Page 19 of The Elementalist
“Ah. You are hearing nature itself, Max.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It is all of life that surrounds you, from the critters in this alley, to the great oaks that stand outside of town. It is the birds in the air and insects everywhere. All are here to aid you.”
“To help me fight the vampires?”
“In a nutshell, yes.”
“And I’m here to do what, destroy them?”
“No, Max. You are here to restore balance.”
“I’m just one man,” I said.
“One man who has nature on his side. Now, why don’t we take this outside the city? Do you happen to know of somewhere we could go for some privacy? Perhaps an old cabin or something no one would miss?”
I didn’t have to think long. “Yeah… there’s a spot with an abandoned shack. Been there for years.”
“Perfect.” Michael clapped.
***
It sat about three miles outside town, a little ways off the beaten track.
I’d seen it on many a hike; interestingly, I often wondered what it would look like to watch it burn. Such thoughts had concerned me at the time. Now, I sorta understood where they had come from. Either that, or I am a natural pyro.
With the coast clear, I alternately set fire to the shack, then doused it with rain water. More than once, I found myself staring in awe at the fire... or at the mini rain clouds. That I didall of this from powers inside of me went well beyond anything I could imagine.
“Good,” Michael said after my latest round of fire and water. “Again.”
I did it over and over until I mastered all forms of making fire... from smaller flames that could light a cigarette, to fiery winds that could level forests or buildings. I also learned I could change water to ice and back as well as manipulate the ground at my feet, raising stones from the earth or even shaping columns of rock.
When the shack had finally burned to the ground and Michael and I stood together under a localized thunderstorm, dripping wet from the pouring rain, I turned to Michael and said, “I’m not dreaming, am I?”
“No, Max.”
“This is really happening?”
He nodded. “You have been given great gifts, Max. Use them wisely.”
“But how do I use them? You said to restore balance... what does that mean?”
“There is no easy answer, Max,” said Michael, as the storm continued drenching the burned-out shack... and us. “You will have to use great care and wisdom.”
“Does Nature realize that I’m just a normal guy?”
“Normal guys are part of nature, too, Max.” He paused, rain dripping from his nose. “Let me suggest this: on some level, you very much wanted to be here, in this place and time, to restore order, to do what you can to right a great wrong.”
“And vampires are a great wrong?”
“Some, not all.”
“What if I ignore these gifts?”
“Then I expect they will fade away... that is, if the vampires let you live. Remember, you are very much on their radar.”
“And we’re certain vampires are real?” I asked.
