by Kailin Gow
“She ran away from Mars? From Chance? ” He
hadn't mentioned to me that Vesta had tried to get away from
him.
“The passion of a spurned lover is a dangerous
thing,” said Misty. “And for one so unused to resistance as
the Fire God, it was worse still. Vesta knew she and her love
would be in danger if she was found out. And so she
disguised herself in a mortal body, embodying herself in
each successive generation, trying to hide from the Fire God.
But despite having fallen in love with the other, she cannot
deny her pull, her connection to her twin. Vesta and Mars are
like two halves of a coin. They cannot exist without each
other. It's all written down in the book, you know...”
“The book!” I had almost forgotten. “But it's gone.
Those people – they stole it...” I cursed myself for not having
read the book earlier. Now it was gone – along with the
information it contained – and it was all my fault.
We were interrupted by Coach Matthews and Dr.
Newton rushing through the door. Dr. Newton came first.
“They're decent, Coach,” she called back, and Coach
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Matthews followed her.
“Is, uh, everything ok?” Coach Matthews looked
around. “I heard some commotion but didn't want to come
in without, uh, female company. In case what was going on
was just girl stuff.”
“Someone came in here,” I said. “Attacked me –
stole my...” I hesitated. “Stuff.”
“Attacked you?” A voice came from the doorway. It
was Antonio Cutter, leaning blithely against the door. “Did
you recognize them? Mind if I come in?”
I looked up in surprise. What was Antonio doing
here?
“No,” I shook my head. “They were wearing masks.
Three of them.”
“We should probably call the police...” Coach
Matthews looked nervous.
“Now, now,” Antonio said. “Do you really want
word getting out that some attacker got past campus
security?” He raised an eyebrow. “We wouldn't want that,
would we?”
“No,” Dr. Newton grumbled.
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“Listen, I'll notify the police chief – on the downlow.
He's an old friend of mine – dines at the hotel every week.”
“You're right,” Dr. Newton sighed.
“Listen – I'll take Mackenzy to the chief myself and
she can make a statement off-the-record. And then I'll get her
straight home before her mother starts to worry. I'm a parent
myself, Dr. Newton – I know what it's like to worry.”
Dr. Newton agreed, and with that – before I could
protest – Antonio Cutter led me straight away.
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Chapter 19
“Thanks for bringing me home,” I said to Antonio
as he escorted me into his shiny new convertible. “And – uh
– tell Chance I said ‘hi’. I didn't see him today at school. Is
he sick?”
“Heck, no!” Antonio was blithely unconcerned. “He
skipped today. Although he's been attending class more often
than I would have guessed. Perhaps you're a good influence
on him after all, Mackenzy.”
I looked up in surprise as I noticed that we were
parked in front of the hotel. Hadn't Antonio said that he was
going to bring me to the police office?
“Your mom can pick you up here,” Antonio said
quickly. “Since she's on duty.” We entered his office and
Antonio bade me sit in one of the elegant leather chairs
pushed up against the wall. He closed the door behind us.
“So, Miss Evers,” Antonio said, in a voice so like
Chance's that it made me sit up straight. “Tell me more about
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this mysterious book...”
I looked up at him in shock. “How did you...?”
Unless Chance had managed to change form, too?
Antonio started laughing. “Oh, Miss Evers, if you
could just see the look on your face.”
I flushed. “Chance?”
“Not quite – but if I wanted to be, I'm sure I could
take on that form. But I am not such a great god as he. I'm
but a minor entry in the pantheon – cursed with trying to
serve as guardian and mediator to fire and water alike.
Pilumnus is my name. And I believe you know my charges
already. The fire god – Mars. And the water god – Neptune.”
“Neptune! Varun is..”
“Of course, technically speaking, in their original
incarnations Mars and Neptune are a lot older than I. So
Chance uses that as an excuse to get out of his chores.
Speaking of...” Antonio looked up. Chance was coming
through the door.
“I'm so sorry!” Chance raced into the room,
enveloping me in his arms. “I should have been there to
protect you. I was afraid if people saw me near you, they'd
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start to suspect – who it was I thought you were. I thought
it'd be better if I stayed away.” He pulled me in for a kiss.
“Then it's true,” Antonio said. “You think she's Vesta.
Then what about the stones?”
“What stones?” I turned to Chance.
“Uh,” he said sheepishly. “I didn’t tell you. To
undergo the sacred test, to fulfill the prophecy – you'll need
the five hidden stones of Vesta. We've already found one.
The book. The real book – not the false one of Jana's.” His
voice faltered when he said her name. “We'll have to verify
them. I'm not going to risk any mistakes this time.” He
looked at me with worry in his eyes.
“I'll call my men on the other sites,” said Antonio.
“You know what they say in the hotel business, Miss Evers?
Location, location, location. And it just so happens I've been
scouting my locations precisely with Olympians in mind.”
“If Mac really is Vesta,” said Chance, “the stones
would come to her.” He turned to me. “They'd feel your
presence. These aren't ordinary stones. Dig a hole in the
middle of China and bury them there – it wouldn't matter.
They'd come to you if your power summoned them. And
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leave if you repelled them. Such is the way of the stones.
Like that book.”
“But the book's gone!” I cried. “My attackers – they
took it.”
Chance and Antonio looked at each other gravely.
“Whoever took your book must have tricked it into
thinking he was of Vesta's line,” Chance said. “And that
spells trouble for us. Whoever's powerful enough to do
this..”
“Would be powerful enough to use the book for his
own ends.”
“Or maybe the person who took it was the real
Vesta!” I said. “Maybe it's not me.”
Chance and Antonio looked concerned. “Who
knows?” Chance said. “But either way – we're
running out
of time. Things are getting serious here. We need Vesta back
if we want to stop the world from going under – only she can
summon the sacred flame to stop the Erosion. Whether that's
you – as I hope it is – or whether it's not.” Chance took my
hands.
As we touched, I felt the longing once again take
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hold. At once my body ached to be his queen, his love, his
bride – to be who he said I was. I wanted it to be true; I
wanted those visions, those callings, to be real. I wanted to
make him happy, to end his suffering, to share in his love.
“If you don't have the book,” said Antonio, “you
should be safe. Leave the sleuthing to us, Mac – we don't
want to drag you into this more than we already have. And
Mac?”
“Yes?”
“Tell nobody what you saw.”
And so I did what Chance and Antonio had said,
trying to forget about the book and Vesta and the prophecy
and magic. Part of me just wanted to run away – to focus on
school and on my upcoming swim tournament – to be
normal. Yet in Chance's absence I felt as if I were suffocating
for lack of him, as if I needed his strong, lithe body beside
me to be able to breathe.
I hadn't seen much of Varun lately; ever since I'd met
Chance by the Greek temple I felt that I wouldn't be able to
face Varun without confessing to him that something was
going on between me and Chance, and I couldn't bear the
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thought of seeing the pain in Varun's eyes.
So when Varun came up to me right before the swim
tournament, I greeted him with a mixture of happiness and
trepidation.
“It's been a while,” Varun said sadly, “I haven't heard
from you at all. You haven't been returning my calls.”
“Listen, Varun...” I sighed. How could I tell him that
I had done just what Jana had done – fallen for his cousin,
his rival? And yet I couldn't deny that I still had feelings for
Varun, too. I remembered our first kiss by the beach so
fondly; I craved Varun's gentle touch.
“No, you listen,” Varun took my hands. “I know
what's been going on between you and Chance. From the
moment I learned about the book I knew there was a chance
that you might be the real Vesta – and that there was a chance
that he'd try to take you away from me. I can't blame you –
Chance knows how to be irresistible to women.”
“I didn't know what to say to you,” I admitted. “I
loved the way things were going with us. I wanted them to
continue. But with all this talk about Vesta and my destiny
and my true love – suddenly everything else seems
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so...beside the point.”
“Look, Mac, just because Chance thinks you're his
goddess doesn't mean that you have to be.” Varun was
holding my hands more tightly now. “Look at us, Mac. You
can't deny that you feel something for me. Something strong.
Something real. I felt it when we kissed. And whatever
chemistry you have with... him...that doesn't mean you have
to let him have you. You don't have to give in. Whether or
not you're Vesta, you have a choice. And I know whatever
Chance is saying to you sounds seductive now, but it could
get you killed. And I don't want that.”
“But if I am Vesta, whatever that means...”
“Then you'll have to undergo a test. A test that's killed
many girls before. And even if you pass, even if you are
Vesta, that doesn't mean you have to go back to him. Chance
may be trying to convince you that it's your destiny – but
that's not true. Vesta's destiny is her own.”
“But what about saving the world? The Erosion?”
“She doesn't have to love Mars to do that,” Varun
said seriously.
“But why are you so attracted to me? Antonio Cutter
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told me that you're Neptune, god of water. What does a
water-god want with a fire-girl like me – if I am a fire girl?”
And then it hit me. I looked up in surprise. “Unless...”
“Unless what?”
“The seer told me that Vesta left Mars for another
suitor – someone else who loved her. Was that you, Varun?”
Varun looked uncomfortable. “It was a long time
ago...”
“Was it? The forbidden love that made Vesta leave
Mars and come to earth...that made her... me...disappear?”
“Yes,” Varun said sadly.
“But if they were both fire...”
“Opposites attract,” Varun began slowly. “Vesta and
I could not keep apart. She loved Mars, but she found her
destiny oppressive. She wanted to escape from the fate that
had been decided for her – she wanted to make her own
choice. She gave up some of her fire qualities and became
more like me, more like the sea. We swam together; we
watched the tide lapping on the shore together. We were so
close...”
“And you and she had a connection. A connection
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that maybe I felt too.” I shuddered at the recollection of our
first touch, like warm waves passing through me.
“Even if you're not Vesta,” whispered Varun, “I'm
falling for you. I was serious when I said that. I've been
avoiding you lately – not wanting to watch you give your
heart to Chance. To risk your life for the test. But I'm sick of
that. I want you, Mac Evers, goddess or no, and I want you
to want me too.”
Varun took my hand and led me into a private room,
locking the door before he held me tight against the door,
kissing me with such hunger and such passion, I was
moaning with need. “Oh Varun,” I said. “I do want you.”
“Really?” Varun asked. “I’ve fallen for you so much,
Mac, I’m crazy about you.”
I kissed him back as I slipped out of my dress.
Varun’s eyes opened wide as he took in my naked
body, appreciating everything he saw. “You’re so beautiful,
Mac.”
I pulled his shorts down and leaned into his body to
kiss him. “Make love to me, Varun. That’s how much I want
you.”
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Varun’s mouth smiled. “You don’t have to, Mac.”
“I want to, Varun,” I smiled back.
He kissed my mouth running his tongue against mine
before moving down my neck to lick my nipples. Before I
couldn’t take it any longer, his fingers reached down to rub
my throbbing nerves, working it until I was grinding against
his hand. “You’re so wet, Mac,” Varun licked his lips.
“Deliciously wet,” he growled.
“Now,” I whimpered.
“I won’t begrudge you anything, my love,” Varun
said gently before he plunged into me, thrusting in a gentle
rhythm before he fully let go, th
rusting faster and faster until
we both exploded. “Mac, you’re my goddess,” Varun
shouted. “I missed you so much!”
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Chapter 20
“Please,” Varun whispered, when we walked out of
the private room, and I was in my swim clothes, “Whatever
Chance asks you to do, don't take the test. Don't risk it. It's
too dangerous.”
I shook my head. “But I want to know who I am,” I
said. “Now that I know I could be Vesta, how could I live
with not knowing if I am or not? If the test is the only way
to prove it...and the only way to fix the Erosion, to stop
what's happening.”
But we were interrupted by the blowing of the horn.
The tournament was about to begin. Varun kissed me quickly
and then I headed out for the water.
The taste of his lips – at once salty and sweet –
remained upon my own as I dove, swan-like, into the water.
The feeling of the cool chlorine on my skin was exhilarating.
I could feel my skin, my body, my whole self responding to
the touch of the water. It felt so natural to push through the
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water, to feel the delicious wetness on my skin. Was this
what Varun had been talking about, I wondered? If Neptune
had influenced Vesta, if he had managed to give her qualities
of the sea as part of their romance, then was this another
sign...?
I looked up at Varun, who was staring at me from the
bleachers, love and longing in his eyes. If what he had said
was true, then was my love of the water another form of
proof that I was Vesta, after all? And if I was Vesta, did it
mean that Neptune, not Mars, was the one I had loved?