The Elementals had found their targets.

The Air Elementals had flown off. They were probably hunting the Dragons. Mettan pitied the Elementals; both of the dragons were very old. It wouldn’t take much energy for them to rip the Elementals apart. The Fire Elemental was pouring flames at anything that would burn. It had lost interest in them. The Water and Earth Elementals were focusing on them. Four Water Elementals were trying to grab them, while two of the Earth Elementals were tearing the roof off of the White House. It was empty, abandoned long before the ships had ever broken the atmosphere. The last Earth Elemental was trying to step on Caleb.

Caleb gestured at the ground and two spikes shot out of the ground and skewered the massive foot. The Earth Elemental screamed as it tried to free its leg. The spikes would hold for a few minutes, but the Elemental would eventually absorb the spikes.

Mettan turned away from his student. Caleb had the Elementals under control.

A massive hand swept towards Mettan. The hunter pointed his right hand at the arm. The end of the arm split off, splashing water over his black uniform. He brushed the water off as the end of the arm that was still attached passed harmlessly by him. Elementals might be large and have lots of power, but they weren’t very intelligent. And they didn’t learn.

The Elemental’s second arm swept down. Mettan’s black hand cut the tip off of this arm. He could stand there and cut down this Elemental all day.

“HELP!” Paige screamed. She had moved into the middle of the Elementals. She was down on her knees. Her hair was wet and blowing in the wind around her. Water Elementals were reaching for her.

“FLY!” Mettan bellowed. He broke into a dead run. Paige was just sitting there crying. If she didn’t move soon, she was going to get killed.

He slashed both of his hands at the Water Elementals. Gouges tore out of the arms of the closest Water Elemental. He didn’t put a mark on the other one. They were too far away.

“PAIGE!” Mettan ducked around the Water Elemental that tried to grab him from behind. He could still feel it, so he wasn’t going to get caught, but it did slow him down. “FLY AWAY!”

Paige seemed to be immune to any words. She was just sitting there. The far Elemental grabbed her in its massive hands and pulled her towards its center water mass. The Elemental was going to drown her, then rip apart her body to absorb her Elemental.

Mettan looked around. He couldn’t make it across the lawn in time to save her. He looked over at Caleb. The human was chipping at the Earth Elemental that was still trapped.

“Caleb!”

Caleb turned. He knocked one more chip off of the Elemental and ran towards Mettan.

Mettan watched the human run. Then he saw what was behind his student. He saw the ledge. He saw the bolt. He watched it hit Alex. The spell was lethal. That much energy in that little space would fry every nerve in the target’s body. At least it was quick.

Mettan couldn’t believe that Feletis would attack the humans. The old mage could be cantankerous, but he had been there when the multi-species Elders had banished all non-humans from Earth. He had survived the Camadt War. Helped bind the Weres into the Guild. Rebuilt the Elders. Why Feletis would try to kill the Triftion, he had no clue. He didn’t believe in the prophecy, but if it gave people hope, then it was something to fight for. That made guarding the Triftion his duty.

Andrew had no training on how to deal with a Mage, and Feletis wasn’t just any mage. Andrew was going to need help if he wasn’t going to join his brother.

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Paige’s screams tore Mettan. She was kicking and screaming, but only small amounts of water were being torn off of the monstrosity’s arms. Her attacks were too unfocused; her fear was spreading out before her screams, like lightning before thunder.

Memories took him back almost thirty years ago. He had been ordered after a dark mage that had information about the Dark Lord. A few days after he left, his home planet had fallen under attack. Even though he had wanted to leave his mission and go protect his home, he had done his duty and captured the Dark Mage. The planet had been evacuated, but not everyone made it. His sister and Kark’s parents were killed. His daughter and his mother were gone. It had marked the beginning of the end of his career as an agent of the Council. It was a choice that he would give anything to go back in time and change.

Mettan shook the thoughts out of his head. Andrew was the Triftion. If he was the Triftion of prophecy, then he would survive Feletis’ treachery. Paige was just a little girl. A little girl who needed him like his daughter had so many years before.

“Throw me,” Mettan told Caleb

“How?” Caleb asked

Mettan looked at the Water Elemental. It had just pulled Paige into its chest. She had a minute before her focus would be gone. Then it would start pulling her apart. He set his jaw. He was not going to let that happen.

“Take the dirt.” Mettan directed, “And throw me.”

Caleb scrunched his brow, then his face lit up. “Now?”

“Yes now.” Mettan focused on the Water Elemental. He was running out of time.

The ground rose up around him. The soft dirt cradled around him, packing itself tightly behind him. It picked up off of the ground. It arced back and then pitched him forward. The ground peeled away from him as he flew.

The closest Water Elemental tried to grab him. Mettan slashed off both of its arms. It lunged at him with its mouth wide open. He grabbed the water falling beneath him and pulled it up. It rushed through the air, carrying him higher into the air.

Mettan angled his body towards Paige. She was kicking and clawing at her throat. Her eyes begged him to help her.

The gravity of what he was about to do hit him. These weren’t normal Elementals. They were wild. They were also huge. The Elementals that were kept by the Council were the size of an Elf. It would take a skilled Elementalist to take control of one of those. The Elemental in front of him was easily six times as large as a normal Elemental. It wasn’t him pushing his abilities to the max. It wasn’t a heroic gesture. This was suicide, plain and simple.

Mettan hung in the air for a second. From his vantage point, he could see Alex’s body. Andrew was draped over his brother. A wall of dirt blocked any extra bolts Feletis might throw. Under his feet were the bodies of hundreds of humans. Demetrius’ ashes were gone, but the scorch marks that would serve as a temporary headstone were still scaring the lawn.

Maybe Alex’s suicidal tendency was beginning to rub off on him. Or maybe it’s just a good day to die. Mettan focused on Paige. Today shouldn’t be her day. It wouldn’t be.

He grabbed the water and pushed it down on his shoulders, increasing his speed. He hit the Water Elemental in the chest. The speed behind him drove him towards Paige. He grabbed her shoulder and spun, giving her all the momentum that he had built up. She twisted as she sailed out of the back of the Elemental.

Dirt rose out of the ground and cradled the falling Elementalist. Caleb directed down into his arms. He took off in a dead run, with Paige in his arms. The other Elementals were chasing him. Even the two Earth Elementals that had been wrecking the White House had lost interest in the rubble and turned to give chase.

Mettan hung in the center of the Water Elemental’s chest. His lungs were building pressure from the oxygen that he was holding. He could feel the Water Elemental’s presence in the water around him. Tugging on his skin, pushing on his lips. The willpower of the Elemental was the strongest inside itself. Not even the Councilors would be able to dominate something like this.

Mettan should have given up. Logic, the baseline for everything that Elves did, told him that he was going to die. The Elemental was too big, and its will was too strong, but he didn’t care about logic. Caleb and Paige weren’t going to last very long by themselves. His students needed it, just like his daughter had.

Mettan honed into that thought and let it become his focus. He shut out everything around him. His will became as cold as his icy glare. Instead of surrendering, he fought back.

The Elemental realized what the black-skinned Elf was trying to do and pulled Mettan’s limb out into a spread eagle. It was no longer content just to pull and push. Now it was trying to tear him apart.

Mettan ignored the pain. He wasn’t just fighting for himself anymore. He wasn’t the disgraced Elf that he had been a few days before. Now he had a purpose. He had people that depended on him. He pushed his will against the Elemental. He had to beat it soon. Neither he nor his remaining students were going to last more than a few minutes.