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Fire Goddess ebook
Fire Goddess ebook
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Prologue:
Eldor, head of the Wizard’s Council, saw Arendel in the crowded castle courtyard and beckoned to him. The young mage was in his late twenties, with shoulder-length dark hair and a short beard. He was the youngest wizard to achieve the elite status of Immortal in a century, but he kept a low profile. Instead of donning the prestigious robes to display his position, he wore a simple grey cloak. Arendel walked up to Eldor, and the wizard leaned over to whisper in his ear. “The Gods of Life just summoned us.” Eldor was a kind man with clear blue eyes. He wore formal white robes. His long white hair and beard hung loose. He’d trained Arendel tirelessly for years to help the young mage achieve his goal of immortality. “The Gods have arrived in human form to meet us in person. They haven’t made a request in nearly a thousand years.”
“I wonder what they want,” Arendel said, looking at the wizard curiously. Eldor shook his head and shrugged slightly. They walked to the Ancestral Shrine together and arrived at the tall, formal entrance. Arendel turned to his mentor uncertainly. The senior wizard gestured for him to enter first.
“Please join us,” Edimaire, the God of Honor, said as he stood and bowed to the two men. His skin was dark, and he wore formal, blue robes. His black curly hair and beard were sophisticated with a touch of grey. “We won’t take much of your time. Just a simple request.”
The two men entered and walked past rows of finely carved benches toward the platform where the Gods stood in the light. Edimaire walked up the steps to join the other Gods. Elder and Arendel stood beneath them at the front of the shrine and bowed formally.
Ophia, Goddess of Ministry, addressed them from the far end of the podium. She wore a long, formal gown and spectacles. Her hair was pulled tightly in a bun.“You are Master Arendel, I presume?” she said.
“That is correct,” he bowed formally once more.
“We’ve come to protect the magic throughout the Realm of Kalendra, and we require a full-scale effort to stop this king’s mad destruction.” Arendel nodded.
“I understand,” Arendel said. “The harm that the king, and Salvadore Kane—“ he shook his head. “I’m sorry if I’ve not met your expectations. I’ll work harder.”
“You’ve made an enormous difference, Arendel,” Iliyana, Goddess of Destiny, said, facing him from the center of the platform. “We appreciate your dedication and outstanding valor.” She had long silver hair, clear blue eyes, and bright, colorful robes. Iliyana was a beautiful woman with a gentle disposition. “They’re hurting innocent people,” Arendel said, “and destroying the magic. There’s been so much destruction—“ He looked at her sorrowfully.
Kyren, God of Spirits, looked empathetically at the young mage. Kyren was a handsome God with wavy brown hair. He wore finely tailored tweed robes with a matching bowler hat. He stood next to Iliyana to address the young man.
“We appreciate your efforts, Arendel,” Kyren said. “You’ve worked hard. That’s why we’ve asked you to come here. We have a request for which you are well-suited.”
“Name it,” Arendel said. “I’ll help in any way I can.” He met Kyren’s eyes. The God of Spirits saw his sincerity and nearly winced. They were asking too much, he knew. Arendel’s team was on the verge of taking the criminals down, but Kyren and Iliyana were overruled when the other Gods chose his fate.
“Eldor,” Kyren addressed the senior wizard now. “You’ve trained Arendel well. Thank you for that.” Eldor bowed. “You will be Arendel’s guardian, his watcher, keeper, and guide.” Eldor met Kyren’s eyes, nodded, and waited for instruction.
Mystos, the God of Innovation, was growing impatient. Why were they wasting time chit-chatting? The large bald man in a green cloak stepped to the front of the platform and shoved Kyren out of his way. He directed his intense baritone voice at Eldor while he pointed at Arendel.
“We are sending him to grow up on Earth,” he said bluntly. “He’ll live there until his twenty-third birthday. We need a Kalendrian wizard to become a native there for my scheme to work. His immortal soul makes that possible. You will return him to Kalendra after sunrise on his twenty-third birthday!” Eldor nodded.
Arendel stared in shock. The blood had drained from his face, and he started to stumble. Eldor placed a hand on his arm to support him. Mystos turned to the young mage.
“You heard, Arendel?” he said. “You will be born on Earth. Today.” Arendel looked tentatively at the God of Innovation. He had no words. “When you return to Kalendra, you and Eldor will make a portal between the worlds. It requires a wizard from each realm. You’re my Earth wizard.” Arendel looked from one God to the next, trying to wrap his head around this simple request.
“We can grant you one appeal,” Kyren said gently, taking pity on the pale and shaking mage. “We’ve already negotiated with the Gods of Earth on your behalf.” Arendel looked at the kind God. “You’re allowed to request personality traits to ensure this works for you. Consider which traits you’ll need so you can live well there. We want you to excel and thrive. And return in one piece, of course.”
Arendel met Kyren’s eyes, and the young mage found himself nodding, but what would happen to him? He didn’t train as an immortal for this.
“Your magic will remain in your soul, of course,” Iliyana said kindly. “With training and practice, you’ll regain it.”
The Gods of Life stood together. There was no more to say, so they bowed. It was a polite dismissal. Eldor and Arendel left the shrine. The senior wizard had his arm around his young friend.
Iliyana, Goddess of Destiny, watched Arendel try to manage his shock. “What a shame,” she said to Kyren. “We’re tearing a fine young man out of the life he worked so hard to build. I insist on quality reparations for his effort when he returns.” She winked at Kyren, who was chuckling.
Correct as usual, Iliyana,“ the God of Spirits smiled cleverly. “An unjust sacrifice to be sure. He nearly fainted. I’d be delighted to help you make it up to him. Arendel deserves the finest gift we can offer. I’ll select the perfect candidate myself. We’ll reward him just as soon as Mystos’ portal is finished.”
Eleven Years Later:
Chapter One
His luck just ran out. Kris approached the back entrance of the high school, hoping to slip into the crowd of students and get inside fast, but Hunter and Daniel saw him. As far as the two seniors were concerned, this was their school. No matter how smart, the youngest student there wasn’t allowed on their turf. He was small for an eleven-year-old with brown, cropped hair, jeans, a T-shirt, and sneakers. Kris was easy to spot.
The two older boys swiftly directed Kris away from the entrance by grabbing him by his backpack and pushing him to the other side of the bushes. Then they marched him to the old, condemned staircase that was out of sight.
“Go back to elementary school, kid,” Hunter said, squinting with contempt. He was a tall boy with dark, spiky hair who wore a black leather jacket and sunglasses on his forehead. “You don’t belong here.” He took Kris off guard with a feint, then punched his face hard. The boy staggered off balance.
“You’re a nerd,” Daniel said in a low growl, “but not the cool kind.” The curly blonde, clean-cut quarterback in his letterman’s jacket looked at Kris with venom-filled eyes. The first bell rang, and he shoved him savagely.
Daniel launched Kris backward. He was airborne, flying over the long, steep concrete stairs. Kris did a backflip with a twist so he could see where he was going. As he landed on the cement steps, he did a series of front handsprings down the stairs to slow himself. When he got to the landing, he grabbed the railing with both hands and kicked his feet straight into the air to redirect his momentum. Then he dropped to his feet and ran back up the steps.
Kris sprinted to his first period, raced to his seat, and slid into his chair just as the second bell rang. He sat in the front row, his feet barely touching the floor. His big brown eyes carefully scanned the room to see who else he had to avoid that day. Then he brushed the fringe out of his eyes and noticed blood on his hand. He cringed. “Daniel and Hunter,” he thought. His cheek still throbbed. He rifled through his pack for a handkerchief.
“Final projects are due in two days,” the teacher announced. “Work with your groups. You’ll get extra credit if you turn them in early.” Kris made his way across the room to the group of girls he was assigned to work with. But first, he faced the wall and used spit and his handkerchief to make sure he didn’t have blood on his face or hands.
“Um,” Kris said as he opened his pack and pulled out four copies of the stapled reports. “I finished our project.” The eleventh-grade girls looked surprised as he handed them out. “If you want me to make any changes—“ They looked at him curiously, so he shrugged. “I wrote it up from our notes.”
“How could you finish?” Brittany asked incredulously. She was expensively dressed with long bleach-blonde hair and blue eyes. “We’re supposed to include quotes from all those famous people, remember? Mine was from my Dad’s best friend. He made it up over dinner just for me. It wasn’t published anywhere.” She flipped her hair and gave him a look of distrust. Kris squirmed.
“You showed it to me last week,” Kris said as he pretended to look for something. He remembered details that most people didn’t. Brittany glanced through the paper and found her quote. Then, she reviewed her notes. Kris got it exactly right.
“Do you have some kind of photographic memory? That’s creepy.“ Brittany glared at him. Kris felt his face redden, so he looked at his shoes.
Olyvia was reading the paper. She was smaller than her best friend, with wavy brown hair, small features, and freckles. She had a kind disposition. “You guys, Kris did a great job,” she said. “Read it. We’re going to get an A for sure. Extra credit for handing it in early. He already put our names on it.” Brittany thumbed through the paper and flipped her hair as if she’d just written it.
“Well, since we have time,” Brittany whispered, “We should talk about prom. How are you going to do your makeup?” Olyvia pulled out a magazine, two bottles of foundation, and her eye makeup.
“What should I use?” she asked. Kris was looking at the magazine cover. There was an article called ‘Power Poses to Boose Self-Confidence and Take Control of Your Life.’
“What are you looking at?“ Brittany demanded as she glared at Kris. That magazine is for girls and people older than you. It’s not for children.“ Kris looked down again.
“Do you want to read it?” Olyvia asked.
“Of course not!” Brittany grabbed it. Kris took out his math book. Yes, he wanted to read that article. He needed a power pose if they worked. He was open to anything that might make his life easier. If he were lucky, he’d find one that repelled bullies.
“I think you and Daniel will be the hottest couple at Prom!” Olivia said. “You’re already the most popular.” Brittany pursed her lips and sat up at the compliment.
“Do you think so?” she said. “He’s so dreamy.”
“Not when he’s trying to kill me,” Kris thought. He listened to Brittany teach her friend how to apply foundation while he pretended to work on math. He needed a way to cover the bruises those bullies gave him. He didn’t want his parents to see them. Life was hard enough. If they intervened, it would be humiliating. He learned from Brittany that he needed a full-cover cream-to-powder foundation that matched his skin tone. She said it covered anything and looked natural.
When the bell rang, Brittany strolled toward the teacher to turn in their group report. Olyvia turned to Kris. “Thank you for doing our assignment. I didn’t help much. Here,” she said, handing him the magazine, “You can give it back to me later. It’s a good magazine. I don’t know why she was being like that.” Kris nodded and smiled. Then he slipped into his pack. Brittany’s boyfriend hated him. That was one reason.
“Thanks,” he said. Kris cherished allies, but bullies were more common in his life. Most kids ignored him. Being in high school was unusual for an eleven-year-old, but he learned effortlessly—that wasn’t anyone’s fault. He also learned athletics fast. However, the boys’ locker room was the most dangerous place in the entire school. Kris never went in there—not for one second. That place was a death trap.
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