February 21, 2002 – 21:35“Oh, that’s a good question!”“I mean, perhaps you don’t really have that kind of story, but from what I gathered so far, you do have a reputation, and you just confirmed having a lot of enemies, so someone out there is bound to have a story to tell out of spite.”“I do have that kind of story, and I can see some of my enemies coming to you that way.”“I’m listening. I’m only asking for one.”“I was 15, in my 6th year of elemental school. That year, I qualified for the World Elemental Tournament, with Vic and some other students. It was hosted by an American elemental school. There was a combat competition. Two competitors would fight each other to submission, using magic and hand combat skills. The other competitors would form a circle around them.”She paused and watched patrons driving in and out of the parking lot, remembering the incident.“During the quarterfinals, Victoria fought Reggi Nezo, a fire mage. He won, but after the battle was over, he didn’t
February 21, 2002 – 22:10She looked at him, nodded and jumped on her stick to leave. The entire way to her meeting place, she kept replaying her conversation with him in her mind. She would need to find a different way to keep him safe. She knew that if she moved with him, it would be harder to keep her enemies from finding out about him.She activated her invisible glamour a few seconds after taking off, which made him think of something else he wanted to ask her. He walked toward the bar to meet up with his friends.“Here you are, finally!” said Sebastian as soon as he saw him. “Where’s Blue?”“She got called to a meeting in Winnipeg while we were talking outside,” said Frank as he sat across from Sebastian.Victoria sat to his right, Stephanie across from her. The rest of the group sat on the other side of Stephanie and Victoria. They weren’t paying attention to them.“CMMA? Did she say who called her? I know she normally wouldn’t, but now that you know, maybe she did… hopefully?”
March 25, 2002 – 16:15The Northerners’ practice was nearly over. Coralis stood on the ground, her chin resting on the tip of her stick as she listened to her coach. Her pager went off. It was Stephanie. She figured she’d call her back when practice was over, as there were only 15 minutes left to it.A few minutes later, Sebastian’s phone vibrated. He looked at her, and her pager went off again.“I’ll go call her back, sounds like an emergency,” whispered Sebastian in her ears.She nodded. He came back 2 minutes later and raised his hand to signal the coach’s attention.“I’m sorry, coach, but I need to leave now, and so does Blue,” said Sebastian.She looked at him, suddenly worried, thinking something must have happened to Frank.“Very well, we’re almost done here anyway. Everything okay?”“Yeah, if only bad guys only did their things when we’re off work.”Sebastian turned around to walk toward the locker room, Coralis following closely behind me.“What happened? Is Frank okay?”“Tro
March 25, 2002 – 17:15He found the audio settings and turned the sound on.“The room reeks of turmeric,” said Eva after she shifted back.Coralis kneeled next to the patient, placed her left hand on her chest and stared down into her eyes. She searched for her wolf.“The spell is stronger than last year. Her wolf is completely feral and unhinged, the connection between human and wolf is all destroyed, but I should be able to reverse it once the summoning spell is out of her system.”“We caught the fay who did this last year.”“We’re dealing with a different one, a stronger one.”A yellow glow could be seen coming out of Coralis, and A fell asleep. Jessica approached the patient with a second syringe filled with a sedative and injected it.“For good measure.”“Won’t hurt. I managed to override the spell, but I don’t know how long it will take for the fay to regain control.”Emma passed the chains around A’s wrists and ankles. They stepped away from the bed and walked out of the room.
March 25, 2002 – 19:50“Not yet, I don’t think so. I don’t know if the guy they fought against was the one trying to summon the wolves. They still need to drain the summoning spell out of the patients and fix their connection to their wolves. They’ll fetch us when it’s safe enough for us. As for the mighty monster juice, it’s something we usually give to werewolves who were grievously injured to force a shift and stimulate healing, but she’s not a werewolf, I’m not sure how it works on elementals.”“You know, we may not have been closed in recent years, not until you began dating Sebastian, but if you would have been under some kind of controlling spell, I would have been able to tell, I’m sure. I don’t like being locked up in here, especially not when my girlfriend doesn’t seem okay, but with what I saw tonight here, it kind of proves to me that neither Coralis nor Sebastian is dangerous to us and that we can trust them.”“Agreed. Same for me. If you would have acted any different or
April 16, 2002 – 14:30Molly Hudson sat next to her sister. Lizzy insisted she comes, as there was something she wanted to show her. She stared at a blank sheet of paper and flipped it from one side to the other.“There is absolutely nothing on it,” said Molly.“That’s the thing. Now look,” said Lizzy.She handed the blank paper to Audrey, who sat on a single seater next to her mother. Blank ink appeared. Audrey got up and sat on the armrest next to her aunt so that she could read the letter.Dear Audrey Hudson,It is with great pride that we are confirming your admission to the prestigious Winisk Elemental School. In exactly three months, you shall receive the list of books and supplies that you will need. If you have questions, you may send us a fire bird and we will promptly respond to you.“What’s this place? And words only appear when you touch the letter?” said Molly, looking at her niece.“Yes. If I stop touching it,” said Audrey while depositing it on the coffee table in fro
April 16, 2002 – 16:00“It is what it is. We have about an hour before we have to leave again for the game. Honestly, I’m starting to truly understand how you felt when you decided to tell Frank the truth about us. Stephanie already knew about me when we met, so I never had to do that.”“If you’re full-blooded, but grew up in group homes and orphanages… how did you find out? Did you receive a letter like that?” said Frank looking at Coralis when she stood by the invisible door, about to take it down.She stopped her movement, but kept staring at the door.“Two agents came to visit me and my cousin.”“You have a cousin?”“Had.”Coralis took down the invisible door and returned to the living room, followed by the men. She stopped in the middle of the living room and looked at Frank’s family. Frank stayed by the doorway, leaning on it. Sebastian stood close to Coralis. She took a deep breath.“I do not have much time, so I’ll try to quickly rip the bandage off, so we can answer as many q
April 20, 2002 – 14:00Vectan Iridian and Roberto Swanson stood on Lizzy Hudson’s front porch. It was a Saturday afternoon. Before ringing the doorbell, they took the time to walk around the duplex, trying to sense any elemental energy signature lingering around.“I’m not getting any read, not even a lingering signature,” said Vectan.“Me neither, so the signalment has ground. Humans live here, with the likelihood of a young female elemental who hasn’t come into her power yet, and probably had no prior knowledge of what we are,” said Roberto.He pressed on the doorbell and Lizzy opened the door a minute later. She let them in and the agents introduced themselves. Vectan and Roberto looked around and saw another human female and a young elemental.“I am Lizzy Hudson, and uh, this is Molly, my sister. I showed her the letter and well, she was here when Coralis and Sebastian explained to us what it was, so I asked her to be here today. Is that okay?”“The caller mentioned having to do a
December 23, 2003 – 22:15“LIEUTENANT YOUMIS?” said Sebastian, looking at him. “Wasn’t he supposed to replace High Fay Zaaro?”“Yes. These abominations reek of his essence.”A few minutes later, Coralis got back on her feet and stepped out of the circle.“Lieutenant Youmis is exhausted. I don’t think he will regain control anytime soon,” said Coralis.“And you said vampire essence was in the mix?” said Eva.“The second time was already worse than the first time. And now this? Why here? Why our pack?” said Emma, as Emery walked back through the portal, followed by High Fay Ellya.“I don’t know why, but we will find out. That’s also why I didn’t want to kill the wolves. We know we can reverse it. Once the connection to their human counterpart is restored, we can question them,” said Coralis, looking at the time on her phone. “I should call my mate before he gets home and worries if I’m not there.”“Ellya, we need to send a unit to capture Lieutenant Youmis. Blue Thunder said he was exha
December 23, 2003 – 21:00 The Northerners were playing at home that night. When the game was over and she and Sebastian were about to take off to go home, Coralis received a call from Emma. She signalled Sebastian to wait and put the call on speakerphone. Emma was in a panic.“BLUE, can you come RIGHT NOW?”Sebastian suddenly got worried.“Where? What’s going on?”“Is Stephanie okay?”“Here at Red Crescent pack. Yes, Stephanie is fine. She left Healing Moon at 9 to go home. She’s not here.”Sebastian was relieved to hear that and swore that if Stephanie still wanted it, he’d complete their bond when he got home, even if he knew Coralis was probably right: the mark was a seal.“I’ll be on my way. I’m close by,” said Coralis, ending the call, and took off, Sebastian following her.“What do you think happens this time?” said Sebastian, as he was trying to keep up with her.“I don’t know, but I’m guessing she couldn’t reach out to anyone at the CMMA. Remember the last time they got a hol
December 20, 2003 – 00:15 (Scotland Time)Coralis closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She wanted to rip their eyes out and strangle them, but she knew these girls were humans, most likely heading to the same destination as she. She believed Frank when he said nothing ever happened with that actress, but she didn’t like these girls talking that way about her man.She was thankful to have her wrist binds so she wouldn’t break storefront windows by accident. Her eyeglasses only prevented her from using her eyes to direct her elemental energy and to camouflage their elemental colour but without her wrist binds, her elemental energy still leaked through her pores and she could still use her hands to direct it. She walked away and headed to the bar before she did anything to these girls and ended up in jail.Her flight landed in Montreal early morning. She had a game in Mexico in the evening but decided to skip practice time just so she could spend more time with Frank before she had to
December 19, 2003 – noon“There is still a hold on your name, right?” said Erik.“In Scotland? Why not in London?” said Henry.“Yes, but considering Blue Thunder is technically a citizen of England, she doesn’t have jurisdiction over me. I could still be walking into a trap, however, so I still made sure of that. Not sure why she wants to meet there, but I think it’s better there than in London. Even with a hold on my name, I’m not too keen on walking around the SIS headquarters. Taking my flight from Scotland instead sounds like a better idea anyway.”She tried to call Frank on her way to Scotland but got no response. She hoped he was still asleep and tried not to overthink it, but she was worried. As she was hovering above the meeting spot, Frank called her back.“That was you trying to call, right?” said Frank as soon as she answered.“Yeah, everything okay?”“Yes. I was in the shower. Wanted to take my phone in the bathroom just in case you’d call, but my scattered brain forgot it
December 19, 2003 – 09:00Coralis and Andrew entered the meeting room, dragging a restrained Xanita with them.“What is this?” said Alfredino.“Xanita Aza is the one who killed Minister Luke Massina and we sent a copy of our evidence to British authorities,” said Andrew as he played the video timeline assembled by Erik and Henry. “Do you want to handle her yourself, or shall I hand her to the authorities?”“It seems we owe you an apology, Blue Thunder,” said Rolland, watching the video.“The warehouse we searched never had any cursed weapons. It was merely a ruse Xanita used to get Blue and me away from the hotel. Want to tell me again how in gods worlds Massina’s murder got pinned on my apprentice when we were nowhere near the vicinity of his hotel?”Phraton tried to say something but Alfredino quieted him, using magic to shut him up.“JORGIE! Jorgie Fluk gave me that tip about that warehouse!” said Xanita, panicked.“Oh, we know about that, don’t you worry. Unlike you, he’s been mak
December 11, 2003“WHAT?”“I still need to find evidence to prove it or force her to confess, but I was right. Blum was protecting someone. Xanita never received a tip about that damn warehouse.”“That explains why Gus could never find anything relevant or suspicious about it, besides someone tampering with their security cameras.”“Basic human material wasn’t difficult to tamper with. We probably were the only two elementals to have ever set foot in there. Do you know if Sebastian is available tomorrow?”“I don’t know. We don’t have a game tomorrow, but lately, I talk to him only when I’m in my London flat. Only place I can talk safely.”“I’ll check with him then. Remember when Xanita said she had a call to take and came back with that so-called tip?”“Yeah, and thinking of it, she was also the one who sent us to that warehouse.”“She had been talking to Jorgie. Erik and Henry are on their way back to where you guys live, they’ve been a great help.”“Jorgie? The same Jorgie who’s bee
December 9, 2003Early in the morning, while Frank was busy preparing coffee, the doorbell rang. He stopped what he was doing and frowned, wondering who could it be.The bell rang again and again. Coralis came to his mind and he dropped the spoon of coffee grind that he was holding to rush to the buzzer. He pressed to unlock the door below and opened his entry door to find out who it was. Down the stairs, he saw Samantha, panting. She looked up toward him.“Hey, M. Blue! Sorry to show up at this time; I didn’t know where else to go.”“Uh, it’s fine. Come in,” he said as he let her in. “What happened?”“My mom just found out about me. She wasn’t supposed to be home, or I would have gone to Tom’s aunt probably, I don’t know. During the full moon, I can’t control my shift, but I can usually shift back just before dawn.”Samantha paused. She stood, her legs slightly apart and leaning over, her hand resting on her knees.“Your mother came back while you were still in panther form?” said Fr
November 23, 2003“If you must know,” she said, forcing herself to speak sweetly, “he does not reside in London. He is busy with work and I am obviously occupied away from him.”Behind her calm demeanour, she was raging. She knew that Rolland had something up his sleeves by letting her stay at her London flat instead of locking her up in a cell. She wanted to kill the guard and fly to Frank, but she knew doing that would make it worse for them. She had to let them think she was playing their hand, no matter how hard it was. She missed him.He let go of her cloak and she jumped down on her back porch. Once back inside, she activated a custom mute-ball before calling Frank. Her pager went off as soon as she put her hand on her phone. It was her contact from MI6.“Blue Thunder on the line.”“It’s been a while since we talked, you and I.”“Given the recent events, can’t say I missed you, no offence.”“Can’t say I blame you. A report recently came to us from Clear Valley, which contradicts
November 14, 2003Before she could leave the meeting room, a furnace appeared behind the elders. Rolland stood and grabbed the casting iron lying on top of it. Its tip was shaped like a small straight line. With his other hand, he took the can of silver that was next to it and sprayed silver on the casting iron tip.Watching Rolland make the preparations to bar her EBEE tattoo, she felt relieved. She would no longer be attached to the EBEE. She would be free.“It has been brought to our attention that you recently took a mate. Do you understand that mates are a distraction in our line of work and a potential weapon to be used against us?” said Rolland as he approached her with the casting iron.“I understand,” she said, looking at him as she wondered if he meant it as a threat.Rolland pressed the casting iron three times on Coralis’ skin, where her EBEE tattoo was. The three burned lines formed what looked like a triangle. Lines all intersected with each other, except that a line wou