Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

brAN

It’s completely against my better judgment that I turn into the driveway of an expensive-looking house across the street from the beach in an upscale neighborhood. No way can conservationists afford to live like this… I think.

“We should have gone home,” I say for the thirtieth time, and once again, Cody huffs and rolls his eyes. He’s the only reason I’m here—his insistence that we follow the… I don’t know what to call them. The people he thinks are superheroes but most likely are just messing with him? Worst case, they’re scammers, but Cody and I don’t have anything for them to scam us out of. There’s about thirty-seven dollars in my bank account right now, and payday isn’t until Thursday.

I just really don’t want to see Cody get hurt. He’s been so excited the whole drive here, telling me more about the legends and stories on the website he found. It’s inevitable that his excitement is going to be shattered, but if I don’t let that happen now, I’m worried that he will get scammed by these men. I work a lot, and Cody’s a smart kid. He could easily find a way to stay in contact with them if I just refused to hear them out at all.

That doesn’t mean I can’t prepare him for what’s coming. “Codes,” I begin, turning to face him. He stops with his hand on the door handle and shoots me an impatient glance. I can see the other men getting out of their cars, but they can wait a minute. “I know this all seems pretty compelling, but chances are, these guys aren’t really superheroes. You know that, right?”

He shrugs, his expression turning superior. “Sure. There’s a good chance that it’s exactly like you said: they found the website, too, and decided to adopt a schtick to help promote their conservation work. But if that’s what they’re doing, not only is it a terrible idea, they also suck at it.”

Uh. “What?”

“C’mon, Bran. Would you consider a conservationist credible if they claimed to be the embodiment of an element, here to save the world? Of course not. Nobody would. So that’s a stupid idea if they genuinely want to make a difference.”

He’s right, and I nod slowly, not understanding why we’re here if he doesn’t believe it’s true. “Yeah. I agree.”

“The second possibility is that they’re not claiming to actually be elements, but they want to use that schtick for promotion. In which case, why haven’t they set up a billion social media pages and gotten a media agent or PR company involved? Dyeing your hair and using a nickname isn’t going to attract attention to your cause if nobody knows about it.”

It really bugs me sometimes that my sixteen-year-old brother has a better grasp on logic than I do. “True.”

He continues. “Option three is that they’re setting up a con of some kind. In which case, they’re shit outta luck with us, because we’re smart and have nothing to give them. Unless they want information from someone in prison, in which case I’ll give them Dad’s details, but since he hadn’t been in contact for six years before he got convicted, I’m not sure that’ll do them any good.”

I hide my wince. Dad left when Cody was four, but he wasn’t a great parent to either of us in all the years before that. He definitely didn’t move on to better things. Logically, I know it’s no great loss that he’s not in our lives, but I wish Cody had a better origin story than “raised by clueless older brother because dad is a deadbeat even before he went to prison for assault with a deadly weapon and mom has early onset Alzheimer’s and doesn’t remember she has children.”

“The last possibility,” Cody concludes, “is the least likely: that they’re actually superheroes. Gotta be honest, I’m hoping for this one. But I know that’s just because I’m the kind of person who wants to believe there’s a chance I won’t have to live in a bubble one day because we’ve destroyed the air quality and the ambient temperature is too hot to be livable.”

I pull a face. “I think we all want to believe in that chance.” Though I’ll probably be dead before it gets to that, there’s a chance Cody might have to live the last years of his life that way.

“So, hoping for number four, really hoping it’s not number three, but I think number two is the most likely. In which case, I can help.”

Crap. “Which was number two again?”

“The one you need toilet paper for.” He laughs at his own joke, and I grin. I love it when he acts like a typical teenage boy. “It’s the situation where they need a marketing team.”

“Oh. And you want to help?” I’m not sure how comfortable I am?—

His face lights up, and I hold in a sigh. “Yeah! I mean, I’m not an expert, but I can set up a website and run some socials for them. I could do it from home after school, and technically, it’s volunteering and work experience, so it’ll look good on my college applications.”

It’s not like I can argue when he’s being smart and sensible. “Okay, so here’s the plan.” I try to sound reasonable and encouraging. “We go in there and find out which of your options is the right one. If it is number two”—I ignore his snort—“then I want to hear more about what these guys are working on and their plans before you’re allowed to offer help. Agreed? I don’t want you involved in anything shady.”

He nods. “Agreed. But I don’t think it’ll be shady.” He’s out of the car before I can protest his youthful naivety.

I follow, almost chasing him up the front steps to a fucking amazing deck. It looks out over the ocean and spans the width of the house. It’s also deep enough to be a room of its own, and it’s furnished comfortably with the kind of outdoor setting that costs more than the furniture we’ve got in our living room. No way does conservation pay this well.

Despite the fact that this whole setup is screaming “rich people,” the deck, at least, looks comfortable and lived in. There’s a couple of pairs of shoes abandoned by the front door and a giant purple beach towel draped over the railing.

Trying not to look like I want to grab my brother and run, I join them and perch beside Cody on one of the wicker sofas. The cushion underneath me is surprisingly comfortable for being one of those waterproof outdoor fabrics. I thought it would be plasticky.

“So,” I say, determined to maintain control of this situation, “I’m not sure I understood what you were trying to say back at the Institute.”

“Because it sounded insane?” the one who was introduced as George says. “Yeah, we get that. That’s why we don’t usually tell people .” He glares at the green-haired guy whose name I’m not sure I can say properly. Either? Ethan? Probably not Ethan, since that’s a little on the normal side… but then, there’s George. And Perry.

“I told you when we found River that this had never happened before,” Etherton says. No, that’s definitely not it—too many syllables. “Now it’s happened before. Once.”

“Aether, I love you, but sometimes I really hate you,” Perry declares, and I mentally repeat Aether , trying to commit the sound to memory.

“Flame, tell the story,” Aqua says, then turns to Cody. “Flame tells it best. George gets annoyed if you don’t understand right away, Zeph gets distracted, and I go on too many tangents.”

“What about Aether?” I ask, more because I feel like I should than because I care. “Or Perry, or River?”

“I’ve never told it before,” River says. “I’m new here.”

Perry nods. “Same. That I’ve never told it before, I mean. Usually it gets told to me. I guess I’m also kind of new here? This time, anyway.”

I look at my brother and am relieved to see skepticism on his face.

“Let’s take a minute,” the redhead known as Flame, aka my possible arsonist, says. “Aether, are you really sure about this?”

Aether looks surprised. “Of course.”

Flame takes a deep breath and mutters, “Of course.” He looks at Cody. “Okay. So I have no idea what that website says, exactly, but from what you mentioned before, it sounded pretty accurate. We just didn’t know that man was so obsessed with George that he… documented it.” He glares at George. “Or that his descendants would hunt down other sightings and document them.”

“Am I in there?” Aqua asks. “I’ve saved some people. Sometimes.”

“No tangents,” Flame says immediately. “We can check the website later. Until then, be happy that you’re the reason merpeople myths exist.”

Aqua grins. “I’m not a merman,” he assures us. “They have tails.”

“Are they real?” Cody asks, eyes wide, and Aqua pulls a face and shakes his head.

“No. At least, I’ve never seen one, and the ocean never told me about any.”

“Tangents,” Flame interrupts. “We’re tangenting.”

George scoffs. “That’s not a word.”

The glare he gets from Flame this time is almost incendiary. “Do you want to tell the story?”

Immediately raising his hands in surrender, George sits back, and Flame turns to face us, pinning what I think is supposed to be a pleasant smile on his face. It looks more like a grimace.

“The short version is, whenever one of the four elements becomes unbalanced, the corresponding one of us is incarnated to bring it back under control. That means that sometimes there will be none of us alive, sometimes one, sometimes more. When things get really unbalanced and all four of us are already here, Perry is born, and some time later, if things still aren’t better, Aether incarnates.”

I blink three times fast. What?

“Wait,” Cody says slowly. “I’m not sure I’m following all of this. You’re not immortal superheroes?”

Flame shakes his head even as Aqua says, “I wish. That would be awesome .”

River pats his arm. “Honey, you’re already the embodiment of water. Don’t be greedy.”

“So… wait. Did you say Perry is born ? But the rest of you ‘incarnate’?” Cody’s fascinated, but I’m still not sure which of his four options this is… or if it’s a fifth “in need of psychological assessment” option.

“That’s right,” Flame says. “Aether is the essence of life itself. His presence gives us a power boost, but it also starts a clock ticking. Sometime after he incarnates, he and Perry will find each other. They’re fated mates—opposite halves of a soul, if you will. Perry isn’t an elemental at all. He’s born into the dominant species of the time—humanity, right now. It gives him a perspective that we lack.”

Huh? This is so confusing. Can’t they just say they’re immortal superheroes so I can take Cody home?

“What do you mean, it starts a clock ticking?” Cody asks. Shit—I missed that completely.

“Our purpose is to restore the elements to balance so the health of the planet can be maintained,” Flame explains. “The thing is, the planet has its own hard reset button, so to speak. Eventually, it will restore balance on its own… but the species currently alive may not survive the process. We do everything we can to fix things before it gets to that point, but in some cases, there’s a time to stop fighting.”

I pinch myself. Am I dreaming this?

“Oh my god,” Cody whispers. “Perry’s born human because he knows what humans can handle. What we can come back from. And he’s the opposite half of Aether, who’s life. Perry decides when it’s time to stop fighting.” He turns to Perry. “You’re the angel of death.”