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Chapter 8
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2022-08-14 08:44:14Related chapters
Fire and Water Chapter 9
Myrtle Beach is roughly halfway between the borders of Georgia and North Carolina along South Carolina’s coastline. Though mainly a tourist town for beachgoers, a sizable local population thrived as businesses had to be on hand in order to serve the vacationers and as with any city of its size, Myrtle Beach had its own local college. He, Eliza, and Blakeney found themselves pulling onto a street not more than two blocks from the campus; students were the main residents. The drive had taken the remainder of the day and now it was only a couple of hours until midnight. Normally, trying to speak with anyone at this time of night would be difficult, but seeing as it was a Friday night—and Amanda Hanson was a college student—they were sure she would be awake. Blakeney took the last turn and the three of them found them-selves facing and army of police and ambulances. The red and blue lights flashing off into the dark, reflecting every shiny surface in the vicinity, were like heral
Last Updated : 2022-08-14Fire and Water Chapter 10
James, Eliza, and Blakeney had left the car in a parking deck a block away and were now walking into the lobby of the condominium tower. They sauntered up to the bank of elevators, James pushed the call button, and they waited patiently for one to arrive. With a ding signaling the arrival of a car, the trio stepped over to the furthest elevator as the doors slid smoothly open. A petite, beautiful young woman of middle eastern dissent sa-shayed out of the car. She ran her brown eyes up and down his body and as she passed him, she flicked him a wanting smile over her shoulder. Somehow, within the deepest parts of his mind, James felt like he knew her. He studied the retreating figure intently trying his best to place her. Eliza slammed an elbow into his ribs. He shook his head and met her narrowed eyes. “You done staring yet?” she asked, an undertone of a warning filtering through. “It’s not that,” he said slowly, the memory or sense still tugg
Last Updated : 2022-08-14Fire and Water Chapter 11
“James?” Eliza said, doing her best to break into his reverie. Not on purpose had he blanked out, but he had just found him-self thinking on the fact that for almost a month straight, this goddess of Death had killed consistently. And now, all of sudden a week had gone by without any mention in the media of any murders which fit the bill. Had she stopped, being that she—whoever the elusive she happened to be—had now been exposed to them? Was it all just a message to be delivered which said that Clurife and his tools could get to any of them at any time? No. That James knew for sure. Besides, he found himself aching for the opportunity to face this supposed goddess of Death and show her a real fight. Killing unarmed, untrained innocents was easy, but throw someone like himself into the mix and then you had a real test on your hands. He hadn’t had the chance though, because it seemed that finding the last few descendants of Poseidon which contained the god
Last Updated : 2022-08-16Fire and Water Chapter 12
The group dashed out of the motel room and into the dark, unforgiving night. The moon was at full height, bathing the ground in a silvery light; the stars were out in force, though with the nearby freeway and it’s artificial lighting, the brilliant beauty of the celestial bodies was greatly diminished. James turned to face Eliza and Oliver and told them, “Position here and watch our backs.” At the onset of additional spine-tingling howls, Oliver clenched his jaw and a hint of anger flashed in his cool gray eyes. The Brit nodded once. James moved his eyes away from the pair lest his emotions for Eliza overwhelm him. He needed to remain clearheaded in order to protect them all. Swiftly, he searched the area and decided on the best possibility for a battle ground. In between where they currently stood and the interstate in the distance, there was a large open field with low level grasses. The earth seemed to be sandy and it was even somewhat lit from the lights on the freeway. Jame
Last Updated : 2022-08-20Fire and Water Chapter 13
James sat wearily to the bed that would be his in the room. He was trying his best not to relive the past 12 hours, because they weren’t exactly the best of his life. Not but an hour after they had gotten on the road, Romero had called Blakeney and had given him the bad news: Landen Miller and his entire family had been killed sometime around midnight. A piece of his heart had felt as if it had been ripped out because not only had they failed to get there in time to prevent the deaths of innocents, but they had lost yet another prospect for the last element. The task or mission—or whatever you would call it—was starting to shape up to be impossible. It was as if no matter when they left or how hard they tried, they were always a step behind the enemy. He didn’t know what else they could do different, but he did know that if he continued to obsess over the possibilities, he would probably have a mental breakdown. He would have to be patient and when the opportunity came, they would str
Last Updated : 2022-08-22Fire and Water Chapter 14
For the rest of the day, James had followed Tres’s family around. Not always necessarily because he wanted to, but because he didn’t want to go sit in his room by himself. They had eaten dinner together—Adonis joining them father-free—and now he and Tres were just getting things ready for tomorrow. Well, he was anyway. Tres had brought an updated, upgraded version of his computer system, Alexandra, and was rewiring the room in order to do a new integration. Spare wires were hanging from the ceiling and a huge hole had been cut into the wall behind Tres’s desk. His friend was hard at work when a knock came from their door. Tres immediately froze in midtinker and the two of them listened hard. A soft click sounded and Blakeney stuck his head in. “May I come in?” Tres’s face showed shock and panic. His eyes flitted around the room but seeing as there was no way to hide the mess, he dropped his head. James pinched off a laugh. “Sure, Mr. Blakeney.” “James, I wanted to speak with
Last Updated : 2022-08-22Fire and Water Chapter 15
“Good morning, class,” intoned Blakeney as he strode regally through the door. “Morning, Mr. Blakeney,” the class replied in almost perfect uni-son. The older man deposited an expensive-looking briefcase on a large, glistening wooden desk and turned his full attention on them. “You have all chosen to take International Political Studies this year and as it is a career specific course, it’s important that you always do your very best. Throughout this year we will be looking at the various political decisions of the past 250 years which have helped shape our world into the model we see today. Though there will be tests and several written assignments,” he said before pressing on reassuringly, seeing the panicked faces, “the bulk of your grade will come from the discussions we will often partake in. Do not fret because it is not the shape of your opinion that matters, but your involvement. As is always the case with the nature of our topics, the arguments will sometimes be hea
Last Updated : 2022-08-22Fire and Water Chapter 16
The rest of the week passed with little to no fanfare. If James was honest with himself, he’d admit how easy it would be to get wrapped up in the repetition and comfort of simplicity of all of this and forget—or at least displace to the back-burner—the looming darkness hanging over everyone. Though not everyone knew about the storm that was brewing, coming it was, nonetheless. In between school, Eliza, and friends, James had had little time for thought of any missions or training or whatever. He found himself getting distracted more and more often as the week had progressed. Case-in-point: Ricky Collins had been hounding him incessantly about going out for the wrestling team. Apparently, his new body structure was easily noticeable even though he had always had a bit of an athletic build. Regardless, the attention drawn from his new look was a little embarrassing and he wouldn’t be caught dead in any kind of spandex. No, thank you. The week had turned out pretty good and with the w
Last Updated : 2022-08-22
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Fire and Water Chapter 80
James sighed; frustration, reluctance, and pain closed themselves across his features. He searched for Eliza and found her. She was speaking with Tres and his family. Almost as if she could feel his eyes on her, she turned and smiled widely at him. “I understand that you do not want to leave her, James. You love her more than anything and yearn to be near her.” Zeus squeezed his shoulder to recapture his attention. “The choice, of course, is yours. I will never take away your free will. But know this, if you choose to stay, yes, you will be with your loved ones. However, it is almost certain then that you would lose this war. As I told you before, sometimes we have to leave the ones we love in order to protect them, even if our absence is only for a season. I can show you how to unlock the abilities which lie dormant within you and give you a chance to save those you love. More than anything, I wish for you to never feel pain again, but I’m afraid my children cannot always travel th
Fire and Water Chapter 79
At that, James and Eliza stood to lead the procession of surviving students. With a single white rose in each of their hands, the just over three-hundred walked down the aisles and passed before the table which held the framed pictures of the victims. Some wept, some simply said goodbye and moved on, but each of them laid their rose to rest in front of their fallen friends. It was significant of a promise to be kept: A promise to always remember their friends and classmates, a promise to never forget, and a promise that those who died would be carried in the hearts of the survivors for as long as they live. The last mourning student placed her rose on the cold earth, a tear falling from her cheeks and splashing onto the laid flowers, and the gathered assembly stood to move amongst each other. As everyone else began to comfort and converse with those they knew, James remained seated, his eyes searching the faces framed before him. He found the picture of Adonis and lifted on corner of
Fire and Water Chapter 78
James studied his appearance in the mirror and absentmindedly fixed his tie. He wore a black, custom tailored suit which Eliza’s father had purchased for him for the occasion. A white dress shirt, black tie, and black wingtips completed the ensemble-mourning clothes. He had been breathing a little easier ever since he and Eliza and the others had finished their goodbyes to their friends, but when he was alone, as he was now, the pressure in his chest returned. It felt as if a weight was pressing down on his heart; threatening to squeeze the life out of him. He closed his eyes, breathed deep and slow, and willed the pain to subside to an acceptable level. In just a short while, Bill Masters would speak on the events which had occurred earlier in the week- the cover story having been a last time. Though he knew with the passage of time the weight of grief would sail away like a ship on the ocean, the loss of so many lives would never truly leave him. With everything that is within him
Fire and Water Chapter 77
“I know that we’re all in a lot of pain right now, but we don’t know how long this period of inaction on the part of our enemies will last,” said James, eyeing each of the faces gathered in the room. “The task ahead of us won’t be easy, but I’ve had people die in my arms and I don’t want that to happen again.” “What are you saying, James?” Bill interrupted, wanting clarification. He glanced around the room again. “I’m saying it’s time to fight. I’m saying the time for secrecy among us is over. We need to gather everyone together that can fight and train them to go to war. Mr. Blakeney once told me that during the World Wars there were thousands of swords, shields, armor, spears, and arrows made from metal mined from Olympus and forged by Hephaestus and his workers.” His eyes seemed to harden with resolve as if they were marbles. “We need to find this cache and build an army. Never again will we be caught unprepared, not ready.” James elevated his voice as he spoke. “It’s time to ta
Fire and Water Chapter 76
The past few days had been filled with alternating times of mourning and grief followed by periods of clarity and resolve. He and Eliza had spent much of the time on horseback or on foot meandering through her family’s vast estate. Being together and out in the cold, open environment, had allowed each of them to process their emotions and grieve properly for the fallen director. Robert Blakeney had been particularly special to them. Having spent the entire summer together and going out on numerous missions since, they had continued to grow closer. An unbreakable bond had been forged. Or so they thought. Everyone had been completely blindsided by Clurife’s attack and the betrayal of Oliver, but James was giving himself no room for excuses. It was outright stupidity to believe they were safe at the Academy. He, Eliza, and Blakeney had known someone was giving Clurife information and it was only a matter of time before the school itself was targeted, especially after Kali was killed. N
Fire and Water Chapter 75
James had never been inside Romero’s home before. There had never been a reason to because over the summer their base of operations had always been Washington Manor—the Director’s residence. Under normal circumstances, he would have found the house to be warm and comfortable. It was built in a classic American style from a bygone era: wood floors, wood paneling intricate crown molding and lots of fireplaces. He couldn’t help but think it a miniature version of the Director’s place. It was for that reason alone that in lieu of any comfort, he felt stifled and suffocated. Ignoring all else, he made his way through the house and onto the screened back porch. He sat into a wooden Adirondack chair hoping to process more than a few of his rumbling emotions. He studiously avoided thinking about Blakeney and instead focused on the others which had died. There were many he didn’t know, but of the few he did, he had known them well. There was Jennifer West, the beautiful and spontaneous girl
Fire and Water Chapter 74
They pushed their way through the trampled snow and to the fountain where the escaping students had gathered. James set Jennifer down on the cold earth and surveyed the panic-stricken mass. Far too many were missing from their numbers and Blakeney was nowhere to be seen. He turned to Eliza as he shrugged off his jacket and ripped his shirt in two. “Help them, okay?” he told her desperately, handing her one of the two pieces. Eliza nodded and went to work trying to stem the flow of blood coming from Jennifer’s battered body. One look was all that was required, however, for her to know it was hopeless; the girl’s lungs had been severely pierced. Even though they had been at odds in the past, this last semester, they had become acquaintances, maybe, ironically, the pair had even been heading towards friendship. But now... this. She tried to provide whatever comfort she could during Jennifer’s last moments of life. “It’s going to be okay,” Eliza said with a small smile. “You’ll be fine
Fire and Water Chapter 73
Arriving at the end of the hall, James lifted a single foot and kicked the door in. The struggle going on in the room shocked him enough to crack a shallow wedge in his confidence. Svetlana lay on her bed clutching her bleeding chest, while in the far comer by the window, Eliza barely held the attacking soldier at bay with her dagger which was held in a vise-like grip. She was trembling with fear and tears spilled profusely from her eyes. The shattering doorframe had knocked the soldier’s attention from her and as its eerier eyes were coming to rest on the intruder, James flew into action. In barely more than the blink of an eye, he batted away an attempted strike and skid his blade clean through the enemy’s chest. With a flick and twist, the heart was pierced, death instantaneous. James slammed the body into the ground with disgust and moved his eyes to Eliza. “You okay?” he asked gently. She sniffed once and nodded. He secured his sword and shield onto his back, then went to S
Fire and Water Chapter 72
Blakeney had been up and working in his office when the screaming alerted him. Not taking any chances, he grabbed the sword he kept by his desk and marched towards the school’s foyer. As soon as he stepped onto the marble floors from the staff offices, the sight of flames consuming the dormitories filled his eyes. His breath quickened and his pulse pounded in his ears as the building flames engulfed his school. The students I his mind shouted above the growing fear. He sprinted down the thoroughfare, protection of innocent lives the only thing on his mind. But, no sooner had he made his way into the inner courtyard, then a sinister, pleased laugh echoed amidst the granite. “Hello, Director Blakeney,” a deep, steady voice spoke. Blakeney whirled on the spot, searching for the source. Like an image being born from darkness, Nicholas Clurife stepped into the light. He wore all black, his evil Stygian blade held at the ready, and the smile that spread across his face oozed with crue
