Fire Stones

Chapter 16

That night I dreamed once again of Mars and Vesta, of our glorious palace built of flames and gold. I dreamed of his lips against mine, of his bare chest against my naked body, of his arms tracing the contours of my back. I dreamed of the sweetness of his kiss, the softness of his words, the roughness of his embrace. I dreamed that he called me once more by the names I had called him on the field, the names that proved our love: “my love, my one, my only.” I woke up drenched in sweat, exhausted and yet invigorated at the same time.

But real life had to continue, one way or another. Now that my mother was better I was heading back to school, doing my best to make up for the work I’d missed in my absence. I hadn’t spoken to her much since the illness – while she was better, she was still weak enough for Antonio to insist that she take a week of paid leave to stay in bed, and so our conversations mostly revolved around what kind of soup she wanted me to heat up for dinner. Neither one of us brought up her confession; we both assiduously avoided the subject. Too dangerous for both of us, I reasoned. I just had to treat her like my normal mother, like the Rose Evers I knew. Maybe she’d never bring it up again – maybe I’d just be able to forget…

My daily shopping trips thus became a longed-for afternoon escape from time at home with my mother. I couldn’t stand the awkward silences, the conversations about nothing that glossed over the most important confession she had ever made to me. The farmers’ market at Aeros was one of the best in the Archipelago – after the Erosion, fruits and vegetables had grown scarce, and farmers’ markets in our old home had been limited to a couple of dessicated zucchini and maggot-eaten carrots. But here, the produce was fresh and luscious – free even of the chemicals the government sprayed into most Archipelago fields to make them grow. I enjoyed tasting the free samples – an unheard-of delight back home, where things were too dear to be made available for less than a princely sum – and smelling the sweet aromas of oranges and tangerines, bananas and pineapples, tomatoes and leeks – each item brighter and more colorful than the last. I purposely lingered over the eggplant, haggling with the couple behind the counter, just to avoid going home and dealing with another night with my mother. She’d just gone back to work that day, but I knew that she’d be home in a few hours, and I wanted to stay out as long as possible.

But, to my surprise, it started to rain.

Figures, I thought, cutting my trip short early. It looked like I’d beat my mother home after all – which meant we’d have a good six hours until bedtime to markedly not talk about her confession.

“Hello!” I called as I lugged my shopping into the doorway. But, as I expected, the house was empty. I checked my watch, fumbling for the light switch. My mother wouldn’t be home for another half hour.

Click! I flicked on the light switch, but nothing happened. The electricity was evidently out, leaving me plunged into total darkness. I looked towards the window, but the curtains were drawn.

I froze. My mother had left for work before I left for school that morning, and I definitely remembered leaving the curtains open…

But before I could process my thoughts, a sudden blow struck me from behind, making my head ring as I stumbled to the floor. Immediately my mind began to process the wrestling moves I had learn; I lashed out at my attacker – a broad, strong figure. I couldn’t make any features out in the lamplight, but from the size and shape I guessed it was a man. It certainly wasn’t scrawny, short Alice, who had attacked me last month in the locker room. But the other assailant had never been unmasked. Was he back to finish the job?

“Get…off!” I cried, kicking the figure square in the stomach. But despite my best efforts, the figure didn’t budge. He was too large, too strong; I felt his hands squeeze around my neck, growing tighter and tighter. I cried aloud, but the sound was strangled in my throat. Everything was going hazy – my mind went blank as my body cried out for oxygen.

Just as darkness overtook my brain, a sudden crash brought me back to life. My attacker was huddled over on the floor; I heard him cry aloud as another figure kicked him in the stomach. Immediately, my attacker was on his feet, running away…

I sprang up, ready to fight this new figure.

“Hey – are you alright?” The concern in the voice made me melt. It was Varun, holding out a warm hand, helping me to my feet.

“We should go after him!”

“Too late…” Varun looked out the door. “He’s gone by now. Are you okay – that’s the important thing?”

“Fine,” I answered breathlessly. “Just a little shaken, is all. “

“That guy was strong,” Varun said. “I could barely get him off you. That was no mortal you were fighting – whoever he was, it was definitely an Embodiment.”

“Like Alice?” I looked up at him. “He could have been the guy who attacked me before with Alice – I’m not sure. I couldn’t see anything in the darkness.”

“But who could it be?” Varun wondered aloud. He looked down at something, frowning. Then he bent down, picking up a small, glinting rectangular object. I recognized it immediately – I had one, too. A Cutter Imperial Hotel name badge – worn by all staff members. And this one had BRANDON clearly emblazoned on it.

“Brandon?” I looked at Varun in surprise. He was a Fire god – what reason had he to want me or Vesta dead? “He was always so…nice.” Silly, jovial, joking Brandon – how could he be anything but a friend to me?

“I’m sorry, Mac,” Varun said, staring at the name-plate in his hands. “I’m as shocked as you are that Brandon would do something like this.” He too looked crushed. Brandon was his good friend, after all – and the look of abject betrayal on his face said it all.

“Maybe it wasn’t him!” I wasn’t sure what I was saying – but I would have said anything to take that look of pain off his face. “Maybe it was a set-up – the attacker dropped the name-tag on purpose to throw us off the scent.”

“I doubt it,” said Varun miserably. “That guy didn’t expect to leave anyone alive enough to follow any sort of scent. He was out to kill.”

“But why Brandon? He’s a Fire deity?”

Varun shook his head. “Was. He’s strong enough to attack you like that – no doubt about it – and he’s been rumored to be looking for an alliance with Water.”

“Because of you? His friendship with you?”

“No,” Varun sighed. “He’s been spending a lot of time in the ocean lately. I told myself he just enjoyed swimming – but now I’m not so sure. With Abzu on the loose, it’s very likely that Abzu’s been courting the favor of Fire and Water deities alike to overthrow me as King of Water. I wouldn’t put it past Abzu to try to turn my friends against me, whatever their element. He’s tricky. He doesn’t use brute force – he strategizes. He’s smart. That’s what makes him so dangerous. But I never thought my friends would fall for it.” Varun looked crestfallen.

I reached out a hand to touch him, aching to comfort him, to ease his pain. I wrapped my arms around him, trying to ignore the longing in my breast. He leaned against my chest, sighing deeply as I stroked his hair. He took my hand – so small in his enormous grip.

“No,” he said. “You’re the one who just got attacked.” He gave a false laugh. “You need comforting, not me.” He pulled me into a bear hug – massaging my aching muscles from where the attacker – Brandon? – had hit me.

“I’m so sorry, Varun,” I said. “But let’s not jump to conclusions. Let’s make sure this name badge was really left by him.”

“You had enough to worry about,” sighed Varun. “With all this Vesta stuff – I didn’t mean to drag you into my mess. It could be that Abzu was attacking you to get to me – he didn’t know you were Vesta, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t suspect, or that he just wanted to hurt me even if you were just human. I should never have put you in danger like that.”

“It’s okay, Varun,” I said. “I owe you a lot. Being with you is – you know, nice. Hanging out.” I blushed, knowing that I meant so much more than I said.

“Nice,” Varun gave a small smile. “Listen, why don’t I get the electricity turned back on – then I’ll put away those groceries and whip you something to eat. You’ve been cooking for your mom so much lately – it’s time someone took care of you.”

“Careful,” I couldn’t help but laugh. “If you keep making me food, I might get attacked more often.”

“As long as I’m there to save you.” Varun grinned at me and I could feel myself melt. Stones or no stones, I still had a weakness for him. I looked into his eyes, wanting to move in closer, to touch my lips to his, to feel his skin against my own…

“Anyone home?” We sprang apart. My mother walked in, a broad smile on her face. “What happened to the lights?”

“Uh, power outage,” I said quickly. “Varun just came over to fix it.”

Varun and I looked at each other and sighed. The moment was gone.