Volcanoes Read Free Page A

movement.
    "I feel like I'm talking to a brick wall with all that you listen to me," he gro und out between clenched teeth. "I cannot recall how many times I've asked you to stop and think about the effects of your power. All I get back are hissy fits, sullen snits or pandering nods. That is going to stop now or you are getting magically neutere d .  We're here to protect this planet, Grace – not destroy it."
    My first instinct was to nod and promise that I would do whatever he wanted as long as he stopped being mad at me. I stopped myself at the last minute because that was what he was talking about . I either fought him or agreed with him so he wouldn't be mad. I'd never stopped to think about what he was telling me without my ego getting in the way. I was always in defensive mode around Heph.
    A large part of me wanted to justify my actions because of what he'd done to train me. Who threw their apprentice in a forge so hot it could create nuclear fallout that made Chernobyl look like a day at the beach? Nobody, that's who!  My need to deflect created a division between the two of us that was now cau s ing real problems.
    I didn't want to listen to him because I was too proud – and spiteful - and he was tired of me acting like a goddamned brat.  Once that realization hit, the shame came with it – which, unfortunately, led to more defensiveness. It was a brutal emotional cycle that needed to stop now, or he was right – I could destroy this planet.
    He sensed my surrender and loosened his grip enough so that I could speak. "You're right. I'm sorry. Tell me how I can fix this."
    "You can't fix it. Now you hav e to just leave it be.  Let the fallout settle so you can help pick up the pieces."
    I flinched at the tone of his voice. I'd spent so much time acting antagonistic toward him that I ’ d forgotten that at my core, I just wanted him to like – no, love me.
    He sighed and let go. "You're an idiot, Grace. Get up; let's regroup with the others in Olympus."
    I nodded and tried to push myself to my feet. My arms decided to take this time to pretend they were made of Jell-o. Frowning, I tried again with the same result s. I couldn't get up. I could barely move.
    Fear made me lie through my teeth. Don't ask what I was afraid of. I didn't know at the time. "I need a minute to breathe, and check to make sure the entire wall came down. I'll meet you there."
    Heph eyed me suspiciously and then nodded. "Okay, meet us in Zeus' lab."
    "You got it. And Heph? I'm really sorry." Did my voice sound pitiful? Crap, it did.
    "Stop telling me you are sorry and start acting like you are," was all he said before disappearing.

C hapter 2
     
     
    I ’ m not a fan of self-reflection. When I get into this mode, it's because I've fucked something up and I ’ m left feeling like everything I see inside of me is bad. Nobody stops to think about how they can change their life when everything is going good.
    Okay, I didn't think about how to change my life when it was going good. Because why fix what isn't broken?
    So, here I lay – broken. Feeling was starting to reincorporate itself into my limbs, and the pins and needles sensations were unwelcome . That wasn't the biggest of my worries, though. When I'd told Heph that I was going to check to see if I'd taken the entire wall down, I wasn't being facetious. I literally could not feel my connection to the Earth.
    The lack of frantic energy felt like I ’ d been dumped in a sensory deprivation tank and left there to rot. That buzzing had been with me for my entire life, even though I hadn't known what it was. Sure, it was only a slight buzz before last year. But when my power had burst from me like an ali e n in a cyborg, it had gotten stronger; continuing to become more focused with each day. Now, suddenly, it was just gone.
    Zeus had told me that these buzzing sensations were caused by the nanites at work in my body, repairing cells and creating electrical pulses that helped fuel my