Chapter 14: Shaken

Daniel loses something. Something he held onto even though it hurt.

Chapter 14: Shaken

“I’m fine! Let me get up! I have to train!” Sebastian was stuck in bed by order of his Uncle and he was not happy about it. He had a war to prepare for, he needed to teach Gabrielle everything he could, and he couldn’t do that if he was lying in his bed!

“No, Sebastian you almost died on me and its only thanks to your powers that you are alive to argue right now. So you will rest!” why did his Uncle have to make it sound like it was Sebastian’s fault? It’s not like he chose to have a near death experience.

“I’m going to talk to some of my men, if you get out of bed so help me I will glue you to it!” he’d know the moment Sebastian’s feet touched the floor. That was the most annoying thing about living with an Earth Elemental as powerful as his Uncle.

Daniel left the room and Sebastian sighed. Whose idea was it to put a white cover on this bed? His favourite colour was black! You couldn’t see blood or whatever it was that was on these sheets if they were black!

It probably was blood, from what his Uncle had told him, his burn had gotten super badly infected. He’d had to go get Gabrielle, there hadn’t been much of a choice. Maybe he should have waited a bit first though. He’d been lucky to survive.

I wonder if Uncle knows how to get blood out of sheets… Sebastian sat for a while and pondered the problem of his blood stained bed. In fact, he was still deep in thought when the rumbling started.

The ground began to shake, softly at first but then harder. The bucket of water next to Sebastian’s bed tipped over and Sebastian lurched trying to find something solid to grab. Something was wrong, this was not one of his Uncle’s minor annoyance quakes. Something had happened, something bad.

“Uncle! Uncle!” Sebastian knew he wasn’t supposed to get out of bed but if he didn’t find him their entire apartment building might collapse. He jerked his way out of bed one hand on his still healing chest and the other on the floor.

“Uncle stop!” through his hand Sebastian felt the water flowing inside his Uncle’s body and the pipes in the house. He projected water from the kitchen where his Uncle was to the stairs. It slipped into his room and wrapped itself around his waist.

With a flick of his wrist Sebastian was able to get the water to pull him down the stairs. He landed at the bottom and smacked his head on the wall. He didn’t stop to rub it knowing he’d have to perfect that landing soon.

“You’re going to destroy our apartment block! Uncle you have to stop now!” Sebastian crawled into the kitchen where his Uncle was leaning against the sink. The phone dropped on the floor and the walls were starting to crack.

“Whatever’s happened I can help Uncle! I can help you like you have helped me!” Sebastian stood with some difficulty and grabbed one of his Uncle’s hands. It shimmered with green light that was seeping into the ground. Causing the earthquake.

“Uncle please, don’t destroy the life we’ve created here!” Sebastian gripped his Uncle’s hand. He knew that it was up to his Uncle to regain control over himself. Sebastian remembered how hard that could be. The raw power that surged through you begging you to just let it go.

“Think about my mother Uncle, think about her eyes and her smile and her laugh!” Sebastian gritted his teeth as the ceiling began to cave in above their heads… Oh this was not good.

Just as Sebastian thought they were going to be buried alive in their collapsed apartment the Earthquake stopped.

“Are you alright Uncle?” Sebastian had never in the time he had been living with his Uncle seen him lose control like that. He was very strong willed, his power hardly ever left his control.

“I… My men told me something very unexpected… I’m sorry about that, guess we’ll have to move again soon enough” Sebastian could tell that his Uncle was more upset then he let on. Whatever his men had found out, it was bad. Really bad.

“Something bad has happened hasn’t it?” Sebastian could feel his Uncle’s arm shaking under his hand. He seemed to be struggling with whatever it was he’d been told. His breathing was ragged and he looked exhausted. Likely from the enormous effort of reining in his powers.

“Something has happened to Eric… He… I have to go and see him” wait, what? His uncle spent his entire life hiding from the man and now he wanted to go and visit him? What was going on?

“Uncle you can’t go see Fairless, what if he hurts you again?” Daniel was Sebastian’s only family. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t let anything happen to him. Eric had almost killed Sebastian, only a week earlier. How could his Uncle even consider putting himself at risk like this?

“Worry not my boy, In the state he’s currently in, i don’t think he will be able to hurt anyone” Daniel pulled his hand out of Sebastian’s grip and left the apartment building. Slamming the door on his way out. The elements be damned why did Earth Elementals have to be so stubborn?

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It’s been at least four hours, where can he be? Sebastian had been pacing through his apartment all day. Waiting for his Uncle to return. Waiting and praying that nothing bad would happen to his Uncle. As irritating, stubborn, and impatient as his Uncle was, he was family.

The front door slammed open, it was Daniel. He stood in the doorway with his head down, one hand gripping the door as if it were the only thing holding him up. Sebastian could see that he was upset, more than he had been when he left.

“Uncle I…” but Sebastian didn’t get the chance to say anything as his Uncle stomped up the stairs to his room and shut the door behind him without saying a single word. Well, obviously he wasn’t going to tell Sebastian anything right now.

I should check on Gabrielle besides Sebastian had been really wanting to try something ever since he came into his power. He knelt down and placed one hand on the ground. He closed his eyes and sank into the water in the pipes under his apartment building.

Through the water he travelled down streets in the blink of an eye. He saw glimpses inside the houses he went past, but there was one person in particular he was looking for as he passed them all by.

There she was, blond hair hanging around her face, she stood at the kitchen bench as Sebastian watched from the water droplets in her sink. He could not hear, but he could see.

She smiled and turned around as someone entered the room behind her, there was a flash and Sebastian abruptly found himself back in his apartment. His hand stung as if he’d touched an electric fence.

Shaking his head Sebastian went to stand up and was grabbed from behind. Large hands held him to the floor and pinned his arms behind his head. All Sebastian could see was a pair of brown leather boots. How had his Uncle not sensed this intruder?

“Stay still, Wouldn’t want to have to burn that pretty little face” Sebastian’s chest ached and his breathing became fast and shallow. Peacemakers, how did they find us? Was it Uncle’s meltdown this morning?

“My, your just as much of a pretty boy as the boss said you were” Sebastian felt something encircle his waist and then he was lifted… by the air around him. He couldn’t move and he was floating above the ground. Traitors!

It was two of the Elementals that Fairless had turned against his own people. They were young, two boys not much older than Sebastian. One with brown hair and bored looking gray eyes, and the other smirking with brilliant orange eyes and blond hair.

“I’m Casper, and this here is Francis, we have orders to bring you to our leader so you’ll be coming with us” Sebastian could feel the sweat rolling down his back. What was he going to do? He couldn’t move!

“Un…Mmm!” if air was solid, that was what was around his mouth right now… but surely not? Casper laughed and flicked his hand. A tiny droplet of lava appeared right under Sebastian’s nose.

“Here’s how it’s going to be, you are going to follow our rules or there will be severe…” Casper didn’t get to finish his sentence as the ground buckled and both him and Francis were half buried in dirt.

“You boys should have taken me into consideration before you broke into my apartment!” his Uncle was here! Sebastian almost cheered out loud except that he couldn’t talk.

Daniel’s eyes were as hard as the stone that he controlled, it was a look that made Sebastian feel almost sorry for the two Peacemakers. They’d caught his Uncle on a bad day.

“Hey! Look man, we…we didn’t know that there was an Earth guy here! We don’t want any trouble! The boss… The boss said we just need the boy!” this only seemed to make his Uncle angrier. He grabbed Casper by the fabric of his black shirt and pulled him closer. Almost choking him.

“That’s bullshit and you know it kid, you and I both know Eric didn’t tell you to do that, the question is who did?!” No, wait what? What’s going on? How come I’m the only one who’s confused here?

“If you don’t know, we’re not going to tell you, I think it’s time we split this place Francis don’t you?” Sebastian thudded back down onto the ground, when he looked up all that was left of the two Peacemakers were the faintest wisps of smoke.

Daniel was staring at the earth that had held the boy’s captive. He didn’t look disappointed, maybe more confused.

“Uncle, what did you mean? about Eric not telling them to capture me? What happened when you went to see him? You seemed…” Sad. Sebastian couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud, but when his Uncle sighed he wondered if he might have accidentally said it.

“All I can say, is that there must have been some kind of uprising or argument between Eric and one of his Peacemakers. From what I could tell there must have been a fight but the result was…” Uncle’s breath hitched for a moment.

“He’s dead, I’m not sure how anyone could match his power but someone did” he helped Sebastian to his feet and Sebastian could tell he was making an effort to not look as upset as he was.

"It's been raining the last few days, you were unconscious for most of it so you wouldn't know but... He was always next too useless when it rained. He could barely produce a spark" Uncle didn't seem to be able to keep it together anymore. His face went all crinkly as he tried to hold back tears.

He left and went up to his room while Sebastian was rubbing his back where he'd hit the floor.

The king has been dethroned he thought as he winced at the bruises that were forming. The real question is, by who?

Author's Note

Action, Action, Action. A death that will have a rippling effect, and two Peacemakers in the wrong place at the wrong time.