Ellie's Flames BOOK 2

11: My Heart of Stone... Isn't So Stony

Sera's POV

I've never felt so helpless in all my life. And I absolutely hate it. Numbly, I stagger to my feet, stumbling my way over to my brother, hugging his prone figure tight. Tears run down my nose, kind of making it itchy, but I don't care. I squeeze my eyes shut, just holding Arson.

"Sera?" Evie's soft voice behind me stirs me out of my daze. I pull back from my brother, brushing underneath his chin once before turning to my friends. They're all there, Celia kneeling down to examine a cross-legged stone Hector. He must've been pulling at grass. I remember he used to like braiding falling-apart clothing on the Isle.

"Are you okay?" Evie whispers.

I nod, trying and failing to pull back my easy grin. When that fails, I shake my head, defeated. A few seconds of silence reminds me that I have tears on my face, so I quickly wipe them away.

"I'm going to punch Audrey in her perfect nose." I say, my voice stuffy, looking once more at my brother. Turning back to my friends, I glare at nothing. "Why is he stone when Brit is asleep?"

"I think the stone came after the sleep." Mal says slowly. "It kind of makes sense. The sleeping spell wasn't too powerful yet, so it only affected most everyone. Arson and Hector are both half-god. Maybe that warded off the sleeping spell but not the stone one."

I sniff loudly, trying to stop my nose from running. Seriously, why does crying destroy people's faces?

"I should've been here." I mumble miserably. "I am going to kill Audrey."

"That's the spirit." Evie says encouragingly. "Why don't we move them inside? Or at least Brit?"

"Oh. Sure." I kneel down, swooping her up over my shoulder as easy as picking up a kitten. "Don't worry, Brit." I tell her, patting her leg as we head inside. I dump her on an armchair near the sofa that Diz and the gang are snuggled up on. "This'll all be over soon. Then you can go back to playin' tag with Ar an' Hector. And a bunch of newbies we'll be bringin' over. Right?" I glance over at the group, needing some good news. Needing something we can look forward to. Uma nods with Evie and Celia, but Mal for some reason looks troubled.

Okay, whatever. Maybe she ate something weird.

Suddenly, a loud growling sound comes from Evie's studio. I'm still shaken about Ar, so I jump a mile and land in a defensive kung-fu position.

Celia snickers. Mal, Evie, and Uma all turn and head that way, me trailing behind. Man, seeing Ar as a garden statue has me all outta whack. I should be going first!

We all enter Evie's studio, squeezing through the door. Uma stops, turning to us. "Who's the dude?"

"Doug!" Evie says in surprise.

"Oh, right, I forgot he was in here." I mutter, scratching the back of my neck. I vaguely remember seeing him when I was on the search for Arson, but I didn't connect the dots until just now.

Evie pushes past us, walking over to her boyfriend (who seriously needs a haircut) and kneels next to him. She starts repeatedly pushing on his chest, ordering him to wake up.

"He's spelled." I remind her, my voice still snotty-soundy.

"Is she not a fast learner?" Uma asks Mal.

"She's emotionally involved, okay?" Mal says.

Understanding comes across Uma's face---hallelujah, the girl can be smart. "Well, in that case, she should be able to wake him up."

Evie looks up in confusion, one curly bit of her hair going over her shoulder. My finger twitches in my determination not to move it back for her.