Sins of the Flesh (Half-Breed Series Book 2) (30 page)

“We’re here.” The box Irix sat on the sand made a clink noise, and he took a few steps back from my intertwining lines of chalk dust. “That thing makes my skin crawl, and you haven’t even charged it yet.”

How many times had he been summoned into something like this? Forced to do another’s bidding before he could return to Hel? I know he hated being anywhere near a summoning/banishing circle. The one Kristin had done in New Orleans when we’d needed to return to Hel had been fake, but this was the real deal. I paused and flexed my fingers, looking at the symbols and thinking of the power in these lines of chalk. To bring a being of spirit here, to trap them into service, to force them to return. I only hoped that Pele was subject to the same rules that governed angels and demons. And that I was doing this right.

Kai stepped carefully over the glowing lines to hand me items from the box. We’d needed something to symbolize Maui, to consecrate and purify, to protect the island. Kai had picked out a kukui lei, the brown nuts polished to high gloss. We also needed something to symbolize Pele – a statue carved from Acacia Koa wood that had been harvested from the island. And, just in case, three crates of pineapples. If Pele showed up in a bad mood, we wanted to be prepared.

I positioned the statue and the lei. Then Kai left the circle while I drew emblems for the planetary powers at each angle of the hexagram.

Once the circle was complete, we stood, watching and waiting. At the very last moment, Hayworth arrived. The man stood on the opposite side of the circle from Irix with his hands shoved deep into his pockets. I had no idea what I could have the farmer do in this ritual. It was so complex, I wasn’t even sure I would get it right.

“Pineapple?”

He handed it to me, leaning across the lines of chalk so as to not smudge them. I cringed as I took the fruit, feeling the blackened flesh where the fungus had taken hold. I placed it in the center where the sun symbol was, right next to the kukui lei and the Pele statue, to represent the initial offering.

I took a deep breath and brought the energy up to the surface of my skin. Facing east, I held my left arm across my body and pointed upward with my right, feeling like I belonged on the magician Tarot card.

“Yod. Nun. Resh. Yod.”

I recited the zodiac signs from the hexagram along with their attributes, glancing occasionally at the paper that was barely legible in the glow of the chalk. My arms went out to my sides to form a cross with my body to make the sign of Osiris. Then I reversed with my left arm up and my right across my body, switching the paper to the other hand. Now I felt less like a Tarot card and more like a traffic cop.

More arm movements, this time with some head rolls to accompany the zodiac invocations. I bit back a laugh, desperately wanting to shout out “Y. M. C. A.”.

Finished with the calisthenics, I drew a hexagram in the air at each direction with my index finger. Kristin had said a wand worked best, but since I didn’t happen to have one of those handy, my finger would evidently suffice.

Done. The energy still hummed through me, but it felt... flat. Was it supposed to feel like this? I sent a trickle of energy out around the circle. The symbols and lines lit up a brilliant white. The banishing space was charged and secure. Now it was time to work some magic. Squinting to read the unfamiliar language of the incantation, I traced the main hexagram with my finger and stooped to pick up the kukui lei, saying the words to protect the island. For the second time, I charged the main hexagram then picked up the Pele statue.

“Don’t you dare.”

My spine stiffened. She was here, and I had nearly completed the ritual. Should I continue and hope I’d done it right, or break the circle and negotiate? From the corner of my eye, I saw Irix ready to defend me from any attack. Kai moved around to guard my back, a pineapple in each hand. Hayworth had disappeared. Coward.

And Pele – Cleo, because she would always be Cleo in my mind. The goddess stood to the east, where the element of fire lay in this ritual, her black hair lifting in the light breeze, her dark eyes an eerie orange glow. People had suffered because of her. Businesses and homes were lost. The fireman and the child from last night were still in hospital, along with others from her fiery tantrum. She’d rebuffed my overtures of peace, refused to back down. There was no indication in her stance that she’d yield. I should complete the ritual and send her back to rest.

Then I thought of her exiled from her family, the men who had spurned her, the love affair that hadn’t had a happy ending. She was such a bitch, but there was something about Cleo that I liked, that I admired, even. And no one should be forced to sleep forever. I hated that people did this sort of thing to Irix. Here I was doing the same thing – forcing another to bend to my will.

I made the only decision I could and put down the Pele statue, reciting the words to end the ritual and breaking the circle with a swipe of my foot.

“You’re burning the island,” I told Cleo, my voice soft. “Last night, a child and a firefighter almost died. Why would you destroy that which belongs to you? Why would you punish the people who adore you?”

The goddess raised her chin, her eyes haughty. “I
am
the islands. Their bones are mine, of fire and lava. My fire and lava which you claim destroy the land are, for me, tools of creation.”

I remembered my discussion with Kai, my pang of sympathy for how lonely the goddess must have been, chased from her home and exiled with only her fire and lava to keep her company.

“They are
part
of creation. It takes more than just fire.” I waved my hand at the elemental symbols. “Air to breathe life into your flame. Earth combined with fire to create the lava that becomes these fertile fields. And water to balance your nature and allow your creation to bloom, to sustain life.”

She stared at me, her expression unreadable.

“Alone you are only flame. With some of your siblings, you are three of four elements. Three still leaves you on a barren rock in the middle of the ocean. You need water. And you need these humans who have made your name known across the world. Don’t hurt them, or you may find yourself lonely and empty once more.”

She took a deep breath, the light in her eyes flickering. “Last night was in self-defense. You attacked me, and I did what I had to. It’s your fault if two humans nearly died. You fired the first shot.”

“The sprinklers are a human device. They are afraid of fire burning their buildings, so they put them in for protection. If you hadn’t melted the doorknob and smoked up the bathroom, they wouldn’t have gone off.”

It was the wrong thing to say. Cleo glared, her eyes flaring to red-orange. I cut her off before she could protest.

“They’re afraid of water too. They build dams and levees to control it. They live in terror of flash floods and hurricane surges. Humans want balance.”

She tilted her head. “You have killed too. With your floods and storms, many sailors have perished in your depths. Many humans have been swept to their deaths in your waters.”

I clenched my jaw. I was Namaka in her eyes. I was the goddess of the sea. Water covered over seventy percent of the Earth. No wonder she was jealous. And water had killed far more in the history of the world than fire ever had. “Yes. I’m not proud of the lives and property that water has destroyed over the ages, but none of it was deliberate.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I defended myself.”

“And what about the other fires?”

“The humans have crowded every inch of me. I cannot even stretch my limbs without burning down someone’s dwelling or business. The damage was minimal.”

I bit my tongue before I told her that my definition of minimal was quite different than hers.

“I won’t force you back, but instead will ask you. Please return to your rest.”

I saw the smoke rise from her, the flames twisting along her hands and legs. “You, who cover the earth with your body, you, who have never rested ask
me
to return to slumber? How dare you.”

Damn. I probably should have kept going with the ritual and the statue. This was going downhill fast.

“You were awakened to consider a request, a plea. You accepted that request – to cure an orchard of blight in return for the offering of a pineapple. Service has been rendered, and now it is time for you to sleep again.”

“No,” she snarled. “I won’t. It was a lousy pineapple, and I’m not done curing the orchard.”

“Then you’ve broken faith.” I saw Irix move closer, his eyes golden in contrast to Cleo’s fiery red. “You accepted the offering. Your servant last night accepted additional offerings. The price has been paid, but the service you rendered wasn’t sufficient.”

“Neither was the offering.” Fire leapt up her body, covering it like a second skin. “I wasn’t offered a pineapple; I was offered the entire island.”

I winced. Just as Kai had said; Cleo had clearly understood the fine print of the verbal contract just as well as a demon would. “You already have the island – you
are
the island. You’ve received your payment. Time to deliver your promised service and return to your rest.”

It was another long shot, treating this goddess as if she had been a demon brought over in a summoning circle. It was the best I could do. None of us had any experience dealing with a being of Pele’s level.

The glow of fire covered her entire body like a brilliant garment and illuminated the beach. I felt the heat on my skin, saw Irix and Kai take their positions. Cleo’s eyes met mine, and for an instant I saw behind the fire, saw beyond the narcissistic arrogance, to someone who was trapped. Trapped by what? Instinctively, I reached out my hand, wincing at the intense heat on my palm. Cleo looked down at my hand, her gaze traveling up my arm to my face.

“No.” The words were hushed, but the actions following weren’t. Cleo became flame. Then she exploded into a ball of fire.

I yelped, throwing myself backward into the sand. Irix sprang forward to shield me. Kai backed away, pitching pineapples. She had a good aim. One of the fruit hit Cleo in her fiery shoulder, another smacked into her hip.

The goddess staggered, swatting at the burning fruit as she turned to face Kai.

“Get back!” I shouted. Kai didn’t retreat. Spinning once, she avoided the flame Pele shot at her and snatched two more pineapples out of the box, throwing them as she moved away. This time her fruit missed the mark.

“Kai!”

Irix made a grab for me, but I evaded him, sprinting to get between Kai and the angry fire goddess. Kai stumbled. Realizing I’d never make it, I did the first stupid thing that came into my head – I tackled Cleo.

We both went down. The stench of burning clothing, burning flesh, burning hair filled the air. Irix grabbed me and pulled, but Cleo had twisted around, and she held me tight. I burned, and then something clicked inside me, like a puzzle piece snapping into place. Steam surrounded us. Someone screamed; I wasn’t sure if it was me or Cleo.

Everything died. Extinguished. An inferno one moment, steam the next, then nothing but a beautiful woman sprawled in the sand, my face inches from hers. Cleo’s mouth opened into an ‘o’ of astonishment before snapping down into a tight line of fury. Had the fire protection worked, or had something else put out the fire?

The ground rumbled. Irix finally managed to yank me free of the goddess. He wrapped his arms around me and threw me clear. I came down about twenty feet away, rolling as I landed.

“She’s done nothing to harm you,” Irix snarled. “From the first day you saw her, you’ve verbally and physically attacked her, and now this? She tries to resolve this situation peacefully, and once again you lash out.”

I tried to pull myself into a sitting position. Kai had run to my side and helped, murmuring gently and hovering over me as if she didn’t quite want to touch me. I looked down and saw why. My hands and arms were swollen and red with huge blisters. My shirt was black and fused to my skin in places. Staring at the burns I began to feel them — pain like a hundred knives cutting into flesh.

Through the blur of agony, I saw Irix change. No longer was he the beautiful sex demon in human form. Leathery wings sprang from his back. His face elongated into a sharp beak, and scales covered what had once been skin. His fingers extended, curving into sharp ten-inch talons.

Cleo’s eyes widened, the fire rising around her as she backed away. “Like Kamapua’a. You are no mortal.”

“No, I’m not.” Irix snapped his beak. “And if you hurt her again, I’ll hunt you down and kill you.”

The fire intensified. She hesitated, as if uncertain whether to attack Irix or not, then raised her hands. The flames vanished. I blinked, fighting back the pain and trying to see in the sudden dark.

Cleo waved her arm at me, her voice shaky. “I despise you. Are you trying to put me away somewhere so you can claim everything as yours?” She gestured to Irix. “The best men are yours. Most of the planet is yours. You kill more than I do, yet the humans frolic on your surface. They see you as sweet and loving, a life-giving mother, where I am restrained and locked away. You wish me gone, don’t you?”

“I don’t.” I gasped, trying to speak through the agony that had spread over every inch of my body.

“You do.”

She took a few steps toward me, and Irix locked himself in place, raising his hands in warning.

“Fine.” Cleo’s eyes glowed red-orange. “I won’t suffer the indignity of being chased across the ocean again. You want this island? Take it.”

In a blaze of flame that extended nearly twenty feet high, the goddess was gone.

I screamed when Irix picked me up to carry me. He’d transformed back into his human form, but I was in too much agony to do more than vaguely notice. I remember Kai crying, insisting I had to go to the hospital. I remember Irix putting me in the tub and gently washing the sand from my burns. I remember him peeling the melted shirt from my skin. Thankfully that was the last thing I remembered before I slipped into blissful unconsciousness.

Chapter 25

I
awoke on sweat-drenched sheets. Heat radiated from my skin, and I shivered uncontrollably, my teeth chattering. Kai bent over me, a cool, damp washcloth in her hand. Irix sat on the bed stroking my hand. He looked rough. His hair was rumpled and dirty, dark stubble along his jaw and chin. He smiled when he saw me awake. It only deepened the tired lines around his mouth and eyes.