Kia's P.O.V.

Ari's hair was damp, her normally wavy locks hanging limply, but her face was shining. "That was freaking awesome."

"Mhm," I replied absently. My whole body felt exhausted, drained, but my energy was trickling back. "Save some for later, remember. Three more lessons to go, right?"

Ari snorted. "There's much more where that came from." She struck a pose. "My bottomless energy should be plenty enough to last me the rest of the day."

I couldn't help it. A combination of a snort and laugh flew out of my mouth. I nearly tripped, almost sending Ari falling.

"Whoa. Steady, girl." She seized my shoulders and reeled me back. "Don't kill yourself yet. We still have our Earth magic lessons."

I gave her a grin. "I was never too good with plants."

"Oh, my God," Ari replied in mock horror. "This girl, here, cannot care for living things. What did they do, they die?"

I shoved her. "I never stayed in one place long enough to take good care of them."

"Oh." She fell uncharacteristically silent. "Sorry about that."

"No," I replied, trying to make light of the situation. "You were right, they did die, because of me."

"Still. That's goddamn awful." She looked thoughtful. "Better not be thinking of killing plants, you have Earth magic after our Air lessons."

Suddenly, a crystal-clear, delicate-sounding chime tinkled through the air. Students surrounding us stopped, tilted their heads to listen. The sound was soft, to my ears, yet penetrated every corner of the school.

It was followed by another, and another. And another. Finally, nine chimes had followed in succession of each other.

Nine o'clock, I thought.

Ari and the other students reached the same conclusion, because chattering filled the hall we were standing in. Students swirled around each other, trying to get to their classes.

"We have an hour," Ari frowned. "Better get going."

We hurried down the hallway. "Do you know where we're supposed to go?" I asked Ari nervously.

She turned around. "No freaking idea."

"Okay." I looked. There was nobody near me, except two burly youths that looked to be about fifteen. They did not look friendly at all.

"Okay," I said again, more softly this time, just to reassure myself. "Ari, we're going to have to ask them for directions."

"You sure they won't tear you apart instead?" Ari looked doubtfully at them. One had heaps of lank, dark brown hair hanging in his eyes, which were colored a pale, pale blue - like all the light had been leached out of them; and the other had a shaven head, winding tattoos curling around his muscles, and glinting flint eyes. They were surrounded by the odors of burnt meat and the damp smell of sea creatures.

I swallowed and took a step towards them. "Uh - excuse me..."

"What, little girl?" Drawled the tattooed one, leaning forward towards me. "You looking for something?"

"The Air classroom," I said softly, although my heart was racing. Why, why, WHY, WHY must I get into these sort of problems? I thought wildly.

"Hold up, Byron. Let me deal with this," the other boy sneered. His hand suddenly shot out and snatched a lock of my hair, pulling me in close. I stared into his eyes. I won't show these bastards how I feel.

"Two lefts, a right, and three lefts," he hissed into my face. A wicked grin spread across his lips.

That was all I needed to know. I pulled my knee up, slamming it into his stomach. He let out a yell and let go of me, but I was already turning, running. Ari had taken my cue, and dashed left. His enraged yell followed me, but strangely he didn't follow us.

I was breathing hard, and jogged down the corridors, following his instructions. "He said two lefts, a right, and another three lefts," I called to Ari.

She wrinkled her face. "Kia, I was so worried about you. I would've given that boy hell, but you got there first. Damn, girl, you got some serious courage going on there.

"What was he doing, anyway?" she asked carefully.

"Don't wanna think about it." I shook my head vehemently, sending my hair flying. We slowed to a stop in a rocky-looking corridor. At the end was a plain, white door, looking supremely unremarkable.

"What if that boy gave us false instructions?" I asked suddenly, worried.

"Did your brain get fried?" Ari gave me an incredulous look. "If he did, then to hell with him, we  can check that door. Nothing bad can be behind it, I mean, if he opened it and lived to tell the tale, then so can we. Plus, the school is supposed to be really safe. And if he told the truth, well, then yay us, we're half an hour early. So let's go." She grasped the doorknob, and twisted it. She pushed, but it didn't budge. "Huh."

"Won't open?"

"Yes - nope, won't budge an inch." She stepped back, eyes perplexed. "You try."

I locked my fingers around the doorknob. "Please," I whispered, not sure of what I wanted. Then my wrist turned, and I pushed.

A warm, silvery glow surrounded the doorknob. Then, it started shaking, and trembling. The door flashed an iridescent pattern of colors and then -

It swung open.

Suddenly, I was surrounded by a whirling kaleidoscope of light. It pushed me, pulled me, tried to suck me through the door. And in that moment, I realized something went terribly, terribly wrong.

"Ari!" I screamed. "Get back!"

Too late. There was another scream, and then she flew past me, her green eyes terrified. I grabbed hold of her hand, but slowly, despite our cries for help, we were being dragged through the door.

Suddenly, a pair of hands yanked my shoulders back, drawing Ari and I backwards in an iron grip. The door slammed shut, and there was silence. Ari and I lay on the floor, gasping for breath.

Cyrus's puzzled face swam above me. "What are you two doing here?"

-=+=-

I was speechless, with either shock at running into the headmaster, or just breathless from my ordeal.

Either way, I couldn't speak at all.

Cyrus knelt above me, his hand pressing into my temples. I vaguely thought that this was exactly like the time when he rescued me - when I was three, from the burning wreckage of a car - when a golden spark flew from his fingertips into my forehead, and I felt warmth return to my limbs.

Gingerly, I pushed myself up to a sitting position, and saw Ari give a faint groan, and then Cyrus pinned us in the glare of his golden eyes.

"How did you get into the room?" He asked sternly.

"I - it was me. I turned the doorknob, and it swung open,"  I confessed, hanging my head. "Ari couldn't open the door. It was me. We thought it was the door to the Air classroom." But I was filled with confusion. Why put something so dangerous in a school for kids?

Ari voiced my thoughts. "Why did that door try to kill us?" she said matter-of-factly.

Cyrus looked from me to her, his eyes probing. Finally, he sighed. "Behind that door is something very important, and very destructive. Naturally, we had a deterrent." His eyes flashed. "That door has a spell on it to open only to a certain aura, which is definitely not one of the students." His gaze met mine. "If a different person tried to open it, whether by force or just by accident, it wouldn't budge. I don't know why it responded to yours."

I breathed out, feeling shaky. "I don't know why, also."

He looked at me again, for a very long time. "Where did you get the idea that behind this door lay the Air classroom?" he questioned.

"I asked for directions," I replied, muffling my voice behind my hands. Stupid, stupid, stupid, I scolded myself.

I could almost feel the waves of anger and distress rolling off Cyrus. "I shall have a few words with them," he said finally.

"How will you know who they are?" Ari asked disbelievingly.

Cyrus didn't say anything, just waved his hand, and then our auras blazed alight, crackling gold and silver and lavender-blue - the silver touched with faint traces of flint gray and sickly green. I inhaled sharply, but the colors swirled away and hovered on Cyrus's palms, wisps of smoke trembling faintly.

"I shall know," he said simply. He looked at us. "Follow the light," he directed, and then there was a blaze of gold and then he - vanished.

We were stunned, staring at the spot where he was - only faint traces of gold light was there to show that Cyrus had been there at all.

Finally, Ari spoke up. "Well, as fascinating as that was, where the heck do we find the light to get us to class on time?"

"I think it's already here," I replied, bending down and touching the particles of light shimmering on the ground.

Suddenly, they flew together, pulsing together, and then a small butterfly flutters from the pieces - and I'm suddenly jerked back to a dirty alleyway in London, with Mistress Lenas - and then it darts down a hallway, leaving a trail of gold in its wake.

"Should we follow it?" Ari asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Because it doesn't look trustworthy."

"Like those boys were," I responded, poking her shoulder. She poked mine back. Rubbing my shoulder, I grinned at her. "Let's go."

-=+=-

After following the fluttering butterfly for a dozen twists and turns, the butterfly prancing and fluttering and twirling around us, we reached a large hallway with a few dozen Firsts milling around it.

As we caught sight of the crowd, the butterfly peeled apart and sank into the ground. I stared at it, frowning, but was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Kia! Ari!" The crowd parted around a beaming boy with heaps of chocolate hair and shining green eyes. Len pushed around kids until he was standing in front of us. "I thought you were going to be late."

"Didn't know you were in this class," Ari remarked. "What happened?"

"Got transferred, the class I was in had too many people in it," he replied. "I now have Fire, Air, Earth, and Water."

"Water, Air, Earth, and Fire," I responded in way of a reply. "How's Mistress Sage like?"

"My aunt?" Ari made a faint strangled noise, and her cheeks drained of color. "Uh. Um..."

"Strict," Len supplied helpfully. "Doesn't like people who disobey her. Not much affection in general."

Ari went even whiter.

"Not helping," I hissed at Len, knocking his elbow with mine. He made a face at me, and knocked mine back.

"I'm just not good with family," Ari snapped. "My mom dumped me, my dad's dead, my uncle sent me here so I won't bother him anymore."

"Oh." I was at a loss for words. I went over and hugged her. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said softly, patting my arm. "I'm... just used to not being wanted anymore."

That just made me hug her even harder.

Len hung back, looking awkward. "I'm not good at hugging."

"Shut up." I reached out and yanked him in. We were all tangled in a knot of limbs, cloth, and hair. For a second, with Ari's curls in my mouth and Len's arm around me, I was shatteringly happy.

"Okay, okay, enough." Ari disentangled herself from us. She gave us her trademark grin. "I'll make sure not to break down in class, all right?"

"Sure." Len looked worried at the thought of Ari breaking down. "Don't worry, Mistress Sage is actually pretty nice, once you get to know her. She gives out a lot of homework, but that's okay, you get used to it..."

I started laughing. "Ari's tough. She can handle it."

"I can handle hell if I want to."

Len started to open his mouth, probably to say something, but at that moment, the doors were blasted open by a blast of... wind.

Suddenly, the outline of a woman with flowing white curls - the same as Ari's, except much whiter and silvery, the product of age - stepped out into the hallway. The air immediately was touched with the cool, sharp scent of peppermint, and silence washed over the crowd.

"Come in," Mistress Sage commanded, her voice ringing through the stony hallway. There was a wave of cool air, and then she disappeared along with it, the doors swinging gently.

The crowd filed silently through the swinging doors. After a few moments, we stepped through.

It was another cavern, this one illuminated by glowing crystals embedded in toothy stalactites. Tattered ribbons waved in the air, and light streamed through cracks in the rock. Feathers were hanging, frozen in the air, each a different iridescent color. And they were all hanging in a circle.

In the midst of the circle, surrounded by flaming candles, was Mistress Sage, her white hair spilling down her hair, framing her stern face. Her dark robes pooled at her feet, white wisps flickering around her and sewn onto the hem of her robes. Almost unconsciously, Ari's hand rose up and tugged at her own white locks.

"Welcome," Mistress Sage declared, her voice echoing throughout the rocky chamber. "My name is Mistress Mafley Sage, and I am going to be your instructor in the magic of Air.

"Today, I am going to teach you about the importance of Air. Air can shape the earth-" She waved her hand, and the earth shuddered, the howl of an immense wind ripping through it - "Douse destruction-" the candles surrounding her flickered out, a light breeze snuffing them into nonexistence - "And cleanse the world." A fresh breeze stole through the air, wiping the fatigue from my very bones.

"Now, each of you find a feather," she directed. The students scuffled, each of them finding a silently hanging feather. I found myself standing in front of a dully glimmering hazel-gray-tinged one, the same color of my eyes.

Ari chose a feather next to me, one that was gleaming blue-green. Suddenly, she gave a gasp. Her feather had changed to her eye color - emerald green ringed with white to match her hair.

"Magic feathers?" I muttered to her.

"No," she whispered back. "Angel feathers. By the looks of it, they've been shed, not plucked."

"Thought angel feathers were only white," I commented.

"No, they're all the colors mixed together - to create white." Ari grinned at the awed look I shot her. "Shed ones have magical properties, but plucked ones bring bad luck - it is a horrendous thing to maim an angel."

"The task I have for you today is to attempt to knock the feathers out of the air," Mistress Sage declared. "If you do, you have proved to me that you shall not need practice tonight - you will be cleared of homework."

    Ari muttered under her breath and shot a glare at her feather. "Let's get this over with."

I took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on the feather, but the image eluded me. Also, I felt dreadfully exhausted at the thought of using my aura again.

The air was threaded with different exotic scents - honey, rosemary, woodsmoke, honeysuckle, and something that smelled like curry.

Ari breathed out. Tendrils of her wispy periwinkle aura seeped towards her feather, twisting into spiral shapes. Then, her feather flashed lavender - and curled to the floor.

"Nice work," said an appreciative voice. I spun around, seeing Mistress Sage behind Ari. She bent down, a rare smile on her face. "I have never met someone as gifted at the Air magic, so young. How old are you?"

"She's sixteen," I replied, because Ari was too shocked to respond. "And her name's Ari."

"Ari... my niece?" Mistress Sage asked. "Well, that's no surprise. My family was always gifted in the magic of Air. You certainly live up to the name I gave you." She gave Ari a proud look. "I look forward to seeing you in class again, my dear." She strode away.

Ari was at a loss for words, turning the feather that had fallen over and over and over again in her fingers. "Air," she whispered.

"Ari. Air. Ari," I repeated. I grabbed Ari's hand. "Your name... it's the word Air mixed around!"

"So I do live up to my name," Ari said wonderingly. She hugged me. "Thank you."

"Uh, sure," I replied, patting her back. "I think class is ending soon."

We both turned around as Mistress Sage announced, "Those who have knocked their feather out of the air do not need to practice it tonight! Class dismissed!"

Eleven chimes rang through the air as the class filed out.

A/N:

WHEW! LONG CHAPTER. Hope you guys like it. :D I haven't been updating as much, but I will try to! Read on, my cookies!

Oh, and thank you so much for getting Shining Silver to 400 reads! I am so happy! And 100 followers? OH MY GOD. *hugs*