The Secret Fire Read Online Free PDF Page B

stay behind made perfect, logical sense. I was the only link between Jax, Ricardo, Tyler, and Great-Aunt Juniper. If both Tyler and I disappeared, Mom and Dad might never know what became of us.
    â€œHey, kid, there’s no swimming in the fountain,” an old man called.
    We ignored him. “How long should I wait for you?” I asked.
    â€œI don’t know. As long as you can. You might have to lie to Mom and Dad some more.”
    â€œBe careful,” I told him. No one had to remind me about not taking unnecessary risks. But Tyler and I were as different as night and day. He stepped in puddles without considering their depth. He walked right into the middle of a crowd without making sure there were nearby exits. He even used public ketchup bottles. Risk aversion was definitely not part of his DNA sequencing.
    I handed him the urn of Love. Without another word, he turned away and started walking across the fountain, toward Poseidon. I wanted to offer himsome advice. But what could I say?
    â€œTry not to make Zeus mad!” I hollered. Tyler was good at many things, but he was an expert on annoying people. Most of the gamers I’d met were annoying. They had opinions, and if you didn’t know what obscure fantasy character they were referring to, or a particular episode of Doctor Who , they acted like you were stupid. If Tyler and Zeus got into a conversation and Zeus didn’t know anything about online, multiplayer formats, Tyler might insult him. “And don’t lose the bag or you can’t get back!”
    Tyler whipped around. “The bag!” he cried. “I left it in the car!”
    Oh. My. God! “I’ll get it!”
    I ran as fast as I could. It took me exactly 3.3 minutes to get to our parking spot. I unlocked the car and grabbed Pyrrha’s leather bag. I relocked the car and ran, the bag slung over my shoulder. By the time I made it back, I was completely out of breath. Luckily, no one seemed to care that Tyler was still standing in the fountain. “Hey!” I called, holding up the bag.
    Unfortunately, the Peruvian band was now standing on the pathway, quite close to Tyler. The drums were loud enough to drown out my voice. Tyler stared at Poseidon like he was in some kind of trance.Trying not to think about the fact that some of the worst diseases that inflict mankind are carried by filthy water, I climbed into the basin, and sloshed up to him. “Here!”
    He pointed at the statue. “Look.”
    Like the other three statues, Poseidon sat on a ledge. He wore a laurel wreath on his head. His beard was long and wavy, and his chest was bare. He sat with his hand resting on his knee, his face turned toward his sea-nymph wife, who sat on another ledge. What was I supposed to be looking at? Nothing seemed unusual.
    â€œThere!” Tyler said, his finger jabbing the air in front of Poseidon’s eyes.
    A slight flicker of light came from inside the bronze eyes. I shivered.
    Then I looked at the bag. The golden trident had begun to glow. The bag was vibrating. I shoved the car keys and the phone into my pocket. Then I yanked the bag off my shoulder. “It’s starting to do something!” I hollered as the flute-playing reached an obnoxious volume. “Take it! Hurry!”
    Tyler grabbed the bag but before I let go, the ground disappeared and I fell into darkness.

7
Jax
    W e drove in silence for a long while. Ricardo was busy texting. He sure had a lot to say because his thumbs were flying. With his gaze focused on his screen, I took the opportunity to sneak a closer look at him. He didn’t have any wrinkles on his face, and no crow’s-feet around his eyes, so even though I knew he was Pyrrha’s dad, he seemed young. My mom has a special cream she puts on at night, to fill the lines around her eyes. I guess being immortal meant you didn’t need to worry about things like that. As I thought aboutmy mom, an ache spread across