Blaze: A Firefighter Romance

by Lisa Lace

  Maybe the reason why we never heard anything about a final test was that there wasn’t one.

  The ladle had a silver hue because of its composition. It was made from filaden, an unnatural element with a high concentration of Higgs boson particles. The ladle was encrusted with yellow jewels. The gemstones were vital for preserving the stability of the metal.

  It was amazing to discover the ladle was real, but as my sense of wonder faded, I started to look around the bizarre room. The surroundings were long and narrow — perhaps twenty feet across. At both ends, the floor sloped upward. From the outside, it looked like the letter U.

  Alcoves were cut out of the rock walls every few feet. Each one was waist-high. Inside were small pools with beautiful golden fountains in the shape of Heralla deities. The water sparkled and the sounds soothed my mind.

  The others caught up with us. Abel let out a strangled cry.

  “It’s finally within my grasp,” he whispered to himself. Abel rushed across the room. “You won’t stop me this time.”

  “Do you honestly think no further safety precautions are surrounding the ladle? You may be a fool, but I didn’t know you were stupid.”

  Abel paused momentarily.

  “Do you remember the stone soldiers?” Morley was getting louder. “If they took the time to build those statues, why would they leave the ladle lying around for anyone to take?”

  “Figure it out. You’re supposed to be the smart one. How do we get it? And you better hurry up,” Abel said, nodding his head at Ven. “He looks like he could use the ladle right now.”

  I turned my head to look at Ven. As his legs spasmed, he lost his balance and collapsed on his ass. The poison had started to consume his body already.

  “You’re going to have to untie Morley,” I said, deciding to give Abel a few orders. “If you want that ladle you’ll do as I say.”

  I stared at Abel angrily, exhibiting a power I didn’t know I had. Ven wasn’t going to die if I could do anything about it. He tried to hold my gaze but quickly surrendered, giving a nod to someone who cut Morley’s bonds.

  “What’s wrong with Ven?” Morley asked.

  “He got hit with two arrows.”

  “You know they’re coated with strychnine, right?”

  “Of course I know.” I cut him off. “The ladle better work or death will be his reward for helping me find it.”

  “How much longer does he have?”

  “I think he’ll be in real trouble in about twenty minutes.”

  Behind me, Ven’s body was starting to convulse. I felt tears welling up in my eyes, but I blinked them away. “Let’s just take it. I don’t care who ends up with it at the end as long I can use it now.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  EMMY

  I ran and checked Ven’s pulse. It was erratic, but it existed. I stood up and made my way back to Morley, trying to hide my terror.

  Morley knew me too well. He could sense my feelings with a look. “You care about him, don’t you?”

  I nodded, unable to speak.

  “Let’s do what we have to do. Zelia's ladle appears to be on the altar, ready for the taking.”

  “It can’t be that easy. If we try to walk up and take it, something’s going to try to kill us.” I didn’t want to make another mistake.

  “I agree.” Morley rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

  “Don’t you think the monks were using the ladle at the same time they guarded it? They were supposed to live for a long time and be almost impossible to kill. If the legends are true, it would make sense for them to be regularly drinking from the ladle.”

  “Right. They would need a way to get to the ladle without killing themselves.” We walked gingerly into the room and looked around, examining the floor and walls but avoiding the area that contained the ladle.

  “There’s one fact on which everyone agrees. The stories all say the Stone Goddess will destroy anyone who tries to touch the ladle.”

  “The Stone Goddess.” Morley looked up at the ceiling. “Do you remember the dig we did on Tyrranus 4? There was a giant rock that fell at the end and almost killed everyone on the team. If the mechanism hadn’t rotted away, we might not be standing here today.” He looked at me expectantly.

  I snapped my fingers. “The Stone Goddess is always represented as a stone wheel with the outline of a woman over it. If the wheel is an actual thing, it would be perfect for smashing intruders to smithereens.”

  “Exactly.” Morley nodded. “Look at the design of the room. The wheel will fall and start rolling, crushing everything in its path. When it reaches the end, it will roll up as high as it can. Gravity will pull it back down into the room and crush anything it missed. The wheel will move back and forth like a deadly pendulum until it pulverizes everything in its path.”

  “It could be set in motion if anyone touches the ladle.” I felt the familiar excitement which came from solving the riddles of the ancients. “What if there is a scale or weighing mechanism built into the altar? They wouldn’t need any further protections.”

  “Why would anyone risk destroying the thing they wanted to protect?” Abel moved behind us and had a skeptical look on his face.

  Morley didn’t stop looking but still took the time to answer. “A giant stone that crashed onto the ladle wouldn’t crush it. It’s essentially indestructible.”

  Abel didn’t say anything else. I supposed he was satisfied with Morley’s response. Thinking about Morley’s words, I remembered the inscription on the stone wheel at the festival.

  “At City Hall, for the Festival of the Stone Goddess, there was a wheel with an inscription. It said, 'The Stone Goddess leaves no survivors'.”

  There was a hairline crack in the ceiling shaped like a rectangle. “There it is. Do we trigger it or try to avoid it?” Sometimes it was necessary to activate traps in a controlled way that prevented anyone from getting hurt.

  “I think we should try to avoid this one.” Morley thought for a moment. “What does it mean if she doesn’t leave survivors? The extent of the danger isn’t clear. It seems like someone would survive a wheel rolling around. There must be something less obvious.”

  “Be careful, Morley.” He nodded and approached the altar at a crawl. It took an agonizing five minutes for him to advance ten feet. He always checked everything imaginable. His meticulous nature and his intuition were the only reasons he was still alive. After studying the ladle and the altar, he nodded. “It’s a weight trap. You can tell by these signs...”

  “I don’t think we have time for extensive explanations.”

  “Right. Abel, do you have anything that can weigh the ladle without disturbing it?”

  Abel nodded his head. A woman on his team pulled out a device and aimed it at the ladle, calling out the weight.

  “We think the object itself is the tripwire. We need to swap it out with something with approximately the same weight. It’s a classic protection because it’s effective.” Abel’s team was already busy weighing rocks and various objects they carried.

  “This device is close, but it’s a little heavier.” The woman handed a piece of gear to Morley.

  “Don’t give it to me yet. Remove parts or cut off plastic until the weight comes down. We need to make sure the weights are as close as possible.” With a sigh, she took out her knife and began scraping off some of the plastic.

  “Making the swap is going to be tricky.” Morley looked nervous. Tricky was an understatement. Abel eagerly began to approach the altar but we both ignored him. He wasn’t close enough to disturb us.

  Slowly, Morley set the device down next to the ladle. I stood on the other side, waiting for the right time. When we were both ready, I started sliding the device toward the ladle while he pulled the ladle away.

  At the back of my mind, I vaguely realized Abel was suddenly directly behind Morley, but I was concentrating on moving the thing in front of me a little bit at a time. Morley finally retrieved the ladle from its resting
place as I simultaneously slid my weight into position.

  As soon as Morley pulled the ladle away, Abel bumped him, reaching for the prize. After waiting for so many years, he couldn’t last a second longer. Abel’s greed triggered a series of events. Abel inadvertently pushed Morley’s hand into the weight, moving it from the correct position. I quickly pushed it back, but it was too late.

  Morley and I looked up. We heard the grinding of old gears and stone against stone. I glanced at Morley. Usually, he was calm even in the most difficult circumstances, but I knew he was genuinely afraid this time. We heard the sound of something large moving inside the ceiling.

  Abel wasn’t paying attention to any of it. He stared desperately at the ladle, clutching it tightly in his hands as he ran to the closest fountain.

  Morley and I moved together. We each picked up one of Ven’s arms, lifting and dragging him from the room. Abel’s team had already disappeared. Ven had a massive body, and my half was hard to carry.

  He groaned but didn’t wake up. When we were almost to the door, I made a decision and released him.

  “Morley, there’s no point in getting Ven out of here if we have to leave the ladle behind. I’m going back to get it.”

  “You’re going to take it from Abel by yourself?” Morley asked. “He’s going to kill you. Even if he doesn’t, the stone wheel will crush you.”

  It felt like the room was listening to our conversation. We heard the sound of something massive rolling around in the ceiling.

  “I have to get the ladle.” I was prepared to do anything to get what I wanted. “Even if we can move Ven out of here, we won’t be able to save him without it.”

  I ran back to where Abel stood by the fountain, carefully dipping the ladle into the water. I held my breath, walking up behind him. Would I be able to grab it and go?

  He took a deep breath and drank.

  The rumbling noises that sounded so far away were getting louder. Less than a minute had passed since Abel inadvertently activated the trap, and I knew the Stone Goddess’s wheel was coming to smash us all into tiny pieces. I dived for the ladle as soon as he finished drinking, but misjudged the distance and missed badly.

  Abel moved back. “You’re never going to get it.” His eyes were full of hatred.

  “Please.” Despair threatened to take over my soul. “I’ll give it back. My friend needs it, just like you.”

  “He’s nothing like me. For one thing, I’ve already used the ladle.”

  The noise in the background grew so loud that it overwhelmed our conversation. I couldn’t hear the rest of his words. The stone wheel materialized overhead, showering red dust over our bodies as the ceiling shattered.

  Abel and I both started running for the door, but it was too late for us. A piece of rock slid into place, covering the door and sealing the room.

  If there had been any question about the strange shape of the chamber, it was definitively answered as the wheel crashed onto the altar, destroying it. The stone began rolling to us, gradually picking up speed.

  The inscription was right. Was it possible for us to survive?

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  EMMY

  The huge wheel of the Stone Goddess was going to crush us. We had nowhere to run.

  Abel was pissed. “I can’t believe it.” His face looked miserable. “I just got healed, and I’m going to die under a rock.”

  An idea popped into my head. “Let’s go into one of the fountains.” Before I darted away, I stole the ladle out of his hands.

  “You’re not taking that from me.” Abel started running after me. The wheel was forgotten for a moment while he concentrated on retrieving the ladle. But I had it now, and I wasn’t giving it up until I saved Ven.

  The fountains were set into the tunnel walls. If we managed to stuff ourselves inside, the wheel would roll by and completely miss us. I climbed into the nearest fountain, not caring if I got drenched. I fit inside perfectly if I pulled my legs to my chest. I squeezed against the far side as the enormous wheel rumbled past.

  The wheel rolled up as far as its momentum would take it, then reversed and began to retrace its path, picking up speed again and spinning by me. I glanced down at my arms. They were covered in white dust from the ceiling.

  Now that I wasn’t facing imminent death, I began to form a plan to get the ladle, fill it with healing water, and bring it to Ven. The first step was securing the ladle. I unbuttoned my shirt and tucked it inside, buttoning my clothes over the artifact. I checked to make sure my shirt was tightly tucked in and shifted my thoughts to getting out of the room.

  The door wouldn’t work any longer, but I was sure there was another way out. We thought monks had used the ladle in the past. If they did, they would need an escape route in case someone accidentally triggered the wheel of death.

  Where was the emergency door?

  The fountains were the first place anyone would go to escape the wheel. I held my breath as it rumbled past me again. Its weight and destructive force were frightening even though I was safe for now.

  If the fountains were a natural hiding place, any escape door was probably located inside. I turned slightly and examined the outer wall of my fountain, looking for anything indicating a door. I pressed everything I could see and ran my hand over the surface of the walls and floor. Nothing happened.

  What if I was in the wrong place? Did I have to check all the other fountains until I found the one with a door? What if my guess was incorrect, and I was looking for something that didn’t even exist? I closed my eyes. I decided to check all of the fountains on my side first, then cross over and investigate the other side. I didn’t know how long the big rock would keep its momentum, but I guessed it could continue moving for some time.

  As the stone wheel rolled past me again on its way to the other side of the room, I jumped out of the fountain, ran as quickly as I could, and dove into the next fountain.

  After examining it, I realized there wasn’t a door in this location. Two fountains later, I sat back to catch my breath and looked across the room. Something caught my eye in the fountain directly across from me.

  A deity inhabited each fountain. The one across from me held a representation of the Stone Goddess. My heart sped up. Was that the fountain with the door? It would make sense to indicate which fountain had the escape route. The Stone Goddess kills, but the Stone Goddess also saves. There was a poetic symmetry somewhere.

  I prepared myself and waited. As the stone wheel rolled past again, I dashed across the room and scrambled up into the fountain of the Stone Goddess. I made it with only a second to spare as the rock rumbled past me once more.

  A moment later, I was examining the alcove, searching for a mechanism to open a secret door. I pressed everything imaginable, but I found nothing.

  Did Ven have much more time? What if he was already dead? When Morley and I lifted him, Ven had groaned, so he was alive at the time. I clung to the hope that I could find Ven with time to spare, but that would only be true if I got out of here.

  My arms were still covered in white dust. Was something the matter with white dust? It was dangerous, but I carried a cure with me.

  I took the ladle out of my shirt and grabbed onto the Stone Goddess’s hand, using her to hold steady as I reached into the water and filled the ladle.

  I took a sip, relishing in the cold drink. As I refreshed myself, a previously-unseen door swung open by itself, revealing a dark passageway. Either pressing on the hand of the Goddess opened the door or taking a drink did.

  Before I left, I was going to take some magic water with me. I carefully filled the ladle again, then moved awkwardly around the fountain into the dark passageway. A giant insect dropped down in front of me, and I batted it away. Shuddering, I stood up in the passage.

  I was comfortable with man-made obstacles, but I didn't like any biological threats. It was dark in the tunnel, and it was difficult for me to see. I hoped I wouldn’t run into anything terrible.<
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  After a few minutes of clumsily shuffling through the darkness, I bumped into a door and spilled some of the precious water.

  “Fuck.” I felt around, being careful not to drop any more. I didn’t know if the amount of water was crucial but it might be the difference between life and death for Ven.

  The door swung open, revealing so much light that I started to blink. I moved slowly out the door being careful not to empty the ladle. When my eyes had adjusted to the brightness, I saw Morley with his back to me, kneeling next to Ven. Ven was unconscious on the floor.

  I strode ahead, keeping my eyes focused on the ladle. As I approached, Morley heard my footsteps and turned around. “My girl, I thought I lost you.” There were tears in his eyes.

  “I’m tough to kill.” I smiled when I saw he was alive. “I brought the ladle, and it’s full of water.”

  “Ven needs it right away. He stopped breathing.”

  I knelt down beside Ven. His body looked as solid as a board, and he was clenching his muscles. Morley was on his other side and opened Ven’s mouth.

  “Do you think I should just pour it in?”

  Morley nodded, his eyes shining. He had waited twenty-five years for this moment.

  I placed the ladle against Ven’s lips and tried to keep my hands from shaking. I tipped it carefully until all the water dribbled into his mouth. After that, all we could do was wait.

  After a minute had passed, there was no sign of movement. My tiny flicker of hope turned into despair.

  “This stupid ladle’s not doing anything.” I felt a lump in my throat. Everything we sacrificed had been in vain. Ven was going to die today. I couldn’t stand it.

  “Be patient.” Morley was trying to be kind, but I could see he was losing hope. The years spent searching had been a fool’s errand. We had risked our lives for an illusion.

  I closed my eyes, pressing my fingers against his neck, tears spilling out as I frantically checked for a pulse. Nothing. He had no heartbeat.

  Ven was gone.

  Chapter Twenty-Six