Exile in the Water Kingdom (The Elemental Phases Book 3) (21 page)

Wouldn’t
go back into weakness.

Ty
was getting stronger and she wouldn’t live her life in fear.

Maybe
that’s why she identified with Gion.  Both of them were trying to live down
Parald’s legacy and find themselves, now.  Neither one of them could let the
hatred of society stop them from moving forward.  Ty and Gion were on the same
road, discovering who they were and what they really wanted out of life.

She
smiled at that thought.

“Gion
is connected with you.”  Brokk put in as if reading her mind.

“You
don’t even like him.”

“No. 
But, I believe that Gion likes you.  He worries about your safety.”  Brokk
glanced down at her thoughtfully.  “His reports are very thorough.  I reviewed
his suggestions and they are… interesting.  I never considered plastic
windows.  I should have.”  He looked disappointed in himself.

Ty
pursed her lips around her lollypop.  “Well, Gion’s much older than you.  He’s
had more time to think of new ideas.  His father was a Wood Phase, though, just
like you.  That’s probably where Gion got his skill at security work.”

Brokk
perked up at that.  “My House has always produced the greatest soldiers.”

“Yes,
I know.”  Gion’s paternal DNA told Ty a lot about him.  His quiet sense of duty
and protectiveness weren’t Air House traits.  That was all the honorable,
passionate Wood Phases.  “Thank you for giving Gion some room to make his
reports and everything.  I know that you’re supposed to be my bodyguard, but he
needs to contribute.”

“Wood
Phases always contribute.”  Brokk agreed.  “I am unthreatened by his arrival. 
He works
under
me, correct?”

“Um…” 
Ty hadn’t really considered that.  She couldn’t demote Brokk.  He worked too
hard and he loved his job.  It would crush his feelings.  “I suppose
–technically-- you’re the head of my personal security.”  She tried to figure
out how that would work.  Gion would never follow Brokk.  It just wouldn’t
happen.  Besides the security job seemed to be the only thing that Gion wanted
to do.  Until Ty could convince him that he was a musician and not a warrior,
those detailed reports kept Gion happy and occupied.  “Really, I see you as
fulfilling two different roles.”  She tried.  “You guard me and he guards the
Palace.  Very… separate.”

Brokk
nodded wisely.  “But, I’m in charge.”

“Well…”

“Ty.” 
Job, of the Earth House came striding over, interrupting her hedging.  “Good. 
Tharsis said that you’d be here.  I’d like a word with you, if you have a
moment.”

Oh…
drat.

Ty
barely stifled a wince.  Job was like God.  When God said he wanted a word with
you, it wasn’t just gonna be, “Hi.”

She
sent Brokk a “help me” glance which he blithely ignored.  “Job!”  He beamed. 
“How is Tessie, my friend?”

Wood
Phases loved Job.  Everyone loved Job.  Even Ty loved Job.

But,
she really didn’t want to talk to him.

Over
a thousand years old and more powerful than any Phase in the universe, Job
looked like a banker.  He kept his white blond hair in a neat ponytail, so even
the vivid green streak at his temple seemed patrician.  His suits were all a
tailored navy or black.  His ties were all subdued and carefully Windsor
knotted.  Job could have walked into any Fortune 500 meeting and no one would
have blinked.

Ty
couldn’t imagine how he and Tessie managed to share a home.  Job was so neat
and elegant.  Tessie wore flip flops and played her iPod at full blast.  Job’s
powers rivaled anything known in the history of universe.  Tessie couldn’t do
much except bypass supernatural barriers and understand the Tablets of Fate. 
Job wanted to meticulously micromanage the world.  Tessie wanted to watch
Days
of Our Lives
.

And
they were crazy about each other.  A perfect Match.

Ty
envied them.

“Tessie’s
fine.  She and Nia are up to something.  I felt it best not to ask what.”  Job
arched a brow.  “So, I was talking to Cross...”  He began.

Ty
cringed at that ominous statement.  Job adored his nephew.  Cross was Job’s
only blood relative and the apple of his eye.  If Cross started tossing Molotov
cocktails at pedestrians, Job would smile and compliment his aim.

She
immediately started defending Gion, anticipating Job’s forthcoming complaints. 
“Gion didn’t mean to throw Cross through that window.  It was an accident.  I
spoke to them both about it and…”

“Gion
did
what?
”  Job interrupted.  “He touched Cross? 
My
Cross?”

Oh
no.

Job
hadn’t known about that.

Crap.

“It
was an accident.”  Ty repeated.  “They were both fine.”

Job
exhaled heavily.  He stared up at the brilliant blue sky as if looking for
inspiration.

He
wouldn’t find it.

The
clouds were flat and lifeless, now.  All the Cloud Phases, who had once given
them their ever changing shapes, had passed from this world and left the skies
empty of hidden pictures.  Job surely thought of that when he stared at them. 
Ty knew that she did.  The world would never fully recover from Parald.  All
you had to do what look up and you saw what he’d wrought.

“I
cannot stress enough how unwise it is to give amnesty to someone like Gion.” 
Job finally said with strained patience.  “He shouldn’t be in your House.”

Ty
hated arguing.  She was terrible at it.  But, she didn’t back down.  “Gion is a
Water Phase, now.”

“No,
honey, he’s
not
.”  Job insisted.  “I know Tess likes Gion.  He’s helped
us all.  I know that, too.  Maybe he even legitimately wants to get away from
Parald.  I don’t blame him.  But, do you really think you can trust him?”

“Yes.” 
The answer came instantly.

“I
see.  What about Nia and the baby?”  Job’s great-niece already occupied about
ninety-nine percent of his “non-Tessie specific” attention.  He loved the
baby.  Not just because she gave him hope that the Elementals might survive extinction,
but because Job just
loved the
baby
.  She was his family, too.

Ty
had known that he’d confront her about this.  “Gion” plus “baby” would equal
“DEFCON 1” to Job.  He wouldn’t want Mary Poppins around his great-niece, let
alone an Air Phase.

“Do
you really think that you can trust Gion with the baby?”  He pressed.

“Yes.” 
Ty met Job’s lawn green eyes.  It wasn’t even a question for her.  “I trust
Gion.”

Job’s
rugged face shifted slightly, revealing his exasperation.  “Why?”

“Because…” 
All the rational, logical arguments fell away and Ty just spoke the truth. 
“Because, when he smiles at me, I can see that he’s a better man.  Someone just
needs to give him a chance and he’ll accomplish great things.  Gion has so many
talents.  So much to give and he needs a home.  He can do
anything
, if
he just has support.”

“Ty,
he’s killed
hundreds
of people.  Not the Fall.  Just Gion, by himself.”

Job
muttered something about the Water Houses’ stubborn, soft hearted-ness and
shook his head.  “Alright.  I’m going to tell you something and I want you to
think about it, alright?  This happened a very long time ago.  I’m using it as
an example as why you can’t fix Gion.  He’s too broken, Ty.  It’s too late to
save him.”

That
was an interesting choice of words.

Ty’s
brows drew together over her glasses.  She and Gion were both broken.  Maybe
that’s why they had this connection.  Maybe it wasn’t too late to save either
of them.  Maybe they were supposed to fix
each other
.

Job
didn’t notice her distraction.  “I was around five hundred years old when Gion
was a boy and I remember him very clearly.  I wasn’t the head of the Council,
yet, but I was already being groomed for the job.  I spent time in all the
Houses, preparing to be the High Seat.”

Ty
liked picturing Gion as a little boy.  She wondered if he’d worn a cape.

“Gion
was too strong, Ty.  He got too much power, too early.  There’s a
reason
we take ninety-three years to come of age.  Why our powers keep developing more
as we grow older.  Because, if they’re all dumped on you at once, it’s too
much.”

“You
think that’s what happened to Gion?”

“I
know
that’s what happened to Gion.  I saw it.  He was eight when he
exploded someone’s lungs.  Another boy on the playground.  Gion killed him on
the spot.”

Ty’s
mouth parted in shock.

“It
was an accident.”  Job said.  “Gion didn’t mean to go that far.  He was just
too powerful.”

“I
told you that happened, Ty.”  Brokk arched a pointed, “thank- God-we’re-here-to-think-for-her”
sort of brow at Job.  “I
told
her that Gion exploded someone’s lungs. 
She didn’t believe that, either.”

“Job
just said it was an accident.”  Ty protested.  “Gion was only a baby.”

“He
was.  And he was so damn
sorry
.”  Job gazed at her.  “But, how do you
think the rest of the Air Phases treated Gion after that?”

Ty
flinched at the very idea.

“They
called him a murderer and he called himself worse.”  Job went on.  “I know what
that’s like.  During the Fall, you remember how someone spray-painted ‘Your
Fault!’ on my garden wall?  I
know
how you start questioning everything
you did, convincing yourself it was really
was
your fault people died.”

“The
Fall wasn’t you fault, Job.  You know that.”  Aside from Parald, the only person
to blame for the Fall was Ty.

“I
was over a thousand years old and I still had problems.  Gion was
eight
. 
He wasn’t old enough to forgive himself and now it’s too late.  He never came
back from that playground in a lot of ways.  It tainted how Gion saw himself
forever.”

“That’s
not fair.”  Ty blinked back tears.  “He’s not a murderer.”

“I
know.”  Job paused.  “Well, at least, not because of
that
.”

“He’s
not a murderer.”  Ty repeated firmly.  “Gion’s killed people, but that’s not
who he is.  Uriel killed Reprisal soldiers when they attacked me.  So did
Cross.  That doesn’t make them murderers.  It makes them warriors.”

“Wood
Phases are always warriors.”  Brokk volunteered.  “Even when they’re Air Phases.”

“The
Wood Phases did help take care of Gion after the accident.”  Job allowed. 
“Parson spent years with him, helping Gion control his powers.”  He looked
uncharacteristically puzzled.  “I recently came to realized that Gion…
respected Parson very much.  That’s a positive sign for the boy, I suppose.”

Parson,
of the Wood House was the one who taught Gion to play music.

Taught
him how to be an honorable man.

“So,
I’m not blaming Gion for the accident.”  Job reiterated.  “All Elemental
children get zapped by each other’s powers.  It’s how we learn to control them
and how
not
to use them against each other.  This was tragic, because
Gion’s energy was too big for him to control.  But, he
wasn’t
to blame. 
It was just… Gaia’s will, for lack of a better term.”

“Well,
tell him that!”

“I
did.  I told Gion again and again that it wasn’t his fault.  He doesn’t believe
me.”  Job put his hands behind his back, military “at rest” style.  “That is
the entire point of this story.  This isn’t about how
I
see him. 
Gion
thinks he’s a killer and that’s what he’s made himself.  It’s become his entire
identity.”

Ty
closed her eyes, remembering what Gion answered when she asked what he did in
the Air House.

I
kill people
.

Oh
God.

“You
can’t change five hundred years of Gion thinking that he’s the villain of the
world.”  Job continued.  “Because, in his head, he’ll always be that kid on the
playground and he’ll always see himself as a murderer.”

Ty’s
chest ached for Gion.

“It’s
just not safe to be around him.  It hasn’t been for a long time.”  Job sounded
strangely sorrowful.  “When you
think
you’re a killer, you kill people. 
It’s all you know.”

Ty
stayed quiet.

“You
can’t change him, Ty.”  Job reached over to touch her arm, even though he
really shouldn’t have, since he had a Match.  Phases didn’t like other people
touching their Matches.  Tessie wasn’t an Elemental, and years of living with
the humans gave her a much more casual tolerance for touching, so she wouldn’t
mind.  But, Job adhered to protocol like a shipwreck survivor clinging to a
barrel.  The fact that Job was breaking the rules of etiquette said a lot about
his determination to get through to Ty.  “You can’t change Gion into a good
man.”

“I
don’t have to change him.”  Ty whispered.  “He already
is
a good man. 
All he needs is someone to see that.”