Leila’s response was outraged. She pulled away from him, “No way. You’ve always said that we can handle anything as long as we are together. We’re both going up to that volcano.”
Daniel knew it was useless to argue with her. “Fine. But first I’m calling for the charter plane. It’ll take a while for Xavier to get here and we need to be able to take Jason home.”
Leila knelt beside the body of her friend for a moment, kissed his forehead, whispered, “I’ll be back for you.”
Over by their gear, Daniel was rifling for first aid supplies. He called out, “Come here, Leila. We need to bandage those injuries before we head out. You might get blood poisoning.”
“You mean if Sarona doesn’t blow me up with plutonium first?” Her sarcasm was met with a frown. “We don’t have time for first aid right now, Daniel. Sarona already has a lead on us and I’m worried about Teuila.”
“This will be quick.” Daniel argued as he quickly washed the worst of the sand and blood from Leila’s midriff and then bandaged the gored flesh. He studied his handiwork, “This should do for now until we can get you to a doctor.”
Leila was impatient. “Can we go now?”
“Alright.” He paused, “But first, promise me that you won’t do anything crazy. Like rush in ahead and take the telesā on by yourself. Remember, we’re in this together.” Leila tried to look convincing as she agreed with him and they set out through the bush towards the volcano peak.
FIFTEEN
It was a rugged trail to the volcano and the sweltering heat and insistent mosquitoes made it even more difficult. My ocean-soaked clothes dried quickly, sticking to my skin, salty and uncomfortable. The wounds from the feke tenifa ached with a throbbing pain that only got worse the farther we walked. I tried not to let Daniel see how much they hurt though, because for sure he would then try to make me turn back. And I was not going back. Not now. Not with Jason dead and Sarona still out there.
It was a relief to break free of the bush and walk out onto the bare terrain of the volcano base. We were advancing to the highest point of the island and had an unobstructed view of our surroundings. To the right was a cavernous drop where a pool of dark water, heated by the volcanic activity, steamed and bubbled. Ahead of us, grey smoke billowed from the cone and I could taste the sulfur in the air. It was a barren, acrid spot but my core did a little hop and skip as it always did when it was near fanua afi’s pulse points. Even the ache from my cuts seemed to fade a little as my body welcomed the hint of fire power. Daniel put a warning hand on mine. “Slow down, they could be waiting for us anywhere around here.”
I was grateful for his touch. I still could not believe the power he had demonstrated as he fought the feke tenifa. Seeing him ablaze with cobalt energy, wielding the ocean with deadly ease had been an awe-inspiring sight. I glanced at the blood stains on his ripped shirt that hid bruising and markings similar to mine. The squid had hurt him as well, but his only thought had been for me and my injuries.
We walked hand in hand a few steps and then both saw her at the same time. Teuila.
A short distance up the cone edge was an awkward-shaped object – a steel base that supported, at its center, a raised circular platform. Jutting from it was a tall black cylinder with panels and wiring attached to it. And tied to the cylinder with crackling, seething ropes of electricity – was Teuila. I had never seen her look more like a very frightened, very powerless thirteen-year-old.
I started to run towards her, but Daniel held me back. “Wait. Look.”
Carried on wings of air, Sarona and Elena surged up from behind the cone tip, hair blowing wildly in the wind, eyes bleeding white with energy, sparks at their fingertips. I was transfixed, even as they aimed at us. Daniel acted, whereas I just stood staring in a daze. He tackled me to the ground as a line of lightning razed past. I had all the air knocked out of me. And a sizeable chunk of muscle crushing me. I gasped for air while Daniel rolled us away from the lightning attacks and into the undergrowth. The sizzling, burning noise was deafening but over it I heard him say in my ear, “I think now would be a good time to flame, don’t you?”
Flames. Yes, that’s right. That was me. I shoved him off and summoned flames, welcoming their familiar burn. Flesh became molten lava, rich red and vibrant, veined with gold rivulets. With fire came a renewed sense of purpose. I stood and walked into the barrage of lightning strikes, accepting their gift of energy, adding it to my own. There was the rushing sound of water and from the right where the hot pool bubbled, came a coil of boiling liquid, snaking its way towards us. The vasa loloa twins. Daniel called out to me, “You go to Teuila. I got this.”
I hesitated, unsure. Unwilling to leave him to face the two telesā alone. But he gave me that crooked smile and a light taunt, “I’ll be fine. I’m a water god, remember?” And then the sculpted planes of his body were lighting up with their call to the water that powered him and I was reminded, yes, he was vasa loloa, son of the ocean.
I advanced towards Teuila and what had to be the RTG. A particularly feisty splurge of lightning tingled down my spine and I decided it was time to go on the offensive. I took careful aim and threw a mass of fire at the nearest airborne telesā. Elena. She dodged it clumsily and it clipped her on the shoulder, unbalancing her control of the wind that carried her. As she struggled to stay airborne, I hit her with another cannonball of flame. This time it blasted her right out of sight. I hoped it hurt. A lot.
It was time to face Sarona. She hung back at a distance while I moved with slow purpose towards Teuila. I kept a careful eye on the weather witch as I knelt to sever the electrical wires that bound Teuila to the RTG. Her face was drawn and pale. She whispered to me, “I’m sorry, Leila. I didn’t know she was going to do those things to you.”
I soothed her, “It’s alright. I’m alright.” I stilled my flames and helped her to stand. The lightning ropes had burned deep welts into her legs. “Can you walk?”
Sarona interrupted us, “Here, let me help her.” A mighty gust of wind hit Teuila square in the chest, lifted her off her feet and blasted her fifty meters away. She crashed into kava plants and bushes with brutal impact and was still.
And then Sarona descended from her aerial perch and came to rest directly opposite me, with only the RTG separating us. “Finally, we are alone. It’s time for me to put an end to this.”
I gave her a bemused nod, summoning red heat to me again. “I’m fanua afi, a fire goddess. There’s no way you can defeat me.”
She gave me a knowing smile, “I’m not trying to. All this? The feke tenifa, even the matagi assault, these were mere diversions.”
I didn’t understand her. She knew it, and it gave her pleasure.
Sarona reached out her arms to the heavens and jagged fire rained from angry skies, directed into one crucible of energy – the RTG. The lightning spike seared through the outer casing of the battery and through its protective layers, and the entire unit hissed and sparked as it cracked open. “You see, Leila, I know there’s only one thing that can kill a fire goddess. The stupidity of her self-sacrificing nature.”
I stared at her in disbelief, “You’re going to kill us all.”
Sarona was triumphant, “No, I’m going to fly up on the wings of a conqueror and watch from a distance as you burn.”
And then a shape came up from behind her. A boy whose body screamed with angry tattoos and the markings of a lifetime of abuse. Keahi.
He hooked one arm around her throat and growled against her ear, “I’m sorry but you’re going to have to miss it.” There was the glint of steel in the sunlight as he brought up his knife in the other hand and stabbed Sarona in the back.
Time missed a beat. Sarona’s eyes widened and lush red lips parted in an oh of surprise. Keahi leaned into her back and ground the knife a little deeper. Blood pooled in her mouth, dripping to the ground as her head lolled forward. And then Keahi wrenched back the knife and released her. Sarona slumped to the ground.
A
wave of horror brought nausea with it and I fought the urge to gag. “Why did you do that?”
Keahi knelt and used Sarona’s black velvet hair to wipe the blade of his knife before answering. “A thank you would be nice right now. I just saved your life.”
“No, you did that for you.”
The arrogant smile and the Khal Drogo eyebrow were belied by the resolute look in his eyes, “Maybe I did it for both of us.”
Before I could find any sense in his words, blue flames sprung up from the cracked battery in front of us. Keahi backed away and asked, “That does not look good. Please tell me you have some sort of fire goddess plan to get us all out of this?”
I looked back to where Daniel was subduing the vasa loloa sisters. He had one struggling in restraints of liquid silver and another captive in a foaming bubble. As if sensing my thoughts, he turned to look at me. I smiled. Through the smoky haze and air still acrid with the metal tang of lightning, he smiled back. He had not noticed the sparking battery.
In that moment, I knew what I had to do. What only I could do. In that moment, I understood Sarona’s taunting words. I guess she would be the victor after all.
I nodded at Keahi. “Yes, I do have a plan. It involves us all running as fast as we can to get away from here. Take Teuila and go. Quickly.”
Keahi needed no more encouragement. He ran to help Teuila to her feet and together the two of them began making their way down the hillside. Two fewer people who might try to stop me. I turned my head to seek out the one I loved. I needed to see him one last time. Imprint him in my mind to give me the strength to do what needed to be done. Daniel. I held on to the whisper of his name, enfolding it like a secret curled away in the innermost recesses of my heart. I can face anything, as long as we are together. I knew he would see this as a betrayal. Daniel, please forgive me.
With the strength that came with my fire, I lifted the RTG easily, careful to hug the cracked seam tightly against my chest. My heart. Daniel. Carrying the bulky mass, I took the few steps towards the rim of the cone precipice. Peering down was a daunting thing.
Whoa, that’s deep. It wasn’t a straight drop into the heart of the volcano. Rather, the cone sloped at a gradual angle and the rising clouds of noxious smoke obscured the rest. I couldn’t tell how far a hike it would be until I hit the actual lava seam. I needed to hurry. I balanced the battery against my chest with one hand and half slid down the loosely graveled incline, righting myself with the other. See, nothing to it. Just like surfing. Against my will, memories of Jason popped into my mind. Laughing at me as I fell down. Again. You should see yourself up there. You get this psycho serious look on your face and then it changes to complete panic just before you fall off. And when you come up out of the water, you’re so mad. It’s really cute!
I hurried my pace, focusing on the distant glow of red, dimly visible through the smoke. The RTG was stinging against me,like taking a cheese grater to my skin. I wished I could move it away for a moment.
Wait a minute … I was in lava form, I shouldn’t be feeling stinging. Pain. I shouldn’t be feeling anything. Keep moving. Don’t stop. Get this thing out of here. Shaking off the edge of unease, I sped up. A shout startled me.
“Leila! No. What are you doing?” It was Daniel. He stood at the edge of the cone, calling down to me. “Don’t do this.”
I didn’t want to look at him. I shouldn’t have paused to meet his eyes. But I did. And it almost made me falter. Almost. Coughing and choking against the gaseous smoke, he half ran, half slid down the incline towards me. “I won’t let you do this. Come back.”
I waved my free hand and sent a rippling wall of flame barreling towards him. A thought, a flick of my wrist and it stopped directly in front of him, steady and immovable. Instinctively, he flinched back from the heat, shielding his face with his hands. “No. Please. I love you.”
This time I didn’t look back. Instead, I took one, two, three more paces and there it was. The gaping chasm of heaven. Or hell. Depending on how one looked at it. The cauldron of bubbling goldenrod and embered orange was mesmerizing. It coughed and churned unceasingly. Ropes of fire, swirls of ruby-encrusted gold.
I called back to the one I loved, unsure if he could hear me. “Don’t worry about me. I’m a fire goddess, remember?”
And then I dived. With all the force and power of earth, I powered my body into the heart of the fiery furnace, holding my precious cargo of plutonium in a desperate embrace. The lava welcomed me, as I knew it would. I was a recalcitrant child returning home to her mother at last. Ecstasy. Exquisite in its embrace. Every piece of me delighted in sheer pleasure. The swirling current of fierce red buffeted me, trying to tear the RTG from my hands, but I refused to let go. No. This is mine.
Deeper. I knew I had to go deeper. I kicked and swam with one hand, forcing my body down deeper into the depths. The heart. Pele. I am here. I am home.
It was a struggle to remain in control. I hadn’t anticipated how hard it would be to contain myself. To stay me. To keep my form. One with the volcano, and I was pulled on all sides as my molecules fought to join their sisters. No. I must keep myself together. I cannot blend. I cannot lose myself. Complete your task. I needed to burn and rage and burn some more. Enough to eradicate every emaciating molecule of plutonium contained in the generator. I fought for control. And it was not an easy battle. The call of the earth was strong. A joyous delight to my very soul. I clung to that which had always given me strength. He who had called himself the other half of my soul. I can be that for you, Leila. I can be the water that calms you. Soothes you. Gives you strength. Daniel. I held on to the whisper of his name. His love. In the deepest innermost recesses of my soul. Daniel. Please help me to do this. Don’t let me fail.
In my arms, the RTG blurred and began to melt into a congealing gloop, thick and sticky. Was I deep enough into the volcano? Was it hot enough? How could I be sure? Go further. Go in deeper. Push harder. Still I powered on. Going against the upward current, the raging maelstrom of liquid energy around me was intoxicating in its sheer power. I could no longer tell where I ended and the volcano began. I loved it. This is who I was meant to be. This is who I am.
And then it happened. The mess that was left of the RTG sparked. Glowed. Blue edged with gold. White diamonds of searing light cut through me. Pain. My every thought serrated with it. If I could, I would have screamed. Again and again. And every scream would have had his name written on it. Daniel.
Flashes.
You. Me. Us. Beside a midnight pool. Tears. Comfort.
On a green field under a diamante velvet night sky. Running. Laughing.
He sings his song to me. His tattoos speak their story, his body glistens with coconut oil. He is the noble Pacific warrior of every myth and legend. And he is mine.
Leila, you don’t love someone because they’re a dream of perfection. You love them because of the way they meet their challenges, how they strive to overcome. Because together you bring out the best in each other. I loved you before you burst into flame. You drive me crazy and not always in a good way.
I’ll be your running partner, your designated driver, the guy who picks you up off the floor, I’ll even be the guy who gets his eyebrows flamed just so I can give you my shirt the next time you burn all your clothes off. I’ll be what you want me to – just don’t shut me out.
You will give your life that man might live.
I’m fragmenting. Dying. It surprises me. I thought I was a fire goddess, that fire could never die. Who knew there could ever be such a thing as too much heat? Too much fire? Too much power. I can’t hold on any longer. It hurts too much. There is not enough of me left to resist the call of my mother, fanua afi. She whispers, seductive and promising, “Let go. Give me your pain. Your sorrow. Give me your everything. Give me your body.”
Daniel, I’m sorry.
I release my fragile hold on that which is Leila. And become one with earth. Fanua afi.
Darkness.
&nbs
p; And somewhere, a woman laughs. She is not my mother earth. But she takes all that I am and she exults.
“Yes! Mine, you are mine.”
SIXTEEN
Above ground everyone watches in awe as a plume of fire erupts from the cone, piercing the sky, making it bleed with color and light. Keahi and Teuila halt in their ragged dash down the hillside. Far below, Lesina is startled to her feet.
And Daniel?
Daniel’s world shatters. Leila. Every piece of him screams her name. Water. Maybe water can save her. He summons it. From all its secret places. From the earth beneath his feet. Sucked from the seared air. Called down from the billowing cumulous clouds. Water from the distant sea. Telesā vasa loloa,son of the ocean, speaks. And elemental earth answers. Six massive tornado waterspouts – twisting columns of fury rake their way towards him. One engulfs him, raises him above the furnace that is Leila’s volcano. He gazes down at the magma bubbles that rejoice in the return of telesā fanua afi, daughter of the earth as it streams upward, brims over the cone. Champagne celebrations, frothing red and gold, seeking release, pathways to party. And unless something is done, they will rage and flow downward to where Keahi and Teuila stumble and fall in their haste to escape, where Lesina holds Jason’s body close. Daniel focuses, manipulates the raging columns of liquid power, and they carve chasmed pathways through centuries of black rock, tunneling with violent force, throwing up giant sprays of chipped rock fragments. A single thought and the vortexes begin to rip their way to the sea, leaving in their wake clear pathways that lead to the beckoning distant surf. At the ocean, the water tornadoes blend as one with the silver surf and only one remains, a platform for Daniel. The erupting lava delights to find easy routes along which to run and smoothly takes the five paths of least resistance. Away from the land. Away from the volcano that has taken the girl he loves.
The rivers of lava run in lazy flowing tides of crimson, slow and sinuous. At the cliff’s edge, the flow hangs poised for one perfect moment of fiery hesitation and then it pours into the waiting ocean. Scarlet ropes of fire meet water and hover on the surface. Steam hisses. Billowing clouds of white tranquility. Water burns.
When Water Burns Page 34
