Fire Stones (The Fire Wars #2) (10 page)

            “Goodbye, my love,” Chance whispered, pressing his fingers against his lips and then holding them out against mine. “Goodbye, my goddess. I will see you again.”

            “I know you will.”

            “I love you.”

            Varun looked over at Chance angrily.

            “I love you too.”

            “Ready?” Varun cut into our romantic interlude. “It's getting late. We want to be in the ocean before dark.” He wrapped his arms around me. “I have to touch her,” he said to Chance. “It's the only way the spell will work. I'll be able to transfer some of my water powers to her.” But the way his big arms encircled my shoulders seemed more than just pragmatic.

            Chance said nothing, but turned on his heel and walked away. I could see him shaking with rage – at Varun rather than me – but there was nothing I could say to make it better. I'd have to prove to Chance that I was trustworthy – on my own terms.

            “Let's go!”

            Slowly, gradually, Varun and I walked into the water, vanishing beneath the depths. Varun was a strong swimmer, strong enough to pull me out to the depths in a few minutes, and then – all of a sudden – to yank me under the waves.

            I instinctively resisted, struggling against his grip. I couldn't breath; my mouth was filling with water. I flailed about, but Varun ignored my resistance, pulling me down deeper and deeper into the ocean depths. What was he doing? I screamed, but no sound came out of my mouth, water flooding my throat. Was this a trick – had Varun meant to hurt me all along?

            But just as panic began to cloud my brain, my lungs began expelling water – I was breathing normally again. I looked up at Varun in surprise.

            “Sorry,” he said. “I had to do that – sometimes it takes adrenaline for the process to work.”

            A blue light seemed to flow from his skin into mine – a cool glow that enveloped both of us.

            “You're protected now,” said Varun. “As long as we're touching, you'll be able to breathe underwater, to see clearly, to stay warm no matter how deep we go. And we're going deep, Mac. Into the Dark Realms – places at the bottom of the earth scientists think it's impossible to get to. It is impossible, of course. For mortals.”

            We continued swimming down into the inky darkness. I could feel his smooth, wet skin against mine; his breaths and my breaths fluttered in unison, the magic connecting our bodies, our heartbeats, each breath we took. I had never felt closer to him. I had never felt his heart beat like this – my rhythm conforming to his. It was so intimate, so soft – as if we were not two people but one body, allowing the power of the ocean to guide us through the depths. I could feel his lips and breath – just inches away from my cheeks.
Chance knew this was going to happen. He knew how strong it would be...

           
But my thoughts were interrupted by a flash of pearly light. I gasped. Here in the depths of the ocean, there was still light – not the light of the sun but a strange, translucent beauty. Rainbow fish and glowing tortoises were swimming through the water, lit by what could only be a magical glow. Flowering sea-plants grew seemingly out of nowhere; coral brighter than the brightest gemstone glimmered with loveliness.

            “It's beautiful,” I breathed.

            “It's my kingdom,” said Varun proudly. “Our kingdom.”

            “I never knew a place like this existed.” I sighed. “I always thought my place was up above – with fire.”

            “It didn't used to be like this,” Varun admitted. “When I was a boy, fire and water were allies, not enemies. Chance and I used to fight, of course, but it was the play-fighting of young and eager boys. Wrestling. Joking around. We were friendly – we even loved one another, in our brotherly way. But then...” he sighed. “Something happened. The Erosion got worse – we must have been six when the first flood took out North America.”

            I shuddered at the memory. I had only been a child – but I still remembered my mother's terrified face that day, watching the newscasters count up the dead.

            “Our Embodiments within us awakened – we came into our powers. But not as friends any longer. It was as if some force we couldn't control had overtaken us, making us hate each other. And what happened with Jana...it only made things worse. I was so glad when he went away to school. It meant I could be my own man – instead of competing with him. Two friends – two friends who wanted the same things out of life – torn apart by something we couldn't even explain. The forces of the deities, I imagine. But it didn't make it any easier.” He laughed darkly. “You know, for all that I like to annoy him – he's not a bad guy. Neither of us is. We just...” He nodded to himself. “We can't stop fighting each other. It's like we don't even control it. Something inside of us does. Sometimes I miss him. I miss our friendship. I miss how close we were.”

            As I stared into Varun's eyes, feeling his skin soft against my own, I wanted nothing more than to kiss him. I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt a longing this strong. We were in this strange place – so mysterious, so beautiful – a place that had enchanted and overtaken me. I wanted to stay. I wanted to stay
with him
. But I held back – and I could tell that he was holding back too. I had to be just as strong as he was, I knew. I had to make myself a will out of iron.
But why did I want him so?

Chapter
12

            “
I
t's not going to be an easy journey,” Varun told me as we swam further into the depths of the sea. The rainbow light had vanished – here in the very deepest parts of the sea, everything was inky black, so dark that even the water-powers Varun had given me did not permit me to see. “My power here is great – but it is not absolute. There are many warring factions within Water – factions that divide our power. Some of the gods, like Abzu and Tiamat of the very ancient days, wish to have  great power – a  power they believe can only be consolidated by wiping all the earth of our planet off the map, flooding it over. They will never be content until water covers the face of the deep in its entirety.”

            “But human life could never survive!” I exclaimed. “Not like that.”

            “I know,” said Varun. “But they don't care. They feel that they are gods – they are entitled to do whatever they like. Mortals aren't even worth a thought to them. They don't value human life any more than you value the life of a cockroach or gnat.” He saw my shocked face. “Don't worry, Mac – we don't all think like that.
I
don't think like that. I love human beings – I walk among them. I believe in a world of balance, where Fire and Water can survive together in harmony. That was what I learned when I was with Vesta – that two opposing elements can be more than the sum of their parts. A lesson she taught me, that I will remember until the end of my days. But Abzu and his kind disagree....”

            “Abzu?”

            “A god of the Ancient Sumerians. Once before he threatened to cause a flood that would wipe out all upon the earth. But that time there was a hero to stop him, Enki of the Mesopotamians. Now he threatens day by day to escape from his watery prison. You see, he was imprisoned for five thousand years – his punishment – and now that time is up. We will pass his house as we go down; he lives among the jagged boulders at the very bottom of the ocean, where I believe the stone is hidden. He will speak to you, I would wager – probably insult you. Don't listen to him. He believes that all who are anything other than water deities are worthless. Even Vesta he despised...” Varun looked angry when he said Vesta's name. “He spends his days collecting treasures from the bottom of the sea, looking for sunken treasure. Which is why I suggest we make a detour to his home. In case he found something
we're
interested in.”

            “Like the stones?”

            “If so, we'll have to figure out a way to steal them. Abzu's not exactly the most
giving
guy I know. And we won't be able to stay long. Once I stop holding you like this, my powers will only last for a few minutes – after that, you won't be able to breathe. And I don't want Abzu knowing I unified with you – he might get suspicious.”

            I gulped. This Abzu didn't  sound like the kind of person I particularly wanted to meet in a dark alley – or in the dark of the ocean.

            “Don't worry. I won't let him hurt you.” Varun wrapped his arms tighter around me, his stance turning protective. “I promised Chance, didn't I? That I wouldn't let anyone hurt you?”

            “I trust you,” I whispered, squeezing his hand.

            “Do you really love him, Mac?” Varun couldn't resist asking, and I could see the look of pain in his eyes.

            “I...I do,” I stammered, taken aback by the directness of the question. “Of course I do.” But something in me hesitated. I knew I loved Chance – I couldn't stop thinking about him. And yet my love, I realized with a sinking feeling, wasn't exclusive any longer. Whatever I felt for Chance, I felt for Varun, too. Did that mean that the feeling wasn't love? Or that my feelings for both were too strong?

            “I hoped you wouldn't say that,” Varun whispered. “I guess I did hope that coming down here – coming down to the ocean and seeing how beautiful it was...I hoped it would make you homesick.”

            Varun's eyes met mine. I wanted to swim in their blue. “It did, Varun,” I whispered back. “I don't know what that means. But this place – it's so beautiful. Like I'm connected to it. It's calling me.”

            “The true siren song,” said Varun. “The song of the sea. So lovely that nobody who hears it can ever forget...”

            We arrived a few hours later at Abzu's door – if you could call it that. Abzu's palace was a monstrosity of coral, built out of abandoned sunken ships and coral reefs, studded with shining gems. Piles of bones – of hapless sailor, I could only imagine, a shiver running up and down my spine – held the beams of wood aloft.

            Varun knocked. No answer.

            He knocked louder. Still we heard nothing.

            “Maybe he's not around!” I ventured hopefully.

            “Enter!” My heart sank. A deep, booming voice called to us from within.

            “Brother Abzu,” Varun bowed low as he entered. “It is Brother Poseidon, come to pay a visit to the furthest reaches of my kingdom.”

            The man sitting in the throne rose to his feet. He was as dark as Varun was golden – his long black hair tangled upon his shoulders, his skin still dark – though somewhat pallid from so many centuries without sunlight. His eyes blazed with an intensity I had never seen before. It was not Chance's passion – no, this was seething hostility, powerful in its darkness. I could tell from the way Abzu moved that he was a man of great power; his muscles rippled with the ocean waves.

            “Brother Poseidon,” it was Abzu's turn to bow. “What an extraordinary pleasure.” Yet from the way his tongue seemed to curl about his teeth I got the impression it wasn't a pleasure at all, extraordinary or otherwise. “It is fully within your rights as King to call upon my home. Is there something I can do for you?”

            “A social call, merely.”

            “And you've brought...a mermaid? A siren?”

            Varun and I traded glances.

            “A human,” Varun said at last. “
My
human. My girlfriend, in fact.”

            “
Girlfriend?
” Abzu's aching laugh seemed to shake the walls of the palace. “A
human
girlfriend? You're the same as ever, aren't you, Poseidon.” He looked me up and down. “And what will
you
do when the waters come, my dearest?”

            I said nothing. It was best to play the part of a fool – human and all too intimidated – than to let him suspect that I was Vesta.

            “They won't come,” Varun said firmly. “I'll make sure of that. Humans must survive – regardless of what our war is with Fire. We cannot waste life needlessly.”

            “I'll be sure to spare her when the flood comes.” Abzu nodded, smiling to himself. “Man thinks himself a terribly powerful little creature, doesn't he? All his ingenuity, his creativity, his imagination. And yet all it takes is one tidal wave to turn him to naught. I discovered a shipwrecked treasure this afternoon. Not twenty miles from here.” He motioned to a treasure chest that lay open on the floor before us, all manner of gold and gems spilling out. “Men lived and died for these riches. But now they lie here – along with the corpses of those capsized sailors – utterly useless. And you want me to
spare
the vermin?” he laughed. “In five thousand years one gets up to a lot of collecting. All of human history turned to shiny rubbish! But I'm not complaining, Brother Poseidon, even though you never freed me. You always treated me well – although you could always have done better. You did your best. And now that my time is up, I will be sure to treat you kindly when I become King of Water!” he grinned maniacally.

            I gulped.