The Elementals

The door opened and four girls peered out at me curiously.


"Can I help you?" the tall blond one asked.


"I'm Air," I said, as Jody had instructed me to introduce myself. I felt stupid, but she'd insisted they would respond better to this introduction than any other. Since they were elementals, it would tell them a lot without having to make a long explanation.


The shock on all four faces was instant and profound. I had shaken them, and badly. I immediately regretted listening to Jody. 


"I'm sorry," I amended. "My name is Petra. I'm an elemental, like you. I was wondering if I could chat with you? It won't take long. I believe we might be able to help each other."


The shock seemed to deepen and the air felt laden with bewilderment. Apparently, I had just made things worse. I opened my mouth to offer some kind of comfort when the petite girl with honey-colored eyes said, "You'd better come in."


"Thanks." I gave a relieved exhale. "I'm sorry, I can tell I've upset you. It wasn't my intention."


"Wait," the vivacious looking redhead with the strange reflective eyes said, raising a hand. She held a cell phone in her hand, face up as though she'd just been looking at it. Her voice rasped nicely over my eardrums. This girl had to be the fire mage. She might as well have had 'fire' tattooed on her forehead.

"How did you know we were here?" Fire demanded. "Who are you? Besides…'Air'?"