Firestone

by Ryan Carriere

  Sephonei protested, “No, those aren’t my terms. I don’t agree.”

  Ku-aya stood and held her hands out in a gesture meant to bring the peace. “Wait, Sephonei. We can work this out. We’re a team, yaa?”

  Sephonei shook her head. “No. I got drafted against my will. Sin threatened to kill my parents an’ forced me to do somethin’ I’m not fully comfortable in doin’. Abil does nothin’ but harass me. He calls me names an’ left me to die in that cave. I saved his life an’ got no thanks for it. I found out that Sin’s Crusaders—his men, an’ our people—are killin’ an’ hurtin’ the people an’ mystical creatures of the mainland. I don’t know about you, but I’m not gonna go with it any longer.”

  Abil stood glowering over Sephonei. He snorted. “Big talk for a li’l fistler. What you gonna do to stop it all then?”

  Sephonei met Abil’s glare and inched closer. “I’m leavin’ on my own. You are lost, an’ I have about as much chance to find that stone as you do.”

  Sephonei grabbed her lute and satchel. She whistled for Pery, and he clopped over to her; she slung her belongings on his back and hopped on. Looking down at the two stunned Crystal Hunters, she said, “I am no longer a naïve little merchant’s daughter. I am a Crystal Hunter searching for a powerful stone. When I find it, I’m gonna save my parents an’ save the mystical creatures from Sin. If you change your minds about my terms an’ can catch up to me, I’m open to negotiations.” She tossed her braid over her shoulder, grabbed the reins, and whistled to Pery. Taking four powerful strides into the darkness, he lifted off the ground, heading east toward the Land of Darkness.

  ROEG

  Ifrit

  T

  he fire demon eyed Roeg, its expression unreadable through the smoke and fire. Roeg, held by an unseen force and surrounded by the protective blaze of the Firestone, gasped for breath.

  Gobs of firewater spilled from the demon’s mouth. They reformed and melted, turning to smoke.

  The demon spoke, and the cavern shook unnaturally. “How you are resisting me, I do not know, but that is of no consequence. I still hold you in my grasp. Behold the power of an eternal soul. Your eyes, like your mind, will burn in my presence. It is futile to resist. The Firestone is mine.”

  Fire spilled from the gap in Ifrit’s mouth. Smoke billowed out then dissipated. Roeg felt the words of the fire demon rather than heard them now. He wasn’t imagining this—his eyes were open. Pain gripped him still, more-so when the demon spoke. A fire burned in his chest, and an unearthly dryness stole his words.

  The unseen grip of Ifrit tightened, and a shock wave erupted, shaking the entire cavern. “I am an eternal soul. I am Ifrit, the conjurer of the internal flame. I am the fire and stone that churns this world. I am the force of change, the embodiment of power; I cleanse the world of filth. To do that, I need my stone. The only thing in my way is you. What is the matter, boy? Lost your words?”

  The pain was so great, Roeg fell in and out of consciousness. Ifrit inched closer. Heat seared through the Firestone’s protective barrier. Ifrit spat firewater onto Roeg. The Firestone flashed and reflected the firewater—it sizzled and steamed into a thick black smoke.

  Ifrit shouted in fury. The cavern shook, and large stones dislodged from the cavern walls, plunging into the fiery depths. Roeg shot forward. His neck whipped as he launched through the cavern. He slammed into the wall, but the Firestone’s barrier absorbed the impact.

  “How are you controlling the stone?” Ifrit asked.

  Roeg gulped and tried to find his words. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out— dry wisps of smoke escaped in place of words.

  The protective barrier sputtered and dimmed as it got closer to the fire demon once again. Ifrit’s maw extended as his head formed and reformed in annoyance.

  Ifrit lifted his fire-stricken hand as if to gain momentum before pounding the fire barrier that protected Roeg, sending it toward the depths of the firewater lake. “See if you can defend against this…”

  Roeg was powerless to do anything but watch the red, sputtering lake fill his vision as he plunged toward the fiery depths. This was the dream that had plagued him for many moontides. The images of the dream flashed through his mind: fire and smoke; being gripped by an unseen force; plummeting into the firewater. What was he supposed to do to stop it? In his dream, he had sunk like a stone into the fiery depths without uttering a word. That was it—a word.

  Heat flashed inside Roeg. He found his voice and projected it at Ifrit in a deep tremor that imitated how Ifrit had spoken to him. “You will let my friends and I go.”

  The descent ended abruptly, and Roeg floated just above the sputtering firewater.

  Ifrit paused and said, “How did you speak the ancient tongue?”

  Roeg looked up at the fire demon. Its expression—what there was of an expression—was perplexed and curious, with a hint of annoyance that cut through it all. The barrier lifted and stopped level with Ifrit’s eyes. Ifrit’s stare seemed to pierce Roeg.

  Courage boiled in Roeg and words flew out of his mouth. “You will let us go.”

  “Ha,” the demon shot out. “Where do you get the boldness to speak to an eternal soul in this manner? How do you speak the ancient tongue of the gods?”

  Roeg sucked in a breath, the heat stinging his insides. “My friends call it Jarbletongue. I speak many tongues.”

  “You disrespectful little imp,” Ifrit spat. “The ancient tongue is not just any tongue. It is the sounds of the gods. It is incomprehensible to your kind!”

  Roeg furled his brow and stood the best he could without solid ground under his feet. He spat out, “I am not having trouble understanding you, or speaking to you.” Ifrit flinched at the strength in Roeg’s words.

  An unearthly quake escaped from the maw of the fire demon. The Firestone barrier sputtered and closed in. Roeg extended his arms, and the unseen force stopped.

  Ifrit roared, shaking the cavern. “Who or what are you?”

  Thoughts of Roeg’s life flashed in his mind. Who was he? He didn’t know. If you would have asked him the same question before he left the village, he would have said nobody. A boy with a damaged hand.

  But things were now different.

  He still couldn’t throw a spear. His mother had abandoned him and he wasn’t part of the clan.

  But now he was face-to-face with a fire demon.

  Roeg’s voice cracked. “I am Roeg…”

  Another thought flashed in Roeg’s mind. He was not only face-to-face with a fire demon and blocking his attacks, he had saved his friends from a saberslash’r. He had protected Ookum and Tsisa from a herd of charging onehorn’rs, he had protected them from a gnomish bomb, and he was speaking to an eternal soul in an ancient language reserved for the gods.

  Roeg stood tall. “I am Roeg Stonehold’r, the hold’r of stones. The one who speaks many tongues. The one who defended against the great Ifrit’s attacks and lived. I will bring the Bloodstone to the Great Mother.”

  Ifrit seemed rattled. He sounded both defeated and annoyed. “I have never known a human to speak the ancient tongue. This is not something I am accustomed to. I am… compelled to let you go, but I am bound to the stone. Thus…” the demon paused and let out what could only be described as a rasping sigh. “I am bound to the stone holder.”

  The demon released its grip. Roeg gasped and felt the hot air fill his lungs. He still felt held but not squished like he had.

  Ifrit moved closer to Roeg, the flame dripping from his cavernous eyes becoming less intense. A tingling sensation washed over Roeg from head to toe. It wasn’t unpleasant; it was as if fire burned in him without hurting him. “Why does the Firestone hurt me when it protects me?”

  Ifrit let out a half laugh. “Nothing is free in this world, boy!” The demon paused. “The stone’s power needs a vessel to release its energy. When you hold the stone, you are its master but also its vessel. The power is ancient and pu
re and will damage the vessel. Since you are only blood and bone, you damage easily. But if I am united with the stone, all of that changes. Now, you answer a question for me: Why are you after the Bloodstone?”

  Roeg thumbed the Firestone. He was at ease speaking with Ifrit now. “My father, Unn Truthsay’r, said the Great Mother came to him in his dreams. She told him a Great Sadness would come if I didn’t take the Bloodstone to the Great Spirit Sea.”

  The cavernous holes of the demon’s eyes narrowed. “You will not be able to find the Land of Darkness. Even I do not know where he is locked away…”

  Roeg released the Firestone. “We are going to the nymphs. I am told they can take us there.”

  Ifrit let out a tremor of a sound that shook that cavern. “Interesting…” Ifrit’s eyes moved to Roeg’s friends, who trembled at the base of the cavern with their hands over their ears. Time seemed to have slowed for them; the little movement they produced was unnatural. “I have been locked in this cavern for over fourteen years without my stone. I was broken… now with the stone so close… I can feel its call. I will reunite with my stone and go with you, on one condition.”

  Roeg gulped. “What condition? What do you mean ‘reunite’?”

  Ifrit inched closer. “When we collect the Bloodstone, you are not to touch it. If you do, you will be possessed by An’nuna’ke and not even I will be able to help you. I will fight and defeat him. Then you can take the empty stone to the Great Mother, as you call her, and free me.”

  Thoughts raced through Roeg, then he found his question. “How will you fight An’nuna’ke?”

  Ifrit paused as a glob of thick firewater fell from his maw. “I will use you as my vessel.”

  Roeg stepped back; it was awkward as there was no ground beneath his feet. “No. The stone hurts me when it protects me. To fight another god… the stone will kill me…”

  Ifrit inched back and narrowed his eyes again. “When I reunite with the stone, it will be whole. The magic will not hurt you any longer, but things will be a little different for you. I will speak to you in your mind and will have some control of your actions. It is a small price to pay for power. However, I need your consent before I can do that.”

  Roeg paused for a long moment. This would solve the gnomes’ problems. It would allow him not to be hurt, and it would help him get the Bloodstone. Roeg nodded.

  Ifrit closed his cavernous eyes, and the room shook violently. The demon quaked and tilted his head back. Black smoke billowed out and pressed in on Roeg. The Firestone lit up and sent shards of light in all directions, consuming everything. The mass of dark stone, flame, and smoke that was Ifrit melted and flowed into the Firestone.

  Roeg floated back to the ledge that clung to the side wall of the cavern. The shaking of the cavern walls ceased, and the smoke dissipated. Roeg’s feet touched stone—he wobbled, then caught his balance.

  He felt tingly and full of energy. A fire burned within him—a fire that didn’t hurt him but one that he could channel and control.

  Roeg spun and saw his friends still vibrating unnaturally. They moved slowly, and their forms blurred. He walked around them—they seemed to be stuck in suspension.

  A voice rippled in his head. “Give them a few moments… they will eventually join you in this time and place…”

  Roeg stopped. Was that Ifrit?

  The voice insisted, “Yes, boy. It is Ifrit. I am one with you now. It feels good to be out of that fire lake. I need to rest now.”

  This was going to be an adjustment. A fire demon in his head seemed unnatural to Roeg.

  The voice laughed. “And you think this is easy for me, boy? I am stuck in a stone, clinging to the neck of some blue-haired boy, who.… well let’s just say you better get me to the Bloodstone. Now, leave me alone. I need to rest.’

  Minnoa came to him. Her lips moved, but Roeg heard nothing. She moved awkwardly and slowly. Ookum stumbled and shook his head while holding his ears. Tsisa leaned on the cavern wall, bent over.

  Minnoa kept talking, and words started to break the silence. “Are you okay?”

  Roeg nodded. “Are you?”

  Minnoa brought her hands to her forehead. “I feel nauseous…”

  Ookum wobbled over to Roeg, holding his head. He had one eye open and the other shut. “What happened? I feel like a mammoth sat on me.”

  Tsisa let go of the cavern wall and clambered over to the group. “I don’t like this place. We need to leave here. I’m gonna—” She bent over and retched, liquid splattering over the floor. She stood and wiped her mouth. They all looked nauseous and pale. Roeg breathed deeply. He felt fine. They seemed to be getting worse. What was happening?

  Ifrit spoke in his head. “If you want them to live, get them out of here. They are being poisoned by the firewater.”

  Roeg spoke aloud. “Who is poisoning them?”

  Ookum, now hunched over, said, “Who are you talking to?”

  There was no time to explain. Roeg grabbed Ookum and tossed him onto his shoulder with ease. He grabbed Tsisa with his other arm and threw her over his other shoulder. He then scooped up Minnoa and raced out of the Fire Caverns.

  As he ran, his legs did not burn; his breath did not get heavy, and his hand did not hurt. He carried the three friends to safety and did not even break a sweat. The full power of the Firestone was coursing through him, and it felt great. He felt powerful.

  He could get used to this.

  Epilogue

  Fetch

  As Fetch crossed the slow-moving stream, his eyes were drawn to the top of the huge, rocky, coastal mountain. It was so large that its peak was concealed by low hanging clouds. His long trek from Outpost One had been grueling, but his energy returned as he realized he had finally reached the ‘hot zone’. This was what he called the area where his mark had last been seen. The green-haired Crystal Hunter he had met on the ship had traded this information with him: This mountain was where the eternal stone thief had been found fourteen years ago, without the stone, and without her infant. If the blue-haired boy was still alive, Fetch would find him and bring him to Sin.

  THE END

  Wow! Now that Roeg has the full power of the Firestone, how will that affect his search for the Bloodstone?

  What path will Sephonei take in her search for the Bloodstone? Will she ever make a deal with Ku-aya and Abil? Can she find the Bloodstone in time to save her parents?

  Who are the Nymphs and will Roeg find and convince them to help him find the Bloodstone?

  Who is this Fetch guy and will he be able to track down Roeg?

  They must all make their way to the Land of Darkness in book 2…

  Watch out for the next volume of the

  Tales of the Eternal Stones series…

  BLOODSTONE

  RYAN CARRIERE had been distracted by the corporate humdrum for over thirteen years before his passion for writing and sketching rekindled. He is the creative new author and illustrator of the Tales of the Eternal Stones series. He turns history on its side and weaves together monsters, magic and misfits enabling readers to get lost in his stories.

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  A TALE OF THE ETERNAL STONES

  FIRESTONE

  ALSO AVAILABLE IN AUDIO

  READ BY THE TALENTED MELISSA SHELDON

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  ‘Whether you have six to twelve-year olds, or thirteen to eighteen year olds, and you don’t know about FIRESTONE, you are missing o
ut!’

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