Warrior from the Shadowland

by Cassandra Gannon

  “Where’s the walkie-talkie?” He pressed, feeling anger swelling inside of him and welcoming the sensation. “Just tell us so we can go get it.”

  “There’s three more of them, actually. And I can give you the exact coordinates of their location, ‘cause they’re all together.” She smiled. “Seriously, the Reprisal owes me, big time for this.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Only at his maximum does an individual surpass all his derivative

  elements, and become purely himself.

  D.H. Lawrence- “Fantasia of the Unconscious”

  Nia had been the heir apparent to the Water House for the first one hundred and fifty-eight years of her life. The oldest child of the king’s brother, she’d been raised to one day wear the crown. After Ty had been born, late in her uncle’s life, Nia had stepped into the role of advisor and protector for her little cousin. But, she continued to be a leader; self-confident and sure that she was loved by her entire family. Nia never doubted her own worth.

  And why would she? Everyone adored Nia. Her uncle and aunt had doted on her, taking her along to Council meetings from the time she could walk. Her parents cherished her. There wasn’t a moment of her childhood that Nia hadn’t felt safe and respected. All her life, she’d had Tharsis for companionship and support, and Ty had idolized her since the moment she came into the world. Her first word had been “Nia.”

  Nia had endured a lot, but she’d never been alone. Never felt hopeless. Never doubted for a second that she was special and important, in some indefinable way, just because she was Nia. Secure in the Water Palace, Nia had grown up with every material thing she’d ever wanted, a flawless education, and so much love that she never even questioned it.

  In other words, Nia’s life had been the exact opposite of Cross’.

  His existence was the dark mirror image to her own bright, happy memories.

  Nia looked around at Cross’ memories and wanted to go back in time to personally wipe out every Shadow Phase herself, before the Fall had the privilege. She wasn’t a violent person. The Water House had always been the most peaceful of all the Elementals. But, Nia could have killed every damn Phase in the Shadowland and still slept like a baby at night.

  Cross belonged to her. Gaia had given him to her and nobody hurt someone who belonged to Nia, of the Water House.

  “Cross?” He couldn’t hear her, but Nia crouched down next the boy her Match had been and tried to touch his dark hair. “Oh God, sweetie, don’t watch.” She tried to move to block his view, but it didn’t do any good. This was Cross’ memory and she wouldn’t be seeing it if he’d looked away from the spectacle playing out in the town square.

  Nia pressed her lips together and sat down next to him in the dirt. Cross was hiding under a wagon, peeking through the spokes of a wheel. He was so young. Just a baby. His clothes weren’t warm enough for the cold weather and he was so thin she could count every one of his fragile ribs. She could see the bruises, too.

  How could anyone put bruises on her Match? Didn’t they know how wonderful he was? How gentle and selfless? If this was the way they’d treated their children, then the Shadow House had deserved to be wiped out in the Fall.

  Nia swallowed hard and focused on the woman who had actually managed to supplant Parald as number one on Nia’s, “If you could kill one person in the world…” list. Cross’ mother, at least temporarily, had rocketed up the charts and was now Nia’s new face of evil. “You bitch!” She shouted as Senti, Queen of the Shadow House stared stone-faced at the guillotine. “You’re not going to stop them?!”

  Nia had seen nothing but misery in Cross’ head so far, but this was the worst thing yet. It hadn’t taken more than a few flashes of memory for Nia to know that her dead mother-in-law was the stupidest, vainest, social climbing-est Phase ever born. Oh, Senti had been beautiful. Anyone who’d contributed half of Cross’ DNA would’ve had to stunning. But, the woman had made the dumbest decision in the universe and traded her Match for an empty crown.

  Vice, the King of the Shadow House lost his Match, in some accident Nia wasn’t real clear on. Nia had heard stories of widowed Phases finding another Match, but -truthfully- she’d never seen it happen. She’d never known of a single, real example of anyone getting a second chance. You were gifted with one Match and if you lost them, your life imploded. Most Phases didn’t even survive the loss. Without Cross, Nia wouldn’t want to go on and she hadn’t even known him a full day, yet. She couldn’t imagine the pain of losing your Match after so many centuries together.

  Apparently, Vice skipped a few steps in grieving process and landed right at “acceptance,” though. His Match was barely in the ground before he set his sights on marrying the Elementals’ reigning Scarlett O’Hara, Senti. She was an Earth Phase, but Houses intermarried all the time, so that wasn’t the problem. The real trouble was Senti hadn’t found her Match and Vice sure wasn’t him. But, she sure seemed to love the “Your Majesty-ing” part of being Mrs. Queen of the Shadowland.

  She’d agreed to a Binding, which basically meant they were married by the Council. Without being an actual Phase-Match, they couldn’t Phaze, couldn’t share memories, and couldn’t have children. But, Vice already had two or three sons to carry on the kingdom. Mean bastards, who Nia also despised. In theory, Nia had nothing against Bindings. Phases got lonely and gave up hope of finding a Match. Or maybe they fell in love with someone who wasn’t their Match. It happened and why shouldn’t they be allowed to find happiness? Ty’s situation with Parald made Nia a big believer in free choice, Phase-Match or not.

  But, a Binding was still a commitment. A pledge. There was always a chance that you might find your Match when you were stuck in a Binding with a different Phase.

  Which is exactly what happened to Senti.

  Cross’ mother had found her Match, a sword maker in the village. Instead, of going to the Council and petitioning to break the Binding with Vice, though, Senti had pulled a modified Marie Antoinette. She’d tried to have her cake and eat it, too. She’d Phazed with the sword maker and stayed in her Binding with Vice.

  Somehow she’d managed to pull it off for a while, mostly because Vice was an oblivious idiot. Senti must have been pretty damn smug with herself, until Cross came along. Vice knew the kid wasn’t his and nobody did pissed-off like the cuckolded king of darkness. He’d ordered Cross’ father, Ross, executed.

  Senti insisted that Ross had forced her to Phaze, which just flat out wasn’t possible. But, she was hot, so Vice passed on his own Henry the VIII impression and let her keep her head attached. Ross had obviously known that his Match was going to toss him under the bus to save her own tiara and he ran for it. Cross had been born and, as far as Nia could tell, everyone hated the poor thing for not dying in infancy.

  Usually, children followed their mother’s House, so Cross was all the more special for being a Shadow Phase. He should have been treasured by his House. Instead, they tortured him. Vice and his sons knocked him into walls, his mother pretended he wasn’t alive unless she was smacking him around and everyone else in the Shadowland took turns harassing and bad mouthing the little boy. And, so far, Nia was only up to his fourth year of life. Cross’ memories were so vivid, even at this early age, that it was ripping her heart out.

  Ross had eventually been caught and put on trial. That was where most of Nia’s background information was coming from. At four years old, Cross knew what was happening and he watched all of it. He stayed silent, hidden in the endless shadows, and took in the cruel world around him. Nia would have traded anything to be able to take his miniature hand and lead him away from the town square, so he wouldn’t witness this.

  She could see the tragedy looming and not one Shadow Phase was going to stop it.

  “Oh God.” She whispered as Ross was led to the guillotine set up for the Shadowland’s viewing pleasure. “Please.”

  The executioner read a list of crimes that Ross had been convicted of. He was a gorgeous man, like
a slightly shorter version of Cross with angry, brown eyes. The recitation of his offences didn’t seem to register with him. Instead, he kept his eyes on Senti.

  When they asked if he had any last words, Ross spoke right to her. “I’ve done nothing wrong, Senti, and you know it. You’re wrong. Everything you are and everything about you is wrong. I wish I’d never met you and I wish the boy had never been born. With you for a mother, he’ll grow up just as wrong as you are, you traitorous whore.”

  Beside her, Cross flinched and Nia saw red. “Execute the bastard!” She roared. Up until that point, she’d been feeling bad for Ross, but he was almost as bad as Senti. Granted, he didn’t know Cross was listening, still that wasn’t going to buy him any forgiveness. He’d just wished his own son dead! Ross jumped to number three of Nia’s “If you could kill anyone…” list, right after Senti and Vice.

  For all her anger at the man, though, Nia still couldn’t watch as the guillotine blade slowly rose over his head. “Cross.” She implored, when he just kept staring at his father with damp, mercury eyes. “Sweetie, please, don’t…”

  There was a sudden “crack,” the “swishing” sound of the blade cutting through air and then the omissions “thawump” as it hit its target.

  Nia and Cross cringed in perfect unison.

  As the crowd cheered, Nia wondered queasily if Ross had been the sword maker who’d created the blade that just killed him. It didn’t seem right. None of this was right.

  Still expressionless, Senti, climbed down from her seat as the executioner held up Ross’ severed head. She walked back towards the castle.

  Cross put his head down in his skinny arms and wept.

  Nia’s soul shattered.

  The scene changed and Nia was so grateful she nearly cried herself. She tried to focus on anything, other than what she’d just seen and her surroundings were as good a choice as any. They were in the Shadow Castle now. Crap. That wasn’t much better, at all, actually.

  Cross’ homeland was so magical, with twisting darkness and grey moors. Nia couldn’t understand why Vice insisted on keeping his castle in such a dreadful state. The whole place was a dark and gloomy. And not in an atmospheric “medieval Scotland chic” kinda way, which would have actually suited the Castle perfectly. And which, now that Nia was Queen of Shadow House, was exactly how it would be decorated from now on. Instead, it was just cold and dirty, with a hint of menace lurking in the corners. She was actually thankful that they’d banished Cross to that shack at the edge of town two memories ago, rather than have him grow up someplace so threatening.

  “You psychotic bitch.”

  Nia’s head whipped around. She recognized that perfect voice, even if she’d never heard it so full of anger before. “Job?” She moved so she was looking into a sitting area. A gigantic fire blazed in the hearth, sending shadows creeping around the darkened interior of the room.

  Senti, dressed in a red velvet gown, glowered up at Job in disgust. “There’s nothing you can do about it now, so save me your insults, brother. I no longer answer to the Earth House.”

  Brother?

  Nia’s eye brows shot up. She hadn’t known Job had a sister. Her gaze went to the grass green streaks at both of their temples. That was pretty much the only resemblance between them. Senti had a dark, lush beauty about her and the exotic mercury eyes that her son had inherited. If she set her sights on another crown, she was a prime contender for Miss Elemental any year she wanted to enter the contest.

  Job, on the other hand, wasn’t exactly beautiful. In a species as universally lovely as the Elementals, he always looked a little bit… different. Not ugly or unattractive, just not as refined. More planes and angles to his face, a squarer set to his jaw. His rough appearance was completely at odds with the conservative clothes he favored.

  Dressed in a human suit, covered with the flowing black robe of the Council, Job could have presided over any court in the universe. He wore his pure white hair pulled back into a ponytail and tied with a leather cord. A thousand years had passed since Job was a child, but, in human terms, he still looked like he was in his thirties. It was his eyes that gave away his real age. A vivid shade of green that matched the highlight in his hair, they stayed permanently shadowed with all the burdens he carried.

  Aside from her father and uncle, Nia had always though Job was the wisest man in the world. He’d let her sit in his Council chair when she was younger, while he patiently explained the ins and outs of Elemental law to her. Job was a god to Nia, even if she occasionally called him a blind idiot and disobeyed his orders to forget about the Quintessence. She loved him for his meticulous, patient, by-the-book-ness. Nia had certainly never heard Job shout obscenities at anyone before. It was amazingly out of character. Why was he even in the Shadowland? Where was Cross in this memory?

  She looked around and spotted him peeking in one of the open doors on the other side of the room. He was a bit older, now. Old enough to find food for himself she supposed, because he looked a little less skeletal. Ignoring Job and Senti, since they couldn’t see her anyway, Nia made her way over to him. “Did you sneak in here to spy?” She crouched down next to him. “How come you didn’t tell me Job was your uncle, huh?” She tried to touch him, again, to erase the wary silence that seemed to be a permanent part of him.

  “You may not answer to the Earth House.” Job was snarling to Senti. “But, you do answer to the Council and no one executes another Phase without my approval.”

  “Vice did that. Not me. You can argue it out with him if you feel that way.” Senti settled down on a really hideous chair. “I don’t see what you hope to gain, though. It’s not like Ross can come back. Not even you can reattach heads, Job.”

  “He was your Match.” Job shook his head as if he just couldn’t process what she’d done. As if he expected her to suddenly realize the depth of her sin. “There are Phases who would give their lives for what you had, and you just threw him away. How could you betray him like that? Are you so much happier here with Vice?”

  Senti’s mouth tightened, showing some emotion for the first time. “Here, I’m a queen.”

  “You’re a fool.” Job pronounced. His anger seemed to drain away and his tone went back to vintage Job, all the passion of an IRS agent beginning an audit. He turned like he couldn’t bear the sight of his sister. “I want to see the boy.” He said, staring into the fire. “Cross. I want to see him and ensure that he’s safe.”

  Nia perked up. Finally, someone who could help Cross.

  Beside her, Cross watched Job suspiciously. Job had that effect on a lot of people when they first saw him. He was too big and too formal. The energy came off of him in waves. He overwhelmed most Phases. Even as they admired him for his strength, they didn’t exactly trust him. He was the authority figure that might just zap you in oblivion if you stepped out of line once too often.

  Nia had never been afraid of Job. Even when the law said she was risking banishment with her rebellion, she knew that he wouldn’t hurt her. Like Cross, Job was constantly aware of his power and how it could harm the people around him. It was hard to imagine him actually hurting anyone. Job walked the temperate, middle road of life. Nia didn’t always understand him --possibly because she never stayed on any path for long and certainly not one stuck in the middle-- but, she admired him more than basically anyone else alive.

  “Cross is a Shadow Phase.” Senti eyed Job with the same guarded expression her son wore. She was probably thinking that it wasn’t such a great idea to display her mothering talents in front of her brother. Job really did banished child abusers, casting them out all Elemental affairs and leaving them completely on their own. “You have no rights over him.”

  “He’s half Earth Phase and that’s my House.” Job pressed. “It’s my duty to check on him.”

  “That’s not how it works and you know it, Councilor.” Senti taunted. “Cross is a Shadow Phase and only answers to this House. You have no authority here, Job. Vice has claim
ed the child as his own.”

  “Liar!” Nia shouted, even as little Cross looked suddenly hopeful. “Honey, don’t believe her.” Nia told him, urgently. “Go to Job. He’ll get you out of here.”

  But, Cross stayed where he was.

  Job’s jaw clenched. Under the law, there wasn’t a lot he could do to force Senti to produce the boy if Cross was accepted as part of the Shadow House. He went over to brace one of his hands on the mantle and stared into the flames, broodingly.

  “Job.” Nia hurried forward, unable to stop herself. “Don’t leave until you see Cross. Please, bend the rules for once and find him.”

  Job’s eyebrows came together in a frown, his head tilting a few millimeters to the left.

  Nia mouth parted. Had he heard her somehow? “JOB!” She screamed his name. “Find Cross! He needs you.” She was inside Cross’s memory, so she didn’t think anyone could hear her. Not even a Phase as powerful as Job. She wasn’t really there, after all. But, Nia figured it was worth a shot. Her eyebrows rose as Job suddenly used his palm to push himself away from the mantel.

  He turned to look at his sister. “I’m going to see the boy.” He decided, flatly. “It’s not a request. It’s a statement of fact. I don’t care if I have the authority or not. Produce him now or I’ll drag the entire Shadow House in front of the Council for an inquiry.”

  That was Job’s, ‘don’t fuck with me, peasant’ tone. Flat, cold, and filled with a thousand years of being the biggest badass in the universe, it sent lesser beings crawling for mercy. The power crackled off of him and his not quite handsome face grew arctic with the force of his resolve.

  Nia grinned with pride as Senti shrank back in her seat. “You are sooo my hero, right now.” Nia told Job, relishing Senti’s escalating panic.

  Then, Cross went and ruined it. “I’m Cross.” He said, quietly from the doorway.

  Senti and Job both turned to stare at him hovering in the shadows.