Chapter 13: Infected

Sebastian's unwillingness to wait and heal catches up to him.

Chapter 13: Infected

Daniel had been in his room trying to concentrate on the News instead of feeling bad about his argument with Sebastian when he heard Gabrielle scream.

Eric has come to retrieve her! He hurried out of his room and towards Sebastian’s where the screaming had come from gathering power as he went preparing for a fight.

He burst through the door to find Gabrielle struggling to support Sebastian as he crumpled to the ground. He glimpsed his nephew’s face twisted in pain before his head lolled back as he lost consciousness.

“Sebastian! Sebastian can you hear me? Please say something!” Gabrielle was fragile from her time under her Father’s ‘care’ so Daniel understood why Sebastian’s sudden collapse would upset her.

“Let’s see if you can make yourself useful girl, go inside and find me some antiseptic! Check all the bathrooms, quickly now!” Daniel doubted that antiseptic would help Sebastian, but it would get Gabrielle out of the room and give her something to distract her.

Daniel took Sebastian’s arm and pulled him into his arms while Gabrielle left the room. His boy was warm under his touch. You stubborn boy! Daniel laid Sebastian on his bed. I told you to rest, I told you not to go after Gabrielle when you weren’t healed but did you listen?!

Daniel lifted Sebastian’s shirt and winced. The burn looked worse than it had when Sebastian had injured himself. It was way beyond Daniel’s medical abilities. There was one thing, and one thing only that could help now.

“Girl! I need a bucket of water! Forget the antiseptic!” he yelled out the doorway to the girl downstairs. Sebastian’s window was broken but that was the only damage left from his escape. The cool air might help bring the fever down.

He’d seen this done once before. An old friend of his who unfortunately was tracked down by Eric in the early days of this fight. He’d run almost a little base for Elementals to come if Eric was trying to get to them. water Elementals, back before Eric had started killing had been incredibly common.

One day, two young Elementals had turned up at the base, one was earth like him and the other was water. Two girls, around fifteen. Not much older than Sebastian was now.

The water Elemental, her name was Chelsea. She’d been injured during their escape; it was thanks to the quick thinking of his old friend that she had survived. Although Daniel had no way of knowing what had happened to her after she left the base.

“Is this enough?” Gabrielle was at the door straining with a blue bucket that Daniel had in the kitchen. It was filled almost to the brim. The elements only would know how she had gotten it up the stairs but Daniel was grateful. With his knee it would have been hard to do alone.

“Place it here girl…” Daniel would have felt awkward being basically alone with Eric’s daughter but the girl was much like Sebastian. Naive in the way of her powers and he almost felt bad for her. Thrust so suddenly into a world she hadn’t known existed a week ago.

“How will the water help him?” Gabrielle’s gold eyes were watching him as he dipped one of Sebastian’s hands into the water. Inquisitive just like her father, hopefully that wouldn’t get her into trouble.

“Back when your father first began his… Quest we created safe houses for Elementals to escape to. One day an injured water Elemental came to one I was helping run. A friend of mine showed me this long forgotten method” only water Elementals could do this. Thank the elements his boy wasn’t another kind, or there’d be nothing he could do.

“When water Elementals are injured, if they can have water near them. It speeds up their healing. Only when they are seriously injured, it doesn’t work on trivial things” as far as Daniel knew, this should work.

Daniel and Gabrielle sat on the end of Sebastian’s bed and just watched him silently for a moment.

“So… I think you said yesterday, that I’m like a really rare kind of Elemental? Have you ever met another lightning Elemental?” Daniel had seen all kinds in his day. Of all levels of power, some would be etched in his mind forever.

“There was… almost a gathering once of all the different kinds of Elementals. Obviously we kept it very low key, making sure Eric didn’t know about it. I was there mostly out of curiosity, some kinds you only hear about were going to be there” that had been a good day, one of the few events that hadn’t ended badly. Not a single fatality.

“There was Aura, she was a shadow Elemental. They are the rarest, although sometimes I think they just want you to think that. They are very secretive people” he’d almost had a heart attack when Aura had suddenly appeared out of a tree’s shadow. Her pure black eyes had sent chills down his spine.

“They are only born as twins, because of the whole light and dark, balancing the world thing. Aura’s brother Lucius was a light Elemental. Equally as rare” while Aura had been dark and silent. Her brother had been outspoken and friendly. Like his sister he’d sort of just… Appeared at the gathering.

Bright red hair and eyes that were almost white. He’d stood out like a sore thumb, thank god he had Aura to balance him out.

“There was only one lightning Elemental I ever met before you were born, his name was Zero. He was a royal pain to hide, and his ego didn’t help” Zero had been pretentious and snobby. Always thought he was better than everyone else just because no other lightning Elementals had been there.

It had almost been a relief when Eric killed him, not that Daniel was going to tell Gabrielle that. She might feel some sort of connection with Zero. So best not to get her fired up.

“There were lava Elementals, snow, earth, water, air, those are very common although it’s unusual to find powerful ones. Fire wasn’t there, your father likes to get rid of those in particular. He hates competition” He’d always been that way. Anything that might be better than him was a threat.

“Your mum must be worried, you should go on home, make sure she knows your alive” Daniel looked at the young woman sitting across from him. She was clean and her wounds bandaged. Yet he still saw the slightly haunted look that only time would heal.

“Ok…Ok… Will he? I mean…” Gabrielle didn’t seem to know what to say, she might not have known Sebastian as long as Daniel, but Daniel could see that she cared.

“He’ll be ok, he just needs time” Daniel couldn’t be one hundred percent sure if that was true, but he had to hope. His boy would heal, given time. They all would.

“Ok, thank you. For saving him” Gabrielle left with those parting words and it was just Daniel and a sleeping Sebastian. Again. He hoped this would be the last near miss they had. He didn’t think his heart could take many more losses.

Author's Note

Some more background information on the Elementals. This chapter took weeks because I was trying to settle on what the healing power would include for Water Elementals.