Burning the Alpha

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Nope. Absolutely not. No, thank you. I would like to go home now. Please, just let me go home.

Everything in me wanted to run back the way we had come, but Vole - seeming to sense my extreme discomfort - placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"I could do an air pocket," they said. "The water needn't touch you at all."

"That would be far too slow," River said, managing to be scary, even as he knelt to place a hand in the water. "This one's mine."

He started unbuttoning his suit jacket.

"Surely you don't need me any more." I did not appreciate how weak my voice sounded as I spoke. "Please just let me go home now."

River managed to sound angry, even as he laughed, "You think I required you as a source of light? You're more stupid than you look. If that was all I needed you for, I'd have brought a flashlight instead."

Once he was down to his undergarments, he lowered himself into the pool.

"Don't let her out of your sight." He pointed at me. "You know what happens if you fail me."

I watched as he calmly let himself sink beneath the surface of the water and vanished out of sight.

I'm not gonna lie. I considered turning around and running back the way we had come. There was no way of knowing how long River would be scouting the body of water, and there was no way of knowing how strenuous my own task would end up being, and whether it would even be possible after what would no doubt be an ordeal with water.

It was the thought of Shaun that kept me where I was. If I returned to him without fulfilling my obligation, River would no doubt make them all pay for my selfishness.

It was at this moment that I realised - much to my chagrin - that I missed Shaun, and I would be very sad if I didn't get to see him again, but I couldn't figure out how, or why he had become so important to me.

He had a fantastic smile - that was undeniable. He was very kind - something I would rate as one of the most important human of qualities - it made me deeply regret getting involved with River when a man like Shaun could be out there existing. Shaun cared about his people, and took time to know them, rather than demanding everyone know him and follow his agenda, he listened.

On a more selfish level, I liked the way Shaun looked at me. He made me feel seen. He made me feel remarkable. He made made me...feel.

I was musing over what more Shaun could possibly make me feel when River resurfaced.

"Right," he said from the water. "Everyone get in, link arms, and hold on tight."

Pitney and Vole stripped to their undergarments and got in without a word. I stayed in my clothes and hovered at the water's edge.

"Don't try my patience, Avril," River uttered through gritted teeth.

"How much fire will you need?" I asked quietly.

He opened his mouth to say something, then paused, regarding me with a deepening frown.

"Fine," he eventually hissed. "Vole, keep as much water off her as possible."

I pushed through the hesitation and lowered my left foot into the water. The water hissed on contact, and my skin sizzled. Vole offered me their hand and I took it. They seemed like a nice enough nymph, but I was less than impressed by their command of air. The burning pain rose as my body submerged.

"Hold on tight," Vole whispered with what I would call a sympathetic smile.

River was the first to go under, dragging us slowly at first, then pulling us with a force you would not think possible once we were all under. I wrapped both my arms around Vole's torso, holding on for dear life.

It was pitch black, and I was smothered by my biggest weakness. If I lost hold of Vole, or if River decided to abandon me at that moment, I really don't know if I would ever have made it out of there. I don't require the human version of breath, but I imagine this was my version of suffocation.

I pressed my head into Vole's shoulder. I'm sure my eyes were closed, but if they'd been open, it wouldn't have made a difference. Until this moment, my emotional range had been pretty limited. I had been a creature of whimsy, drifting about, doing as I pleased. I can confirm with absolute certainty that this was the most terrified I had ever been in my existence.

I can't tell you how long it took. My panic-stricken mind had two thoughts spinning through succession on repeat. One - I need this to be over. Two - I want Shaun.

As is the nature of most things in reality, this ordeal did - in fact - end. I became aware of this fact from the foetal position on the safe - though slightly wet - ground. My knees were tucked right up to my neck, and my arms were wrapped around my face. Having never actually have been - strictly speaking - 'born', this was yet another new experience for me.

It was Vole's gentle hand patting my shoulder that brought me out of my protective shell.

"Open your eyes," they whispered. "You'll want to see this."

It took me another moment to compose myself, but once I opened my eyes and lit my flame, I realised there was nothing else it could have been. It was us. About five metres away from the pool was a massive wall showing us, those who have been, from the beginning of time.

I saw groups of air nymphs in the sky, water nymphs in the sea, and nymphs of earth and nature all around. In the middle of the scene was a single flame.

Even in the beginning, I was alone.

I took a few steps towards the wall, reaching out my hand - which was promptly snatched by River.

"Ow - what?" I asked, without even trying to hide my irritation. "What?"

His eyes narrowed to slits, but I wasn't having it this time. I wrenched my sizzling hand free.

"Enough of this," I snapped. "Enough. I'm here. I've done what you asked, I went through the water torture. I put up with all your poor behaviour beforehand. Use your words. What do you need from me?"

River had as much need for breathing as I did, but he still managed to hiss through his teeth. He pointed to the wall. "Open it."

"Open it." I repeated, feeling slightly upset that I would need more words from him to understand what he was talking about.

"You're the fire. Open the portal."

So, it was a portal.

Another phantom memory flitted across my mind's eye. Before everything else, when it was just us, the elements, the elementals. I rarely used them, but I remember now, how we moved. We moved all over the earth. Wherever we wanted. All we had to do was want.

I don't remember when they started, or why we stopped using them. Something tells me they were dangerous for the others. We chose to protect the others who came after us - that's a familiar idea to me.

I approached the wall again, uninterrupted this time. It felt like glass covered in paint. I scratched it, and brought flakes of paint away in my fingernails. I let the flame cover my hands and pressed it to the wall. The paint fizzled away so enthusiastically it sent a chill down my spine.

The flame travelled up my arms, and I embraced it whole-heartedly, allowing it to consume my physical form and bring me to my full elemental state.

I felt the wall start to hum, like it was singing a song for my flame alone. The glass started to crack and splinter, but my flame melted it into a glowing pool on the ground before it could shatter.

The wall started to glow so bright that all I could see was the light. It filled the whole cavern, then seemed to gather strength and punch back through the wall, revealing the ancient portal.

"Finally," was all River said, as he stepped through the portal and disappeared.