The Burning Princess

by Matt Larkin

  Namaka needed time to recover her strength, to rest. “We need to bring water with us,” she said.

  Kana frowned. “We had water. We drank it.”

  “Not for drinking.” Whether that guardian was man, god, demon, or something in between, she would find a way to stop it.

  “Lots of water in the menehune village,” Kam said. “You could rest there, too.”

  The thought of spending the night among those spirits did not appeal to her in the least. But she saw no other choice.

  Molowa allowed them to rest in his village, or rather, beneath it. Below the level of the rock platforms rested the lake, beside which they found an alcove in one of the platforms. It was a small cave within the cave and it reminded Namaka of home. The home she’d had with Mo-O and never fully appreciated.

  The reminder left her both glad and mournful, and unwilling to submit to the turbulent roar of her mixed emotions. Instead, she watched Kana and Kamapua’a. The pair had fallen into unlikely rapport. Kam seemed happy anyone was laughing at his foolery and Kana … perhaps he was just glad for a distraction from his fate.

  Namaka could not forget though. Could not let go of what Kana had promised Molowa. No matter what happened, Kana’s life was over. And that thought pulsed like a physical pain in her chest. One more person lost forever.

  One more person she had failed to save.

  Day VI

  23

  The menehune tunnels delved deep into the Earth, bringing Pele closer and closer to the fires at its heart. Despite the ever-present gloom, it was almost comforting, like returning to the volcano. Light was not a problem. It took no effort to stoke the fires of her rage, and thus, the fires of her hair. She couldn’t see far, but she could see.

  Far enough to realize something up ahead moved in the shadows, shifting around her. Nothing human had such subtlety, not down here.

  “I see you,” she said. “Come out and face me, Earth spirits.”

  At first, nothing happened. Then, slowly, a form seemed to melt out of the rock wall ahead, advancing on her with spear leveled.

  “You are trespassing.”

  “So was the other woman who came this way.”

  At that, the menehune chuckled. Or at least she thought it was a chuckle.

  “Take me where you took her.”

  The spirit moved close enough to nearly brush her face with its spear. “You do not give orders down here, human.”

  Pele had not come this far to be intimidated by these diminutive freaks. Had not faced down a Nightmarcher to be driven away by menehune. She snatched the spear shaft in the same moment she rushed volcanic heat through her hand. The wooden shaft crackled and turned to ash where her hand met it, its tip clattering to the floor. The menehune stared at it in shock, giving her enough time to step forward and grab the spirit by its hair, letting flames engulf her other hand.

  “Not exactly human. I am the Princess of Flame and you will obey my command, or I will fill your tunnels with a thousand tons of molten rock. I will burn your hiding holes into nothing but cinders and a whisper of a memory!”

  Eyes wide, the menehune squirmed in her grasp, finally managing to wiggle free. Pele let him go. She was fairly certain she’d made her point. Now that her anger had flared, however, the ground had already begun to tremble. Lava tubes ran beneath these tunnels, and the rock beneath them cracked, letting out a hint of sulfuric vapors.

  “You’d suffocate, too.” Though the spirit’s voice proved hard to read, the creature didn’t sound convinced of his own claim.

  “Take me to the Sea Princess. Now.”

  Grumbling, the menehune turned and trod down the tunnel. She followed it a long way until they reached a stone-carved village complete with underground lake and even waterfalls. The place had an otherworldly beauty she almost regretted threatening to destroy. These beings were entitled to their home as much as anyone, and merely wanted to defend it. But Namaka was here, and the Sea Princess had caused all this. Pele needed to deal with her once and for all, and get the magic Waters back to Milohai.

  She pointed at the lake beneath the rocks. “I don’t suppose those are the magic healing waters?”

  “The Waters of Life?” The menehune snorted. “Sadly, no.”

  Pele looked down into the lake. No. That would have been too easy. Bubbles rose from the water, accompanied an instant later by a ripple. Was there something down there? Before she could even consider, a spout of water erupted from the lake, carrying Namaka—with a mermaid tail!—eye level with Pele. The other Princess jerked her arms outward and a wave followed them, slamming into Pele and the menehune, sending both toppling off the rocks and into the lake below.

  The impact dazed her, gave her no time to hold her breath, and she sucked down a mouthful of water. Gasping, spinning underwater, she twisted to see the mermaid—or a shadow of her—swim around her at impossible speeds. Pele scrambled upward, unable to think of anything but air. Something hit her from behind, knocking her out of the water and against a rock. She caught a single breath before plunging back into the lake.

  And then the mermaid was upon her, shoving her against the same rock, eyes glaring with hatred. “Everywhere you go the land shakes in agony.”

  Pele ignited flames in both hands and reached for the Sea Princess. Namaka grabbed her forearms and bent Pele’s arms into the water with impossible strength, extinguishing her fires in a curtain of steam. Pele shrieked in pain at the other woman’s grip. She would not be cowed by this Princess, be she human, mermaid, or anything else. Physical strength meant nothing to women with their powers.

  “The land feels my indignation at your crimes,” she spat back. “You allowed plague to spread among Sawaiki. You awakened a taniwha. You violated sacred tabus by trespassing on my island. You are a blight upon our people!”

  She fed mana into the lava tubes running beneath this lake, splitting its floor and sending currents of steam and ash into the waters. The water’s temperature rose so rapidly the other Princess screamed, releasing Pele and using a wave to fling herself up on land. Pele smirked, luxuriating in the steaming waters a moment before following Namaka onto the lowest rock.

  The woman had resumed her human form, though her flesh had turned red from the scalding. Pele stood, flung water from her hand, and reignited her fires. Namaka pushed herself onto hands and knees and glared at Pele. Good. Let her see it coming.

  “We’re not fighting on the seashore this time, Princess.” Pele stalked over and kicked Namaka in the ribs, sending the other woman into a crumpled heap. Namaka rolled over onto her back, groaning.

  “Now you’re going to give me these Waters of Life. And if you are very lucky, I’m going to let you go back to your own island. And stay there.”

  “You want water?” Namaka twisted her wrist, yanking it toward herself.

  The sound of rushing air offered the only warning Pele had, but it was enough to tell her to fling herself prone. A spear of water launched itself through the air where she had stood and impacted a boulder with enough force to crack it. Pele rolled over, glaring. She was going to burn this bitch.

  Namaka had risen and surrounded herself with swirling waters intersecting in a lattice like a fisherman’s net—one spinning so quickly as to be a near blur. Pele hesitated. No fire she threw would cut through that kind of protection. Which meant mere flame would not be enough in this case. She needed something bigger.

  She smacked her fists to the ground, calling up magma. The whole cavern shook, splitting apart as sulfuric fumes filled it, followed a heartbeat later by dozens of bursts of lava. Spurts of it fell from above, igniting countless small fires around the village. The menehune ran screaming, but she’d attend to them later. Right now, she had a more dangerous foe ahead of her.

  “Stop!” someone shouted from above. One of the menehune, probably.

  Pele didn’t spare the man a glance. “Surrender!”

  A ripple passed through the ground like a wave, flinging shards of r
ock as it passed between them. Pele barely had the time to leap aside as the ripple broke through the spot where she had stood. The menehune were helping the Sea Princess. A jet of water shot out at her as she rose. Pele reached out to a volcanic geyser and yanked the lava in front of her, blocking the water. Lava turned to rock and water was vaporized. Without waiting to see Namaka’s next move, Pele summoned more lava, spinning it around her in a ring. She couldn’t quite mimic Namaka’s lattice, but she called up another ring, and another, until she had five hula-like rings encircling her, shielding her from Namaka’s spears of water.

  Namaka still stood with her own net of protection. She whipped her arms forward, sending dual arcs of water from her net streaming at Pele. Pele sent a ring spiraling outward to meet those arcs, the two forces obliterating each other. Pele countered by flinging one of her lava rings at Namaka, who doused it with an arc of her own.

  Another rock wave split them apart and Pele stumbled, almost toppling backward. “You can’t win down here!”

  Namaka spun, her net transforming into trails of water streaming from both hands like whips that stretched for twenty paces each. She jerked her arms around in wide arcs, her water whips crashing into boulder after boulder, destroying each as Pele dashed about, seeking cover.

  The sheer force of that much water would cut through Pele’s rings, so she abandoned them, running for her life. She dove to the ground, turning as she did so, and sent an arc of lava cascading toward Namaka. The arc impacted one of the water whips, severing it. As the ground continued to rumble and crack under the menehune’s desperate defense, Namaka stumbled and fell face forward.

  Pele used the opportunity to dash behind another boulder, hopefully out of the Sea Princess’s awareness. She slumped down, panting. Damn. She hadn’t expected there to be so much water underground. But she could not surrender. Not now. She had to get the sacred Waters back to her brother, to her people. And if she had to kill Namaka and half this menehune village to do it, she would. She pressed her palms to the ground. A few streams of lava wasn’t enough to give her the advantage here. She needed a river of it. She’d flood this whole cavern, fill in Namaka’s lake, and crush the mermaid.

  The Earth responded to her call, rumbling first, then splitting apart in a crevice a dozen paces long and half as wide. Lava pooled up from it—she lacked the strength remaining to call forth a true eruption—pitching down both sides, one of which would pour into that Milu-damned lake.

  Pele rose just in time to see a boar almost as big as she was barrel into her legs. The creature sent her toppling end-over-end and she smacked her head against the ground. She lay there, dazed a moment. What was a boar doing down here? Before she could rise, the boar paused, grunting as its form shifted, becoming human. The man stalked over to stand just above her.

  She’d seen this wereboar somewhere before.

  “Now look here,” the kupua said. “I can’t have my sister and my lover killing each other. Not gonna work.” He held up a hand as if that alone ought to forestall any further argument. The man was an imbecile.

  Of course. She’d met him with that foreign friend of Namaka’s. Hadn’t she burned her palm prints into his chest? He bore no signs of the marks …

  And sister? Was this Namaka’s brother? And what did he mean, lover?

  Pele groaned, struggling to stand but finding she had no strength left.

  “Oh shit,” the wereboar said, and knelt over her. “Princess? My love? I didn’t hurt you too much, right? Don’t worry—I am a gentle lover.”

  “Touch me and I’ll burn out your throat.”

  “Shit. You don’t want to do that. My throat is one of my best features. Lets me talk, eat, burp. Sing. You should hear me sing. Like a thrush on Haleakala, singing up the sun.”

  Namaka approached now, pain clear in her weary steps. Pele groaned, managed to roll onto her side. It allowed her the chance to see the rocks above. A dozen menehune stood there now, watching them. Each had hands raised, perhaps ready to bury them all in an avalanche of stone should they cause any more damage to the village.

  “Is there any reason I shouldn’t just kill you?” Namaka asked.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” the wereboar said, interposing himself between Pele and the other Princess. “This is my woman. Get your own, Fish Girl.”

  “I am not your woman.”

  “She’s not your woman,” Namaka said, with a shrug, and tried to step around him.

  The wereboar pushed her back. “No. Stop it. Would you listen to me for one moment? Just one, all right? Just this one time. I mean until next time. Now look.” He held up a hand, then pointed a finger at the ground. “How about we all just sit down and talk.” With that, he plopped down beside Pele and folded his legs beneath him.

  Another man followed behind Namaka, his gaze wary as it fell upon Pele, but clearly deferring to the Sea Princess’s judgment. Pele didn’t have anything to talk about with these people, but since she couldn’t win a fight against them all—not now—she was in no position to argue. Trying not to moan with the effort, she pushed herself to sit, as well.

  Finally Namaka sat too, and the man beside her followed, but did not sit. He stood there, glaring down at Pele.

  “Who are you?”

  “The brother of a man you burned,” Namaka answered for the man. Sadly, that didn’t narrow it down nearly as much as Pele might have wished it would. “One more person hurt by your rage.”

  Pele sneered. “And did you not wipe out whole villages with your wrath, girl? What of all those dead because of your fight with the taniwha? And then there are the victims of your foreign friend’s plague. Shall we tally the deaths on each of our consciences? I don’t think it would favor you, Sea Princess.”

  “Well, great,” the wereboar said. “This is already an improvement from slinging elemental forces of destruction. Now if we could just get the disdain and spite out of you too, maybe we could accomplish something. Like love. And feasting. Love first. Namaka, you and Kana can use the left side of camp, Pele and I will take the right.”

  “We are not lovers, wereboar,” Pele said.

  “Nor are we,” Namaka added.

  Kana glanced up at the menehune above. “I have no stomach to sit and talk. I’ll smooth things over with Molowa. The menehune are obviously not happy about the battle here.”

  Pele arched an eyebrow. “How is he going to smooth anything over with those spirits?”

  Namaka shook her head, a forlorn look on her face.

  The wereboar raised a hand as Kana slipped away. “You’re both wrong.” He looked at Pele. “And you seem to have forgotten my name. I’m Kamapua’a. Sometimes called Kam. Sometimes called Kamapua’a the Mighty.”

  Namaka snorted. “No one calls you that.”

  “Yeah, well, I do. Sometimes.”

  The Sea Princess shook her head, then turned to Pele. “In deference to my brother’s obvious obsession, I’m giving you the chance to walk away.”

  “So he is your brother.”

  “Not by blood, but yes.” Not by blood. What? She had simply chosen him as a brother. Family not by birth, but by circumstance. Choice … Namaka had made a choice and changed her destiny.

  This girl looked so young sitting like this. When she wasn’t dropping oceans on your head, anyway. “I can’t leave. You have something I need.”

  “The Waters of Life? We don’t even have them yet. The Place of Darkness is protected by some kind of demons. And when we do get it, we need it for ourselves. My people, my mother, Kana’s brother—their lives depend on it.”

  Pele frowned. “As does my brother’s.” She hadn’t anticipated Namaka failing to acquire the Waters. The Sea Princess seemed so powerful Pele had assumed she could take whatever she wanted. “What demons? What does that mean?”

  Namaka sighed. “The Place of Darkness is ruled by some kind of blood-wielding kupua and his bird-man monster. I was … underprepared when I first found them.”

  “And there’s
fire there,” Kamapua’a said. “You told me that. Fire and lava and shit.”

  “Yes.”

  The wereboar ran a hand through his unruly hair. “So, uh, maybe having a Princess who can control fire might be useful. Shit, Namaka, don’t make me think of everything. It’s tough having to be the smartest guy in the cave.”

  Pele folded her arms. A blood-wielding demon kupua. She knew what it sounded like, though she desperately hoped she was wrong. In fact, she’d hoped she’d already killed Ku-Aha-Ilo. A vain hope, perhaps, given she’d already suspected he had other escape routes. This Place of Darkness sounded like a nightmare for a Sea Princess, but if it was some kind of volcanic wasteland, Pele would be right at home. Still, if it was Ku-Aha-Ilo, and if he had some bird monster at his command, she’d likely need all the help she could get. Another Princess and a wereboar could make powerful allies.

  “You want me to work with her?” Namaka demanded.

  Kamapua’a shrugged. “This is her island.”

  Pele sighed. The wereboar was right—their best chance was together. “It is my island. And that’s why you’re going to follow my lead. You three deal with that bird monster. I’ll handle this blood-demon you’re so afraid of.” Probably not afraid enough. Not as afraid as she was.

  Namaka balked, perhaps not liking the idea of taking orders from anyone else. Finally though, the Sea Princess nodded.

  24

  Kana remained in Molowa’s hut for a long time. Namaka stood outside, part of her longing to go in, to try to explain. They were lucky none of the menehune’s human hosts died in the fighting. Nevertheless, Pele had rendered the lake undrinkable for the immediate future, not to mention starting fires all across the village. If the menehune were irate with the damage Namaka had done, they’d be furious with Pele.