The Power of Elements Book 1: Lost In A Dream

By Katia MacKay

A mass of secrets… These secrets have been building since before she was born. Sandrid Sky has had suspicions about her parents since a ball of light first appeared above her mother. She never asked. The secrets kept building. She had dreams of a different world much like ours, but with Abilities, magic we would call it. An image of a swo

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lettra Press LLC
• Release date: Jun 17, 2019
• ISBN: 9781645520672

Katia MacKay

I am from Idaho and have lived in the mountainous terrain most of my life. I spent my time here in a small town with six hundred people during the summer months. Here is where I lived in solitude, confined to the many worlds inside my mind by choice. I have been writing since sixth grade, hoping that someday my ideas would grow enough to make it into your hands. They finally have, and I hope you enjoy my stories as much as I do.

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cover.jpg

The Power

of

the Elements

Book 1: Lost in a Dream

Katia MacKay

LOST IN A DREAM

This book is written to provide information and motivation to readers. Its purpose is not to render any type of psychological, legal, or professional advice of any kind. The content is the sole opinion and expression of the author, and not necessarily that of the publisher.

Copyright © 2019 by Katia MacKay

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or distributed in any form by any means, including, but not limited to, recording, photocopying, or taking screenshots of parts of the book, without prior written permission from the author or the publisher. Brief quotations for noncommercial purposes, such as book reviews, permitted by Fair Use of the U.S. Copyright Law, are allowed without written permissions, as long as such quotations do not cause damage to the book’s commercial value. For permissions, write to the publisher, whose address is stated below.

Printed in the United States of America.

ISBN 978-1-64552-066-5 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64552-067-2 (Digital)

Lettra Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

Lettra Press LLC

18229 E 52nd Ave.

Denver City, CO 80249

1 303 586 1431 | [e-mail]

www.lettrapress.com

Contents

Chapter 1: Secrets

Chapter 2: Sanctuary, The Circle, and The Elements

Chapter 3: Hatchling

Chapter 4: Learning

Chapter 5: Those I Train with

Chapter 6: The Nameless Room

Chapter 7: My Abilities

Chapter 8: Training

Chapter 9: Poisoned

Chapter 10: Chosen

Chapter 11: Pictures of Our Past

Chapter 12: Skilled Mage

Chapter 13: Satchel

Chapter 14: Answers

Chapter 15: Whitlock’s Release: The Disaster

Chapter 16: Organization

Chapter 17: The Forest

Chapter 18: Stars in the Daylight

Chapter 19: Trust

Chapter 20: Meditation

Chapter 21: To the Test

Chapter 22: The Place of Luxury

Chapter 23: Healing

Chapter 24: For Sanctuary and The Elements

Chapter 25: Lost in a Dream

For Ashley Bridget,

I don’t know if this book will ever reach your hands; regardless, it is dedicated to you. You were the first reader, my first fan when we were in high school. Your reactions while you read it made me continue and make it better. I hope that this is what you dreamt of it being. I hope that this will find you and make you smile again.

Sincerely,

KS, Katia MacKay

Chapter 1

Secrets

Throughout my nearly sixteen years of life, strange things have been happening, mostly with my parents, my mother even more so. It reveals to me that there are secrets in our world that could change everyone’s lives forever.

When I was close to three years old, I witnessed my mother open the closet downstairs in our living room and enter it. She moved the coats aside and closed the door behind her. I watched and waited for my mother to return.

I thought that she was playing a trick on me and my father. I thought she was playing. Wanting to play a game of hiding with my mother, I approached the closet and grabbed the doorknob with my tiny hands. I twisted the doorknob just enough for the door to open. I looked inside, expecting to see my mother standing there. But she had disappeared!

I looked behind the clothes, just to make sure she really wasn’t there. My mother had vanished inside the closet. I curled up in the corner, waiting for my mother’s return. I feared that she was gone forever. She returned after a matter of hours, her face tear stricken. She sat on the floor of the closet and held me until her tears had long sense dried.

When I was nearly six years old, I discovered strange weapons in my parents’ room on the second story of our home. I was initially in my parents’ room, because I was looking for my birthday presents. I wanted to see what they had gotten me before they had the chance to wrap them up like most kids do.

I searched everywhere in their room, under the bed, in their dressers and closet, but found no sign of my gifts. At last, I found something wrapped in a grey blanket behind their television that rested on the dresser in front of their bed. Wondering if it was one of my presents, I grabbed it and pulled it out of its hiding place. It moved reluctantly at first, but once I tightened my grip on the blanket, it moved easier.

I moved the wrapped item, or items, onto another dresser, unsure if I would be able to pick it up from the floor. I began unfolding the blanket, memorizing how it was wrapped so I could wrap it in the same manner to prevent my parents from finding out. On the last fold, I could tell that whatever was wrapped wasn’t anything like what I had asked for my birthday. I removed the blanket from the item beneath it and found two items, one of which I recognized from television shows.

There was a light brown, large, wooden boomerang. I had never seen one up close before. I reached out and dragged my little fingers along the surface of the boomerang and found that it was smooth. When I lifted my fingers from the surface of the boomerang, it gleamed.

I automatically became awed by the unfamiliar item. I picked it up. I looked at both sides of the boomerang. Each time I turned it over, the polished tan wood gleamed at me, causing me to smile bigger and bigger until my smile was from ear to ear. There was something about it that caused my curiosity to spike. Then I placed the boomerang back down.

The other item appeared to be much older than the boomerang. It had a hilt that was deep blue and black and made of leather and metal. There was a long thin part that was covered by some sort of leather cast that was dented and chipped.

Curious, I grabbed the hilt and pulled it away from its casing. At first, the casing didn’t move due to how fitted it was to what was inside. Then I wrapped my other hand around the casing and pulled it. The cast came loose, and a dark blue blade became visible in the inch of space. The light coming through the window reflected off the blade, brightening the blue and making me think of sapphires.

My jaw fell at its beauty.

I released the hilt and extended my arm toward the blade. I ran my finger along its smooth surface and automatically became curious about what this blade was and where it came from. I had never heard of such a beautiful blade.

I ran my finger along its sharpened edges. There was a sharp pain as the blade easily punctured my skin. I jerked away and looked at my hand. At first, there was no blood, but then blood began to seep from a thin, paper-like cut on my finger. I sucked on the injury.

Before I could injure myself further, I pushed the blade back into its cast and began wrapping the two items back up. I shoved them back into their original hiding place. When they were hidden once more, I heard the front door of my house open and close downstairs. I yanked my head toward the door of the room, excited for my parents to be home.

There on out, I began researching different blades and weapons that had been used around our world. I found that the blade that my parents kept hidden in their room was a samurai sword, a katana. Well, that was what it looked like anyway. There was just one substantial difference: the sword in my parents’ room had much more color to it.

Shortly after I turned seven, I began having nightmares of creatures, fascinating Abilities, and a different world. I mentioned these things to my friends, eager to share the amazing things trapped within my mind. They laughed at me.

I would constantly dream of me having fascinating Abilities and using these to keep the beasts away from me, to keep them from hurting me and anyone around me.

There was a large clearing. It was very spacious. There were many trees and animals. It was peaceful, despite the fight scenes. There were people, walking around, enjoying themselves. I spoke with several people, but I can’t remember their faces or what we spoke about.

The creatures that mostly haunted my dreams were huge with long arms, broad muscular shoulders, short legs, long torsos, and roars that made fear enter the hearts of all of those who heard them.

I would wake up to my mother opening the door and asking me if I was okay. I would look to her and see her holding a flashlight in her hands. I would close my eyes and cry from fear. Before I knew it, my mother would be cuddling me against her chest and telling me that everything was okay. When I would open my eyes to look at her, I would see a sphere of light hovering over her head.

I began drawing what I saw in my dreams and writing it down. I didn’t want to forget about the wonderful world my dreams hid from everyone. Just the thought of what happened in my dreams excited me. The ability to be able to fight these creatures in my dreams and prevent them from hurting me and others excited me. I almost never wanted to wake up from my dreams, but I knew that I would have to eventually. I hid these between my mattress and box-spring, not wanting my parents to find out.

Even though I enjoyed the idea of being able to fight those terrifying creatures, I still feared the,. Every time I heard their roar, fear spread through me and I would be unable to move for several moments. The very thought of these creatures terrified me and made me want to never fall asleep again. If my curiosity about that world wasn’t so strong, then I probably would have found a way to stay awake.

One dream that influenced me to read was different than the dreams about the terrifying creatures that haunted me at night. This dream could still be classified as a nightmare, but something clicked in my mind when I had it. It almost seemed to answer a lot of questions that I didn’t know I had and open my eyes to new possibilities. It almost made sense to me.

It began with me standing in a large room. I remember fire, books thrown around the room, couches torn to pieces, and a perfectly good desk in ruins in the center of the room. A man dressed in wizard-like red robes with long sleeves lay several feet in front of me, grasping his stomach. Out of the corner of my eye, I would see one of the beasts that has haunted me standing there, throwing a book into a fire blazing in front of it. The beast would turn to me and look into my eyes. Then I woke up before anything else could happen.

On the day of my thirteenth birthday, I found myself back in my parents’ room, wanting to get another glimpse of the weapons that my parents hid behind their television. Sitting there like it had seven years ago was the two items wrapped up in the grey blanket, which was now covered in dust. I reached for it and pulled it out with much more ease than my six-year-old self. I held the parcel in my arms and set it on the floor. I knelt beside it. I unwrapped the two items for the first time in seven years.

I stared at them once they were uncovered, reminiscing about the past. I grabbed ahold of the boomerang and found that my thumb was centimeters away from touching my fingers. I felt how light it was. I couldn’t help but pretend to throw it at an unknown enemy, imagining what it would be like to use this against the beasts that I dream about.

I placed the boomerang back down and grabbed the hilt of the samurai sword firmly. I grabbed a hold of the sheath that protected the blade and began pulling out the sword.

I found out that the sword was much longer than it looked. I stood up, releasing the sheath, and allowed for the sword to slide out on its own. I gripped it with two hands and angled it toward the ceiling, the only way to stabilize it.

I looked up and saw that it stretched far above my head toward the ceiling. Once I felt certain that I could keep it still with one hand, I dragged my hand along its flat surface. As I did so, the blade vibrated and glowed, as if welcoming my touch. I smiled at it, wondering if I would ever know more about it or where it came from.

I wrapped my hand around its hilt again and stepped away from everything. I looked around, making sure that I wasn’t close to anything. Then I looked forward and tested the sword out. I swung once and felt its weight in my hands. The swing was slow and the sword almost slipped from my grasp. I tightened my grip on the hilt and swung again. There was more power behind it this time. A whirring sound could be heard as the sword cut through the air.

I swung it again and again. It amazed me how easy the heavy sword moved through the air. I was amazed with how it felt in my grasp. The more I swung the sword, the easier it became for me to swing it. As it became easier to swing the sword, the sword felt lighter and lighter in my grasp. Eventually, it felt like the sword weighed nothing and it was vibrating greatly in my grasp.

Once I stopped, I held the blade in front of my face again, sweat pouring down my face. I had fallen in love with the sword. I enjoyed how it moved, how it felt in my grasp. If I had a sword like this, I would practice with it daily and not let it sit still in a grey blanket for years. I wouldn’t allow for it to collect dust. I wouldn’t forget about it like my parents had.

As I heard a car pull up to my house, I feared that my parents had arrived home. I quickly sheathed the sword and placed it back on the blanket. I quickly wrapped the two items up and placed them back where I had gotten them. I heard the door open when they were back in their hiding place.

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Ever since I turned fifteen, I have been having dreams that I haven’t been able to explain. They have been so vivid, but when I woke up, all I would remember was a sword pointing to the space above it, hovering several feet above the ground.

The sword was long and wide. The hilt was brown leather and made from some sort of silver metal. The blade was a different story, however. It was not as simple as steel or only one color like the sword in my parents’ room. The blade was red with pink flames. It appeared that the blade was made of ruby and not metal.

I would hear the sword calling my name. The voice was different every time I heard it. Constantly, it would call my name. I would slowly approach the blade, wanting to hold it in my grasp like I had with the sword in my parents’ room.

The first time, I could only move a few feet toward the sword it, and then I would wake up. Every time, I would get closer and closer to the blade. The last time I had this dream, I was so close to grasping its hilt. My fingers were almost wrapped around its surface before I woke up. Since then, I have not had this dream.

Only a couple months ago, I entered my parents’ room. It wasn’t the same reason that I had entered the room the prior two times that I have told you about. I was on a mission this time.

I wanted to get answers. I wanted to know what they were keeping from me. I wanted to know why my mother had special Abilities and why they had weapons hidden in their room. I wanted to find something that could tell me why they didn’t talk about what they were capable of. I needed to know. I couldn’t take it anymore.

I had never told them that I knew that they were hiding something from me. I pretended like I didn’t know, wondering if they would tell me on a later date, when I was supposedly ready to know the truth. They never did, and we always claimed to be a secret-free family. I had listened to them all my life. I always pretended like there weren’t secrets. But now, I was going to uncover them. I was going to know the truth, even if I got caught.

I guess it was my fault for not asking them about their weapons and Abilities. I had never brought it up in conversation. I had always feared what would happen if they found out that I knew of their weapons and Abilities. Since I was too scared to ask them, I figured that I could find out on my own.

I searched their room, carefully. I made sure to leave no hint that I was ever in here while they were gone. I looked under the bed and saw nothing. I looked in their dresser drawers and saw nothing out of the ordinary. I looked behind the television and saw that the grey blanket was still there. I searched their end tables, searching for a diary or journal of some kind, and found nothing that could tell me anything.

The last place I looked was their closet. They had clothes hanging, my mother’s on one side and my father’s on the other. I looked at their clothes and saw that none of them were out of the ordinary.

It wasn’t until I looked at the floor that there was something out of place. There was a big box pushed all the way to the back of the closet and pushed into the corner that hadn’t been there before. What could be in there?

I got on my hands and knees and grabbed the box. I pulled it out of the closet and sat down. I opened the box slowly, unsure of what I would find. When the box was open, the first thing I saw was tan fabric. I grabbed the tan fabric and began pulling it out of the box. When it continued to come, I stood and pulled it out. Seeing that the fabric was folded, I unfolded it.

What I was holding was similar to the robes that I had seen on the man in my dreams. I looked at it. It was exactly how it had been. Had I just found the secrets that my mother and father were trying to keep from me?

I folded it back up and set it on the floor. I peered in the box and saw that there was another. I carefully pulled it out of the box and set it on top of the other. I looked at the bottom of the box and saw pictures littering it, covering a blank book.

I reached in and grabbed a handful of pictures. I sat there and looked through them. The first one was a picture in black and white. My parents were standing side by side, arms hooked around each other’s waists, smiling. A building stood tall behind them, the same one in my dreams. Its large doors stood open, and a man stood in the middle of them. The man was barely visible because of the distance my parents were from the building.

I flipped the picture to the back and saw that this one had three people in it, and it too was in black and white. My mother was wearing a dress and my father was wearing a tuxedo. They were kissing. The man behind them was looking straight ahead, as if making eye contact with me. I looked at the back of the photo and saw my parents’ wedding anniversary written on the back of the photo. (Insert date)

I flipped the picture to the back of the stack. This picture was also black and white. It was taken in this very room. There were three people in it also. The man that had been in the previous two pictures was holding a child wrapped in a white blanket. My mother was sitting up in the bed, looking at the man holding the child. She was smiling.

I automatically wondered who the man was that was in these photos. Why was he in the pictures of my parents? Why was he holding me? Was I related to him in some way? Why didn’t I know him if I was related to him? Did something happen to him and that was why I didn’t know him? Why hadn’t my parents ever mentioned these pictures? Would I ever know who he was or is?

It was almost as if I wasn’t supposed to know who the man was in the pictures. My parents had kept me from knowing this man my entire life. They had never mentioned him, or had they? If I were to ask them about these pictures, would they answer me honestly? Or would this be yet another secret that they kept from me?

I set the pictures in the box and grabbed the book. I pulled it out and held it in my grasp.

The cover was dark green and blank. There was no title or author. I opened the book to the first page. The page was blank. I turned to the next page and saw beautifully written on the page’s top right corner. ‘HS’ were the initials written on the page. I turned the page and saw the same result on it also.

I flipped through the pages, searching for answers. I saw nothing but more initials on the pages. ‘HS’, ‘JS’, ‘LS’, ‘SW’, ‘SS’, ‘HW’, ‘CU’, ‘ER’, ‘JF’, ‘WL’, ‘SG’, and many more initials appeared in the corners of the pages. What did they stand for? I knew that JS and LS could stand for my parents and SS could stand for me. Those were the only three that I could make sense of.

I heard the door downstairs open, and I quickly put everything back in the box. I closed and shoved it back into the closet. I had come here for answers, but I had come out with more questions. Would I ever get answers to the questions that are piling up inside of my head?

Throughout my years, I have witnessed my mother light rooms with a sphere of light. I could never tell if she knew if I was watching or if I was aware of the sphere, but I knew it was there and I knew that she was the one summoning it.

If the power was out, there would be a sphere above her head, lighting the room that we were in. She always acted as if the light was natural and that there wasn’t a mysterious ball of light above her head. Witnessing my mother with the light sphere, I always wondered what my father was capable of. I can’t remember him doing anything strange like my mother did. Could he do anything like my mother?

My parents began to tell me to be careful of what I did and where I went several weeks ago. They told me to never go anywhere alone, to ensure that there was someone with me. I didn’t know why they were suddenly acting so paranoid. They had never asked me to make sure that I was with someone, even though I always was. I wondered if there was something going on in the town that I had somehow managed not to hear about, but I thrust the thought aside. I was more leaning toward the secrets that they were holding. Whatever they were hiding from me was catching up to them and fast.

I knew this for sure when we were driving somewhere four weeks before my birthday. We were listening to music and enjoying each other’s company. I was singing horribly to the songs while my mother blew me away with her voice. I must have gotten my singing talent from my father… My father was in the driver’s seat, making sure that we got to our destination safely. He began to initiate the brake as we came to a light that turned red.

Before we could slow down, a man appeared out of nowhere directly in front of the car. He was wearing light purple robes, the same robes that had been in my parents’ room. He was facing us and glaring at us for a reason unknown.

In only a matter of moments, my life changed.

My father jerked the wheel in one direction in a failed attempt to miss the man. The car went sideways and caught a rock just right. The man pointed at the car and threw his arm over his head. There was a sudden popping sound as the car lifted into the air and began to spiral.

Everything was going slow motion, and I heard a high-pitched scream that I could only guess escaped from me. The car soared over the man, leaving him uninjured. I watched him through the windows. He was watching the car, his head turning to follow it. His gaze crossed mine for a moment, and I jerked away, not wanting him to know that I was looking at him. The car smashed onto the roof, shattering the windows and collapsing the roof. My head slammed into the roof with the impact.

My vision blurred for several moments as pain spread through my body. My vision blacked for a moment and slowly returned. When my vision returned, I realized that I had been held into place by my seatbelt. I looked to my mother and father, to see if they were okay.

I saw the man that had appeared in front of the car walking to my mother’s side. I watched him, hoping that he was going to help us. My vision blurred and I became lightheaded. I felt like I was going to be sick.

When my vision came back, I saw the man ripping the door from the car as if the car was made of nothing but paper. He knelt beside my mother. No, she was muttering with disbelief. It appeared to me like my mother knew this man. The man pulled out a knife without responding and stabbed my mother in the chest. My vision blurred and then went black again.

When I woke, I was tucked into my bed at our house. A headache was growing worse and worse in my head. I groaned slightly from the pain and reached up to my head. I put my hand on the back of my head and felt a large goose egg forming. I could hear my parents arguing quietly. When I looked, they were standing in front of my door. I leaned up and the headache grew worse. I forced myself to focus on my parents, wanting to know why they were arguing. I tried to think about how I had gotten the headache, but nothing except for my dream came to my mind.

JoHon, we have to leave. We should get to Sanctuary before something else happens. We don’t want to get attacked again. They now know where we are. If you don’t do this for me, then do it for Sandrid, my mother whispered, her grey eyes staring at my father and her arms crossed. There was a sense of urgency as she spoke. I wondered why we needed to leave to this place called Sanctuary. What was Sanctuary anyway?

My mother was tall, as tall as my father, and thin. Her long red hair was pulled back into a ponytail, which ran down her back. She wore a long, green, backless dress. The light from the window lit up her back, making it shine slightly.

Livia, you remember what The Circle told us. They told us that we could only take sanctuary there if we were in danger, my father said, reluctant. His brown eyes could not look at my mother as he said this. He knew that my mother was right, but he didn’t want to face something. We should wait until she is sixteen and then go there like we were told. You and I can protect her until then. It is only a month away. What was The Circle? I could tell by the way he had worded it that he wasn’t meaning the shape.

My father was big and well-muscled with close cropped black hair. He wore loose black pants, a white short sleeved shirt, and black leather shoes.

"Jo, a month can make all the difference. Anything can happen between then and now. We are in danger. The Dread almost got Sandrid. They know where we live. We cannot run, because they will find us and most likely kill our friends in the process of finding us. You remember what the Light said about our daughter. He sensed something in her that he has never sensed in anyone before. What if she is the one from Legend? We can’t let her become hurt before it is time for her to save us all. You must at least do this for her. We may be strong enough to hold out until her sixteenth birthday, but I don’t want this to get too far out of hand. I don’t want our friends here to get hurt, because we wouldn’t leave." My mother was as stubborn as my father and hoped that he would eventually give in to taking us to the place that they were referring to.

What was The Dread? What was a Light? I knew she wasn’t referring to the electrically generated light or even the natural light. It was something else. She had said it as if it was a name or a title. The Legend? What is that? I know what a legend is, but she had just simply said Legend, again as if it were a title or a name.

Mom, what are you talking about? I asked. I had no idea what they were talking about. I bet that it had something to do with my mother’s Abilities and the weapons that they kept concealed behind their television. I don’t know what all they were capable of, but I could tell that they were holding back.

My parents turned to me, surprised that I was awake and somewhat startled that I had overheard their conversation. My mother walked up to my bed and knelt beside me. I turned slowly, to not cause myself pain by sudden movements, to her as she set her hands on my bed. She looked into my eyes. Sandy, we’ll explain everything once we get to Sanctuary, she said. There was mystery in her eyes. I could tell that their secrets were unraveling and I would soon know the truth. We don’t have much time to explain in this world.

What is Sanctuary? I asked, still having no idea what they were talking about. What’s The Dread? What’s The Circle? What’s a Light? I thought that we kept no secrets from each other. I knew that we kept secrets. I could tell that my statement had struck home in both my mother and father. Sadness showed in my mother’s eyes. I could tell that it was against her will that they hid the secrets from me. Then why did they hide them from me?

My dad came up to my mother and set his hands on her shoulders. He squeezed them slightly as he looked at me. My mother looked up at him as he looked down at her. Sandy isn’t even sixteen yet. They won’t allow her in. he said, especially since we were banished from there.

That didn’t stop us from going to Sanctuary, Jo. We were only fourteen-

My parents were also in The Circle, Livia. They thought that we would be as great as them and look at where that has gotten us, my father said. I don’t want Sandy getting hurt while we’re there or while we’re here. We need to find a place where she will be safe that is in between the two worlds. The difference with her, Livia, is that we were banished from there. There is no going back for us, only her.

I knew not to say anything when they were like this so I stayed silent; even though I wanted to say something and try to help them figure out what to do, even if I didn’t know what they were talking about. I wanted my questions answered, but apparently, I would have to wait to have them answered.

If you don’t want her getting hurt, then we should get her into training so she can protect herself when we are unable. She will get hurt there. It happens with everyone. We got hurt our first year being there, everyone in our rank did. Taking her there will prevent her from being hurt here in this world. If we were to take her to Sanctuary, at least then she would be protected a lot more than she is here. If we go to Sanctuary, then we will also be protecting the remainder of our friends.

My father sighed and looked at me, finally giving in to what my mother was saying. Get dressed. We leave in two hours. We will explain everything when we get to Sanctuary, if everything isn’t explained to you when we get there. He turned around and left the room.

Mom, what’s going on? I asked, averting my gaze back to her. I wanted to see if she would answer my questions now that my father was gone.

She looked at me. We’ll explain later, Sandy. How is your head? You hit it hard when you were attacked. What do you remember? she said, reaching up and touching the back of my head.

I have a headache and I don’t remember anything, I said, answering both questions. What happened exactly? She touched a bump on my head and the headache grew worse. I reached up, trying to get her to stop touching the bump on my head.

She lowered her hand. We’ll have to have someone check that out when we get to Sanctuary. If you aren’t meant to remember what happened earlier, then you won’t. You will remember when you are supposed to know about it. Now, we are in a hurry. Get dressed and only pack a couple items. We don’t want to take too many things from this world into the other. Come downstairs when you’re ready. She stood up and left the room.

I watched her leave, wondering why they kept referring to another world. I pushed the covers off and swung my legs over the edge. I stood up and felt blood rushing to my head. I fell back down to my bed. I was unable to move for several moments because of it. My vision darkened.

I am Sandrid Sky and my parents are JoHon and Liviana Sky. I am fifteen years old, nearly sixteen. I have a few weeks to go before I turn sixteen, four weeks to be exact and to be more exact twenty-six days. I have long red hair that falls several inches below my shoulders and brown eyes. I am wearing shorts that end above my knees and a T-shirt, but I feel like that is about to change. I wear blue sneakers with ankle high socks, which may also change. I am much shorter than either of my parents, shorter by several inches.

About an hour later, I walked down my stairs, slowly, with my backpack on my back and a small Nike gym bag in my hand. I walked into the dining room to my right and into the kitchen. It was a small kitchen. We never did much in it anyway, so it didn’t matter how big it was. We didn’t have time to cook in it and when we did, it was a small meal, not a big one. I walked to a cupboard, opened it, and grabbed a box of cereal out of it. I opened the box and began to eat it dry. I walked to the table and sat down, setting the box on the table and my stuff on the floor. I waited patiently for my parents, thinking about the dreams I have had of another world. Maybe my dreams weren’t just dreams.

Awhile later, the sun was streaming in through the windows and the grandfather clock in the living room struck nine. I had put the box of cereal away several minutes ago and was sitting on the couch, waiting with my stuff on the couch beside me. My headache was gone, but the back of my head still ached slightly. I saw my parents walk down the stairs, dressed differently than they had been before.

They were both wearing the tan robes that I had found in their room. My mother’s was small but my father’s was big. It was loose on him while my mother’s was somewhat tight on her, revealing my mother’s figure. My father’s concealed all his features. If they had hoods on, then I wouldn’t be able to tell who my father was, but I would be able to tell who my mother was. Thankfully, they didn’t have hoods.

They came down the stairs. My mother had the boomerang strapped to her hip and my father had the samurai sword I had used strapped to his back. They walked up to me. Aren’t you afraid of people seeing your weapons? I asked, standing up as they approached and grabbing my stuff.

We aren’t going outside where everyone can see us. There is a lot you still need to learn, Sandy. No worries, you will know all that you need to know when the time comes, my mother said. Now, follow me, please. She walked to the dining room. I followed her. I looked behind me and didn’t see my father following like I had expected him to. Where did he go?

We walked to the closet and my mother opened it. She walked in, pushing the coats aside. There was enough room for me, my mother, and my father to fit in here, but why were we entering the closet? The memory of my mother entering here and disappearing came to my mind. Was this some sort of portal to the world that they had been referring to? Was this the portal to the world that I had dreamed about? I stood beside her and together, we waited for my father. My mother eagerly watched for him.

Then there was the sound of splintering wood coming from the living room. Then my father came sliding into view, his back to the stairs. His knees were nearly touching the ground. His hand was on the floor, stopping him from falling entirely to the floor. He straightened up quickly and grabbed his weapon from his back. His sword gleamed in the light of the morning. He looked toward me and my mother. My mother had pushed me behind her and her boomerang was in her hand once she heard splintering wood. GO, LIVIA! he yelled. They’ve found us! Leave me here and get Sandrid to safety! NOW!!!

What’s going on? I asked. Then I saw something that I thought that I would never see in real life, something that I didn’t even think existed, something that I didn’t know the name of. This same thing was what I had seen in my dreams. I had feared it in my dreams, but I was not scared of it now.

The big beastly creature was hunched over in front of my father. As I spoke, it turned to me. It was dark grey, and its eyes were black. Drool fell from its mouth to the floor, melting it on contact. It was covered with fur, and even though I was nowhere near it, I could smell the foul stench of rotting flesh. Its arms hung low, its four claws almost scratching the surface of our floor. Its legs were big and stout, and its torso was two or three tees longer. Its face was one of an ape as well as its feet. Its musculature was closer to an apes than a humans.

My mother ran out, pushing me back and against the back wall of the closet. The force of her push drained all the air out of my lungs. I fell to my knees and dropped my gym bag. My mother threw her boomerang at the beast and it turned into a flash of light. I was intrigued with how the boomerang had turned into a flash of light. As the light hit the creature, I saw my father’s blade rise and cut through the ceiling. It came down onto the creature’s shoulder, cutting through it completely.

Blue blood gushed from its wound and suddenly stopped. Another arm formed and the one on the floor disappeared once the new arm was done forming. My mother’s light hit it in the chest, making a perfect hole shaped like the boomerang that had just made it. The hole disappeared, replaced by dark grey fur. My mother’s boomerang was in her hand once again.

The beast raised its arms above its head and tilted its head back. Its arms nearly touched the ceiling. A loud, deep roar emanated from it. The sound shook our house. My mother took a step closer to me, still facing the beast. I wasn’t scared; I had witnessed the roar of these beasts several times in my dreams.

I stood up, wanting to help my parents somehow, and began to run out of the closet, my breath finally returning to me. The beast dropped his arms and looked over my mother’s shoulder, at me. It ran, on all fours, to my mother. It knocked her aside with one easy swipe of its arm. Then it moved for me. As my mother fell, she threw her boomerang at the monster. The light that formed ran down its back, cutting it open. The wound was not replaced by more fur. The beast roared with pain.

I tried to run to my mother but something grabbed my shoulders from behind me, stopping me from getting to her immediately. I looked at my shoulders and saw hands holding my shoulders. Who was here with us and how did they get here? As the person pulled me back toward the closet, my father’s sword appeared above the beast in a dark cloud. It came down, cutting through it easily. The beast was cut into two.

The beast disappeared in a cloud of smoke, my father’s sword on the ground where the beast once had been. The person holding me back stopped pulling me toward the closet as I heard a voice calling my name coming from the sword. I looked at where I had last seen my father, curious as to how his sword had appeared above the beast. His sword was still in his hands! It wasn’t his sword. If it wasn’t his sword, then whose sword was it? He didn’t seem like he was moving, neither did my mother. Neither of them seemed to be breathing either. It was as if time had been stopped.

I looked at the sword again and saw that it was entirely black, covered with a thick mist that was slowly streaming from it. It definitely wasn’t my father’s sword. It was too short and too wide. It reminded me of the sword that I had been dreaming about. Wanting to see the sword and see if it really was the one that I had been seeing in my dreams, I broke free from the hands holding my shoulders, almost as if the person holding me didn’t care if I got free or not or the person couldn’t stop me or control me. I walked to the sword, bent down, and picked it up.

The sword felt light in my hands. It was easy to move around and it didn’t seem to have any weight at all. It felt the same way that my father’s sword had when I was swinging it. The black mist dissolved off the sword and revealed the red blade with pink flames that I had seen in my dreams. I was finally able to hold it in my grasp. The sword began to vibrate. It can’t be, a male voice said that I had also only heard in my dreams. I turned around and saw someone, who was slightly familiar, standing there in front of the closet. I couldn’t place him, but I know that I have never seen him in this world.

What can’t be? I asked. Were all the secrets that my parents were keeping from me about to revealed? Was I about to know the truth?

My mother stood up and walked to the man unknown. She walked with a slight limp, probably from the fall. Are you sure? she asked him. Is it really her? Were the other Light’s suspicions about my daughter correct? What was she meaning? What other Light? Was the Light like a leader or something? The man before me didn’t look old enough to be a leader. He appeared to only be in his twenties. I thought leaders were supposed to be old, or at least older than what he appeared to be.

He nodded. There is no doubt for who she is or will be, he said. We will know for sure once she has a robe and once we know what her Ability is. I will be prepared to protect her from anyone who dares take her sword away or mistreats her for the Ability that she may possess. Ability? I thought back to my dreams and how I had seen myself and others bending and summoning the elements at will. Could those be what he was referring to? If I could remember exactly what I was capable of in my dreams, then I would have an idea of what I might be capable of in the world we will be entering.

Thank you, Light Grant, my mother said.

My father came up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder. I looked into his eyes, wondering if he was about to speak. Sandy, this is Hoover Grant, the Light. He is the leader of The Elements, he said. We have plenty to tell you when we get to Sanctuary. I am certain that you have questions and we will be more than willing to answer them.

I looked back at the man. He was looking at me still, almost as if he had never looked away. Once we get to Sanctuary, Sandrid, we’ll have to explain everything to you. Now come, follow me and your parents, he said, turning sideways so I could see him and the closet.

Hoover Grant was tall, taller than my father, and had short blonde hair. He wore a red robe like my father’s. His eyes were light blue, nearly colorless. Looking at him made me want to walk toward him and bury myself in his arms. He had an aura of kindness about him that I couldn’t resist. There was something that seemed to be slowly pulling me toward him. There was something about him that seemed to be different, something that I had never been around before, something that I didn’t know but I wanted. There was a feeling in my chest, this feeling that I didn’t know how to describe or what it meant.

Livia, I believe that it is true, Hoover said to my mother. She looked over her shoulder at me and my father. Hoover was still looking at me, as if his eyes were glued to me.

Then the time has come for this to end and something beautiful to begin, my mother said, looking back at Hoover. The time has come for our world as we know it to change and never be the same. He nodded. He turned around and walked into the closet, finally taking his eyes off me.

Chapter 2

Sanctuary, The Circle, and The Elements

The back of the closet dissolved into a white mist, almost as if it was simply a cloud that he walked through. My mother and father followed him, both replacing their weapons where they had gotten them for the battle. Black mist began to come out of the closet as they disappeared, overcoming the white mist. The black mist came toward me, as if asking me to touch it instead of entering the closet. A black hand began to form and stretch out toward me.

I was tempted to grab a hold of this hand. Something about it also was drawing me toward it, wanting me to go with it instead of entering the closet where Hoover and my parents had disappeared. Where would it take me? What adventures lingered with this black hand? Then a hand came out, destroying the black hand and mist. It was Hoover’s hand. Something about him seemed to make me feel safe. I walked to it and grabbed his hand, unable to resist the feeling of being safe.

He began to pull me into the light. The light slowly swallowed me up. I couldn’t see anything or anyone except for Hoover, because everything had gone dark as we entered the light. He was leading me through this darkness. His hand was soft and was barely holding onto my hand, but I was more than willing to go with him. I felt safe with him here. I felt like he could take me anywhere and I would be safe as long as I was with him. The sword was still in my other hand, vibrating softly as we walked. The tip was close to the black ground, almost sliding over it.

Occasionally, Hoover would look back at me, kindness and mystery present in his eyes. I smiled at him every time, still unsure if I was only feeling safe around him or if there was something else brewing here that I didn’t quite yet understand. Time was going by slowly. We were moving slowly. I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

I could see people walking around us out of the corner of my eyes. They were wearing black robes with their hoods over their heads and swinging old fashioned lanterns in front of them with a gentle move of their wrists. They moved faster than us, only slightly though. Every time I turned my head to get a better look at them, the figures would disappear. They appeared again when I was looking at Hoover.

The sword began to glow brightly as I saw one of them glance toward us. Before I could look toward it, Hoover disappeared into a patch of light that seemed to be formed by my sword. I followed him, the presence of his hand in mine pulling me forward. I was blinded by the sun, causing me to close my eyes. I opened them once I heard Hoover say, This... This is Sanctuary, Sandrid. There was pride in his voice as he spoke.

I looked around and saw a huge building in front of me. It was the same building that I had seen in my parents’ photos. It reminded me much of a mansion but also of an old haunted house that I have read about. The mansion was grey with blue tinted windows. There was a yard in front of me with green grass and trees all around. There was two long lines of trees to either side of me that stretched almost to the doors of Sanctuary. There was a line of trees at the horizon, hinting that there was a forest surrounding this building and that we were in some sort of clearing. Being here at Sanctuary, made me feel safe, just as safe or more when I was with Hoover.

People wearing all different colored robes were standing around, talking to each other. There was a small group of people that were showing off their weapons to each other by a small patch of trees to my left. My parents were standing in front of an old oak tree, looking at it as if remembering things that had happened there or just remembering things in general.

The sword in my hand stopped glowing, but didn’t stop vibrating. Hoover let go of my hand and began walking toward my parents. I followed. As we approached, my parents turned around. Sandrid should be introduced to The Circle, Hoover said as he came to a stop.

We’ll come with you to make sure that nothing goes wrong, my mother said, stepping forward. You know how The Circle can be.

There is no need for that, Livia. She is safe with me. If anything happens, I will be there to stop it. Go ahead and look around. See how much Sanctuary has changed since you were last here. I’ll show her to her group after she has been introduced to The Circle, Hoover said. My parents nodded and walked away from me, walking side by side. Follow me, Sandrid, and I will take you to the next step of your adventure here with us.

Hoover walked to the doors of the building, which were huge and seemed very heavy. The doors were made of some sort of wood. I followed, more than willing to. I wanted answers and the best way to receive them, except for asking my parents, was to just go with the flow. He opened the doors easily as if they weighed no more than twenty pounds or even less. It appeared to me like they could open in either direction. We walked through this huge room with a high ceiling, which had three hallways branching from it: one directly to the left and right and one in front of us. The floor that we walked on was made of panels of wood.

We entered the long hallway directly across from the doors. It appeared like there were only a few rooms down this hallway and no other hallways branched from it. The hall