Embers of Magic

But Wait! Act Now And Get More Snow, Free!

To be honest, I may have choose being back on that fishing boat with Plutus, over this. The constant assault of snow crashing down on us snuffed out every attempt I made to heat up. My hands flickered weakly, refusing to ignite in the overwhelming heat.

We continued down the side of the mountain with thin coats thrown over out shoulders that stood out like a sore thumb against the show. Rain claimed it was all she had and I couldn't blame her. None of us expected to be thrown all the way into Gelida. Gale walked ahead of us, completely uncovered by the cold but still unsettled.

"Ember." Josh spoke while looking towards the raising smoke. "Do you think you can put that out?" Gale turned around looking at me, expecting an answer. I didn't have one. Even though I was the one entrusted with power, I hadn't felt worthy of it. I was the one who opened the Pithos and it wasn't because I was clueless. I couldn't simply lie to myself about that anymore because what I felt back there was pure evil. My power wasn't the tool my mother made it out to be. The way I used it, it was merely a weapon. I was no different than Zahir.

"I don't know." I answered honestly as we continued walking. "You're the son of Posiedon. Can you put it out?" I asked, trying to shift the attention off from myself. He shook his head. "Something tells me I can't defrost enough of the ice and snow to even use these waters. Besides, it's not Greek waters. My power is dampened here."

Gale sighed as we continued. The city wasn't exactly Metamorph. No sweet cinnamon scents or heartfelt songs sang but it felt hearty. The people who lived here got along with each other exactly the same way as those in Metamorph did. They seemed like a family. As we got closer, I saw the machine the smoke rose from. It was a huge structure that I couldn't really make sense of but I could tell that it was the center of the village. Some kind of heating unit, maybe. I walked closer.

Children rushed past me, running towards a large pool along the edges of the town that slowly began freezing up and plunged their hands into it, trying to reach the fish that swam around it. Some of them even encouraging the fish to come closer.

"What exactly happened here?" Zarah asked as she lowed herself and slid her hand across the thin layer of snow at her feet as if it were different to the snow everywhere else.

"It was a warning." Gale said he looked towards the children. "Zahir's men attacked while the village was asleep. By the time we realized what was going on, it was too late. The machines were already crippled."

"They're heating units, right?" Rain asked and Gale nodded. "They moderate the temperature in the village and keep the fish farms from freezing over."

"Then how come didn't you put the fire out yet?" I asked as I reached out towards the burning structure. The flames reached out towards me, dancing dangerous through the space between us.

"Helplessness." Gale responded as he looked around him. "Gelida may be Norse but we are far from warriors. We're simple farmers."

I understood. Sometimes, people just aren't ready for what they were facing. Just because faith had it so, it didn't mean it was fair. Zarah walked towards me, placing her hand onto my shoulder. "If you can manage to put on the fire, it may give me the power I need to raise the moral."

"What do you mean?" She looked down, ignoring my question for a while. "War isn't a distant memory here. It's more... I don't know. Just trust me, please."

I nodded. There was so much that Zarah hadn't told me about herself but I felt if I was beginning to understand her. Back on the beach with Plutus, her shared history with him and the threat her mother posed on him gave me the feeling she wasn't no ordinary human, but a demigod, like us.

I focused on the flame as I felt its heat crawl up to me, expelling all thoughts of the icy cold. At first, the flame felt ominous is it crept closer and closer but eventually, the familiar glow that flicked brightly felt as comforting as a hug from a parent. My body began to heat up to feverish highs as the flame drew even closer and at that point, I felt my grip tighten around the raging fire. It felt exactly the same as it did when I attacked Dionysus – total control and power – and my heart began shifting. I was in control and I had power, so why did I have to be afraid? What was it all for? I've opened the Pithos, but what of it? I've never cared about this world, why should I start now?

Zarah's grip tighted around my shoulder, quickly snapping me back to my senses. I could feel every memory I've shared with her rush into me at once, filling me up with not fear, but hope. I closed my eyes briefly as I cleared my mind again before clenching my fist tightly as if I were smothering the flame. It died out with ease as Zarah's presence grew even faster, filling me up with even more hope.

The townsfolk acted no differently then I had as they all dropped what they were doing and moved around us in a crowd, applauding. Some moved forward to help, shifting bits of metal that fell off the large machine, trying to find was to salvage it. Zarah and I both dropped to our knees in exhaustion, but we were smiling. Even though we hadn't shared a single word while doing whatever the Hel we just did, we felt drawn closer to each other.

Hel... I'm spending too much time with these Norse. I really don't have the amount of brain capacity left to deal with a whole new Parthenon of gods.

"It makes so much sense now. You're a demigod, aren't you?" I asked Zarah, the words feeling familiar in my mouth from the time I asked Josh. Zarah nodded. "Bellona. Roman goddess of war."

Rome. I swear, if someone tells me the Egyptian gods are also pulling onto the strings of humanity, I'm going to scream.

"Ash Hudson." A voice echoed from behind the crowd which quickly gave way to him. Rain turned around, facing him. "Hey, old man."