The Elf Girl by Markelle Grabo Page B

open it, because they are the only ones who can work with locks and keys here in the Elf Realm. We believe your father, Carlow, was the one who locked it. He was a Spell Master.”
    “Spell Master? What’s that?” I asked
    “Sit down and I’ll explain,” she told me.
    I obeyed and sat down on one of the beds. Its comforter was a green floral print. The base was a dark forest green and decorated with lighter green flowers. The bed next to it was the same but in brown.
    “Every elf and elfen has a magic ability,” she began.
    “Yes, I read that in the book. We are gifted in magic, right?”
    Addison nodded. “I see you at least read some of the book.” She smiled and then went back to explaining. “At sixteen, elves receive their ability. Once their individual ability is identified, they go to a special school for one year to learn about controlling their power. An elf’s power can be almost anything. It ranges from shape-shifting, to healing, to even using the four elements.”
    “What is your power?” I asked.
    “I have a special way of communicating,” she told me.
    “What do you mean?” I asked.
    “Here, let me show you,” she said.
    Addison got up and crossed the room to one of the vanities. She opened a drawer, took out a piece of paper, and handed it to me.
    “Watch the paper closely,” she instructed.
    I set my eyes upon the paper and waited, sifting through the countless possibilities concerning what Addison’s power could be. I heard her take a few deep, even breaths. I looked up for a split second to see her eyes closed, her face expressionless.
    What happened next was truly magical, awe-inspiring.
    Words began appearing before me on the paper, as if someone was writing them with an invisible pen:
     
    This is my power. Using my mind, I can send messages to anyone I desire. The message can appear on any surface: paper, furniture, and even your very skin.
     
    “That is incredible, Addison…but also a bit unsettling. I don’t know how I would feel about words on my skin.” I rubbed my arm self-consciously. Then I remembered something. “Did you use your power to send me the message in the book, about the page number?”
    Addison smiled and nodded. “Yes, very good. I also used it to contact Stellan when he was late.”
    I remembered Stellan and my eyes widened. “What’s Stellan’s ability?” I asked.
    Suddenly Stellan was by my side. My hand was in his again. I didn’t know how he had gotten here so quickly.
    “I can go anywhere I want to in an instant,” he said.
    “So you can teleport or something?” I guessed.
    “Is that what the humans call it?” he wondered.
    I shrugged. “I think so,” I said.
    “Then I guess I can teleport. Interesting word, though.” He smiled and closed his eyes tightly.
    Before I could ask what he was doing, it suddenly felt like a huge wave of air crashed over me, and when I blinked, Stellan and I were in the main room again.
    “Holy crap, we just teleported into a different room!” I cried with delight, staring at Stellan in wonder.
    “Nice choice of words,” he said.
    “What do you mean?” I asked, a little dizzy. I put a hand against my forehead.
    “I don’t believe any elf in this Realm has ever heard of them before,” he told me.
    “What? You mean the word crap ?”
    “Yes, that word.”
    “Oh, well it’s kind of like slang,” I tried to explain.
    He looked at me blankly, obviously confused. “What’s that?”
    “Never mind, it’s complicated. They are just human words, I guess,” I said.
    Still puzzled, he muttered, “Oh, okay.”
    “So what do we do now?” I asked.
    Air crashed over us again.
    I had to sit back on the bed to steady myself. Teleporting, or whatever the elves called it, made me very dizzy.
    “That was so cool,” I said breathlessly.
    “Stop showing off, Stellan! Can’t you see she’s tired?” Addison scolded her brother.
    “Wait, one more question. If you can, um, teleport, why did we walk a