I’m sitting in my backyard playing with a large inflatable ball. Seated beside me is my younger sister, barely beyond the toddler stage. She has white-blonde hair, incredibly blue eyes and chubby little cheeks. She is so far beyond my dulled looks that I already feel the need to protect her from all boys. She will grow up to be beautiful. Right now she is just innocent, relying on me to keep her entertained. I look up when someone drops down from the neighbouring fence.

It is Michael, his black hair in a mohawk. His mother’s Asian features have appeared in him strongly, despite him being third generation. I grin as he arrives and say something I don’t remember. He motions inside. My parents will be in there. I am happy.

My mind flashes forward to blood, shiny silver knives and terror.

I awake with a start, sweat pouring off me and completely disorientated. Both my arms are above my head and I am being held by something. I struggle wildly without realising where I am. The joy, the happy situation I just remembered has made everything worse. I remember what I lost and wish I was back on my ship with Mac, oblivious to my past.

After my moment of panic I settle down, my arm pounding ferociously. I lower my head and focus on my breathing until a voice interrupts me.

‘Are you okay?’

I look up and see Breeze in a cage made entirely of hardened clay. It is incredible, intricately formed, and I stare at it and Breeze for a moment before bursting into hysterical laughter.

‘What?’

‘Am I ok? Really?’ I look around. We’re in a large underground cavern, which matches Breeze’s cage, though it isn’t as well made. There’s an altar looking thing with several diaries and gloves on it, and tunnels branching off in various directions. My feet are held in place by yet more clay, and I assume my hands are in a similar situation. Something sticky resides beside my mouth. I lick my lips and decide it is blood, probably from my eyebrow, which has a throb fierce enough to match my shoulder.

‘You did just wake up screaming. Who are you?’

‘Andy.’

‘Ok. . . That really doesn’t answer anything.’

‘I had a friend. He was a glove wielder. Dead, one of the first killed, I think.’

‘Oh. I’m sorry.’

‘That answers a lot. You have come searching for information,’ the Guardian says, walking into the cavern. I glare at him and clamp my mouth shut.

‘You know, what did you say your name was? Anyway, I could answer all your questions. If you answer some in return, of course.’

He’s right in my face. Millimetres away.

‘Why did you want Breeze?’ I ask, trying not to wince at his breath.

‘I’m not sure how that question is relevant.’

‘It’s relevant to our current situation, is it not?’

‘Tell me your name, and I will tell you why.’

‘Andy.’

‘Andy what?’

‘I don’t know.’

The Guardian looks at me for a long moment.

‘I missed this child when I killed her family. This makes her the most knowledgeable, and therefore most dangerous, of those left, with the exception of your friend the lightning bearer.’

‘So why not kill her?’

‘The glove would have passed to another, as I’m sure you’ve realised by now. I seek control. A live capture was necessary.’

‘And why is it you want control?’

‘That definitely is not relevant, boy. Now, how do you fit in? This is a closed group, and they are very secretive, so I wonder why they would allow an outsider to work with them.’

‘Dunno. Desperation?’ I try a shrug for emphasis, but the pain is just too great.

‘I see now that conversation is not the most effective way to get information from you. Ok. I shall explain something to you. Without the gloves, the wielders are worthless. I have four gloves and one wielder and yet I still must watch my back. I want to know where Spark is, and I know that you know.’

‘You fear her!’ I say, surprise evident in my voice as I realise the truth of my statement.

‘Why do you say that?’

‘You know her name.’

‘It is a generic name. They all have it. I took you because you interest me, Andy with no identity. But if you do not help, you will cease to interest me and then you will cease to exist. Am I understood? Where is the glove?!’

‘You’re shit out of luck, then, because I don’t know.’

‘You have a damaged shoulder, if I am not mistaken.’ The Guardian pushes two of his beefy fingers into my injured shoulder and applies pressure. Though I try not to, a groan escapes from deep within my throat.

‘Stop it!’ Breeze shouts, but the Guardian ignores her and presses harder. Darkness has started to invade the corners of my vision when the Guardian finally removes his fingers and instead punches me in the gut. I slump, head down, and watch as his shadow moves away. It is back moments later.

‘Where is the final glove?’ He asks again, and this time I shake my head. He pushes his forehead hard against mine, and leans a finger back into my shoulder, but the pain is already too intense and I don’t react.

‘I have a mastery over the gloves in my possession. Would you like to see a demonstration?’

I open my eyes to look at Breeze, who is sniggering. The Guardian, still ignoring her, shows me the two gloves on his hands. Earth and Water.

‘With these two I can create clay, like her cage and your bindings.’

He places his hand on the wall beside me and slowly withdraws it, bringing with it a long, pointed spike. He positions it against the soft skin just above my hip and begins to press. After the initial pressure, however, it melts away. The Guardian stares at his now empty hands, then tries again with a new one. It does exactly the same thing.

Suddenly, he crushes an arm across my chest, furious. I am startled and confused. He shouts, ‘Who are you? What are you?’

There is a crashing noise from one of the nearby tunnels. Swearing, the Guardian hits me hard across my cut eye and I know no more.

I wake up what must be moments later, as I can still feel fresh blood running from my eyebrow. Breeze is speaking and I struggle to focus on her words.

‘Andy? Andy. C’mon, wake up. You can’t be here when he returns.’

I come awake properly, though my head is still throbbing and I’m more than a little confused.

‘What do you mean, I can’t be here?’ I say.

‘If you’re still here, you’ll be dead.’

‘What, why?’

‘Because you’re special and that makes you a threat.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘You didn’t want to be stabbed by that clay spike, did you?’

‘Of course not!’

‘Well, you don’t really want to be bound to that wall either, do you? Focus on your wrists. I bet your shoulder needs a rest.’

Despite having no idea what the kid is on about, my thoughts do turn to my shoulder. The clay holding my wrist is firm and irritating. My hand should be dropping forward – then suddenly, it is. I focus on the same feelings for my right hand, and nearly fall off the wall when it works.

‘That is your talent,’ Breeze says, sounding a little smug.

‘Why didn’t it work before?’ I ask as I massage my shoulder with one hand and free my feet with the other. ‘I certainly didn’t want his fingers poking me.’

‘You didn’t want him to touch your shoulder, but this time your focus was different. More direct.’

I hear another loud crash from the adjacent hallway. I stride towards Breeze but she shakes her head. ‘The gloves are more important than me.’

‘So I’ll let you out and distract him while you grab them.’

‘Yeah, because that went so well last time,’ the kid says sarcastically. I grin ruefully. She is right. ‘Besides, we can’t handle gloves other than our own. Only you can. You have to take them back to the others. If you do not, I will die and we will all be doomed.’

Pessimistic twelve year old.

‘I can do both. Release you and get them.’

‘Gloves first.’

‘Fine.’ I rush over to the altar and grab the two gloves – Air, which belongs to Breeze, and Fire. Also on the altar is the diary – that oh so familiar diary that has been haunting me. I grab it, and notice another beside it with a symbol I don’t recognise. I take it too. As I turn back to Breeze, my eye catches on movement in the hall. It is the Guardian, dominating a young black boy in a fight. The boy is built bigger than me, and seems to be a better fighter, but even he is losing.

‘Put the gloves on, Andy, and leave me!’

‘But I have your glove. There is no point in having it and not you!’

‘Yes – but that boy, that is the earth-wielder! And the Guardian is about to kill him!’

Earth-wielder? Regardless, I don’t like the idea of leaving her, even if it is to save another.

‘I’ll be your distraction this time!’ Breeze calls. I glance to her briefly before looking back to the earth-wielder. The Guardian has him up against the wall and is sealing him into it – covering him in clay, including his nose and mouth. The boy – who is probably older than me but I don’t know what to call him yet – is struggling, but weakly, as the clay forms a seal around his face, trapping him. He will suffocate in a matter of minutes.

I no longer have time for Breeze. She is right. The Guardian, satisfied with his work, turns back as I dive out of sight behind the altar. He looks to the vacated space on the wall where I had been hanging and frowns. Breeze doesn’t allow him time to process my escape.

‘He isn’t here anymore,’ she says, grinning. I watch from a gap under the altar, my left arm tucked against my body and holding the two diaries secure. The Guardian approaches her, melting away the cage as he does, and grabs her.

‘Where is he?’

Despite the situation she manages to keep the shit-eating grin on her face. ‘I think it was the second cave? Or the third?’

The Guardian roars, shakes her and throws her bodily back into the cage. Breeze doesn’t even wince as her sprained ankle strikes the ground. Tough kid. As he turns from her, she has one last crack.

‘I know exactly where he went. As far away from you as possible!’

The Guardian whirls and knocks the girl out with an elbow. Fortunately for me, something makes a faint noise down one of the far tunnels. I doubt it’s anything more than a bat, but I sigh in relief as the Guardian’s current level of paranoia takes him at a run into the corridor opposite both me and the earth-wielder.

The earth-wielder. Who is currently dying.

I send a longing look to Breeze, but I can’t carry both of them out of here. I rush across to the lump on the wall that is the earth-wielder, place my hand on his covered face and concentrate. After a few moments he is gasping for air.

‘Who’re you?’

‘Andy,’ I say, hurriedly freeing his arms and legs. He staggers and I catch him across my good shoulder. Despite his obvious issues, he’s still full of fire.

‘What are you?’

‘Your ride out of here. What’s your name, earth-wielder?’

‘Stone. Let me go. I need to take him down.’

Fortunately for me, right now he’s all talk and no action – he’s still leaning heavily against me as I stride quickly away from the cavern.

‘Do you know the way out?’

‘Of course I do! I got in here, didn’t I?’

‘Good. You can show me.’

‘I have no intention of leaving. At least not without my glove.’

‘He’s wearing your glove!’

‘Exactly. So I need to take him down.’ Stone tries to shrug off me and I pin him to the wall more quickly than he can move. I’m actually shaking, I’m that angry.

‘I just left the air-wielder behind – a girl who isn’t even a teenager – to save your life!’

‘I didn’t ask you to do that!’

‘No, she did! Because to beat him, we need all of you!’

‘I don’t need anyone.’

I get so close to Stone’s face that anyone passing us would think I was kissing him. ‘My best friend was the earth-wielder and he was murdered right in front of my eyes. You are in over your head and you are coming with me now!’

Stone’s eyes widen as a noise echoes towards us, originating from within the cavern. I grab his collar and shove him forward and this time he moves.

‘Can you run?’

He nods mutely.

‘So do it!’

He begins to run, but he isn’t done talking. ‘I want to kill him. Why can’t you use the glove on your hand to get mine back?’

I sigh and accelerate slightly so that I am running beside the larger boy. My legs aren’t used to this. I don’t run, period. Ignoring the fact that I am already growing tired, I show both my hands to Stone. With the Fire and Air elemental gloves encasing them.

‘Oh.’

Stone speeds up and I manage to match his speed. One foot in front of the other.

‘Why do you want to kill him so badly, anyway?’

‘Isn’t it obvious? He cursed my family with the glove’s burden and then killed them all!’

I can hear the Guardian moving behind us and see light filtering through the exit in front. Phew. It is not far, which is fortunate, because I am panting hard and our enemy is gaining. As we make it to the opening, the Guardian calls to me.

‘I thought you wanted answers, Andreas! I can provide them for you.’

I stagger as I realise he knows my name – a name I didn’t remember until he called to me. I turn back. I can see him in the shadows. Stone saw me stagger and offers me a hand. We need to go up above the edge of the tunnel. I’m breathing hard and physically struggling, so I take the hand gratefully and we climb together up and into a park. It isn’t the same one I’d been taken from, it’s smaller, and as soon as I take a good look around I spot Mac.

‘This way,’ I say, taking Stone by the arm and dragging him towards my mentor. Mac turns his head, as if sensing my presence, and then shouts somewhere to his left. Hayden appears with Flame by his side.

My adrenalin levels are dropping and I am struggling more and more.

‘He knows you?’ Stone asks, wrapping a hand under my bad shoulder. I wince in pain and he releases. I know he’s talking about the Guardian when I answer.

‘I guess so.’

Stone, concerned that he has hurt me more with his help, turns to scout behind us as the adults and Flame approach rapidly. It must be obvious that we’d been running – or at least me, red-faced and puffing with my hands on my knees.

‘Andy? Are you okay?’ I look up at the unfamiliar voice. I figured Mac would have called out to me, but no – this was Flame. My mouth falls open. Mac reaches me and drops to his knees by my side.

‘Are you okay?’ he asks. I nod before I remember half my face is covered in blood.

‘It’s worse than it looks.’

‘Where is the girl?’

‘Still in there. I did manage to find someone else, though. This is Stone, earth-wielder and a complete hot-head.’

‘Hey!’ Stone says defensively. Hayden approaches him with a hand outstretched.

‘Detective Drew Hayden.’

‘Stone. Pleased to meet you,’ Stone answers with a raised eyebrow.

‘We need to go to the safe house. Now,’ Hayden says.

‘What about Breeze?’ Flame asks, then notices me staring at him. His voice doesn’t really match him. It’s too deep.

‘Later. Let’s get these two back to safety and recuperate. We need to be organised to take her back. I’ll get some uniforms to explore the tunnels and keep an eye out so he doesn’t escape us.’ Stone makes some noises about being fine, and I am going to as well until I try to stand up and nearly fall over.

Mac wraps a beefy arm around me. It looks like I’m walking with support, but Mac is nearly carrying me. Hayden puts a hand on Stone’s shoulder to guide him and we all walk back to Hayden’s unmarked car. I am squished into the back with Stone and Flame and driven to the safe house, but I am out of it again before we get there.

I wake to a damp cloth on my face. To my utter surprise, it is June, gently wiping the blood from my eyebrow and cheek.

‘Sit still,’ she says firmly. ‘This really should have stitches. He probably has a concussion as well.’

‘We can’t afford time in a hospital right now,’ Mac says. June huffs and pokes my face a little harder than necessary.

I look around. I’m on the lounge and everyone is in the room. All eyes are on me, which I find tremendously disconcerting.

‘Sit still,’ June says again, pressing a hand onto my good shoulder.

‘Sorry. Sheesh,’ I say.

‘I believe you have something of mine.’ Flame says in his oddly deep voice. I look down at my hands. I don’t have a shirt on, my shoulder is a rainbow of colours, and I still have both gloves on.

‘Of course.’ I raise my hand to him and he comes and takes the glove. ‘You can talk?’

‘You broke the Guardian’s hold on me in the park and now you have the glove that cursed me.’

‘We were fortunate that it happened, too, because once Flame had trailed the Guardian to the tunnels he returned and told us the entire story,’ Mac says.

‘I’ve got a name for him,’ June says idly. Everyone looks at her.

‘What?’ I ask first.

‘Stephen. He was a suspect in Andy’s case. The description is a near perfect match.’

Spark, Flame and I all burst into laughter.

‘That’s such a normal name!’ Flame says. Laughter broken, Spark returns to quiet contemplation.

‘So where do we go from here?’ Stone asks. I am glad to see he has settled down and lost some of his aggression.

‘We could all use some rest. My boy in particular,’ Mac says.

‘We need to move quickly, but Mac is right. We cannot go without regaining some of our strength. We should reassess in 24 hours,’ Spark says quietly and for some reason, everyone listens.

‘Then let us get some rest now. You, boy, will not move until I am done fixing you,’ June says as I try to sit up.

‘Hey, wait! I want to see what the diaries have. And what did you find out, June? If you know his name, you found my case.’

‘It’ll be here later, Andy. You need rest.’ Mac says, touching my shoulder. June drops several pills into a glass of water and another two into my hand.

‘Take these please. I’m going to staple your eyebrow and it will hurt.’

Frowning, I do as the cop asks, mainly because I’m worried she will force them down my throat if I hesitate.

‘Good, Andy. We’ll fill you in when you wake. As for you Stone, you really, really need a shower,’ Hayden says.

‘He could use a bit of medical attention also,’ June says. Her partner nods, then fades from my vision as whatever June gave me takes effect.