Chapter One – The Transfer
Ruby woke to the sound of people rushing in.
She blinked way too many times…what was happening?
"Please, close your eyes, Ruby. It's too early for you to wake up." A nurse tried to comfort her, but two men in academy uniforms were already standing at the foot of her bed.
"Ruby Berger," one of them called her name and immediately frowned, "the headmaster wants you. Now!"
"I just…" Ruby's voice cracked. "I can't even-"
"Now," the other repeated, pulling the covers back before she could say something against it.
The nurse muttered something about rest, but the men ignored her. It was always like this…every other wielder had more power than the earth one.
Rough hands lifted Ruby from the bed. Her thighs trembled, but she had no other choice but to force herself to stand.
If she asked why, they wouldn't answer. If she begged, they wouldn't care. That was her reality as an earth wielder too.
They marched her out against her will.
But these guys were walking too fast, and the speed made Ruby's head spin.
"Petra…" She saw her best friend against the demon's claws slicing through her throat, the fire that was out of control in the courtyard, and Petra's scream…then nothing.
'Why did I live…why did he kill Petra but not me?' She asked herself, biting her lower lip.
"What are you muttering there, creep?"
"Yeah! Don't try anything funny or we will kill you."
Ruby rolled her eyes, and continued her silent treatment. She had nothing to say to the men who were most likely bringing her to her death.
There was no way that the headmaster would allow Ruby to live, not after what happened three days ago…
The guards shoved the doors, revealing the headmaster's office.
"Ruby…"
Headmaster Lorne was simply sitting behind his desk, gently touching his own crimson hair.
Lorne made history when he became the youngest master of the SpellBound academy. He was only twenty-five years old when he managed to get this seat.
And now, here he was…staring at Ruby like he was the biggest criminal to ever exist.
But maybe…maybe she was…
"Leave us," he told the guards.
They closed the door and left them in silence.
Ruby tried to breathe in, but this crazy pressure of his stare was pushing her harder than the bruises across her ribs.
"Do you know why you are here, Miss Berger?" Lorne raised his head.
Her throat closed. "Because Petra's gone," she hushed.
Lorne was trying to find Ruby's eyes just so he could give them a glare. "Because you are not."
Ruby clenched her fists. "We were together. The demons came, and…I don't know. I don't remember what happened after Petra fell. I should have-"
"You should have what?" Lorne interrupted her grief. "Died with her?"
Tears burned in her eyes. "I don't know why they spared me. I swear I don't."
Lorne let out some air and leaned back into his chair. "Do not lie. Reports say you unleashed water against the demons. That surge was so strong, it broke their advance. Yet you were chosen by earth. How do you explain that?"
"I can't," Ruby looked down at her white slippers. "I don't even know what I did. I've never touched water...Never."
"Impossible."
"I thought so too."
Lorne rose, pacing to the tall window. He was looking outside the academy. "You are hiding something. Or something is hiding within you. Either way, the academy cannot ignore it."
"I'm not hiding anything," Ruby raised her voice as her blue eyes widened at the same time.
He turned around quite aggressively. "You have one day. Pack your things. Tomorrow you will report to the water department. You will train under Professor Kael Strom."
Ruby's heart dropped to the ground like a rock that was falling from the sky. "You're sending me away?"
"You are no longer earth. You belong to water now."
"I don't belong anywhere," Ruby closed her eyes as her voice started breaking.
Lorne ignored her tantrum. "Dismissed."
There it was again…Ruby felt like Lorne was hitting her chest with a hammer.
Although he was stronger than her, Ruby thought of the day she would bury him into the very depths of hell.
No one was giving her more answers about Petra, or about the demon's mark at the edge of her back.
Did they even see it? Did they even care?
The guards reappeared, guiding her back through the halls until the familiar green curtains of the earth ward swallowed her.
One by one, her classmates stepped out. For some reason, they all had pale, exhausted faces ... .and their eyes…oh, their eyes were still red from smoke and their classmates' loss.
But they were not talking to Ruby. They simply pulled off their face shields and wrapped their arms around her.
Ruby's breath caught in her throat, and it felt like it went numb.
Arms pressed against her shoulders, her back, her hands and suddenly the warmth surrounded her like the soil she had always drawn strength from.
"You're alive," Mara was the first one to call her.
"We thought…" another one choked.
Ruby held on as long as she could, until the pressure of their grief became unbearable. She pulled away, shaking her head.
"I have to tell you something," her jaw couldn't stop shaking. "The headmaster… he's transferring me. To water."
Shock fell like a bomb…. No one spoke at first.
"You can't be serious," Mara finally wrapped her arms around her chest.
"I don't want it," Ruby replied quickly. "I don't even know how it happened. But he gave me no choice."
A sob broke from the far bed.
Ruby turned to Petra's empty bed. The blankets were folded, untouched, and a white flower was placed in the center.
"She should be here," Ruby's voice was no longer hers as more water started coming from her eyes.
She stepped forward, brushed her hand across the edge of Petra's pillow, as if her touch could bring Petra back.
Ruby straightened. "I'll pack tonight…"Don't wait for me tomorrow."
The earth wielders looked at her with a look full of grief, and Ruby felt the wall build between them.
The place that had been home was no longer hers…
She opened her trunk, and mechanically moved as she folded her uniform, tucked away her books, packed the little tokens Petra had given her over the months.
"This was the shell Petra had pressed into my palm after our first exam. A ribbon she had tied around my wrist the night before the attack, "for luck."
Ruby held it until her knuckles whitened.
"I'm sorry," her head felt pressured and voice was forced into the silence. 'I don't know why it was me.'
The ribbon slid from her hands, and fell into the trunk. Ruby shut the lid and sat back against the wall, staring at the ceiling until the blur ruined her vision.
Tomorrow she was going to step into water. Tomorrow she would have to leave behind everything that tied her to Petra.
"Please…tell me this is just one big nightmare…"
Yes…it was a nightmare…the one she was forced to wake up from.
"Berger! Wake up!"