Elemental Thesis: Unbound

By M. S. Lagares

Today is a special day for Makenna Circe Thesis, and she has decided to go all out. Now that Mack has turned eighteen, she’s determined to show everyone—including her overprotective mother, Cybele—that she is no longer a tomboy and child.

But a night that was supposed to be the best celebration ever turns into a nightmare that breaks her heart and tears Mack’s family apart. The powers that have been dormant in her and her siblings since they were babies have manifested themselves.

The four must now prepare for a life they could not have imagined. They are the Elementals, and the future of the universe resides with them. But they are not alone, and Mack finds herself drawn to a man who could destroy them all before they even have a chance to fight.

The first in the Elemental Thesis series, this fantasy novel follows four special children who are destined for more than they ever dreamed of.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Apr 3, 2014
• ISBN: 9781483409726

Book preview

reality.

PROLOGUE

Cybele stood at the East corner of the clearing hunched over a crude altar on the ground.

As her hands worked swiftly tears rolled down her cheeks unnoticed. Never did she think she would do such a thing. Her tears spoke of her sorrow in a way her words could not.

Across the clearing a rustling drew her head up. Just breaking through the low lying limbs of the pine trees was the family’s crone. A sweet, loving women with a honeyed, wrinkled face upon a short and stocky body. Maria’s long silver hair glowed in the moonlight as if she were a spirit floating across the ground.

This was the women whose shoulders Cybele spent the last few weeks crying on.

Maria, like most of the others, didn’t agree with Cybele’s decision. She spoke vehemently against it at every discussion. But Cybele was determined to do what she felt was needed.

Despite Maria’s own feelings, she had resolved that she would stand by Cybele and help her. She knew that if Cybele was set on this course of action, the magic would be stronger with her support. She would do her best to ensure that the strongest magic possible was cast, for it could be disastrous if the magic failed or fell apart too soon.

The crone carried in her strong, but frail looking arms, Cybele’s baby daughter. At only a few months old she was more powerful than the strongest witches in the family, aside from her siblings, who showed powers equally as strong. She was brought to the circle for a purpose.

The Goddess was represented by the power of three- The Maiden, The Mother and The Crone.

The little girl, aside from being one of the strongest witches, was one of the family’s newest maidens and would complete the power of three. Cybele would represent the mother alongside the family’s oldest member- the crone.

The old woman joined Cybele at the East corner and placed the little baby on a blanket in the soft grass. She was sound asleep at this very late hour. Cybele wanted to ensure the spell had every chance of enduring, and magic was always strongest when powered by the moon.

Maria joined Cybele at the altar and began working alongside her in silence, but Cybele could feel the concern emanating off of the old women in waves. After a few minutes the silence was broken by the crone’s soft whispered voice.

Are you sure Cybele? Once this is done, you cannot undo it.

I’m sure.

Perhaps we can postpone it for a few days, to give us time to think of another way.

No! Cybele tensed. This was the same conversation they had had for that last few weeks.

We can no longer wait. Every day we postpone is a day they risk being discovered. They are stronger every day and every day it is harder and harder to hide them. We are out of time. Cybele’s voice rose with her anxiety.

I think this is a mistake. Maria spoke softly. We can teach them. What good will it do them to not learn to use the gifts they have?

Cybele sighed. I understand what you’re worried about, but their powers are too strong already. They are too young to have any kind of control and I fear they will be discovered before they are old enough to protect themselves. We can prepare them in other ways, without letting them know the truth, so when the time comes they have a better chance than they do now.

I just can’t help but feel this is wrong, to bind them in this way. To keep this a secret from them, it just feels wrong.

Cybele’s tears were flowing fast now.

I know it does. If they were children with average gifts I would agree, but they aren’t. You’ve seen what’s already been happening. How strong their magic is. I’m surprised no one has come for them already. As wrong as this feels, it feels worse to just sit back and do nothing to protect them. If there was another way, I would take it. But there is no other way.

She turned to Maria and grabbed both her hands. She gently pulled them to her lips and kissed them with affection and reverence.

Please, she whispered. I cannot do this without you. I need your love and support. There is so much ahead that must be faced, I need you by my side. She laid her head upon the crone’s lap and continued to sob quietly while her tears flowed with abandon. The old woman’s hand smoothed Cybele’s hair away from her face as she sighed deeply.

Maria truly understood the great weight of responsibility that lay upon Cybele’s frail shoulders. She knew this choice was not an easy one and in truth Maria was unsure what she would have chosen if she were in Cybele’s place. She gently pulled on Cybele’s chin and looked her in the eyes with a new determination in her voice.

Be at peace Cybele. I will stand by you from this moment, to my last breath. She kissed her forehead. I will not abandon you or my precious babies. Now, she pulled Cybele up and looked into her tear stained eyes, let’s finish this awful magic tonight and be done with it.

Both women returned to their work quietly while the baby slept peacefully next to them, unaware of what was about to transpire.

With the preparations complete, the women took their places at the altar, laying the baby between them. With voices strong and clear, the wind carrying their cadences, the women cast their circle. They continued to work their magic until the moment came to speak the words that would bind the powers of four small souls.

Cybele bent down to her daughter, kissed her head and picked her up into her arms. She slowly turned back towards the old woman, tears again falling from her tired red eyes, and placed her daughter gently in the crone’s arms.

She turned her attention back to the four small poppets that lay innocently in the center of the altar. They were beautiful little dolls, handmade by Cybele herself, laying side by side waiting for their time to be useful.

Cybele picked up each poppet, which contained a tiny piece of hair from each of her children, and wrapped a piece of twine firmly around them. She continued to wrap each poppet until the entire doll was securely bound, like a boa constrictor around its victim. When she was done, she laid them back on the altar and turned to the old woman to take the baby back in her arms.

In an ethereal voice that always sent a chill up Cybele’s back, the crone called out to the moon and the Gods, casting her magic into the world.

The time has come, the four have appeared,

Your gifts to us we hold so dear,

Our salvation you have brought to this place,

We thank the Gods and the celestial race.

But too young they are now,

Too small and frail to succeed,

So we call to you,

Dear Goddess of three,

Bind these powers in ones so young

Of these fledgling witches

Till there true time comes

Keep them tightly bound for their safety we seek

Till the age of reason, the youngest one does reach.

Then so will the binds be broken at last

And all their powers restored for their task.

You have blessed us now, we thank thee.

Our desire is cast,

So mote it be.

The last four words Cybele spoke in unity with her. The deed was done. The binding spell was cast. Now, they must wait. Cybele prayed the Gods heard them and granted their wish.

She wasn’t sure how long it would be until she knew whether the binding had succeeded or not, but she assumed it wouldn’t be long. The children’s powers were constantly manifesting, uncontrolled. She would surely notice right away if the powers they wielded were indeed bound.

She was not wrong in her assumption, but it left her feeling disturbed and hollow.

As she made the first movements to complete the ritual a sudden gust of wind swept through the clearing. It was quickly followed by strong tempest winds. The gusts were powerful and potent. They began to blow the tips of the trees so hard that they leaned inwards like a row of priests kneeling before them.

Cybele and Maria huddled together in a crouch, protecting the baby from the lashing winds. A fast, heavy rain followed, slamming down upon their heads. Yet when Cybele was able to glance at the sky through her squinted eyes, she could see there were hardly any clouds above.

She grabbed the baby tighter into her arms and covered her with the cloak that she wore around her shoulders, keeping the baby safe from the sudden storm. Then, despite the heavy rain that surely should have doused them out, the candles suddenly burned brighter. The flames surged upwards, reaching towards the sky as if they were flamethrowers and not small, insignificant candles. Cybele gasped and took a step back for fear of having her clothing catch on fire.

Within Cybele’s hands her daughter stirred for the first time since her emergence into the clearing. Her eyes still tightly closed in sleep, she opened her mouth and abruptly let out a blood curdling scream that echoed in the clearing and rippled out into the woods. It was louder than the storm itself and far more terrifying.

Cybele froze, fear marred her face at the sound that came from her tiny daughter’s lips. It was a sound she hoped never to hear again, but knew she would never forget. It was as if her daughter had reached inside Cybele’s chest and ripped out her heart. The pain Cybele felt from that scream was tremendous.

Just as suddenly, the scream cut off and the baby settled back down into a peaceful sleep, as if moments before she hadn’t made such a frightening sound. The winds died, the rain stopped and the candles went out the moment the baby’s cry had ceased. Now the night was once again eerily calm and silent.

Cybele pulled her baby tightly to her chest as she fell to her knees upon the ground, now muddy and wet from the rain.

She sat there, stunned, trying to pull herself together.

What had she done? The tears fell heavily down as a weight fell upon her heart. One she knew would burden her for the rest of her life.

I’m sorry she whispered through her tears, kissing her daughter’s head.

I’m so, so sorry.

CHAPTER 1

Who are you?

Makenna Circe Thesis stood in front of her wall mirror and stared at a girl. No, not a girl, a woman she had never seen before.

Since birth Makenna had been a tomboy through and through. She grew up in jeans and T-shirts from the moment she could dress herself. On occasion she would sport a simple skirt but that was the extent of her femininity to date.

Today, however, Makenna was all woman. It was a special day and she had decided to go all out, dispelling the myth that she was perpetually a little boy in a girl’s body.

Today everyone would see that she was a grown-up woman, not the little Mack everyone still saw her as. They would not see the tomboy who climbed trees, dressed in knee socks and baseball caps and liked to spit on the ground to gross out her cousin Dani. Nope, that version of Mack was long gone and today everyone was finally going to see it.

This was the day of her eighteenth birthday. She was celebrating this event with her friends and family at her home away from home, at least during the fun summer months- the Renaissance faire.

Mack lives in a small town just a stones through away from the Fair and has worked there the last few years in her Aunt Maya’s fortune telling booth.

Usually she dressed in a simple gypsy costume that was way over the top and almost gaudy. The over the top outfit made her look younger than she really was. Nothing was worse than the day the high school football star, Jack Trevor, patted her on the head and said Thanks kid as he walked out the booth. How humiliating.

Not today! Today she had ordered a special sixteenth century gown in green. Mack’s usual braided hair was loose and down. Despite her boyish ways she was girly about one thing, her hair. She refused to cut it despite her mother’s grumbling that it would be easier to care for and her recurring argument of You wear it up all the time anyway.

Mack’s hair was a fiery red, which went all the way down to her waistline. It was very curly, and when wet, it reached the top of her thighs. It was the one thing about herself she loved.

Finishing up her preparations, she put on just a little bit of make-up, as her skin was a pale color and she didn’t want to look like a clown with tons of bright goop on her face. She finished her new look with a wreath of fresh wildflowers from the woods around her house that she had prepared earlier.

The finished product was amazing. She shocked herself so much that she let out a squeal of delight at the change it created.

They’re not going to know what hit them, she said, smiling at herself.

She could hear noise from below, the very distinct sound of her cousin Dani storming up the stairs, probably impatient that Mack was taking so long. Mack turned around and waited for the storming of the gates and her cousin’s reaction to her new look. Right on cue, Dani burst through the door.

What the heck is taking you so… Dani’s mouth stopped in mid-reprimand and hung open in utter shock. She just stood there gaping at the vision of beauty in front of her for a few moments, words failing her. A first for Dani.

Mack watched as a slow smile grew on Dani’s face. Wow, she said with a sigh.

Her brow creased a bit as she looked up and down and then settled onto Mack’s face.

That is you, right? I mean aliens didn’t come down and swipe our Mack and exchange her with some hot babe as a joke or something?

Mack grabbed a stuffed bear lying in a box next to her mirror and threw it, missing Dani as she ducked.

Ha, ha. Mack turned and faced the mirror again. It’s amazing isn’t it? How a dress and some make-up can change everything.

Your brothers are going to freak, Dani said, laughing. They haven’t had to worry about chasing off your boyfriends since you were practically a boy yourself, but now. She whistled. Look out!

Mack turned around and put her hands on her hips.

Well good. I’m tired of everyone treating me like some baby all the time. I mean, jeez, Dani, I’m leaving in two weeks for college and do you know I still have a curfew!

Yeah well, you know your mom. Dani sighed.

Mack shook her head. She loved her mom, Cybele, a lot, but that woman could drive the Gods themselves crazy. Mack couldn’t blame her though, her mom had been through hell and back.

Her older brother Aron told her that her mother wasn’t always the worried control freak she was now. Her mom, used to be carefree and happy when she was younger. Aron remembered a woman who laughed all the time. He said she started to change shortly after Mack was born.

Not that Mack being born was a bad thing, but her mother had apparently suffered from a bad case of post-partum depression.

Then just a few months after Mack’s birth, just when her mom was starting to feel better, Lee, Mack’s other brother- almost drowned.

As if that wasn’t enough for one person, about two years later Cybele’s husband, Seth, and brother-in-law, Michael MaCaire, Mack’s father and uncle, died in a car accident. Aron said that their mother was never the same.

Mack sighed heavily in the mirror. Yeah, I know.

She turned to Dani, My mom isn’t coming to my party today.

What? Why? Dani knew Mack’s mom was a bit off but even this news took her cousin by surprise.

She has been freaking out all month about me having this party. She sat down on the corner of her bed. She practically begged me to cancel it. We have been arguing now for weeks about it. I keep asking her why, and she won’t give me a good reason. She just tells me stupid things like, ‘It’s a waste of money’ or ‘You’re too old for silly parties’ or to just stay home and have a quiet celebration with the family.

That’s kind of weird, even for Aunt Cybele. I mean, you’ve had a party every year for your birthday. Why wouldn’t you have one this year?

Mack threw her arms up in frustration.

That’s what I said, but she just gets mad and storms off. She sighed deeply. Then last night she told me she just couldn’t make it. She disappeared into her room and I haven’t seen her since.

Dani smiled at her. Well, maybe it’s because your mom is freaking out over more than just your birthday. I mean think about it. It’s not just some regular birthday; it’s your eighteenth and you’re leaving in a few weeks to go off to college.

Dani dropped down next to her on the bed.

It’s that syndrome. What do they call it? Um… She rubbed her neck.

Oh! she yelled and slapped Mack’s arm. Empty-nest syndrome! That’s it! Maybe she’s starting to suffer from that.

What is that? You mean she’s like sick or something? Mack started to get a little concerned. Was her mom sick? Had she been keeping it from Mack? Oh Gods, and Mack had been such a pest to her mom about this party.

Chill. She’s not sick. Dani said.

Mack’s shoulders relaxed, and she took a deep breath.

It’s when all your kids leave and your house is empty. I mean, you are the last one after all. Who will she have left to worry and obsess over once you’re off in a dorm room and not under her roof anymore? Dani got up off the bed. "Give her a break. She’ll be fine after you’re gone a few weeks. Until then, just let her work it out. She’ll regret not coming to