Read Online Elemental Rush (Elemental 0.5) by Elana Johnson - Free Book Online Page B

school?”
    Felix intercepted him before he could reach the Watermaiden and handed him a scroll of parchment. Davison’s sharp eyes read it, then he promptly set the paper on fire. He got right in Felix’s face, growling, “Get out of my city. Tell that joke of a Supremist he has no right to exercise his authority in Gregorio.”
    He spun away from my brother, raising his hand as he did, a clear signal for someone. Sure enough, the courtyard swarmed with sentries, each as large and imposing as Felix. Elementals also emerged, each snapping, swirling, or singing to fight off the Watermaiden’s advancing tsunami.
    I didn’t wait to see the result. I could sneak away during this mess without drawing any attention to myself. Abandoning the thought of extra clothes and fresh boots, I also abandoned the idea that I could be a real Airmaster one day.
    I employed my Element, sure one more air current wouldn’t be noticed amidst everything else happening. I rode the wind out of Gregorio, lamenting the loss of the brief security I’d felt in the city.

    I traveled all night, using the stars to navigate. I passed several small villages, some with walls, some with fences, some with only open fields surrounding them. I knew I had to be close to the city-state of Castleton, a decent-sized metropolis with an Elemental school.
    I decided to put the wind back in the sky and use my legs to get to Castleton. I didn’t know the political climate quite as well, but I knew the Councilman had been a favorite of Alex’s. It was the ones Felix griped about that Alex didn’t like. I’d learned a lot over the course of the six months, noting that sometimes it was the people that weren’t talked about that really mattered.
    And Councilman Montgomery had never been on Felix’s gossip roll. I wondered how sympathetic he would be to my plight. I slept while the sun arced through the sky, and I walked all night. By the third night, I thought perhaps my trajectory was off. Had I missed the city completely?
    I ventured west for a bit, and after a couple of miles, found the river. I wasn’t that far off course, and a city the size of Castleton should be visible even if I was. At dawn, I kept going, thinking one more step, one more step , and I’d find the city sitting on the horizon.
    The food I’d obtained in the kitchens of Gregorio was almost gone. I allowed myself to eat the last orange, and then I fell into an exhausted sleep.

    That night, I finally saw winking lights in the distance. I quickened my pace, the anxiety I’d been feeling for twenty-four hours fueling my footsteps. I waited through half the day, hoping for a group of travelers, or merchants, or anyone, to approach Castleton. The gates didn’t open. No one went in, and no one came out.
    The familiar unease ate at my insides, to the point where I couldn’t eat. That night, the city flamed with fire.

    Even as the smoke painted the moon red, I composed a message to the air currents. “The Supremist, Alexander Pederson, is a woman. Her real name is Alexan dra Pederson, and she is dangerous to us all. We must unite if we have any hope of overthrowing her. Watch, and wait, for more instructions.”
    I didn’t sign the message, hoping each Councilman would take it seriously. I sent multiple currents in every direction, sending them to Elemental and Unmanifested cities and villages.
    I had no idea what further instructions I might give the politicians, but I knew I needed to do some thing. Not just for my own safety and survival, but the continuation of our country, our way of life.
    She’d buried one school, tried to drown another, and now it appeared that the school in Castleton had been reduced to ashes. I didn’t hear a single Watermaiden try to quench the flames. Alex—or Felix—had arrived before me, shut down the city, and torched it. Someone had to do something to fight back.
    I thought of Davison and his unafraid nature. He’d marched right up to Felix. He’d asked