Chapter 6

People could hear the screams everywhere on the globe. Ash rained down from above as the fire consumed everything.

Emilia ran outside, trying to get a sense of the situation.

A white silhouette wavered in the tongues of flame. And then Emilia noticed what was off.

The fire was black.

The hunter. He was the silhouette, the creator of the flames.

She needed to take him out.

But not yet.

Emilia cleared her head of all distractions, focusing solely on putting out the fires.

Huge gusts of air swirled across the Earth, destroying heat and putting out the fires.

The Black Flame glared at her and started to come at her, but she disappeared.

He screamed an earthshaking roar that Emilia could feel from miles away.

Emilia reformed in a Barnes & Noble in Somers' neighboring town to the west, Enfield.

Emilia scanned the bookshelves, looking for any book where she could hide.

A title caught her eye: Keeper of the Lost Cities. It was the book about the elves she had been reading.

Emilia snatched up the book and flipped to a random page. She took a deep breath and dove into the book.

Emilia appeared in a white hall with a matching bench. A boy with messy blond hair and ice-blue eyes was splayed across it, jumping when she materialized.

"Woah," he said. "Who are you?"

"Emilia. You're Keefe Sencen, right?"

Keefe nodded. "You probably know me because of the Great Gulon Incident." He pushed back his hair. "I had nothing to do with it, of course."

"Of course," Emilia agreed absentmindedly, as she stared at a girl with shoulder-length blond hair and brown eyes who had just come around the corner.

"Hi!" Emilia called. "You're Sophie, right? I've heard a lot about you!"

Sophie walked over in a reluctant matter, dragging her feet and looking at the floor.

"Ooh, you were the girl who lived with humans, right? Cool. What were they like?" Keefe asked.

Sophie shrugged. "They were nice."

"They are pretty great," Emilia agreed.

"How would you know?" Sophie asked, looking up. She gasped. "Your eyes. They're brown like mine. You-you aren't an elf, are you?"

Emilia shook her head. "I'm sort of like you. I thought I was human, but I found out I'm an immortal goddess who has to save everything in existence from her dictatorial family."

"Sweet," Keefe said. "So, do you have superpowers and a gazillion servants?"

Emilia shook her head. "I don't have servants. And I am powerful. I'm kinda the most powerful of all the gods."

"What are you the goddess of?" Sophie asked.

"Air," Emilia said simply. "Hey, is your hand okay?"

Sophie glared at the welt. "I hurt it in alchemy."

Emilia took Sophie's hand and pushed some energy into it. When she released Sophie's hand, the injury was gone.

Sophie stared at her hand in wonder. She looked up at Emilia, speechless.

Emilia laughed. She was starting to enjoy the reactions people had to her abilities.

The smile faded from her face as she remembered why she was there.

"I need a favor," she told Keefe and Sophie. "Can you guys hide me? Some people are after me because I escaped my brother, Jul's, prison."

Sophie and Keefe glanced at each other. "Sure," Keefe offered. "I could use some excitement around here."

Emilia smiled in relief. At least she would be relatively safe here.

"You can hide at my house," Keefe offered. "Trust me, no one will find you there."

"Okay," Emilia said.

Sophie cleared her throat. "Well, I guess I don't have to visit the Healing Center anymore." She shot Emilia a smile. "Thanks."

"No problem," Emilia said.

"Um, so do ya wanna come to see my house and make sure it's okay?" Keefe asked.

"Uh, sure, I guess," Emilia said. "Sophie, do you want to come?"

Sophie nodded. "As long as Keefe's okay with it."

"Yeah, that's cool."

Sophie smiled softly.

Keefe stood up. "Well, I guess we should get there before my parents get home. They're out on a 'day trip'"

Emilia and Sophie nodded.

They followed Keefe to the Leapmaster, watching as the crystal to "Candleshade" spun in the air.

Just before they stepped into the light, Sophie stopped.

"What is it?" Emilia asked her.

"I'm just wondering if we should do this. We just met you. I'm not saying that you aren't a good person, or goddess, or whatever." She added hastily. "But shouldn't we get to know you better before we help you?"

"Yes, but I don't have the luxury of time. My brother has his best spirits on the lookout for me, and I can't afford to wait around."

Sophie looked down. "Fine. But please promise that you won't ask us to get involved in anything bad."

"I promise," Emilia said.

"Thanks."

"Are you girls done now?" Keefe asked. "'Cuz my parents will be home soon."

He didn't have to tell them twice. Emilia stepped into the light, praying that she had made the right choice.