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Chapter 33
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Fire and Water Chapter 34
In that split second, the overabundance of adrenaline caused time to slow infinitesimally for her. She finally got a good look at the boar. The skin was rubbery, dark and thin; short, sharp hairs decorated it’s huge body like the spikes of a porcupine; it’s snout was elongated and a thick tar-like substance dribbled from its black lips; the eyes were a blood red; but worst of all, along the ridge of its spine, razor sharp fins of bone jutted up from the skin like the peaks of a mountain. In that second of blood-curdling screams, her mind registered all of this then chose its target carefully. Eliza grasped the shaft of her spear with all her strength and thrust it mightily forward. The tip forged with Olympic metal drove straight and true. It pierced the boar’s left eye and continued on as a red gelatinous ooze spilled from the punctured sight. The creature whelped with a human-like agony, ripped itself free, and charged off into the thick of night; fog and woods concealed it
Fire and Water Chapter 35
Blakeney drove the remainder of the way back to Eliza’s parents’ house. They had to stop there first so that he and Eliza could pick up her car and keep up with the charade of a weekend spent there. After a few hours of restless sleep, the three of them seemed to have awakened fully with the rise of the sun. As the freeway ran north by east, the early morning sun blazed brightly before them. Buttery golds and pearlescent pinks washed away the steely gray which had colored the pre-dawn sky and as the car came up on rises of the highway, they caught sight of the brilliant, painted display. Whenever James caught a sunset—even a sunrise—he couldn’t help but think of his father and that first, life-changing conversation. Zeus had toyed with the wispy clouds during a particularly beautiful dusk to prove his identity. And then, the god had told James he was his son. Though he fully accepted it these days, he still found it a little overwhelming at times. How awesome the honor and responsibi
Fire and Water Chapter 36
“Oh, please forgive my manners,” Eliza’s father said, holding out a hand. “I’m Bill Masters.” “Christian Somers,” he replied, all traces of sarcasm and cockiness erased. “So you’re the one all the fuss was about, eh?” asked Bill. Christian nodded absently. “Well, we’re glad to have you and welcome to Virginia. Why don’t we all go inside and eat,” Bill suggested as he waved them in. They dined well on a mixture of breakfast and lunch. Cathy, the house cook, had prepared a meal of smoke salmon and breakfast ham, pancakes, eggs, hash browns, cut fresh fruit, and to wash it all down: juice, milk, and coffee. Everyone ate their fill—Christian still gawking at the lavish and expensive furnishings—and in between bites, discussed the early morning escapade. “I was stupid,” James spat in obvious disgust. “I allowed Kali to piss me off—excuse my language Mrs. Masters—and I ran after her.” He sighed heavily and shook his head. “All she wanted was for me to leave the others and I gave it to
Fire and Water Chapter 37
James had just taken his seat in the back row of third period Pre-Calculus, when Christian walked in with a map in hand and a half-puzzled expression filling his face. He gave a rueful half smile at the sight of the new boy. Christian spotted him and hurried over. “Damn this place is huge and the teacher’s . . . they’re stupid hard. I already have homework.” He took pity on Christian and chortled. “Here, sit down.” He pointed to the empty chair. When Christian had slung his bag to the chair and plopped down, he continued, “Yeah, it’s tough here. But you’ll get used to it.” Christian shook his head, his bangs falling across half his face. He flicked them away. “Hope so.” “Hey James,” said Jennifer West. He had been so engrossed with Christian’s anxieties that he hadn’t seen her sit down on the other side of him. She was wearing a sky-blue shirt—the school’s crest embossed in navy blue over the left side of her chest—and white shorts that stopped short of mid-thi
Fire and Water Chapter 38
Christian laughed deep in his gut and flopped on to his back. He started swimming around like a dolphin—shooting water out of his mouth like one too. “Enough playing around,” Blakeney called out, trying to bring back a semblance of order. “Let’s get to work.” Whipping his heavily soaked hair out of his face, Christian stood and became attentive. “We know you can create a whirlpool with a pitcher of water, now I want you to try it with a body of water this size,” directed Blakeney. “Think you can do it?” His dark gray eyes flashed with a challenge. Christian rose to it. “Piece of cake.” He watched as the young man backed up towards the lining of the pool. When Christian had stood stock still, the water as calm as serene pond on a hot summer day, he closed his eyes and laid his hands gently on the surface. It began from the spot Christian was rooted to. James watched and listened as the emanations of power started to show. A steady thrumming sound reverberated through the wate
Fire and Water Chapter 39
It was after class the next day and James found himself in the Li-brary with a few books on the table before him. He wanted to get a jump start on his homework so that he wouldn’t have to spend the entire weekend trapped in a book. He cracked the first one—a number which discussed the use of bows and arrows by Genghis Khan for his Military History class—and began to read the first chapter. Or he tried to anyway. He breathed a heavy sigh as soon as he realized he had read the first sentence several times. He closed his eyes and clapped a hand to his forehead. Ever since working with Christian yesterday, his thoughts had been elsewhere. He couldn’t help but run the afternoon through his mind over and over. It was like that annoying song that gets stuck in your head and never goes away; it just replays over and over. But if James was honest with himself, there was a single word which described the undertones of each rerun: jealousy. The lingering doubts of himself as the element of air
Fire and Water Chapter 40
And so it was that he now found himself after dinner the very next Friday, the uniform of a Centurion laid out before him—leather sandals, burgundy-red cape . . . thingy, breastplate and helmet, and whatever you call the leather-like kilt contraption—when he suddenly realized what he had forgotten to do. With the party going on so late, there was no way that he and Eliza would be up in time for training in the morning. James swore at himself for being so forgetful. He checked the time and dashed from the room. Taking two steps at a time, he ran down the stairs and didn’t break stride as he hit the ground floor. He jogged around the lounging students and the massive statue of Athena, before darting down the main hallway and entering the area where the staff offices were. James slid to a stop in front of the door marked: Director. He slowed his breathing and knocked on the heavy wooden door. “Come in,” a voice sounded from the other side. He opened the door, stepped through, and c
Fire and Water Chapter 41
They climbed from the car, made sure the doors were locked, and worked their way through the sea of cars. He held out an arm, Eliza slid hers through the crook of his elbow, and they stepped up on to the decorated porch. Making their way to the front door, numerous costumed party-goers gawked as they walked past. “I think everyone’s staring at you,” she leaned in and whispered. But James shook his head and fought down a laugh. “Nope, not me. You.” “What?” she started to protest, but they’d already arrived at the door. James opened it up, the bass hitting them like the blast from a shockwave and allowed her step in first. She was a little shy and overwhelmed it seemed to him, especially eyeing all the revelry. There were extravagant decorations everywhere, black lights in random places, but that wasn’t the sight of her searching gaze. It was the students doing shots and making out and various other lewd activities in dark corners of the rooms. “It was never this wild when I came
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