Ember Gods

Chapter 1

Dedication

To my parents

For always being there

Chapter One

Jacob Clark shut his bedroom door and kicked off his shoes, glad to finally be home. His first day of school had been rough. Mainly because he hadn't been ready to jump back into normal life so quickly after one of the most insane, difficult, and incredible "trips" he'd ever been on. He glanced at the knapsack he'd placed on his nightstand the evening before, and his heart twisted. Aloren.

A knock on his door startled him. Matt walked in, holding his old cell phone. He shut the door, grabbed the chair at Jacob's desk, and sat on it backwards.

He leaned over and pushed the phone into Jacob's hand. "Here."

"What do you want me to do with it?"

"You fixed the hole in the table—which was freakin' awesome—and I need you to fix the screen."

Jacob raised an eyebrow. "It's cracked. I don't think I can do anything about that—plastic's way different."

"Oh, come on—at least try."

"All right." Jacob sat up. "But if I make it worse, don't blame me."

Having power was incredible. He'd fixed the table, the kitchen doorframe, and his mom's favorite vase she'd broken months ago but didn't have the heart to throw away. And to think Jacob hadn't even known about his ability to make weak things stronger until a couple days ago, when his dad and sister had been kidnapped and he'd been forced to travel—on foot—to a completely different planet and rescue them. Insane.

He held his thumb over the screen and felt the hard material warm. He did his best to smooth the blemish, but the plastic clouded over instead. Jacob growled and blew on the device until it had cooled, then put his thumb over it again, re-heating it. The surface became clear—oh, good. But the relief was short lived, because as the plastic cooled, it became wavy and clouded.

He gave up, handing the phone back. "I've never done something so detailed before. I'm not sure how it works. Sorry."

"Oh, well, it was worth a try."

"How about I practice on other things for a while?" Why would a phone screen be different from the vase? Then Jacob realized Mom's vase was white already, so no clouding would have been visible anyway.

Matt shoved the device in his pocket and took a step toward the doorway, about to leave the room, when a knock sounded at Jacob's window.

Excitement flashed across Matt's face. He pointed. "Look! It's that gnat!"

Jacob jumped from his bed and opened the window. A small, wingless creature—a Minya—about two inches tall zoomed into the room. Early looked happy, her white dress and dark curls streaming as she flitted to Jacob.

"Early!" Jacob said. "It's great to see you. How are you? How's my dad and Akeno? Are they awake yet?"

"Kenji says your dad won't be better for a couple more days, but Akeno's awake. Come see him!"

"Awesome!" Jacob shoved his feet in his sneakers, glad he still had on his socks. He was anxious to see Akeno. The Makalo had been unconscious and near death last time Jacob had been with him.

"Now!" Early insisted, tugging on Jacob's shirt.

"I'm coming. But not through the window." He glanced at Matt. "Want to come with?"