Exile in the Water Kingdom (The Elemental Phases Book 3) (43 page)

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.

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.

The
Reprisal must’ve already been on the move, because the place seemed deserted,
except for the sounds of running downstairs and some muffled shouting outside. 
Gion instinctively looked out of the window.  Chason’s shithole homeland
stretched out around him, gray and desolate.  Below, someone stood by Mara’s
sepulcher, but he didn’t see Ty anywhere.

Gion
had never really thought of the Magnet Kingdom as large, but now it seemed
impossibly vast.  Ty could be anywhere.  He couldn’t find her unless she did
that screaming thing in his head, calling him to her.

Why
wasn’t she doing that?  Had Chason already done something to her?  Or did she
just not understand that Gion could hear her?  He’d never explained it to her. 
How could Ty possibly know?  Why hadn’t he taken three damn seconds to tell
her…?

Energy
surged and Brook and Tharsis appeared beside him.

Gion
glanced at them distractedly.  He should order them to go home.  Ty wouldn’t
want them put at risk, but, at the moment, he was just grateful to have more
eyes.  “Split up.”  He commanded, already heading for the door.  “Find her. 
Anybody gets in your way, kill them, call me, or jump around them.  Don’t get
dead or I’ll never hear the end of it.  Understand?”

“He’s
hiding her.”  Tharsis ran a hand through his hair.  “They don’t even have to be
in this kingdom, for God’s sake.  With the barriers down, Chason could have
taken her
anywhere
.”

Brokk
handed one of his swords to Tharsis.  “Chase only needs Ty to get to Gion.  He
has no reason to hide.  He’ll
want
Gion to see…” he glanced at Tharsis’
strained face, “everything.  Otherwise, there’s no value his revenge.”

“Well,
I’m fucking
here
, so where the hell is
he
?”  Gion snapped.

If
possible, his anxiety level jacked even higher, because Brokk was right.  If
Gion was Chason’s real target, then there was no reason to take Ty, at all. 
Chason could have decapitated Ty right in front of Gion and accomplished his
goal.

Gion
couldn’t survive without Ty.

He
wouldn’t even want to.

Better
than anyone, Chason understood the utter desolation of losing the woman you
loved.  And, God knew, Chase had never been a subtle bastard.  If he wanted to
destroy Gion, the best way to do it was to kill Ty fast, before Gion had a
chance to retaliate.  Not kidnap her.  What would be the point?

A
thought occurred to Gion, dark and horrible, born from his years serving
Parald.  The most likely reason to take your enemy’s woman was to rape her and
then
kill her.  Would Chason do that? 
Parald
would, with a grin on his
simpering face.  But, would a recovering choirboy like Chason go that far?

Of
course not.

No.

No
.

…Maybe.

Before
today, Gion had never thought that Chason would really threaten to kill Ty, so
who the hell knew what he was capable of?

Shit.

Gion
had to find her.

Now
.

Chason
must know that Gion would come for Ty.  He
must
know that there was a
timeline, here.  A small window before Gion caught up with him.  He was more
powerful than Chason and Gion would brutally cheat without a second thought. 
In a fight, the safe bet would always be on Gion.  Even crazy as a loon, Chason
lacked Gion’s cruel streak.

To
get Ty back, there was
nothing
Gion wouldn’t do.

Nothing,
at all.

So
why was Chason risking this?  Why not kill her outright?  What was he planning?

And
where the hell had he taken Ty?

*****

Chason
zipped Ty’s sweater up so forcefully that the back of his hand knocked against
her chin.  “You’ll be fine.  Just stay out of my path.”

“I’m
not going along with this.”   She hissed, batting his arm away.

Chason
ignored that, not releasing his grip on her as he tugged her along.  Ty
couldn’t jump herself with Chason so close and she wasn’t strong enough to pull
him along with her.  For all practical purposes she was stuck with him until he
let her go.

…
Or she stabbed him.

A
shard of Plexiglas stayed clutched in Ty’s hand.  She wasn’t certain what might
happen to an Elemental impaled with plastic, but she was positive that it would
hurt.  So, she kept it hidden in her grasp.  She didn’t want to do anything
drastic, yet

Ty
still didn’t think Chason would hurt her.  It seemed fairly clear that he
wasn’t planning her grisly death, at the moment.  And she’d loved Mara so much,
that it was hard for Ty to contemplate killing her Match unless there was just
no other alternative.  Mara had been the first one to give her a copy of
Ismena
.

Also,
no matter how much Ty
didn’t
want to be there, she felt like something…
bigger
was at work.  That synchronicity Raiden spoke of, as events came to a head.
 Chason had inadvertently brought her to the one spot where she might be able do
some good for her kingdom and family.

The
Air Palace.

Just
being there sent Ty into the first hyperventilating stages of a panic attack. 
She could feel Parald in the castle.  Just
feel
the miasma of his evil
seeping through the mortar and stone.  In so many of her nightmares, Ty was
trapped in the Air Palace, running down its endless, tackily decorated
hallways, unable to escape.

But,
if Parald was here, then this was her chance to kill him.  If Parald was dead,
his army would stop attacking the Water House and Job wouldn’t have to kill
anyone.

Plus,
the Love Tablet was in Air Kingdom.  In order to undo the…
whatever
that
Parald had done, Tessie said she needed the box.  This was Ty’s chance to find
it.  To help fix Parald’s treachery and remove the block from inside of her.  Raiden’s
words from the Agora came back to her.

I
know now that you’re the only one who can do this. 
Find
the box.  It will be behind him.

And,
amazingly, she knew exactly what that gibberish meant.

Granted,
Raiden was a nut.  But, for some crazy reason, in the midst of all this war and
deceit, Ty believed him.  She believed that she was the only one who could do
this.  She had to get the tablet or Gion would come here and try to find it
himself.  Probably alone.  Ty would rather risk herself that her Match.

And
she’d rather risk Chason than either of them.

Ty
wasn’t a hero.  Let Chase deal with the first hail of castle guards, if he was
so determined to be an idiot.  All she wanted was to kill Parald, find the box
and to make it out of this alive.

Chason
dragged her along in his wake, his sword slashing through fleshy obstacles as
he neared the throne room.  The noise of the battle was everywhere, metal and
shouting and the pounding of running feet.

Phases
from other Houses were arriving in the Air Kingdom; some Reprisal, some
civilians, and all of them eager for Parald’s head.  Everyone who’d waited two
years for revenge against the Air House had just been waved through the toll. 
With most of the Air House army in the Water Kingdom, the remaining soldiers
were outnumbered so heavily that none of the invaders were meeting much
resistance.

Chason
cut a swath through everyone, unconcerned about the fighting.  He was focused
like a Doberman on his prey, moving towards Parald with relentless
determination.

From
the corner of her eye, Ty saw Yuan, of the Reflection House, one of the most
powerful Elementals alive.

At
least, she thought it was him.

It
was definitely a Reflection Phase, but that House had the annoying ability to
look however they wanted, so it was always difficult to identify them by their
appearance.  There was a white streak at his temple and a savage glow to his
colorless eyes as he fought Air Phases.

“There
are only two sides in this, Ty.”  Chason told her in a conversational tone.  “You
can be with me or against me.  Either way, I’ll be leaving here with Parald’s
head, so I don’t care which you choose.”

“This
isn’t that kind of war.”  Ty glowered up at him.  “
You
want me dead. 
Parald
wants me dead.  Whose side am I supposed to be on?”

“I
don’t want you dead.”  He looked surprised that she’d say such a thing. 
“You’re just a means to an end.  Collateral damage.  Raiden said that I can’t
use you to get at Gion, so I’ll use you against Parald, instead.  It’s nothing
personal.”

Okay,
that was just insulting.  “I take the invasion of my kingdom and my subsequent
kidnapping quite personally, as a matter of fact.”  Ty dug her heels in and did
her very best to halt him entirely.  “I’m not just a pawn, Chase.  I’m a real
person!”

He
didn’t respond to that, just continued forward march, pulling her along.

To
her left Alder, of the Fire House arrived, jumping right into the middle of a
cadre of Air House guards.  Grinning like a maniac, he cheerfully began
battling them, six against one.  Ty wasn’t even a teensy bit concerned over
who’d win that fight.  Fire Phases lived to skewer their enemies.

She
recognized more and more warriors from the various Houses, now.

Rysimer
and Abram and Europa and Djinn and Pele.

There
was no way the Air House could win this.

Bodies
fell.  People screamed.  It sounded like the Fall, all over again.

Except
there was no coughing.

Across
the room, she saw Mara’s cousin, Kahn, of the Light House.  Black-red gore
covered the side of his face as he savaged his way through the Air Phases. 
There was a desperate frenzy on all sides of the fight.  As if everyone knew
that they only had a few moments before Job arrived and reigned in the carnage,
so they needed to hack apart as many of their enemies as they could.