Prologue

 

I had failed.

Those words weighed heavy on my soul. I helplessly watched San Francisco burn, ravaged by the Earth Elemental Gaia’s massive quake. Flames engulfed entire blocks, causing great billows of black smoke to rise high above the city. The air felt gritty, hot, and thick, making it impossible to breathe without choking on soot that rained from the sky.

Structures slanted at awkward angles until they tumbled and squashed the residents’ cars tightly lining the steep streets. Rows of townhomes collapsed like playing cards stacked upon one another. Giant fissures opened in the earth, cleaving the black asphalt of the street in half. Nearby, freeways buckled as large spans of elevated roads crashed to the earth. The trusses buckled and broke, sending a few unfortunate motorists airborne. Car alarms blared unheeded, unintentionally set off by the violent shaking of the ground. Trolley cars crowded with commuters tumbled on their sides. Sounds of shattering glass and cracking masonry mixed with the panicked screams of residents when fires ignited entire neighborhoods.

Seismologists would later pinpoint the epicenter to the nearby geologically unstable San Andreas Fault, but I knew the truth behind the destruction and loss of life.

Gaia created this quake.

Still, I couldn’t stop blaming myself for the utter destruction that surrounded me. As an Elemental, I possessed the power to generate fire, but not to halt its course. Hydros—the Elemental master of the watery realm—was the only one capable of achieving that feat by dousing the uncontrollable blaze with a sudden outburst from the sky.

And she couldn’t do a thing to help…because I had destroyed her.

Guilt heaped on my mind as thousands, perhaps millions, flocked to the streets. I darted away from the chaos to the top of the nearest hill for a better view. The widespread destruction affected everything in sight, sparing nothing and no one.

“You may feel powerless right now,” said a voice, “but I can assist you.”

I turned, startled by the noise and its familiarity that echoed in my ear. A few yards away stood the lava woman from my dream. I spun around to face her, instantly recognizing her long trusses of silky hair—as black as a moonless night—that spilled down her back and fell in waves to her bare feet. I thought back to my dream in the hospital, remembering the molten lava that hardened beneath her toes. I could never forget her powerful dark eyes, filled with intelligence…and her sudden flare of anger, generating a tempestuous eruption of lava with a swift flick of her hand.

“Who are you? And what do you want from me?” I asked, hoping for a verbal response this time.

She stood silently, stoically amidst the destruction—a reminder of the persistent threat. And in that moment, I understood the truth behind her sudden appearance. I must stop the remaining Elementals, but couldn’t complete the difficult task alone. She gave a small wave of her hand, beckoning me to accept her assistance. Suddenly, I understood her full meaning: she could train me to complete this formidable task. I only had to follow her.

I glanced back over my shoulder, ashamed to leave this city in ruins.

When I didn’t move from my spot, the lava woman challenged, “You may have stopped them once, but what about the next time?”

“Please. Help me to save these people now. Everything that’s happened is all my fault!” I folded my hands together, begging her to halt the destruction and spare these innocent people. If she truly held the power to move the earth, couldn’t she also silence Gaia’s shaking?

She gave me a small, sympathetic smile before she turned on her heels and disappeared behind the rubble of a fallen building. I ran after her, desperate for her aid. But I found only a wispy trail of vapor that danced on the breeze. And after a minute, the trail vanished from sight.

I suspected she held the secrets I sought but chose to conceal them from me…at least for now. I dropped to my knees, burying my head in my hands with despair, knowing that I could have prevented the city’s destruction and tragedy.

If only I had left this place in time.