Exile in the Water Kingdom (The Elemental Phases Book 3) (45 page)

Which
was lucky, ‘cause the good guys were about to kick ass.

Cross
reached over grab Job’s arm, lending the strength of his powers to his uncle.

Tessie
closed her eyes as if she couldn’t bear to watch her Match do something that
would haunt him forever.

Because
the Big Guy was really gonna clean house.

Isaacs
felt the entire world shake, the ground moved in an earthquake that sent the
soldiers below tumbling like dominoes.  He couldn’t see them toppling over, but
he could feel their energy falter.

The
barrage of Air powers stopped.

By
this point, the Reprisal and various pissed-off Phases had arrived in the Water
Kingdom, following the oh-so-subtle surging Air House powers.  Not that anyone
wanted to help the Water House particularly, but
everybody
wanted to
kill Air Phases and it was suddenly open season.  Saxon must not have thought
of that.

Arrogant
prick.

Fighting
had broken out at various points on the Air Phase lines.  None of the newcomers
were affected by Job’s tectonic event, though.  Their energy stayed steady.  It
was like Job took the vibrations from the ground and sent them up into the
enemy Air Phases themselves, jarring them from the inside out.

Job
was going to rip them apart without even touching them.  Without leaving a mark
on their bodies.  They’d die by seismic activity of their internal systems.

Isaacs
had never even
heard
of anything like it.

“Job.” 
Raiden, of the Radiation House appeared, jumping into the room.  “Don’t do
this.  There’s another way.”

Job
glanced over at him.  “Where’s Ty?”  The resonate quaking didn’t stop, but
Raiden had his attention.  “If anything happens to her, the Reprisal will be
the next group I deal with.  That’s a promise.”

“Chason
took her to Parald.”

Uriel
swore and Wood Phases weren’t a group given to casual obscenities.

“
Shit!
”
 Nia stabbed a finger at Raiden.  “You’d better pray that Gion kills your boss
and
Parald.  Because, if I get my hands on Chason, I swear to God…”

“He’s
not going to give Ty to Parald.”  Raiden interrupted as if that was crazy
talk.  “He’s just trying to draw Parald out.”

“Chason
told you that?”  Cross demanded skeptically.

“No. 
But, I know it to be true.”

Tessie
focused on Job.  “Raiden’s right.  Parald’s the head of this snake.  If you cut
off the head, then you don’t need to worry about the rest of the body.”  She
seemed eager to find a way out of Job’s “kill ‘em all” plan.  The Quintessence
would never want Job to have to do something like that.  She knew him too
well.  “Look, if we get rid of
him
, all this will stop.  The army will
fall apart on its own.”

Job
looked at his Match.  “Just kill Parald, you mean?”

“Kill
one.  Save hundreds.  Seems fair.”  Tessie stood up.  “Try this
first
,
Job.  Be sure that all this death is the only way or you’ll be second guessing
yourself forever.”

“Chason
will get into that throne room.”  Raiden assured them.  “I’ve seen it.  What
happens after that is uncertain, but Parald is vulnerable and Ty’s there.  This
is our shot.”

“Why
is Ty being there important?”  Isaacs wanted to know.  “‘Cause Gion’s gonna
follow her?  Gion gets to finish Parald off, doesn’t he?”

Typical.

Gion
always got all the breaks.

Raiden
glanced at him.  Mostly blind or not, Isaacs could still see the vivid gamma
ray green of his eyes.  “Ty, of the Water House is vital to our world.  She’s
ensuring that Chason is right where he needs to be for the coming war.”

“No
more wars.”  Job pulled back on his powers and shook his head.  “There’s been
enough death.”

Isaacs
felt himself stagger a bit at the sudden succession of energy.  The percussive
echoes of powers stopped, leaving a yawning silence.  For one beat there was
nothing… Then, Isaacs felt most of the gasping, aching Air House soldiers
jumping the hell outta Dodge.

They
ran.

And
who could blame them?

“There’s
always another war.”  Raiden said quietly.  “Let’s just win one at a time.”

*****

Saxon’s
army deserted him.

Fucking
traitors.

Rage
filled him as his men jumped into any kingdom and realm they could lock onto. 
Cowards.  Deserting the field rather than stand up to Job.  That evil
son-of-a-bitch wanted to steal
everything
for himself.  The most power,
control of the Council, and a Match who was the damn Quintessence… Job wouldn’t
be happy until he ran everything,
changed
everything, so it suited his
own agenda.

And
now he was stealing Saxon’s destiny!

“Stop!” 
He bellowed at the stampede of retreating troops.  “Stop!  Stay and fight, you
bastards!”  Jesus, he would kill every single one of them when this was over.

Every. 
Single.  One.

Amarna,
the bitch niece of Seneca, smirked at him across the fields of broken glass and
panicked soldiers.  Saxon’s jaw tightened in fury as she waved at him.  The
snotty, little whore actually
waved
at him, surrounded by Air Phases who
weren’t fleeing with their tails between their legs.

Rebels.

Those
pussies
did
exist.

Shit.

Saxon
wasn’t a fool.  With Job, the rebels, and the Reprisal against him, there was
no way he could win.  Not alone.  And more people who hated him were showing up
all the time.  It was like a convention of the assholes.  No matter how hated
the Water House was, it seemed like it still beat out the Air Phases in a
popularity contest.

Shit.

Saxon
barely ducked in time to avoid decapitation as Campbel, of the Heat House
lunged at him.  Saxon blasted out some Air energy, pushing him back, but more
enemies were headed his way.  All of them armed and pissed.

Lansing,
of the Dust House gave a battle cry and came right at Saxon, his broad sword
swinging over his head.  All around him dead Air Phases stared up at the flat
clouds and anyone strong enough was going or already gone.

Saxon
gave up trying to fight the battle on his own.

He’d
have his due… But, it wouldn’t be today.

He
had nowhere to go, now.  Nowhere where he’d be welcomed.

Amnesty
seemed like a long shot.

Ty
probably wasn’t going to open the doors to him, and Job suddenly seemed pretty
darkside for a Mr. Nice Guy.  Saxon wasn’t even sure he
wanted
to be
neighbors with somebody who could vibrate his organs into microscopic particles
the second he stepped out of line.  And, since the Air House was about to have
a severe change of management, going home seemed like a real bad idea.

But,
Saxon would figure something out.  He was a survivor.  He’d get by.

…And
wait for his day to come around.

A
person, who was a little of a seer, a combined symbol of elemental air and
elemental water

W.
B. Yeats- ‘Ideas of Good and Evil’

Ty
wasn’t in the Magnet Kingdom.

She
wasn’t
anywhere
.

In
his entire life, Gion had never been so scared.

He
wasn’t used to being scared.  No one could do that to him except Ty.  Loving
somebody with every bit of his being --all the previously empty pieces of his
soul filling up with
her
-- wasn’t just about good times.  Playing in bed
and watching the sunset with her head on his shoulder.  No, it meant that Ty
had the ability to crush him into millions of irreparable pieces.  If he lost
her, Gion would die.  Simple as that.  When he got Ty back, he was going to
handcuff himself to the woman.  She was
never
leaving his sight, again.

God,
please let him get her back.

Gion
closed his eyes and tried to think through his panic.  Where had Chason taken
her?  What was he doing to her?  Gion had to put himself in that vengeful
sociopath’s place.

Chason’s
entire focus was Mara.

The
more Gion thought about it, the more he convinced himself that Chason wouldn’t
rape Ty.  The Clean Marine didn’t see Ty as a woman.  Didn’t even see her as a
person.  All Chason’s perceptions and beliefs had been eradicated in the Fall. 
There wasn’t room for anyone in his world now, except his dead Match.  He’d see
touching Ty in any kind of personal way as an affront to Mara’s memory.  Odds
seemed good that Chason wouldn’t have sex with a willing woman, let alone rape
an unwilling one.

So
what was he planning?

Ty
was a means to an end.  Whatever Chason’s plot was, the same logic as before
applied.  This had nothing to do with Ty herself.  Chason
liked
Ty.  Her
only value was as a weapon against Gion.

…Or
Parald.

Gion’s
eyes widened as he realized that this wasn’t necessarily about
him
.

He’d
just assumed that taking Ty was a way to get to him because of the FX
extravaganza at the Home Depot.  But, really Gion would
always
be second
place on the Reprisal’s hit list.  If Chason could use Ty against Parald,
of
course
he’d try that first.

Chason
still thought that Ty was Parald’s Match.

She
was an absolute surefire golden ticket into Parald’s throne room.  An all-access
pass.  The Air House’s fearless leader wouldn’t open that door for anybody… except
for the one person that he wanted more than anything in the universe.

Ty.

*****

Parald
grabbed Ty and yanked her around to face him.

Chason
was fighting the eight Air House soldiers and doing an admirable job.  Ty was pretty
annoyed with the guy and even she had to admit that he’d rock at Ultimate
Fighting Championships.

Parald
wasn’t fighting, at all.  He just stalked around the sword play and seized Ty
by the arm.

“
You
slut!
  You’ve been letting Gion screw you!  Admit it!”

“Gion’s
my Match.”  Ty shot back.  “My
real
Match.  Ordained by Gaia and chosen
by me.  I’ll let him do anything he wants with a smile on my face.”

“
I’m
your Match!
”  He gave her a violent shake.

“You’re
nothing
.  You couldn’t get the Air House without stealing.  You couldn’t
get me without manipulating my energy.  And even
then
, I wouldn’t have
you.”  Ty’s eyes gleamed with triumph, no longer afraid of Parald, at all.  He
seemed so much smaller in person.  So much weaker.  “You could
never
be
my Match.”

His
fingers bit into his arms, his boyish face darkening with fury.  “You think
I’ll just let you walk away from me?  Let you make me a laughingstock?  You’re
mine!
”

“You’ve
lost
, you moron.  You killed thousands of people and abused the Tablets
of Fate trying to get your own way… and
still
you’ve lost.”  Parald
could never beat her.  Ty saw that so clearly, all of a sudden.  She was
smarter than him.  Stronger.  He hadn’t defeated her on her ninety-third
birthday and he wouldn’t do it, now.  “Even if you kill me, Gion’s going to see
you dead.  It’s
over
.”

Pale
gray eyes narrowed.  “
You bitch!
”  Parald drew back his arm, ready to
strike her; to hit her like he had before.

Only
this time, Ty was ready for him.

She
lifted the shard of Plexiglas still clutched in her hand and sunk it into his
arm as deeply as she could.

Parald
let out a scream of agony and panic as the very
un
Elemental plastic
reacted with his system.  Judging by the cut on her hand, Ty was betting that
it burned and throbbed like someone had shoved a curling iron beneath his skin.

Not
to mention the pain from the stab wound itself.

He
released her, stumbling backwards and clutching his arm to his chest.  “I’ll
fucking kill you!  Gion will never have you.  I’ll see you dead first!”  He
slammed his Air powers out, crashing them into her hard enough to break her
bones and crush her internal organs.

Ty
went flying backwards, hitting the ground and gasping for breath.

…
But completely unhurt.

“Ty!” 
Chason bellowed.

She
should have been dead.  Ty slowly sat up, unzipping her sweater to stare down
at the Kevlar vest that Chason had strapped onto her at the beginning of this
misadventure.  Human bulletproof vests worked against Elemental powers?

Why
hadn’t she thought of that?

“What
the hell…?”  Parald gaped at her.  “How’d you do that?”

Ty
looked up at him and smiled smugly.  “Science.”

Chason
slashed through another guard and tried to get to Parald.  Chason had killed
five of them, so far, through a combination of skill, cheating, and not caring
about the numerous cuts and bruises covering his body.  He had complete tunnel
vision, all his focus locked onto Parald.

“Help!” 
Parald called towards the door, searching for more soldiers to come to his
aid.  Blood continued to seep from his arm and he pulled the Plexiglas shard
loose with a grimace.  “Guards!”

No
one came to protect him.

Instead,
Gion arrived with a crash of energy that sent the overhead lights dimming.

He
jumped right into the throne room.  With the door standing open, there was a
broken spot in the ring of plastic netting attached to the walls.  That gave
Gion all the access he needed.  His icy gaze swept the room and landed on Ty,
who was still sprawled on the floor.

She’d
never seen him so strained.  Gion looked like he was on the verge of a nervous
breakdown, his knuckles white around the hilt of his sword.

“Ty.” 
The word came out as a prayer and then he was on his knees in front of her. 
“God, angel.  Are you, okay?  Are you hurt?”  His hands found her face, petting
her hair, as she nodded.

“I’m
fine.”  He laid his forehead against hers for a beat, breathing hard, and Ty
instinctively tried to sooth him.  “I knew you’d come.”

“When
we get home, remind me to explain some things to you.  Like how your energy
lets you
call me
when you’re in real danger.”

“I
was handling things.”  Ty allowed Gion to hoist her to her feet.  “I know where
the Tablet is.”

“Good. 
Great.”  Gion nodded vaguely, his attention already swinging towards Parald. 
“Just stay behind me.”  Gion started across the room, his eyes burning into his
old boss.

Parald
took a step back.  “You’re an Air Phase, Gion.  Remember that.”

“I’m
a
Water
Phase, now.”  Gion snarled.  “And what I
remember
is that
you tried to rape my Match.”

Chason’s
head snapped around to Ty as if scanning for injuries.  “That wasn’t on my
watch.”

“She’s
a fucking tease!”  Parlad screamed.

Gion
didn’t see it that way.  “You hit her.  Blocked our energy.  Killed her
parents.  Almost got her beheaded.  Kidnapped her.  Attacked her kingdom.  Made
sure that she was scared of me.  Kept her from me for
three years
.  And
then
you tried to stick me with some other woman, so I’d never know the truth.”  The
black blade of his sword glinted like death.  “Your sorry reign is fucking
over
.”

“
No!
” 
Chason screamed the command.  “Don’t you touch him!  He’s mine!”  His fury gave
him a burst of adrenalin and he killed two more guards, bending their swords in
half with his powers.  Chason didn’t even wince as the last one sliced his arm
clear down to the bone.  “He murdered my Match!”

“And
he stole mine!”  Gion bellowed back.  “I’m gonna deal with you next, so stay
out of it!”

Chason
swung his sword into the final soldier, taking his head off with one clean
blow.  “I’ll kill you myself before I let you take this vengeance away from me,
Gion!”

“You’ll
have
to.”

Chason
charged towards Gion, their blades clashing together in a rainbow of sparks.

“Stop!” 
Ty ordered.  “Chason, stop!”

Parald
got a crafty look on his face.  Ty could feel him gathering the energy to jump
while Gion and Chason were distracted with their fighting.

“I
don’t think so.”  She slammed the throne room door closed, so he couldn’t
escape.  The plastic netting that had protected Parald from invaders now
trapped him in the room.  Ty suddenly understood why Gion wasn’t staple-gunning
it to the Water Palace’s walls.  It kept Phases out… and it kept Phases
in
.

The
throne room was a cage.

Parald
swore.  “Bitch.”  He snarled, again, starting for her.  Ty stood between him
and the door.  Between him and freedom.  If he didn’t get that door open,
Chason and/or Gion would execute him.  Regicide was eminent.  By keeping Parald
in the room, Ty was ensuring that he died.  She might as well wield the sword
herself.

And
she was okay with that.

Ty
met his eyes dead on.

Parald
wasn’t impressed.  “You think you can stop me, Ty?  That you…?”

A
targeted cyclone of Air hit Parald, interrupting his taunts and sending him
flying straight up into the roof.  He ricocheted off the domed ceiling and then
tumbled to the ground in a daze.

Ty
looked over at her Match.  “Thank you, dear.”

Gion
shoved free of Chason long enough to send her an exasperated look.  “Angel, get
out of here.”

“Not
unless you come with me.”  Ty couldn’t leave Gion.  He was incredibly powerful,
and she knew he’d win, but he was her
world
.  If he died, Ty would have
nothing.  She loved him so much that her life before Gion was already a blur. 
“I need you.  So, if you’re going to risk yourself, then so am I.”

Gion
blinked.  “You can’t do that.”

“Of
course I can!  You’re my Match.  Let Chason kill Parald.”

“I
promised
you that Parald wouldn’t touch you again and, because of
Chason, he
did
.”  Gion sounded anguished.  “It’s Chason’s fault.  So, he
doesn’t get to finish this.”

“I
don’t care about Parald.”  Ty insisted.  “I care about
you
.”

“I
told you that I’d bring Ty home.”  Chason retorted.  He used the Magnet energy
to rip the sword from Gion.  “Just keep out of my way.”  He swept towards
Parald with two swords clutched in his hands.

Gion
stalked after him, seizing Chason by the arm and slamming him back around.

Parald
wasn’t going down without a fight, either.  He grabbed the sword of a fallen
guard and staggered to his feet.

“Son-of-a-bitch.” 
Ty started for him, again.

Only,
instead of using the blade against Gion or Chason, Parald sliced it against the
wall.  The sharpened steel went through the top of a painting of Parald dressed
like Napoleon and across a large section of the stone behind it… Through the
concealed, plastic netting that was attached to every surface like wallpaper. 
Parald ripped it down, pulling on the jagged tear he’d created with one hand
and hacking through the plastic with the other.  In less than fifteen seconds,
he had a large section loose.

“Gion!” 
Ty called.

Gion’s
head whipped around to look at her, just in time for Parald to hurl his
makeshift net gladiator-style.  Chason and Gion were standing so close together
that it covered both of them.  Not so much trapping them as slowing them down
and blocking their energy while Parald used his Air powers to start hurling
swords in their direction.  The dead guard’s weapons hurtled across the room
like spears.  He was trying to incapacitate Gion and Chason before they could
fight back.