile at them all and busy myself with eating my lunch.

I’m busy listening to Lucille and Alicia argue with Adam about which superhero was more attractive or something like that when I feel a flutter in my stomach. I glance around as I feel like someone is watching me and when I do I connect with the guy from earlier, he’s standing by the door and staring straight at me. Butterflies erupt in my stomach as he smiles at me and I can’t help the smile that appears on my face, he should creep me out but it’s anything but, it feels like home when he’s near me.

Our spell is broken by Luther standing up and walking towards me. I go to pack up my things and grab my tray to stand up but before I get the chance he’s next to me.

“Where’s the fire?” he asks and sits on the table next to my seat. Everyone at the table just stares in stunned silence.

“Ah nowhere I just wanted to head to my study period a littler earlier, I’ve got a lot to catch up on” I smile and go to grab my tray again but he stops me.

“Let me walk you” he grabs my tray and stands up urging me to follow him. He dumps my tray on the bin and leads me out of the canteen. I glance back towards where I last saw Roam but he’s gone, disappointment builds in me but I shut it down.

“So how are you finding Hillshore so far?” he asks me gently. “Um yeah it’s ok, a lot smaller than my school in Melbourne” I state, playing with the buttons on my dress.

“Yeah I can only imagine, I’ve never been to a big city before” he smiles over at me. “It’s overrated” I state.

“How come you moved?” he asked curiously. “My dad got a job at the local cop shop, he was a detective back in Melbourne. He wanted a change of pace he said” I didn’t really want to tell Luther the real reason, a part of me sensed he was dangerous but another part longed to be close to him. Perhaps that’s why I followed him so easily.

“Hopefully you feel comfortable enough to tell me the truth one day” he gives me a small smile and stops outside what I assume is my study hall classroom. “Can I give you a lift home?” he asks sweetly, a little too sweetly if you ask me. “Oh, no sorry I can’t. Mum’s got this thing about having to pick me up, at least for the next little while” I smile and thank him for walking me to class, after I told him no his eyes seemed to change as if an inferno was burning behind them.

“Come on, I’m sure you mum won’t mind” he grabbed my hand before I could head into class and an uneasy feeling crept into my belly.

“I’m sorry Luther I can’t” I try and pull my hand free but he holds it tighter and the strange warming sensation comes back.

“She said no Luther!” I turn and see a beautiful brunette walking towards us, the ground shakes a touch as if it’s working to emphasize what she has just said. She’s glaring daggers at Luther and he quickly lets go of my hand.

“Annika, what are you doing here?” he questions, a stormy look in his eyes.

“You know why I’m here, you didn’t think it would be that easy did you?” she continued to glare at Luther as she came to a standstill right next to me.

“Yes actually I was hoping it would be” he smirks and turns to leaving, calling over his shoulder, “see you later Wren.” His words are chilling and fill me with unease. I glance over at the girl who is still glaring off after Luther.

“Um thanks, for the help” I quietly tell the girl. She glances over at me as I speak as if she had briefly forgotten I was even there.

“No worries, Wren. I’ve got you back” she smiles and walks into the classroom in front of us. I follow after her and grab a seat across the room from her. She notices and quickly changes seats so she is next to me.

“I need to talk to you” I make a small sound as if to say ‘carry on’. “No not here, meet me out the front of the school once the final bell sounds. We can talk then” she sounds so eerie. “Why would I agree to meet a stranger after school?” I question, I mean what is there to discuss. “Just do it Wren, its important” she utters then hops up and proceeds to leave the classroom.

Study and final period seem to drag on forever, I’m barely paying attention to my Math teacher, and all I can think about is my weird first day and what the girl could possibly want to talk about. After dwelling on it for so long the final bell finally sounds and I pack up my books and head out to the front of the school. I look around for a few minutes before spotting the girl by the bicycle racks so I head over to her.

“I’m here, what did you want to talk about?” I ask, trying to sound as inpatient as I could. I look around and spot my mum coming into the carpark to pick me up, she drives over to where we are and parks, staring straight at the girl.

“You better hurry, Mum’s here to pick me up” I state, crossing my arms over in front of me. The girl looks at me and then glances back to my mum, I watch the exchange in fascination as my Mum simply nods at her and then back out of the carpark. Shocked I turn to the girl but am interrupted.

“Shhh” she puts her finger over her mouth. Pissed I begin to argue with her but she holds her hand up. “Shhh Wren, I will answer all your questions but not here, hop in my car” she points to a sleek black ford Everest. Shaking my head I ask her, “why the hell would I get in a strange car with a strange girl?!” I back away but she holts me by grabbing my arm. “You’re mum saw us, do you really think she would leave you with me if she didn’t think it was safe?” she asks and actually has a very good point. I sigh and against my better judgement I walk over to her car and hop in the passenger seat. She follows after me and before I know it we’re zooming out of the school carpark and down the road.

“Where are we going?” I ask out of curiosity. We’re driving down a dirt road with think bush either side.

“To our homestead” she states while turning the car down another dirt road with a large mansion at the end of it. I gawk at the size of the house, she must be loaded I think to myself. She pulls the car into a large garage and turns it off, a door to the right of us opens and as it does I smell something so wonderful, like rainfall in a forest. I hop out of the car and catch sight of the guy from earlier, he staring straight at me and I catch my breath, he’s the amazing smell I deduce.

“Wren” he nods and turns, leading us into the main house. “Roam right? What are you doing here?” I question him, while following him and the girl into the living room.

“I live here” he chuckles. I look between the two and after studying them I realise that they do actually look a lot alike. “Annika is my sister” he states, leaning against a large grey couch.

“What am I doing here? And how does my mum know you” I turn to Annika and ask her the questions that have been rattling around in my head for the entire car ride. “You might want to sit down Wren” she sighs and gestures to the couch. I walk around Roam and take a seat, she follows and sits opposite me on a small ottoman.

“What do you know about the Elementali?” she asks. “What? You mean the story Mr. Lithlo told us in history class today?” I ask. She nods and continues, “yes, but it’s not just a story, it’s our history; your history” she states. “What are you talking about?” I exclaim.

“You know that it’s true Wren, the strange things that you have seen. And what happened with the man this morning.” Roam quietly utters as he comes around and sits next to me.

“It’s not true, these things aren’t real!” I all but yell. How could he possibly know about this morning?!

“Just hear us out Wren, please” he pleads with me, his sincerity and the fact that I feel so incredibly safe with him is enough to have me nodding my head and prompting Annika to continue.

“You’re an Elementali and so are we. We’re more than the story your teacher told at school. We’re immortal beings with incredible powers, some stronger than others.” She sits up straighter and prepares to continue her story. I don’t think I can believe this.

“A long time ago our parents moved from Romania to this small town with their families. It was their idea to stay here and not send word back to our Rege Vlad. He was a cruel man and a tyrant. Our parents decided this was their chance to escape his hold and free themselves and their current and future children from pain and suffering.” I knew this part of the story at least, it’s what Mr. Lithlo had told us this morning.

Annika continued, “They lived in peace for many years and had many children of which we are those children.” She stated and looked at me as if waiting for me to balk at the idea of them being 374 years old. But everything she was saying made no sense to I decided to be silent and let her continue.

“We’re the children of Andrei Dragos and you, well you Wren are Marius Miroslav’s daughter.” She looked over at me and waited for that to sink in before carrying on. “Of course we weren’t safe for long; Vlad discovered where we were. He set out to track us down and slaughter our parents and all of the children. He killed everyone but the three of us when he turned on Roam. But you, Wren, you’re a Tenebrae. One of the most powerful Elementali that exists. When he tried to kill Roam, you intervened and destroyed his soul, merging it with your own. That’s part of a Tenebrae’s power, soul sucking.” I completely shocked by everything that has just come out of her mouth. None of this can be true, right?

“Why would I do that? What’s so special about you” I turn to Roam and question him this time. He sighs and looks to Annika before turning back to me. “We’re soul mates Wren. I’m a Lumen, the rarest of all of our kind and the only element that Tenebrae don’t already control. A Tenebrae can only merge with a Lumen and vice versa. We all have our soul mates, our other half” he states and if I thought I was shocked before, then I’m at a whole other level now.

“What?!” I screech, “That is not true! Soul mates do not exist!” I stand up and start pacing around the room, how do I believe anything they just said. It makes no sense but on the other hand it would explain the crazy things I’d seen and the nightmares. I feel Roam stand up from his spot on the couch and slowly approach me, when he’s close enough I feel him touch my back. Fireworks go off in my head and my mind completely calms down. I turn around to him with a quizzical expression on my face.

“Your touch, i-it calmed me down” I state to him but to no one in particular.

“That’s because mates can calm each other down, just by scent or touch.” He informed me but how much do I honestly believe him.

“I don’t think I believe this” I say to them, turning back around to Annika, aware that Roam still has his hand rubbing circles on my back.

“We always knew this would be hard for you, trust me, we’ve been repeating this same scenario for the last 300 odd years.” She sighed and put her head in her hands.

“What do you mean repeating this?” I ask her.

She sighs again and begins to fill me in, “you see, Elementali are immortal like I said but Luther and his clan found a way to ‘kill you’.” I gape at her in disbelief but she continues anyway. “They employed the ancient witch Olga to suppress your powers enough to kill you and have you reborn every century in the same place”. I continue to stare at her in disbelief before speaking.

“If all of this is true, how come I don’t remember any of it? And how come I don’t remember you?” I ask turned specifically to Roam; you’d at least assume I’d remember my ‘Soul mate’.

“Because Olga suppressed your memories, along with your powers.” Roam stated. This is such an elaborate story, as much as I don’t want to believe it, how can I not. It seems way too thought through to be bullshit.

“How do I get my memories back? There has to be a way right, and then I’ll know for sure if you’re telling the truth.” I cross my arms and sit back down on the couch opposite Annika.

“Well you see, you have to merge with Roam to get your powers and your memories back” she looks up and me and then to Roam.

“What?!” I yell and then roll my eyes. “Surely there is another way? I don’t even know you” I turn back to Roam.

“I know it’s strange Wren but it’s the only way” he sighs.

“What happens if I don’t merge with you?” I ask curiosity getting to me.

“You’ll go insane.” He states so matter of fact. I gawk at him and blink a few times, trying to understand what he said.

“It’s true” he continues, “I’m sure you can already feel the darkness creeping in, your lack of remorse and emotions are slowly going to fade. You’ll go insane as the darkness takes over.” He looks almost sad as he delivers my possible fate to me.

“That’s what happened to Vlad.” Annika quietly utters. “What do you mean? Wasn’t he married?” I ask, confused.

“He was, he was merged. But she wasn’t a Lumen. She was Aqua.” Annika explains. “Why would he do that? Surely he knew the outcome?” I question them both.

“He feared he would never find his other half. So he married Elena a powerful Aqua, against everybody’s warnings. Soon he started to be overcome with darkness and so did Elena. After Luther was born, Vlad had even less control over his powers, he was so angry that Luther wasn’t Tenebrae, that he destroyed Elena. Of course he accused Elena’s brother Daniel, but only a handful knew the truth.” Annika explained, emotion clearly clogging her throat and causing it to crack.

“That’s so sad” I finally confess; Annika nods her head in agreeance.

“You have to merge with Roam, otherwise the same will happen to you” Annika expresses with determination in her voice and on her face. I’m resigned to the fact that I have to merge my soul with that of a man I barely know.

“Before that, one thing I’m confused about is why Luther and that witch, kill me and bring me back with no memories.” I ask Annika.

“Well you see, when you destroyed Vlad and stole his soul, he technically still lives in you. Every soul you’ve every stolen now resides inside you. If Luther can convince you to instead merge with him, he would be able to have Olga extract Vlad’s soul and bring him back to life. Which would be bad, like really really bad” Annika ended her explanation and jumps up from the couch.

“I understand this is a lot to take in Wren, just think about it and maybe try and get to know Roam before you make any decisions” she smiles, hugs me and then wanders off. I turn and glance at Roam who is watching me intently. I’m not sure what he wants me to say but I feel like I need time to process everything I’ve just learnt.

“I’m sorry, I know you’re probably hoping that I’ll agree, just like that to merge with you. But this is new to me – I need time to process everything and try and digest what you’ve told me. I’m assuming this merging thing is like marriage and I can’t commit to that just yet” I give Roam a small smile, hoping he will understand.

“I get it Wren, it’s a lot to take it. I’m not going anywhere, I’ll be waiting.” He smiled and stroked my cheek. The feel of his fingers on my face, made me feel whole. I sighed and leaned into his touch, loving the feeling. Then something that happened made me back up and regard his quizzically.

“How does my mum know Annika?” I ask, so confused.

He sighs and sits back down, motioning for me to do the same. “Jean and Royce are guardians, your guardians” he states so simply. Confused I press him for more, “I don’t understand?”

“They’re not actually your parents, obviously you’re the daughter of Marius and Lucila. But when everything went down with Vlad and we discovered that Luther has cursed you after the first incident. Annika and I realised we needed to employ guardians to watch over you. We couldn’t risk Luther finding you when you were a child, bonding with you and then merging.” He rubbed his chin and leaned back against the couch.

“But I don’t understand, guardians how?” I was still so confused.

“Jean and Royce aren’t human. They’re the product of Elementali affairs with humans; half-breeds. They have the physical strength, same as us but they don’t possess the same powers. But they’re also not susceptible to our powers, they’re immune to all of them except you.” He smiles and me then.

“Me? Because I’m some kind of magic unicorn” I snort. “This is all so insane, how the hell am I supposed to believe all of this” I question. He closes his eyes for a brief moment, schooling his emotions. “It’s a lot to take it, let me take you home and maybe you call speak with your parents about it some more” he stand up and starts walking back towards the garage, so I hop up and follow him.