03] ES) Firestorm (13 page)

There was nothing here for me to physically fight; I needed to outsmart these Salamanders within their own home. And I wasn’t sure I could do it.

Peta trotted at my side and I glanced down at her. The sight of her white tipped tail made me smile despite the hard situation at hand. I realized I had the perfect helper if she would open to me. Living in the Pit as a familiar, surely she would have an idea as to how to save Ash? I just didn’t know if she would trust me enough to help me. Her antagonism was not exactly subtle even though she was softening toward me.

The three of us remained silent as we emerged from the downward tunnel into the main living quarters cavern. Cactus walked me back to Smoke and Brand’s home. He stopped in front of the open door, leaning against the edge of it. “I’d take you with me, but people might talk.” He gave me a slow wink.

I snorted, opened my mouth to respond when his eyes widened as he looked over my shoulder. Damn these Salamanders and their penchant for creeping around in complete silence. I arched an eyebrow at Cactus and he gave a slight shake of his head. So whoever was behind me was no one I wanted to talk to apparently. Keeping my back to whomever, I spoke to them. “Sneaking up on people? Isn’t that below you?”

A sharp intake of breath and then a fist jammed between my shoulder blades, throwing me forward. I spun as I fell, catching a glimpse of bright red curls.

Maggie glared down at me. “I’m here to make sure you do as told. The queen thinks Brand is going soft.”

“Or maybe you asked for this duty? A reason to push me around?” I stood and didn’t bother to hide my anger. With that emotion running through me I could truly tap into the earth’s power and feel as though I could hold my own against any other elemental. I let the anger burn bright, feeding it with the fact Maggie had been the first to stand against me and Ash when we’d come for help.

“If you’d helped us when we asked, instead of fighting us, we could have been in and out of the Pit without anyone even knowing, Maggie. None of this would have happened. No one would have died.”

Maggie glared at me. “If you had taken our advice and left, no one would have died.”

“My whole family would have!” I shouted at her, unable to contain the words in any sort of moderation.

She snorted. “And the world would have been a better place for that.”

Several gasps around us told me I was not the only one who thought she’d gone too far.

Maggie’s hands glowed a soft red as she called on her element and I watched closely as a tiny flame burst into life over the top of her hand. She rolled it over her knuckles, the fire dancing across her skin. “You’re going to die here, Larkspur. It won’t matter that your father is the king of the Rim, or that you’re an Ender. It won’t matter that you saved the queen.”

Cactus stepped around me and the colors that swirled up his arms blended green and red twinning about one another as the tiny rocks at our feet slowly rose in the air. “Do not threaten her, Maggie.”

Maggie laughed and put her hands on her hips, the fire dancing from her hands to race around the edge of her body. “Being a tad over dramatic, aren’t we? I’m not killing her. Yet.”

I lifted a hand to Cactus, ignoring her. “Thanks for showing me around.”

I turned my back on Maggie. She snarled and I dodged to the right as she crashed toward me, the flash of black leathers my only warning. She clipped my shoulder, spinning me into the house and against a long pair of legs. I looked up into Smoke’s eyes.

“Lark, what is going on?”

“Maggie’s lost it,” I spit out.

Maggie grabbed my ankles and dragged me out of the house before I could say anything else.

“Maggie, stop this!” Smoke cried out.

Maggie tightened her grip on me and picked up speed. “No, I lost rank because of her and I’m about to fix that.”

I had no idea what she was talking about, but I suspected that “fixing” things would mean a beating for me, or worse.

She had me out of the house, and was running backward as she dragged me along the open ground. The rough footing tore at my vest and pants, tearing at the few spots where my skin hit. And then I realized where she was dragging me.

The river of lava.

Oh, that was not happening. I jerked both legs at the same time, snapping my knees against my chest, which pulled Maggie toward me, her orange eyes wide with surprise.

I tipped my head forward as she inadvertently launched up my body, and her forehead crashed into the top of mine. The reverberation from the impact shuddered down my spine and my shoulder gave a distant twinge, but I was no longer playing nice. I rolled with Maggie as her eyes widened with shock. Grabbing her by the shoulders as I straddled her waist, I thumped her hard into the ground, anger slicing through any hesitation I might have had.

Two more times I slammed her into the ground, her head bouncing with enough force that I almost felt bad. Almost.

I let her go and stood, breathing hard so it took me a moment to realize there was an eerie silence in the air. Around me were other fire elementals, their strange eyes in every shade of orange and yellow imaginable staring at me with nothing short of fear.

A few of them clung to their powers, the red lines licking up their arms indicating how close they were to blasting me. I slowly lifted my hands, feeling the weight of every move I made. “She started it.”

“You are a guest here,” Smoke’s voice was soft but with an edge. A rebuke if I ever heard it.

“And if she’d gotten me to the lava flow? Would any of you have stopped her?” Many of the Salamanders looked away, their eyes dropping. “That’s what I thought. Don’t expect that I won’t defend myself.”

The crowd dispersed, although more than one Salamander looked over their shoulder at me. The dislike reminded me strongly of Peta’s own distaste for me and apparently all Terralings.

Turning, I looked for Cactus. He was walking away, too, taking an unconscious Maggie with him. And he didn’t look back. A sigh slipped out of me and Smoke touched my shoulder gently.

“You are right, you have to defend yourself, but in front of so many people? That will not help you or your friend.” She shook her head, her eyes sorrowful. “Come, eat.”

Peta gave a meow and I instinctively held out my arms. She leapt up and worked her way up to my shoulder. “You should have smashed her at least twice more.”

I startled and looked up at the cat. “You aren’t going to tell me I should have let her pulverize me?”

She snorted and shook her head. “No, showing weakness in the Pit will get you killed. The others fear you now; they saw you beat Maggie’s ass in a matter of seconds. That is why she came at you. You’ve beaten her once and she lost standing, losing to a mere Dirt Girl. Now you’ve beaten her a second time. She will look for another way to get at you. So we will have to be extra vigilant.”

I wished I could believe Peta that I’d done the right thing. Maybe in some ways I had, but I knew one thing for sure. No matter what happened, Maggie and I would never be friends.

rand came for the family meal, and though he said nothing to me about the fight with Maggie, I felt his disappointment. He and Smoke shared more than one glance across the table and their three boys were remarkably quiet. Until the plates were cleared.

Tinder shifted in his seat. “Did you really beat up Maggie?”

I looked from the boy to his father.

Brand leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Go ahead. Tell him.”

Peta looked up from my lap, her green eyes unblinking. “Yes, tell him.”

Putting my hands on the table edge, I nodded.

“Yes, I knocked her out. She came at me from behind.” Maybe that would be enough.

Tinder’s eyes widened and his tiny mouth opened into a perfect
O
. “And you
still
beat her?”

Peta stretched, her back arching into a perfect curve as she stepped off my lap and onto the table. “Terralings are not to brag. They’re humble, unlike you lizards.”

Brand seemed to be holding back a smile as Peta crossed the table. Smoke glowered but only for a second.

Peta pushed up onto her back two legs, front paws stretched into the air. “Magma leapt at her from behind and the Dirt Girl sensed it coming. She rolled with Magma tackling her. And
BAM
! the first punch smashed its target.” The cat dropped to all fours and rolled over then popped into the air to land flat on her belly. Apparently my familiar was a natural born storyteller.

“What happened next?” Tinder whispered, his tiny fists pressed under his chin.

Peta dragged herself across the table with her front claws, weaving one way and then the other. “Magma raced backward, dragging the Terraling by her ankles. Right to the lava flow.”

Tinder gasped and his fists shook with suppressed emotion. “What then?”

Peta slithered on her belly until she was hidden behind one of the dishes. “It looked as though Magma would throw her into the lava flow. But the Terraling used her legs, jerking Magma off balance, cracking their heads against one another.”

“And because she is a Terraling her skull is harder than Magma’s?” Tinder asked and Peta rolled onto her back and jabbed her four feet into the air as if in a four-legged boxing match.

“Exactly.” She paused and rolled into attack position, her body wiggling with suppressed movement. “The Dirt Girl grabbed Magma by the shoulders and slammed her against the ground three times.” Peta’s head bobbed up and down. “
BAM BAM BAM
. Each time harder than the last until she was satisfied Magma would not be coming around anytime soon.” At the last second, Peta leapt toward Tinder, landing right in front of his face. He squealed and laughed and she sat and looked over her shoulder at me.

I shook my head. “You see, that is not much at all.”

Stryker grinned at me. “That’s huge. Maggie is a tough Ender. Dad always says so, and now you’ve beaten her twice. I’d watch my back. She’ll want another go at you.” His words echoing what Peta had already cautioned.

“Wonderful,” I muttered.

Smoke clapped her hands. “Boys, off to bed. The bell will ring soon.” The three boys scrambled up and I was surprised as each of them went by me, touching two fingers to the top of their opposite hand, and then repeating the gesture to the top of mine.

I waited until they were gone deeper into the house before I lifted an eyebrow at Brand. “What was that about?”

“They were showing their respect for you. Touching your hand like that is acknowledging that you have more power than them.” His eyes dropped and he let out a yawn. “Don’t expect it from me, though.”

I laughed but it was forced. I let Smoke lead me to a simply made-up room that looked comfortable. The bed was bigger than the one I had in our Enders Barracks, the thin, pale-blue silk sheets beckoning. My body craved sleep despite the rest I’d had at Cactus’s place.

Thanking Smoke, I waited for her to leave before I sat on the edge of the bed. Peta sat at my feet, reached up with her front paws and dug them into the bed then stretched her back. She cracked a yawn. “The bell is coming.”

“I need to stay awake,” I said, looking straight into the light tube that lit my room. By the color of the light, I figured time was closing on the night. “I have to find a way to get Ash out of here and I only have two days left.”