Chapter 31

It was a certainty in Greg's mind that a confrontation with the imposter Caliph would happen soon. The biggest unknown for them at this point was just how strong was this guy and how many followers did he have? Helen had already proved her value when she disabled the enemy's teleportation ability with regards to Jessica and her family.

Greg's step faltered as his mind wandered on those thoughts. His training was at moments a complete ease and at other times an extreme opposite. He had managed the first step in his training which was to be able to detect the earth beneath his feet without thinking about it.

He chuckled as he remembered doing the blindfolded training in the park. Greg had blindfolded himself and walked barefooted in a rocky part of the park in an attempt to elevate his sensing ability. The first two days where rough to say the least, small cuts on his feet and rocks constantly jabbing his bare feet were a major annoyance. It was paid off when he had managed to walk thirty feet without stepping on a single rock, of course in his excitement he lost concentration and stumbled and stepped on what seemed an assortment of jagged little rocks.

Still, that momentary lapse didn't rob him of his achievement. Smiling he closed his eyes and began his training again.

Melissa was becoming frantic, she had a little over twelve hours to find and secure Jessica and her family otherwise her mother would pay the consequences. She had left school when she realized Jessica wouldn't be stupid enough to go back there so soon. Melissa walked down the streets looking nowhere in particular, she had a far away expression on her face, her shoulders slumped, defeat clearly written on her face.

Suddenly her body froze in place and shimmered out of view.

Christian Melchoir was the proverbial satanic child. His parents would find him beating small animals to his younger sister. It seemed like no matter what, Christian's evil streak was undeterred. In desperation his parents had a priest perform an exorcism; things didn't happen like anyone expected. It was at that moment that his Elemental powers began to manifest themselves.

No sooner had the priest laid his hands on Christian, that fire erupted from his mouth consuming everything in the house, his parent and younger sister barely able to get out alive, the priest wasn't so lucky.

Christian's parents made what would be considered by Christian their greatest mistake. They left him in the burning fire. They stood outside as they watched the house burn down. Christian was surprised that the fire did not hurt him and watched as his family turned their back on him. It filled him with an almost palpable rage. He swore vengeance on his family...

Years later, Christian tracked his family down, and forced his parents to watch him rape his sister before killing her, soon his parents followed his sister and his revenge was complete. Well, almost complete, his sister had lead a very active sex life, perhaps too active; her daughter was hiding in a closet where her mother had left her.

Jennie watched what was done to her mother, and would never forget what happened and she too vowed retribution for her mother and grandparents. She was thirteen years old.

"Your Grace, we have been doing our best to summon that girl and her family for you, but for some reason she isn't being found. It's as if they have vanished from the face of the earth."

"Tell me, Lord Pivet, as my most loyal and trusted advisor, what could be behind this?" The Caliph asked.

"We are still not sure, I doubt there is someone stronger that you and our Order as a whole. But in the scrolls we have found things that have never come to pass, but frightening should they come to pass."

"That makes no sense to me, explain it clearly."

"Your Grace, the scrolls say that there is one Elemental who doesn't die and that he is by far the most powerful of all Elementals. For all your powers I do not think that it is you. I think it best we find him or her or whatever it is and either disposed of it or make it your follower."

"This is just fucking great. Call my pet and tell her she is lucky, I am giving her an extension on her task. I need to focus on your findings, I can' have some asshole trying to take my place." He sneered.

In an open field, that looked more like a grassy desert, a black orb molded into view. Suddenly, the orb split and Zareas walked out of the orb carrying his treasured Farael in his hands.

"That woman is impossible! Still, I have no desire to die any time soon. That blasted woman would kill me and giggle the whole fucking time, I can do without that. Besides, I got to slice Arihah open..."

Zareas smiled at the thought.

"I need to initiate the ritual as soon as possible. I need the rest of my powers, if I want to dissect Arihah."

He ran his hands almost lovingly along Farael, "Soon ... very soon..."

He stood and in a cloud of purple and black smoke he vanished from view.

Greg walked into the Michaels home, and noticed it was unusually quiet. He looked in to the backyard and found his dad and Sharon sitting close together, he was happy for them, his dad deserved some happiness and from what he had managed to hear about Sharon she did too.

Seeing his dad so enamored, made him call forth his own loneliness; he missed Sam terribly. He made a snap decision. He went looking for Sam.

He found her in Kailynn's room.

"Ah Sam could I have a word?" He asked.

"Sure."

Kailynn left the room after receiving a glance from Sam.

"Sam, I miss you. I..."

"Greg, stop. We've talked about this. I don't want to hurt you anymore, besides this is not the time for this. You know I love Arrian, harem or not. It's an insult that you would ask me about this when he isn't here you know."

"Sam I just think..."

"Greg!"

Greg and Sam turned to see Angela, Ashley and Brandon standing together, the Foster's with a disbelieving look on their faces and Ashley looked ready to hit Greg.

"Fuck!" Greg whispered hotly.

"Come with me son, we need to talk." Brandon said.

Greg walked over to his father and was lead out by Brandon who turned and mouthed 'Sorry' to Sam before continuing with Greg.

"Your brother doesn't know when to give up does he?" Sam asked.

"No, and it isn't always a good thing either." Angela replied.

Melissa was desperate. She had to find Jessica and her family and find them soon. Her luck had extended, but it wasn't infinite. She sat on a bench in the Thoran Park as she watched other people with their families or alone pass her by. How she wished she could be like them, carefree it seemed to her at times.

Such thoughts weren't welcome; they were a distant hope that would never come to pass. Or so she believed at the time.

"Boss!" yelled a plain man.

"What is it?" Asked Zareas.

"Nothing boss, we just expected you to be gone for longer."

"Fetch for me all the items we have diligently collected, it's time for me to be returned to my former greatness!"

"Sure boss." The man said as he ran off to get the items.

Zareas brought up Farael and ran his hands over the blade almost lovingly ... He summoned the sword he used to fight Arihah once before and tossed it to the side.

Within what seemed like moments, the plain man had returned with a small wood box. He handed it over and left as quickly as possible.

Zareas opened the box and pulled from it, The Chalice of Iros, The Shard of Isinia and The Tome of Anshire.

He settled himself onto his knees and set the chalice in front of himself and placed the shard to his right, the tome he took in his hands.

He proceeded to read page after page of the tome in a language that sounded a cross between opera music and a dying animals cries. No one said it would sound nice or sweet.

While he continued to read he picked up the shard and drove it into his palm piercing his skin and drawing blood. He opened his hand over the chalice and the shard covered in blood fell into it.

He held his palm over the chalice until the bleeding had stopped. Once the bleeding ceased, he pulled his hand back and looked at his regenerated hand, not one scratch from the shard remained.

In the little room where the ritual was being conducted in sparks of energy were cracking the walls and floors. He finished chanting the words in the tome and picked up the chalice.

Surprisingly even to him, the liquid in the chalice no longer looked like blood, it was clear, like fresh water, but it was thicker, like some sort of gel. Without any thought he brought the chalice up to his lips and drank the clear thick substance.

When he finished and set it down, energy seemed to erupt out of him, sticking the walls and floors, some even struck the sword he had tossed aside.

As the energy hit the sword it bounced back and slammed into Zareas knocking him into the wall nearby. The sword lay broken under the immense force of the energy created. From the broken pieces of the sword a white shadow of sorts began to manifest itself.

Zareas shook his head in an attempt to clear the dizziness from the energy hitting him and from his impact against the wall. He looked over and noticed the small manifestation.

"What the fuck?" Zareas said in question.

Slowly the white shadow took a more ghost-like form.

"Hello Azrael." Said the ghost as it still formed and became more defined.

"Who or what the fuck are you?"

"My name is Sairi, and I am not surprised you don't remember me." Sairi said.

"What the hell do you want?"

"Tell me, where is the Ender, Where is Arihah?"

"Ender? How do you know Arihah?"

"I made him who he is. Now where is he?"

"Another plane, with that crazy bitch of a Queen."

"Have you completed your task?"

"I said he is alive so obviously I haven't killed him, yet."

"Nor will you. Only he can stop Lady Omni."

"Retard! Omni is already dead. He killed her back on Nariel. Most of the planet was spared, but there are places that were left in total ruin."

"No, you are mistaken Omni is not dead."

"What the fuck am I talking to you for? Fuck you!" Zareas spit as he thrust Farael at Sairi.

The sword went through Sairi's ghostly chest and nothing happened.

"You are very impetuous. Since you won't cooperate, then I will simply take what I need and tell you what you must do."

Zareas watched in horror as Sairi pulled the sword more into his chest coming closer to him. When Sairi's ghostly hands touched Zareas head, he screamed and passed out.

The darkened sky rumbled with thunder and occasionally it would strike the surface of Nariel. The once beautiful planet now looked like a devastated desert. For even in the immense heat a desert has a beauty to it, but Nariel was far beyond barren.

It was lifeless, well not lifeless; there was one inhabitant, one very angry and powerful inhabitant.

And although she lay sleeping in the ground, the massive force of the thunder strikes were sure to wake her from her rest.

So it was that thunder repeatedly striking Nariel's surface struck directly over her resting place. One hundred feet below the surface, two eyes slowly opened two very black eyes and if not for the blue slit in the middle they would look like an endless void of nothing.

Her body though having lain motionless for eons responded when she tried to move and this pleased her. She placed her hand on the portion of the earth coffin directly over chest and in a surge of energy blasted through it all the way to the surface.

Several more blast later, one hand breached the surface of Nariel, followed by another which was followed by a head and soon an entire body.

Her body covered in dirt that stuck to her like mud, no doubt from the amount of time she spent in her coffin. As she smacked the dirt off her body the remnants of what appeared to be Cortex Armor became visible.

Soon, the dirt was for the most part off her body and she was beautiful. A body that a Greek goddess would be envious of as every curve seemed chiseled to perfection. Her facial features however were marred by the snarl her lips turned to as she muttered "Amni-Ra, Arihah."

Without so much as a clue as to her movements, she launched herself into the air and disappeared.

"She has awaked." Sairi said mostly to himself.

"What have you done to us?" Zareas said as he sat on the floor. He looked completely dejected and broken.

"I did what was best for our people. You have a misconstrued notion that we Elementals are one kind of being while Harbingers are another. Truth be told, the only difference between a Harbinger and an Elemental is the Elements they can manipulate."

"You Lie!" Zareas said startled, that was simply blasphemy.

"No, an Elemental can manipulate; Water, Fire, Air and Earth. A Harbinger manipulates Light and Dark elements. Aside from that we are all the same."

"That is not true! Harbingers are the better breed between Elementals and Harbingers."

"That line of thinking is what instigated that Elementals who could manipulate Light and Dark change their 'race.' They named themselves Harbingers. In reality we are all one and the same kind." Sairi calmly stated.

"Why me? Why him?"

"You I spared from being Omni's pet, otherwise you would be a senseless being, no will, no choice, just a thing that did what is puppet master said to do. He was chosen because he was the only being to ever survive the Elemental/Harbinger experiment at full force, not only did he survive, but he forced the powers under his will. He faced down six elements and won. Amni-Ra were a truly remarkable race. It is a shame to say we were responsible for wiping them out."

"How many were killed?" Zareas asked.

"You don't remember?" Sairi said.

"Should I?"

"Considering you lead the attack on their planet, yes you should. I am amazed at both the cost and outcome myself."

"What do you mean?"

"Well Amni-Ra for all their greatness, were not a technologically advanced people, that isn't to say they were simpletons in the least. They had weapons, just not the kind we expected. That perhaps is one of their greatest attributes. I think that is why Omni wanted him to be experimented on. She wanted a slave with that kind of power."

"That doesn't explain what you said earlier."

"You took down to their world roughly ten thousand Elemental and Harbingers combined roughly about half of each. Their entire race consisted of about one thousand individuals. Three hundred of which were children."

"That is a ten-to-one ratio. No wonder they were slaughtered and wiped out."

"You misunderstand, when it was all over, you returned a little over one hundred individuals, and one surviving Amni-Ra."

"You mean to say that..."

"Like I said Amni-Ra were remarkable, we sorely underestimated them. It would take ten Elementals fully matured to bring down one full grown Amni-Ra. A child Amni-Ra required three to four Elementals, depending on their age."

"The only person to ever fight an Amni-Ra, one on one and survive and even killed the Amni-Ra is Omni. She is not a normal Elemental ... I don't know what she is, but she is different. That is why I chose him to be the ender to become Arihah."

"Why call him The Ender and then rename him Arihah?"

"In our native language Arihah roughly translated to English means The Savior. That is why he is what he is.

Greg was feeling sore, but his control over his powers was at its best. He was now subconsciously aware of any movement around him, within a range of about fifty feet. He became aware that Jessica was coming closer to him.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Getting used to some of my powers." Greg answered.

"I still have a hard time believing such powers exist in the world. If not for the things I've seen that despicable man do, I still wouldn't believe. Is Arrian as strong as they say he is?"

"I haven't known him long, but from what I have seen he is incredibly strong. Even with my new powers, I don't think I come close to his level. It seems to come naturally to him."

Melissa was desperate. Her search for Jessica and her family was going nowhere fast. As luck would have it, it was a rather small chance of fate that she happen to be walking into a store when she spotted Ann and Mary Walker with a three other women. This was her chance to find out where the Walker family was hiding out.

So it was that Melissa followed them all the way to the Michaels home. She spotted the two girls who had spoken with Jessica as the door opened and they stepped out. Not a moment later Jessica also stepped out. Melissa was both sorry and grateful. She was saddened because in some corner of her soul she had hoped the Walker family had done what no one else had managed; escape. She was grateful because now her mother would be spared the horrible fate the Caliph had promised her.

"Are you sure?" Christian asked.

"Yes, Master. I followed them there. There were other women and girls present, only two males." Jessica said.

"Did either of them exhibit any powers similar to mine?"

"No, Master. They both seem human."

"As opposed to me?" Christian questioned.

Jessica wanted to scream, yell at him just what she thought he was, but knew better. "Master is an Elemental, and Caliph, we humans are inferior to one such as yourself."

"You have learned well, Pet. Very well. Take some lower class Elementals and bring everyone to me. Teleporting them isn't working, so we will physically bring them here."

"Who are these people?" Ann questioned.

Helen and Kailynn giggled. "That is Arrian's music collection. He has very odd taste in music." Helen answered as the Prince track was skipped to something else.

Everyone was gathered in the living room. Sam, Kailynn, Ann, Ashley, and Angela were by the entertainment system skipping through Arrian's music collection, while the grown-ups chatted about the Imposter Caliph's situation.

"We can't stay here forever, that isn't life. At the same time, if we leave we won't live much longer. That sadistic asshole is more than likely out to kill us already for having run on him."

Their conversation was broken up by the doorbell ringing. Ann volunteered to open the door. She had no sooner opened the door that a hand roughly pushed her back in and effectively knocked her on her ass.

"Hey!" She screamed.

Her scream attracted the attention of everyone else, who looked over in time to see Melissa walk into the home followed by eight robed figures.

"NO!!!" Came a scream from Jessica and Mary, as they realized the implications of Melissa being here.

"I had hoped in some recess of my being that you had succeeded in running, while at the same time hoping for the opposite. I have no choice, but to bring you in to him. My mother's life and even sanity are on the line."

Greg and Brandon slowly moved to the front as Melissa spoke. Brandon looked at the men and immediately knew they were in trouble, those men were not human.

"I don't want to do this, make any false moves and I'll have them kill Ann." Melissa said as her eyes watered.

One of the robed men reached down and pulled Ann to him.

"Please, don't! We will go quietly." Mary yelled.

Greg looked as the men reached out to grab Mary and Jessica, and he decided to make his move.

Greg wasn't sure what happened or how he ended up on his ass with his face in pain, but Brandon who had been standing beside him saw it all.

Greg had reached out to grab the man who was reaching for Mary and no sooner had he reached out one of the other men punched Greg straight in the abdomen and then had slammed his knee into Greg's face. Greg's nose bled into the carpet as the man leaned down.

"You are weak!" The man hissed at Greg.

"Take them all, the Master wants everyone." Melissa said.

The girls were all scared. Helen looked on with disgust as they were led to the van parked in the driveway.

In the open field, a soft breeze made the flowers in the field sway side to side. The calm breeze began to blow harder and harder, a small clear sphere materialized, and as it did, lightning erupted from the sphere's exterior setting some flowers on fire.

The sphere began to grow and grow, and as it expanded the lightning it released increased as well. It seemed the sphere had finally stopped growing and the lightning ceased. From the top the sphere began to dematerialize revealing the three people inside.

"That was fun!" Squealed the little girl.

"I'm sure you think so." He replied before picking her up and sitting her on his shoulder.

"Where to Master?" Asked the young girl.

"Home, Larelle. Home." He replied as they all shimmered out of view.

"Mommy! Mommy we're home!" Sarah yelled as she walked in from the back yard.

Arrian and Larelle followed behind her. Arrian looked around and was unsettled. No one was home, that in itself was unusual. He noticed some coffee cups on the table and the living room that were half empty and cold. He moved towards the kitchen when he spotted some blood near the front door.

His eyes changed to their red slitted form and began to glow.

"What is it Master?" Larelle called having felt the energy he gave off.

Arrian motioned the floor with his hands. Larelle looked down and understood.

"Found them." He said.

"Daddy, no one is here." Sarah said.

"I know let's go find them and bring them home." Arrian replied.

To which Sarah just nodded and literally jumped onto his shoulder. In seconds they shimmered out of view.

"You have done very well Pet. So I will reward your hard work, your mother will be spared as promised." Christian said.

"Thank you Master." Melissa replied.

"Now, why don't you two bitches tell me why it is you have the right to run away?" He questioned Ann and Mary. "And you, you silly cunt, should know better." He chastised Jessica.

Helen looked around. They were in a large room. It seemed like one of those halls in a castle. It seemed both elegant and royal but at the same time evil.

"Your punishment cunt, for disobedience of your Master's order, for disobeying the Caliph, I sentence you to death." Christian bellowed.

"NO! Please spare her!" Mary yelled hysterically. Followed by cries of 'Punish me instead.'

"It will be death by incineration. Go summon my execution squad." Christian proclaimed.

Jessica was stoic; she no longer had anything to bargain her sister and mother's safety with. She was going to be killed and that brought a peace that she would no longer have to endure the horrible rapes and beatings.

All the girls cried out in outrage.

"Silence! You bitches are going to be the entertainment for my loyal followers once we have executed that waste of a pussy."

The girls quieted down, but Ashley wouldn't stop staring at Christian with daggers in her eyes.

"Such a stare in a child is unpleasant. You should not look at me like that." Christian spoke to her.

"Fuck you, my brother is going to kick your ass." Ashley stated not backing down.

"Such dreams, it will be my enormous pleasure to break you of your will and strip you of that silly dream. Although, thinking it over, bring me the males that came with those cunts."

With far more brutality than was necessary Brandon and Greg were brought to kneel in front of Christian. Both looked like they had been beaten to within an inch of their life.

"You should thank that one," he said pointing at Ashley.

"Because of her you won't have to witness the rapes and beating of the others, you will die along with that bitch."

Arrian looked at the home on the hill top. It had a dark and evil glint about it. He walked up the stairs and opened the door. Inside the corridors were made of stone, it seemed only the exterior could be passed as a normal home, because once inside it was anything but.

"Larelle, watch over Sarah, but follow me closely. Protect her, that is your job." Arrian told her.

"You will obey whatever Larelle tells you, do you understand Sarah? This is important."

"Okay." Sarah said in the most serious tone she had used in her young life.

Larelle took Sarah by the hand and smiled down at the toddler.

Arrian walked into the hall followed by the girls. They walked down the corridors in search of the others. He nearly knocked over a girl as he rounded the corner. The girl looked deathly frightened.

"I am looking for some people". He held his hand out and a picture of Helen shimmered into view and he held it to her face.

"Do you know where she is?"

The girl looked paler now, but nodded her head.

"Take me to her."

They followed the girl down the pathways until a large man coming from the opposite direction came into view.

"Hey cunt, did you call the execution squad?" He bellowed before noticing she was leading a young punk and two cunts.

The girl nodded her head even though the man's attention was now on the girls behind her.

"I thought all the pussy in the Great Hall was the only new pussy. Oh well, I guess I get these two all to myself." He said nonchalantly.

"You can have them over my dead body." Arrian said.

The man chuckled and formed fire in his palms and passed in from hand to hand expecting this to frighten Arrian.

"Still think that, punk?"

Arrian raised his hand towards the fire and pulled it toward him; the fire came and swirled around his hand and wrist like some sort of miniature rollercoaster. The girl watched in awe, no one had ever dared to do such a thing to Berth. He was a brutal man.

"You little shit. You're an Elemental as well. No sense fighting among ourselves, I tell you what. I will-"His words were cut short as he flung a torrent of fire at Arrian.

Arrian's eyes lit up in their all too familiar glow as the torrent rushed towards him. Berth watched in joy as the fire he manipulated spun around the young punk's body burning it, it was strange however that no screams were heard.

The fire suddenly split open in front of Berth and Arrian stepped out in his Cortex Armor. Its dark shade of brown making it look almost pitch black. With the exception of his head everything else was covered by the armor. Berth couldn't help but notice that a rather large sword hanged from his waist and that another was attached to his back.

Berth made a move to send another attack towards Arrian when he raised his hand, Arrian moved in quickly and delivered a blow to Berth's throat, crushing it completely. He watched as Berth fell to his knees and then flat on his face.

"Let's keep going." He said to all three girls.

"I think I want everyone to see the cunt burn and then we kill the two males." Christian said to Lord Pivet.

"Very well, My Lord." Pivet replied.

Lord Pivet moved away with two men and maneuvered Jessica to the farthest wall, where she was chained in place. Lord Pivet ran his hands all over Jessica's body.

"I'm going to miss fucking you, cunt. Your mother and sister will have to comfort me." He whispered.

Jessica struggled against her bonds but they would not budge.

"What the fuck is the hold up with the execution squad! Fuck! When you want something done right, do it yourself!" Christian bellowed.

He walked until he was about sixty feet from Jessica and raised his hand. Fire began to grow in his hand. In a few seconds the fire was rapidly moving up and down his arm and suddenly erupted from his hand towards Jessica. Everyone heard the screams as the Michaels troop cried out for Jessica, but no one noticed the door to the hall open or the man who stepped through it.

Arrian stood over the six robed men. The girl looked more in awe than afraid now.

"Are we close?"

The girl nodded her head.

"Why don't you speak?" He asked.

The girl suddenly looked very saddened. She motioned to her mouth and especially her tongue and then made a cutting motion. Arrian understood and his blood boiled. Someone had cut her tongue out.

"Someone cut your tongue?" Larelle ask from behind Arrian.

The girl sadly nodded.

"Heal her Larelle." Arrian said.

"Master, I can't re-grow her-"

"Larelle, just do as I ask. Trust me." Arrian said.

Larelle walked over to the girl and placing one hand over her mouth, she let energy flow through her and into the girl's mouth. After a few moments's Larelle stopped and stepped away.

"Do not try to speak, since you still have no tongue. She was right when she said she could not re-grow your tongue, but I could only do it, if someone else healed you completely first. Don't know why it had to be like that, but now that she has done her bit allow me to do mine."