Chapter Twenty-Eight

 

I gasped from the shock of what I had just witnessed and from the exertion of racing across uneven terrain. In an instant, I completely forgot about my desire to distance myself far from the other Elementals as I gawked at Auntie Lulu.

“What the…! But how’d you…?” I sputtered, unable to form a coherent thought as this new information bombarded my senses. I waved my hands from the spot where the dog had been to where Lulu now stood, as solid and permanent as myself.

“Haven’t you heard the legends?” Auntie Lulu asked simply.

I opened my mouth to speak and then shut it again without uttering a word.

She shook her head, disappointed I hadn’t made the connection between her and the white stray who’d followed me essentially everywhere I went since my arrival on the island.

I blinked again, things suddenly clearing within my mind. Never once did the stray appear at the same time as the withered old woman. How could they have coexisted when they were one and the same? I finally understood how Kea had made it to the volcano shortly after Lulu dropped me off. The dog hadn’t hitched a ride in a pickup like I’d thought, but still, I didn’t understand why she cared. I decided there must be something else she intentionally hid from me.

“Legends? What legends?” I asked, forgetting about Liam for a moment while I demanded an explanation.

But instead of a response, Auntie Lulu reverted into her misty vapor trail and encircled me twice before transforming into a concrete being. I expected the dog to reappear when the mist coalesced once more.

I easily recognized the vapor’s new form, though it definitely wasn’t Kea. Instead, a beautiful young maiden with long flowing tresses stood before me. Her eyes flashed like molten lava. I gaped at the form of the powerful goddess, Pele.

“I don’t believe it,” I breathed. “All this time, it’s been you!” In all the days I’d spent in Hawaii, Pele had never let me wander far on my own, had she? Instead, she’d watched and guided my every move, as the stray Kea, the old Auntie Lulu, or the striking young goddess herself.

“One of the benefits of being a goddess. My Essence can take on many forms, just as the Hawaiian legends describe.”

“So why didn’t you tell me before? I can’t believe it was you who stole my sleeping bag and made me sleep on the hard lava. You who followed me everywhere. Why, you even licked my face!” My chest heaved, infuriated with her deception. “I don’t get it? Why all the secrets? Why didn’t you trust me?”

“You had to learn the truth when you were ready,” Pele replied in a calm, clear voice.

“Oh, so I could find out this way instead? In a twisted web of lies! All those chores, those trips to Lipoa’s Hardware Store, having him check up on me when you were visiting Marvin in the hospital…they were just a way to get me close to Liam, weren’t they? Why bother? So he could break my heart? Thanks a bunch. Thanks a whole heap.”

My face boiled with anger. I continued to shout, “This whole summer, all my training—everything—was a complete waste of time. I couldn’t even get one stupid bit of magic to work. Take me where I’m needed,” I muttered. “Like that actually happened.”

“But it did. Don’t you see, child? He needs you. They need you. I merely wanted you to trust Liam so you would willingly join the Elementals. The fact that you fell for him was an unexpected bonus.”

“Fell for him?” I chortled madly. “Oh, please. You set me up. You knew,” I yelled at her, tears stinging my eyes as I realized that everyone I knew and trusted here had officially turned against me. “You knew about all of this in advance. And you intentionally set me up to get hurt.”

“No, I wanted to train you to prepare you for whatever situation you might encounter. I originally told Gaia to do whatever was necessary to gain your alliance, but I never expected you to be so headstrong or disagreeable that it would result in the loss of life. You must believe me, I never intended for her to kill your family and friends. But do not let their lives pass in vain. Your action against Hydros—as tragic as it was—proved the break we needed to reform the team and gain your support…using alternate means.”

“Alternate means?” I fumed. “You lied to me. You toyed with my heart.”

“Only because you have the power to complete this team and tackle the rising threat,” Pele replied in an even tone. “That was the main reason I had you complete all those missions.”

“What a fabulous idea,” My tone dripped with sarcasm. “How can you possibly call that ‘training’ by deliberately sending me to the most dangerous situations imaginable?”

Pele explained, “It was extremely necessary that you gain sympathy for Hydros—and indirectly Gaia as well—by having you understand more about her past life as the girl, Shannon. And it was critical that you meet the Fire Essence to better understand the full extent of your fused powers. Yet, I admit, I had an ulterior motive in sending you on so many missions into the past.”

My brow crinkled. “You did?”

“I needed to detain you at the volcano. That way, it gave me the opportunity to work a little of my own magic.”

“Magic?” I asked, dumbfounded. “What are you talking about?”

“At a certain bonfire on the beach.” She gave me a pointed look.

My jaw dropped open. “Are you saying that while I was off nearly getting myself killed, you were playing Cupid with my ex-boyfriend?”

“It worked far easier that I imagined,” Pele said in a proud voice. “I suspected if I kept you away from Sully, he would soon lose interest in you. All I needed to add was a little magic in my firelight and the next thing I knew, Bethany kissed him.”

“Like that was a big accomplishment. She practically threw herself at him when she visited me in the hospital.” I glanced away, ridding the thought from my mind. Unfortunately, it didn’t work—I could see nothing beyond the two of them sitting side by side on a driftwood log in front of the bonfire, their lips locked.

Blood boiled inside my veins. “How dare you! Shouldn’t I be the one to choose who I like?”

“Of course, dear child. I merely helped you in reaching that conclusion.” Her lips twisted up into a knowing smile, confident in the success of her methods.

I opened my mouth for a rebuttal, but silently shut it again. She was right. Kea and Auntie Lulu had both told me in their own ways that they approved of Liam. And I had liked him until he revealed the truth about his identity.

“Jordan, please, you must trust me. You needed this to happen,” Pele reminded me. “It is of utmost importance that you join forces with the other Elementals. It is the only way.”

“The only way for what? For them to rule the planet?”

“No. Not at all,” Pele admitted, shaking her head. “It’s so you can protect everyone from a future threat.”

“Future threat? What are you talking about? They always posed the threat to my life.”

Pele gave me a sympathetic look and turned away. That same sympathetic look I’d seen in Lulu’s eyes earlier by the koi pond.

“So I suppose this means that again I have to wait until I’m ready to understand?”

“I am afraid I cannot tell you more,” the goddess said softly. “That information is something that Liam himself promised to disclose to you when the time was right.”

“But I don’t want to talk to Liam. I don’t want to have anything to do with him again.”

“Sometimes, child, you must look beyond your own wants and see what is needed for the greater good.”

And before the goddess revealed another word, she returned to her vaporous form of wispy trails skittering across the ground. I watched them weave across the path, dip suddenly toward the earth, and erupt into an electrifyingly red spire that shot high into the air, piercing the dark skies in a blinding flash of light. It quickly reached its pinnacle before dropping to the ground in fiery globs of superheated molten rock.

Because, like always, Pele did what Pele wanted to do, leaving me with more unanswered questions.

Goddess, old woman, white dog, molten lava—all these forms contained the Essence of Pele. Why hadn’t I seen it before?

I was naïve and trusting, that’s why. Well, that time had ended. Now I could trust no one beside myself.

No one.

Never before had the world felt so cold and isolated. I blinked into the distance, unable to spot any trace of Pele. Not like I really wanted to see her again after she used me, lied to me, manipulated me. Only I wished she had finally trusted me enough to tell me the whole truth, instead of leaving me miserable, confused, and alone once more. I closed my eyes, letting fresh tears trickle down my cheeks.

I heard a rustle in the bushes lining the beach. I turned, realizing Pele’s eruption had a different intent. She hadn’t opened the earth in anger, but used her sign as a beacon to direct Liam to my precise location—making me realize I had no allies in this battle. Clenching my fists in fury, I purged the innumerable confounding thoughts from my mind so I could focus on the approaching threat.