Skye Silver & The Soul of Fire Vol.1
Chapter 5 Snakes in the water

As we crept toward the front door the house was silent of voice but there was undoubtedly a sound coming from inside. The sound of water on a shore where there isn’t the loud claps of waves but only the soft sound of water colliding with the sand for a moment and drifting back into the ocean.

“Is the house full of water?” I thought.

I didn’t want to say it aloud for fear of being one of those kids in the movies that gets everybody caught by doing something stupid like talking out loud at the wrong time.

We were now on the porch and it was obvious at this point that the house had to have a lot of water inside it. The porch was completely soaked and still, a little water was trickling through the crease of the front door.

Ms. Cruise put her finger over her lips motioning us to keep quiet as she reached for the doorknob. She turned the knob, not to our surprise it was unlocked but when she opened the door a flow of water was truly not what I was expecting to come rushing onto the porch and into the yard ahead.

I was confused but Ms. Cruise and Kitai seemed unfazed so I kept my composure and followed them inside.

The wet carpet sound was always the worst and the feeling of walking on it I dreaded even more. With no sign of my foster dad in the living room, I signaled to Ms. Cruise to check the kitchen area. That’s typically where my foster mom would be. We crept across the living room to the kitchen as quiet as we could even though the sound of the flooded carpet in my ears resembled that of thunder. We reached the kitchen with no sign of my foster parents.

“Where could they be,” I thought.

At these hours they were always home. My foster dad went gambling later in the night and she would stay home waiting up all night for him entertaining herself by bothering me.

Ms. Cruise then signaled us to follow her as she headed back across the carpet to explore the second floor. When we got to the stairs there was a sound that favored that of water-guzzling down a drain. We walked up the stairs quietly not sure where the sound came from I directed them to go left.

There was only one room and bathroom to the left of the stairs so I figured if they weren’t in there they had to be in the other direction. Or simply not here at all.

Ms. Cruise in front, I was now in the middle and Kitai behind me walking backward as the eyes in the back of our head. She opened the door to the master bedroom and we walked in. Kitai closed the door behind us.

Ms. Cruise checked the bathroom but with no sign of my parents she quickly came back into the room.

“Ok,” She whispered. “Whoever was here if they still are they’re in one of those rooms. Stay here while I check.”

“No,” Kitai responded I’m going with you. you have no idea who’s out there and it’s clear they are a master of water. Fire vs water doesn’t fare well for you.”

She looked at him with a sigh, expressing that she knew he was right.

“Hey, I’m not staying in here alone.” I interfered. “If its the Soul of Fire they want I’m safer close to you, not in a room alone.”

“She’s right,” Kitai said defending me.

“Fine, but stay behind me,” She replied.

She opened the door back in our original position with me in the back of the line and headed towards the first door on the other side of the stairs. I tapped Kitai to alert her that it was merely a closet and to go to the next door which was my room. She acknowledged and continued to my bedroom door. As she opened the door slowly it creaked like an old haunted house. My room looked like it had been filled with water and then flushed out.

“What took you so long?” A familiar voice said from the bathroom in my room.

We walked over to the door to replace none other than Antonio sitting on the edge of the tub. Both of my foster parents laid slumped over with the upper half of their body in the tub and their lower half on the ground. Antonio’s clothes were wet with the obvious signs of my foster parents splashing water in a struggle for survival.

I was stunned, my eyes widened, a huge lump formed in my throat like I tried to swallow saliva but was so scared my body stopped functioning and didn’t allow it to go down.

“That’s him!” I yelped.

“He gave me the book!”

“Speaking of that” Antonio said as he stood up off the edge of the tub. “I’m going to need that book back.”

“Skye Find get that book and get out of here!” Ms. Cruise exclaimed as she stood blocking the bathroom door pathway.”

“Come on,” Kitai said as he grabbed my arm and pulling me towards the door.

“Your’re such a snake!” I exclaimed as we left the room.

We raced downstairs where we stopped in the living room and could hear thumps and splashes from the fight upstairs.

“Where is the book?” Kitai asked.

“I’m not sure,” I said in a panic “my foster mom took it from me earlier.”

“Ok, calm down. Let’s think.” Kitai said scanning the room. “Where do you think she would put it?

“Well, usually when she takes my things I replace them in her room on the dresser.” I responded. “but we were just in there and I didn’t see it which means it could be anywhere.”

The loud thumps and splashes continued. It sounded like someone was being thrown across the room into a wall. With all the water splashing sounds I could tell Antonio was not making the fight an easy one for Ms. Cruise.

Kitai and I began tearing through the first floor in search of the book. From under the couch cushions to under the actual couch. We searched every kitchen drawer and living room compartment. We even checked the pantry. Finally, we decided to tie up any loose ends downstairs and check the garage.

We burst into the garage turning boxes upside down and snatching down all of my foster dad’s tarps covering all of his old junk. Kitai even smashed the car window to check inside. It was funny because the keys were hanging next to the door.

Still all to no avail we rushed back inside to replace Ms. Cruise in the living room holding up what seemed to be a wall of fire in front of her. Across the living room from the stairs was Antonio and an explosion of water coming from his hands striking Ms. Cruise’s firewall.

Kitai Lunged into action launching a fireball at Antonio making contact with his arm and knocking him against the wall. The water stopped with Antonio slouched against the wall taking deep breaths. He was exhausted from his battle with Ms. Cruise.

Ms. Cruise dropped her wall of fire and fell to her knees. Kitai ran over to Antonio and grabbed his shirt pulling him off the wall. He pulled his fist back and a flame suddenly appeared around it.

“Stop!” Ms. Cruise said with her breath short. “We may need to ask him something, if he found out where she was it’s likely he’s not the only one. Also there’s no way he would replace her on his own. He’s a pawn!”

Kitai’s flame disappeared, but he still punched Antonio directly in his face with a strength I never knew he had. Antonio’s head swung like it almost rolled off of his neck. When Kitai made contact it also smeared a little makeup off of Antonio’s forehead revealing the imprint of a water droplet. Kitai dropped him on the stairs and turned to assist his mother.

“Did you replace the book?” “Ms. Cruise asked.

“No, we couldn’t replace it” Kitai responded

“Well you two check upstairs and Ill take care of him.” She said. “Come to the kitchen when you’re finished looking.”

Kitai and I run upstairs to search the rooms. As I emptied the drawers, Kitai flipped mattresses. We tore through every room including the closets. With covers flying one way and towels the other there was still no sign of the book. By the time we finished searching upstairs, the rooms looked like a tornado had been through each of them. We searched every nook and cranny with no luck. Finally believing that the book was not in the house we decided to go back downstairs where we had left Ms. Cruise and Antonio.

We walked into the kitchen to replace Ms. Cruise standing before Antonio who was sitting in the kitchen chair with what seemed to be a rope of fire around him.

“Any luck?” she asked.

“No, couldn’t replace it” Kitai replied.

“You’re so screwed,” Antonio said barely being able to speak.

“Not as screwed as you” Kitai shot back.

“Calm down Kitai.” Ms. Cruise demanded.

“Yea calm down salt and pepper,” Antonio said with a smirk that showed his mouth had been busted and was bleeding inside.

I think the sight of his blood was enough to satisfy Kitai at the moment because he smirked back and rolled his eyes like Antonio was pathetic.

“Where did you get that book?” Ms. Cruise exclaimed.

“What does it matter to you?” he replied.

“Well, it doesn’t matter much.” Ms. Cruise said “But coming after Skye, that matters a lot.”

She launched a punch into the right side of his ribs. I’m sure he would have leaned forward in pain but her ropes of fire were to tight. He was trapped sitting upright with his entire body exposed like a punching bag.

“Who sent you?” She said.

“would you look at that” he chuckled. “That doesn’t matter much either.”

Ms. Cruise sent another devastating blow to his left rib cage this time. At this point, you could hear that he could hardly breathe. He was taking deep breaths and wheezing.

“Actually that part does matter.” She said. “See the gods are coming for the book anyway and they will do you a lot worse than I will unless you tell me who sent you. On the other hand, I can leave you here tied up for them like a Christmas gift and they’ll tear you apart like wrapping paper to get their answers.”

Ms. Cruise turned to us. “If we can’t replace the book forget about it lets just leave before anyone else catches up to us.”

She walked between Kitai and I and headed for the front door. We both turned to follow her out. Kitai had a look on his face as we walked away that seemed somewhat sinister. It was like he knew something was about to happen and was just waiting for it.

“Oh just so you’re aware if you weren’t already. I’ve broken several ribs in your body, you may not even live to see the Gods arrive.” Ms. Cruise said without even turning to face him.

We continued to the door and just as we were reaching it you could hear Antonio speak faintly through his wheezing and heavy breathing. Ms. Cruise froze in her tracks and turned around.

“Does something matter to you now?”

“Wait!” He whispered with the little strength he had.

Kitai now facing him as well. His sinister look transformed into a pitying smirk as if he knew Antonio would cave before we left.

“Well, whats the matter?” Ms. Cruise asked.

“I got the book from some Rogue Demi-God. He told me to make sure it landed in her hands and report if she could actually read it or not.” He said as he gasped for air. “He said he just wanted to make sure she was who he thought she was.”

He began coughing.

“Well was she?” Kitai said.

“Yea I guess so,” “he replied. “I didn’t think the book was anything that serious I swear to the Gods. That’s why I let her have it, but when I returned without it he made me come back for it and told me by any means to come back with the book or die by his hand.”

“How did you replace my house?” I asked.

“I followed you home for a week before I ever bumped into you.”

“So you’re a stalker,” I replied.

“I’m not a stalker!” he said aggressively.

“Hey bozo, following someone home to replace out where they live and eventually breaking into their house looking for them is the final form of stalkers!” I shot back.

“We don’t have time for this!” Ms. Cruise interfered.

“Who is this guy? Who wants Skye and what does he want with her?” She asked.

“I can’t tell you!” He exclaimed. “he’ll kill me If I do.”

“Darling.” Ms. Cruise said, “You’re going to die right now in this chair if you don’t tell me.”

He sat silent for a moment breathing heavily.

I had never seen Ms. Cruise so powerful. She was always the sweet lady walking down the hall that most people were fond of instantly. I almost hadn’t realized the burn on her leg had completely healed. It reminded me of how I burned my hand when I was 8 attempting to iron a wrinkled shirt from the goodwill. First, there was a burn then I passed out from the pain and when I awoke there was no proof of the iron falling flat in my palm.

“His name is Assail,” he said. “Assail Flee.

My eyes nearly popped out of my skull. Kitai looked over to me with a classic “told you so” face. Even Ms. Cruises face was full of shock.

“He had me fooled,” I thought. “I even defended him over Kitai for a moment.”

She pulled her fist back like Kitai had done earlier and the flame appeared around her fist. she threw the punch so fast that if you blinked you would have missed it. She landed her fist directly in the middle of his chest and stomach and as she pulled her buried fist out of his chest the ropes of fire departed and Antonio fell to the ground unconscious.

“Ok, we have to go now!” Ms. Cruise said. “We haven’t got time to waste.”

Ms. Cruise rushed leading us to the front door. Kitai and I followed suit with a sense of urgency. We burst out the front door and go to the front yard. Ms. Cruise scanned the sky as if she was looking at birds flying over her in an abnormal pattern.

“He’s not here yet,” Ms. Cruise said. “we still have our head start.”

“What do we do?” I asked.

“We go to area 51” She replied.

I had heard many stories about Area 51 normally about aliens never about Gods. I knew it was a long aimless drive and the Military patrolled the area so I never bothered myself with the curiosity of it. I had watched videos online, however, most of it seemed like nothing more than desert if anything.

“How will we get there fast?” Kitai asked.

“We’ll have to replace a car.” She replied. “and quick.”

“My foster dad’s car is in the garage.” I blurted out.

“That’s perfect,” Ms. Cruise said. “Where are the keys?”

“In the garage hanging by the door,” I responded.

“Ok, wait here.”

Ms. Cruise rushed back inside to replace the keys. Kitai was watching the sky like his mother at this point.

“What are you looking for?” I asked.

“Steam clouds,” he responded “or just an abnormal looking storm.”

“Like at the Library?”

“Yes exactly.”

As he said that I began looking up to the sky as well. However, when I looked into the sky instead of seeing any strange weather or darker than normal clouds the first thing I saw was a hummingbird.

This may seem normal to most but a hummingbird near my house was no coincidence to me. There were always huge dark crows around. They came around our house so often I believed they were the sign of evil because of my foster parents. No hummingbird would fly around where the crows flew but here was this hummingbird flying above me obstructing my vision. I followed the hummingbird’s flight path until it stopped over the trash can in front of my house where there were a few more hummingbirds.

The hummingbirds flew around the garbage can out near the curb until I was compelled to check it. As I approached the curb where the trash can was the hummingbirds flew off into the distance. I opened the trash can and at the very top still in great condition was the Maverick Mythology book.

I’m not sure why I hadn’t thought of the trash can sooner. Everything I told my foster mom was personal she threw away. She never threw away school work or books because she thought the government would make her pay for them eventually.

“Kitai!” I called out as I reached to grab the book from between a full trash bag and the edge of the trash can.

“Yea?” he looked over to where I was.

“I found it,” I said as I held the book to show him what it was.

“That’s great Skye! Now we just have to get out of here,” he said.

The garage door began opening just as he said that. “Perfect timing, come on.”

Kitai and I run over to the garage and duck under it as rises slowly to save the seconds. We both get in the car and by the time we could buckle our seat belts Ms. Cruise already had the car in drive. We drove out into the street and headed for Area 51.

“Ms. Cruise we found the book,” I said to her holding it up in the back seat.

“That’s great news darling” she replied looking through the rearview mirror. “The Gods will thank you greatly for returning it I’m sure.”

We sped down the road heading in the direction of area 51. Full of excitement at this point I was finally driving away from my wretched life. Of course, I was still a little nervous about not knowing what to expect but the overwhelming emotion was definitely happy.

I still had the thought of Assail tricking me swimming around in my head as well. I was confused.

“If he wanted me what was he waiting for?” I thought “Why go through the trouble of protecting and befriending me?”

“Who is Assail?” I blurted as I could no longer await the answers to some of my questions.

Ms. Cruise looked through the rearview mirror again but this time not at me but out the back window like she was checking to see if we had been followed.

“Assail is a Rogue Demi-God of Astral, one of the strongest actually. “ She replied. “He was born in the Mountains of Astral and given the power to manipulate air at birth. At one point he was deemed one of the best Demi-Gods on planet earth. A lot of people were rooting for him to be a great leader as the years went by and he got older, smarter and stronger.”

“He was power thirsty” Kitai added.

“Eventually he decided the power to manipulate air was not enough. He wanted to attain all 4 powers the Goddess of Nature had instilled in the land but there were only two ways to get them all. One way was to acquire the Special Sand bowl from the desert, The Soul of Fire from the Caves, water from the sacred waterfall and fruit from the garden in the plains. When you use them all together they create the formula that will give you or whoever you choose the power to manipulate all 4: Ground, Fire, Water, and Air”

“Well, that sounds easy enough,” I said.

Kitai laughed hysterically at my remarks.

“Darling the cave your mother went into seeking the Soul of Fire was so dark no man has ever made it out with the exception of her. There are probably thousands of corpses lying inside that one cave alone. That fruit in the plains is heavily guarded by the strongest Demi-Gods in the Plains as well as inside a nearly impenetrable dome. That sacred waterfall is so hard to make it to…”

“I almost died trying to reach it,” Kitai said cutting her off. “Tidal waves, hurricanes, thunderstorms you name it. If it deals with water you’ll certainly encounter it on the way to that waterfall. It’s like the Bermuda Triangle!”

“Yes, She agreed” she looked at Kitai with a sense of relief. “And those sand bowls are in the middle of the desert making them nearly impossible to replace. You could run out of water and die of dehydration before even making it to the bowls let alone replaceing them.”

“Wow” It was all I could say as I sat overwhelmed.

“The only other way was to win in the annual games held in the Middle of Astral. Only the Smartest and Strongest of the land are allowed to compete and winners are not only given 2 of the powers making the fourth much easier to attain but are granted passage to live in the plains or remain in their own Region.”

“And this Assail guy,” I asked. “which route did he take?”

“He entered the games,” Kitai responded. “entered the games and dominated like everyone knew he would.”

The annual games of Astral was a race that flowed through each region of Astral. The Race began as well as ended in the center of the land at the shore line. The only rule was that you had to reach the checkpoint in each region before returning to the center of the land. Every year there were 100 contestants, 25 from each of the four regions excluding the plains. The trick to divide the greater from the lesser was simple. With 100 contestants they put 12 ribbons in each region. To win you had to return to the center of the land with all 5 ribbons from each separate region. This would turn the race from a simple test of speed to something much more. With only 12 total possible winners some are not out to race for the ribbons but rather take them from someone else. This turns the Land of Astal into a battlefield for the contestants. With no rules against fighting or even death, the Annual Games of Astral are some of the Deadliest ever.

“Not only did he dominate he killed every other contestant that ran up against him if they hadn’t gotten to each other first.” Ms. Cruise continued. “The game was designed to have 12 contestants return with 5 ribbons every year so the plains would have a constant flow of population but that year Assail was the only one to return to the center and in his hand, he held all of the ribbons.”

“Why would they allow that?” I asked.

“Entering the games is not mandatory” She replied. “It was really a ploy to stop the power hungry would be tyrants from having so much power so easily. See the fruit in the Garden of the plains was the most powerful of all the others, rather than giving you a specific power it would give you two that you did not currently possess inside of you. Rather than going for the garden which was almost certain death or going for all 4 powers separately you had the option to enter the games. If you won the games they would give you a fruit.”

“So he ate the fruit and then what happened?” I asked nearly sitting on the edge of my seat.

“Well, He was born in the mountains and already possessed the power to manipulate air. He managed to reach the Sacred waterfall in the islands and instilled the power of water manipulation in himself. After he had two of the four he entered the games and won. Legend has it when he ate the fruit and felt the other two powers coursing through his veins He slaughtered several Demi-Gods of the plains and escaped with an unknown amount of the fruit never to be seen again.” She explained.

“I don’t understand,” I said. “If he had all 4 powers why would he turn against the people of Astral?”

“His motives were never uncovered.” Ms. Cruise answered.

“Power!” Kitai interfered. “that’s why he’s here for you.”

I slid back into my seat as Ms. Cruise pushed the gas pedal down harder like we weren’t already speeding.

“What more power can he attain?” I asked.

Kitai looked to his mother for confirmation to continue. She nodded her head in approval.

“There are merely two stages of power in the Land of Astral. The powers we can all attain and the power that comes with being the Ruler of one of the regions.” He said. “Having power is one thing but having more power as well as an army behind you is another ball game.”

“So he wants to rule one of the regions?” I asked in a confused manner.

“I believe he wants to rule the entire country,” Kitai replied. “If he wanted to rule one he could have challenged the King of the Mountains or the Queen of the Islands before he even entered the games. After the games, he could have challenged any one of the rulers.”

“So if he didn’t challenge them what is he waiting for?”

“Well if you have enough of the fruit from the plains, water from the waterfall a sand bowl from the desert and part of the soul of fire, you have the formula to give anyone on Astral all 4 powers and depending on how much you have you can easily start a small but powerful army,” Kitai explained. “Then all you’d have to do is take over the regions one by one.”

“And he wants my soul of fire.” I assumed.

“Yes precisely, he has the water and some of the fruit and with all 4 powers coursing through his veins it won’t be nearly as hard for him to replace one of the Sand bowls so all he needs is a piece of The Soul of Fire.”

“Which is why he’s here.” Ms. Cruise added. “The problem is that if he knows you’re here in Vegas there may be others here searching for you as well. That’s why we’re taking you home. At least there some loyal people of the Caves will assist you in fighting until you can reach your mother and make no mistake you will have to fight.”

By now I had slouched down in my seat. My excitement altered into terror. The trees and buildings in the city had now turned into street signs and sand as we exited the urban into the dry rural area of Las Vegas in the direction of Area 51.

The closer we got to our destination the more alien referenced signs there were. There was even a diner for all the alien conspiracy theorist who came to visit the area.

After riding in silence for a while there was a loud noise ringing throughout the car. It was obvious that it was a phone but the ringtone caught all 3 of us by surprise. Seconds later another sounded off.

Kitai reached in his pocket to pull out his phone vibrating and ringing non-stop, not even the pause in between like when a phone call is coming through. Just as he stopped his phone mines began ringing with the same unfamiliar tone as theirs. I took my phone out to replace on the screen, not a text or phone call but an incoming sandstorm warning. “Sandstorm incoming. Pull to the side of the road for safety.” It read

When I looked out the window to asses how bad it actually was I was stunned that I hadn’t noticed. The sky above us was stale in color with no clouds in sight. The sand surrounding us was noticeably flying around making the visibility near 0.

Ms. Cruise continued driving at her fast pace even speeding up a little before closing her left eye to protect it from sand flying in the window Kitai had broken.

It seemed like we were in the middle of nowhere when we finally stopped. Ms. Cruise put the car in park and was squinting her eyes trying to see ahead of her.

“Somethings not right,” She said.