Sins of the Flesh (Half-Breed Series Book 2) (31 page)

“It’s about time, elf-girl. Your healing abilities finally manifested, but they’re not exactly speedy.” He gestured a hand along the length of my body. “I’ve never seen a demon repair damage while unconscious and with a high fever. It must be an elf thing. Damned inconvenient if you’re in the middle of battle or among enemies.”

“Damned inconvenient even among friends.” I looked down at my hands and arms. The blisters and swelling were gone. My skin looked sunburnt and was peeling. Not the most attractive look, but I’d take that over oozing blisters any day.

“You must have some natural resistance to fire,” Kai told me. “If that had been me on top of Pele, I would have had third-degree burns over my entire body.”

It was a sobering thought. I reached out and gripped her hand, the flesh on my palm smooth and ultra sensitive. “How long was I out?”

Irix grimaced. “Three days. I changed our flight.”

Crap. I needed to be back to school yesterday. And there was that other, little, matter. “Is Pele gone? She said she was leaving.”

Kai and Irix exchanged a look that sent worry deep into my gut.

“There are no more fires,” Kai said. “But I don’t think she’s left the island. Haleakala is smoking.”

The volcano — the one that hadn’t been active in hundreds of years.

“That’s not your problem,” Kai added. “She’s not burning down businesses. We live on an island with a volcano. This is her domain, and it’s a risk we take that any of the volcanoes on or around the islands could become active.”

True, but she’d said she was leaving. I frowned, trying to recall the conversation from the ritual on the beach. “Irix, what happens if you’re summoned and you can’t do what’s requested of you?”

“You don’t get to go back to Hel until you figure out a way to do it. And you can’t just ignore the command to go frolic around with the humans, either. Bad things happen, and the longer you go without performing the service, the worse luck you have.” He shrugged. “Humans aren’t all that creative, though, and it’s usually easy to satisfy the terms of the contract, either yourself or by trading favors with another demon who can do it.”

I nodded. “She’s stuck here. She accepted the pineapple, accepted the terms of the contract, but she can’t perform the service in return. She can’t heal the trees.”

“Wouldn’t that work to her benefit?” Kai asked. “Pele doesn’t want to go back to rest. If she can’t heal the orchard, she’d need to stay here indefinitely. That’s what she wants.”

Understanding dawned in Irix’s eyes. “If she’s at all like angels and demons, she can’t not perform the service. The longer it goes on, the more her luck fails. Bad things happen.”

“Bad things like sprinklers going off over your head. Like nearly being forcibly banished,” I commented.

“Like having your sister tackle you and put out your flames.” Kai shot a quick glance at Irix. “Like having a giant bird-man threaten you.”

“Exactly.” I sat up and went to swing my legs out of bed. It was then I realized why I was shivering so badly. I was naked, and the air conditioning had been turned to sub-arctic levels. Kai was actually wearing a sweatshirt and jeans.

My skin pebbled. Other things became hard enough to cut glass. “Why is it forty degrees in here?” I grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around myself.

“Because you were running a fever that would have boiled your brain had you been human.” Irix walked over and adjusted the thermostat. “We were worried, so we lowered the temperature. At one point, we even packed you in ice.”

“When the blisters went away, we figured the fever was your way of healing – like a souped-up metabolism or something.” Kai gave me a sheepish smile. “We still kept it cold in here, just in case.”

I stood, holding Kai’s shoulder for balance. “The only way we can get Pele to go back to rest is if she cures the orchard of blight, satisfying the terms of the contract. She can’t do it herself, and the longer this drags out, the worse things will get – for her, and thus for the humans on this island.”

Irix turned to me, a muscle twitching in his jaw. “Oh no. That’s not going to happen. I know what you’re thinking, and I won’t allow it.”

“What is she thinking?” Kai’s head turned back and forth between us. “What won’t you allow?”

My eyes met Irix’s. “The goddess can’t cure the pineapple trees, but
I
can.”

“No,” he snarled. “You can cure
one
tree, maybe two if you’ve built up your energy storage. You just used up a significant amount of your reserves healing yourself. Curing one tree almost brought you to your knees. Don’t make deals you can’t close on, Amber.”

“I can give you more energy.” Kai reached out to caress my shoulder.

“It won’t be enough.” Irix’s voice was calm but firm. “She’d need to tie every person on the island, and even then it would take her months to heal those trees. That’s too long.”

It was. “You’ve given me energy before,” I reminded Irix. “I don’t necessarily have to get it from sexual intercourse. You’ve given energy to me when we haven’t been having sex.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “But we were intimate. You need that bond, Amber. And I don’t want you having sex with that goddess. I don’t want you anywhere near that goddess. She got herself into this mess. She’ll just have to figure out a way to get herself out of it. Without us.”

“I agree with Irix,” Kai said. “Pele hasn’t done much to gain my sympathy, and neither has Hayworth. He took off the moment Pele arrived, abandoned us to deal with her alone. I don’t care what happens to him or his farm. Pele will survive. She’s a goddess. There’s no need to risk yourself further on her behalf.”

“Yes, she’ll survive,” I said. “But will Maui? You heard Irix; bad things are going to continue to happen to her. This is Pele. We know how well she deals with bad things. The volcano is already coming to life. Even if she doesn’t go back to burning down businesses and homes, how bad are things going to get if Haleakala starts spewing lava everywhere?”

Kai’s fingers tightened on my shoulder. “Bad. Things will get very, very bad.”

Chapter 26

I
rix fumed, his hands nearly crushing the BMW’s steering wheel. I watched him out of the corner of my eyes, trying to project harmony. And keep my mouth shut. I got the impression that one more word out of me and we were going to be driving to the airport, not Haleakala.

There had been a lot of shouting in the hotel room as I’d showered, dressed, and eaten three meals brought by room service. Kai, that traitor, had taken Irix’s side and had been just as loud in her arguments. At one point, Irix had brought out his usual threat of locking me in the bathroom.

Eventually I won him over. Sort of. He’d drive me, stay close enough to help if there was trouble, but far enough away that it wouldn’t seem like we were ganging up on Pele. I’d been informed several times that if I got myself killed or burned again, he’d never forgive me.

I wasn’t sure Kai would forgive either one of us. We’d both insisted she stay behind. The pineapples that had worked so well with the fire servants didn’t seem to do anything but piss Pele off. There wasn’t anything Kai could do to help, and she couldn’t defend herself if things went south. I didn’t like the idea of her out in the middle of nowhere, on top of a volcano that could erupt at the whim of a temperamental goddess.

Irix pulled into the parking area and nearly ripped the parking break from the floor of the car as he set it. Smoke curled from the peak ahead, and signs all over the parking area declared the spot temporarily closed due to volcanic activity. I hopped out and cast one last look back at Irix who stood with arms folded across his chest. Light flashed — he had reverted to his demon form, wings stretching out before folding tightly behind him. He was ready for trouble, but this was the second time he’d transformed himself. Add to that the explosions he’d produced across the island, and the angels had to have noticed. My heart sank, thinking that once again he’d need to dash back to Hel or face death.

I climbed up the rocky slope to the crater, shivering. Even with the noonday sun, it was chilly up here. The wind sweeping unhindered across the island didn’t help. But, oh man, the view. The valley below was thick with clouds, peaks rising above them. The sun was in a clear, deep-blue sky, the ocean merely a darker blue line on the horizon.

The Haleakala Crater reminded me of the Mars exhibit at the Air and Space Museum – all red pockmarked rocks and burnt-umber sand. The cinder cone was a huge dished-out section at the top of the crater, the rocks and sand streaked with orange, black, and white. I walked around the edge to the figure seated on a glistening, black chunk of lava.

“It’s beautiful up here. Not a drop of water in sight.” I sat on the lumpy ground, well aware my position was significantly below hers on the rock.

“That’s how I like it.”

I picked up a handful of orange, pebbly dirt and let it sift through my fingers. “I’m sorry for everything that has happened this week. The humans need you. Fire is their greatest tool. They never would have advanced to where they are without it. They need you just as much as they need me.”

She exhaled, a short and bitter laugh hitching the end of her breath. “I know. It was childish to let my anger and jealousy of you harm them and their endeavors. Unworthy of me, I’ll admit.”

That was a relief. I watched the low clouds imprisoned in the valley below. “So, do you want to return to your rest?”

She bent to pick up a rock, her black hair cascading in a curtain around her face. “I can’t. I’m trapped. I cannot cure that man’s pineapple trees. I’ve tried over and over, but the disease always returns.” Sitting back upright, she examined the rock, her face inscrutable. “Plants are not my strength. I was foolish to take the deal, but it has been so long since someone called to me for help. I wanted to help. And I wanted to walk this world again.”

There was sincerity to her voice, and sadness. There were millions of Pele tchotchkes on the island. Everyone had a Pele story to tell. They all revered her, but no one ever called on her. She was of the past, and I couldn’t blame her for wanting to be in the present. I wasn’t sure what to say in response.

The red rock in her hand softened, dripping from her fingers to the ground, where it sizzled as it hit. “I am sorry too. I get so jealous. The sailors, the surfers all call on you. You get to walk the world without sleep. And you always get the best of the men.” She nodded toward the valley. “He waits down there for you, your Irix. You, with all the power of the sea in your hands, and that demon would defend you with his life. If only I inspired such devotion in my lovers.”

“What about Kamapua’a?” I remembered Kai’s story of the goddess’s tumultuous affair with the hog-god.

Cleo snorted. “He’s a pig.”

I shrugged. “Aren’t they all?”

There was shocked silence, and then she laughed. The woman was beautiful when she laughed, all the husky passion more powerful than even my pheromones. She was truly a goddess.

“Yes, they are. Did you know I turned him down when he proposed? We had a huge battle, and when I saw his power, I couldn’t help but be attracted to him in spite of his ugly appearance.” Cleo glanced sideways at me and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “He becomes beautiful when he’s overcome by lust. And his prowess more than makes up for his boorish nature.”

“That’s love.” I smiled up at her, feeling the odd bond we shared wipe away the fear and awe her presence usually inspired. “Why don’t you go find him? I’ll bet if you strut by his home just out of reach, he’ll come running.”

A dreamy look came into her eyes before she shook her head. “Someday, when I awake again. The farmer’s trees are beyond my abilities, but I’m unable to leave until I complete the contract.”

“What if the trees were cured? Would you go back to your rest then?”

She sighed. “I don’t want to, but I will if that’s the bargain I must make. I’ll admit failure and return to my rest before you swallow the sun with your vast sea. Again.”

I glanced up at the bright orb. “Swallowed every night only to be reborn each morning. There’s no getting rid of you, sister, or the sun,” I teased.

She shocked me by reaching out and grabbing my hand, her face averted. Her fingers were soft and smooth, warm like a blanket fresh from the dryer. “I miss you. Even if you are annoyingly cute and cheerful. And wet.”

I’d had the idea since before we drove here, but had been afraid to voice it. I was too nice sometimes, a Pollyanna when it came to forgetting people’s dark sides. I did it with Irix, and I didn’t want to do it with Cleo. Irix I trusted. I wasn’t sure I could trust this goddess, but I had to follow my instincts.

“If I heal the farmer’s grove for you, will that satisfy the terms of your contract? Will you be able to stay then? I won’t demand that you leave.”

She started, her hand suddenly hot in mine. “Why would you do that for me?”

I shrugged. “Maybe I like having you around. Sometimes. Not all the time. And not when you’re trying to steal my man away from me or burn my hair off.”

She chuckled. “So, peace?”

“Peace.” I gave her the hippy hand signal for said word. “Do we need to call in Lono to witness this or something? Vow it before a Ti plant?”

“Ugh, no. I can’t stand that guy. He’s no fun at all. I’ll just take your word for it.”

We stood, and I hesitated before turning toward her. “Got a bit of a dilemma, though. I don’t have enough energy to heal his tree grove. Do you think you could give me a boost?”

Hopefully I wouldn’t have to get intimate with her to share her energy.

She wrinkled her face. “How do you not have enough energy? What did you do, drown a small continent last night?”

I tried to look casual. “I’m just coming off hurricane season, and there was that big storm in Southeast Asia. I’m a bit low.”

Cleo’s sigh dripped with exasperation. “Okay, just don’t grab my breasts or anything. Hands only. I’m not getting it on with you.”

I bit my lip. “Damn. Are you sure? Because it might be fun.”

I felt a sharp elbow in my ribs, hard enough to nearly knock me off the crater. “Pervert.”