Chapter Twenty

 

The sun broke through my window early the next morning. Thrilled for good weather on the ride to the volcano, I dressed quickly. I entered the kitchen and spotted a row of canned plum jellies lining the counter. Yes! She finished! I thought excitedly, grabbing a box of cereal from the cabinet. But the kitchen seemed oddly silent. I poured my milk and sat at the table, alone. Eager to visit Pele right away, I scooped huge spoonfuls into my mouth and cleaned the dishes in record time, before leaving the kitchen to search for Lulu. I couldn’t find her anywhere—not in the house or out in the yard. Even her freshly washed Firebird sat patiently in the driveway, as if she had mysteriously disappeared.

Maybe she went over to a neighbor’s house and would come home soon, I guessed, knowing Lulu never ventured far from home without her car. Only I couldn’t figure out why she had left right then? Didn’t she remember she promised to take me to Pele after she’d finished her canning?

I decided to wait by the car, impatiently drumming my fingers along its shiny orange paint, watching for her return.

Long minutes passed with no sign of Lulu. The warm sun beat upon my face and shoulders while I waited. And waited. When my legs tired from holding the same position for so long, I sat on the step of her front porch and let my head drop into my hands.

Had I unintentionally done something to upset Auntie Lulu? Why else would she break her promise and vanish without a word?

I heard a car engine coast up the driveway and roll to a stop behind the Firebird. I glanced up, expecting to see Lulu. Only it was Liam’s blue Tiburon. I let my head plop back into my palms. Discouragement overwhelmed the recent change in my feelings toward him.

“Hey, Jordan. You busy today?” he asked. He shut off the engine and climbed from the car.

“Lulu was supposed to take me somewhere, but I can’t figure out where she went. You didn’t happen to see her, did you?” I muttered without lifting my head.

“Actually, that’s why I’m here,” he admitted.

I raised my head, my brow pinching together. “You are?”

Liam nodded. “Marvin had to go to the hospital late last night, so Gerard swung by first thing this morning to pick up Lulu to visit him.”

My fingers covered my surprised mouth. “Is Marvin okay?”

“Yeah. He’ll be fine. The doctors said he had appendicitis, but they caught it before it burst.”

“That’s a relief,” I replied. Though I didn’t know what would actually happen to him if his appendix burst, it sounded unpleasant.

“Anyway, since the store’s closed,” Liam continued, “and Lulu expects she’ll be at the hospital for most of the day, she asked me to stop by here and tell you.”

“Oh,” I said, not bothering to hide my disappointment. I knew I shouldn’t be upset. Lulu didn’t plan for Marvin to get sick. Still I had thought today would bring me one step closer to completing my training.

“So, I was wondering,” Liam added, sitting next to me on the stoop, “if you’d like to get away for a bit. I’m planning on hanging out at the beach for the day, and you’re welcome to join me.”

“Are you sure?” I was surprised he wouldn’t want to hang out with one of his other friends on his day off.

“Absolutely.”

“O-kay,” I said, somewhat unconvinced. “But I’ll need to grab a few things. Can you give me a couple of minutes?”

When Liam nodded, I leapt from my spot and darted into the house, quickly throwing on my black string bikini and shorts and grabbing a towel. If I hurried now, Lulu might be home by the time I returned and take me to the volcano later that afternoon. “All set,” I announced. I bounded down the steps and slipped into the passenger’s side.

As Liam backed out the driveway, I figured I’d make the best of my predicament and prepare for my next visit to Pele. While he drove about two miles down the road from Lulu’s, I gazed out the open car window, the wind streaming through my hair while I rehearsed my conversation with the goddess in my head.

“Your arms are looking better,” Liam noticed, his voice breaking the silence.

I gazed at the collection of long red cuts, newly covered in thin scabs. Honestly, I thought they looked worse than yesterday, but maybe he was only trying to be nice. “Yeah…and so is your nose.”

“It’s still pretty sore, but it’s getting there.” He laughed. “We make quite the pair, huh?”

I blinked, unable to utter a response, my mind fixating on the word “pair.” Did he enjoy spending time with me or did he intend “pair” to refer to a couple of injured klutzes that drew attention away from the other?

Regardless, I had little time to ponder his meaning before we pulled up to a quiet beach shaded by tall, sweeping palms. Unlike the coarse black sand of the beach across the street from Lulu’s house, this one reminded me of the contrasting colors of salt and pepper, only in grains the size of pebbles. The entire length of beach consisted of small porous lava rocks interspersed with chunks of coral, rolled and tumbled smooth. Although the two types appeared separate and distinct—one made from a superheated rock spit from inside the earth and slowly cooled, the other formed by living creatures in the sea—here they harmoniously joined to form this solitary stretch of beach. I knew from experience that fire and water didn’t belong together, yet in a surprising way, this beach seemed to make it work.

Liam tossed his towel and shirt on a large rock and sprinted across the black and white beach toward the sea. “You coming in?” he asked and splashed into the shallow water. The sunlight glinted off his bronze skin and accentuated the highlights in his hair.

I shook my head. “I’m good.” Though my feelings toward Hydros had changed since I’d discovered more about her past life as the Irish girl, Shannon, I still hesitated in entering her watery realm. What if Gaia and Skye had already discovered a new Water Elemental? Wouldn’t my contact with the ocean lead her directly to my spot? Would it even matter if they found me, now that my own powers had increased? Unsure of the answers, I made a mental note to ask Pele when I saw her tomorrow.

In the meantime, I decided to sit in a safe location of flattened lava rock with my feet tucked beneath me, careful not to let them get wet, just as a precaution. From my perch, I watched the activity of schools of tiny fish stranded in the tide pools, warily darting in one direction then another. Crabs traced the water’s edge, scampering over lava rocks in a sideways motion. Corrugated shells shaped like conical hats clung tightly to the rocks to prevent the waves from carrying them out to sea.

I wiped a trickle of sweat from my brow, my skin growing warm from soaking up the sunshine. I looked out at Liam swimming happily back and forth, wishing I could cool off, too. If only I wasn’t scared of the water.

Soon Liam paused to shake the water from his hair. A wide smile plastered across his face as he called, “Seriously, Jordan, you should come in. The water’s great.”

I stood, my entire body thirsting for a refreshing chance at the water. But logic and reason prevailed. “I can’t swim,” I admitted shyly, hoping my reason sounded convincing.

“You don’t have to. See?” When he stood up, the water reached just above his waist.

“I dunno,” I said, forcing my feet to stand their ground while sweat pooled across my forehead.

“Oh, come on. It’s nice. Really.” And to prove to me that he was right, he waded out of the water and up the beach. He stood before me, water dripping from his hair and shorts, and extended one hand.

I gazed at his hand, remembering how only yesterday I had longed for another chance to hold it. Despite my concern of entering the water, I reluctantly accepted.

Liam gave a pleased smile. He gripped my shaking hand securely and led me into the shallows.

I had to admit my first few steps seemed calm and relaxed. But as I waded in past my waist, I grew jittery, my heart racing with fear. He led me out past his original spot where the water soon touched my shoulders. A small wave washed over me and panic gripped my throat, remembering Shannon’s tsunami that drowned Atlantis. Water rushed into my mouth. I struggled for a breath, coughing and sputtering on the salty sea.

“You doing okay?” Liam asked.

“Sorry, just a few too many close calls in the ocean,” I said, recalling my near drowning in Atlantis. I mopped the stringy hair from my face, certain the new Water Elemental had already found me, if she even existed.

“Relax, I’ve got you,” he said and slipped a comforting arm around my waist. When my breathing slowed and my rapid pulse subsided, Liam released his grip and cupped both hands near his mouth. “Try this,” he suggested and blew into the water to create a huge bubble contained within his palms.

“How are you doing that?” I sputtered, my eyes wide with surprise that the bubble held its form underwater.

Liam shrugged. “It’s no big deal. Can’t everyone?”

I opened my mouth to declare, No, I don’t think so, but paused instead. Fearful of Hydros’s power detecting my presence, I had spent so little time in the ocean that I actually didn’t know the answer to his question. Perhaps Liam was right and this bubble wasn’t as difficult to accomplish as I had thought.

“Well, go ahead. Look inside,” he suggested.

I shot him a skeptical glance.

“I mean it. I’ve got you.” And just to ease my nerves, he balanced the bubble between his hand and one of mine, sliding his free arm around my waist once more. Surprisingly, it felt much easier to relax with him near, holding me close. I pressed my face against the bubble, providing a viewing window into the underwater world of the reef.

Looking through the bubble, I saw a latticed pattern of refracted sunlight dance across the rippled surface of the wave-swept sandy floor. A wide array of colorful fish darted through the clear water…some masked like bandits, others striped like convicts. Flashes of bright orange, yellow, and turquoise scooted past, belonging to a pair of fish painted in harlequin colors. An unusual grayish-blue fish possessed a horn that protruded from the middle of its skull like a mythical unicorn.

I pointed from one creature to another, unable to believe all I saw. “Unbelievable,” I breathed, lifting my head from beneath the water.

Liam shook the water from his hair. “So…still wish you stayed on shore?”

I surprised even myself when I exclaimed, “No!”

An amused smile crossed his face before I dipped my face into his suspended bubble again, amazed by the beauty of the underwater world. A world I’d never have experienced if it wasn’t for his patience to help me overcome my seemingly irrational fear.

When we finally waded back toward shore, I cupped my hands, trying to blow a viewing bubble like Liam’s. But all I managed to create was a flurry of small bubbles that quickly dissipated rather than fusing into a single entity like his.

“Y’know, Liam,” I mentioned, abandoning my efforts. “Not everyone can do what you did.”

He dismissed my comment with a casual shrug. “It just takes practice.”

Yeah, I thought, or I must be doing something wrong. But before I could test a different technique, I heard a sharp bark. A few feet away, I spotted a white dog crouched on the beach, her eyes and ears trained on me.

“Kea,” I exclaimed, leaving the water to greet my friend. “What are you doing here?”

She jumped up from her spot and trotted toward us, her tail wagging excitedly.

“Hi, girl,” Liam said and patted the top of her head. Her mouth flopped open in what appeared a content grin.

Satisfied with her daily dose of affection, Kea leapt ahead, charging into the sea to frolic in the waves and chomping her jaws at the spray that kicked up in her path. She straggled from the surf and shook herself off, sending droplets in every direction. She bounded across the sand, knocking her wet body into my leg when she passed, tipping me off balance. “Kea!” I scolded, bumping into Liam. On instinct, he slid his arms around my waist to catch me from falling.

The blush rose high into my cheeks. “Sorry about that,” I apologized and righted my feet beneath me once more. “She’s normally not so playful.”

“I don’t mind,” he said. The way his radiantly blue eyes looked at me in a deep, intent gaze made my breath catch inside my throat. All of a sudden, I realized he hadn’t removed his arms from my waist. Stranger yet, I really didn’t want him to. I thought of his closeness when we washed Lulu’s car. His chest pressed against my back as he manipulated my sponge across the surface of the car. I searched for something to say, something to guarantee he wouldn’t release me. Not yet, at least.

“You know,” I whispered… The words stirred up strong feelings of emotion and longing while plans of a possible visit to Pele that afternoon fled my mind. “I’m actually glad Lulu was busy today. And that you swung by to get me,” I added, hoping he’d realize my intent.

“Me, too,” Liam said in a low voice, like he didn’t trust himself to say anything more.

Overcome by the moment, I leaned forward, rising onto my tiptoes and tilting my head backward, ready to dare a kiss. A very small part of me warned against my action since Liam didn’t have a clue about my true identity—but with a little amount of luck, I could keep things that way. And as far as I could tell, he liked me, too. Why else would he have gone out of his way to help me?

I gazed into his eyes with an unexpected stirring inside, realizing how much things had changed. Time slowed as I closed the distance between us, everything in my body telling me that this felt right.

Suddenly, Liam’s expression froze. He studied me with confusion. And in that particular moment, he appeared torn, his face wrought with conflict.

I hesitated, baffled and somewhat hurt at the same time. Wasn’t he the one who’d shown initial interest in me? Hadn’t he instigated our entire friendship?

Then it hit me. Maybe he only wanted friendship, nothing more. I felt stupid for misreading his expression, assuming the times he’d leaned close to me across the counter at Lipoa’s were only to speak to me on the same level. And the time he’d held my hand and pressed himself close to my back was only to prevent me from leaving streaks on Lulu’s car. Nothing more.

Disappointed by these realizations, I slowly sunk onto my heels. “I should probably get going,” I muttered, wondering if I remembered the way home to spare Liam from having to give me a ride.

I turned to leave when Liam grabbed my hand and spun me toward him. But before I could analyze his intentions further, he pulled me into a fast embrace and his lips met mine.