by Debra Dunbar
“Don’t you dare.”
My spine stiffened. She was here, and I had nearly completed the ritual. Should I continue and hope I’d done it right, or break the circle and negotiate? From the corner of my eye, I saw Irix ready to defend me from any attack. Kai moved around to guard my back, a pineapple in each hand. Hayworth had disappeared. Coward.
And Pele – Cleo, because she would always be Cleo in my mind. The goddess stood to the east, where the element of fire lay in this ritual, her black hair lifting in the light breeze, her dark eyes an eerie orange glow. People had suffered because of her. Businesses and homes were lost. The fireman and the child from last night were still in hospital, along with others from her fiery tantrum. She’d rebuffed my overtures of peace, refused to back down. There was no indication in her stance that she’d yield. I should complete the ritual and send her back to rest.
Then I thought of her exiled from her family, the men who had spurned her, the love affair that hadn’t had a happy ending. She was such a bitch, but there was something about Cleo that I liked, that I admired, even. And no one should be forced to sleep forever. I hated that people did this sort of thing to Irix. Here I was doing the same thing – forcing another to bend to my will.
I made the only decision I could and put down the Pele statue, reciting the words to end the ritual and breaking the circle with a swipe of my foot.
“You’re burning the island,” I told Cleo, my voice soft. “Last night, a child and a firefighter almost died. Why would you destroy that which belongs to you? Why would you punish the people who adore you?”
The goddess raised her chin, her eyes haughty. “I am the islands. Their bones are mine, of fire and lava. My fire and lava which you claim destroy the land are, for me, tools of creation.”
I remembered my discussion with Kai, my pang of sympathy for how lonely the goddess must have been, chased from her home and exiled with only her fire and lava to keep her company.
“They are part of creation. It takes more than just fire.” I waved my hand at the elemental symbols. “Air to breathe life into your flame. Earth combined with fire to create the lava that becomes these fertile fields. And water to balance your nature and allow your creation to bloom, to sustain life.”
She stared at me, her expression unreadable.
“Alone you are only flame. With some of your siblings, you are three of four elements. Three still leaves you on a barren rock in the middle of the ocean. You need water. And you need these humans who have made your name known across the world. Don’t hurt them, or you may find yourself lonely and empty once more.”
She took a deep breath, the light in her eyes flickering. “Last night was in self-defense. You attacked me, and I did what I had to. It’s your fault if two humans nearly died. You fired the first shot.”
“The sprinklers are a human device. They are afraid of fire burning their buildings, so they put them in for protection. If you hadn’t melted the doorknob and smoked up the bathroom, they wouldn’t have gone off.”
It was the wrong thing to say. Cleo glared, her eyes flaring to red-orange. I cut her off before she could protest.
“They’re afraid of water too. They build dams and levees to control it. They live in terror of flash floods and hurricane surges. Humans want balance.”
She tilted her head. “You have killed too. With your floods and storms, many sailors have perished in your depths. Many humans have been swept to their deaths in your waters.”
I clenched my jaw. I was Namaka in her eyes. I was the goddess of the sea. Water covered over seventy percent of the Earth. No wonder she was jealous. And water had killed far more in the history of the world than fire ever had. “Yes. I’m not proud of the lives and property that water has destroyed over the ages, but none of it was deliberate.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I defended myself.”
“And what about the other fires?”
“The humans have crowded every inch of me. I cannot even stretch my limbs without burning down someone’s dwelling or business. The damage was minimal.”
I bit my tongue before I told her that my definition of minimal was quite different than hers.
“I won’t force you back, but instead will ask you. Please return to your rest.”
I saw the smoke rise from her, the flames twisting along her hands and legs. “You, who cover the earth with your body, you, who have never rested ask me to return to slumber? How dare you.”
Damn. I probably should have kept going with the ritual and the statue. This was going downhill fast.
“You were awakened to consider a request, a plea. You accepted that request – to cure an orchard of blight in return for the offering of a pineapple. Service has been rendered, and now it is time for you to sleep again.”
“No,” she snarled. “I won’t. It was a lousy pineapple, and I’m not done curing the orchard.”
“Then you’ve broken faith.” I saw Irix move closer, his eyes golden in contrast to Cleo’s fiery red. “You accepted the offering. Your servant last night accepted additional offerings. The price has been paid, but the service you rendered wasn’t sufficient.”
“Neither was the offering.” Fire leapt up her body, covering it like a second skin. “I wasn’t offered a pineapple; I was offered the entire island.”
I winced. Just as Kai had said; Cleo had clearly understood the fine print of the verbal contract just as well as a demon would. “You already have the island – you are the island. You’ve received your payment. Time to deliver your promised service and return to your rest.”
It was another long shot, treating this goddess as if she had been a demon brought over in a summoning circle. It was the best I could do. None of us had any experience dealing with a being of Pele’s level.
The glow of fire covered her entire body like a brilliant garment and illuminated the beach. I felt the heat on my skin, saw Irix and Kai take their positions. Cleo’s eyes met mine, and for an instant I saw behind the fire, saw beyond the narcissistic arrogance, to someone who was trapped. Trapped by what? Instinctively, I reached out my hand, wincing at the intense heat on my palm. Cleo looked down at my hand, her gaze traveling up my arm to my face.
“No.” The words were hushed, but the actions following weren’t. Cleo became flame. Then she exploded into a ball of fire.
I yelped, throwing myself backward into the sand. Irix sprang forward to shield me. Kai backed away, pitching pineapples. She had a good aim. One of the fruit hit Cleo in her fiery shoulder, another smacked into her hip.
The goddess staggered, swatting at the burning fruit as she turned to face Kai.
“Get back!” I shouted. Kai didn’t retreat. Spinning once, she avoided the flame Pele shot at her and snatched two more pineapples out of the box, throwing them as she moved away. This time her fruit missed the mark.
“Kai!”
Irix made a grab for me, but I evaded him, sprinting to get between Kai and the angry fire goddess. Kai stumbled. Realizing I’d never make it, I did the first stupid thing that came into my head – I tackled Cleo.
We both went down. The stench of burning clothing, burning flesh, burning hair filled the air. Irix grabbed me and pulled, but Cleo had twisted around, and she held me tight. I burned, and then something clicked inside me, like a puzzle piece snapping into place. Steam surrounded us. Someone screamed; I wasn’t sure if it was me or Cleo.
Everything died. Extinguished. An inferno one moment, steam the next, then nothing but a beautiful woman sprawled in the sand, my face inches from hers. Cleo’s mouth opened into an ‘o’ of astonishment before snapping down into a tight line of fury. Had the fire protection worked, or had something else put out the fire?
The ground rumbled. Irix finally managed to yank me free of the goddess. He wrapped his arms around me and threw me clear. I came down about twenty feet away, rolling as I landed.
“She’s done nothing to harm you,” Irix snarled. “From the first day you saw her, you’ve ve
rbally and physically attacked her, and now this? She tries to resolve this situation peacefully, and once again you lash out.”
I tried to pull myself into a sitting position. Kai had run to my side and helped, murmuring gently and hovering over me as if she didn’t quite want to touch me. I looked down and saw why. My hands and arms were swollen and red with huge blisters. My shirt was black and fused to my skin in places. Staring at the burns I began to feel them — pain like a hundred knives cutting into flesh.
Through the blur of agony, I saw Irix change. No longer was he the beautiful sex demon in human form. Leathery wings sprang from his back. His face elongated into a sharp beak, and scales covered what had once been skin. His fingers extended, curving into sharp ten-inch talons.
Cleo’s eyes widened, the fire rising around her as she backed away. “Like Kamapua’a. You are no mortal.”
“No, I’m not.” Irix snapped his beak. “And if you hurt her again, I’ll hunt you down and kill you.”
The fire intensified. She hesitated, as if uncertain whether to attack Irix or not, then raised her hands. The flames vanished. I blinked, fighting back the pain and trying to see in the sudden dark.
Cleo waved her arm at me, her voice shaky. “I despise you. Are you trying to put me away somewhere so you can claim everything as yours?” She gestured to Irix. “The best men are yours. Most of the planet is yours. You kill more than I do, yet the humans frolic on your surface. They see you as sweet and loving, a life-giving mother, where I am restrained and locked away. You wish me gone, don’t you?”
“I don’t.” I gasped, trying to speak through the agony that had spread over every inch of my body.
“You do.”
She took a few steps toward me, and Irix locked himself in place, raising his hands in warning.
“Fine.” Cleo’s eyes glowed red-orange. “I won’t suffer the indignity of being chased across the ocean again. You want this island? Take it.”
In a blaze of flame that extended nearly twenty feet high, the goddess was gone.
I screamed when Irix picked me up to carry me. He’d transformed back into his human form, but I was in too much agony to do more than vaguely notice. I remember Kai crying, insisting I had to go to the hospital. I remember Irix putting me in the tub and gently washing the sand from my burns. I remember him peeling the melted shirt from my skin. Thankfully that was the last thing I remembered before I slipped into blissful unconsciousness.
Chapter 25
I awoke on sweat-drenched sheets. Heat radiated from my skin, and I shivered uncontrollably, my teeth chattering. Kai bent over me, a cool, damp washcloth in her hand. Irix sat on the bed stroking my hand. He looked rough. His hair was rumpled and dirty, dark stubble along his jaw and chin. He smiled when he saw me awake. It only deepened the tired lines around his mouth and eyes.
“It’s about time, elf-girl. Your healing abilities finally manifested, but they’re not exactly speedy.” He gestured a hand along the length of my body. “I’ve never seen a demon repair damage while unconscious and with a high fever. It must be an elf thing. Damned inconvenient if you’re in the middle of battle or among enemies.”
“Damned inconvenient even among friends.” I looked down at my hands and arms. The blisters and swelling were gone. My skin looked sunburnt and was peeling. Not the most attractive look, but I’d take that over oozing blisters any day.
“You must have some natural resistance to fire,” Kai told me. “If that had been me on top of Pele, I would have had third-degree burns over my entire body.”
It was a sobering thought. I reached out and gripped her hand, the flesh on my palm smooth and ultra sensitive. “How long was I out?”
Irix grimaced. “Three days. I changed our flight.”
Crap. I needed to be back to school yesterday. And there was that other, little, matter. “Is Pele gone? She said she was leaving.”
Kai and Irix exchanged a look that sent worry deep into my gut.
“There are no more fires,” Kai said. “But I don’t think she’s left the island. Haleakala is smoking.”
The volcano — the one that hadn’t been active in hundreds of years.
“That’s not your problem,” Kai added. “She’s not burning down businesses. We live on an island with a volcano. This is her domain, and it’s a risk we take that any of the volcanoes on or around the islands could become active.”
True, but she’d said she was leaving. I frowned, trying to recall the conversation from the ritual on the beach. “Irix, what happens if you’re summoned and you can’t do what’s requested of you?”
“You don’t get to go back to Hel until you figure out a way to do it. And you can’t just ignore the command to go frolic around with the humans, either. Bad things happen, and the longer you go without performing the service, the worse luck you have.” He shrugged. “Humans aren’t all that creative, though, and it’s usually easy to satisfy the terms of the contract, either yourself or by trading favors with another demon who can do it.”
I nodded. “She’s stuck here. She accepted the pineapple, accepted the terms of the contract, but she can’t perform the service in return. She can’t heal the trees.”
“Wouldn’t that work to her benefit?” Kai asked. “Pele doesn’t want to go back to rest. If she can’t heal the orchard, she’d need to stay here indefinitely. That’s what she wants.”
Understanding dawned in Irix’s eyes. “If she’s at all like angels and demons, she can’t not perform the service. The longer it goes on, the more her luck fails. Bad things happen.”
“Bad things like sprinklers going off over your head. Like nearly being forcibly banished,” I commented.
“Like having your sister tackle you and put out your flames.” Kai shot a quick glance at Irix. “Like having a giant bird-man threaten you.”
“Exactly.” I sat up and went to swing my legs out of bed. It was then I realized why I was shivering so badly. I was naked, and the air conditioning had been turned to sub-arctic levels. Kai was actually wearing a sweatshirt and jeans.
My skin pebbled. Other things became hard enough to cut glass. “Why is it forty degrees in here?” I grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around myself.
“Because you were running a fever that would have boiled your brain had you been human.” Irix walked over and adjusted the thermostat. “We were worried, so we lowered the temperature. At one point, we even packed you in ice.”
“When the blisters went away, we figured the fever was your way of healing – like a souped-up metabolism or something.” Kai gave me a sheepish smile. “We still kept it cold in here, just in case.”
I stood, holding Kai’s shoulder for balance. “The only way we can get Pele to go back to rest is if she cures the orchard of blight, satisfying the terms of the contract. She can’t do it herself, and the longer this drags out, the worse things will get – for her, and thus for the humans on this island.”
Irix turned to me, a muscle twitching in his jaw. “Oh no. That’s not going to happen. I know what you’re thinking, and I won’t allow it.”
“What is she thinking?” Kai’s head turned back and forth between us. “What won’t you allow?”
My eyes met Irix’s. “The goddess can’t cure the pineapple trees, but I can.”
“No,” he snarled. “You can cure one tree, maybe two if you’ve built up your energy storage. You just used up a significant amount of your reserves healing yourself. Curing one tree almost brought you to your knees. Don’t make deals you can’t close on, Amber.”
“I can give you more energy.” Kai reached out to caress my shoulder.
“It won’t be enough.” Irix’s voice was calm but firm. “She’d need to tie every person on the island, and even then it would take her months to heal those trees. That’s too long.”
It was. “You’ve given me energy before,” I reminded Irix. “I don’t necessarily have to get it from sexual intercourse. You’ve given energy to me when we haven�
��t been having sex.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “But we were intimate. You need that bond, Amber. And I don’t want you having sex with that goddess. I don’t want you anywhere near that goddess. She got herself into this mess. She’ll just have to figure out a way to get herself out of it. Without us.”
“I agree with Irix,” Kai said. “Pele hasn’t done much to gain my sympathy, and neither has Hayworth. He took off the moment Pele arrived, abandoned us to deal with her alone. I don’t care what happens to him or his farm. Pele will survive. She’s a goddess. There’s no need to risk yourself further on her behalf.”
“Yes, she’ll survive,” I said. “But will Maui? You heard Irix; bad things are going to continue to happen to her. This is Pele. We know how well she deals with bad things. The volcano is already coming to life. Even if she doesn’t go back to burning down businesses and homes, how bad are things going to get if Haleakala starts spewing lava everywhere?”
Kai’s fingers tightened on my shoulder. “Bad. Things will get very, very bad.”
Chapter 26
Irix fumed, his hands nearly crushing the BMW’s steering wheel. I watched him out of the corner of my eyes, trying to project harmony. And keep my mouth shut. I got the impression that one more word out of me and we were going to be driving to the airport, not Haleakala.
There had been a lot of shouting in the hotel room as I’d showered, dressed, and eaten three meals brought by room service. Kai, that traitor, had taken Irix’s side and had been just as loud in her arguments. At one point, Irix had brought out his usual threat of locking me in the bathroom.
Eventually I won him over. Sort of. He’d drive me, stay close enough to help if there was trouble, but far enough away that it wouldn’t seem like we were ganging up on Pele. I’d been informed several times that if I got myself killed or burned again, he’d never forgive me.
I wasn’t sure Kai would forgive either one of us. We’d both insisted she stay behind. The pineapples that had worked so well with the fire servants didn’t seem to do anything but piss Pele off. There wasn’t anything Kai could do to help, and she couldn’t defend herself if things went south. I didn’t like the idea of her out in the middle of nowhere, on top of a volcano that could erupt at the whim of a temperamental goddess.
