Fire Stones - By Kailin Gow Page 0,28

walked into the water, vanishing beneath the depths. Varun was a strong swimmer, strong enough to pull me out to the depths in a few minutes, and then – all of a sudden – to yank me under the waves.

I instinctively resisted, struggling against his grip. I couldn't breath; my mouth was filling with water. I flailed about, but Varun ignored my resistance, pulling me down deeper and deeper into the ocean depths. What was he doing? I screamed, but no sound came out of my mouth, water flooding my throat. Was this a trick – had Varun meant to hurt me all along?

But just as panic began to cloud my brain, my lungs began expelling water – I was breathing normally again. I looked up at Varun in surprise.

“Sorry,” he said. “I had to do that – sometimes it takes adrenaline for the process to work.”

A blue light seemed to flow from his skin into mine – a cool glow that enveloped both of us.

“You're protected now,” said Varun. “As long as we're touching, you'll be able to breathe underwater, to see clearly, to stay warm no matter how deep we go. And we're going deep, Mac. Into the Dark Realms – places at the bottom of the earth scientists think it's impossible to get to. It is impossible, of course. For mortals.”

We continued swimming down into the inky darkness. I could feel his smooth, wet skin against mine; his breaths and my breaths fluttered in unison, the magic connecting our bodies, our heartbeats, each breath we took. I had never felt closer to him. I had never felt his heart beat like this – my rhythm conforming to his. It was so intimate, so soft – as if we were not two people but one body, allowing the power of the ocean to guide us through the depths. I could feel his lips and breath – just inches away from my cheeks. Chance knew this was going to happen. He knew how strong it would be...

But my thoughts were interrupted by a flash of pearly light. I gasped. Here in the depths of the ocean, there was still light – not the light of the sun but a strange, translucent beauty. Rainbow fish and glowing tortoises were swimming through the water, lit by what could only be a magical glow. Flowering sea-plants grew seemingly out of nowhere; coral brighter than the brightest gemstone glimmered with loveliness.

“It's beautiful,” I breathed.

“It's my kingdom,” said Varun proudly. “Our kingdom.”

“I never knew a place like this existed.” I sighed. “I always thought my place was up above – with fire.”

“It didn't used to be like this,” Varun admitted. “When I was a boy, fire and water were allies, not enemies. Chance and I used to fight, of course, but it was the play-fighting of young and eager boys. Wrestling. Joking around. We were friendly – we even loved one another, in our brotherly way. But then...” he sighed. “Something happened. The Erosion got worse – we must have been six when the first flood took out North America.”

I shuddered at the memory. I had only been a child – but I still remembered my mother's terrified face that day, watching the newscasters count up the dead.

“Our Embodiments within us awakened – we came into our powers. But not as friends any longer. It was as if some force we couldn't control had overtaken us, making us hate each other. And what happened with Jana...it only made things worse. I was so glad when he went away to school. It meant I could be my own man – instead of competing with him. Two friends – two friends who wanted the same things out of life – torn apart by something we couldn't even explain. The forces of the deities, I imagine. But it didn't make it any easier.” He laughed darkly. “You know, for all that I like to annoy him – he's not a bad guy. Neither of us is. We just...” He nodded to himself. “We can't stop fighting each other. It's like we don't even control it. Something inside of us does. Sometimes I miss him. I miss our friendship. I miss how close we were.”

As I stared into Varun's eyes, feeling his skin soft against my own, I wanted nothing more than to kiss him. I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt a longing this strong. We were in this strange place – so mysterious, so beautiful