Novels2Search

Chapter 017

~~~(Flame)~~~

The first thing I see when I wake up are Tuck’s beautiful eyes staring into mine.

“Morning, Tuck!”

“Morning, Flame!” He laughs.

“Whatcha doing in my bed?” I ask. “Not that I’m complaining, waking with a cute guy in my bed, but you usually stay in your bed, in your room.”

“Well,” he laughs again. “I was going to wake you up, but when I poked you, I noticed you were pretty warm, and then remembered that you don’t get cold at all, and the facility’s heater isn’t working in the dorms. They’re working on that. So I climbed into your bed to warm up.”

He's not even under the blanket. Do I really emit that much heat?

“Of course you did,” I smile at him, then pull him against me and kiss him, then climb over him and off the bed to get changed. “So why did you come to my room to wake me?”

“Well,” he says. “We don’t have to go to class, and I know today’s a holiday you get excited for, so I figured we could go do something fun.”

“Christmas!” I exclaim, then feel my heart drop. “It’d be cooler if Caleb were here, though.”

No one’s heard from him at all since he left. The entire GSDF and GMDF went under investigation the last few weeks from the Council of Dreams itself. It seems they were about as happy about him leaving as I am. Twenty instructors from the GMDF and over fifty from the GSDF were sacked, put on probation, demoted, or had some other form of punishment.

When I found out why Caleb quit, I was furious. He shouldn’t have been treated that way, and I’m glad the Council agrees with me on that.

I just wish he was here. Caleb wants us to stay in the GDF’s and train and get stronger and complete training, and so I’m staying, but it’s not the same without him. He could teach me far more magics than I can figure out on my own.

“Come here,” Tuck walks over to me and wraps me in a hug.

“You just want the warmth of my fire,” I say, and he laughs again. “Well, it’s true!”

“It is,” he giggles. “I know Caleb isn’t around, but I did find a job I think you’d enjoy.”

“What’s that?” I ask.

“There are only five fire-based warriors in town,” he says. “You, two from here, one from the GSDF training branch, and a GSDF soldier. Water magics isn’t exactly working, and nor is ice magics.”

“Come on, you tease!” I say.

“It seems that overnight,” he grins. “The snowmen in the city all came to life, and they’re kidnapping children. Our soldiers are having a hard time rescuing the kids, because travel is a bit tough with four feet of snow on the ground, and when they do get near where the snowman are keeping the kids, well, they’re assaulted by icicles and spears of ice and such. They’ve petitioned for any fire-based warriors to go and deal with it. I’m only including those who can actually handle this in that count, by the way.”

“Evil snowmen?” I ask. “That sounds like fun!”

I get dressed in my uniform, then Tuck leads me out of town. It takes us a couple of hours to get there, even with us magically manipulating the snow to let us travel quickly, along with my bursting steps.

There really is a horde of evil snowmen. I count over a thousand of them, and had to create a wall of fire when we got within a hundred yards, due to the flying icicles and spears.

They melt instantly in the power of my flames. My Elemental power won’t distinguish between targets, but I can set the dragon’s fire to ignore humans.

This is so my job, even if the other four are already here.

Inhaling and taking in as much of the bitter, frosty air as I can, I hold my breath for a second, then let out a roar that shakes the snow still falling, the ground itself trembling from the roar.

The battle stops as Tuck covers his ears, laughing, and I burst forward, my dragon’s fire swirling around me, consuming all of the snowmen and their attacks as I do, the fire spreading forward into the cave with the children, who scream before they realize it isn’t hurting them.

By the time all of the snowmen are dead, Tuck’s made it to the cave, and he’s laughing.

“Jeez, Flame!” He shakes his head. “Warn me the next time you’re going to roar! I was standing right next to you!”

“You should’ve known.”

“How?”

“I did take in a massive breath.”

“You usually breathe fire after, not roar!” He laughs. “By the way – you haven’t eaten yet, and you just used up a ton of power. Are you going to make it back to town?”

“I’ll just eat you and call it a day.”

“I’m not sure how to take that.”

“Like a man!”

“Still immature, huh, Flame?” James asks, and I look at him.

“Yo!”

“You’re getting stronger,” he says. “What the hell was up with that roar?”

“Did you like it?” I run up to him. “I summoned up all the draconic aspects of my being and unleashed it into a single, primal roar to terrify the horde of evil snowmen!”

“And the soldiers and children,” he shakes his head, looking at the thirty or so kids huddled in the back of the cave. “Kids – this is Flame, one of the wildest cadets in the GMDF, formerly in the GDSF. He’s crazy, he’s talented, and he’s powerful. He may seem dangerous, but he isn’t to the innocent. You saw how his flames avoided you – tell me how many people you know of who can have their area powers ignore certain people, even when washing over them.”

“I’m not sure if I should be grateful or terrified that he showed up,” someone I’ve never seen before, but probably a soldier, says. “We were losing against the snowmen, but from his reputation-”

“I’d like him at my back, no matter what,” James says. “He can kill a threat from a distance, and that is power that can’t be interrupted or blocked. He ripped some kidnappers apart as if it was nothing just by moving his hands through the air. Flame – and his whole team – is a force of unbelievable power.”

“And we’re missing someone,” I sigh.

“He’ll be back,” James says. “It’s only a matter of time before the Council locates him and lets him know that they didn’t approve, and took necessary measures to ensure that doesn’t happen again. Let’s get the kids back to the city, then we can purge it of the snowmen still thriving throughout.”

We start walking, but all the kids are freezing, most of them in their pajamas. So I expand my aura out, letting its warmth fill the air, melting the snow as we walk and preventing anymore from falling on us.

It takes us an hour to meet up with the vehicles that were apparently on their way to join us, and we load the kids up into them before climbing into the final one, where we’re informed that the snowmen in the city are being dealt with, though we’re welcome to help.

When we return to the city, Tuck and I collect my reward from the office on the campus, then return to my room to change into casual clothes to go eat lunch in.

In my room, there are a series of boxes sitting on my bed, and we look at each other in confusion. The door was locked, and only staff could get in. Did staff bring me presents, knowing I celebrate today, even though most don’t? Brooks would’ve called me or hung around, so he could see my reaction for himself to what he gives me.

He’s probably forgotten today’s Christmas. It’s not like very many people celebrate it, and he’s been busy. The rest of the Quartet probably forgot.

I walk up to the presents, and when I see who they’re from, I get real excited.

“What?” Tuck asks me.

“Look!” I show him the card.

“It says ‘To Flame’,” he says.

“Yeah!” I say. “But look! It’s from Santa!”

“It doesn’t say that anywhere!”

“But it is!”

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~~~(Brooks)~~~

“Guys, guys,” I say, and the team looks at me. I wave over Cliff and Gale as well. “I just remembered that today is Flame’s favorite day in the entire year, and he’s probably having a hard time, because he was looking forward to celebrating it with Caleb.”

“What’s today?” Jared asks.

“Christmas!” Gale exclaims as he remembers. “It’s a holiday that predates the Calamity, though no one really celebrates it anymore. Flame found out about it… um, while doing stuff for the village when we were all really, really little, and he’s celebrated it every year since. You give people presents, like for birthday. It happens December 25th, every year. I completely forgot about it, with everything going on!”

“So did I,” I nod. “But then the whole thing with the snowmen made me remember, and don’t ask why, it’s a long story. I’m going to go get a few gifts for Flame, and was wondering if you guys would do it, too. We can wrap them up here and then bring them over to him after, and probably take him out to dinner.

I hear he had quite the fun time melting snowmen.

I’m not surprised he went and saved those kids – not only does he enjoy killing snowmen, but he likes rescuing kids. He can’t stand for anyone threatening them at all. Not since…

Never mind.

“We will, too,” Cliff says. “We always get stuff for Flame, and I can’t believe we forgot about it.”

“Same,” Gale nods. “Flame gets soooo excited.”

“Sure,” Jared says. “Father’s giving me an allowance, and I can use that to get him something he’ll probably like a ton.”

“Sure,” Kieran says. “Meet back here in three hours.”

Kieran vanishes, and we all stare at where he used to be.

“That’s more than he’s spoken since Caleb left,” Jared says. “Let’s get going, you know he’ll be even moodier than usual if we’re not back on time, and that affects the feeling his aura puts off.”

“Yeah,” I snort.

We all leave and head our separate ways, and I look for presents Flame might like. They have their own rooms at the GMDF, apparently, so he can have a fair bit more than we can, which means that food isn’t a necessity. I do pick up a few things, but am passing up a shop when I see something that I know he’ll like.

I also pick up some wrapping paper and tape, then make my way back to the dorm. Kieran’s sitting on his bed, bouncing impatiently, and I notice ripped wrapping paper scattered across his bed.

“What happened to your bed?” I ask. “Never wrapped a present before?”

“Huh?” He looks confused, then points at a bag on his bed. “I stuck it in a gift bag with tissue paper. I had a couple of presents on my bed when I got back.”

“You did?” I ask, and he nods, and I suspect he’s less impatient and more excited. Does he enjoy Christmas, too? “Okay.”

I turn to get on my bed, and find a couple of presents sitting on it. I recognize the handwriting on one as Caleb’s, but I don’t recognize the other, which just says ‘To Brooks’.

“Jared and your brothers have them, too,” Kieran says. “Owen, too. We all got two presents. One from Caleb, one from Santa.”

“You’re as bad as Flame,” I mutter.

“About what?”

Curse you and your Perception.

“Santa is make-believe, Kieran.”

“No, he’s not.”

I’m not going to win this fight, so I sit on my bed and open the presents. The one from Caleb is small, and when I open the box, I discover it’s a smooth, ordinary-looking grey stone. The power emanating from it, on the other hand, tells me it’s not.

The stone is brimming with aquatic energies. There’s a small note in the box, and I hope it explains how Caleb came across a torsone.

Hey, Brooks. I know you don’t celebrate Christmas, but Kieran does, and Santa says that Flame does (I’ve no clue what he got you, by the way, just asked him to give you a present anyway), but I got you a present. It’s a torsone, or as it’s more commonly known as, a torrent stone. It’s filled with aquatic energies, which I’m sure you can sense.

I found it while diving in the Surasor Sea. If you don’t know what a torsone is, beyond what I’ve said, then know that you can store your energies in it. You can’t draw on the aquatic powers within it, but you can store your own watery energies inside of it, and draw it back out at some other time. Or, you can destroy it and cause a big, watery explosion.

Don’t try putting your icy energies inside of it, though. It’ll just break.

Merry Christmas!

Oh – it’s Caleb.

Yeah, Caleb, I know…

I close my eyes as I put my hands on the stone, feeling the power within it. He’s right in that I can’t harness the energies within it, but that’s fine. They’re only ever used for storing water energies. I add some to it, and when I focus on the power within it, see just how much it can fill.

Far more than I can produce in a month. He found a massive one.

I open the present from “Santa” and find a whip inside, this one enchanted with powerful water magics. When I hold it in my hand, I get the sense that I can manipulate the whip using my Ability, and just touching the whip with my Ability, I discover I can increase or decrease its length at will.

“What did you get?” I ask Kieran.

“You’ll have to see when Flame opens them.”

“I meant from Caleb and whoever else got us the presents.”

“Santa.”

I give up.

“What did you get?”

“Santa named a reindeer born this morning after me,” oh dear. “And Caleb got me a sword forged in shadows.”

That does not sound legal.

“Hey, guys,” Jared and my brothers return. “Uh… presents?”

“Caleb and Santa got us a present,” Kieran says.

“Santa?” Jared raises an eyebrow.

“Mystery giver,” I say, and Kieran starts to say something. “You believe in Santa, we don’t.”

Caleb got each of my brothers magic rocks similar to mine, all of them with a note saying he found them doing one thing or another, but from my geography lessons, I know he’s getting around and fast. “Santa” got Gale a stuffed eagle and Cliff a book on exotic plants.

Jared got rare metals from both of them.

We wrap up Flame’s gifts, and I’m curious to know what Caleb and “Santa” got him. When we finish, we grab them and carry them over to the GMDF, asking for permission to bring my brother’s presents to him, for the holiday. They let us in, and we get escorted to Flame’s dorm.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

I knock on the door, and after a moment, he opens it.

“Brooks!” He exclaims. “Caleb just called me to find out if Santa brought my presents!”

Caleb’s on the phone?

“He just hung up,” Flame looks at the phone, then pockets it as he looks at me. “You should see what they got me! He got me fire crystals and teddy bears and stuffed dragons and cookbooks and some new clothes, and Santa got me fuuxar fire crystals and dust and a sword and a book on magic! It’s so cool!”

“Told you Santa existed,” Kieran looks at me pointedly, despite this not being any form of proof at all.

“I know!” Flame exclaims, grabbing Kieran and pulling him into his room. “Let’s ignore the disbelievers. What did Caleb and Santa get you?”

“Santa named a reindeer born this morning after me,” Kieran says. “And Caleb got me a sword forged in shadows.”

“That’s so cool!” Flame exclaims. “Tuck! Did you hear that? Kieran’s got a reindeer named after him!”

Tucker is sitting on Flame’s bed, looking a bit amused by the whole situation.

We enter Flame’s room and give him his presents, and he quickly forgets about Kieran as he opens him. I got my brother a stuffed dragon, too, along with a couple of shirts and a dragon necklace made of some sort of crimson stone and hanging on a silver chain. He immediately pulls that on.

Cliff got Flame some shirts, and Gale got him a stuffed dragon and a stuffed wolf. Jared got him fuuxar crystals, and Kieran got him…

A rock.

A very, very plain rock.

At least…

Until it opens its eyes.

Kieran got Flame a pet rock.

“A PET ROCK!” Flame squeals, and we all cover our ears.

If the pet rock had ears and hands, it would probably be covering its ears, too.

“Thank you!” Flame launches himself into Keiran in a hug, and I look over to Tucker to see how he feels about that. He doesn’t seem to care. “Thank you so much, Kieran! I love pet rocks!”

“You’ve killed the last six you had,” Cliff grumbles. “They have feelings, too, you know.”

“It’s not my fault they died!” Flame pouts at Cliff.

“We were planning on taking you out for a Christmas dinner,” I say before Flame’s mood can drop more, knowing the mention of food will perk him back up. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah!” He slips into his shoes. “Come on, Tuck! Let’s go get dinner!”

“We just ate twenty minutes ago,” Tuck rolls his eyes.

“I’m still hungry,” Flame says. “You should know that by now.”

Yeah, Tucker – you should really know that Flame is always hungry.

“So what did Caleb say?” Kieran asks. “Did he say what he’s doing?”

“He just arrived in Tler,” Flame shrugs. “No clue what he’s doing there, though – he didn’t say, and I didn’t ask. Figured he’d tell me if it was important.”

Tler?

Why the hell is Caleb in that desert? There’s nothing there. At all. It’s literally just a hot desert with very little life at all in it. There are no inhabitants there at all. Even animals and monsters are like ‘fuck this’ and leave it alone.

“Weird place for him to go,” Kieran says. “I wonder if he’s hunting solace snake eggs.”

Hunting what? I’ve never heard of solace snakes.

Kieran doesn’t elaborate on that, so we all head out to a restaurant I made reservations at while shopping. They seat us, despite not wanting to have seven early-teen boys eating unsupervised, but our uniforms keep them from saying anything about it.

I tell Flame to order as much as he wants, that I’ll pay for it all, and he gets excited and starts listing off everything on the menu that he likes. We place our drink orders, then start looking at the menu, because apparently, Flame’s been here enough to know what he likes.

Flame tells us about the battle with the snowmen, and I can’t help but feel like he exaggerated some of the details, like usual. I highly doubt they were twenty feet tall and armed with swords made of ice as they threw ice spears at him.

Tucker just grins through the whole story, and I’m pretty sure he’s doing his best not to laugh his ass off.

As we make our way back to campus, Kieran’s phone ring, and he disappears after checking it.

“Is that normal?” Tucker asks, looking at the spot where Kieran used to be. “Him just vanishing without explanation?”

“Yes,” the rest of us answer in unison, and Flame giggles, then kisses Tucker.

I look away when he does that. It doesn’t quite make me comfortable, seeing him be physically affectionate with another boy.

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~~~(Kieran)~~~

“Caleb,” I say when I answer my phone, after checking to make sure no one is observing the roof I moved to. “Are you hunting solace snake eggs?”

“Maybe,” he answers. “Hey! Give that back! Hold on,” there’s a screeching noise in the background, then Caleb reprimands whatever that was before speaking back into the phone. “Sorry, stupid bird came after my water bottle.”

“Flame said you said you were in Tler,” I say.

“Yup,” he responds. “I’m training. Did you like my present?”

“Thanks,” I say. “How did you get a shadow-forged sword?”

“It was a gift to me,” he answers. “For helping someone out. I told him I wanted it for a present for you.”

“Santa gave us presents,” I say.

“I know!” Caleb exclaims, excitement in his voice. “I got to meet him and his reindeer! They were so awesome! I asked him if he could deliver my gifts to you guys! Hey! Get back here! Hold on, Kier.”

There’s a sound like Caleb running, then a crack followed by screeching.

“That’ll teach you to steal my stuff,” Caleb mutters. “Enjoy being lunch.”

“Lunch?” I ask. “It’s seven in the evening.”

“It’s just before noon, here,” Caleb says. “Timezone difference, remember? I’m behind you. Anyway, I just wanted to see if you got my gift yet. Glad you like it, Kier! I gotta go!”

“Wait!” I say.

“What?”

“The Council reversed the punishment,” he says. “And put all of those instructors – and the one for the mission – on suspension. All of their cases are being reviewed right now. The Council says that you’re welcome back in the GSDF, and believe that you were treated unfairly because of your power.”

“I know,” Caleb responds. “But I’m not returning. I need to get stronger and better, so that I can fight in tight spaces. I really gotta go, though. Bye.”

Caleb hangs up the phone, and I stare at mine after.

He doesn’t realize how much he means to the team, does he? We’re barely holding together.

I wish I could go to Tler right now. It’s so cold here.

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~~~(Caleb)~~~

Stupid birds, trying to take my water. That lightning showed them.

But now their daddy bird is here, and my Ability is acting wonky, as it does in certain conditions. I can’t access it at all.

And the damn bird is dodging my lightning, and won’t stay still long enough for me to hit it. Anytime I do a mass-area spell, he flies out of range. I can’t hit it fast enough.

After twenty minutes of him dodging my attacks, I finally kill him, then pluck him and cook him. He’ll be a nice lunch.

After eating the bird and putting what I can’t fit in me into my spatial inventory, I pack up my stuff and begin walking again, hoping no more of these annoying pests come after me.

It takes me three days to reach the heart of the desert, where the solace snakes live. Ignoring them, I approach the Mirage Oasis and wait until the sun is almost to its peak.

When that finally happens, the water shifts, swirling into a whirlpool, one portion forming steps leading down into the blackness below.

I begin the descent down, reaching the bottom just as the whirlpool sucks back up, forming the oasis above my head, the light shining through the mirage beneath, a solid mirage that appears to most as just a simple pondbottom.

But I know better. I knew that at noon today, the entrance to this Ruin would appear and grant me access. I know that deep within these Ruins is a monster that generates something even rarer than solace snake eggs.

Solstice stones.

Flame will really love those, and it’s the perfect challenge for me, too. Tunnels barely wide enough for three people across, with the risk of trapping myself underneath. All of the monsters here are highly resilient to physical attacks and aura, so magic will be the way to do it.

Their armor, however, is also resilient against magic, meaning I’ll have to use a lot of power in each attack. To avoid collapsing the Ruins around me, I’ll have to be really careful with my shots.

The first wave is here.

They’re massive scorpions, and I place a hand against the side of the Ruins, channeling my magic through them. A moment later, giant stone spikes burst up from the ground, killing the scorpions from below.

“Oh,” I say when I realize what I did. “Oops!”

After the scorpions fade to nothing, I use my magic to remove the spikes. That was kind of silly of me to do, blocking off my path like that. Maybe if I shot stone spikes?

I’d have to be careful to actually hit my targets, and not risk collapsing the place.

An hour of navigating the mazelike Ruin later, I arrive at the stairs that lead down, having determined that maybe my lightning magic is the best option, here. As long as I strike my intended targets. I also determined that I can redirect my magic as it moves, even after I fire it, and that it is not a good idea to collapse one of the only exits.

Thankfully, there’s another route out.

Descending the steps, I look around in the dim cavern, wondering where the boss is.

Nothing comes after me, and I make my way to the wall with the solstice stones. Smooth, round, almost perfectly shaped like chicken eggs, half of the stones swirl with oranges and yellows and reds, the other half with white and pale blues. Summer Solstice Stones and Winter Solstice Stones.

There are thirteen of each. One only forms every decade.

I send them into my ring, then examine the rest of the room until I find the switch and press it. A few moments later, glowing runes form around me, and I find myself on the surface, standing beside the oasis. I look at the solstice snakes staring at me.

“Can I have your eggs?” I ask the snake, and it hisses at me. “Oh, shut up.”

I zap it with lightning, just to paralyze it, then collect the eggs and send them into my ring. They’ll sell for a nice price.

I leave before the paralysis wears off, making my way out of the desert.

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~~~(Jared)~~~

“Jared Fuller,” one of the new instructors approaches me, and I salute. He salutes, then drops his hand, and I do the same. “You’ve been selected for the first batch of the winter vacation groups. You have two hours to pack enough for a week or two, then meet at the campus car park, if you wish to go. You’ll be gone for two weeks, and relieved of all missions and jobs during that time period. You’ll be required to make up your missing work from while you’re there once you return. This is a joint vacation performed with the GMDF youth cadets, and all cadets are expected to behave. Can I tell them to expect you?”

“Yes, sir,” I say.

“Very well,” he says, then turns and leaves, and I make my way to my dorm to find the Quartet packing their bags.

“Did you three get selected for the vacation, too?” I ask.

“No,” Cliff answers. “We got selected for a training mission that will last a few weeks, joint with the GMDF cadets. Flame and Tucker are going, which is going to make this very interesting.”

Hope those two lovebirds can behave during it.

“Do you have a pre-briefing brief?” I ask.

“We’ll be at Turner Fort,” Cliff nods. “Things calmed down there, so they felt they could send three cadets from each there for a little practical experience. Three weeks learning how all that is done. It’s Tucker, Flame, and the sand wizard Flame bested in the duel, whatever his name is.”

“Gavin,” Brooks says. “And he hates Flame for the embarrassment of challenging a GSDF soldier and getting bested with magic. Honestly, I think they picked the three worst cadets to work on a mission together.”

“Actually,” I say. “It’s a good idea, and I can see their reasoning. It’s a calm place, so they’ll be able to work out their differences – or not – and Tucker and Flame can learn to control themselves while working near each other. And all six of you get to learn what it’s like to guard a fort.”

They finish packing their stuff, and I start packing mine. Once I finish, I make my way to the car park and wait for the others to show up. There are fifteen of us total, and the last cadet to arrive is Owen.

“Hey, Owen,” I greet him with a fist bump. “Looks like we can finally hang out again.”

“Yeah!” He laughs. “Every time one of us is free, the other’s busy. We’ve got two weeks to catch up, now.”

“Indeed,” I say.

The chaperons have us get into the two vans they’re using, and drive us to the airfield, where the GMDF cadets meet up with us. The thirty of us cadets and our six chaperons board the GSDF airship, the chaperons gathering us in the luxury lounge to give us the rules for the vacation. Misbehaving will result in five hundred laps around the track when we return, without the use of Abilities or magic to assist us.

The lounge has a rich, wooden floor polished to a fine shine, the tables matching with silky tablecloths covering them. Ceramic plates and glass cups rest at each place, a bouquet of flowers in blue glass vases at the center of each table.

This isn’t an ordinary GSDF airship, but an expensive one, usually reserved for air events and meetings, for those whose ranks start with “General”, and, for some reason, cadets going on vacation.

The briefing done, staff bring us lunch, a full five-course meal, and I get the feeling there’s a General or something on the ship.

That is confirmed when Father enters the dining room, along with his usual contingent of guards. He spots me and makes his way over, the couple of others at my table staring. The GMDF cadets are all staring in shock and confusion, while the GSDF cadets are just staring in shock.

No one stands up and salutes, which I find a little amusing, since we’re technically supposed to follow all protocol still. They’re probably in too much of shock – past Owen – to remember protocol.

“Jared,” Father says.

“Father,” I say, and he gestures to the empty seat beside me.

“Is this taken?”

“No, sir.”

Father sits down, waving to his guards, who move away from the table.

“I didn’t know you were in town,” I say.

“We arrived a few hours before boarding,” he answers. “I’m on my way to the island on official business.”

“The kind you can talk about?”

“Caleb is supposedly on it,” he answers. “I decided to visit the island, to verify, and if so, apologize for our misunderstandings.”

“I’m still laughing about the turtles.”

“Your friend has an interesting negotiation method.”

“He’s as stubborn as can be,” I laugh. “And won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

“Which is why he quit,” Father nods. “And the decision was ruled inappropriately. The instructor set him up to fail the mission, and the board who judged him failed to see that just because something is a familiar, doesn’t mean it can be controlled. They tried telling a mortal to control a Rift Wolf. Only a fool would believe that was possible. To be honest, we on the Council aren’t even sure how Caleb managed to gain one as his familiar. The unicorn alone was impressive to us.”

I’m still amazed Caleb made the unicorn his familiar. The Rift Wolf? Yeah… not so surprising. That was exactly like Caleb to do… by accident.

“So you’re going to see if he’s on the island, and personally apologize on behalf of the Council?” I ask.

“Indeed,” Father nods. “We are hoping he’ll rejoin the GDF.”

“He’s made it clear to Flame and Kieran,” I say. “The latter of whom is his best friend, that he has no intention of doing so. We haven’t been able to determine where he is. The only hint we had was a week and a half ago, when he arrived in Tler and called us then for Christmas.”

“The sighting says he’s been on the island for about a week,” Father says. “Though no one’s managed to take a picture of him to use to confirm it. Seems anytime they try, something interferes.”

“If it’s Caleb,” I say. “He’s probably got some barrier or something up to shield him from prying eyes.”

I wonder if Teacher knows where he is.

Probably, since nothing escapes Caleb’s powerful mentor.

Twelve hours later, the airship finally lands on the island, and Father starts to walk away with his guards.

“Father,” I walk over to him as I remember something, and he waits for me to arrive. “I did just remember – Caleb is refusing to return. Flame tried talking him into it, but more than that, he rejected Kieran asking him to. He might accept your apology, but if he rejects Kieran’s request, he’ll probably reject the request of a Councilman.”

“Understood,” Father nods. “I will still make the request, regardless, for there is the chance that will he accept.”

“Understandable,” I say. “Farewell, Father.”

“I’ll see you around,” Father puts a hand on my head, messing up my hair as he leaves.

Owen chuckles as he approaches as I try to fix my hair, and I glare at him.

“He probably did that on purpose,” I say.

“You two are so much like each other, it’s amusing,” he says. “Your way of speaking, your way of moving – you even made him wait as you walked over to him, not rushed over to the important member of the Council of Dreams who’s on official business – something I can see him doing as well. He did just spend twelve hours speaking with his son while he’s supposedly on official business.”

“Father and I,” I realize that Father and I have never really talked before, not like this. “After Caleb’s negotiations with him, Father and I have been communicating a fair bit more. That’s the first time we’ve seen each other since then, and I suppose we just needed to talk.”

“He told us plenty of embarrassing things about you,” Owen laughs. “I wonder how Caleb would react if he found out about your little antics when you were five!”

My face heats up. That is not something I want Caleb to know about. He’d call me weird, then probably ask me if I need to see a doctor. For months, he’d probably give me funny looks and randomly ask me random questions.

Oh, wait…

He already does that.

The instructors take us to the hotel, and once we’re all in our rooms – Owen and I are rooming together, and I’m glad for that – we’re allowed to utilize the resort’s facilities.

Owen and I change into swim trunks, grab towels, and walk down to the beach, which is probably amusing to the rest of our cadets. The guy with metal and the guy with electricity as their Abilities going to a source of water. One will rust, and one will shock the rest.

We arrive at the beach and begin to search for a spot to spread our towels – which shouldn’t really be that hard, considering that this is an expensive island to vacation on, so there are only around twenty other people on the massive beach, but we’re a little bit picky.

“Jared,” Owen calls my name, and I look at him. He waves me over, then points to someone. “Found Caleb.”

I look over and spot Caleb sitting on a violet towel, wearing a pair of violet shorts with a swirling black design that’s probably magical, since it’s slowly swirling around the shorts. He’s wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, and I’m reminded of the changes in all of us as I see his toned body and six-pack abs. We’ve all gotten leaner and our muscles more defined since basic, and while some, like Owen, have worked to buff up, most of us have kept the slender forms because of the slight boost to our speed.

I’m about to call over to my teammate when I notice who he’s sitting by, and stop in my tracks.

Sitting right next to him, on the other side of his towel, is a girl around our age, with long, brown hair and eyes that remind me of amethysts. If I were straight, she’s the kind of girl I’d be going after.

And Caleb’s chatting up a storm with her, a slight smile on his lips.

“Duuuuude!” Owen exclaims. “Caleb’s got a girlfriend!”

Caleb’s says something to her, then gets up and walks off, making his way to a food stand, and Owen and I take that opportunity to approach her.

“Hello,” I say.

“Hi!” She smiles at us.

“That your boyfriend?”

“He’s just a friend,” she says. “He’s so sweet, though.”

“Yes, he is,” I say. “Has he showed you his turtles?”

“His turtles?” She looks confused. “You know him?”

“Of course I do,” I smile at her. “Caleb’s a good friend of ours. When he returns, ask him about his turtles. He loves turtles, and has been known to walk around town with one on his head simply because it wanted to go for a walk, but it was moving a fair bit too slow.”

“Seriously?” She asks, and I pull out my phone and show her a picture I snapped of him doing just that, causing her to laugh. “He’s so adorable!”

“Yes, he is,” I nod. “How do you know him?”

“He came here to vacation,” she says. “We met at a little cafe. He approached me because I have an unusual aura, he said.”

“I got ice cream!” Caleb is holding a large bowl filled with ice cream, sprinkles, and chocolate syrup. I wonder if he knows that’s a couples’ bowl… “I got a big bowl, so we can share instead of getting two little bowls and running out quickly.”

Yeah… he definitely doesn’t know.

Caleb gives me a stern glare, and I realize from his gaze that he knows exactly what he got – he’s just trying to pretend like he doesn’t.

That kills any hope I have of being able to get with him. Dammit.

“Hey, Caleb,” I say.

“Jared. Owen.”

“We’re here on vacation,” I explain. “Two weeks every summer and winter, though we missed the summer vacation, due to having the rest period from BT.”

“Cool,” he says without emotion. “This is Emma, her aura’s unusual.”

“We saw you and thought we’d come over and say ‘hi’,” I try not to laugh at his statement, which might be an excuse he came up with to talk to her. “It was nice meeting you, Emma. Oh, and before we leave, Caleb – Father’s on the island as well, seems the Council heard you might be here, and he came to personally apologize to you for the incidents on campus, and ask you to rejoin the Global Supernatural Defense Federation – or the Global Magical Defense Federation, if you want to go to the other side.”

“You didn’t tell me you were GSDF!” Emma exclaims, looking at Caleb.

“Former,” Caleb says, shooting me another glare, and I grin at him, then walk off, Owen following close behind.

“That was mean,” Owen comments.

“You do realize that he’s trying to get her to kiss him, right?” I ask.

“What makes you think that?”

“The glare he gave me when he returned,” I say. “It told me he wanted alone time with her,” I sigh. “I suppose I’ll never have a chance with him, since he’s clearly into girls. And damn does he have a fine body, too. That whole aura thing is probably just him trying to get close with her.”

“She does,” Owen comments, and I look at him. “I’ve never really mentioned it, but I’ve got a sense for auras. Colonel Sparks asked me how strongly I could sense them, back in BT. It seems it’s common for an electric Elemental to be able to, to some degree, and since I can almost get true lightning down, she figured that I probably could do so on a strong level, like her.”

“How’s her aura unusual?” I ask.

“Aura comes off as colorless,” he answers. “Most of the time. Not like with Irina’s sense, which gives her three colors; red, green, and purple. There are rare exceptions. Caleb and Teacher both have pure-violet auras, and Caleb’s rivals Teachers, but the latter is probably suppressing his more.”

“What’s Emma’s aura?”

“Red as blood,” he answers. “And just as thick.”