Page 68 of Elemasters

“I’ve done a lot more with him than just meeting,”

“Okay, gross,” Dustin chuckled, shaking his head, “but seriously, you know just talking to him isn’t gonna work,”

“I find your lack of faith disturbing,” Bailey said, deepening her voice into a Darth Vader impression as best she could, before immediately abandoning it with a cough, “what I’m saying is, I think this whole ordeal might leave him a little more open to communication than usual,”

“Sorry I forced everyone to take a detour,” James cut in before Dustin could reply, looking visibly relieved as he and Chloe rejoined the group, “we got coffee! Plus Starburst for Bailey, and Tropical Berry Gummy Bears for you Baobei,”

“Thank you,” Dustin said, accepting the small pouch from James and kissing his cheek, “but wait, what’s that? Are those Mega-sour Atomic Warheads? You hate sour candy though.”

James’s cheeks reddened slightly.

“Yeah, they’re not for me. It’s for if… when we find Chris. Chloe told me they’re his favorite,”

Dustin’s heart thumped a bit harder in his chest. In that moment, the truth finally settled into his bones.

If the others were holding onto hope that Chris could be saved, and that they could be a cohesive unit once again, Dustin had to do the same.

Regardless of the past, in spite of everything in his brain screaming against the notion. He couldn’t assume the worst. Not this time.

It wasn’t long before the group was back on the road, settled into the now familiar rhythm of Dustin squeezing his eyes shut and tuning into the static.

But suddenly, something shifted.

Instead of droning buzzing nothingness, there was suddenly a flash of heat, a spark of light on the periphery. Something brief, fleeting, but intense.

It wasn’t just the energy though, there was also… an image? Not entirely clear, almost like the fading imprint you’d get if you’d focused on something before snapping your eyes shut…

But it was enough to give Dustin a concrete sense of direction for the first time.

“A warehouse!” he blurted out, turning to Bailey and grabbing her shoulder. The suddenness of his gesture was enough to make her squeal, but he couldn’t contain himself, “I think Chris is at a warehouse somewhere! Maybe just outside of Seattle? I could sort of see the skyline in the background!”

Chloe and James huddled around the open rear window.

“A warehouse outside of Seattle huh? I think I might have an idea of the general area,” Chloe began, “my mom has used storage spaces outside the city for big showcases before, and I know museums in the area use them too before new exhibits open up,”

Suddenly, everything clicked into place in Dustin’s mind. Like all the bricks that had been laid were finally creating the visible structure of a house.

“Oh shit. A while back, my mom said that she’d managed to secure some recently discovered Qin Dynasty artifacts for an exhibit she’s working on. If they’re being stored there… Qin Shi Huang must be looking for something,”

“Something that might let him fully control Chris,” James finished Dustin’s thought, “we gotta hurry,”

With that, Bailey slammed the gas pedal and the truck’s tires screamed as they tore off down the road. Now more fiercely determined than ever.

As the group got closer to the city, all their rings started to heat up and surge with power. Now that they were approaching the remote warehouse, it was at the point where the rings were glowing brightly in their respective colors, like they were responding to… something.

Something that was clearly on the other side of the metal security gate that should’ve been blocking them from reaching the warehouse’s entrance.

It should’ve, and it probably would’ve… if there wasn’t a massive hole melted straight through the center of it.

The little security box next to the gate was empty, but the singed glass windows gave Dustin a pretty clear idea of where the guard went.

“We need to get in there fast. A place with artifacts this valuable is gonna have more security than just a gate and a single guard. If he causes a big enough scene or trips a silent alarm or something, we’re fucked,” Chloe said as the group hopped out of the truck, dashing for the gate before things spiraled even further out of control.

Nothing could’ve prepared Dustin for what was on the other side.

What hit him first, was the smell.

Thick, pungent… sickeningly sweet but with a metallic and sulfurous undercurrent unlike anything he’d ever encountered.