Magic of the Wood House

by Cassandra Gannon

  “I’m not calling Job.” Djinn scoffed. “Pele’s my alibi. Right Pey?”

  Pele shrugged. “For a price.”

  “And who’s her alibi?” Teja retorted. “Do you really not see that we’re all going to be arrested? Just be smart, call Job, and don’t kill anyone while I’m gone.” She turned to look at Qadesh. “And watch Sullivan.” She ordered.

  “You’re not leaving me here.” Sullivan shook his head. “No way in hell.”

  Qadesh arched a brow at her. “He’s right, Tej. The boy is your Match. He has to be trained, if you’re going to keep him.” Qadesh was a huge advocate of training, and then training, and then training some more.

  “She’s not keeping me.” Sullivan snapped.

  “He’s not going with me.” Teja shouted at the same time. “Do you think I’d take a fragile human into a fight? Are you insane?”

  “The kid needs to develop some survival skills.” Pele put in. “Don’t be so overprotective. This is a good opportunity for Sullivan to learn some basic battlefield stuff. Plus, it’ll be a nice, romantic outing for the two of you.” She lowered her voice. “You really need to try courting the human, because he doesn’t seem ready to Phaze with you, yet.”

  “Alone time.” Djinn agreed. “Every couple needs it. Let the boy behead some guys. It’ll get him in the mood for love.”

  Teja couldn’t believe she was having this conversation. “Sullivan is not coming to the Cold Kingdom!”

  “You’re not leaving me here.” Sullivan repeated.

  “You don’t get a say in it and neither do they.” Teja jabbed her index finger at his chest. “Stay!” She ordered and jumped to the Cold Kingdom, before Freya got herself killed.

  …Which meant that she didn’t get the chance to stop Sullivan from following her.

  Chapter Nine

  Siebel: "Help! Fire! Help! Hell is burning!"

  Mephistopheles: (addressing flames) "Stop, Kind element, be still, I say!”

  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe- "Faust"

  Christmas Eve Evening

  Goddamn it, why did it have to be snow?

  Sullivan stumbled to his feet and looked around the frenzied scene. He wasn’t sure what had just happened. He’d seen Teja leave and panic had filled him. He’d known that she was about to walk into danger and he’d instinctively… grabbed for her. Something inside of him latched onto her and it had dragged him to the Cold Kingdom. The glowy blue palace and the frozen landscape looked just like they did on TV.

  They also looked like something out of The Thing.

  After spending his whole life in Florida, being surrounded by so much winter was even more bizarre then Fire House’s volcanoes. Except, this landscape also seemed weirdly… familiar.

  Like he’d seen it before.

  Which was impossible, no matter what Djinn thought about those missing twelve hours. Sullivan would surely remember someplace so damn cold. He hated the cold. He wanted to be back home in Florida, where people wore ski coats the moment the thermometer hit seventy degrees. He didn’t have much of a choice about sticking around, though. Teja was somewhere in this tundra and he’d never abandon her.

  Even if she was a pyromanial lunatic.

  “Teja!” He bellowed, trying to spot her in the rampage.

  All around him, people were running in terror and igloo buildings were collapsing into water. The Life Model Decoys of the Fire Phases dashed around the chaos, shooting flames and giving each other high-fives. Sullivan’s eyes narrowed. They were actually enjoying this. Nothing pissed him off faster than criminals who enjoyed themselves.

  The crowd rushed passed Sullivan in a blind panic. Most of them were jumping out of Ice Plant Hoth as the imposters approached. Sullivan didn’t blame them. None of the Cold Phases seemed like soldiers. Primarily, they were dressed in lab coats. What chance did they have against armed invaders? The Cult really needed a police force.

  Sullivan’s jaw tightened, holding his ground as the hostiles drew closer

  The one who looked like Djinn stopped directly in front of him, momentarily distracted from his terrorizing when Sullivan didn’t retreat. “Hey, you’re that human.” He blurted out.

  Sullivan punched him. He didn’t punch him just because he looked like Djinn, although any jury in the world would’ve seen that as sufficient cause. He punched him because Sullivan hated bullies. He’d spent eight years in the army fighting assholes who brutalized the weak and his whole childhood enduring his father. The Cold Phases might have been some other species, but they were still innocent people who needed help.

  Djinn 2.0 hit the ground with a surprised yelp. The Reflection Phases clearly weren’t much more than civilians in their everyday life. The guy didn’t react like a trained fighter. He sprawled there in a daze, shocked that someone had hit him.

  Sullivan didn’t give him a chance to get up. He slammed the heel of his boot into the man’s head, knocking him unconscious. He wasn’t sure if these bastards were aiming to frighten people or to kill them, but he wasn’t taking any chances. Not when they were committing fifty felonies.

  …And not when he saw Teja heading straight for one of them.

  “Stop!” Sullivan started for her, his heart in his throat.

  Logically, he should use this opportunity to wave good-bye to the kidnapping nut and hitch a ride home. He didn’t take kindly to being held hostage, no matter how beautiful the abductress. Leaving all the Elementals behind seemed like a damn good idea, but it was impossible for him to just walk away. Teja was about to get killed and all the stupid instincts in his body were screaming at him to protect her.

  “Teja, stop!” He pushed his way through the crowd, his eyes fixed on her beautiful dark hair. “She has a fucking flamethrower!”

  Teja didn’t seem to hear that. Or maybe she was just ignoring him, because she had everything under control. “Get the hell away from my cousin!” She roared at the Fake-Teja.

  Fake-Teja’s eyes widened in terror. “What are you doing here?” She blurted out. “Stay back or I’ll kill her! I swear it!” She waved the flamethrower in the direction of a mystified blonde in a lab coat, who could only be Freya.

  Freya looked between the two Tejas for a moment, trying to figure out who was who. For someone who supposedly hated the Fire Phases, Freya did a hell of a good impression of a girl thrilled to realize that her cousin wasn’t a homicidal terrorist.

  “Teja!” She cried in relief, looking at Real-Teja. “Thank God! I had no idea what was going on! I still don’t, but now I see that you’re you, and she’s not you, and what in the world…?”

  “Shut up and duck.” Teja interrupted and blasted imposter with a concentrated blizzard of power.

  Freya hit the ground, covering her head with her arms. “Jesus!”

  Fake-Teja’s gave a screech of rage. She tried to fire at Teja, but the flamethrower turned into icicles in her hand. Seeing it was hopeless, she attempted to drop it and run, but the weapon was frozen to her skin.

  “Help!” She screamed. “Somebody help me!”

  Teja smirked. “See, that doesn’t sound like something I’d say.” She mocked and used the strength of her energy to throw the other woman through the air like a whiffle ball. The Fake-Teja hit the side of the palace, her skull slamming into the blocks of ice with an audible crack.

  Written on the wall were the words: Hey, Missy! Wanna trade?

  Sullivan had no idea why.

  From the look on Teja’s face, neither did she. Her eyes went over the phrase again and again, as if she was trying to make sense of it.

  Freya had other concerns. She winced at the sight of the Teja-clone’s crumpled body. “Well, that was possibly at little extreme. I think you just broke half of her bones, Teja. Even in an Elemental, that kind of impact is going to leave lasting…”

  Teja cut her off. “Like I give a shit.” She didn’t even glance in her victim’s direction, rounding on her cousin instead. “Why the hell did you go walking towards th
at bitch, Freya? You’re a doctor! Doesn’t that mean you’re supposed to be smart?”

  “I thought she was you! I was trying to reason with her! With you!”

  “Does either version of me seem like a reasonable person?” Teja stomped over to drag Freya to her feet. “Come on. Let’s find Eian and get out of here before you get yourself killed.”

  “Eian’s in the Agora and I’m not going anywhere. I can’t leave my patients!” Freya gestured towards ice palace. “I’ve gotten most of them out, but one’s in a coma! What kind of doctor would I be if I just abandoned him to the Fire House’s mercy?”

  “That is not the Fire House, you idiot!” Teja waved a hand at the flame-throwing imposters. “They’re Reflection Phases dressed up like us for Halloween and we have no idea what they’re planning to do next, so…” She stopped short, spotting Sullivan for the first time. “How the fuck did you get here?!” She bellowed. “Are you out of you mind? It isn’t safe!”

  “I don’t know how I got here. I just followed you.”

  Teja swore in some language he didn’t recognize. Little Miss I-Don’t-Have-Emotions looked seriously pissed. “You shouldn’t be able to do that. How in the hell can you do that?” She glowered up at him like it was somehow his fault. “What kind of powers do you have?”

  “I don’t have any powers. I told you, I’m just an ordinary human caught up in your weird circus.”

  “Bullshit! Ordinary humans can’t jump between Houses. Even with our connection, it shouldn’t be possible.”

  Sullivan rolled his eyes. “Because you’re the reigning expert on ‘possible’ and ‘reality’ and everything that’s not straight out of Comic-Con, right?” The woman was unbelievable. “For the last time, I don’t have any mystical energy.”

  “Except you do. I can feel it and you’re somehow tapping into it, even though you shouldn’t be able to. Not yet. Not when we haven’t Phazed and you’re mostly just a human.” She shook her head. “Sullivan, how powerful are you?”

  He didn’t even bother to dignify that with a response.

  “Is he your Match?” Freya scanned Sullivan up and down. “Parson’s grandson? The human? Eian’s been nagging me to go see him, but I haven’t had the chance.” She looked back to her cousin. “Oh Teja… I’m so happy for you! Finally, you have your other half. I think this will make you a nicer person. And he doesn’t seem at all feeble, so maybe his human genes are recessive. That’s a good sign.” She was clearly one of those people who said everything she thought. “I heard about the warrior’s mark, but it’s just amazing.” She squinted up at his scar. “What sort of battle did it come from?” She turned to Teja, without waiting for an answer. “He really shouldn’t be in battles, you know. You’ll have to take better care of him. He’s mostly just a regular human and humans are so fragile.”

  “He’s not just a regular human.” Teja muttered. “Sullivan, stay behind me. We’re getting out of here as soon as I get my moronic cousin to shut-up.”

  Sullivan rolled his eyes at that idea, automatically checking the positions of the other assailants. “Just give me my gun back.”

  “I’m not giving you that gun. What if you accidently shoot yourself?”

  “Guns are very dangerous for humans, Sullivan.” Freya agreed in the exaggeratedly slow voice of someone talking to their misbehaving toddler. “You mustn’t play with them. Just let us handle the bad men.” She gave him a fond look and then smiled at Teja. “Isn’t he just adorable?”

  Sullivan’s jaw ticked. This whole family drove him crazy. “I know how to use a gun in combat. I was an Army Ranger.”

  “What’s an Army Ranger?” Teja asked blankly and then swore again when she realized Freya was heading towards the Cold Palace. “Where are you going?” She demanded. “You can’t go in there. Half of it’s on fire!”

  “I know. That’s why I have to hurry. I told you, I have to rescue my patient.”

  Teja stormed into the rapidly burning palace after her. “Freya! Damn it, am I the only one here with a brain?”

  Sullivan followed them, because where else was he going to go?

  Freya headed for the stairs, taking them two at a time. All around them, the walls were dripping like waterfalls. The icy building was melting as the furnishing and roof burned. The heat was just too high for the glowing blue blocks to withstand. Sullivan guessed they had about five minutes before the whole place was a scenic lake.

  He raced up the slippery steps behind the cousins. “Teja, now would be a good time to that ‘Flame On!’ thing in reverse.”

  “What?”

  “Put the fire out!”

  “I can’t. I’ve tried. They’ve done something to flames and I don’t have time to figure out what. I can’t douse them with my Cold powers, either.”

  They reached the top of the stairs and ran down a carpeted hallway. The rug was soaking wet, squishing like a sponge when they stepped on it. As the palace was eaten away, the melted ice poured over the flames, but the fire still wasn’t being extinguished. Like an oil slick, it kept burning through the water.

  Sullivan had a seriously bad feeling about this. He was all for helping Freya’s patient, but not if it meant risking Teja’s life. His instincts were clambering in alarm. “Teja,” he said sharply, “this isn’t right.”

  “I know. It’s gotta be one of those damn Tablets of Fate screwing with the fire. Someone’s been playing around with them and they’ve discovered a new trick.”

  “I don’t care why it’s happening. We have to get out of here before we burn to death as we drown.”

  “We’re almost there.” Freya yelled and slammed through a set of double doors that led to some kind of hospital waiting room.

  Sullivan gave an agitated sigh, scanning the sterile space. Short of dragging Teja out, he didn’t have a choice but to go along with this. “Sixty seconds.” He warned, jabbing a finger in her direction. “Then, we evac if I have to carry you, understand? I feel this going south.”

  His instincts had kept him alive in a warzone and kept shouting that Teja was his. Sullivan didn’t believe in magic, but he trusted his instincts implicitly. In fact, they were the only thing he trusted.

  And they were telling him to get out.

  Teja nodded. “Sixty seconds. Actually, even that’s too much.” She stared at him, an odd expression on her face. “You hear them, don’t you?” She asked. “The whispers in your head?”

  “Yes.” He said simply. “Instincts. All soldiers need them to survive.”

  “It’s more than just instincts.” She corrected. “I’ve only heard the whispers once and now I’m wondering if I ever heard them, at all. You’re so strong, maybe I just heard you.”

  Sullivan had no idea what that meant.

  “This will just take a moment.” Freya headed down a short hallway. “He’s not the most popular patient. That’s why I have him hidden in one of the private rooms.”

  Teja shot her an incredulous look. “You have secret rooms filled with sick scumbags?”

  “I have a responsibility to protect everyone --even scumbags-- when my brother finds them on the front lawn, beaten to a pulp.” Freya talked so fast the words tumbled out over each other. She hurried towards a series of large doors. “I knew who Vandal was and I knew everyone would want him dead, but I have an ethical obligation as a doctor to administer…”

  “You have Vandal, of the Fucking Light House in here!” Teja roared.

  “What else could I do?! The hospital is a sanctuary. You know that. Anyone can come here and be safely treated until they’re well. I have a duty to give the best health care possible…” Freya broke off with a shriek of alarm, just as she opened the door. A huge section of melting ice slipped from the unstable wall above her head. It slammed into her skull, knocking her to the ground. She lay there, ominously still.

  “Damn it!” Teja dashed over, dropping to her knees beside her cousin. “Freya!” She put a hand to the girl’s bleeding forehead, looking more f
rightened than Sullivan had ever seen her. “Freya, wake-up!” She shook her head in frantic denial. “No. No. I can’t do this. No one else can die. I can’t do it, again. Wake up!” She looked at Sullivan, her eyes wild. “Sullivan,” she said helplessly, “she’s not moving. Why isn’t she moving? Do you think she…?” Teja trailed off, unable to finish the question.

  Shit.

  Sullivan crouched down to survey the damage. Elementals weren’t human, but they were close enough. He tried for a pulse. “She’s alive.” He reported, his fingers pressed to Freya’s neck.

  Teja sagged in relief. “Thank God. We have to…” She stopped short as Sullivan grabbed her arm. “What are you doing?”

  “We have to go.” He ordered, no longer focused on Freya. “Now.”

  His eyes stayed locked on the large device sitting just behind the door that Freya had opened. Someone had hidden it there, because there was no mistaking this machine for a medical gizmo. A digital clock was counting down numbers. Wires wrapped around like some home entertainment system gone horribly wrong. Adrenaline pumped through Sullivan’s body as he recognized what he was looking at.

  The Star of Bethlehem.

  Teja followed his gaze, clearly confused. “What is that thing?” Fire Phases might have kickass collections of broadswords and battle axes, but she didn’t recognize modern human weaponry.

  Sullivan did.

  “It’s a bomb.” Sullivan picked up Freya’s limp body and slung her over his shoulder. “We have to go.”

  “A bomb?” Teja made a face. “Is that all? Calm down. Bombs don’t work in this realm.”

  “And guns don’t work on Elementals, except I used one to kill a guy this morning, didn’t I?” He dragged her to her feet, gesturing to the dwindling numbers on the clock. “We have eleven seconds to see what other rules get broken today.”

  “Alright, alright. We’ll find Vandal and we’ll…”