Control.
There were those who never wanted magic to be part of society, and after the Cataclysm, when everyone was afraid of magic, they took advantage of that. They made sure it remained wild. They kept it on the other side of a wall, and they forbade anyone from using it.
“Look, a conspiracy is exactly what’s happening,” Nathan said as Ridley slowly stirred the sizzling vegetables, “and it’s going to keep happening unless we do something to stop it. More and more elementals are recognizing this. We just need to get everyone on board and then we can all act at the same time.”
“Why?” Ridley asked, looking over her shoulder. “Why does it need to happen everywhere at the same time?”
“Well, we believe that if we do this only in some cities, it’ll be a warning to the Shadow Society chapters in other cities. It’ll give them a chance to put further protection in place and make it even harder to liberate those cities.”
“We keep saying ‘liberate’ like we’re doing something good,” Tanika said. She leaned forward and snatched up a piece of celery from the pile of excess vegetables Archer hadn’t chopped. “But what if people don’t want to be liberated?” She crunched on the celery. “What if they’re terrified of us?”
“That’s why we do the video as well,” Nathan said.
“Video?” Ridley asked. She hadn’t heard this bit yet.
“A recording that explains everything. The history of the elementals and the Shadow Society. The way government took advantage of the situation after the Cataclysm to take control of the cities that remained. How they continuously stir up the wild magic in the wastelands to keep people afraid. Everything. I’ve already written a rough draft of all the things I need to explain. I’ll send the recording to all the news networks. I’m sure someone will broadcast it. And one of you can upload it to the social feeds.”
“You’re not on any of the social feeds?” Archer asked.
“You should do it,” Ridley said, turning fully and pointing the wooden spoon at Archer. “I’m pretty sure at least half the surviving population of the world follows you.”
“That might be a bit of an exaggeration.”
“Actually, you know what?” she continued as an idea occurred to her, “maybe you should be the one in the video. People know who you are—in several cities, if not all of them—so they’ll listen to you. When your face shows up on a giant billboard screen, people will stop and pay attention.”
“That’s a terrible idea. People may have a sick desire to know what underwear brands I like, and what cologne I’m wearing, and who I’m having dinner with, but they also think I’m an irresponsible trust fund brat. They may hear the words I’m saying, but they won’t actually listen to me.”
“But you’ll be so different from the Archer they know. The Archer they think they know.” Ridley turned the stove off and placed the wooden spoon into an empty mug. “You’ll be genuine, telling them all about the truth you’ve discovered. They won’t be able to help taking you seriously.”
Nathan leaned on the back of a chair. “That is an idea,” he mused.
“Yeah, a terrible one,” Archer repeated. “How about I throw around some spectacular shielding conjurations that protect people from any falling pieces of burning arxium that aren’t totally consumed before they hit the ground? Like Ridley’s dad and all the others who aren’t elementals.”
It turned out Ridley’s grandfather had shared a little of his extensive conjuration knowledge with his son, and even though Nathan’s plan already included people using magic to protect those inside Lumina City, Dad was able to teach everyone a few new shielding conjurations.
“I don’t know, I like this idea too,” Tanika said. She grabbed another celery stick.
“I thought you were against all of this,” Ridley reminded her, lifting her jacket from the back of one of the chairs. It wasn’t her favorite jacket with the hood that she’d lost in a burning blaze, but Dad had conjured up something very similar. Before the Cataclysm, he’d designed and created fantastical jewelry and accessories for celebrities and anyone else who could afford his items, but his training had included garment conjurations. He was a little rusty after so many years of not using magic, which was why the right sleeve was longer than the left and the two sides of the zip didn’t properly meet, but Ridley had told him not to worry about fixing it. She loved having something unique that Dad had made specifically for her. It had been years since the last time that happened.
“I’m saying if we were to ever go ahead with this plan,” Tanika corrected. “Like I said before, I’m not against it. I just don’t think we’ll succeed if we try. We don’t have enough power.”
“Maybe we do,” Saoirse said quietly. “Maybe you underestimate us.”
“You think I’m underestimating us?”
“I do.”
“Okay, let’s play this all out again.”
“Tanika—”
“No, seriously. Let’s say this works. We break apart the arxium machines and the wall. Our earthquakes are targeted enough to stop right at the wall and not destroy any buildings on the other side.”
“Or the bunker,” Ridley interjected. “Don’t forget about the bunker. It extends right up to the wall.”
“Right. The earthquakes are somehow super targeted to hit all parts of the wall except that section. The arxium gas dissipates quickly enough that the magic doesn’t freak out for too long and cause one epically insane storm. We burn through the wall. We burn through the hovering panels. We tell people the truth. They actually believe us and accept us. But then what about—”
“The Shadow Society,” Saoirse said quietly.
“Exactly.”
“This is always your final point,” Nathan said, dropping into a chair with a sigh.
Saoirse looked at Ridley. “We’ve argued about this so many times. It’s like listening to the same song on repeat. You know what lines are coming next.”
“And with good reason!” Tanika said. “This will always be my final point because the Shadow Society will always be the biggest problem. They operate in secret, but their influence is far-reaching. We can’t possibly hope to dismantle their entire organization. So once we reveal ourselves, it’ll be easy for them to wipe us out. And I know—” she added loudly, speaking over Nathan “—you think the law will be on our side. That once we tell everyone about the existence of an organization that likes to kill elementals that that organization will be too afraid to act because of the consequences. But that won’t be the case. The Shadow Society will still have influence over law enforcement, politicians, news media, everything. They’ll kill us all, pass it off as a series of accidents or whatever, and even though no one will entirely believe it, they’ll probably all be relieved.”
Nathan paused, then said, “That isn’t what I was going to say.”
Tanika arched a disbelieving eyebrow. “New lyrics? This isn’t the same song we sing every time?”
“We get rid of them before they get rid of us,” Nathan said simply.