She grabbed hold of his hand. “The Water Kingdom is just a place. You and my cousins and the people in this room are my home. That’s all I care about. I’d destroy the palace myself rather than risk you.”
Gion’s heart melted. No one but Ty had ever worried about him. “Angel, I’ll be fine.” He leaned down to kiss her briefly. “And I’ll protect you and Nia and Thar, alright? I’ll put you three somewhere safe and then I’ll…”
“I won’t leave you here to face an army alone! Are you insane?”
“He’s insane.” Tessie nodded sagely. “See? Ty gets it.”
Job touched Tessie’s hair and nudged her behind him. “Stay back, Tess. Don’t get near the windows.” He swept towards the French doors, looking down at the Air Phases below. “Why do we do this?” He whispered.
Gion thought back to his answer the last time Job had asked that in the Agora. Was it really in their nature or was it even simpler than that? “You have to believe in something,” he finally murmured, “or you go crazy. And it’s hard to believe in anything, anymore.”
There was a long pause. Then, Job sighed. “And sometimes, you have to set aside what you believe. It’s a new world and, without the barriers, nothing will keep Parald away from here. Even if we retreat this time, they’ll just come back and back and back.” His lawn green eyes met Gion’s. “Can you and Isaacs support the Air House alone? With just yourselves and the rebels?”
The meaning behind that question struck Gion at once.
Job, who made Nobel Peace Prize recipients look like militant Nazis half the time, was preparing to eradicate the majority of the Air House. Job didn’t approve of war. The guy was a pacifist. An optimist. A boy scout.
But, God only knew what Job could do once he reached the end of his seemingly limitless patience. And nothing pissed him off faster than a threat to his family. Cross, Tessie, and Nia’s unborn baby were in the palace. Toss in the three Water Phases and that was the pretty much the extent of Job’s loved ones.
The Air Phases had picked a real bad day to come visiting.
Gion’s mouth curved. “We can hold the Air House.” There wasn’t a doubt in Gion’s mind. If need be, he’d support the whole damn thing himself. If Cross could do it, then he could do it.
Isaacs paled, understanding Job’s words, too. “Shit. Did I pick the right time to move or what?”
*****
“The barriers are down!” Lansing dashed through the Magnet Fortress towards Chason’s office. “Commander, this is our chance to get into the Air Kingdom!”
Other Houses had the same idea. Without the barriers, Lansing could feel power echoing across the Elemental realm. Phases were jumping to new destinations. A lot of Phases.
Headed for the Air Kingdom.
Headed for the Water Kingdom.
Headed for places that might be safe from the fighting.
The Reprisal had to strike, now.
Lansing needed revenge and this was the moment for it. He wouldn’t rest until he had vengeance for his family. He’d always thought that Chason felt the same way, but recently he’d begun to doubt Chason’s commitment.
He’d always had total faith in Chason. The man was an inspiration. The ideal. For all the angry, bitter Phases who’d lost everything in the Fall, Chason represented hope. He gave them a mission to fight for. Lansing had always tried to model himself after the Magnet King.
After Chason’s inexplicable decision to not execute Raiden, though, Lansing wasn’t sure what to think. Everyone knew that Raiden was insane. Why the hell would Chason believe that bullshit about Mara being returned to him?
It was impossible.
Nothing could unmurder Parald’s victims.
Lansing had shouted that. He’d tried to get Chason to understand that Raiden was wrong. Tried to get him to order Raiden’s punishment or even explode in violence over the lie. Tried to get Chason to listen.
Only he wasn’t sure if he’d been successful or not.
After Raiden’s revelation that Mara might be returned to Chason, and that Ty was somehow connected to the vision, the Magnet King had grown utterly silent. The last time Lansing checked, Chason had been staring at nothing for over two hours.
Ty, of the Water House needed to die.
Lansing believed that. If she’d just submitted to Parald and accepted her Match, none of this would have happened. Once Parald was dead, Ty of the Water House was next. And then, the rest of the Air Phases, starting with Gion and Isaacs.
Fucking Isaacs.
Ty would have been dead in the Agora before Raiden even arrived if it wasn’t for that bastard. Lansing hoped that he really had blinded him.
“Commander! The barriers have fallen.” Lansing burst into the office. “We have to…” He stopped short, his eyes cutting around the space in anger and confusion.
Chason was already gone.
*****
Gion glowered as Tharsis, Cross and Nia came dashing into the living room. “Next time I tell you to stay put, you damn well stay put, Thar.”
“God, you’re bossy.” Tharsis muttered, utterly unimpressed with Gion’s assassin scowl. “Shouldn’t you be disintegrating our enemies, rather than lecturing me?”
Despite the circumstances, Ty almost smiled at Gion’s expression. This was more than just a security job for him or some promise that he’d made her. Gion cared about Ty’s headstrong relatives. She could tell from the utter irritation on his face.
Cross didn’t look much happier. “Why is the whole world constantly trying to kill us?” He marched over to stand next to Job. “I think we’re friggin’ nice. Don’t you think we’re friggin’ nice? Why are there so many mercenaries who miss that?”
“To be fair, the Water Kingdom’s always been a tourist destination.” Even with an invasion on her doorstep, Ty wasn’t scared. She didn’t have any feelings of an impending panic attack. The entire Air Phase army might have been outside, but Gion and Job pretty much evened the odds, as far as she was concerned.
And if things got too dangerous, they could just jump someplace else. Ty loved the Water Kingdom, but she’d abandon it forever before she endangered her family just to hold onto it.
Nia looked out the shattered French doors at the army gathered below. “Why don’t they just jump right into the palace?”
“Intimidation and showing-off.” Isaacs snorted. “Saxon’s all about overcompensation.”
“So evil cretins are bombing my house as some kind of Freudian thing? Great. Cross honey?” Nia glanced at him. “Now would be a super time for you to practice your Shadow erasing trick on a whole army of deserving guinea pigs.”
Ty liked the sound of that. Cross’ powers allowed him to manipulate Shadows so they swallowed people up, never to be heard from again. She wasn’t sure if he could vanish anything even close to this scale, but she was willing to let him try. Ty wanted the booming and shaking to stop. At this rate, the whole place would come down.
She frowned as mosaic tiles fell from the walls. Randa was a stone Phase. Maybe later she’d agree to fix the damage.
Cross glanced over at Job for his vote on the Shadow erasing thing, but his uncle was deep in silent thought.
“Nia, are you, okay?” Ty’s worried gaze went to her cousin’s stomach as the building shuddered from the impacts. The Water Palace was solidly built, but she really was getting concerned about how much more the structure could take. “You and the baby need to get out of here.”
“I’m fine. The Air House isn’t going to drive me out of my ancestral home. Randa’s actually sleeping through this pathetic mess, so… Hey!” Nia trailed off with an outraged yelp as Gion grabbed her arm and forced her behind the black composite door.
“Get your fucking hands off my Match!” Cross roared. “Are you out of your mind?!”
Gion deposited Nia next to Ty, making a production of removing his palms and holding them up “not my fault” style. “Ty told me to guard Nia and that’s what I’m doing. She
stays behind the plastic. It’ll stop the Air energy.”
Nia rolled her eyes. “What the hell kinda protecting the womenfolk bullshit is this?”
“You’re pregnant, Tessie’s basically a human, and Ty’s only ninety-six.” Gion retorted. “That’s not chauvinism, that’s logic. Uriel and Thar, you need to come over here, too. Uriel’s not supposed to be in any danger, and Water Phases aren’t soldiers. I don’t want Thar fighting.”
“Dude, it ain’t gonna happen.” Tharsis good naturedly flicked him off and stayed where he was.
“I am not the only one here with a Match!” Uriel protested. “Why am I always singled out?”
“We should so be leaving.” Tessie muttered. She sat behind the door, her legs crossed and her chin in her palm. “Discretion’s the better part of valor.”
“The rest of valor is actually killing people, though.” Brokk’s eyes gleamed, loving this. “As soon as the rebels get here, we should attack the invaders and drive them from our lands.”
Gion snorted. “Thank you, Pickett, but I think we’ll pass on the charge.” He looked over at Job. “Between you, me and Cross can we get rid of them from here?”
Silence.
Job continued to stand by the broken French doors, his hands behind his back military “at rest” style, not saying a word. Ty realized that he was gathering energy.
Preparing.
“Gion!” Saxon’s voice was projected through a megaphone. “Hand over Parald’s Match, give up the palace, and we’ll be merciful towards the rest of you.”
Gion focused for a second and then there was a great swell of power. Ty didn’t even have to look to know that a massive tornado had just struck the Air House lines. She could tell from the screaming.
“Was that the sound of one of my historic building collapsing on Saxon?”
“Of course not, angel. I think it was just the bakery.”
Uriel slapped a palm on his shoulder. “You are a true Wood Phase, cousin.”
For once, Gion seemed to appreciate that.
Job finally looked over at Gion as the cannon blasts of Air powers fired at them even more aggressively. “Save your energy for the real fighting.” He seemed unfazed as a bone crushing rush of Air torpedoed past him and crashed against the opposite wall. His white blond hair blew in the rushing winds, falling around the hard planes of his face. “We’re waiting for the rebels and then we’re going to kill a lot of Air Phases. Let me do most of the work, understand?” His beautiful voice sounded determined and sad. “It’ll be an avalanche of power. Isaacs and the rebels can take some, but you’ll need to support most of it, at first. I don’t know that the others can balance it so fast.”
“Job?” Tessie glanced up at him in concern. “Don’t do anything that you’ll regret, honey.”
Ty felt herself nodding. She wasn’t certain that Job had ever killed anyone before. He respected life too deeply, especially since the Fall. Wiping out scores and scores of Phases would break his heart. Even if they were bad guys.
“I can kill the Air Phases.” Cross volunteered. “I won’t regret it and then Job won’t have to…”
“No.” Job cut him off, shaking his head. “It’s too big. I’ll do it. I’ll be alright.”
Tessie didn’t look convinced.
Neither did Cross. “Yeah, but…”
The loud whistling sound of an incoming volley interrupted him.
“Ty!” She heard Gion shout her name a second before a blast of energy smashed into the composite door. Ty felt the power of the impact and then the force dissipated into nothing, the energy unable to penetrate the plastic.
It worked!
Ty’s excited eyes met Gion’s. His security measure had actually worked!
It wasn’t that she’d doubted his expertise, but seeing all his carefully laid out plans --plans that she’d griped about-- save lives… Wow! That was pretty amazing work for an ex-soldier who was now a king and destined to become a musician.
Gion was truly a renaissance man.
“Are you hurt?” He demanded, starting for her.
“No.” Ty waved him back. “I’m fine.”
All of them were fine. Cross and Job were already reaching for Nia and Tessie, pulling then to their feet, searching for injuries.
“Oh come on! What were the odds of that happening?” Nia pointed at Gion. “You set that up. Admit it.”
To Ty’s amazement, Gion actually grinned, his cape swirling in the onrushing Air. “I’m never going to let you forget this moment, Nia. It’ll be the bedtime story that I tell my niece as she’s safely tucked into her Plexiglas bedroom each night.”
In the middle of the war, with pieces of the gilded ceiling raining down on her, Nia started laughing.
Amarna jumped into the room with a small army of her rebels. “We’re ready for the war.”
The Air Phases raised their swords above their heads as they cheered at her words.
Ty shifted sideways to give them more room, her hand coming down on a jagged sliver of Plexiglas. It must’ve broken when the barriers collapsed and the stack of panels fell. The small cut it left on her hand stung more than it should have and she automatically picked up the shard to figure out why. Because it was plastic, maybe? The stuff just didn’t agree with the Elementals’ systems.
“Parald’s not out there, of course.” Marna sounded out of breath. “Coward. We’ll get him later. He’s locked himself in his throne room, just like he did in the Battle of the Fall.”
Job turned to look at her sharply. “Locks aren’t working today.”
“His rooms are lined in plastic net. You can’t jump into it. I think Gion did that for him.”
Gion made a face. “No, I didn’t. Someone saw the Plexiglas I had over my own bedroom window and stole the idea.”
“Jesus, I thought it was a good security measure, okay?” Isaacs protested. “You should take that as a compliment!”
“Parald can’t stay in there forever…”
Whatever Amarna planned to say next was lost for Ty. One moment she was wishing there was some way to just kill Parald outright so Job wouldn’t have to have so many deaths on his conscious. The next, someone was jumping into the room and grabbing her.
Ty cried out in surprise as Chason, of the Magnet House seized her arm and pulled her to her feet. The Commander of the Reprisal looked more disheveled than she’d ever seen him, his purple eyes glowing with wild resolve.
“Chase, stop!” Ty pushed against him, but he towered over her, outweighing her two to one.
“I’m just borrowing you.” Chason swung Ty around, him forearm anchoring her shoulders to his chest. “I’ll return you when I’m done.” He pulled her backwards, giving himself room to jump. He only needed that and three seconds, and he’d be gone.
Not even the dozens of Air Phases in the room distracted him from his drive-by kidnapping. And, if Chason missed an opportunity to kill Air Phases, you knew he was pretty damn focused.
Gion started forward at a run. His powers swelled like a maelstrom, unable to find a clear target with Chason holding Ty in front of him.
Everything seemed to happen at once. Ty saw Thar’s eyes widen in horror; heard Nia shout in panic. Cross lunged for Ty. Even Isaacs swore, loudly.
“Chason, let her go.” Job ordered.
“I can’t. I’m sorry. It’s time.”
“You son-of-a-bitch!” Gion roared and then Chason was jumping, again, dragging Ty along with him.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Nor will this overwhelming tendency to do wrong for the wrong's sake, admit of analysis, or
resolution into ulterior elements. It is a radical, a primitive impulse.
Edgar Allan Poe- ‘The Imp of the Perverse’
Gion’s powers screamed in his head as absolute terror filled him. “Fuck!” Every other thought or sensation vanished under the cloud of horror. He’d ruined it. Screwed up. Allowed Chason to steal the bright center of the world.
Ty was gone.
Gion had to get her back.
Find her.
Nothing else mattered.
Job grabbed his arm, preventing Gion from jumping right after Chason. “Stop and think.”
Gion shoved him away. “I have to go!”
“This is probably just what Chason’s hoping that you’ll do. React without a plan.”
“I don’t care!”
And he didn’t.
Gion had the frenzied thought that this is how Cross must have felt when the Reprisal took Nia that time in Mayport Beach. Back then, Gion had tried to use logic on Cross and it had been like reasoning with a cement wall on meth. The guy had been stubbornly berserk and now Gion understood why.
No one could function through this kind of fear.
The panic he felt was as bad as when the mob attacked Ty. Worse. Because now Gion loved her so much more. Before, Ty had been a vision. Now she was real, though. His Match. His wife. The woman who made faces at his security reports, and spun sensual stories in bed, and argued with him over the artistic merits of old buildings, and absently stuck pencils in her hair as she worked on her laptop.
Ty was everything.
Job held up his hands “listen to me” style. “You’re not thinking straight. I will help you do this so no one gets hurt. But, you’re rushing in on pure emotion.”
“I don’t care!”
For once, Job looked frustrated. “It’s reckless! Chason wants to kill you. With Ty, he’ll hesitate. I’m sure of it. But, with you…”
“I DON’T CARE!”
“Gion.” Nia seized the front of his shirt. “Job’s right. I know that he’s right, but I don’t care. Just get my cousin back. It doesn’t matter what you have to do just get her back!”
Gion met her eyes. “Even if no else in the world survives today… Ty will.” That was more for his own benefit than Nia’s. He stepped back from her, glancing over at Job. “I’m going. Do what you can here. Don’t let Ty’s House fall.”
He jumped without giving Job a chance to reply and landed in the Magnet Fortress, right in Chason’s office.
Exile in the Water Kingdom (The Elemental Phases Book 3) Page 34