Everything was dark, and…
"Don't try to peek," Tyeron's unmistakable voice boomed, amused. "I'd know."
The fabric blindfolding me reeked of incense, rough against my skin.
The sounds around me: coins clinking, a bucket scraping wood, soft footsteps, quick whispers between Sipar and Emma, and the rustle of Emma's tunic as she gesticulated.
Then silence descended on the library, my heartbeat was the loudest thing in the room.
"So no crystals?" I asked.
"Arek, focus. Now point to where you feel the forces coming from."
I tried to calm my breathing. Nothingness around me.
Then, there it was. A pull? A recognition? I had no name for it, but I felt it.
A sudden warmth in the depth of my stomach, a weight, a tug. Like something burning and pulling at the same time from inside. I pointed my finger decisively in that direction.
"Fire," Tyeron said. "Correct. Continue."
I focused again. Sensed something else to the left. It was a damp cold, a sensation of purity that slid across my skin like morning dew. Dump and pure.
"Water."
I shifted my attention downward, toward the floor. Detected solidity, weight. The vibration of buried minerals, a low, deep frequency that resonated in my bones.
"Earth."
"Not that, Arek. Of course the earth is under you. Try to find the silver coins."
I pointed to my left.
"Good." The booming answer from Tyeron, too loud.
Finally, to the right. The wind? Something light and dancing, a breeze caressing my cheek, blindfolded or not.
"Air."
Four. I stopped, my arm falling to my side. Waited for Tyeron to say something, to compliment me or remove the blindfold. But then, just as I was about to relax, there it was.
Above me.
A warm sensation, but not a thread pulling my chest upward. It was different, more... luminous. Like something radiant shining but being sucked into darkness. I pointed upward, toward that invisible light.
"The fifth one too?" Tyeron's voice was incredulous, stripped of its usual teasing note.
"Arek, are you sure? Do you really feel it?"
I touched my sternum. Right above my heart.
"Yes. I feel it."
There was a long moment of absolute silence.
"Take off the blindfold."
I pulled it off clumsily. The library light hit me, forcing me to squint. When I managed to focus, I saw Father Tyeron in front of me.
He was staring at me. Eyes narrowed, mouth a rigid line. Disbelief? Worry? Both, maybe.
He held his golden medallion between his hands, raised above my head like a trophy or a warning.
"You're saying you felt this too?"
I nodded, confused by his tone. "What's so strange about it?"
"Mmm, let's see… Where do I even start… Don't worry. I believe you, champ."
That word. The same one my father always used. My chest tightened, brief, but enough to make me lose my breath.
He continued, "First of all, you'd have affinity with all five elements..."
"And that's... rare?"
"Rare?" Tyeron laughed, but it sounded nervous.
"In the last fifty odd years, only one other person was born with five affinities, as far as I know. A girl."
"Only one in the city or…?"
"Everywhere." He paused dramatically, then lowered his hand and aimed his index finger right above my sternum.
"Also... Cora and I tried to heal you some time ago. You were injured and unconscious and you can't remember it, but something in here prevented us from using the Light of Eteria. So... well, doesn't matter! Ahahah!"
His sudden laughter echoed among the shelves, but this time it sounded hollow. "After all, until you reach Guardian level, nobody cares! Ahahah!"
The priest rubbed the back of his neck, a gesture I now inseparably associated with him. He did it often when he was embarrassed or nervous, but also when he was in a good mood or indecisive. At that moment, he appeared to be a mix of all four.
Sipar and Emma, though, had no intention of letting it slide. They stood there watching me, arms crossed and feet planted on the ground, not impressed at all. Their gazes, heavy as boulders, bore into my shoulders.
Their lips moved together, soundlessly declaring: "You cheater."
I approached them, shaking my head. Emma's red eyes seemed ready to burst into flames, after all, she'd just demonstrated affinity with two elements: Piraxis's fire, in addition to Terravon's earth.
I flashed my best smile, trying to remember how the market vendors did it when Dad tried to negotiate ridiculous discounts.
"I... actually..."
The back of Sipar's hand struck my sternum with too much strength, hard and fast. The breath left my throat with a gasp.
"Tsk. Just you wait," he hissed, eyes narrowed to slits. "It's my turn, and I'll have at least four elements like you."
Emma immediately stared at him, raising her open hand with all five fingers spread and eyes open as wide as she could, reminding him of my total score.
"No, Emma, four!" Sipar snapped, irritated. "Even Tyeron said we shouldn't count the last one."
"Sipar. Move it. Put the blindfold on!" the priest's booming voice called from the center of the room.
"Coming!"
Once Sipar was blindfolded and immersed in darkness, we began rearranging the elements around the library. I moved the silvery candelabra exactly behind him, being careful to move with no sounds; the lit flames fluttered nervously in the wind from the large fan Emma had already gripped.
"Emma, wait a bit longer before fanning. We haven't started yet."
Oops, I talked, better to move it a bit more.
She nodded and took a few steps to the side.
Father Tyeron, meanwhile, repositioned the water bucket and some silver coins to different strategic points in the room, hiding them behind piles of books or under tables.
The priest lifted his medallion, which began to glow faintly with a warm yellow light. I tried to focus on the scene, but had to give my chest a quick scratch to chase away that persistent itch that had returned right where I'd sensed the fifth force.
As soon as Father Tyeron gave the signal, Emma began waving the fan vigorously.
"Alright, Sipar," Tyeron said, his voice returning to solemnity. "The world is around you. Let your senses out. Where do you feel the call?"
He gestured confidently at the candelabra in my hand.
"Fire of Piraxis. Good. Anything else?" Tyeron said.
But if he talks, Sipar will figure out where it is... Anyway..
Sipar indicated Tyeron immediately after hearing his voice. Of course.
"Good. Light of Eteria. Then?"
Wait, that's okay? It's obvious he pointed toward his voice. Whatever. I believe him. I don't care. You cheater…
"Silence, Father, I need to concentrate," Sipar hissed through his teeth.
"Oh, sorry!" Tyeron apologized, bringing his palm to the back of his neck again and laughing loudly.
Sipar gritted his teeth until the priest stopped. The blindfold seemed ready to incinerate from how hard he was straining; the muscles in his face appeared to vibrate with tension. He slowly raised one hand, moving it right, then left, then stopped it mid-air.
"Lemonade?" A voice in the distance.
Lemonade? What…A new element? I blinked. Then I recognised that voice and felt like an idiot.
"Lemonade, kids?" Sister Cora's voice broke the spell and the tension of the test.
"Oh, Cora. Thank you, how kind. We needed that," the priest replied.
Sipar's index finger seemed to point exactly toward the silver coins, but just for an instant. He slipped it under the blindfold and lifted it, holding it with just that finger to peek. He glanced at me, fixed and serious. Then, with an almost imperceptible movement, he winked.
"You win," he said quietly. He pulled off the blindfold completely and turned to Sister Cora. "Thanks! Me too."
So he's got two or three? Doesn't matter... I don't really care.
A cold terracotta cup filled with a semi-transparent liquid was placed in my hands and in Emma's.
"Well then. A nice toast to this first magic lesson!" the priest exclaimed.
I brought the cup to my mouth. The bitter, sour taste instantly dried my saliva, gluing my tongue to my palate.
"We could use something sweet in here," I protested, making a face and turning to Emma. She nodded vigorously, then drew a circle in the air, adding dots inside it with her index finger.
"No, Emma. I didn't mean cookies," I corrected her, interpreting her code.
"I like it this way," my brother said instead, drinking with satisfaction.
"How's the new little one?" Tyeron asked between sips to Cora.
The two stood on the other side of the large table. They were roughly the same height and, despite different builds, shared the same kind green eyes. Cora's hair was a lively brown, while Tyeron's was yielding to gray.
Cora rubbed the back of her neck with a gesture identical to the priest's. "Finally asleep. I had to put her clothes back on at least three times. She just wouldn't have it."
"Poor thing, she must've been through hell."
"Yeah, I heard she fell from a spice merchant's cart heading south. Unfortunately, by the time they found her, the cart was long gone."
"Strange they didn't come back for her."
"With the little temper she's got... no, I shouldn't. She's just small..."
Little temper? Small?
"Who are you talking about?" I asked, walking around the table.
I set the cup still full of sour liquid on the wooden surface. Condensation slid down the ice cold cup, leaving a wet ring on the table.
Cora immediately picked it up and quickly passed a cloth she kept in her apron pocket to dry the table.
"Oops. I wanted it to be a surprise, but there's no point dancing around it now," she said, smiling. "Come here, Father Tyeron and I need to tell you something."
We exchanged a glance. Nobody moved first. Then, slowly, we approached.
Did they get us a pet? I hoped with all my heart for a dog. I'd always wanted a dog. Then I reconsidered, maybe a cat would be better, since a dog would remind me all too well of a bad misadventure.
Tyeron straightened up and began in a solemn voice. "Arek, Sipar, Emma, it is with great—"
Sister Cora interrupted him, too excited to wait for him to finish his pompous speech. "You'll have a new sister. Her name from today is going to be Lirka Grey."
At that name, a red moon rose in my mind. The itch in my chest returned, burning.
L…
Lir…
Lirk…
I know that name, from where though?