The Fire Wars Read online

  “This is big,” I said, everything hitting me all at once. “Really big.”

  “That's what Jana was trying to do when she died,” Varun said. “Call down the sacred fire that would undo the Erosion – help the fire gods defeat water. But she didn't pass the test...”

  “Jana again,” I said softly. My mind went back to the fear I'd had in the locker room – did Varun and Chance just want me because of that resemblance? Was that resemblance the reason they thought I might be Vesta. “Will I ever live up to Jana?”

  Varun turned to me, taking my hands in her. “You look like her – I won't lie. But you're different. More thoughtful. Jana was...she was elemental. A force. Beautiful. Proud. She wanted power more than anything in the world; she wanted to be special, to be great. She acted like a Queen. She was, in a way, at school…with Haven following her like an eager puppy dog. She wanted to be a god when she wasn't – and so she died...” He sighed. “You seem a bit more down-to-earth. I feel like I can trust you.”

  He leaned in and kissed me. “And you don't taste like her, either,” he said. “You taste sweet – a little salty – like the ocean in the morning.”

  “Is that a good thing?” I laughed.

  “That's a very good thing,” Varun pulled me closer. “Listen, Mac, whether you're Vesta or not – you're somebody. My uncle doesn't summon anyone to Aeros without a reason. You're special, whether you believe it or not. You could be Vesta – goddess of fire. You could be a seer, a mermaid, an embodiment, anything at all. You could even be a water-goddess...”

  “A water-goddess?” My eyes widened in shock.

  “It makes sense, doesn't it? Vesta's book vanished – meaning you might not be from her line after all. You love to swim. You love the water. You've even impressed Haven – and the fact that she's taking an interest in you has got to mean something. It's not many girls that could survive a mermaid attack, Mackenzy. You heard the siren's call without having your ears bleed – a call that makes most mortals scream in pain. If you have a connection to the water – if you have a connection to me...”

  “To you?”

  Varun kissed me again. “Chance is the Fire King, the God of Fire.” he said. “But me – I'm one of the water clan. I don't believe in the Erosion – I believe in peace and balance, water and fire combined. But you don't see me anywhere near an open flame, do you?”

  “Then you're...”

  “That first time we met, Mac – you felt a connection, didn't you? You felt it, too.”

  I remembered the feeling that made me shiver when Varun touched me for the first time – like ocean waves lapping over me. A feeling of safety. Of calm. “Yes,” I said. “I felt it.”

  “That could be a sign, Mac. A sign that you're one of us, that you're like me.” He pulled me closer. “I don't know what you are, Mackenzy Evers, but I think I'm falling for you.”

  Chapter 17

  I was falling for Varun, too. The more time we spent together, the more I grew to feel safe with him. When I was near him, letting him wrap his warm, muscular arms around me, I felt protected. Mermaids and sirens couldn't get at me – not when Varun was around. Every day after school Varun met me after swim practice, taking me for walks along the beach, explaining to me more and more about the history of the island, about the legends of Embodiments. He certainly wasn't trying to push me away, I thought. Rather, he was thoughtful, intelligent, doing his best to answer my questions and to ease me into the life of a student at Aeros Academy. He explained to me all about the different kinds of Olympian I could find at Aeros – not only truthsayers or sirens but a whole host of creatures.

  “But the fire-creatures don't know their true identities yet,” said Varun. “Not without Vesta.”

  “You mean me,” I'd said.

  “We don't know that...”

  But Varun's insistence that I wasn't the goddess Vesta didn't quite convince me. As much as what he said about my connection with water was true – my love of swimming, of the ocean, of its salt and blue expanses – I felt an equally strong, if not stronger, connection with fire. And, if I were truly honest with myself, with Chance.

  I hadn't seen Chance since that day I found the book, and we kissed. He was once again conspicuously absent from class, a fact that made me both disappointed and relieved. As much as I craved his touch, as much as I longed to see him again, I wasn't sure how to reconcile my developing relationship with Varun with my feelings for Chance. Whether or not Varun and I were officially a couple – whether or not we'd defined the relationship as exclusive, I didn't think Varun would be too happy to hear that his newest girlfriend was doing exactly what his old one had done: falling for his hated cousin. But at the same time, I wondered if I'd be able to resist Chance if he came near me again. My hunger for him was so great, so strong, so all-consuming, that I knew no matter what I tried to tell myself, I'd be weak at the knees whenever Chance returned.

  At last, a week after I'd last seen him, Chance turned up at my locker when I arrived at school.

  “I heard what happened to you,” he said gravely, foregoing any kind of introductions or pleasantries. “In the ocean, last week.”

  “Varun saved me,” I said, and Chance glowered. Evidently Varun wasn't the only jealous Cutter.

  “We need to talk,” Chance said. “Can we go someplace private? It's urgent.”

  “I've got class,” I said. “I can't afford to miss it – not if I want to make it into college. I've been doing terribly the last couple of days – I'm so distracted...”

  “Leave it to me.” Chance led me to Dr. Newton's office, where he silently handed a note to the principal.

  She read it and nodded. “Are you sure?”

  “I'm sure,” Chance said, and the principal nodded. “Take as much time as you need,” she said.

  And with that, Chance led me out of school and towards the grounds of the hotel.

  “What was that all about?” I asked.

  “Technically, the note said that you've contracted Aeropagite disease, a highly infectious illness to which I, luckily, am immune, and that you need to be quarantined. But, of course, Dr. Newton knows as well as you or I do what that means?”

  “Meaning?”

  “Olympian business.”

  “Everyone knows...” I sighed. “I can't believe this. It's like I'm going to Hogwarts or something.”

  “Not quite,” said Chance. “That, Evers, was fiction. This is fact.” We were by now in a secluded glade along the beach. Chance turned to me, his eyes full of longing. “I've been gone on business of my own,” he said. “But now I'm back.” He smiled at me. “And so incredibly happy...I saw the truthssayer...”

  “And?”

  “And she senses a great change coming to Aeros. A presence that will change everything. I can only assume she was speaking of you. Of Vesta – of my Queen.” He took my hands, pressing them to his lips. “Of the one for whom I have been searching for centuries.”

  “Chance...” I faltered. I wanted to tell him about Varun, to pull away, to put a stop to my temptation before it started. But I found that I had no words. My desire for him was beyond speech. Before I could regain control of my senses, Chance had taken hold of me, whisking me through the air once again with dizzying speed.

  We came to rest on a secluded cliff, in the shadow of what appeared to be the ruins of an ancient Greek temple.

  “Sorry about the nausea,” Chance said, as I tried to regain my balance. “You'll get used to it.” He motioned to the Temple. “But you see, I had to show you this...”

  “What is it?” I looked up at the ruins.

  “It's a temple,” he said. “Built by the Veteri. In honor of the goddess Vesta. Your resting-place. Your home. You were there when this place was built...” He took my hands again. “I want you to try to remember, Mac, please. Do you remember this building?”

  “I've seen it in my textbook...”

  “Not a drawing,” Chance cried, “in reality! If you are Vesta –
deep down you must remember this place. You must feel a connection to it. Your dwelling-place among mortals, my darling. Your home!” He pulled me into his arms and kissed me again, his rough touch as thrilling as it was terrifying.

  I forced myself to pull back. “Chance, I can't...” I started. “I've started dating Varun…”

  “What does it matter whom you're dating?” Chance snapped. “This is greater than any teenage romance – this is greater than petty attachments! This is your identity – powerful, elemental! This is your history, Mac, and mine...” He took a deep breath before he finished. “This is true love.”

  “But I've never been here!” I pleaded. “Chance, this is insane, I've never seen this...”

  And then it hit me, all at once, like a ball of fire. Boiling heat, searing flame, a pain in my head that made me stagger back into Chance's arm.

  A vision, laid out across my field of view like a curtain. The temple began to shimmer; its fallen columns one by one seemed to rise up; the collapsed roof was new again. The temple was gleaming white, newly-painted, surrounded by fresh flowers.

  I turned to Chance with amazement. But where Chance was standing I saw not a man but a god – twice the height, clad in scarlet armor, flames shooting from his fingertips and lapping at his torso. A face I recognized in the very depths of my soul. I felt a sudden rush of love, of desire, of need – stronger than anything I had ever known.

  “My twin,” I heard myself saying. “My king, my love. My Mars.” I felt myself run to Chance, enveloping him in my arms, pulling him in for a kiss.

  And then the vision was over, and although Chance's body was still twined with mine, the flames had vanished. The temple was in ruins again.

  “What did you see, Mac?” Chance took hold of my wrists, his face frenzied. “You saw something, didn't you? Tell me what you saw!”

  I was breathless with shock. “I saw the temple,” I said at last. “As it was when it was new. It was so beautiful...flowers everywhere. So white...” I looked up at him. “And I saw you – surrounded by flames...” I tried to make sense of it all. “I recognized you. I mean – I knew you as Chance, but it was more than that. Something deeper. Like I knew you from another life…”

  Chance was shaking, joy spreading across his face. “Then it's true,” he whispered. “You are Vesta. You are my goddess...”

  “That can't be!” I pulled away. “You thought Jana was your goddess, didn’t you? But she died.”

  “I was eager for her to be my goddess, and she wanted to be Vesta so badly that we were both blind.”

  “Blind to what?” I asked.

  “Blind to the fact she never had any of these visions. Blind to her not feeling or seeing the flames that you do when we are close. I know now, which I should have admitted before, she was pretending to be Vesta’s Embodiment. She knew about prophecy, and she did everything she can to try to fit into it. But you…you don’t even know about all of this, yet you’ve shown more signs than anyone else. And that was what I loved most about Vesta…how clever she was. If she did not want to be found, she would make it very difficult for anyone to find her.” Chance took my hands in his. “Believe me, I tried convincing myself over and over again that you’re not Vesta. I don’t want to take that risk at all, to harm you in any way. But everything points to you as being the one – the cave, the flames, how we feel for each other, this sudden rush of love so great only knowing someone for so long and accepting them for who they are and loving them beyond time…the book…”

  “But the book – it vanished....”

  “Did it?” Chance grinned as he looked down at my hands.

  I followed his eyes. Between my palms there had appeared a stone, gleaming orange and gold, a stone that was slowly morphing before my eyes into a book.

  He touched my face gently and said, “I see you have reservations, doubts – and I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t jump into believing I’m Vesta, too, if I were you, without more proof and certainty.” He looked down, and when he looked up again at me, his beautiful sapphire eyes were stormy with angst. “I’ll leave you alone and let you figure it out, Mac. I won’t chase you. I won’t persuade you. I’ll wait until you come to me on your own. Body, soul, and mind. Because I won’t take you until you’re sure.”

  Chapter 18

  This time, I wasn't going to lose it again. I told Chance to take me home, too shaken by what I had seen to let our relationship progress any further. When he had seemed to hate me, I had wanted nothing more than for him to want me. But now that he was convinced that I was this goddess, I grew afraid. Having the book didn't necessarily mean I was Vesta, I told myself. Surely it was possible that I was just a handmaiden, or even a truthsayer – that I was protecting the book for the real Vesta! And although I had experienced a vision of the Temple, that too could mean little more than that I was one of Vesta's line. After all, Chance had been wrong before – hadn't two girls died because he was convinced that each one was the goddess he wanted to find so badly?

  At the same time, though, I knew I was falling for him. His pulling back from me at Vesta’s temple only made me want him more, seek after him. The brief moments we spent together – the more seconds I spent with my lips hotly pressed against his – the more I was certain that we had a connection that went beyond mere physical attraction. Something in my soul craved a release which only Chance could give; some strange part of me cried out to him.

  Yet I could not bring myself to open the book. Although I carried it with me everywhere, terrified that the book would vanish again, I couldn't bring myself to do more than touch its ancient pages. What would I find, I wondered? And I was certainly afraid to find out. The memory that Chance had inspired in me – the vision of Vesta – was so powerful it had nearly knocked me unconscious; could I deal with having memories like that flooding into my head page by page? Yet although I did not open the book, I found something comforting in its presence. It was like a talisman – giving me energy, giving me strength. I liked keeping it my bag and putting it on my knee, feeling my body react to its energy.

  My mother was especially busy with work this week – a relief, I felt. I didn't dare talk to her, lest I betray any of the secrets I'd discovered. My mother would probably think I was crazy, I told myself – she'd have me committed! But the Conference for a Post-Erosion World was scheduled for next week, and my mother's hands were full trying to sort out security for England's Prime Minister and Southern Ireland's President without causing an international crisis.

  Life continued strangely calmly over the next few days. I started going to swim practice regularly, eyeing Haven with just a bit more suspicion now that I knew she too could be an Olympian. As for Chance, we did not repeat our kiss by the temple – I saw him only rarely, for he seemed to be avoiding school – and although his manner towards me was no longer full of contempt, he seemed far more restrained. When he looked at me, his eyes naked with desire, I felt a shudder pass through me. He wanted me, I could tell. And yet he was holding back. Perhaps he too felt the fear I felt – that it could be a mistake, that I could turn out not to be the one, that his love could cost me my life.

  That afternoon after swim practice, I was the last to finish dressing. The locker room was damp and empty, and when I heard the door swing open, I assumed it was one of the other girls from the team come back to fetch a forgotten swimsuit.

  And then I felt the blow.

  Someone hit me from behind, sending me crashing forward into a locker. Blood streamed from a gash in my forehead as I staggered back, trying to turn around, to see my attacker..

  But my assailant was stronger than I was. As I screamed for help, the figure put a gloved hand over my mouth, picking me up by the hair with the other hand, and threw me to the hard marble floor. I felt something – a foot, probably – collide with my ribcage, and I screamed as my bones cracked with the impact.

  I rolled over onto my back and tried to catch a glimpse of my attacker. I gasped in horror as I looke
d up at three masked faces.

  “No you don't!”

  I turned in the direction of the voice. There was Misty, her electric-blue hair sopping wet.

  “Misty – run!” I spat out blood as I cried out.

  But Misty had no intention of running. Instead, she made her way towards the attackers, kneeing one – a broad-shouldered ma firmly in the groin as her elbow came down onto the other's chest. But the third attacker, a smaller figure, pushed Misty off, sending Misty reeling. Her head crashed into the locker and she slumped down to the ground.

  The smaller assailant then made his way towards me, pinning me effortlessly to the ground as I tried to fight back. Another of the attackers made his way to my bag. It was then that I realized what they wanted.

  “No!” I shouted – but it was no use. The man grabbed my bag and vanished into the shadows. I heard a thud as he dropped the bag behind.

  “Come on, let's go!” The second attacker called in a husky voice, and the others swiftly followed, leaving me bleeding on the floor. I leaped to my feet and ran to my bag, my heart sinking. As I suspected, the bag was gone.

  I turned to Misty, who was staggering to her feet. “Misty! Are you okay?”

  But Misty didn't look at me. Instead, she was muttering something – words in a language I didn't understand. As she spoke, she began to shimmer, her whole body morphing in a weird blue light.

  “What the...”

  As Misty stepped forth towards me, she was no longer the young, attractive girl I had fought on the wrestling mat. She was an old crone, thousands of wrinkles crossing her withered face, a single bright blue eye the only reminder of the lovely girl she had once been.

  I stepped back in shock, only to fall over onto the bench behind me.

  Misty gave a twisted laugh. “So I take it you can see my true form, child,” she said. “That's a good sign. A good sign indeed. It means Chance was right about you. You have potential.”