Free The Secret Fire by Whitaker Ringwald Page A

sleeveless, and the belt was woven from golden thread. Her skin was very brown, which seemed unusual for a redhead. I wanted to point out that an excessive amount of tanning wasn’t healthy, but then again, if you’re immortal, you probably don’t have to worry about skin cancer. Her feet were bare. I guess she didn’t have to worry about stubbing her toes, either.
    â€œI’m wondering about something,” I said. “Why did you tell us that we’d be safe here in your house? I mean, is this house magical or something? How can it keep Zeus from finding us?”
    â€œThere is no magic in my home,” she said. “Only the gods have magic. But Zeus knows he is not welcome here. Thus, he never visits.”
    Pandora stopped walking and gestured at a wallthat was covered in smaller mosaics. “These are portraits of my daughter,” she explained. The first showed a baby with a happy grin. The others caught important moments, like first tooth, first steps. It reminded me of the upstairs hallway in our house where Mom displayed our school photos, even the ones with braces and embarrassing haircuts. I wondered if Pyrrha was embarrassed by any of these pictures. “I miss her,” Pandora said. There was so much sadness in her voice that I suddenly felt sad, too.
    â€œShe’s okay,” I told her, even though I wasn’t sure that was true.
    â€œHey, I was wondering . . .” Tyler pushed his messy hair from his eyes. “Is this guy Pyrrha’s boyfriend?” He pointed to a mosaic that showed a teenage Pyrrha standing with a young man. He had his arm around her.
    â€œThat is not Pyrrha,” Pandora corrected. “That is myself and my husband when we were first married. Pyrrha does not have a boyfriend.”
    A goofy smile spread across Tyler’s face. He’d been acting weird ever since we’d met Pyrrha in the parking lot outside Merlin’s Comics. He’d been flirting with her nonstop. I knew exactly what he was thinking. He was imagining that when this was all over, he’dask Pyrrha on a date. I was about to point out that, from what I’d heard, long-distance relationships were very difficult to maintain, even if the two people lived in the same dimension. And even if they were both mortals. The odds seemed stacked against Tyler. But something else had caught my attention.
    It was a mosaic of two young men. Both had black hair, and one was clearly older than the other, taller, with more muscles. He stood with his hands on his hips, smiling proudly, as if a spotlight were shining on him. The younger man stood quietly to the side, watching. Pandora stepped next to me. “That is my husband and his brother, Prometheus,” she said.
    â€œPrometheus?” Tyler gasped. “Whoa! That’s what he looks like?”
    â€œThis mosaic was created a very long time ago,” Pandora told us. “But he was once a handsome young man. As was my husband.” She pointed to the younger man, the one standing off to the side. “Please understand that Epimetheus was a kind soul once. Gentle. Compassionate. The man you met, named Ricardo, is not the man he used to be.”
    â€œWhat happened?” I asked.
    Pandora sighed. “His heart was broken.”
    â€œBy a girl?” Tyler asked.
    â€œNo.” Pandora’s eyes settled to a muted gray. Then she gazed into the distance, as if she could see the story she was about to tell. “When he was young, Epimetheus spent most of his time with his brother, Prometheus. This was when we lived in your world. Prometheus was fond of humans, and he had many friends among them. One day he decided to give them a gift.”
    â€œFire,” Tyler said with a knowing smile.
    Pandora nodded. “The gift of fire gave man creative power. It changed the balance of things, and this made Zeus angry. In retaliation, Zeus declared that Prometheus would live out eternity, chained