Fire Stones (The Fire Wars #2) (17 page)

            “My father…” I’d never heard my mother talk about my father before. “Zeus?”
The most powerful god of all? The one who was neither Fire nor Water – but had power over both.

           
“Zeus – Jupiter – whatever you want to call him. That’s why Vesta has the responsibilities she does. She is the daughter of the king of the gods.”

            “But if I – if Vesta – had so much responsibility, why did she leave? Why did she leave the world open to flooding and danger?”

            My mother shook her head. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “But if you are Vesta – you think like her. And I know you must have had a reason. Because if Vesta’s anything like you, she wouldn’t have hurt the people she cared about without a really good reason.”

            We were interrupted by a huge wave that crested up to meet us, crashing a full ten stories into the building. Thunder sounded through the sky; lightning illuminated the waters with volts of electricity. I looked on in horror. Abzu was throwing thunderbolts at Varun. And in the distance, I could see the circling of black fins. Haven had summoned the sharks.

            My mother leaned in, pressing her lips gently to my forehead. “Once you Awaken into Vesta, Mac, everything will change. Nothing will be the same any longer. But that doesn’t change what’s important. You’re my daughter – you will always be my daughter –and I will always love you unconditionally. You will always be my little girl.”

            I wanted her to hold me forever – to burrow into her embrace and stay there. “I love you, Mom,” I whispered. “When you were sick, I was so worried…”

            “I love you too, Mac.” My mother stroked my hair. She sighed and pulled away. “Poseidon needs all the help he can get. Abzu is about to call forth the kraken, and I’m going to do what I have to do to stop him from taking over.” She exhaled sharply. “I’m going to fight alongside Poseidon. I’ve tried not to take sides – but now staying neutral is no longer a possibility. I’ll always love you, Mac – whatever happens.”

            “Mom, no…!”

            But I was too late. In a running leap, my mother bounded off the side of the building, landing in the waters below. I looked in shock as my mother transformed before my eyes. Her dark silk hair turned a brilliant shade of blue; her eyes blazed the color of the sea. Silver armor appeared on her body and she seemed to grow taller, taller – until she was eight or nine feet tall. She swam deftly to Poseidon’s side, sending jets of foam at Abzu.

            My heart was pounding faster now. Varun in danger was bad enough – but my mother too! At least, I thought, terror flooding my body, they were evenly matched: two against two.

            And then Brandon arrived, a strange expression on his face, bolts of fire shooting from his fingertips. He hesitated only a moment.

            “Come on,” Haven cried. “Come to me – Brandon! Don’t wait a moment longer.”

            But guilt was written all over Brandon’s countenance. He turned to Varun, his eyes full of pain. “I’m so sorry, man. For everything.”

            “It’s not worth it, Brandon!” Varun called. “She’s using you – you must know that. She doesn’t love you. She only loves herself.”

            Brandon’s face said it all: he knew it to be true.

            “But what about your family?” Abzu called out. “You know what happens to traitors. These waves are rising higher, Brandon. Your mother and grandmother’s homes could be wiped out in an instant. And they’re not of Water. They can’t swim like we can…”

            “You wouldn’t!” Brandon looked horrified.

            “I could. And I will. A wave the size of a mountain crashing down on your precious family, wiping them all off the map, never to be seen again.” Brandon gulped as a wave rose higher and higher on the side of the island where his family lived. He looked helplessly at Varun.

            “By the time Brother Poseidon does anything to stop me, it’ll be too late. They’ll be dead already.”

            “Come on, Brandon…” Haven was cooing, “come over here where you belong.”

            Brandon looked utterly defeated as he swam over to Haven and Abzu, wincing and closing his eyes as he sent a fire bolt towards my mother and Varun. It missed by miles – it was clear Brandon really didn’t want to hurt anybody.

            But Abzu had other plans. The wave that had been cresting over Brandon’s home now crashed instead over Varun and my mother.

            “No!” I cried. They vanished beneath the waves. I could feel my heart stop. “No!” Suddenly, as I rushed towards them, I felt fire shooting from my own fingers, heading straight to where my mother and Varun had been moments earlier. The hiss of steam sounded in my ears as the waters dissipated. My mother and Varun were still there – clambering to their feet on the now-dry land.

            “How’d you do that?” Varun looked up in surprise.

            But we had bigger problems to worry about. In the distance, an enormous, hulking figure swam into view, thousands of tentacles reaching out towards us, spikes on every one.

            The Kraken.

Epilogue

            “No!” I cried out. “Look out – Mom! Varun!” But I couldn’t just watch from the sidelines now. I had to fight. I ran into the waves just as Chance began shooting fire bolts at Abzu and Haven. But neither of us could penetrate the deep, metal-thick skin of the Kraken.

           
You have to fight it.

           
I whirled around, looking for the source of the female voice. But nobody was there except Chance, his eyes narrowed and fixed on the Kraken as it approached.

           
You have to fight it.

           
I had heard that voice before – in a dream. It was
my
voice – Vesta’s voice – the voice that had spoken so lovingly to Mars, that had luxuriated in her temple, that had placed those stones…

           
You must choose, Mac. Fire or Water. Gold or Lightening. You won’t get close to the Kraken – not without swimming. You’ll have to take on Water qualities – leave your Fire self behind. Enter the ocean – save the ones you love.

           
I hesitated. Take on Water qualities? That was Chance’s greatest fear – that I’d become one with the ocean, lost from him forever.

            “Varun…” I whispered. The Kraken was getting closer, and he and my mother wouldn’t’ be able to fight it off alone. My heart was punching against my ribcage. I couldn’t breathe.

           
Make your choice, Mac. I chose you as my Embodiment – you have all the stones. I trust you to do the right thing. I chose you because you were worthy. You have proven yourself worthy. Now you must decide.

           
“Varun, watch out!” I called. There was no time to think it over. In a split second, my fate was decided. I followed my mother off the building, diving into the waters below. The waves stung my face, my arms, but I swam harder.

            “What are you doing?” Varun called. “You can’t be here – it’s too dangerous. You’re not Water.”

            “What if I want to be?” I gasped. “What if I decided to take up those Ocean qualities, after all?”

            Varun looked up at me, shocked. A strange joy crossed over his face. “Why? I don’t understand.”           

            “Just do it!” I shouted. “I don’t care how – or what it takes – just help me unlock those powers.”

            “Are you sure? It will affect your Fire…”

            “I don’t care!” I yelled. “You and Mom – you need me right now. And in about five seconds Abzu’s Kraken will get here and then we’ll both be dead. So you’d better get started.”

            Varun looked unsure. But then his expression set. He turned to me, a slow smile spreading across his face. “Don’t slap me,” he said. And then he leaned in and kissed me – not just an oxygen-transfer but a real, deep kiss, full of passion and longing. He pulled me deep beneath the waters, blowing oxygen into my lungs – but more than oxygen. He was giving me air, life. He was giving me power. He was giving me himself.

            “Breathe into me, Mac.” He held my hand tight. “And take away my breath. Before, the Unification was temporary – but this will make it permanent. You need to kiss me, Mac. Embrace whatever it is you’re feeling. That’s the only way it will work.”

            I gasped as he kissed me once again, his tongue lightly tracing the outline of my lips. His kiss was so gentle, so full of love, that I felt at once weak and strong – frail and yet powerful. I could feel my body glowing with a blue shimmer. The power of Water was entering me – I could feel my Fire abilities ebbing away. My eyes opened wide and suddenly I could see underwater – not as I had done before, but rather with crystal clarity, every fish and reef and plant suddenly visible to me in brilliant color. I had never felt so close to Varun before – our two spirits mingling into one, my love for him leaving me overwhelmed. Yet, for all my desire, what I was conscious of most of all was the beauty of the moment, the tenderness. I had never felt so close to anyone before, not even Chance.

            Varun let go, and to my surprise I found that I was breathing on my own. Not haltingly, as I had done in Abzu’s palace, but as if I were born to live here. Born to be part of the waves. Born to wander among the beauty of coral and the rainbow lights of the ocean. I felt joy coursing through me as I swam towards the Kraken, alive with the sense of my new power. I broke the surface, tossing my soaked hair out of my face. Varun’s face was full of joy – my mother, too, was looking on proudly, beaming as she swam over to me.

            “I knew you could do it, my darling,” she said. “I knew you could.”

            And then I caught sight of Chance. He was standing on top of the building, a look of agony on his face. I had never seen anyone so utterly shocked and betrayed, as despairing, as he did now. He shot me a look that pierced through my heart more than any Kraken spike could have done.
I had betrayed him.
Whatever I had done with Varun – I could not deny it any longer. It wasn’t just a Unification – it was a kiss, plain and simple. And Chance had seen it.

            My heart broke along with Chance’s. I had to take on water qualities, unify with Varun to help save my mother, Varun, and all of Aeros from the tsunami. To Chance, though, it appeared as though Vesta had chosen Poseidon. I had chosen Varun. I have chosen Fire over Water. And it hit me all at once what that meant. I was no longer Mars’s twin. I was of Water now. What about the Erosion? What about my destiny to stop Water from taking over the few remaining lands on earth?

            I couldn’t answer those questions now. The Kraken had raised its ugly head from the depths of the waves, and its beady eyes fixed straight on me, hunger in its gaze.

            It was time to fight.

********

The Fire Wars continues in

Book 3 of Fire Wars

Fire Dance

Fall 2012

Sneak Preview from

FADE

Book 1 of the FADE Series™

By Kailin Gow

ONE

M
y name is Celestra Caine. I am seventeen years old, which makes me a senior at Richmond High. I never thought this would happen to me, but it has… I’m one of those people you see every day, go to school with, remember seeing at the supermarket or the mall, and then one day you don’t hear about them any longer. They’re gone, and eventually, you forget them.

Not that I’m easy to forget, as much as I might occasionally wish that I were. I’m tall, about five-seven, and I’m willowy. Built for running, my mom always says. Then there’s my hair. It’s a bright blonde that always attracts attention, from men and women. The women always want to know what I’ve done with it, and some of them won’t believe that it’s simply my natural hair color. The men… like I said, sometimes I wish I didn’t attract quite so much attention. Sometimes I think it might be better if I blended in a little more.

                It’s not all bad, though. My boyfriend, Grayson, loves my hair. He loves touching it, and I love it when he’s that close to me. I love it when he gives me that look he has that says, not just that he loves me, but that he always will. That I’m the only girl for him. It’s worth standing out a little for a look like that from a guy like Grayson.