03] ES) Firestorm

by Shannon Mayer

  I tipped my head forward as she inadvertently launched up my body, and her forehead crashed into the top of mine. The reverberation from the impact shuddered down my spine and my shoulder gave a distant twinge, but I was no longer playing nice. I rolled with Maggie as her eyes widened with shock. Grabbing her by the shoulders as I straddled her waist, I thumped her hard into the ground, anger slicing through any hesitation I might have had.

  Two more times I slammed her into the ground, her head bouncing with enough force that I almost felt bad. Almost.

  I let her go and stood, breathing hard so it took me a moment to realize there was an eerie silence in the air. Around me were other fire elementals, their strange eyes in every shade of orange and yellow imaginable staring at me with nothing short of fear.

  A few of them clung to their powers, the red lines licking up their arms indicating how close they were to blasting me. I slowly lifted my hands, feeling the weight of every move I made. “She started it.”

  “You are a guest here,” Smoke’s voice was soft but with an edge. A rebuke if I ever heard it.

  “And if she’d gotten me to the lava flow? Would any of you have stopped her?” Many of the Salamanders looked away, their eyes dropping. “That’s what I thought. Don’t expect that I won’t defend myself.”

  The crowd dispersed, although more than one Salamander looked over their shoulder at me. The dislike reminded me strongly of Peta’s own distaste for me and apparently all Terralings.

  Turning, I looked for Cactus. He was walking away, too, taking an unconscious Maggie with him. And he didn’t look back. A sigh slipped out of me and Smoke touched my shoulder gently.

  “You are right, you have to defend yourself, but in front of so many people? That will not help you or your friend.” She shook her head, her eyes sorrowful. “Come, eat.”

  Peta gave a meow and I instinctively held out my arms. She leapt up and worked her way up to my shoulder. “You should have smashed her at least twice more.”

  I startled and looked up at the cat. “You aren’t going to tell me I should have let her pulverize me?”

  She snorted and shook her head. “No, showing weakness in the Pit will get you killed. The others fear you now; they saw you beat Maggie’s ass in a matter of seconds. That is why she came at you. You’ve beaten her once and she lost standing, losing to a mere Dirt Girl. Now you’ve beaten her a second time. She will look for another way to get at you. So we will have to be extra vigilant.”

  I wished I could believe Peta that I’d done the right thing. Maybe in some ways I had, but I knew one thing for sure. No matter what happened, Maggie and I would never be friends.

  CHAPTER 11

  rand came for the family meal, and though he said nothing to me about the fight with Maggie, I felt his disappointment. He and Smoke shared more than one glance across the table and their three boys were remarkably quiet. Until the plates were cleared.

  Tinder shifted in his seat. “Did you really beat up Maggie?”

  I looked from the boy to his father.

  Brand leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Go ahead. Tell him.”

  Peta looked up from my lap, her green eyes unblinking. “Yes, tell him.”

  Putting my hands on the table edge, I nodded.

  “Yes, I knocked her out. She came at me from behind.” Maybe that would be enough.

  Tinder’s eyes widened and his tiny mouth opened into a perfect O. “And you still beat her?”

  Peta stretched, her back arching into a perfect curve as she stepped off my lap and onto the table. “Terralings are not to brag. They’re humble, unlike you lizards.”

  Brand seemed to be holding back a smile as Peta crossed the table. Smoke glowered but only for a second.

  Peta pushed up onto her back two legs, front paws stretched into the air. “Magma leapt at her from behind and the Dirt Girl sensed it coming. She rolled with Magma tackling her. And BAM! the first punch smashed its target.” The cat dropped to all fours and rolled over then popped into the air to land flat on her belly. Apparently my familiar was a natural born storyteller.

  “What happened next?” Tinder whispered, his tiny fists pressed under his chin.

  Peta dragged herself across the table with her front claws, weaving one way and then the other. “Magma raced backward, dragging the Terraling by her ankles. Right to the lava flow.”

  Tinder gasped and his fists shook with suppressed emotion. “What then?”

  Peta slithered on her belly until she was hidden behind one of the dishes. “It looked as though Magma would throw her into the lava flow. But the Terraling used her legs, jerking Magma off balance, cracking their heads against one another.”

  “And because she is a Terraling her skull is harder than Magma’s?” Tinder asked and Peta rolled onto her back and jabbed her four feet into the air as if in a four-legged boxing match.

  “Exactly.” She paused and rolled into attack position, her body wiggling with suppressed movement. “The Dirt Girl grabbed Magma by the shoulders and slammed her against the ground three times.” Peta’s head bobbed up and down. “BAM BAM BAM. Each time harder than the last until she was satisfied Magma would not be coming around anytime soon.” At the last second, Peta leapt toward Tinder, landing right in front of his face. He squealed and laughed and she sat and looked over her shoulder at me.

  I shook my head. “You see, that is not much at all.”

  Stryker grinned at me. “That’s huge. Maggie is a tough Ender. Dad always says so, and now you’ve beaten her twice. I’d watch my back. She’ll want another go at you.” His words echoing what Peta had already cautioned.

  “Wonderful,” I muttered.

  Smoke clapped her hands. “Boys, off to bed. The bell will ring soon.” The three boys scrambled up and I was surprised as each of them went by me, touching two fingers to the top of their opposite hand, and then repeating the gesture to the top of mine.

  I waited until they were gone deeper into the house before I lifted an eyebrow at Brand. “What was that about?”

  “They were showing their respect for you. Touching your hand like that is acknowledging that you have more power than them.” His eyes dropped and he let out a yawn. “Don’t expect it from me, though.”

  I laughed but it was forced. I let Smoke lead me to a simply made-up room that looked comfortable. The bed was bigger than the one I had in our Enders Barracks, the thin, pale-blue silk sheets beckoning. My body craved sleep despite the rest I’d had at Cactus’s place.

  Thanking Smoke, I waited for her to leave before I sat on the edge of the bed. Peta sat at my feet, reached up with her front paws and dug them into the bed then stretched her back. She cracked a yawn. “The bell is coming.”

  “I need to stay awake,” I said, looking straight into the light tube that lit my room. By the color of the light, I figured time was closing on the night. “I have to find a way to get Ash out of here and I only have two days left.”

  Peta pulled herself onto the bed beside me. “And you think you can withstand the bell when it rings? No one stays awake. The mother goddess herself would have to help you withstand the sleep bell.”

  “So be it then. I will ask her.”

  With everyone else asleep, the night was the perfect time to search. Besides, if Peta was right, how did the Ender Coal stay awake to search the Queen’s chambers? How had the queen woken when she’d heard him? If they could stay awake, then there was no reason I couldn’t either.

  I knelt on the floor and placed my hands on the solid stone underneath me. Breathing out slowly, I tried to form the right words, the ones that would bring the mother goddess to me.

  A deep booming gong sounded, like thunder rolling over clear blue skies. The echo hit my body like a physical blow and I gasped. “Mother goddess, I must stay awake.”

  The power of Spirit will protect you, child. You do not need me.

  Her voice was a soothing balm over my fears and I sat quietly as three more boom
s echoed through the Pit. Beside me Peta snorted. “Damn, you truly are a child of Spirit, aren’t you?”

  “How do you know this? How do you know anything about Spirit?”

  She hesitated and I saw the struggle in her as she tried to fight the urge to help me more than she had to. I felt her emotions, there, at the edge of my mind. Worry, regret, and uncertainty.

  I put a hand on her back as gently as I could. “I won’t share your secrets, Peta.”

  Her eyes flicked to mine then away. “My first charge, years ago, was a child of Spirit. I am the last familiar that ever watched over one such as you. I believe that is why the mother goddess assigned me as your familiar.”

  A breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding whooshed out of me. “You really can help me then.”

  “I think so.” The uncertainty was there again. “But you must understand, he was fully trained when I was given to him as a kitten. I know what he was capable of, but I don’t know how he did what he did.”

  Without thinking, I scooped her up and pressed my face against her. I hadn’t realized how much fear I’d carried about that part of me until Peta said she could guide me. I held her with my eyes closed and she purred.

  “I’m so glad you are here,” I whispered. “No matter what happens.”

  Her rough tongue flicked once over my cheek. “So am I, Dirt Girl. But if you tell anyone, I will claw your face to ribbons while you sleep.”

  Smiling, I shifted her to my shoulder, her claws digging into the leather vest for balance.

  I knew where I wanted look first. Smoke’s earlier words were my only clue to go on. “Peta, we need to go to the healer’s rooms.”

  “Are you ill?” The concern in her voice and the feeling of worry coursing through her into me was touching.

  “No, I just . . . I need to see where the Enders were treated. Where they died. There could be a clue as to what happened to them.”

  She tipped her chin forward. “Then let us go.”

  Opening my door, I listened for a moment. The home was quiet and I crept out, stopping in the main room to grab my spear. With my luck, I would need it, even though everyone was asleep.

  Creeping into the main cavern, the weight of the silence was like a living breathing boogey man that waited in the shadows. The light tubes dulled to a dim glow with only the moon’s light reflecting through the mountain to us, giving the place a strange iridescence.

  Peta sniffed the air. “I’ve never been awake at night inside the mountain, it feels different.”

  “Like something is waiting for us,” I said and her claws dug in tightly.

  “Dirt Girl. Those are not words you want to utter out loud.”

  I thought of Scar and wondered how many of the firewyrms were left.

  I broke into a jog, heading for the bridge, the lava bubbling happily under it. “Why not?”

  “There are creatures in the Pit that even the queen would not face. Beasts from long ago that sleep under the lava.”

  “Like the firewyrms.”

  “Yes, like them. And others. Others I have never had the displeasure of meeting. Creatures that would make the Deep seem a playground and the Rim like Heaven.”

  “Lovely.”

  We reached the bridge and hurried across, the heat chasing me. My skin was dry to the point of tiny cracks appearing across it. Soon they would break open and bleed as they begged for moisture. Thoughts of the Deep emerged and suddenly going back didn’t seem like that much of a hardship.

  “Take this opening.” Peta flicked one paw as if shaking off droplets of water. I jogged into the cavern hallways and came to a sudden halt. The hallways that had been lit during the day were dark, not one embedded flame in the wall, not one flicker of fire to show us the way.

  “Peta, how well can you see in the dark?”

  “I need at least a glimmer. Even I cannot see in total darkness.”

  I backed into the main cavern. We weren’t far from the singles quarters. “Cactus might have something we can use, a torch perhaps.”

  Peta nodded and I ran toward his home. Cactus’s place was easy to find with all the junk and garbage surrounding it. I pushed a few things around with my feet looking for something that would work as a torch before giving up on my search and going into his house. The plants growing around us leaned in toward me. I lifted a hand to a young bamboo plant shooting out of the ground. If I stuffed the end with a bit of cloth, it would work for a torch.

  “Forgive me,” I whispered as I took my spear and cut the bamboo at the ground. It would grow back, but even so, I didn’t take lightly to cutting it down. Searching through Cactus’s place for some fabric or cloth, I found myself at his bedroom door.

  Peta shook her head, her eyes catching mine. “Don’t go in there, Dirt Girl. You won’t like it.”

  As if that would make me walk away. I slowly pushed the door open. Cactus was sprawled on his bed, his naked torso raising and falling with his deep breaths. I sucked in a sharp breath.

  Beside him lay Maggie, her riotous curls spread over his pillow, and her body also naked, her armor spread over the floor as if it had been taken off and dropped where she stood.

  “Shit,” I whispered even though I knew they wouldn’t wake. “I didn’t mean to beat up his girlfriend.”

  Which explained why he hadn’t looked back when he’d left. I refused to feel anything, refused to acknowledge it hurt my feelings that he would sleep with Maggie of all people. I bent and grabbed one of his shirts from the floor and wrapped it around the end of the bamboo. A small part of me hoped it was one of his favorites.

  “Are you upset, Dirt Girl?” Peta asked.

  “Why would I be upset?” Why indeed? I had no claim on him other than friendship.

  “Because he kissed you today and I feel how much you care for him. This is a betrayal. Why does it not bother you?”

  “And I have kissed Ash. Neither of them are my bedmates, play mates, or anything between those. Friends, that is all.” The words came out a little harsher than I’d planned and I let out a breath. “Okay, maybe it bothers me a little, but I can’t be surprised. Cactus lives here, this is his home.”

  “But he wants to escape,” she pointed out.

  I left Cactus and Maggie sleeping peacefully and headed back the way we’d come. “Yes, he does. That doesn’t mean he won’t enjoy what is left of his stay here.”

  I went to the bridge and stood at the edge, dipping the torch close to the rolling river of liquid death. Before the material even touched the surface, it burst into flames. Stepping back, I held the torch aloft and went to the opening. Stepping into the darkness, the torch didn’t throw the light as far as I would have liked but Peta gave a chirping sound.

  “I can see. But your torch won’t last so we must hurry.”

  Knowing she was right I broke into a slow jog, taking the turns and twists as Peta directed until I stood in front of the healer’s rooms. She took us on a direct route, and the rooms weren’t as far away as they’d seemed when others had led us.

  The rod of Asclepius etched into the double doors glittered in the torchlight. Under the flickering flame, the snake looked far more like a firewyrm than any other reptile, now that I’d met a firewyrm in person. I slowed and put my hand on the door, half expecting it to be locked. But it opened easily and I stepped inside, shutting the door quickly. Setting the torch into a wall scone, I peered around me, taking the place in.

  The room was empty of patients, and clean of any blood that may have been spilled. Around the edge of the room, a counter was built into the wall, and on it were tools of the healer’s trade. Scalpels, knives, ointments, and herbals for a variety of ailments, bandages, wraps, and splints set aside, ready at a moment’s notice. But none of that was what I needed.

  “Where would they put those who are critically injured? And would they have taken notes?” I placed a hand on one of the empty beds, leaning on it.

  Peta hopped from my shoulder and trotted ar
ound the room, sniffing. “I don’t know. What are we looking for?”

  That was the question I wasn’t sure I had an answer to. I cupped the back of my neck with my hands. “I don’t know exactly. Evidence of some sort.”

  “That is not helpful, Dirt Girl.”

  “Just see if anything sticks out to you.” I walked around the room, touching the jars of herbs and salves, ointments for burns mostly. Which was interesting. “Why do so many Salamanders get burned when they are immune to the flames?”

  “Normally they don’t but lately there have been injuries of that kind for many of them. Usually the salves are saved for those who are visiting the Pit,” Peta jumped onto the counter that ran around the entire room, putting her nose into several jars, sneezing in one.

  Her nose twitched. “Occasionally a death occurs because a child who is too young tries to swim in the lava.”

  I shuddered. “Why would they let them do that?”

  “They don’t. These are children in their early teenage years who believe they are invincible.” Peta’s voice grew sad. “One of my charges was just such a child.”

  Gut wrenching grief flowed from Peta into me and I had to clamp down on the tears that threatened. Tears that would burn my face with their heat and the remembrance of my own loss.

  “Peta—”

  “Shhhh.” She hissed, her eyes narrowing and her ears twitching. “Hide. Someone is coming.”

  CHAPTER 12

  orm shit and green sticks. I scrambled for one of the beds, sliding under it with far more noise than was good. The butt of my spear bounced off the floor and I grabbed it, pulling it tight to my side as the door creaked open. A tiny figure cloaked in a dark material from head to foot slipped in; the very same one I’d seen at the edge of the river.

  Whoever she was, she would have barely come up to the top of my breasts, so maybe five feet tall at best. Other than that, I could see no distinguishing features. If she was Cassava, she’d found a way to hide her height as well as her features. Whoever she was, she hid behind a spell that cloaked her, hiding her. This was no ghost, no specter.