This is my current middle grade fantasy that I am working on trying to get traditionally published. Figured I could give a teaser, as others have enjoyed this section. Thanks for reading in advance!

Chapter One

   The snow had collapsed the roof the night before. Jet spent the entire night shoveling snow out of the shack to just get a few hours of sleep before dawn. He couldn’t sleep in. Not when there was work to be done.

“Glad to see you’re awake,” Jet’s brother said to him as he looked back from the metal barrel in front of their shack. Embers flickered and sparked inside. A light smoke rose from the metal cylinder as if it were a chimney on top the houses they lived behind.

Jet rubbed his eyes. Though the sky was covered in grey clouds, the sun still seemed to shine brightly over Calbar. Jet yawned and then gave his older brother a smile.

“You always did say that old roof would give out eventually.”

“Yeah I did. I’m just sorry it happened over you and not me. You didn’t even wake me to help you!”

Jet chuckled. “You know I wouldn’t bother you with that. We both can’t be tired. We can’t afford it.”

Jet’s brother’s expression darkened. Jet knew he never liked hearing that they couldn’t afford anything.

“Don’t be like that, little brother. Just let good ol’ Dustan take care of us,” his brother joked as he pointed to himself with a big grin.

Jet rolled his eyes playfully. “So do we have any jobs today?” he asked, changing the subject.

Dustan reached his cloth-wrapped hands back over the embers. “I believe the bakery has a job or two. We might end up with a few more gold pieces today, if we’re lucky.”

The two were welcomed among the people to do odd jobs, but nothing more. Shop owners wouldn’t be caught hiring the poverty-stricken.

“Anyways, let’s head out. The sooner we get the gold, the sooner we can eat,” Dustan explained.

Jet nodded, adjusting his vest and scarf. The vest was almost gray with ash and dirt. The scarf remained a vibrant green. Jet made sure to take more care of it because it was the only thing he had left of his father.

Dustan gave him a nod that indicated he looked as presentable as he could. Jet returned a nod as they both headed away from their shack. Leaving the alley, Jet could see the castle that overlooked the city of Calbar. It stood as a reminder of the life that Jet wished he and his brother could have.

Calbar was a massive industrial city and capital of the Soul Empire. Jet and Dustan lived in the poorest part of the city. The majority of people who lived in their district weren’t nearly as moneyless as the two of them.

“Don’t you think we should move the shack?” Dustan asked.

Jet broke his gaze from the castle. “Why do you ask?”

“Well I hate that castle looming over us, reminding us who we are.”

“I don’t mind,” Jet replied.

Dustan frowned. Jet could tell he didn’t believe him, but he didn’t press the issue.

The two of them walked for several minutes. They were soon out of the alley. Citizens were already moving up and down the streets going to work. Children, around their age and younger, were running around and playing. Dustan and Jet continued passed. Dustan had lost his child-like nature long ago. Jet still wanted to go and play with the other kids, but he knew he couldn’t. They didn’t have the luxury.

A flurry began to fall from the clouded sky as they reached the bakery. Jet’s stomach growled as he could already smell the fresh bread. He looked into the window of the shop. Steam rose off of the bread in the cool air.

“Don’t focus on the food,” Dustan snapped at Jet, “It’ll make the work harder.”

Jet broke his focus on the inside and stared at his own reflection. His pale green eyes were brought out by his scarf and the gray tattered clothes he wore. He sniffled his nose a few times. The two boys were used to the cold and wet climate. They never minded having their boots soaked. Just having boots was better than not having them.

“Ah, the Cafl boys,” the baker said as he poked his head out.

“Hello there Mr. Gher,” Dustan greeted.

“Haven’t seen you two around in a while. You working other parts of Calbar?”

“Anywhere we can get work,” Dustan chuckled.

“You look so much older now. What are you, eighteen?” Mr. Gher asked.

Dustan nodded. “It’s been about a year since we worked for you sir, so I’d say that’s about right.”

“And that makes you thirteen now, eh Jet?”

Jet nodded carefully. He was shy around others that had the power to deny them work. He knew his place as a poor citizen, and didn’t want to jeopardize the chance to make a few gold pieces.

“Well come on inside. I’ve got some ovens I need cleaned out.”

Mr. Gher led them inside and straight to the back. It was quick so no one could see them entering. The farthest part of the bakery was huge. Ovens lined the back wall. Mr. Gher worked by himself because he was a Fire Elementalist, one who controlled the power of fire.

“Alright, I’m using the one on the far right, but all the other ovens need to be cleaned,” Mr. Gher explained. “I’ll leave you both to it. Do a good job and there will be a few gold pieces in it for you.”

Dustan smiled and nodded. Jet nodded quickly and turned back to the ovens. Mr. Gher left to the front of the shop.

“Come on, let’s get started.” Dustan told Jet.

“Alright, one sec,” Jet said as he took his scarf off and set it aside safely.

The two of them began cleaning the ovens late into the morning. While they were cleaning, Dustan told Jet the stories from their homeland. There was a desert to the far northeast which is where they were from. Dustan was too young to remember the name when his dad had told it to him. It had been shortly after Jet was born that their parents brought them to the Soul Empire. Shortly after their move, the Soul Empire saw the desert people as a threat and closed their borders. Their parents left them in the safety of Calbar to go fight for the borders to be opened, or so the story went. They never came back.

Jet always hated the end of the story. The Soul Empire’s army that mostly came from Calbar had put a stop to the immigrants protesting the border close. A part of Jet hated the Soul Empire for that, but he had to be thankful they didn’t kill him or arrest him just because he was from the northeastern desert.

Dustan and Jet reached the last oven. It was a new industrial oven, more massive than the last ones. They both had to crawl inside to get the ash out and clean it. The oven was dark, with little light coming inside to tell where they needed to clean.

“The Fire Element seems to cause much more ash,” Dustan said, breaking the silence.

Elementalists were gifted people who controlled the power of specific Elements, such as fire, water, air and earth. He knew of rumors that there were Soul Elementalists that had founded the Empire, thus giving its name. Those were the ones that Jet knew of. They were all pretty rare, according to the citizens of Calbar. Jet assumed that the emperor, Wrathel, kept close attention to Elementalists to keep them under control.

Jet was going to reply when they both heard a soft voice-like sound. “What was that?” Dustan asked.

“I’m not sure…” Jet mumbled as he tried to listen.

After a few seconds, it happened again. It almost sounded like someone sighing, but it was distorted. Then suddenly, Dustan’s hand lit up with a pale green aura. It caused both of them to jump. Jet fell out of the oven with a thud onto the kitchen floor. Dustan crawled out of the oven.

“How’s it going back-,” Mr. Gher started but then stopped as he saw Dustan’s hands. “A Spirit Elementalist!” he shouted.

Mr. Gher’s shout caused a stir inside the lobby of the shop. He ran out to tell the other people. Neither Dustan nor Jet knew what was going on. Before they knew it, Mr. Gher was leading people into the kitchen to see them. Jet felt uncomfortable because he didn’t know how to react. No one seemed to care that two poor citizens were in the kitchen of a bakery, they all seemed focused on Dustan.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were an Elementalist Dustan?” Mr. Gher asked.

“Because I didn’t know myself,” Dustan explained. The aura swayed around his hands like a pale smoke.

“Out of my way, out of my way!” a voice shouted from the lobby of the bakery. Through the crowd came a soldier of the Soul Empire army. Not just any soldier. It was one of the high generals. He wore a black and purple trench coat that held metals of valor on one side.

As soon as people realized who he was, they began to move and bow. Mr. Gher shuffled and bowed quickly. “Greetings, sir. I didn’t know you were in this part of the city. I apologize my bakery is in such a state.”

“What’s this I hear about a Spirit Elementalist?” the general asked.

Mr. Gher stood up straight and quickly moved over to Dustan. “This is the boy, sir.”

“Looks like a nobody to me,” the general sneered.

“Well he is a nobody, but he has an Element.”

“Alright then,” the general nodded as he examined Dustan’s aura-covered hands, “Come with me boy.”

Dustan resisted for a second. “I can’t leave my younger brother here.”

“Brother, you say?” the general asked. “Do you have an Element as well?”

“No, sir,” Jet muttered.

The general seemed to think about it. The look on Dustan’s face was stern. He wasn’t going to leave Jet behind.

“Well his lordship might have a use for the both of you. Come on.”

“His lordship? Where are we going?” Dustan asked as the crowd parted for them.

“To the castle of course.”

Jet’s face lit up with excitement. He was finally going to see the castle and maybe even get to be a part of the Soul Empire as an official citizen. It would make them both well off.

The trip took longer than they expected. It was night time when they reached the castle. The castle was even bigger up close. Jet stood in awe as the massive braziers lit the paths and door. The castle walls were made of large gray stone bricks. Spires sprouted from the castle and one tower jutted out, only connected by a bridge.

Inside the castle was highly lit by chandeliers. The floors had long carpets that were a dark purple. Suits of armor, similar to the ones the soldiers wore, lined the walls.

“Good evening, general,” a voice said.

Coming down the entry hall was a tall man, wearing gold armor with pink stones embedded into it.

“Good evening to you, Sir Rujar,” the general replied.

Rujar had a sword strapped to his side. It’s hilt matched the same color of his armor. The blade was visible and pink.

“Who was that?” Jet asked carefully after the man passed.

“One of the representatives from the Crystal Kingdom to the east. Don’t pay him any mind.”

Jet frowned as he looked back to Rujar. He had never heard of lands outside of the Soul Empire or the desert. Jet decided to stay quiet and look out the glass windows that went from the floor to the ceiling. He had never seen anything more beautiful than this castle.

“So why does the Emperor want to see us?” Dustan asked.

“His lordship has been doing research.”

“Research? On what?”

“Elements of course. I believe that your Element might help him in his research. He will be delighted to have you aiding him.”

“Will he reward us?”

The general threw on a grin. “He might do that, yes.”

Jet was starting to feel uncomfortable again. He didn’t think about it too hard. It wasn’t long before the general led them across the bridge from the castle into the tower.

After several flights of stairs and down a long hallway, the general stopped them before the door. “Now, only speak when spoken to by his lordship. Great things are going to come from your help, so be on your best behavior.”

They both nodded and walked inside after the general opened the door. The Emperor was at a desk, glancing through books. The room was walled with bookshelves. In front of every set of shelves, there was a desk covered in papers and open books.

“Welcome, you two,” he spoke without breaking his gaze from the books. He was a tall man, his body looming over the desk.

Jet wondered how the Emperor already knew they were coming. The door closed behind them. Jet looked back as he thought he heard the door lock.

“Now, which one of you is the Elementalist?” the Emperor asked as he stood up straight and walked over to them. He was well-built. Jet figured he would have to be to command an army and claim Emperor.

“I am your lordship,” Dustan replied.

“And you’re his brother?” the Emperor asked, looking at Jet.

“Yes, sir.”

“No Element, correct? You’re already thirteen now too.”

Jet just nodded, because the Emperor already seemed to know.

“I’m sure you two know, Elements usually present themselves around the age of twelve to thirteen,” he stated as he moved back over to his books. “I’m surprised to see that you never had used yours before, Dustan.”

“I didn’t know that your lordship. I also wasn’t sure how.”

The Emperor just nodded. “I’m also sure you don’t know that there is a theory among Elementalists. This theory is as old as the planet itself. These books state that a Spirit Elementalist has the power to walk the Planes of other Elements. Planes are places where Elements come from.”

“Wow, I didn’t know that either, sir,” Dustan said.

The Emperor looked up, his violet eyes catching the torch light. “Of course not. Now please, come over here.”

He beckoned Dustan towards the end of the room. There was a large machine there that had coils and tubes coming from it. “I don’t want you to be scared, I just need you to step onto this platform and use your Element.”

Dustan nodded and walked over to the machine. He stepped onto the platform.

“If you can help me with this theory, you will become one of the wealthiest people in all the lands,” the Emperor explained.

Dustan smiled. Jet stood near the door watching. He was happy to know that they were about to be out of the cold and have brand new lives.

“Now, use your Element,” the Emperor said as he began to push buttons and flip switches. The machine roared to life with energy. It startled Jet, but he tried to remain calm after the Emperor said not to be scared.

Dustan’s hands lit up with the aura. The machine seemed to immediately respond to it. The Emperor smiled widely. A large portal opened behind Dustan. It was right in front of a window that looked out onto the city.

The portal was magical looking. It was like a large bubble that showed a completely different world. It began to shuffle through a few of the Planes that the Emperor had mentioned. One was a fiery land of lava and fire while another was a land of complete white. The planes began to shuffle faster and faster until the machine started to spark.

Jet watched the Emperor’s face darken. “What’s going on?!” he demanded. “Steady your Element! Use more of it!” he continued to yell.

“I’m trying!” Dustan shouted back.

The machine continued to spark and steam until it finally made a loud clanking sound. The Emperor and Jet watched as the portal started to the shake violently. After a few seconds, the portal closed. The machine powered down on its own. Jet assumed it was broken now after all the sparks and shaking.

“I’m sorry…sir,” Dustan mumbled as he looked around him.

The Emperor’s face was disappointed. His machine was destroyed and his plan didn’t work. He looked frantic as he ran over to his desk and began to shuffle through pages. All the years of building this prototype for nothing. He wanted to prepare the Empire for what was coming. How could he do that without the machine?

“I did everything right…why did it not work?” he mumbled.

Dustan stepped off the machine and began to walk over to Jet. Before he could pass the Emperor, the Emperor jumped in front of him. “It should have worked! Everything was right!” he yelled at Dustan.

Dustan couldn’t say anything. Jet could see fear in his eyes.

The Emperor reached out and grabbed Dustan by his shirt. “You didn’t try hard enough. I know you didn’t.”

“I did sir!” Dustan replied, trying to get out of the tight grip. Dustan truly wanted to do anything in his power to make this go smoothly. He tried to power his Element more. He had to. He had to for Jet’s sake.

“You have failed me, Spirit Elementalist. I have no use for you now!” the Emperor yelled as he began to pull Dustan. Instead of pulling his body, his clenched grip began to pull a purple aura out of Dustan. Jet couldn’t react in time. The Emperor ripped a purple ghost-like figure out of Dustan, causing Dustan to fall to the floor dead.

Jet wasn’t sure what just happened. He had always heard the Emperor be called the lord of souls, but he never knew it was an Element. He was a Soul Elementalist.

The Emperor quickly turned to Jet. Jet had a delayed reaction as he tried to run to the door. Thoughts ran through his head. Did that just really happen? He didn’t want to look back to check. He tugged on the handles, but it was locked. His heart sank. He felt the Emperor’s grip on his scarf that was wrapped around tight enough to move his entire body. The Emperor began to drag him.

“I don’t have use for you either. The Elementless are pathetic and weak,” the Emperor muttered as he pulled Jet.

Jet struggled to get free of his scarf. The Emperor held it in a position where it was impossible to do so. “No! Let me go!” Jet yelled.

He was slowly pulled passed Dustan. Jet tried to grab onto him. He was hoping he wasn’t dead. Dustan’s face was lifeless. It was just a body now. Jet’s eyes teared up as the truth began to sink in. He kept his eyes on Dustan as the Emperor threw him towards the window.

“I don’t need useless people in my empire!” he shouted.

Jet was flung at the window quickly. His scarf unwrapped from his neck and remained in the Emperor’s hand. The glass shattered around him. The Emperor had already turned his back on Jet as he began to fall. His vision was cut from Dustan as the tower wall began to rise as he descended towards the city.

Jet wasn’t sure what all was happening. It happened so fast. Green aura began to appear around him.

“You’ll be safe in here,” Jet heard a voice say. He thought it was Dustan. He wasn’t quite sure. The air rushed around him, his clothes violently flapping. The green aura began to engulf his surroundings. It moved with the air. It wrapped itself around Jet until he couldn’t see the castle or the city.

Jet wasn’t sure what had happened. All he knew now is that he wasn’t falling anymore. He was somewhere out of the Emperor’s reach. Somewhere out of anyone’s reach. Everything was calm.  All Jet could see was green mists.

“You’ll be safe here, Jet,” the voice said again.

Jet closed his eyes. He was safe.