then, and eventually the silence even felt
comfortable. As the meal wound down we chatted a little before I paid the
bill and we went our separate ways. She had some meetings and I needed to
track down Sierra somehow. I had a number in my phone, but hadn’t talked
to her in a long time and wasn’t sure if it was still good. I stared at
it for a moment, strangely reluctant as if my abilities were telling me not to
call, but it felt different, not quite the same as being warned from a known
danger, it was more ethereal.
I believed my power never steered me wrong, but ever since
becoming part of the supernatural world it behaved in ways I didn’t quite
understand. I was fairly sure it had something to do with how fast and
hard I’d fallen for Diana as well. Sierra was an attractive very
confident woman, who never did anything threatening toward me, and the dulcet
tones of her voice were if not always friendly, respectful. Yet there’d
always been a part of me that felt nervous around her.
Not the nervous I felt when around a beautiful woman I
didn’t know, or at least, not just that. This was the nervous like how
I’d feel as prey in front of a predator, and I was almost sure my magic, my
power, was responsible for that feeling. I knew Aitheria knew why that
was, but she wouldn’t explain it, as it would violate some oath she’d given to
her elemental… I didn’t even know. King? Boss?
I wasn’t sure if I should trust that feeling at all. I
could always trust my feelings and my powers urging in the past because I knew
it wouldn’t guide me to do something wrong, it would guide me to help
others. But these feelings seemed to stem less from my ideals and how I’d
want my power to be used to help others, but instead from my very nature, if
that makes any sense. But it was just a feeling. I hadn’t really
examined it too closely since I hadn’t had to deal with Sierra again, until
now.
Aitheria snickered in my mind breaking my thoughts, “ You
have to hit the connect button dear.”
I couldn’t help but quirk a smile, “ Thank you oh great
Aitheria, ” I intoned in my mind sarcastically, “ What would I do without
your endless wisdom and incomparable beauty at my side. ”
I felt her mirth in my mind, “ Find yourself hopelessly
adrift I’d wager,” she thought back.
She asked a moment later, “ Incomparable beauty? ”
I grinned slyly, even elementals could be vain apparently, “ Of
course you are beautiful. ”
Aitheria sighed softly in his mind, “ I’m sorry, I can’t
explain why you react that way, but I might be able to give you a hint from the
other direction. ”
I started to walk back to my office, intrigued, “ What can
you tell me? ”
Aitheria sighed, “ Nothing about your own nature, but I
can tell you about theirs. Once you thought vampires may have a
connection to air because of their speed and ability to mesmerize. You
were right. Vampire abilities are of air and water, so they feel like
natural allies to you, werewolves however, are of earth and fire. ”
I shook my head at the obvious explanation, “ So I was
right then, my power doesn’t sense anything bad about Sierra, but because she’s
of earth… she feels like a natural enemy? So it is more about my nature
than any true threat. ”
Aitheria didn’t comment on my conclusions either way, but I
didn’t really expect her too. There was obviously something about my
nature that wasn’t typical for a sorcerer of air. I was sure the ball of
elemental power at the center of my being had a lot to do with it, but I had no
way of knowing what it was.
I believed I’d be able to distinguish the difference between
warning from gathered knowledge and one based on instinct alone though. I
didn’t think an evil minded vampire could deceive my power to gather knowledge,
even if my nature of air was allied with his nature. I hoped the reverse
would be true as well, it was