Page 73 of Elemasters

He recognized it immediately, Sophomore Homecoming. Colorful Trauma’s first big performance. The night Dustin realized his true potential for the very first time.

But even back then, he didn’t feel quite… whole. While he was comfortable on stage, he still felt like he was performing. The guy on stage wasn’t really him any more than the star of the Kochiyama High swim team was. But that was the most “fire” he’d ever been, so anchoring himself in that energy would at least allow him to incorporate the ring’s power without burning himself alive.

As quickly as the scenery changed, he found himself floating in the grotto once more, but with both rings now resting on his hand.

“You have survived the bonding process to the Fire Ring,” Sima Yao breathed a sigh of relief, “I lament that you will not have more time to master it outright, but we must act decisively. The four of you should take this time to prepare for confrontation. Steel your body, hearts and minds for the battle to come,”

“And what will you do, Sima?” James asked, his voice tinged with worry.

“I will ascend to the Heavenly Plane and seek support in my effort to secure the palace. I am not… in favor with the Jade Emperor or much of his court. But I do still have some supporters among them. Perhaps Lu Ban will be willing to assist me; he built this place, and I doubt that he would be pleased if it were to fall, even if he does not care much for me,”

“Oh please, who wouldn’t love you Sima? You’re beautiful and cryptic, you’re like every girl’s dream,” Chloe teased, actually managing to make the ghost smile.

“If only everyone among the Heavenly Court shared your taste, Lady Li. Or, appreciated what the other Sages and I were attempting to accomplish in our defeat of Qin Shi Huang. Unfortunately, many of them saw our efforts as nothing more than a collection of foolhardy humans, wielding power they had no right to in a fruitless attempt to correct another’s sin. That disdain was only calcified when our victory against the emperor merely resulted in the fracturing of his soul,”

Dustin shook his head in frustration; if anyone understood how it felt to be blamed for trying to fix something, it was him.

“Well for now, we’ll all head back home and do whatever we can to get ready for this,” Bailey said somberly, “we’re getting Chris back. No question about it,”

Sima Yao nodded, and intense mist rose around the group, obscuring the room.

Dustin glanced down at the red and black rings on his fingers, and his mouth pressed into a thin line.

There was absolutely no turning back now, and he wasn’t giving up until the Fire Ring was back with its rightful owner.

Chapter 29

Angels With Dirty Faces

Ever since he was a kid, Christmas had been Dustin’s favorite time of year. The colder weather, the beautiful lights and decorations all around town, the way it felt like everyone was just a little nicer as the holiday approached. It was almost magical.

But now Dustin knew magic was real. And that reality completely dissolved his nostalgia.

Two weeks had passed since Dustin took on the Fire Ring, and Sima Yao was still working to secure the Palace of Radiant Clouds before the group could launch their attempted rescue mission…

Which meant that Dustin had to look his parents in the eye, and tell them Chris was “missing”.

Him and Chloe concocted a story about how her and Chris’s fictitiously rekindled relationship ended in a blowout argument, and Chris had run off into the woods in anger, only to never come back.

Of course his dad raged at him, like it was somehow his fault. But strangely, his mom didn’t say a single word to him. She still hadn’t after two weeks. She simply called the police to report him missing, organized search efforts, stayed out every night until the early morning hours in a vain attempt to find her son.

The same son that Dustin knew full well wasn’t missing. At least, not in the way she thought.

He’d tried to keep himself as busy as possible; blowing off school as much as he could, with the excuse that he was joining the search parties. Meanwhile, his parents believed that he and Chloe, along with Bailey and James were forming a group of their own to find Chris.

Truthfully, he’d been trying his best to get a handle on wielding fire and water at once.

That was the only thing that would truly bring Chris home; not a militia of their neighbors wandering aimlessly through the woods.

And so, he found himself on the rocky beach past the outskirts of town, about a half a mile away from the Wayfair Ridge Reservation. The kind of place no one would find him and the others.

“Alright, let’s try it one more time,” Bailey said as a pillar of rock rose from beneath the sand behind her, “remember, focus on hitting it with both elements at once, with equal intensity. You got this Dusty!”

“Yeah, you’re gonna crush it! And as a reward, I’ll suck…” James winced as Chloe shoved him, “… all the doubts out of you!”

“Along with other things, I’m sure,” Chloe rolled her eyes, “ignore your loser boyfriend and focus! Distraction can’t be good,”

Dustin closed his eyes, reflexively activating his water power and feeling the cool rush through his blood as he did so. He focused on holding it steady, while shifting another part of his mind to reach for the fire energy within him. The creative spark of writing song lyrics or improvising a bass riff. The adoring cheers of the crowd after he hit a killer high note. The unshakable love he had for Chris that was fueling him to do all of this in the first place.