Exile in the Water Kingdom (The Elemental Phases Book 3) (50 page)

He
grinned at her, feeling young for the first time in his life.  “You inspire me,
angel.  When I’m with you, I know myself and I’m happy.”

The more you study our history, the more you see the
thousands of little cat shit choices that had to be made for the Elementals to
reach the Dark War.  All the roads not taken and all the choices unmade.  All
the guys who
could’ve
helped changed our path, but they were left
sitting on the sidelines, just waiting for someone to tag them into the match. 
It wasn’t “destiny” that brought us to this point… it was morons.

Daphne, of the Time House- “After the Fall: A History
of the Dark War”

Kingu
had been trapped in the Air Kingdom for twelve hundred, sixty-four years, and
nine days when the barriers finally fell.

Whether
physical or mental, the boundaries of his existence had always been defined by
others.  Kingu had never been free.  He survived in a day-to-day monotony of
servitude.  He no longer really remembered life beyond the invisible walls that
Tessie erected to keep Kingu and his mother contained, but he knew that it
hadn’t been much better.  No matter where he went, it was all the same.

Kingu
had always been a slave.

Doing
what Kay told him.  Never having a thought for himself or a plan of his own. 
At least, none that he’d dared to share.  He just… existed.  Then, Tessie put
Kay into that coma and Kingu suddenly had to start making decisions by himself.

Only,
he didn’t know how to start.

Kingu
stared at his sleeping mother.  Thanks to the Health Tablet, the all-powerful
primordial Khaos was trapped in her own body.  Kay slept on, comatose, while
her long held dream of freedom finally came true for Kingu.  It should have
pleased him more than it did.  He’d always dreamed of seeing Kay defeated and
he’d always wanted to escape.  Nothing could stop Kingu from traveling anywhere
he wanted, now.  Every realm was wide open to him…

Only,
he had no idea where to go.

He
sat on the floor of Kay’s bedroom with his back against the wall, careful not
to look at the manacles that she’d once chained him in, sometimes for years at
a time.  Kingu spent every day like that, now.  Just… waiting for the end.

And,
since he was immortal, he would have a very long wait.

When
the Elemental jumped into Kay’s room, Kingu didn’t bother to stand up.  He
wasn’t worried.  Why would he be?  The Phases were insects and he was a god. 
Forsaken and nearly powerless, but a god none the less.  He had nothing anyone
could steal and it would take something greater than some pitiful Phase to kill
him.

Kingu
had no respect for the Elementals.  He’d watched his mother manipulate Parald
for far too long to view any of them as a threat.  He’d helped Parald with the
Love Tablet earlier, manufacturing the Match between Gion and Randa, but Kingu
certainly didn’t give a shit about their little plots and schemes.

Maybe
the stranger was there to try and kill Kay.  His mother’s death would end the
world, but so what?  Hell, Kingu had considered killing her himself, except he
didn’t want the universe to blink out of existence.  Not while some part of him
still stubbornly clung to… hope.

If
he could’ve, Kingu would’ve cut out that tainted part of himself like a cancer. 
It poisoned him.  Hope told him not to destroy the universe.  Hope whispered
that something special was out there, beyond the Air Kingdom, waiting for him. 
Hope poisoned him with the promise of…

Her
.

Some
nameless, faceless woman who didn’t even exist outside the most secret recesses
of his mind.  He’d never believed Kay when she’d said that Divine beings were
above mates.  Even the highest gods must long for someone to share eternity
with.  Even so, Kingu knew that no one would ever send
him
a woman.  As
his mother had delighted in telling him, Kingu was created, not born.  He had
no soul and was therefore outside the dominion of Gaia.  Unnatural monsters
weren’t given treasures from the gods.

He
knew
that.

And
still he dreamed of that woman.  The hopeless hope wore Kingu down like Chinese
water torture.  Nothing would ever change for him and he hated that an endless
lifetime of misery
still
hadn’t taught him that.  That he
still
hung on, because he longed for some female who didn’t even exist.

Gods,
how he longed for her.

Kingu
was too tired to even care when the Smoke Phase stood over Kay’s still form.

The
man looked like one of the vacuous male models in Kay’s fashion magazines,
except his dark hair was haphazardly falling into his eyes and it appeared that
he’d gotten dressed in the dark.  A cigarette dangled from his mouth and
various piercings studded his eyebrows, completing the “broke art major who
sits in coffee houses and complains that no one else is smart enough to
really
get
his self-important poetry” aesthetic.

Kingu
rolled his eyes.

Just
when he thought his life couldn’t become any more wretched, this jackass shows
up.  Leave it to the Elementals to always find new depths of annoying.

“Are
you the one who collapsed the barriers?”  Kingu asked.  If this idiot was
behind it, then he must have had help.  The boy obviously wasn’t capable of
working the Liberty box by himself and nothing else could have destroyed all
those fences.

“Let’s
just say, I knew it would happen.”  The Smoke Phase smiled like a TV
infomercial host.  “I’m more of a… facilitator.  I’m here because I have an
exciting plan that I
know
you’ll want to be a part of.”

Oh,
that was all Kingu needed.  To be dragged into another tedious Elemental
“plan.”  Their endless bickering and infighting gave him a headache.  It was
like listening to chimps chattering in their trees.

“I’m
busy.”  He said flatly.  “Very, very busy for the next few millennia.”

“Oh
obviously.”  The Smoke Phase made of show of looking around the stagnant room
and at the comatose woman on the bed.  “You’re really living the high life, big
guy.”  He held up his palms when Kingu’s eyes narrowed.  “Hey, hey!  Don’t
shoot the messenger, now.  I’m here to make your life better.  You and me can
make a deal.”

“A
deal?”  Kingu had the mental image of being offered some stunning bananas as payment. 
“You and I?”

“Yep. 
In fact, I think we have a lot in common, Kingu.”

Okay,
now that assertion was just insulting.

The
Smoke Phase moved closer to him and extended a hand.  “I’m Zakkery, by the
way.”

The
back of his palm was marked with a Banishment symbol.  When a Phase was
expelled from his or her House, they were usually seared with that mark so
everyone would know to stay away from them.  Even his own people didn’t want
this guy around.

What
a fucking surprise.

“I
don’t care who you are, Elemental,” Kingu slowly explained, “because I am not
one of you termites.  I am a
god
.  Shaking hands with you would be like
shaking hands with a grub that just squirmed out of the soil.”

“Riiiight.” 
Zakkery dropped his palm and arched a brow.  “But no offense, right?”

“On
the contrary, feel free to take a great deal of offense.  I insist.”

Zakkery
snorted.  “Look, we don’t have to like each other.  All we have to do is work
together on this deal.  At least, hear me out, grub to god.”

Was
Kingu really so desperate and bored and that he’d waste precious seconds of his
eternity listening to this creature?

Yes,
apparently, he was.

“Alright.” 
He sighed out despite his better judgment.  “Amuse me with your pointless idea.”

A
surprising amount of intelligence glinted in Zakkery’s smile.  “Well, I’m
working on this tiny little project.  And, in order to iron out some of the
kinks, I need to borrow your mom’s necklace.  I’ll totally bring it back when
I’m done.  I swear.  But, since you’re the only one who can actually take the
pendant off her,” he made a back and forth rocking motion with his head, “well,
you see why I need you for a partner.”

Kingu
arched a brow.  His mother’s pendant held nearly unlimited power.  Giving it to
a Phase would be like entrusting a fighter jet to an otter.  Sure they’d
have
a deadly weapon, but what could they actually
do
with it?

“Gods
don’t have partners.”  He told Zakkery.  “Gods have worshippers.  What could
someone like
you
possibly offer me, besides fearful prayers?”

“Well,
I don’t know.”  He crouched down beside Kingu, who was still sitting on the
floor with his back to the wall.  “What is it you want?”

Kingu
frowned.  “What do I
want?
”  He repeated blankly.  No one had ever asked
him that before.  Not ever.  Even the words sounded foreign to him.  Slaves
didn’t get to think about what they wanted.  They just… existed.  “I don’t want
anything.”

“Nothing? 
Not money?  Power?  A really fast car?”  Zakkery tilted his head.  “A woman?”

Kingu’s
gaze jumped to his, that fucking spark of hope lighting up.

The
Smoke Phase suddenly had Kingu’s full attention and they both knew it.

Zakkery
smirked, sensing an opening.  “Because, I have a
real
talent for
matchmaking.”

Was
Zakkery mocking him?  “No woman will give herself to a monster.”  Kingu knew
what he was.  He saw his red eyes and dragon-like features every time he looked
in a mirror.  In order to have a woman touch him, Kingu would have to force
her.  “If I intended to rape some poor girl, I’d hardly need
your
help.”  He snapped.

“If
you had to rape her, she wouldn’t be
yours
.”  Zakkery retorted.  “I’m
not talking about a victim.  I’m talking about
your
woman.”

Kingu
hesitated, the words sinking in.  “My woman?”

It
was impossible.  He knew that.

If
Kingu was smart, he’d ignore that gods awful spark and, sooner or later, it
would fade away and leave him in peace.  He should just kill this irritating
Phase and go back to sitting quietly in the dark.  The hope was a lie.

…Except,
he
longed
for that woman.

If
Kingu had had a soul, he would’ve sworn his need for her went straight down to the
core of it.

“I
can get you a woman.”  The Smoke Phase pointed at him like car salesman in a
year end clearance commercial.  “Guaranteed.”

Kingu’s
mind whirled.  “How?”

“Well,
I don’t like to brag, but I know a
little
something about romance.  It’s
like a super-power.”

“If
you’re thinking of just hiring a prostitute…”

“No,”
Zakkery interrupted, “I’m thinking of finding your,” he paused as if searching
for the right word, “your
one
.”

His
one.

Kingu
blinked, fascinated with that idea.  There was no
way
the boy could pull
off something so impossible.  He
knew
that.  Still, for better or worse,
that probably imaginary woman was all that kept Kingu hanging on.  If he could
just
see
her, any deal would be worth it.  Even a doomed chance was
worth trying.

Kingu
made his decision.

For
the first time in his life, he felt a sense of direction that came solely from
his own mind and heart and desires.  He suddenly knew what to do with the rest
of eternity.  It seemed so obvious.  If the higher gods wouldn’t
give
him his woman, he’d just find her and take her for himself.

“Come
on, give me a shot.”  Zakkery shrugged expansively.  “Seriously, what do you
have to lose?”

That
was actually a fair point.  After twelve hundred years trapped in the Air
Kingdom, Kingu had no idea where to start his search. 
Someone
would
have to help him and there weren’t a lot of volunteers lining up at his door.  If
Zakkery was incompetent or lying to him, he could always just kill the boy and
Kingu would have lost nothing.

“I
don’t want a woman.”  He said very clearly, just so they’d understand each
other.

“No?”

“No. 
I want
the
woman. 
My
woman.”

“Your
one.”  Zakkery agreed.  “Great.  I’ll find you a selection and you pick the
girl you want. 
Easy
.  Trust me.  I can do it.”

Kingu
got to his feet.  “You get me
her
and I’ll give you the necklace in
return.  But,” he grabbed the front of Zakkery’s hideous punk rock t-shirt and
lifted him right off the ground, “you screw me over and they’ll be finding your
body smeared all over three galaxies.”

Zakkery’s
Union Jack patterned high-tops dangled a foot in the air, but he kept smiling.
“Hey, you have my word.  Everything’s gonna work out.  I have a plan.”

A
plan.

Kingu
dropped the boy, casting a long suffering look towards the ceiling. 
Wonderful.  Finding his woman depended on a Phase whose planning abilities had
thus far gotten the strategic genius Banished.  And choosing
that
haircut.  “Your ‘plan’ doesn’t revolve around those stupid Tablets, does it?”