She looked down at the sizable bulge tenting his cargo pants.
“Want me to help you with that, ku’uipo?” she asked, snuggling up to him. A sense of something deeper than lust shot through her as the endearment passed her lips. She’d never stayed in one place too long, never gotten really close to another person. Especially a mortal.
“Ku’uipo, huh? I like hearing you call me sweetheart. So tell me, how does a demi-goddess handle relationships? Can you ever, you know, become mortal, I mean if you wanted to…” He raked a hand through his hair in obvious frustration. “I’m making a mess of this.”
Kalama’s heart squeezed at his comment. She was falling for Jack There was no avoiding it. “Jack.” She said his name so softly she almost didn’t hear her own voice.
“I’m sorry for bringing it up but,” he stopped and sighed, taking a pause before continuing his thought, “you’ve become kind of important to me and I’d like to know if you feel the same and if you get to stay.”
“I don’t know, Jack. I really don’t know.” She let her words trail off, not having an answer for him.
“The next time I make love to you, I’d like to do it in a bed.” His laughter rang out.
“That will be a new experience for us.”
She liked how he called the little house in Volcano home, as if it really was theirs to share. She pressed a kiss against his neck before sliding back into her seat. Fishing around at her feet, she located her shorts and began the strange dance of wiggling into them.
“Seriously, close your eyes for a bit, baby. I’ll wake you when we hit Volcano.”
She contemplated their situation for a few moments, staring into the inky darkness as if it held the answer to her questions. Losing Jack had become as big a fear as losing her home and her mother to her aunt’s destructive appetites.
Kalama didn’t know how she was going to accomplish it, but she was determined to keep all three in her life for a very long time. She simply had to figure out how to do it. The strain of the last couple days coupled with the delicious orgasm Jack had given her finally took their toll and she nodded off to sleep, the tiki piece and Jack by her side.
Chapter Twelve
The sun was barely up by the time they pulled into Volcano. Jack had wanted to check on HVO to make sure everything had run smoothly in his absence, especially since discovering that Nani had been the cause of all the trouble. He’d dropped Kalama off at the top of the crater so she could speak with Pele. If she could get her stubborn mother out of hiding.
When Kalama reached the top of the caldera rim she noticed a little girl, no more than ten, seated on a big rock, a small black dog resting at her feet.
Kalama looked around her and was relieved to see the caldera deserted save for the little girl and her pet.
“We found the last piece,” Kalama said, approaching the little girl.
The child turned her head and spared a glance over her shoulder at Kalama, her eyes bright in the early morning sun.
“Good, daughter. Now we can destroy it before it destroys me,” the child said, rising to her feet. As she walked toward Kalama her body shifted and stretched until Pele’s adult form stood before her.
Kalama pulled the piece from her pocket and handed it to her mother.
Pele took it and turned it over in her hand a few times, as if memorizing each curve and each carving. “Stand back.”
Kalama took a few steps back, separating them just enough for her mother to do what must be done.
Slowing, Pele began to chant, the sound rolling over the crisp morning air until it reached a fever pitch. Kalama added her own voice to the mix. Pele slammed a palm against the earth, splitting a patch of ground between them. Magma rose instantly in the spot, a glowing fissure cracking the hardened ground. When the crack was wide enough and thick lava flowed close enough to the surface, Pele dropped the piece of wood into the magma. Kalama watched as the koa sizzled and caught fire. In what felt like an instant the tiki piece was gone, swallowed by the fiery evidence of her mother’s anger.
With a mighty sweep of her hands, Pele closed the seam in the earth between their bodies.
Kalama met her mother’s gaze. “Hawaii is safe. You’re safe.”
“For now. Your aunt and I have been locked in battle since the beginning of time. This will not stop her, but we did manage to slow her down,” Pele said as she stared down into her face, her expression intense. “You love him. The scientist,” Pele said laying a hand against her cheek.
Kalama weighed her words carefully, fully aware of her mother’s thoughts on love. The goddess wasn’t known for her fidelity or her luck with members of the opposite sex.
“Yes, but I can’t have him. He’s mortal. I’m not,” Kalama finally said, heaving a sigh.
“I loved a mortal once. Do not make the same mistakes I did. Call to your uncle Kane. There is a way.”
Kalama stared out over the caldera, the smell of sulfur tickling her nose. She had no idea how Jack truly felt about her.
Kalama held out the piece to Pele, she wanted to see the thing destroyed in the fiery pit of lava.
“Isn’t this sweet? Mother and daughter together at last.”
Namakaokaha’i walked up the pathway toward the caldera, dragging Jack behind her. His hands were tied in front of him. Blood trickled down one side of his face and his clothes were torn and smeared with blood.
Kalama rushed forward only to be stopped by the strong hand of her mother on her arm.
“What did you do to him?” Kalama hissed at her aunt. She tugged at her mother’s grip, trying to break free but Pele was a goddess and much more powerful.
“Give me the carving or I kill him.” Namakaokaha’i pushed him forward and delivered a kick to the backs of his knees, sending Jack sprawling into the dirt.
Kalama pulled harder in an effort to loose herself. She needed to get to him, make sure he was okay. “You’re too late. We’ve already destroyed the damn thing.”
“You fools,” the voice hissed, snakelike and liquid. Pele’s sister oozed across the black lava, stalking toward them. “I may not be able to destroy you, sister, but I can kill your child and her lover.”
Jack looked up at her, his jaw set hard. Kalama watched as he shook his head with the barest of movements. Finally breaking free of her mother’s grasp, Kalama darted past her aunt and straight to Jack. She knew the battle that was coming and she needed him to understand everything. There was no way to keep him safe without fighting back.
Kalama helped him to his feet and clasped her arms around him in a fierce hug. “I love you,” she whispered against his chest.
“I love you too.” He lifted her chin with a fingertip. She looked into his eyes and almost lost herself in the dark depths. He brushed a kiss over her lips. “Now, go kick her ass.”
She felt herself smile and some of the tension left her body. She was a fire guardian. She was no powerless mortal, but a being crafted to protect the volcano. Meeting his gaze once more, she nodded and pulled herself from his arms.
“You threatened my mother. You threatened my home. You hurt my love. Now you will pay.”
“You will bleed, guardian and then Hawaii will fall.” Namakaokaha’i human form began to shift. Water rose up, forming a body. Long limbs and strong curves, silver hair and piercing eyes emerged from the glistening fluid. Water that had pooled in the ravines and crevices of the lava field after the heavy rain from the night before began to take shape, forming around her body, turning her liquid.
Thrusting her hands in front of her body, Namakaokaha’i sent waves of water crashing at Kalama and her mother. Pele threw up her hands in defense, blocking the wall of water. The rushing liquid pummeled Kalama’s body, shoving her back across the rock. She held her ground, her muscles screaming in protest. Mustering all the power she had, Kalama pushed back at the wall of water. The earth rumbled beneath the goddesses’ feet. Namakaokaha’i reared back as the ground rolled, pitching her off kilter.
Kalama seized the advantage.
“Mother, now!” Kalama shouted over the roar. Pele swept her hands out in a powerful gesture and ripped a seam in the earth beneath her sister’s feet. Namakaokaha’i screeched in anger and pain when the sizzling magma poured up and touched her watery form. Steam hissed in the air. She jumped to one side of the chasm, putting some distance between herself and the rapid flow of lava.
“Herd her toward the lava. It will force her to take human form,” Pele said, her voice strong.
Kalama dropped to her knees. She let loose with a mighty war cry and smashed both fists against the ground. Anger, thick and strong, filled her and took possession. The earth erupted, spewing lava in every direction. Namakaokaha’i ceased her assault and dodged the ever-growing rivers. Twin columns of fire and rock spun around Namakaokaha’i, chasing her in an eternal battle. There was nowhere for her to run, except back to the sea.
Pele stood, stalking toward her sister. Her eyes flashed silver, and her hair was no longer a shiny black. The tresses grew in length and flowed down into the lava and became part of the mountain. She blazed with crimson fire.
“I will bury you at the bottom of the sea so you can never hurt my islands or my daughter again.” Pele’s voice roared and hissed as if pulled from the center of the caldera. Namakaokaha’i stumbled in her haste to the water’s edge and landed on her backside, attempting to stop her fall with a free hand.
The power of the mountain and her mother flowed through her, filling her with a strength she’d never experienced before.
She commanded the lava to lick at Namakaokaha’i feet. The viscous material began to coat the exposed flesh of the sea goddess. Steam hissed from where the lava ate at Namakaokaha’i human flesh. The goddess screamed in agony. Kalama knew if they could trap Namakaokaha’i in human form within the lava, they would trap the goddess herself. Drawing power from the caldera and her mother, Kalama forced the lava faster.
The lava roared around Namakaokaha’i, covering every inch of bronzed flesh, until only the goddess’s eyes remained visible.
“Please,” Namakaokaha’i begged.
“You will never threaten me or my child again.” Pele knelt near the lump of charred black ground that was once her sister. “You forced me to do this. I never wanted to fight you,” Pele whispered against the rock.
Kalama watched as Pele rose from her knees and calmly closed the last remaining section of lava. Soothing the raging lava, Pele slowed the flow around her. Beginning a low chant, Pele commanded the ground to shake, and sent the form that was once Namakaokaha’i into the deep river of lava. She watched the shape sink deeper and deeper. When the fire goddess was finally satisfied, she slowed the river, and closed the gaping earth until only a minor fissure remained.
Now that the danger had passed Kalama turned her attention to Jack. He had wisely kept a distance from them as they’d battled Namakaokaha’i.
“I’m not even going to ask what just happened. I’m just going to accept it,” he said, coming stand next to her and wrapping an arm around her waist.
“Jack, this is my mother Pele, the goddess of fire.”
Pele had returned to her statuesque form, her hair once again a thick black, and her eyes back to the soulless ebony.
“Pleased to meet you,” Jack said, holding out his free hand as a peace offering. Kalama smiled to herself when she noticed the slight shaking in the gesture.
Pele laid a palm against his cheek. “Look after my island. Stop believing in only science. There is so much more here in Hawaii.”
“I will,” he said with a smile.
“Take care of my daughter. She loves you, you know. I’ll admit you aren’t so bad, for a mortal.”
Jack looked down at her and Kalama couldn’t help but smile. He leaned down and brushed her lips with his, sending a shiver down her body.
“Thank—” Jack cut off when he realized Pele was no longer there. “Where’d she go?”
“She does that. If you plan on having me stick around you’ll have to get used to Pele coming and going whenever she likes,” she said, turning into his embrace and wrapping her arms around his neck.
“What say we move you into my house?” Jack leaned down and captured her lips in a soft kiss. “We still haven’t made love in a proper bed yet.”
“Sounds good to me, Dr. Jack. But there is one more thing I need to do before that can happen.”
He cocked his head to one side and looked at her with an amused expression.
Sliding out of his arms, she took his hand and led him to the edge of the caldera. She squeezed his fingers and took a deep breath.
“Kane, Chief of all, please answer my request. Make me mortal so that I may spend my days with this man,” she looked over to Jack and swallowed, “whom I love.”
Jack’s smile widened even more and his blue eyes glittered with emotion.
“But does he love you too, ohana keiki?”
Kalama laughed and turned around to see her uncle Kane standing behind them, his arms crossed over his massive chest. His thick black hair was pulled back into a ponytail that trailed down his back. He flicked his gaze to Jack and then back to her, raising an eyebrow in amusement.
“A mortal? And a haole one at that.” He shook his head and held out his arms for a hug. She let go of Jack’s hand and slipped into her uncle’s bone-crushing hug.
“Yes, uncle, a haole. But you always told me that aloha comes from everywhere and in every form. He is my aloha.”
He lifted her chin up with his finger and searched her face, his own expression serious.
“Be sure, Kalama, if I make you mortal I cannot change you back. You will grow old with him and you will die like every other mortal. There will be no Vaka Nui for you.”
She looked over her shoulder at Jack and nodded, certain of her choice.
“I understand.”
“Sir, I can tell you that I love her more then I thought I was capable of loving someone.” Jack’s voice cut in. He walked toward them and placed a hand on her shoulder, meeting Kane’s gaze.
“Yes, I think you do, boy. Very well, if my girl wishes to be mortal then so be it. Make the offering in the morning. I will speak with Ku and Lono. By sundown tomorrow you will be mortal.” Kane looked down into her face and grinned. “And name your firstborn after me, manini.”
Kane let her go and moved to shake hands with Jack. He held the hand a moment before he nodded and walked away.
Once they were alone, Kalama threw herself at Jack with a laugh. He caught her and whirled her around in his arms, his own laughter mixing with hers in the island air.
“Oh Jack…”
Jack’s demanding kiss cut off any other words she might have said. She melted into him and warmth consumed her. Kalama knew that with this man by her side she was finally home. In Hawaii.
About Courtney Sheets
Courtney is a multi-published author and journalist. She has been in love with the written word since she was old enough to crawl across the kitchen floor and write bad poetry to her mother on rainy days. When not working on her own worlds, she enjoys reading, acting and directing. A self-proclaimed history pusher and political junkie, Courtney runs a blog dedicated to the naughty side of American history. She enjoys traveling to Hollywood and San Diego, as well as trips to Hawaii. She lives in Las Vegas with her dog, Koa. In addition to historical romance, Courtney also writes fantasy. She loves to hear from her readers.
Courtney welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email addresses on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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Daughter of Fire
ISBN 9781419945786
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Daughter of Fire Copyright © 2013 Courtney Sheets
Edited by Elizabeth London
Cover design by Fiona Jayde
Cover photography by Bryan Toro, Vita Knorzhevska/Shutterstock.com
Electronic book publication June 2013
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