“What is it?”
“Very advanced fire retardant I’ve been working on. You can start it with a pinch of sudden pressure like a Flashball, but it’ll activate on its own as soon as the temperature around it reaches over 230 degrees Fahrenheit. Or it should. Haven’t had a chance to test it yet.”
“Thanks, Tob. I’ll bring home some dinner.” But he was already back to his table of gadgets. Maya tossed the cube in the air and snatched it back before stuffing it in her pocket. Flame retardant might come in pretty handy. If she ever succeeded in finding Target F.
Maya threw her jeep into park so hard the whole thing bounced a little. She’d spotted his truck parked in the driveway. He didn’t even have the decency to have stood her up because of some emergency. He was only kicking back at his house.
Forcing down a deep breath, she smoothed her braid back and knocked.
Some shuffling sounds on the other side, and Edy Sparks’ plump face appeared in the doorway. “May I help you?” The woman’s smile was contagious.
“Hello, Mrs. Sparks. I’m sorry to disturb you, but I was wondering if you’d seen Aedan? He was supposed to meet me at the library for tutoring hours ago.” She blinked her green eyes at Aedan’s mother and waited for it.
“Oh! You must be Maya. Won’t you please come inside, dear? And we’ll get right to the bottom of this.” The door opened the rest of the way, and Edy gestured for her to come in. The house was clean, but cluttered with piles of magazines, and board games. It was a nice place, and the scent of something heavenly drifted out from somewhere in the back, making Maya salivate. It had been a long time since she’d eaten anything other than takeout or fast food.
“Wow,” Maya said. “What are you making, Mrs. Sparks? It smells divine.” Maya may not have practiced them often, but she knew manners. She was descended from the knights of the round table, after all.
“Call me, Edy. Please, dear. And that’s meatloaf. I was just going to serve lunch. I insist you stay. It’s the least I can do after my son’s rude behavior. Oh.” Edy put up a finger as if to say, just a sec, and turned toward the worn staircase. “Aedan Sparks! You get down here right this instant!” Then she turned back to Maya, all smiles.
Come to think of it, this woman looked nothing like Aedan. She had curly blond hair and tiny blue eyes that squinted up when she smiled. Aedan had to be at least a foot taller than her too. Must take after Dad.
“Where’s Mr. Sparks?” Maya asked, examining the pictures lining the hallway wall. Judging from the snapshots Aedan didn’t take after him much either.
“Sam’s at work. He owns one of the gift shops out by Sabino Canyon.”
“Oh I love the canyon. Great hike.” Especially the part that’s off limits to the tourists.
“What is it, Edy, I-” Aedan hopped the last two steps, and swung around the banister nearly bumping right into Maya, who cocked her head to the side with a smile. His whole face drained of color so fast she thought he might pass out. “Maya? What are you doing here?”
“Well she’s here because you stood her up, Aedan Charles Sparks. Is that how I raised you?” Edy folded her chubby arms across her ample chest, and glared so hard, Maya thought Aedan might break down in tears. He did dip his head, and relax his shoulders a bit.
“I’m sorry, Edy. I lost track of time this morning.”
“Don’t apologize to me! Apologize to Maya. Honestly, Aedan, I don’t know what’s gotten into you. I’d assumed that this morning… well, we can discuss that later.”
That caught Maya’s attention.
“Now, I’m going to go set an extra place for lunch. You work on your apology. Maya, dear, you’ll let me know if he figures it out.” Edy patted Maya on the arm, and stormed off down the narrow hall past the stairs and toward the heavenly smell.
Chapter Twelve
Maya
“I, uh, I’m sorry,” Aedan said, poking at the carpet with his toe. He was barefoot, and Maya’s eyes trailed up past his muscular calves to his Khaki shorts. Nice legs.
“You’re the one who insisted we meet at the library if I wanted tutoring. Or did you just assume you were off the hook?” She stepped into his personal space, more out of habit than anything else, but did manage to refrain from touching him.
“Look, I said I’m sorry. Okay? You did come on pretty strong yesterday.” His caramel colored eyes held hers for a moment before sliding toward the kitchen.
“Well I’m sorry too then,” she said. She had to force the words out. “I might have gotten a bit… carried away. I told you I have patience issues. But sometimes patience is necessary I guess. So can we please try this again? From the beginning?” She tilted her head until she caught his gaze. It might be nice to try a normal relationship for once. She was pretty convinced at this point that he wasn’t the One. But she couldn’t in good conscience just let him go without being absolutely sure. So she might as well have a little fun while she checked out the others on the list.
Aedan pressed his lips together like it was a really tough decision for him, and Maya fought back the outrage climbing up her spine.
“Fine. But rule number one; don’t come to my house.”
Maya’s eyebrows flew upward, but she bit down on the inside of her cheek to prevent any snide retorts. Think before you speak, she told herself. She was supposed to play nice. “Okay. But it might be hard now. I think your mom likes me.”
As if on cue, Edy’s voice carried down the hall. “Lunch is ready! Come to the table you two.”
Aedan stiffened but held out his hand for her to go first. She smiled, bounced a little on her feet, and let her nose guide the way.
“This is the best meal I’ve had. Like ever,” Maya said, leaning back and patting her stomach.
“Oh thank you. I really do enjoy cooking. You’ll have to join us more often. I haven’t had anyone to fuss over in a long time.” Edy started gathering plates and silver, but Maya jumped up and took them from her hands.
“Oh no! Please allow me, Edy. Aedan and I will do the dishes.” Maya kicked at his leg a little before heading toward the sink.
“I’ll wash, you dry,” she said, as Aedan meandered up behind her.
“There’s this nifty invention called a dishwasher,” Aedan said.
Maya did a double take. Did Aedan just make a joke? Sure enough, his eyes sparkled a little, and his lips turned up on one side. She bumped him with her hip, then opened the door, and slid out an empty rack.
“Fine then. I rinse. You stack. You can handle that, can’t you?”
“I think I can manage,” he said taking the plate she held out over her shoulder. “Thanks, by the way.”
“For what?” she asked, continuing to scrub.
“For being so nice to my mom. It really made her feel good.”
Maya turned to hand him the next dish and found him much closer than she’d expected. He held her gaze as he slowly plucked it from her hand. He hadn’t even touched her, and she was tingling in places she hadn’t tingled in months.
“You’re welcome,” she breathed. If she’d known it would be this easy, she would have been nice from the beginning.
“I like your hair like that,” he said, not moving away.
“Yeah?”
“You can see your face better with it pulled back.” His eyes released her as he stuck the plate in the rack.
By the time Aedan straightened up, she was holding out the next one. He tugged at the other end, but she held it tight. He looked annoyed for a second then he smiled, and tugged harder. Maya waited, and when he pulled with some real force, she let it fly, and he stumbled backward into the island behind him.
“You okay?” she asked.
“I’m going to have to watch my step around you, aren’t I?” he asked sticking the plate in with others.
“Only when you stand me up,” she said, working on the silverware.
By the time they were done, the kitchen was spotless, and Aedan had really relaxed. Maya found sh
e liked his crooked smile and deep laugh. She’d never heard it before, she realized. Not even at school when she watched him in secret.
“So,” she said tossing a dishrag at Aedan. “Now that we’ve finished lunch, how about that tutoring session?”
“You seriously want me to teach you Trigonometry?” he asked, setting down the towel, and narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
Maya remained the picture of innocence, as she smoothed the end of her braid in both hands. “Yeah. I need to learn it somehow. And I can’t think of a more entertaining way.”
“All right then. Let me get my stuff, and we can work right here at the table.”
“How about your room?” she asked. She wasn’t trying to be suggestive, part of her job meant investigating his personal space, but it was clear from his dark expression he thought that’s exactly where she was going.
“No,” he said a bit too harshly. “I mean Edy would never allow it.”
“Oh, of course.” She bit her lip. She’d thought they were making progress. Was it possible he really wasn’t attracted to her? “What are you waiting for? Go get your stuff.”
Trigonometry was boring the first time she took it. The second time, this past year to get close to the potential Targets, had been sheer torture. Now, learning it from Aedan was far less awful. But only because she could tune out, and listen to the cadence of his voice, or watch his hands as he scratched out the problems on paper. And when it was her turn to perform? She knew enough to make it look like she was actually improving with his help.
“Great job,” Aedan said, pushing away from the table.
Maya shook herself a little. She’d been focused on the way his jaw muscle worked while he concentrated on a problem. “Where are you going?” she asked in surprise.
“Well, the hour’s up. And then some. If we stay at this table any longer we’re in danger of our brains exploding or at least getting horrible leg cramps.” He stretched and grinned down at her.
“Tomorrow then?” she asked standing up as well.
“Sure. Ten at the library.”
“But Edy said-”
“That was rule number one, Maya. Remember? And if you can’t keep rule number one, how will I ever get to tell you the rest of the rules?”
“Right. Okay, ten at the library. But if you’re going to cost me home cooking like this, you might have to start paying me.”
“Doesn’t your mom cook?”
Oh. Oops. She’d never slipped like that before. Aedan was dangerous.
Maya thrived on danger.
“Actually I don’t like to talk about it much, but I live with my brother. And no, he doesn’t cook.”
Something passed over Aedan’s face for the briefest of moments and then it was gone. Was that pity? Or maybe understanding.
“Sorry,” he said.
“Not your fault,” she said, turning away. Not unless you’re the one that starts fires with your mind. And after today, she was pretty sure that while Aedan Sparks had some juicy secrets, that wasn’t one of them.
Chapter Thirteen
Aedan
“You’re still here,” Aedan said closing the door to his room.
Kari turned away from the window, letting the blinds fall back in place. She tossed her hair and grinned. “Redhead eh? That makes a little too much sense.”
Aedan fought down the panic in his chest. There was no reason to feel so protective of Maya. Kari wasn’t some jealous stalker; she was another Elemental who had no interest in regular humans. Right?
“It’s my summer job to tutor her in math,” he said collapsing back on his freshly made bed. Kari’d helped him chuck the old sheets in the trash bin around the side of his house a couple of hours ago.
“Bet you’d like to tutor her in more than math though,” Kari said in a singsong voice. She sauntered over to the bed and leaned down over him. “But in order to do that, you’re going to have to get a much better handle on those powers of yours.”
Aedan stared at her. What exactly was she suggesting?
“Look, fire boy, if you’re going to survive for the next three months, we need to get you in better shape. Power wise that is. You look like you already work out the normal way.”
“What’s the point?” Aedan asked. “If I do survive, I’m going to end up either bringing about the end of the world or a slave to an insane witch.”
To his surprise, Kari threw her head back and laughed. “At least I can look forward to the entertainment. It won’t be so bad, fire boy.” She bounced down on the bed next to him, and he scooted back up toward the headboard.
“Not so bad? How do you figure?”
“Well, we’ll be together. And if we do our jobs, we’ll be much more than Morgana’s slaves. We’ll be the ones out on the front lines. The generals as it were.”
“Can’t we just run away?” he asked suddenly grabbing Kari’s arm. “Never meet up with the others on our birthday?”
“Sorry,” she said patting his hand. Her eyes looked sincerely sad. “These things always come to pass even when we try like hell to avoid them. But isn’t it better to survive and try to figure out the rest later?”
Aedan thought this over. He already knew he was weak. If he weren’t he would have owned up to Megan’s murder, and not left her parents with the agony of the unknown. He did want to survive. Whatever that meant. So he nodded.
“Great!” Kari jumped up and rubbed her hands together vigorously. “Let’s go start some fires!”
Aedan collapsed back on the boulder out of breath. Kari had been working him hard for the last couple of hours, and he really just wanted to go home, eat some more meatloaf, and fall into bed. He felt like he hadn’t slept well in weeks.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked, hands on hips. She towered above him blocking out the sun.
“I’m tired,” he said.
“Yeah? Then blow up that cactus over there without setting anything else on fire.” Aedan followed the line of her finger over to an enormous saguaro, surrounded by tons of dry brush. The thing had to be at least three times as tall as he was, with four arms extending out in all directions, bent at odd angles.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Do I look like I’m kidding, fire boy?”
Aedan stared at Kari standing over him and thought she looked a bit like the cactus with arms bent at her sides. Except she wasn’t green and prickly. And didn’t weigh a thousand pounds.
“It’s lined with water on the inside. It soaks it up and holds it like a sponge,” he said. Maybe she didn’t get that being from New Zealand and all. “And if I do manage to blow it up, everything around it is going to catch fire.”
So far he’d been focusing on building the fire within and then forcing it down again. It was hard work, harder than he’d imagined at first. He’d never in his life had reason to call the fire up. In fact, he’d spent most of his life trying to beat it down. And the one time he had used it purposely, to make Megan’s tombstone marker, he’d been so full of pent up rage and sorrow, it had already been there waiting just below the surface.
“Can’t we continue this tomorrow afternoon?” he asked, trying a hopeful smile. “When I have more energy? Then I might be able to pull it off.”
“We’re not leaving until you do it,” she said. She clearly wasn’t budging, figuratively or literally. “Don’t worry, if you mess up, I’ll put it out. Just like this morning.”
Aedan heaved a sigh, smacked a hand on each knee, and stood. He approached the great cactus and squinted up at it. He’d boiled away much larger bodies of water than this, and according to Kari, he didn’t have to worry about setting fire to the entire desert. He hesitated still not loving the idea of destroying this great plant that had survived in its harsh surroundings for so long.
“Well? I thought you wanted to go home.” Kari sat leaning back on the boulder he’d just vacated, long legs crossed.
Aedan forced his focus back to the cact
us. He called up the fire within, visualizing it sparking within his stomach like a match and then growing into a glowing ball of white flame. The warmth filled his insides, hotter than the sun beating down on his back, and he couldn’t suppress a smile. His pulse quickened with excitement, as he willed it to grow and build until his skin began to prickle from the inside. Then he pictured the blaze transferring to the saguaro. The inside burning, the skeleton turning to ash, the water vaporizing instantly. The whole thing swelling from the intense heat.
And then he pushed. He pushed all of his energy forward with a yell that echoed back through the wilderness. And the cactus burst, exploding outward in a million tiny pieces as a cloud of blue flame shot into the sky.
Aedan dropped to his knees, completely spent, as the concentrated inferno before him drained back down to nothing. Leaving only a blackened, charred scar on the desert floor.
“A little dramatic,” Kari said.
Aedan’s head snapped around. He’d almost forgotten she was there.
“But elegant,” she finished. “Now if you can do that to the Circle Operative that comes for you, you’ll be all set.”
Chapter Fourteen
Aedan
“How about a game of Scrabble tonight?” Edy approached with the burgundy box already in hand.
Aedan looked up from his seat in front of the TV and frowned. “I’m kind of tired, so I’m going to turn in a little early tonight.”
“Aedan what’s wrong?” she asked, setting the game on the coffee table, and yanking the remote out of Sam’s hands to flick off the baseball game.
“He’s tired, Edy. Leave him alone.” Sam’s recliner popped upright, and he tugged at his shirt making the giant martini on the front seem to refill itself.
“Aedan,” Edy said, sitting on the arm of the couch nearest him. “I know what you’re thinking.”
“You do?” Aedan asked, sitting up straighter.
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