Hope was used to her adopted cousin taking control of things. Teja was one of the most powerful Elementals alive and, more importantly, the steadiest member of the Fire House. Unflappable and pragmatic, she was usually the voice of authority in the kingdom. Even Oberon listened to her.
Now, though, Teja just sat by her grandfather’s bedside and stared at nothing. She wasn’t even in the room, anymore. Not really. It was like Teja had disconnected from her body and was just… gone. A chill went through Hope as she stared at the beautiful, vacant face. Teja was still physically present, but she might as well have been a ghost.
“Djinn?” Hope whispered when she saw Teja wasn’t going to say anything.
With Oberon dying, Djinn was next in line for the Fire House throne. And with Teja out of commission, he actually had to lead. It had to be a huge adjustment for the poor man. Djinn wasn’t used to that kind of responsibility.
He glanced over at his unresponsive cousin with a worried frown and then cleared his throat. “I’d rather hear Valley of the Dolls. That’s got a lot of sex in it, right? Then, Alder would be happy and we could get more than two sentences read.”
“Sounds good.” Pele nodded, apparently thinking her Match’s bold talent for compromise made him the next King Solomon. Only wiser.
Pele and Djinn were so in tune with each other. So in love. The goal of every Elemental was to find their other half. Their Phase-Match: The one person who could complete them on a fundamental level. Once a Phase found that person, they went through a process called Phazing, which was sort of a sexually induced merging of their powers. It took two separate entities and made them one cohesive whole. Hope had never in her life seen a more perfect Match than Pele and Djinn. They were made for each other.
Even before all these deaths, Hope had known that she’d never find a Match for herself, though. No man from any House was going to want her. With such limited powers, there was no way she’d ever be able to Phaze and very few Elementals would accept less from a mate. Hope had accepted that years before.
Still, being with Pele and Djinn always made her sort of wistful. They were just so lovely together.
Of course, they were also lovely separately. All the Fire Phases were stunning, with dark hair and exotic features. All of them, except Hope, of course. She didn’t even rate as “ordinary” on the Phase attractiveness meter. She’d always been just sort of… there. Too rounded, even by Elemental standards, too short, and with blonde hair that looked positively empty without a streak of color at the temple.
The Fire Phases were also wonderfully tall. Pele was one of the tallest, topping even Djinn by several inches. She absently twirled her double bladed axe around like a baton, a release of nervous energy that was completely unlike her. Fire Phases were warriors. Nothing rattled them.
Usually.
“Satisfied, Alder?” Pele arched a brow in her son’s direction. “Hope’s gonna read your precious porn. Now will you shut the hell up? Or do you wanna take a hammer to a few kittens while you’re at it?” She waved a hand at Hope’s still brimming eyes.
“I’m fine.” Hope set Bronte aside and picked up Suzanne. The silver charm bracelet she always wore jingled with her movement, the sound depressingly cheerful. She wasn’t going to take it off, though. Oberon had given it to her. “I can…”
A knock sounded at the door, interrupting her. Satour reached over to open it, Djinn, Alder and Pele automatically moving into defensive positions around Oberon’s bed. The Fall might take the Fire King, but nothing else was going to make it past his family.
“Teja?” Freya, of the Cold House, Teja’s paternal cousin and the Elementals’ best doctor stood on the other side of the threshold. She looked exhausted and resigned. God only knew how many patients she’d already lost today. She was usually such a neat and tidy woman, but it looked like she’d been through a war… and lost. “You called about Oberon. I’m here. Let me see him.”
Everyone’s head swung around to gape at Teja. The Cold and Fire Kingdoms had been feuding for years. Teja knew that better than anyone, since she was the only member of both Houses. The Cold Phases had never forgiven her for choosing the Fire House over them. They generally didn’t speak to her, at all. Teja never would have called Freya if she didn’t believe that Oberon was truly going to die without some kind of medical miracle.
Hope felt more tears well as the truth of it cut into her heart. Teja’s powers were vast. She could do anything. If she was this desperate, then there was no hope, at all.
Teja dully focused on Freya and got to her feet. “He has the Fall. Have you been able to do anything to stop it with any of the other victims, yet?”
Freya stepped into the room… and Satour let her. More evidence of how frantic the situation was becoming. Ordinarily, the Fire Phases would die before they let a Cold Phase into their house, now Satour practically propelled Freya towards the bed.
“No. I’ll do what I can, but –as I said-- there’s no cure for this disease. I’m sorry.” Freya eyed Djinn nervously.
Not surprising since he had his hand on his sword.
And he was… well… Djinn.
Still, he moved back to give her room to work.
Freya laid a hand on Oberon’s pulse and opened her doctor bag. “Hope, have you taken your medication today?” She asked automatically. Distaste for the Fire Phases aside, Freya had a working knowledge of the health of everyone in the Elemental realm.
She was kind of nosey.
“Yes, I took it.”
Satour had all but shoved the inhaler at her about an hour before. When he resigned himself to Oberon’s death, he began preparing the rest of them for it. For Hope, that meant taking her asthma medicine, just in case she had an attack. Usually, she only got them when she was under a lot of stress or around something she was allergic to, in particular red frogs.
The Fire Phases didn’t like to acknowledge the exact triggers for her asthma, not even to the doctor. Very, very rarely a Phase might have asthma, but Elementals never had allergies. Humans had allergies. If an Elemental had a human disease, then she probably wasn’t entirely an Elemental. Following that line of reasoning could lead to a lot of sticky questions about Hope’s DNA.
“Good.” Freya absently nodded. “Make sure you take care of yourself. I already have too many patients.” For the next few minutes there was nothing but the clicking of instruments and the glow of a small flashlight she’d brought.
Electricity had gone down the second day of the Fall, so the Fire Phases had been making do with candles. They’d also left the bedroom windows open, so that provided light, as well. That wasn’t the primary reason the curtains were torn aside, though. They’d done it so Oberon could look out over his lands as he lay there. That was one of the fundamental lessons that all Fire Phases were taught or just instinctively knew.
Rule number four of being a Fire Phase: If you’re going to die, try and make it home.
Of course, rule number three was, “Don’t die,” and rule number fifty-nine was, “As you’re dying, take down as many enemies as you can,” so you kind of had to pick and choose what ones to follow on any given day.
Still Oberon had seemed almost peaceful as he fell asleep looking at the Fire Kingdom spread out beyond the glass. Even in the daytime, the Fire Kingdom glowed in volcanic shades of orange and red. The black mountains that surrounded the land were lit with streams of flowing lava and explosions of sparks from deep within the steaming ground. It was a stark and terrifying place. A labyrinth of odd shaped rock and molten magma. The kind of spot where humans would envision dinosaurs roaming or continents collapsing. It was a world like no other; unforgiving and beautiful. It was a place you really didn’t want to get lost.
It was home.
Freya let out a long sigh after she was done her exam. She looked over at her cousin helplessly. “Teja…”
“Do anything.” Teja interrupted. “I don’t care what. Any crazy, experimental, long shot idea you hav
e… do it. Just save him. I’m begging you.” Her voice broke. “Please.”
Freya squeezed her eyes shut. “He’s going to die, Teja.” She whispered. “He is. I’m truly am sorry. I’ll try… something. I don’t know what, but I will try something if you want me to. It won’t work, though.” Her tone was hollow with defeat. “There’s really nothing I can do for him. I’ve seen this again, and again, and again. You have no idea what I’ve seen it do to our realm.”
“I don’t care about the fucking realm!” Teja shouted. It was the first emotion she’d shown in hours. “I care about my grandfather! Fix him!”
“I can’t.” Freya insisted. “Don’t you think I would if I could?”
“No.” Teja snapped icily. “You hate us. All the Cold Phases do. I never should have fucking called you.” She raked both hands through her hair so hard that the pale flesh on her face pulled tight.
“I’m a doctor. If I can, I save lives, no matter who they are. I swear to you, I would do anything I could for Oberon, but this plague is bigger than all our medicine. It’s hopeless.” Freya’s weariness gave way to anger. “I told you that on the phone, Teja. I told you the Fall was incurable. But, I still came here because you asked.”
“Yeah, and you’ve done such an incredible job of helping me, too. I would have done better calling a cable repairman to save Oberon.”
“I would help him if I could, but I can’t!” Freya shouted back, her frustration with Teja and the world at large coming through loud and clear. Freya always had been known for saying too much at the wrong moments and Hope had the feeling a lot people had blamed her for failing them today. “I’m telling you, Oberon’s got less than an hour left and there’s nothing anybody can do to save him.”
Hope felt the words like a deathblow. She actually doubled over in physical pain.
Freya shook her head at Teja. “Now, stop blaming me and focus. Do you want me to stay here and just give him random shots of things, hoping that one might magically work, or do you want to spend these last moments alone with him? I’ll do either. It’s your choice.”
Teja didn’t have an answer for that and Teja always had an answer. She blinked rapidly and melted back into her chair. It was eerie how uncoordinated she suddenly seemed. Like some internal support just gave way and she no longer had control. Teja always had control.
“Teja?” Djinn called sharply and Hope saw the concern on his face.
Teja dropped her head into her hands and didn’t say anything. Her breathing was too fast, almost hyperventilation. Her body began rocking and she made a low moaning sound. It was the worst noise Hope had ever heard. It made the small hairs on her arms stand up.
Freya bit her bottom lip, apparently regretting her blunt words. “Teja?”
Nothing.
Hope felt another chill. Teja was breaking. She could see the cracks in the other woman’s façade and it frightened her. Everyone leaned on Teja for support, but this plague had been too much. Teja had tried everything to save Oberon; used every drop of power she had. She had nothing left.
Hope looked over at Djinn for some kind of guidance on how to proceed.
“Freya, get out.” He ordered, moving to Teja’s side. One massive palm came down onto her shoulder. “Tej? Look at me.” He knelt down in front of her and gave her a gentle shake, trying to get a response. “We’ll find another doctor. A better one. We have time to save him.”
Hope could tell from his face that not even he believed that.
Teja kept rocking, her eyes glazed and her pupils like tiny dots even in the semi-dark room.
Hope got to her feet, her heart pounding wilding. Teja was slipping someplace they couldn’t reach. If she didn’t come back on her own, none of the rest of them had the power to save her.
“Djinn?” Hope’s voice was too high. They were already going to lose Oberon. She couldn’t lose Teja, too. “Djinn, what’s happening to her?”
“She’s in shock.” Freya sounded amazed, like it hadn’t occurred to her that the cousin she’d spent centuries arguing with could have any kind of vulnerability. “Teja?” She took a step closer to her, apparently ready to administer care. “Djinn, move. Let me check her over.”
“Get out.” Djinn repeated harshly. He picked Teja up and she didn’t appear to notice. She didn’t even move to grip his neck for support. Her arms just fell to her sides at limp, awkward angles as her body shook. “Don’t touch my cousin.” His arms protectively cradled Teja as if Freya might try to snatch her away.
Not such a farfetched thought, given the determined glow in Freya’s eyes. “She’s my cousin, too! Let me see her.”
“It’s your fault she’s like this! I’m not letting you near her.” Djinn carried Teja towards the door. “Hope, Pele, help me with Tej. Satour, get that doctor off my lands.” He marched out of the room, with Pele hot on his heels.
“Where is he taking her?” Freya tried to follow, but Satour blocked her path. Her mouth firmed. “This is ridiculous. I can help her.” She waved a hand at Djinn’s retreating back. “He has to bring her back.”
“Yeah, ‘cause you’ve been such a huge savior so far, right?” Alder sneered.
Hope hesitated for a beat, torn between following Djinn’s instructions and staying to ensure no one accidently stabbed Freya. Her eyes automatically cut over to Oberon as if he could play tie breaker.
Freya continued to argue with Satour and Alder. Missy already had her sword out. Qadesh was moving to flank the doctor, so Freya couldn’t dart around his brothers.
Hope was the only one who actually saw Oberon let out a raspy final breath and still.
Her chest clutched in panic and her lungs constricted just as they did before she fell into an asthma attack. Only this was so much worse.
“Grandfather!” The scream came from the very depths of her soul. “Qadesh, he stopped breathing! He’s not breathing!”
Freya spun back around to the bed and swore softly. Later, Hope would always think that it had been witnessing Teja’s emotional meltdown that drove the doctor towards the mattress. Freya didn’t want to give up on Oberon, because she knew what he meant to her cousin. She knew it was hopeless and still she tried.
“Move!” Freya bellowed at Alder and climbed up onto the bed. Her fist came down on Oberon’s chest with a sharp blow, trying to restart his heart.
The Fire Phases stood there as she worked, shock on their faces. As if, even after seeing Oberon fade right before their eyes, they couldn’t process the fact that he might actually die. None of them had experienced real defeat before. They won the battles they fought. Always. They had no idea how to handle a loss of this magnitude. Hope had never seen them without a plan to press forward and sweep the field. Now, they looked lost.
That scared Hope more than anything.
They were her rock. They had to know what to do.
Hope’s gaze whipped around helplessly. Someone had to fix this.
But, nobody could. Time ticked by, so slowly and yet way too fast.
Satour backed up so he was against the wall and then slid down it in a slow-mo collapse. Qadesh’s eyes closed in sorrow. For the first time since Hope had known her, Missy started to cry. So did Alder.
So did everyone else.
Regardless of whether or not the Fire Phases were supposed to weep, every single one of them broke down as Oberon left them. Only Hope stared at her grandfather dry eyed, too frozen for tears.
Oberon was dead.
No, no, no, no, no.
Hope moved trace like towards the bed as Freya continued giving him mouth-to-mouth.
If the doctor was afraid of catching the Fall herself, she gave no sign of it as she pushed air into his lungs. “You stupid, stubborn bastard. Breathe! Prove me wrong and live. You’re the only one crazy enough to beat this disease, just to spite me.”
Hope hand came over and grabbed Oberon’s palm, squeezing tight. “Grandfather?” She whispered. “Don’t go. Not without saying good-bye. Please com
e back.”
No one was exactly sure what happened next. Hope fingers bit into his flesh, her nonexistent energy swelling within her, willing him to look at her…
…And he did.
Freya moved to resume chest compressions and Oberon’s eyes just flew open.
“Hang on.” He said quite clearly. “Ain’t ready, yet.”
The doctor gave a yelp of alarm and tumbled backwards off the bed.
“Holy shit!” Alder caught her, his attention on his grandfather. “Oberon?”
“What the hell just happened?” Freya asked the world at large. She pushed back a handful of pale hair that had escaped its orderly bun and gaped at Oberon like he’d risen from the dead. Which he kinda had. “That’s impossible. He can’t be awake. No other patient woke up after they went into the coma.” She started forward to take Oberon’s vitals, but Qadesh caught her wrist, stopping her.
“Let him be.” His voice was reverent. “He didn’t come back to stay. He came back for Hope.”
No one had expected Oberon to wake-up, even for this brief moment. But then Fire Phases never did what you expected.
Brown eyes fixed on Hope, just like they had when he’d first seen her, a hundred and twelve years before. Now, they were filled with endless love and such wisdom that Hope realized Oberon had seen something far beyond what the rest of them knew.
“Good-bye, my star.” He murmured with a weaker version of his usual slanting grin.
He’d always called her that. Hope let out a shaky breath and tried to smile back at him. “Good-bye, grandfather.” But she couldn’t just let him go with that. She couldn’t. The strength left her knees and she sank to the floor beside the bed. “Please, wait for me when you get to heaven. Please remember me and I’ll find you as soon as I get there. It’ll be very soon.” So far she seemed immune to the Fall, but that would change. With her luck, it was a given. “We’ll be together again and be taking over the whole boring, celestial place in no time. You’ll love that.” A tear trailed down her cheek, imaging the glorious time they’d have, and she wiped it away. “We can have so much fun. I promise.”
Treasure of the Fire Kingdom (The Elemental Phases Book 4) Page 2
