“So, John was raised in a very racially controlled environment?” I queried.
Regardless of how the boy was raised, he was the epitome of evil in my eyes, and I still wanted him dead. Was it wrong that I did not feel that my emotions were wrong? Didn’t I have a reason to hate him?
“He was, yes,” my mother replied. “Which makes it even more interesting that his parents allowed him to be with Krista, seeing how her adoptive parents were different types of blood.” She shot me a sour look.
“Well, that is interesting,” I said.
There was a moment of silence. When my mother spoke again, I jumped.
“So here is my theory on Miranda so far. She has the Neutralizer to take out the Wardens and the Harbinger to make sure that the job is successful. She will not attack until Wesley tells her that the outcome will be in her favor. John is there to make the Warden’s powers weak and unusable, so Miranda can kill them and send them wherever it is she plans on sending them. That is why when you said she wanted to burn Heaven and Hell I panicked.”
“So, what does this have to do with me being a Warden?” I asked cautiously.
“There are four Wardens. I’m sure that Nick has told you about them, how they were the first created. They each hold a piece of their core. When God and Lucifer became aware of your father and mines little tryst, he made it clear what you would be. The only explanation I got when I asked what the element was, was God telling me I would find out when you were older. I prayed for Earth since I so enjoyed the many wonderful things it offered us. I wanted to plant gardens, and have you help me make them grow, and we would be surrounded by beauty.”
“That explains all the gardens we had together in the past,” I said, laughing bitterly.
“Then the day came. I stood in that field, scared to death of what was happening to you. When I told you to release the power, I wasn’t expecting fire. You burned everything in that field to the ground!” She paused to wipe a tear from her eye.
“As if the charred sheets and the flaming curtains weren’t enough of an indication,” I said humorlessly.
“I couldn’t understand how something so powerful could come from someone so small. When you put your hands out and let the power go, it was an amazing sight. From one hand shot the red flames of your father while from your left hand came the white flames you inherited from me.”
“So, the power was balanced.” I felt oddly proud of myself.
“This last year has been the most trying for me, watching the fire build in you. Seeing you fight to control it, has been exhausting. Seeing you engulfed in flames because your emotions were just too much for you, holding your hand on Christmas morning as the fire seared through your heart.” She wiped another tear from her eye.
“There are Carriers, beings who control only one side, in this world. I’m sure Nick has explained it to you. They don’t really protect their element so much as carry it. Half the time they don’t even know what they are. They go about their daily lives wishing to have amazing power without ever realizing that it is already in them, that the itch they feel in their fingertips is really the power wanting to come out and play.”
I stopped her. “So, you are saying that I carry both sides of the flame, that I am, in fact, the Fire Warden?” I was beginning to feel overwhelmed. Could it be possible that I really was this gifted being that Nick had been talking about? I squinted at my mother. “What happens if I die?”
My mother looked at Nick with narrowed eyes. This was not a question that my mother wanted to answer. I could see that for certain.
“If you were to die, the fire would die with you. It would be reborn again only if there were another union between Heaven and Hell and a child resulted from that union. Until then you would sit in Purgatory, waiting for your power to pass to another or, in a few odd cases, to be resurrected by your sisters.” She was struggling to remain calm. “Such unions are forbidden, which makes you the last to be born with the blood of both sides. I’m not saying that it couldn’t happen again, but it would have to be something extraordinary.”
“So, you’re telling me that if I die, I pretty much screw all of humanity?” I said. “That’s quite a responsibility to lay on an eighteen-year-old.”
“I wouldn’t put it that way, but yes, it is quite a task. That was why I was hoping that I would never have to tell you. It’s not that I didn’t want to. There was never a need. Miranda has made things more complicated, however, with her diabolical plans.” My mother looked at Nick. “Was that enough for you?”
“That will do for now,” he said, glancing at me. “Do you have any questions?”
“Where do I begin?” I asked, putting my head in my hands.
Chapter 7
Krista
My mother invited Nick to stay with us in the spare bedroom. He thanked her for her hospitality, after which they remained in the living room talking while I took a few moments to get away. I made the bed for him and fetched him some fresh clothes that had belonged to my stepfather.
“I understand that it’s a lot to take in,” I heard Nick say behind me as I finished putting the comforter on the bed. I wasn’t aware that he had even entered the room.
“Yeah, it is,” I said, turning to look at him.
“I’m here to make sure you find the others.”
“Krista came to me in a dream and told me about her
