Nia’s eyebrows compressed. “It’s because we’re a Match and there are emotions -like- instantly growing between us. My mother always told me that it would happen that way. It’s natural. A chemical process and a sacred experience. But, it’s overwhelming.”
Overwhelming?
Cross nearly snorted. Yeah. He’d rip his heart straight out of his chest for this woman, so that statement seemed fair.
“Finding each other happened so fast.” Nia continued, earnestly. “At least for me. You knew that I was out there for two years.” Cross opened his mouth to defend himself, but she waved a hand at him. “Whatever. I’m dealing with that. You’ve been knocked off balance and you’re uncomfortable. I can understand how you feel.”
Cross had no clue what she was talking about. Aside from the headache, he’d never felt better in his life. “Okay.” He said, anyway.
“Maybe if we try some kind of speed-dating technique. That’s basically what we have here. Speed dating. I saw it on TV.” Cross had the feeling that Nia was nervous, now. Her words were coming faster. “We have to get to know each other as people, right? So we can be sure.”
Cross couldn’t even imagine a worse idea. Shit. Nia wasn’t going to like anything she uncovered about him. Why was she doing this? Did she really think small talk was going to accomplish something? He was already sure that she was his Match. He’d never been more sure of anything.
Ever.
Was she trying to deny their connection?
“I am sure.” The words were unequivocal. “We’re a Match, Nia.” Cross would argue the point to the end of time, if need be.
“No.” She shook her head. “I mean, yes. Obviously, I know we’re a Match. But, don’t you want… more than that?”
“More?”
“Yeah. Don’t you want to be sure of me as a person? That I’m someone you’d… like, even if we weren’t a Match?”
Like?
Was she insane? The emotions Nia brought out in him were as far from ‘like’ as a solitary pebble was from an avalanche. Nia was the only thing in the whole fucking galaxy he cared about. The only cool, calm spot amid the chaos.
He’d do anything for this woman. She had to know that. Cross eyed her, warily. This must be some kind of maneuver for Nia to get rid of him. A trick. There was no other explanation. “I like you.” He weighed each word, carefully. “A lot.”
She frowned, slightly, as if she’d expected him to say something more.
Nia probably didn’t have a great opinion of any Matches, these days. Not with Parald and Ty’s example burned into her mind. Nia knew that sometimes a sweet innocent girl got stuck with a monster. Of course, she’d be wary. Who could blame her for second-guessing the idea of spending her life with Cross?
He was broken.
Wrong.
Nia should run to Job and petition the Council for help.
And if she did that, Cross’s life would be over.
How could he fix it?
“Nia, I don’t know what speed dating is, but if you want it…” Cross shrugged. “I’ll do it. End of story.”
“Really?”
Cross was momentarily hypnotized by her excited grin. No one had ever smiled at him like that. Like he’d done something wonderful, just for them. He gave a dazed nod.
Nia didn’t seem to notice his stunned face. “Thank you! This will be a quick way to learn all about each other. All we have to do is take turns asking questions, okay? Very simple and informative. I’ll go first.” She cleared her throat and adopted a newscaster type of voice. “So, Cross, what kind of music do you like?”
“Music?” Cross floundered for a beat. When he was lying in bed, night after night, wracked with pain and envisioning his Match, he’d never anticipated her administering any sort of pop quiz. Still, it seemed like a fairly innocuous topic. “Um… Bach?” It came out sounding like a question and from the expression on Nia’s face, Cross had the feeling that the answer wasn’t what she’d been expecting.
“Bach? You like classical music?”
“Yeah.” Bach was definitely his favorite. Maybe that was wrong, for some reason.
The Shadow Kingdom didn’t have a lot of radio stations to choose from. Job usually brought Cross stacks of CDs when he visited, though, most of it classical. The guy worried that Cross’s homeland was too quiet. Which it was. Cross would eat double ‘A’ batteries before he admitted it to Job, but the silence of the place sometimes weighed on him even heavier than the Shadows.
Job wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if he wasn’t improving the lives of the less fortunate. Cross was never thrilled with Job’s charity… But, he still listened to every damn song.
“That’s so cool! I like classical music, too. Actually, I like all kinds of music. The Water House used to host incredible concerts before the Fall.”
Cross never really made it onto anyone’s guest list, so he wouldn’t know. Another nod seemed like the safest response. He tried that.
“Okay, now you ask me something.”
“Like what?”
“Whatever you want. Whatever you want to know about me.”
Cross hesitated. “Anything?”
“Sure.”
“You won’t get mad if it’s personal?”
“No. Matches shouldn’t have secrets from each other. My life’s open book.”
Oh, there wasn’t a doubt in Cross’s mind that Nia had nothing to hide. Her past was undoubtedly the stuff of inspirational greeting cards. Of course, he wouldn’t really care if it wasn’t. Nia could have singlehandedly started the Fall and Cross would have been fine with it. Just so she wasn’t renouncing their Match, nothing else mattered.
In fact, there was only one thing Cross needed assurance on. “How do you feel about Job?’
“I love Job.” She answered, instantly.
Cross’s stomach took a nosedive.
Nia’s eyebrows drew together as she looked up at him. Then, she started laughing. “Not like that, dummy.” She gave him a little bump with her shoulder. “Look, I used to play in Job’s office when I was a little girl. He would do paperwork and I would draw pictures on his paperwork. Then, he would sigh and let me tack my scribblings up over this creepy portrait of his grandfather scowling, while he had to redo everything that I’d just ruined. Our relationship hasn’t really evolved much from there. He’s like my uncle or something. Understand?”
“Yes.” Cross felt dizzy with relief.
“He would tell me stories, too. Job has an incredible voice.”
“I know.”
“Have you met Job? You didn’t tell me that.”
“Everyone’s met Job.” And, because she was going to find out the truth, anyway, Cross felt compelled to add: “He doesn’t like me.”
Nia squinted. “Job doesn’t like you? Job, of the Earth House? That’s impossible.”
Cross shrugged. “He doesn’t like me.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not very likable.”
“That’s ridiculous. You’re very likable. I like you.”
Cross’s mouth curved. When Nia said it, “like” didn’t sound quite so paltry. He really, really wanted Nia to like him. It never occurred to him that it was so vital, until he saw the truth of it in her gaze. “Thank you. It’s your turn to ask a question.”
“Okay. Well, since we’re being personal… what happened to you earlier? You were in so much pain back in the office. It scared me.”
Cross winced. He liked the question about music better. He didn’t want to discuss the crushing pressure of the Shadows. The last thing Nia needed was further proof of his instability. “I told you. It was a headache.”
“That was more than just a headache, Cross. There was blood. I think you should see a doctor.”
“I can handle it.”
She wasn’t satisfied by the finality of his tone. Cross could tell by her frown. “But what happened? Why would you get a headache like that?”
He gl
anced away.
Nia sighed.
Mostly to change the subject, Cross decided to take his turn. “Why are you in the human realm looking through hospital records? Who do you think donated blood here and why does it matter?”
Nia shut down. What seemed to Cross to be a very simple question, had her lips pressing closed and her shoulders lifting in a shrug.
Cross scowled when he saw that she wasn’t going to answer. Why? What wasn’t she telling him? “This is your speed dating game, Nia. And you just said that Matches don’t have secrets from each other.”
“Hey, you’re the one who’s not acting like a Match. I’ve been very open and honest. You’re the secretive, closed mouthed one. You don’t want to share anything with me, so why should I share anything with you?”
“I just told you I liked Bach!”
Nia rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah, that was our real breakthrough moment.”
“Being in the human realm is dangerous. I think I have a right to know why you’re endangering your life. And mine, too, since we’re a Match. If you die, I’m probably gonna go with you. Matches life’s spans usually match. We’re connected. That’s simple biology.”
Actually, if Nia died and he somehow survived it, Cross would let the whole universe fall. There wouldn’t be a point to keeping it around.
Nia stared up at the flat clouds as if she had all the time in the world. “If anyone’s risking their Match’s life, it’s you. I’m not the one bleeding from my eyes. If I was sick, I would go to a doctor. I wouldn’t do anything to upset or endanger you.”
Cross’s eyes narrowed. She was playing dirty. “I did go to a doctor.” He said, grudgingly. “I went to Freya.” Or Job had brought Freya to him. And he’d used that same damn argument to get Cross to submit to the examination.
Think about your Match.
Cross never thought about anything else.
Even when she was driving him crazy.
“You did?” Nia looked reassured. “You saw Freya?” Freya was the foremost Elemental healer. “What did she say?”
That there was nothing that anyone could do.
That it was a medical impossibility that Cross could support the entire Shadow House and she had no idea how he could even survive.
That the headaches wouldn’t kill him, but they’d probably never go away.
“She said I was fine.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“Oh.” Nia laid a palm over her chest. “Thank God. Ever since the Fall…” She trailed off and shook her head. “I just couldn’t stand it if something happened to you. I just found you.”
Something soft and warm twisted inside of Cross. His feelings for Nia washed through him like rain, primal and cleansing. She was everything he’d ever dreamed of having. His Match was so beautiful, inside and out. The Shadows stirred, wanting to get closer to her.
Nia looked at him sharply, feeling the strain as he pulled them back. “Cross, our energy will have to touch when we Phaze. You’re holding it back and there’s no need.”
Cross stayed silent, because Nia was wrong.
The Shadows could never touch her. The weight of them would crush Nia. Hurt her. No one knew that better than him. He couldn’t allow their powers to merge and risk destroying the only good thing he’d ever had in his life. No way.
It dawned on Cross that he would always have to hold the Shadows back from Nia.
Forever.
It was the only sure way to protect her.
Cross’s eyes widened in horror.
Which meant that they could never fully Phaze.
The Shadows screamed in his head at the very idea and, for once, Cross completely understood their swirling frustration.
He’d only met Nia today and he was already going insane from wanting her. How the hell was he supposed to resist her for thousands of years? For the rest of their entire lives? How the hell could he possibly survive not Phazing this woman?
Cross would lose what was left of his mind by the end of the first week.
Shit!
This was going to be a problem.
Chapter Six
He cheerfully ignored the laws that governed the elemental
Ralph Connor- “The Major”
Abel, of the Stone House joined the Reprisal as a stepping stone to his future.
No pun intended.
Some people might have called his ambition crazy. After all, signing on with an organization that’s mission statement was the destruction of the universe didn’t leave a lot of room for advancement. In fact, it was the epitome of all dead end jobs.
Or it would have been if Abel actually intended for Chason and the rest of the Reprisal to succeed in their goals. Oh, he completely endorsed some of their agenda:
Kill Parald and every other Air Phase: Yep.
Topple the Water House: Yep.
Get the Quintessence: Yep.
End the world: Um…. No. Not so much.
Abel didn’t want to end the world. If the world ended, Abel couldn’t rule it.
Chason might have led the Reprisal. But, he was also an idiot, blinded by his own grief and rage. He only focused on the past and getting vengeance for his damn Match. He completely missed the elephant in the room with his preoccupation with using the Quintessence to destroy Parald. It was like using an atom bomb to microwave your popcorn.
Whoever controlled the Quintessence became fucking GOD. Not a god. The God. The world’s ultimate power. The unmoved mover of the universe.
Whoever controlled the Quintessence wouldn’t need to worry about getting some half-ass, kamikaze revenge on every Phase who’d wronged him. He could snap his fingers and have them all eaten by weasels from the inside out, if he wanted. He wouldn’t have to worry about triggering the apocalypse if the Houses fell, because he’d be bigger than the Elementals. He could wipe out the Council and never have to hear Job’s preaching again. He could walk in every realm as its rightful master.
Abel wasn’t surprised that he was the only one smart enough to see the true potential of the Quintessence. He was used to being surrounded by morons. Truthfully, the Fall hadn’t done much but thin out their ranks, a bit. Abel had lost his Match and both his parents in the Fall, but he didn’t sit around and constantly whine about it. Not like the rest of the Phases.
Pansies.
Abel had joined the Reprisal because he’d known it was his ticket to greatness. Enough Stone Phases survived that he would never be King of that House and the Council was a Good Ol’ Boys’ club of aristocratic ass-wipes. After the Fall, the Reprisal had taken all comers, though. Any Phase, from any House, who wanted to do their part in blowing up the world had a guaranteed place in their army. It had seemed like the best way for Abel to make a name for himself. And he hated the Air and Water Houses, so he was certainly qualified for the job.
But, the Reprisal’s endless crying and bitching was driving him nuts. It was time to circulate the old resume and climb the ladder of success. Abel had been just another, anonymous Phase all of his life, but now he had the potential to be so much more. To be a galactic fucking force.
And no hairless chimpanzees were going to wreck it for him.
Abel found humans utterly repulsive. They were an infection far worse than the Fall. His first act when he became God would be to exterminate them all. Well, first he’d probably have to execute Chason and the rest of the Reprisal. Then, the Air House and the Water House would have to go. And the Council would need to vanish. Especially Job. Then, the jarhead Wood Phases would mount some kind of attack and so would those Fire House psychos, because they hated to miss a fight. So he’d have to kill them, too. But, humans would absolutely be next. His world would be so much better without their mortal dumb-assery.
They couldn’t even die properly.
Abel scowled down at the blood staining the cuff of his light grey trousers. “Shit.” He kicked the human body out of the way and leaned down to inspect the sartorial tra
gedy. “Look at this. These were hand tailored in London back in the ‘20s. You can’t get that kind of craftsmanship anymore and now they’re ruined.”
The only aspect of human culture Abel could stand was their clothing. In fact, after his ascension to divinity, he’d need to spare a few of the best human tailors and designers so that they could keep him in high fashion.
He flashed the dead body another glower as he wiped at the rapidly setting blood stain. “You’re lucky that I already killed you.”
Two other members of the Reprisal were with him. Men Abel trusted to be just as focused on the big picture as he was. Fabian and Lansing weren’t the brightest crayons in the box, but at least they didn’t get all whinge-y every time things got rough. Half of Chason’s pussy-whipped army would faint if they saw him butcher a human. Why, was a total mystery to Abel. It would be like mourning the rats after the cats got finished cleaning out the barn.
Fabian was a Magnet Phase, the deep purple at his temple off set by the black of his hair. “Well, at least we know they were here.” He looked around the serology lab. “What do you think Nia was looking for in a place like this?”
Abel had no clue, but he wasn’t planning on sharing that news with his underlings. Aside from clothes shopping every few decades, Abel tried not to associate with human culture. Mayport Beach General Hospital may as well have been on Mars for all he understood about it. “They were looking for the Quintessence.” He said, as if that was the answer to everything. “The Air House tracked Tritone here. We tracked the Air House. Don’t ask stupid questions.”
Lansing titled his head to one side, apparently not appeased by that answer. He was a Dust Phase, the streak at his temple a tarnished bronze. “Yeah, but where is the Air House? If they’d got Ty we would have heard about it and…”
Abel cut him off. “Just shut-up and keep searching.” He busied himself sorting through some manila folders and wished like hell he could read human. “And hurry. I don’t feel like killing anyone else who wanders in here. It could screw up my shirt next time.”
The three of them had been examining the lab for ten minutes, trying to figure out where the Water House had gone next in their quest for the Quintessence. So far they’d come up with zilch. Although, two of those minutes had been devoted to decapitating the human lab tech who came stumbling in on them. Abel should have just broken its neck or something, but he’d forgotten how fragile the creatures were. He’d wasted time in lopping the bastard’s head off.
Warrior from the Shadowland Page 9