“No.” Job said softly. “It didn’t even occur to me.” He gave his head a slow shake. “My God, if it’s true, this is why Llian isn’t supporting the whole Crystal House by herself. There are more Phases out there that we don’t know about. This could do so much to help save us from extinction. If we could…”
“Who the fuck cares about the Crystal House?” Chason roared. “All I want is the Light Phase who took Mara. I already know he’s not with the others in the Cloudland, so I need to see those records, Job.”
“The Cloudland?” Job and Tessie coursed.
“Yes. The Cloudland. Where all the Banished Phases have been congregating for weeks.” Chason frowned in his not-quite-sane way. “Hang on, did I forget to tell you that part?”
“There are Banished Phases in the Cloudland?” Job repeated like he didn’t fully believe it. Not shocking since the source of the information was a lunatic. “Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure.” Chason straightened his torn uniform with grave dignity. “The Reprisal has spies all over the realm. Or we did. I think most of my men have left now. Probably for the best. I’ve been getting… and the music… and the… the…” He gave his head ruthless shake as if he was trying to stay focused. “Wait, what was I saying?”
“Cloudland.” Tessie prompted, eyeing him warily. One day Chason’s shattered mind was going to wander and just not come back.
“Oh right. So, thanks to my spies, I know who’s in the Cloudland and there aren’t any Light Phases. Just a bunch of nobodies killing time with other nobodies and a few heavy hitters wandering around looking for an opportunity to hit: Lycus, Mallachi, Falyn, Kingu, Akkadian…”
“Akkadian’s alive?” Job winced. “How is that even possible? Wasn’t he eaten by lions?”
“I guess he got better.”
“Wait, rewind.” Tessie held up her hands. “Did you say Kingu’s in the Cloudland?”
“Yes, he’s there.” Chason nodded distractedly. “But, don’t worry. I don’t think he has Mara.” Clearly, his missing Match was the only aspect of this that interested him. “I went through the whole roster and not even the strongest squatters in the Cloud Kingdom can control Light. None of them are likely suspects, at this point. I need to have those records to see who else might be out there.”
“I’ll get you the records.” Job promised quietly. “And then, Tess, you and I will go find Kingu.”
“And you’ll talk to him?” She prompted.
God only knew what Kingu was up to in the Cloudland. Hanging out with Elemental criminals didn’t exactly scream “innocent citizen.” Still, she very much doubted that he’d moved there because real estate prices were so low. Someone else had been involved in that decision. Probably the same person who’d used Kay’s necklace.
Tessie frowned. “Whatever’s going on, Job, it has to do with the Phases. I don’t want Kingu caught in the middle of some war. All his life, he’s been caught in the middle of fights he didn’t start and I don’t want him hurt again.”
“Hurt?” Chason squinted. “Isn’t this guy a gigantic dragon?”
“Yes.” Job sighed. “But, he’s also our nephew.”
Chapter Eighteen
Hast thou not been taught by experience that no human happiness can be
complete?- that worldly felicity must ever contain within itself some
element of misery and distress?”
G.W.M Reynolds- “Wagner the Wehr-Wolf”
“We should talk about your aunt some more.”
“What about her?”
“Well, I feel like you have a lot of unresolved feeling towards Tessie and you need to express them. Preferably in a way where no one dies.”
“How are my feelings unresolved? She wants me dead and I disagree. Seems pretty straightforward.”
Hope sighed. It had taken all of twenty minutes to free the trapped Phases from their cells, so now it was time for lunch. The rescued prisoners’ reactions had varied between effusive thanks and snarled pronouncements that they owed Hope and Kingu nothing, but at least they were all free.
Kingu had rolled his eyes at least fifty times during the escape and muttered quite a few insults about the entire Elemental species, but he’d never even suggested stopping their mission. Not when Emagene, of the Heat House had swept out of her cell and cursed him for talking so long. Not when Thalus, of the Cold House had screamed like a maniac and jumped away at the sight of him. Not even when Akkadian, of the Crystal House stepped free of his padded room and smiled the craziest smile ever smiled.
Kingu truly was the most honorable warrior in the world.
Hope took hold of Kingu’s hand as the two of them strolled up the main street of the Cloudland. The Banished Phases were watching again, their expressions a little less suspicious of her today. They’d all heard about the jailbreak and they mostly seemed amused by it. Galen wasn’t a beloved guy, so Hope and Kingu stealing his prisoners was seen as a welcome slap in the face to his oppressive authority.
A few hardy souls had even made some Halloween decorations and put on costumes, which violated Galen’s “I hate all of humanity” ordinance. Obviously, not all the Banished Phases were anti-human bigots. Nice to know that candy corn and jack-o’-lanterns built cultural bridges.
“I don’t think Tessie wants you dead.” Hope told Kingu. “I think she just hated your mom and you got caught in the middle. With Kay dead, you two can have a whole new relationship.”
A big part of her now blamed Tessie for Kingu’s distrust and loneliness, though. The Quintessence had locked him up with his mother and inadvertently allowed Kingu to be tortured, after all. Kingu had been traumatized by that.
Still, Hope really didn’t want Tessie to die. In her heart, she knew that Tessie would like Kingu, if they could just get to know each other. Hopefully, once Kingu felt secure with their bond, he’d give up the need for vengeance against his aunt. It would be kind of awkward at the holidays if he tried to behead Job’s Match at the dinner table.
Besides. Kingu had more important things to focus on than revenge, now.
Like Hope.
“Kay’s not dead.” He corrected grimly. “She’s in a mystical coma. When she wakes up, Tessie and I will be her first targets. That’s about the only ‘bond’ we have.”
Hope frowned. “There has to be a way to make sure your mother is more permanently gone.”
“I told you, it’s hopeless. The powers have to go to a female of Kay’s bloodline. Unless you find my long lost sister to take the power of the Khaos from her, my mother will never die.”
“I don’t believe anything is hopeless.” Hope stared up at him. “I know you don’t want to talk about your life with Kay, but I’m here to listen when you’re ready. I won’t say a word if you don’t want me to. I just don’t want you bottling it all up inside.”
Kingu sighed. “There is nothing to say that you don’t already suspect. She hurt me. Every day. She was cruel and I hated her. I still hate her.”
Not as much as Hope did.
“The worst thing was knowing that I’d never get away from her.” Kingu continued quietly. “That I was trapped there with her forever. With nothing to look forward to and no one who cared if I was alive or dead. I can never go back to that life. I would die first.”
“You won’t go back.” Hope vowed softly. “I don’t want you living in fear of Kay. No matter what happens, I will protect you from her. I promise.”
Kingu smiled. “You were right earlier. In my whole existence, no one has ever wanted to protect me. Only you.” He lifted their intertwined fingers so he could kiss the back of her hand. “Thank you, Hope.”
Hope gave his palm a squeeze. “Just promise me one thing, okay?”
“I would promise you anything.”
“Good answer. When you next see Tessie, take two seconds and listen to her, alright? Even if you’d rather just attack, I want you to hear what she has to say and, when she apologizes, try to forgive her.
Both of you were victims of your mother. It would be so much better for you if you could let it go and move on.”
Kingu snorted. “Tessie isn’t going to apologize to me.”
“Well, then you’ll have the chance to tell me ‘I told ya so,’ won’t you? But, if I’m right, you and Tessie could start over.”
“You have such a soft heart, Hope. At one time, I would have seen that as a failing, but now I know it’s a gift. You see only goo around you.”
“I see only you.” Hope stepped in front of him to stop him from walking. “You promise me?”
“I already told you yes.” He arched a brow. “Kiss?”
He was learning!
“Kiss.” Hope agreed and instantly went on tiptoe to press her lips against his. “And now, you can buy me an ice cream cone for lunch.” She informed him breathlessly when they came up for air.
Kingu brushed a hand over her hair. “Just one? Aren’t you going to be assaulting anyone with extra strawberry cones today?”
Hope rolled her eyes. “Only you, if you keep being a wiseass.”
His mouth curved in amusement. “What if I…?” He trailed off as someone in a werewolf mask and a green polo shirt came by. He was handing out plastic goodie bags with orange and black scarecrows on them.
“Trick-or-treat.” The muffled voice said and gave one to Hope.
“Thank you!” She called, but the werewolf was already moving off down the street.
Kingu scowled as Hope happily opened her bag. “What is that?”
“It’s Halloween candy. Humans have this tradition where they give it out on the last day of October.” She arched a stern brow. “You need to know things like that now that you have a half human mate.”
Red eyes glowed. “You see yourself as my mate?”
“No.” Hope plucked a grape flavored lollypop from the bag. “I see us as much more than that. But, I know that you see us as mates, so I’m being…” She stopped short, her eyes going to the unwrapped candy in her hand.
Halfway to her mouth, she already knew it was loaded with poison.
****
“Oh no.” Hope gasped and Kingu heard something wrong in her tone.
Something irregular and jagged.
“Hope? What is it?”
Hope let go of his hand, suddenly struggling to breathe. She dropped the candy and leapt back from it. “Red frog.” She wheezed.
The drug?
One of the most potent Elemental narcotics was made from the ground up remnants of red frogs. It was poisonous if consumed in large doses, but in smaller amounts the substance produced hallucinogenic effects and Phases took it recreationally in a dust form.
Personally, Kingu didn’t see the point of the Elementals working to make themselves even dumber, but perhaps it was a chicken-and-the-egg scenario. Were they morons because they did stupid things, or did they do stupid things because they were morons? Only Gaia knew for sure, but red frog dust was for sale all over the Cloudland.
Kingu had no idea what any of that had to do with Hope struggling for breath, but his heart rate slammed into overdrive. Whatever was happening, he knew Hope was in danger.
He grabbed her arm, yanking her closer to his own body. “Hope?”
Something cold slid through Kingu and he vaguely recognized it as fear. He’d never felt that before. At least, not that he could remember. You had to care about something to feel fear. He’d thought Kay had tortured that ability out of him centuries before.
“Are you hurt?” He scanned her for injuries.
“Asthma.” She got out. “Human disease. Sorry.”
“You’re sick?” Kingu’s mind did a death roll rundown of the millions of human illnesses. The countless tiny problems that could assail their fragile bodies. “What can I do?” His voice didn’t sound right, even to his own ears.
“The candy… had red frog… in it… Hang on.” She was fumbling in her pockets for something.
“The candy?” Kingu was still lost, but he was certainly willing to blame the problem on someone killable. “That werewolf is to blame for this?”
“I’m allergic… to red frogs.” Hope came up with a white canister and gave it a rapid shake. “Asthma.” She popped one end of it into her mouth and inhaled deeply. Almost instantly, her ragged breathing smoothed. “It’s a lung thing.” She coughed and dragged in a deep gulp of oxygen. “My throat swells and… I can’t get any… air… It happens when… I get really… really upset or I go… near red frogs.”
Kingu’s hand came up to touch her face and he saw his fingers were shaking. Dear gods, humans had diseases that prevented them from fucking breathing?! How could such delicate beings survive? “I will go get you help.” There had to be human doctors who could fix Hope’s lungs. He’d just go collect a few and force them to treat her.
“No, I’m fine.” She took another puff from her canister. “Stay with me. Please.”
“I will always stay with you.”
Kingu swallowed hard and sank to down to his knees so he could study her face. Even kneeling, he was still taller than Hope. For such a small creature, she took up all of the space inside of him. He brushed back her hair, examining her for signs of collapse. She seemed better, but how could he be sure? If he lost Hope, he would be utterly hollow.
The entire universe would be hollow.
“Monster, I’m okay.” She repeated, seeing that he was falling apart. She did sound more normal, but he damn sure wasn’t feeling that way. Kingu wrapped his arms around her and held tight. Probably too tight. Hope didn’t try to pull away from the embrace, though. She cuddled against his chest and kissed the side of his neck. “I wouldn’t leave you, either.” She whispered. “Don’t worry.”
“You swear you will be alright?” He got out harshly.
“Yes. I told you… the asthma is an embarrassing… birth defect.”
“Can humans die from this disease?”
“I’m not… entirely human.”
“That wasn’t my fucking question.” But her evasion pretty much answered it for him. Fear gave way to anger. He could handle anger. The terror at seeing her struggling for air still had his stomach knotted. “Son-of-a-bitch.”
“The asthma just saved me. It wouldn’t be this… bad an attack… unless the dose in that candy… is lethal… Without the allergy to red frogs… I wouldn’t have known about the poison until it was too late.”
Kingu was finally putting this together. “Someone just tried to kill you.” Any other Elemental would have eaten the candy, completely unaware that it was tainted with death.
Hope nodded. “Elementals don’t have allergies… Just humans… That idiot werewolf… didn’t know… I’m a freak.”
His forehead tipped forward to rest against hers. “You’re not a freak.”
She was a Star Phase. When they seemed to have bad luck, like being born with a human lung ailment, it was for a greater purpose… So, today it could save her life.
Thank God.
“Galen’s behind this… you know.” Hope told him. “He’s pissed off about… the ice cream and the jailbreak and… he wants me dead.”
“I know Galen’s behind it. You think it’s a fucking mystery? I swear to Gaia, I will destroy that little termite.” Kingu’s jaw firmed and he kissed the top of head. “Just wait here for a moment and catch your breath. I’ll return shortly.”
He moved away, grabbing the lollypop and Halloween bag from the ground as he past. Snapping his fingers, he made a trashcan appeared and tossed in the candy. Then, he snapped the receptacle away again, before continuing down the street.
“Where are you going?”
“To hunt a werewolf.”
“Wow.” Hope shook her head. “I am so jealous… that you really got to say that.”
Kingu was so angry he barely heard her.
Galen had just tried to murder the only thing that Kingu had ever loved.
Hope had saved Kingu’s life just by being in it. She was everyt
hing he’d ever imagined having. More than he could have possibly hoped for. He needed her beyond anything in the universe and losing her would be worse than any torture his mother had ever inflicted upon him.
And that son-of-a-bitch Stone Phase had almost poisoned her.
There was quite simply nowhere Galen could hide that Kingu wouldn’t find him and wipe him from existence. And he wanted it done as quickly as possible, before the little fuck-wad tried to hurt her, again. Not even a Star Phase’s luck could hold out forever if someone wanted her dead badly enough.
Thankfully, Galen wasn’t exactly trying to hide. He and about a fifteen other Phases were standing in front of Kingu’s fortress. They were armed like they were about to invade several small nations at once and standing next to some large object covered in a blue tarp.
Kingu sighted on a Chemical Phase wearing a very familiar green polo shirt. The kid looked like he’d seen a ghost when he gazed past Kingu and saw Hope standing there.
“Nice try.” She called. “But, I don’t die that easy. Ask anyone.”
Kingu had no idea why he’d even bothered to suggest she stay back and recover from her lung attack. Even as he’d said the words he’d known she’d ignore him.
Galen wasn’t thrilled to see Hope there, either. He jabbed a finger at her. “Your reign of terror ends now, human! Freeing my prisoners was your last mistake. I expected that you might somehow escape the red frog dust with your tricks and ungodly powers. But not even your monster can protect you from the righteous judgment of my loyal men.” He waved a hand at the armed guard surrounding him.
“Can’t I?” Kingu challenged quietly. He snapped his fingers and a piano fell from the sky… Right on the green polo shirt guy.
The massive Steinway crushed the Chemistry Phase into a two dimensional puddle of red goo. There was deafening thud and a jarring clang of the keys on impact. The other Elementals went stumbling backwards, their eyes trained on the sunset colored sky scanning for other flying instruments.
Treasure of the Fire Kingdom (The Elemental Phases Book 4) Page 27
