Fire Stones (The Fire Wars #2) (16 page)

            “Haven?” I spluttered. “But I thought we were friends?” It was a stupid thing to say – but it was the first thought to come into my head.

            “Well, you thought wrong,” Haven snarled. “I’m Water – you should have guessed that. And just because you thought you could come in here, take Jana’s place, snatch Varun…”

            “I never wanted to do any of that!” I broke in hurriedly. “I only wanted to…”

            “Abzu was right,” scoffed Haven. “The Fire clan can be so stupid, so trusting.”

            “But I’ve never done anything to you.” Somehow the idea of Haven’s betrayal was worse even than Brandon’s. I’d trusted Haven, learned to think of her as a friend. I should have stuck to my first impressions. “I was on your swim team. I was…”

            “You think that was friendship? I wanted to test your abilities – to see who you really were. Water or Fire. At first you almost tricked me into thinking you were one of us. But now I know the truth. You think you’re Vesta, don’t you? Of all the…”

            I swallowed. Hard. If Haven had made an alliance with Abzu, then I didn’t stand a chance – particularly not so near the ocean. But surely Haven had supported her best friend Jana when she thought
she
was Vesta? Unless…

            “You tricked her, didn’t you?” It dawned on me all at once. “You pretended to be her friend – pretended to think she was Vesta. You encouraged her. You faked the stones, made her think she was Vesta when she wasn’t, just to get her out of the way…”

            “She was in my way,” scoffed Haven. “Of my destiny. Varun’s destiny.”

            “I don’t understand.”

            “Salacia – the wife of Poseidon. That’s my Embodiment. That’s who I’m destined to be. And when Varun and I Unify, our power will exceed that of any deity – Fire
or
Water. Vesta and Mars – that romance is
nothing
compared to Poseidon and Salacia. Nothing! So you see, Mac, I can’t let you live. I sent my assassin after you, but Brandon was too foolish to finish the job. You think he has a crush on you, too? Truth be told, he’ll do anything for me. He thinks he’s in love with me, poor deluded guy.  I guess if you want something done right, you do it yourself.”

            “And you think Varun will love you when he finds out what you’ve done?” I gasped, stalling for time. The longer I kept Haven talking, the better the chance that someone would find me. “Killing me won’t solve anything – it’ll only make things worse.”

            “Too late,” said Haven. “I passed the point of no return a long time ago. Varun is my destiny and I’m here to see it happen – whether he or anyone else likes it or not.” She grabbed hold of my leg, then, yanking me underwater. I was pulled under, coughing and gasping for air as the waters surrounded me from all sides.

           
Varun
! My mind cried out, but it was too late. I couldn’t fight out here. I struggled, but two arms – no, tentacles…two…three….four…eight of them wrapped around my neck, choking the life out of me, pulling me into the depths.

           
Haven
?

            I felt my life slipping away from me; I felt the pain pounding in my heart. It was excruciating, and I couldn’t breathe. Everything began closing in on me before I passed out.

Chapter
19

            “
M
ac? Mac” A voice was calling me from thousands of miles away. A voice filled with pain – filled with love. “Mac?”

            I opened my eyes groggily. My whole body ached. Pain was shooting all over my body – especially through my neck.

            “Thank heavens!” A face had buried into my chest, a pair of lips was fervently kissing my shoulders and neck. A face I knew well. Chance. “You’re alive!”

            It all started coming back to me – Haven’s face, her arms around my neck, that octopus-creature that was or wasn’t Haven choking the life out of me…

            “We found you in the sea.” It was Varun’s voice. He  too was standing over me. I could see tears in his eyes. “Tied up. Dead.”

            “Dead?”

            “Varun noticed you were missing from the party,” said Chance. “We went out to look for you – Varun went into the water. When we found you, you weren’t breathing. You were blue and pale – there was no heartbeat.”

            “I don’t understand.” I didn’t feel dead.

            “You were so cold…” Chance was shaking with pain. “But I – but we…we knew you couldn’t be dead, Mac. We knew neither one of us could live without you.”

            “And then Chance saw it – that you were still wearing it.”

            “The necklace,” I breathed.

            “Yes, the necklace!” Chance held me close. “The one that protects the wearer from death.”

            “Thank God it worked!” Varun leaned down to embrace me.

            “We lost you for a while there, Mac, but Vesta’s stone brought you back to us. We knew you wouldn’t give up –we knew how strong you were. Too strong to give up.”

            “Was it Brandon?” Varun asked. “Was he the one who attacked you?”

            I shook my head, tears streaming down my face. “No – he was only a pawn. An assassin – sent by Haven. She was the one who attacked me.”

            “Haven!” Varun looked shocked.

            “She’s not a siren after all,” I said. “She’s Salacia – the Sea Goddess. And she thinks that she and you – that you’re her destiny, Varun. And that I was getting in her way with you.”

            Chance glowered but said nothing.

            “That’s ridiculous!”

            “She’s allied with Abzu now – and Brandon too.”

            “There’s something else,” I said. I knew both Varun and Chance had suffered enough tonight, but they deserved to know the truth. “Haven was the reason Jana died. It wasn’t either of you. She tricked Jana into believing she was Vesta. She planted fake stones. She convinced Jana that she was Vesta. It wasn’t Chance, Varun.”

            “No – it was my fault,” Chance sighed. “I was so desperate to find Vesta, I must have overlooked the obvious. The stones were faked.”

            “No, it wasn’t.” Varun cut in, and Chance looked up in surprise. “I know now what it’s like to want to believe someone’s your destiny. It was Haven who did this, not you.”

            “I was so blind…” Chance and Varun made eye contact – and I saw in their eyes something that was, if not fully friendship, then at least understanding.

            Chance sighed. “If Haven is Salacia – then the situation for Fire – and even moderate Water – is dire. With her and Abzu working together, there’s no way we’ll be able to slow the Erosion.”

            “Maybe not,” said Varun. “Haven’s desperate – it’s why she acted. Because she’s afraid – that it really is Vesta. That she’s about to Awaken.

            “We need to get Mac some rest.” Chance scooped me up to his arms, as lightly as if I were a child. I still felt so weak, so light-headed. His arms around me, his warmth, the musky smell of him all gave me comfort.

            I could see Varun stiffen alongside him, but he said nothing, only reaching out a hand to touch mine. “You get better soon, Mac,” he said at last, his voice controlled yet trembling. I could see the pain in his eyes – I could feel the intensity of his love boring into me.

            Chance brought me back to the cottage, lying me down on the bed. He kissed me tenderly, gently. I kissed him back with passionate roughness, but he pulled away, smiling. “Don’t want to hurt you any more tonight,” he said, taking my hand and pressing it to his lips. “God, I love you, Mac. I didn’t want to show it too much in front of Varun – I didn’t want to hurt him – but when I thought I lost you, it was the worst moment of my life. Worse than when Vesta left. It tore me apart.”

            “Don’t worry, Chance.” I eked out a smile. “I’m back now. And once I get some rest, I’ll be in fighting form to kick Haven’s ass all the way back to where she came from.”

            Chance laughed, kissing me on the forehead. “You get some rest,” he said. “I’ll lock the front door – stay safe!” I closed my eyes, smelling him on my pillow, drifting into sleep.

            When I woke up, I was feeling better. The ache had largely subsided – but I felt something new in its place. A strange, tingling feeling coming from the necklace I was wearing. A sense of power – of conviction. I
was
Vesta – Vesta’s power was running through my veins. Four stones I had collected – all four stones.

            Only one left to go.    

            And I knew exactly where to look. I walked over to my dresser, where the Book of Vesta was stored. I put my hands on the book, and it opened automatically, flipping to a page I had never seen before. A sketch of a Greek temple, enormous and marble. My heart began to race.

            “Take me there, Vesta,” I whispered aloud. “Take me to the last stone.”

            Instantly I was flying – just as Chance had done – through the air, my intuition carrying me. The air whipped my face; the cool breeze healed my wounds. Aeros vanished beneath me – I was flying over water, going faster and faster. I had never felt so alive.

            Before long I started to slow down, gliding down towards earth – facing the very temple I had seen in my book. It was in ruins now, but still beautiful. The inscriptions were in Greek lettering – but I could just make them out. ARES – was carved into the the temple. My heart leapt. The Greek name for Mars. I looked up in surprise. There, on the altar, lay the last stone, the garnet. It glimmered a brilliant purple.

            So Vesta truly loved Mars. She had made her choice – the last stone was left at Mars’s temple, a reminder of how much she cared for him.

            I put the stone in my pocket and started flying back to Aeros.

            It was time to Awaken.

Chapter
20

           
A
ll was not as I had left it in Aeros Island. Something was wrong. Very wrong. The waves were churning against the rocks; whole trees seemed to have been swept away in an avalanche down the mountain side. Gusts of winds were blowing so strongly that I started to shake in mid-air, nearly plummeting towards earth. A tsunami force crested the waves, causing them to crash all the way up to the hotel. I looked down in horror. Our cottage was half-submerged in water. Only the Cutter Imperial Hotel – a tall skyscraper of a building – stood tall.

            “Chance!” I caught sight of him on the roof. “What’s going on?”

            “We’re evacuating the guests to the roof!” He rushed over to me. “I was so worried – your house was flooded – where have you been?”

            “I’ll tell you later,” I shouted over the noise of the waves. “Where’s mom?”

            “I haven’t seen her.” Chance sighed.

            I turned around, ready to run back into the waters. “I have to find her. Where’s Varun – he can help!”

            “I haven’t seen anyone,” Chance admitted. “I don’t know where they are. Mac – you can’t go; it’s too dangerous. The waters are high – you could be swept away at any time. Abzu and Haven are behind this, I know it. The waters are their doing – they’re rebelling against Varun, against the moderates. If you go into their element they’ll kill you.”

            “But Varun!” I insisted. “He’s still King, isn’t he? He can stop this!”

            I stopped short. In the distance, I could see Varun – stripped to the waist, riding atop a whale, a trident in hand. He was trying to push the waters back; a sea of foam frothed up from where he rode. Across from him were Haven and Abzu, dressed in full battle-armor, staring him down.

            I rushed to the end of the roof, preparing to fly.       

            “Stop!” It was my mother’s voice. “Mac, you can’t do this. Not in their territory.”

            “But he needs help!” I cried. “You know it, Mom. Varun can’t fight them off alone – they’re too many for him. And they’re stronger…”

            “It’s not our fight,” my mother said, embracing me. “I know it’s hard, honey, but we have to stay out of it. It’s between the Water gods – it has nothing to do with you. Poseidon’s reign has been long – but Abzu wants power at all costs, and he’s finally built up an alliance to challenge him.”

            “How can you be so sure?”

            “I too am a Water goddess, after all,” my mother stroked my hair, holding me still in a tight hug. “I’m a moderate – perhaps even more so than Varun. I’ve learned long ago that there is more to being a god or a goddess than power. I’ve stayed out of these battles – my only concern is taking care of you, now. Whatever you are. Fire or Water. That’s what being a god is about – love, care, protecting the ones who matter. That’s why I’ve tried so hard to keep you out of these wars. Water and Fire alike…” she turned to Chance “care more about their clans than they do about what unites us all. Your father felt that way, too. He loved humankind and their ways more than anyone I knew. That’s why he created Embodiments in the first place – to force the gods to experience what it was like to be human. To force them to develop empathy before they Awaken into their powers.”