Fire Stones (The Fire Wars #2) (15 page)

            “How did you do it without damaging the stone?” I fingered the beautiful gem in my palms. “I’m a Fire God!” Chance laughed. “Working with metal is what I do.” He kissed me. “That and having a professional jewelry shop in the hotel lobby didn’t hurt – I forged the gold, but they put it together for me. You should keep a better eye on your jewelry.”

            I blushed. I hadn’t meant to be so careless with the stone.

            “Don’t worry,” said Chance. “Nobody but me could have snatched it. Nobody but a deity is as good at sleight-of-hand. Back when I was one of the bad boys at school,” he grinned widely, “before you
reformed
me,” (he kissed my forehead) “I got terribly good at stealing anything from anyone. But now I use my powers for good, as you can see.”

            I was on the verge of asking him what being a
bad boy
meant, but before I could speak, Chance was fastening the necklace around my neck. “Listen to me,” he said softly. “Promise me you’ll never take it off, okay? It’s a protection stone – and I don’t want you to ever be without it.”

            I touched his face, stroking his cheek, feeling his stubble prickle against my skin. “I promise,” I said at last.

            “I can’t protect you all the time.” Chance sighed. “And neither can Varun. If you want to protect yourself, this is one way to start. Vesta must have known from the beginning – she’d need to keep her Embodiment safe. She always planned ahead. She made this stone for you. She wanted you to have it. She wanted to keep you safe.” I could see the love and admiration in Chance’s eyes when he spoke of Vesta, and in that instant I wanted nothing more than to become Vesta once more, to end Chance’s search for his goddess, to make him happy again – to take away all the pain and darkness I knew he felt deep inside.

            Days earlier, I had hated Vesta – resented her for the effect she had on both Varun and Chance. But the more Vesta’s personality seeped into my own, the more I understood her – how could she, how could
anyone
, choose between two such perfect men? I hadn’t given Vesta enough credit – she had been forced to make an impossible choice.

            A choice I knew that I, too, would have to make.

            The next day school distracted me from my myriad of problems at home. I kept hoping that I wouldn’t run into Brandon. I didn’t want him to see the suspicion in my eyes. If he was my attacker, he couldn’t know that I was onto him.

            “Looking forward to tonight, Mac?” Varun sauntered up to me.      

            “Tonight?” I looked up, confused.

            “Haven’s party!” Varun laughed. “Don’t you remember? We’re working the hosting shift.”

            “Aprons and spilled frosting,” I sighed. “Sounds like fun. I forgot all about it.”

            “Let’s talk our game plan over lunch?”

            I blushed. I’d promised to eat lunch with Chance, but a quick scan of the cafeteria proved that he was nowhere to be found. “Sure,” I said. “Why not?”

            “Listen – I looked for Brandon, but he’s mysteriously out of town. His mom said he went down island to visit his grandmother.” He furrowed his brow. “Not exactly good timing…I’m getting more suspicious. His mother said he was taking his grandma to some of the old shrines – it’s a thing they do; his family is descended from the original islanders that lived here, and a lot of the old families do shrine trips this time of year. But it’s not good news.”

            I patted Varun’s hand. “I know it’s hard, Varun,” I stared.

            He waved away my concern. “I’ll do what I have to do to find out the truth,” said Varun. He gave me a weak smile. “Well, if Brandon bails on us, maybe we’ll get Chance to help out at the party?” I could tell the joke hurt him, but I appreciated his attempts at humor. Unfortunately, the thought of being with Varun and Chance together at the same party made my stomach plummet. How could I deal with being so close to both of them at the same time? How could I hide my feelings for Varun with Chance right there? But the idea of seeing Chance was too powerful to resist.

            “Well, you can always take Haven for your date.” I tried to be cheerful. “Although she promises she’s over her crush on you – I’m sure you could win her back.”

            Varun rolled his eyes. “Too late.” He handed me an exquisitely calligraphied invitation from his bag. It was a note from Haven. “She’s already asked me to be her date. I told her I had to work – she said it didn’t matter. She wanted it to be a date anyway. Even if I was slopping cake at her birthday instead of classing it up with the other guys.”

            “She still has feelings for you? I didn’t realize…”

            “Me neither,” said Varun. “I guess after Jana died, she tried to move on out of respect for her friend – but I can’t imagine you coming into town made it any easier for her. Maybe she realized I was ready – and now that you and I are just friends…” He sighed, but said nothing. I wanted to reach out to him, to touch him, to kiss the pain from his face.

            But I said nothing.

            Varun rose to his feet sadly. “I’ll see you tonight, I guess,” he said as he walked away.

Chapter
18

           
I
found Chance in the locker rooms after school. He was wearing a tight black T-shirt that clearly showed off his muscles and loose cotton black pants.

            “Missed you at lunch today,” I said, kissing him.

            “I was practicing my fighting skills in the woods,” he replied. “With everything that’s been going on lately, school hasn’t seemed quite so important, you know? I need to keep my strength up if I’m going to keep you safe!”

            I lightly kissed his nose. “How about keeping me company instead?”

            “When?”

            “After school…”

            “Of course. Anytime.”

            “So you’ll be my date to Haven’s party?”

            Chance looked up at me, taken aback.

            “Brandon’s mysteriously out of town – no surprise there – and it looks like we need an extra helper to host. I’m working that shift.”

            Chance laughed weakly. “You tricked me, woman! I thought we were going on a date.”

            “We
are
going on a date. The kind that involves aprons and nametags.”

            Chance groaned.

            “Come on – it’ll be fun. Besides, we’ll be able to spy on the others – if Brandon wasn’t the one who attacked me, we might be able to find out who did.”

            “I can’t say I’m overly thrilled at the idea of spending time with Haven’s crowd,” Chance admitted.

            “She’s not so bad,” I said. “Ever since we started out on swim team together. In fact, she’s been rather nice.”

            “You’re too trusting,” said Chance. “She’s a Water deity. You can’t trust her.”

            “Besides, she’s got a crush on Varun. I’m – uh – trying to set them up.” It wasn’t the whole truth, but the look of relief flooding over Chance’s face was worth it. If he thought Varun was interested in someone else, I reasoned, he wouldn’t be quite so worried about our friendship. “Come on, Chance – help us out. It’d be a big help to my mom and me – and besides, I’m sure you’d be making your dad really proud.”

            Chance scoffed. “I can’t remember a time my dad’s ever been proud of me.” But he kissed me anyway. “But if it’s important to you, my darling, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. You know that.”

            And so it was agreed that Chance, Varun, and I would be staffing the party jointly. My white lie seemed like it was working – Chance was far less aggressive with Varun than he had been previously – and after all, it was true: Haven was working on getting Varun, and it wasn’t like he’d turned her down flat. I smiled cautiously as we worked together to fold napkins at the elaborate dining table that had been erected in the center of the garden: maybe the three of us would be able to spend time together after all.

            To my surprise, however, both Varun and Chance – vanishing briefly into the kitchen – returned wearing not aprons and nametags but tuxedos.

            “What’s going on?” I looked confused.

            “Change of plans,” said Varun. “I told Haven I’d be her date tonight – but only if she let the three of us dress up. I told her that our skills would be better-served leading the dances on the dance-floor than serving cake. Besides, most of these kids will be bringing their refreshments in flasks. Not that I’m supposed to know, of course.” He winked.

            Chance smiled too. He looked happier than I had seen him in a while. “We’re ‘hosting’,” Chance said.

            I smiled. “I told you Haven wasn’t so bad,” I said to Chance. But I stopped short, frowning. “But I haven’t got anything to wear.”

            Chance and Varun exchanged glances.

            “Mrs. Peterson?”

            “Room 44B!”

            They vanished once again, only to return with a red silk dress that shimmered in their arms. The two of them seemed happy together – even brotherly! Now that Chance wasn’t threatened by Varun – and Varun seemed to be mulling over his other options – things seemed calmer between them. I remembered what Varun had said about missing the cousin he grew up with: for the first time, I could see the bond between them.

            “Mrs. Peterson’s this crazy old lady in Room 44B – been living there for about thirty years. She used to be an actress – and her closet’s full of all these clothes she wore back when she was a starlet. She used to be just your size. Lucky for you, she’s got a soft spot for Varun here.” Chance laughed. “She agreed to lend out one of her dresses on the condition that he take her out tomorrow night.”

            The dress was beautiful. In it, I felt more like Vesta than ever: powerful, regal, beautiful. A deity. The silk rippled along my skin, contouring to my curves. From the looks on Chance and Varun’s faces, they admired the effects of the dress, too.

            It was the most magical night of my life. The band was playing music I remembered from my childhood – pre-Erosion music – and I spent the whole evening on the dance floor, letting my feet carry me from one side of the room to the other. I closed my eyes and let myself drift to the sound of the music – dancing first with Chance, then Varun – a passionate tango followed by a gentle waltz. Two pairs of arms around me – two pairs of eyes locking with mine. Both of them were behaving like perfect gentlemen – only the smoldering looks in their eyes betraying their true desires.

            I was interrupted by a tap on the shoulder. I turned around to see Misty – dressed in full Gothic regalia. She was no longer the old woman I had seen in the locker room, but the slightly punk teenager I recognized from wrestling class. She was wearing a high-necked black lace dress with spikes on her bracelet, her electric blue hair done up in a bouffant.

            “I’ve been looking for you,” she said in an unearthly voice. “I’ve seen it in my visions – you have found three of the stones you need. One in the depths of the sea – one in the heat of the sun. One in the cove – between earth and water. And now one hidden away in the realm of the spirit.”

            My eyes widened in surprise as she handed me a dazzling emerald.

            “Not even Jana got this far. She found an emerald, but it was a false one. The true emerald was the one that I possess. The one I was charged with keeping until the worthiest Embodiment was found. I truly believe that you are that Embodiment, Mackenzie Evers. That this is your destiny. This is the Emerald, the fourth stone. The one that brings love and contentment. The one with the power to show the future. I am proud of you, Mackenzie.” She smiled an impish smile, her wise eyes betraying her age. “I knew it was you from the first.”

            I was too stunned to reply. Before I could say anything, Misty turned on her heel and vanished.

            I sighed. So I really was Vesta, after all. I clutched the emerald to my heart, walking over to the shore, away from the party. I looked out over the black water, over the waves. Tonight had been so lovely. Me with Varun and Chance together – experiencing tenderness and passion at the same time. Close to water, close to fire – close to both of the elements so near to my heart. But soon I would have to choose. Soon I would have to break somebody’s heart – and with it, my own.

            The sound of footsteps disturbed my reverie. I turned around, but it was too late. A dark figure had rushed towards me, pushing me with all of its strength into the ocean. I stumbled forward, feeling salty water flood my mouth. “What the…” Salt stung at my eyes – a strong pair of hands held me under. I began to flail, kicking out at the figure, trying to call for help in vain.
Was it Brandon?
But this opponent wasn’t as large – wasn’t as sturdy. Whoever was attacking me was smaller, more compact.

            At last I was able to get my head above water, scratching at my opponent’s face. At last I got a good look – and what I saw made my jaw drop with shock. Haven was standing before me, her soaking hair matted and tangled, a look of fury in her eyes.