“Everybody shut-up!” Tessie shouted over the noise. “God, let me work, huh?” She stepped back from Ty, her examination complete. “Genius of my caliber needs some respectful silence.”
Gion promptly forgot about Isaacs’ living arrangements. He actually nodded. “Right. Right.” He moved to stand behind Tessie, watching Ty worriedly over his shoulder. “Tessie, there has to be a way to cure this.”
“Don’t get your hopes up too high, yet. Let me just figure this out.” Tessie toyed with her silver pendant. “Sometimes the Tablets of Fate do things that can’t be undone, Guy.”
Everyone knew that she meant the Fall. The Health Tablet had created the plague and nothing could change that, now.
Tessie’s cautioning words were not what Gion wanted to hear. “Fix it.” He repeated harshly. “Ty is my Match. Not Parald’s. Mine.”
Tessie rolled her eyes, completely unimpressed with Gion’s ax murderer scowl. “Oh please. Like I’m sure poor Ty’s just thrilled about this mess, right? Stop with the Tarzan bullshit and focus on her. The actual victim.”
Job had stiffened at Gion’s vicious tone. He shifted closer to his Match, far from appeased. “Gion…”
“Stay out of it, Job! It had nothing to do with you.” Gion snapped and then swore as if suddenly recalling that Tessie was Job’s Match, now. “Shit.” Gion held up his hand in a gesture of apology. “You’re right. I’m not mad at Tessie. I just…” He exhaled heavily. “I screw up everything important and Ty’s the only thing that’s ever really mattered. I can’t ruin this.”
Isaacs gave him a mystified look. He clearly couldn’t believe that Gion would ever doubt himself, even for a moment.
“This won’t be screwed up.” Ty assured Gion. “I’m not going anywhere.” She glanced back at Tessie. “And I’m not the only victim. Parald gave Gion a fake-Match, too. We need to get rid of that. I really don’t want Randa connecting with Gion. He’s,” she tried to think of another way to phrase it, but he’d pretty much hit the nail on its proprietary little head, “mine.”
Gion liked that. His pale blue gaze gleamed. “Parald’s energy will not touch her, again.” He addressed that statement to Tessie, but his attention stayed on Ty. His voice grew gentler. “It’s a violation of her and I won’t tolerate it.”
Ty smiled at him.
“Yeah, yeah.” Tessie rewound the conversation to Ty’s previous statement. “Anyway, I would flip the hell out if Job’s powers got linked to another woman.” She commiserated. “So, I get where you’re coming from and I want to mojo you back to normal. Believe me. If I had the Love Box, I think I could try some stuff. But…”
“You need the actual Tablet?” Gion interrupted. “That would help?”
“Well, yeah. If I had the Tablet in my hand, I think maybe I could do something. But, without it, I’m kinda stuck, to be honest.”
Gion nodded, more to himself than to Tessie. “Then, I’ll find it. I’ll get it for you.”
The determination on his face worried Ty. “Gion, he’ll have it locked up somewhere and…”
A tremendous explosion of power cut her off.
More energy than Ty had ever felt in her life blasted across the Elemental realm like an earthquake of the atmosphere. Everything shook. Paintings fell from the walls. The shattered glass vibrated against the tiles. A large stack of Plexiglas panels that had been leaning against the wall toppled over, the bottoms sheets cracking into jagged slivers. A terrible roaring sound filled the air.
It was like nothing that Ty had ever experienced before.
Like nothing she’d even heard about.
Gion lunged for Ty, pushing her to the ground and covering her head with his arms. “Stay down!” His gaze went to the swaying chandeliers, gauging if they’d drop.
“Shit!” Isaacs braced himself against the doorframe. “What the fuck is that?”
“I don’t know.” Job pulled Tessie against his chest. His own powers surged out, trying to still the vibrations and not finding a source. “This isn’t good.” He said it mildly, but there was an undercurrent of steel in his voice.
“It’s Parald!” Amarna shouted over the noise. “It has to be!”
Tharsis stood up. “This is too big for Parald. It’s something worse.” He steadied himself of the back of the sofa.
Brokk and Uriel staggered towards the French doors, looking up at the sky for an outside threat.
Ty gripped the edges of Gion’s cape, holding tight. She couldn’t imagine anything worse than Parald. “Did we cover this situation in the security reports?”
“It’s a Tablet!” Tessie yelled. “They’re the only things that could…”
A shockwave boom, boom, boom, boom, boomed in series of concussive blows to the world itself.
“Jesus!” Gion roared. “Hold on.”
Ty’s eyes widened as she felt the barriers begin to fall. Not just the Water Kingdom’s barriers. All the barriers. The protective shields around every kingdom collapsed, one after another, opening all the lands of the Elemental realm to each other. For the first time ever, all the powerful fences came down, leaving nothing but one wide open landscape.
The horrible shaking stopped, but now anyone could come into the kingdom.
Anyone could jump into the kingdom.
Gion cursed and released his grip on Ty. “Stay down.” He repeated, getting to his feet. “Thar get over here. Both of you, stay behind me and stay down.” Gion extracted his sword and made his way closer to Job. “Can you get the barriers back up?”
Lawn green eyes met Gion’s and there was real shock reflected in them. “No.”
Gion blinked as if Job’s simple answer caught him off guard. If Job couldn’t undo whatever had just happened, then no one could.
“It’s the Liberty Box.” Tessie looked pale. “It can create and destroy all kinds of barriers. Someone just used it to rip down the supernatural boundaries. Every single one.”
Gion glanced at her sharply. “Kay?”
“No. I’d know if my sister woke up. I don’t know who could have done this.” She shook her head. “There were barriers in place that are supposed to be in place. Somebody just let loose a lot of things that were better off caged.”
“That’s just how Jurassic Park started.” Tharsis volunteered. Thar was always like that, even before the Fall. In serious situations, he started cracking jokes. Ignoring Gion, he headed for the door. “I’ll check on Nia.”
Ty bobbed her head. “Good idea. I think we should all be together. It’s safer.”
“Nothing will happen to your family, Ty.” Gion made it a vow. “We’re leaving. All of us. Now.” Ty could actually see his mind whirling as he tried to come up with a destination, though. With all the barriers down, there weren’t many options that seemed safe.
“We don’t know what’s happening, so we shouldn’t rashly decide anything.” Job kept his voice level, but he was scanning for danger. Ty could feel the ripples of his massive powers as he tried to find the source of the energy earthquake. “I do want Cross and Nia down here, though.”
Amarna pinned Gion with a fervent sort of look. “If Parald had the Love Tablet secured in some magical safe or whatever… I think someone just picked the lock for you. We need to go to the Air Kingdom.”
Gion’s eyes narrowed. “That’s the last place I’d take my Match.” He stabbed a finger at Tharsis. “I said, stay behind me and don’t move.” He stalked towards Isaacs. “Does Parald have the Liberty Box? Did he knock down the barriers? What’s he planning?”
“I don’t know.”
“Tell me the truth!”
“I don’t know!”
Tharsis wasn’t impressed with Gion’s skills at giving orders. “Dude, no one’s telling me what to do in my own House.” He kept heading for the exit.
Gion let out a frustrated sound. “Tharsis. Do. Not. Move. And Isaacs, I swear to Christ, if you’re trying to sabotage us…”
“Are you deranged? Why would I want the b
arriers down?” Isaacs positioned himself for a fight and kept bellowing. “You think I’m planning a grand tour of the realm or something?” He gestured towards his milky eyes. “Sightseeing?”
“You’ve always wanted to be the fucking d’Artagnan of the Air House. So, let’s just say, I think you’ve picked a real convenient time to join up with the white hats.”
Tessie snorted. “Good point.”
Tharsis left to go upstairs. “Ty, stay with Gion.”
“Thar, be careful.”
“Hey, I’m a loyal soldier!” Isaacs’ expression turned outraged as he jabbed a finger at Gion. “When I commit, it’s solid. But, I’m not an idiot. Now that Parald’s planning to have me killed, I’m not exactly rooting for the home team, anymore.”
Amarna stepped between them. “Isaacs has nothing to do with this. Parald and Saxon are behind it all. Trust me.”
“Marna, no offense, but there’s only one person I trust and it’s not you. It’s that redhead over there, who kept a promise to me when there was nothing in it for her. So, don’t push me, right now. Ty is all I’m focusing on.”
Ty’s mouth parted. All those times people had asked her if she trusted Gion and she’d said yes… she’d never really thought that he’d ever give her that trust back. Gion wasn’t a man who gave love or trust easily. The fact that he gave them both to Ty so openly felt… good.
Really, really good.
Job shook his head. “Parald and Saxon aren’t smart enough to do this alone. If it’s them, someone else is lending a hand. Or this could be Chason’s doing, so he can invade the Air Kingdom. Damn it, if he attacks them, it could end the world, again.”
“It doesn’t matter if Parald’s the mastermind or not. He’ll use the opportunity to make a grab for my Match.” Gion gave up on questioning Isaacs and headed back towards Ty, again, apparently coming to a decision. “Angel, were going to the human realm. You’ll stay with your buddy Sullivan while I…” He stopped, looking around. “Where’s Tharsis?”
“He went to find Nia. He doesn’t follow instructions well and neither do I.” Ty frowned up at him. “I’m not going to the human realm without you. I don’t want us to be separated. Who knows what you’ll do, if I leave you alone.”
Uriel joined Ty’s side of the debate. “Sullivan cannot be endangered. He is Melanie’s beloved cousin.”
“This is taking too long.” Brokk insisted. “No one would drop the barriers unless they wanted to get into someplace. It’s the Reprisal or the Air House trying to attack us…”
He was cut off by the invasion.
Chapter Twenty-Six
War broke out with such elemental violence, and with such resort to all means for
leading or misleading public opinion, that no time was available for reflection and
consideration.
Hjalmar Branting- Nobel Peace Prize Lecture
Saxon hated the Water Kingdom.
The whole damn place was like a Smufs’ cartoon. Happy and colorful, probably filled with little dancing flowers and singing butterflies or whatever.
What a fucking nightmare.
He slammed his powers out, just because he could. A stained glass window in the Water House’s church fell into thousands of pieces under the burst of energy. The delicate picture of seahorses and sunbeams shattered into nothing.
Saxon smirked and kept walking up the crushed shell street. All around him, the Air Phase army moved into position. Men under his command.
Isaacs and Gion were history, now. Parald would fall next. Saxon would see to that. Then, there would be nothing standing in his way of becoming the King of the Air House.
If he wanted it, he could take the Water House, too. His army outnumbered the Water Phases and their allies twenty to one. The Water Phases were nobody’s favorites these days and, since the Fall, it was every Phase for themselves in most Houses. Even Gion couldn’t win against these odds. Job was the only one who might be able to stop this and the old man wasn’t omnipotent. No matter how much he liked to pretend otherwise.
Yeah, Smurf Village could all be Saxon’s.
Except he really didn’t want it.
A big part of Saxon thought that the real punishment would be leaving Gion in this hellhole. It seemed like leveling the place would be doing him a favor. No Air Phase soldier could possibly want to stay here.
“The Water Palace is surrounded, sir.” Hoff, one his lieutenants, jogged over. “But, they could still just jump out of there. Even if we hold the kingdom, we can’t keep them here.”
“Gion won’t run from this.” Saxon stared up at the castle. “He’ll fight.”
“We’re supposed to be after the woman, though.” Hoff reminded him. “Parald sent us for Ty and she’ll get away. We’ve lost the element of surprise.”
Saxon shoved Hoff to the ground. “Shut the fuck up!” He was the top general, now, and he didn’t have to tolerate insubordination from his followers.
Saxon knew what he was doing. It didn’t matter where Ty went, now. With the barriers down, there was nowhere that she could hide. This wasn’t about kidnapping some girl for Parald so that stupid bastard could get his rocks off….
This was about making a point. A real point, about who the really ran the Elemental realm. The Council was a bunch of old ladies and those whiny Reprisal bastards were do-nothing pussies. The Air House had the most Phases and the only genuine army.
The Wood House was all but gone.
The Metal Phases were mindless thugs.
The Smoke Kingdom was in chaos.
The Fire Phases were killers, but they were too crazy to be genuine soldiers.
The Light House had been mostly feral even before the Fall.
Of all the great Elemental armies, only the Air House’s remained. It was only right that they ruled. The rest of the Elementals needed to see that. To see what Saxon would do to anyone who stood in his way.
With the barriers down, there was nothing to stop him. Every single kingdom was wide open, thanks to the anonymous author of that light message to Parald. Saxon owed that mysterious guy a favor.
This was the first step in Saxon’s destiny. He’d bring Ty to Parald eventually, but the girl and the Water House were really just ways for him to make his point. To show everyone he was the big dog of the Air House, now.
Not Gion. Not Parald. Him.
After the example he made of the Water House, no one would dare to stand in his way.
Saxon glanced over at Hoff, who was struggling to his feet, again. “Bring the whole fucking building down.”
*****
Gion swore savagely. The entire Air Phase army surrounded the Water Palace. He could feel them swarming in normally deserted landscape. Too many for even him to wipe out easily. Especially from this distance. And, if he went down there and started picking them off one by one, he’d leave Ty wide open. What if that’s what they were waiting for him to do? For Gion to leave her side, so they could swoop in and steal her?
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
It was so much harder to play defense.
“You see why we need a line of sight, Ty?” He turned to arch a brow at her, hiding his agitation. “Tomorrow those buildings come down. End of discussion.”
“You may be the king now, but I still outrank you.” Ty’s fingers dug into his arm. Her voice stayed steady, though. “Those poor buildings stay right where they are. Really, how much better do you need to see the invading hoards?”
Gion nearly smiled at that, even as great bursts of Air energy began pelting the palace. The soldiers were slamming fierce explosions of Air into the building like missiles, one volley after another in rapid succession. He felt the whole castle shaking from the force of it.
Shit.
Gion ushered Ty sideways so she stood behind the black composite door that he’d replaced. It was the only door that hadn’t been broken from his out of control powers earlier. The only effective shield from the e
nergy. “Job? Up for another fight, today?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“I’ll get my people. Hang on.” Amarna jumped back to the Air Kingdom to rally her rebels. She was possibly the only one there eager for a battle.
Well, besides the Wood Phases.
Uriel and Brokk moved to stand on either side of Ty, swords at the ready.
“We need to get the hell outta here.” Tessie looked up at Job. “We’re not fighting them. I mean it. We can just go.”
“Go where?” Isaacs retorted. “All the Elemental kingdoms are vulnerable, now. I know that you’re okay with hiding in the human realm, Quintessence, but I’m not loving the idea of living in some suburban condo with the rest of you idiots for the next three or four millennia. I’d rather light my head on fire.”
“Look, I get that you guys think that you’re all hot shit, top gun, Elemental bad asses, but there’s –like-- a lot of soldiers out there.” Tessie shot back. “They’re gonna bring down the whole damn palace.”
Gion loved the Water Kingdom. Loved its peace and beauty. Loved the sanctuary it offered to the hopeless and exiled and lost. He loved that the Water Phases valued music and art over efficiency. He loved that they’d given him a place to belong. And, most of all, he loved the Water Queen.
He was not about to lose this House.
It would never happen.
He didn’t give a damn how outnumbered they were, as long as he could ensure Ty’s safety while he fought, Gion would battle over every grain of sand on the beach.
Tessie kept talking, apparently sensing his resolve. “Parald is a psycho. He’s setting the parameters. If we retreat now, we can fight later on our terms. Preferably without a pregnant lady and blind guy in the house.”
“Hey!” Isaacs yelped. “I can fight!”
Ty cleared her throat. “I think that Tessie makes some good...”
“I’m not running from that son-of-a-bitch.” Gion interrupted. “This is your home.” He swore as the building shook hard enough knock some of the tiny mosaic tiles off the wall. “This is our home, Ty. You think I’ll ever surrender it to Parald?”
Exile in the Water Kingdom (The Elemental Phases Book 3) Page 33
