Page 88 of Elemasters

Dustin’s heart skipped a beat.

“Wait, the Heirloom Seal?! You found it?!”

Charlotte scoffed.

“Of course not! But I managed to find where it likely ended up…” static started overwhelming the line, “damn it. I think I’m losing you… when I get… I’ll…”

The call dropped, leaving Dustin to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration.

“That was your mom? She knows something about the Seal thingy?” James asked, moving closer to Dustin and supportively wrapping an arm around his waist.

“She said she found evidence of where it might be, but the call dropped before she could tell me anything,”

“Okay, so we pivot,” Chloe said, pacing back and forth, “does she keep like, research notes or something in the house? Maybe we can get enough information to point us in the right direction,”

“We can’t just focus on that though. That storm is coming here, and with the emperor putting himself back together, who knows what else might be coming with it,” Bailey cut in, “we need to try to keep as many people safe as we can,”

James went quiet as he thought, and then snapped his fingers when the idea hit him.

“What if we make an emergency broadcast from the radio station? That way everyone knows there’s a severe weather warning and this isn’t a regular storm, so they’ll stay inside!”

“Brilliant in theory, but how the hell are we supposed to pull that off?” Chloe wondered aloud, just as Chris stepped back outside wearing a loose-fitting red tank top and baggy jeans that looked far too big for his dwindled frame.

“You, Dustin, and Bails handle the smart people problem solving part,” he said, leaning against the railing and dumping a bag of Doritos into his waiting mouth like a hungry Sarlacc, “me and James can figure out how to get the message out there,”

“Hell no, we just got you back. We’re not splitting up again!” Bailey argued, rushing over to Chris and hugging him tight. He didn’t push her off, he just kissed her forehead gently.

“Babe, it’s okay. You’ve gotta trust me, alright? Believe me, I don’t wanna be separated from any of you guys right now, but it’s the smartest play here,”

Dustin headed over to the stairs, putting a hand on Chris’s shoulder and looking him in the eyes.

“You two do what you do best, but don’t do anything stupid… at least not unless you have no other choice,”

Chris smirked.

“I got it bro, don’t worry,”

“Alright, everyone knows their roles! Let’s get it done and meet at the library in an hour,” Chloe said, shooing Chris and James away as she pulled Dustin and Bailey into the house.

As refreshing as it was to have something at least resembling a plan, Dustin couldn’t fight the dread building in the pit of his stomach.

He could only hope that there would be something in his mom’s notes that would help them out.

The Cadillac tore through the streets, the hum of the engine only occasionally overtaken by a snap of thunder as Chris focused on the road ahead. From the second he’d been free of Fuckhead-Shi Huang’s grasp, he’d been trying to play it cool. Act nonchalant about the whole thing so the others wouldn’t be worried. They really didn’t have time; not with that asshole about to royally fuck things up.

His hands were trembling around the wheel, and he was hoping his white-knuckle grip on it was hiding that fact from James.

Unfortunately, hope had rarely been his friend.

“Hey… do you need to pull over for a sec? Or I can drive if you want,” James said softly, like he was trying not to wake a sleeping lion or something, “you just went through something I can’t even imagine. It’s okay if you need to take a backseat, or a passenger’s seat I guess,”

Chris looked over at James, who was looking right back with his big brown sincere eyes.

He couldn’t muster an argument. Didn’t even want to. Didn’t have the energy even if he did.

He pulled the car into the thrift store parking lot, sighing deeply the moment they stopped.

“Thanks man. And like… I’m sorry,”