The Secret Fire Read Online Free Page A

forgiveness!” The limousine filled with his rage. His words echoed off the ceiling and floor. One of the windows cracked. I’d heard of opera singers hitting high notes and breaking wine glasses, but I’d never heard of anyone breaking a car window with words!
    I shrank against my seat. But Pyrrha didn’t flinch. Maybe she was used to his temper.
    A few moments later, the echoes died away. Ricardo took a deep breath, his voice once again controlled and emotionless. “Tyler and Ethan Hoche will do whatever has to be done to save Jacqueline’s life. They will deliver the urns to me.” He gazed out the window, a faraway look on his face. Was he imagining his future world? What did it look like? Once he took over, would he crown himself a king? An emperor? “I have spent far too much time chasing after the urns,” he said. “By assigning the labor to Tyler and Ethan, I will be free to prepare.”
    â€œPrepare?” Pyrrha asked.
    â€œNot now,” he said curtly. “We will discuss things in private. There is no need to involve this . . . mortal girl .”
    I felt insulted again. “Hello? I’m already involved . You kidnapped me, remember?”
    He ignored me. And Pyrrha didn’t look at me either. Maybe it was best for me to be quiet. Mom was always telling me that sometimes you learn more by listening. “Father, what if Tyler and Ethan fail?” Pyrrha asked. “What if they can’t find the urn of Love?”
    â€œI will not waiver. Two urns or she dies.”
    Silence filled the limousine. I looked out the window. We were on a freeway now, leaving Boston behind.
    I pulled my feet onto the seat and wrapped my arms around my knees. Two urns equaled my freedom. But one urn had already been destroyed. My freedom would not be given.
    It looked like there was only one thing to do—I would have to free myself.

4
Ethan
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  FACT: Urns are some of the oldest relics that archaeologists have discovered. They were often used to hold cremated remains. In ancient Greece they were used to hold oil, and in early Anglo-Saxon tribes, a dead king’s heart was sometimes placed in an urn.
    In modern mathematics, an urn problem is a thought experiment in probability theory. What that means is the experimenter comes up with a possible action, then explores the potential consequences of that action. It’s a mental exercise, so the action doesn’t have to be taken. You just have to think it through. I like thinking things through.
    W e couldn’t save Jax, not yet. Tyler needed to go to the Realm of the Gods and ask Zeus for help.
    Well, actually, Tyler wanted to make a trade with Zeus—if Zeus agreed to help us free Jax, Tyler would tell him where to find Ricardo. Tyler wanted to barter with a god.
    How many consequences could that action have?
    Roadside assistance showed up an hour later with a container of gas. Even though our portal to the gods wasn’t far, I argued that we should stop at the first station to fill the rest of the tank. The way things were going, we never knew when we were going to end up in a car chase. During this whole trip I’d been in the backseat, acting as the map reader. That’s what I’m comfortable with, looking up things on my phone. The fact-checker. The reader. But now I sat in the front seat, cradling the small red urn.
    A long time ago, Zeus had filled the urn with love. It was a gift, given to Pyrrha. If she wasfeeling sad, she could open the urn and surround herself with love. He’d also given her urns filled with hope and faith. But the urns had been ruined by Pyrrha’s father—the man we’d come to know as Ricardo. He’d opened the urns and had tainted them with wickedness and jealousy. So love escaped. As did hope and faith. The urns had been lying empty and abandoned for centuries. And as time passed, they began to crave love, hope, and faith