As if was, Mara stepped into the clearing and simply said, “I’m here.”
Kahn didn’t say anything.
He just… stared.
Her cousin looked pretty much the same as he had the last time she’d seen him, only harder and dirtier. Mara had no idea how Vandal possibly could’ve captured him, but she knew he was going to be pissed.
She gave Kahn a reassuring smile and looked back at Vandal. “Let him go.”
“When you achieve your purpose.” He nodded towards the transparent force field keeping Kahn prisoner. It was just tall enough to hold him and shaped like a dome, with flowing bolts of glowing energy traveling down its sides. “I am told he’s the one who creates that thing, at some point in the future. Ironic, isn’t it?”
That didn’t surprise her. Kahn loved to craft weapons. Mara flashed her cousin a “maybe you should reconsider that invention” look.
Kahn’s expressionless face didn’t change. Unblinking black eyes stayed fixed on her face. He clearly wasn’t taking this well.
Mara sighed and refocused on Vandal. “What do you want from me?”
Behind him, the oldest structures in the Elemental realm stood amid the vines. The ruins had been built long before the Phases existed, their exact purpose a mystery. The nine giant stones looming at odd angles, their granite sides carved deep with complex markings. They formed a rough circle and, at the center, nothing grew. Not even grass. In a kingdom full of trees and vegetation that small clearing of dark earth had always seemed ominous to Mara. She’d never liked being around the primeval stones.
The power they gave off was… unsettling.
“I want you to meet your fate.” Vandal pointed to the runes with a wave of that horrible gun. He was wearing a bandage over his eyes from where Chason’s attack had wounded him. “This is the path to our true future and you are the key.”
“Our path is through stone?” Mara asked skeptically.
“It’s a gate, Magnet Queen. And with your help I can see it opened.”
Now, why did that seem like a very bad idea? “Where does the gate lead?”
Vandal smiled like a shark. “To the Dark King.” His voice was an echo of reverent power.
“The Dark King?” Again, that just didn’t sound good. “Cross, of the Shadow House, you mean?”
“Not Shadows!” Vandal waved that aside in disgust. “Real Darkness, you fool! The other side of coin from the Light. Our destiny.”
“There is no Dark House or Dark King.” Mara was certain of that. Darkness came from the Shadowland and nowhere else. “This gate can’t lead you to someone who doesn’t exist.”
“He will exist.” Vandal hissed. “It is foretold and this gateway is the first step to his ascension.” He pointed the nearest stone. “Read.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Read them!” He bellowed. “You’re the only one who can!” He gestured towards the monoliths. “The writing here is a mixture of ancient Light Phase, and the language of the gods, and something else. Something different than the boxes, so it’s impossible for even the divine to translate. Only a scholar of words could decipher a message this old. You are the key.”
Mara blinked. This was all because she studied linguistics? That’s what he wanted from her? To read some silly prophesy on an archeological site?
Well, that wasn’t so hard.
Her best course of action seemed to be to translate the ruins and stall Vandal until Chason showed up. Her Match had to have seen Vandal’s light-message ordering Mara to meet him at the stones, so Chason would come for her. She’d drawn a quick map so he could find ruins and left it lying on the grass where they’d Phazed. He was sure to see it, even if the instructions weren’t exactly GPS coordinates and the forest itself was basically infinite.
It wouldn’t make a difference, though.
Chason would be there within five minutes. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind.
In the meantime, Mara looked at the largest stone. It was about ten feet high and covered top to bottom in a complex series of hieroglyphics that would probably take her years to translate completely. Vandal wouldn’t like hearing that, so she tried to pick out the main parts of the text.
Her eyes skimmed the first line. It looked to begin with the ancient Light Phase number one and a symbol that meant something like wisdom. A row of dense writing followed, in a mishmash of languages. Sacred artifacts were often covered in melodramatic admonitions. She couldn’t read all of it, but she could understand enough to know the general meaning.
“That symbol doesn’t mean destiny.” She pointed upward. “Not exactly. It’s foretelling a fated event that will change everything, but it’s about a person setting it in motion. Someone chosen to do something great… or horrible.” Translating so quickly was subjective, but the main marking was fairly clear. “It’s a warning. A warning to use reason. To consider carefully. Maybe to turn back.”
“Turn back?!”
“Yes, that’s how I interpret the words. It’s not an exact science, but…”
Vandal cut her off. “Gaia’s messenger came to me and told me that this was the road to Darkness. I have been chosen, but to go forward.”
“A messenger told you that?” She considered asking if it had been Elvis.
“Yes! From the future.”
Oh, that made more sense. Kind of. “Was it Daphne, of the Time House?”
Vandal’s eyebrows compressed. “Who?”
Mara hesitated. He looked legitimately confused. If Daphne it wasn’t the one giving him the weapons and information, then who was it?
“Read the other stones.” Vandal ordered.
“Alright, listen to me.” Mara switched to her most sensible tone. “Why ever this circle was built, its purpose is long dead. It was most likely a holy place for some lost religion. I could decipher the stones, given enough time, but I don’t think they can give you the answers you’re looking for.”
“They will tell me of the Dark King!”
The man was out of his mind.
“I swear on my life, I don’t see anything written on them about Darkness. The symbol for that would be very distinct.” Her eyes scanned around the ruins, just to humor him. Where was Chason? “It would probably be a circle with a line coming down from the bottom that….”
“There!” Vandal gestured to a stone that was marked with the number four. “This one begins with that symbol.”
“No, that means love.” Her gaze traced over the text. “It’s saying love creates the only righteous entry or true door or something along those lines. It’s a nice sentiment, but…”
Vandal grabbed her arm and his fingers biting into her arm. “Read another one!” He jerked her towards stone number seven. “What does this one say?”
Mara considered lying, but she wasn’t sure what he even wanted to hear. Since all of this was gibberish, she didn’t see the point in making something up. She studied the giant rock for a beat. “It’s talking about the importance of a virtuous mission for achieving… something. Like bringing goodness or fairness.” Her head tilted at the symbol for balance. “Maybe… justice?”
“That one, then!”
“Uh… war? An end to war?” The marking for a great battle was crossed through, then followed with an intact representation of the same word. What did that mean? Something cyclical? A fight that followed a victory? Mara’s eyes narrowed in thought. “I think it’s predicting that peace in one conflict will bring war to another.”
Vandal froze. “Peace?” His eyes flashed around to the other stones. “Justice. Love. Reason.” He pointed at a new stone. “Health?”
“No.” She shook her head. “That one’s saying choices made in the circle lead to independence. But more esoteric than that. Being somehow,” she made a spinning motion with her hand, trying to find the right way to translate the concept of a celestial unbinding, “freed by destiny.”
“Liberty.” His eyes went wide with awe. “The gate works
from the Tablets of Fate!”
This again?
“The Tablets of Fate don’t really exist.” Mara insisted. “They’re a parable about virtue.” She made another attempt to inject some reality into this mess. “Maybe these stones are talking about living rightly in order to pass through a doorway to better world. Like dying and going to heaven, if you’re a good person.” That made sense to her. “I told you, it’s most likely a religious site. A church.”
Although, Mara had a sudden memory of Daphne talking to her as she lay dying.
Saying something about a Health box.
Mara’s gaze slowly went the fifth stone, which was emblazoned with the symbol for wellness.
Uh-oh.
She did a quick count of the stones: Health, Love, Reason, Justice, Liberty, Compassion, Peace, Happiness and Valor. She could interpret the markings on all nine runes to align with the names of the Tablets. With that as a starting point, she could suddenly decipher more of the text. Instructions about gathering sacred objects and opening a gate. About how an important journey was destined to happen and how the future…
Mara’s eyes met Vandal’s, her mind putting the final fragmented words together. “The last stone is warning about happiness.” She whispered. “It says, ‘With the first step through the doorway, the future will die.’”
There was a sharp movement in the corner of her eye.
Vandal’s head snapped around, just in time for Kahn to tackle him. Her cousin’s fist slammed into Vandal’s face, the momentum of his whole body behind the hit. The two of them careened into circle of stones. They impacted the ground so hard they left a furrow in the black soil and plowed straight into the granite marker for happiness.
Mara winced at the sickening sound of the impact. Vandal really shouldn’t have told Kahn that the energy cage was Kahn’s own invention. Of course he could figure out how to disarm it. In any time period, her cousin was a mechanical genius.
The men struggled viciously, Vandal breaking Kahn’s nose with a savage blow. Kahn shook it off, hitting Vandal, again. The Light House bred its warriors to battle through unimaginable pain so Mara doubted her cousin even noticed the blood pouring down his chin. His face was ice cold, as he did his damnedest rip Vandal’s wounded eye right out of its socket. Kahn’s thumb sank into the oozing flesh, twisting viciously.
Vandal screamed, but he didn’t give up. He quickly broke free of Kahn’s hold and Mara felt a surge of panic. Vandal was bigger than Kahn and the best soldier in the realm. As good as Kahn was, her cousin was only holding his own through surprise and ferocity. Vandal might beat him in the end, but Kahn was battling like a man possessed.
Mara realized it was because of her. Because, Kahn knew she was real.
This is what she’d been trying to tell Chason. What she always tried to explain when people edged away from Kahn like he was just some uncivilized barbarian from a neglected kingdom. Underneath the grouchiness and glares, her cousin –her brother-- was a hero. Not just because he was a warrior or because he was powerful, but because Kahn knew how to give everything.
When he loved you, there were no stops. No hesitation or thought. No boundaries or limitations. Anyone who came at his family had to get through Kahn first. Whether it meant playing dress-up with tiny dolls or attacking the greatest general in Elemental history with his bare hands, Kahn, of the Light House always gave his sisters everything he had.
Kahn would win or die. If need be, he would win even if it meant he died. There was no compromise; no middle ground or half measures. Just pure commitment to his goal.
Vandal must have sensed that it was impossible to reason with that kind of devotion.
“We are of the same House!” Vandal wrenched the gun around to aim it at Kahn’s head. “I had not wanted to kill you, but you leave me no choice, boy!”
Kahn didn’t even flinch. Mara could see from her cousin’s contemptuous expression that he had no idea what the weapon could really do. Guns were a human toy. He went for Vandal, again, fully intended to continue the fight, even if he was shot in the process.
“No!” Mara started forward at a run. “Kahn, don’t! That gun can kill us!”
She grabbed Vandal’s wrist as he fired off a shot, yanking it to the side. The bullet hurtled passed Kahn’s ear, striking one of the stones and shearing off some of the text. Mara didn’t have time to cringe over the archeological desecration.
Vandal’s enraged black eye met hers. “You have served your purpose, Magnet Queen!” He spun the gun around to point it at her, his hand tightening on the trigger…
…And Chason loped it off.
Her Match appeared out of nowhere, his blade coming down like a guillotine. The sword severed Vandal’s wrist, the gun dropping to the ground along with the spasming hunk of meat that had once been his hand.
Mara automatically scrambled backwards at the arterial spray of red.
Vandal let out a roar, clutching at the stump of his wrist. “NO!” He bellowed. His black gaze reflected fury and shock. “This isn’t supposed to happen!”
“Oh, it’s happening, alright.” Chason snarled. The sword glinted in his hand and Mara felt his raging emotions screaming over their connection. “Bad news, asshole. My Match is the strongest Magnet Phase alive and her powers now fully link with mine.”
Mara felt Magnet energy whip out, more than she’d ever used, and Vandal emitted a sudden bellow of unbelievable agony. His whole body twisted at an unnatural angle as if he had no control over it.
Chason tilted his head in that terrifyingly eerie way and Vandal’s bones started snapping.
The Light Phase tried to crawl away through the dirt, but his limbs didn’t seem to be working. The Magnet powers were killing him from the inside out, attacking Vandal’s vital organs. Everyone had trace amounts of metal in their systems, so Chason’s powers had control of the Light Phase’s whole body.
Kahn’s brows soared.
Chason’s eyes glowed hot with a wild frenzy. “It’s the wrong fucking day for anybody with iron in their blood to piss me off.” He loomed over Vandal like death, his emotions boiling out of control. “I’m having a creative renaissance when it comes to not acting like a gentleman.”
Vandal opened his mouth in a silent scream, in so much pain that no sound could emerge.
“Chason.” Mara moved towards him, afraid for her Match. “I’m alright. Everything’s okay. Don’t do this.”
Mara didn’t care if Vandal died, but she didn’t want her Match torturing him first. That wasn’t who Chason was. The panic and insanity were pulling at him, but he could fight through them. She knew he could. He wasn’t nearly as crazy as he thought he was.
Chason, of the Magnet House had been born for greatness.
He shot her a look and his eyes cleared ever so slightly.
“Chason!” Job appeared, Kingu, Gion, and Cross at his side. They must have seen Vandal’s message in the sky, as well. Job would be able to find the ruins in the Light Kingdom just from the power they emitted. “Don’t kill him! Not until we find out what he knows.”
“Nobody takes my Match from me!” Chason roared back. He was fighting for control. “Not ever, again!”
Job looked over at Mara and then back to Chason. “Your Match is safe.” He said in a soothing tone. “You protected her. Vandal’s disarmed.”
“And dishanded.” Cross, of the Shadow House interjected meaningfully.
Chason didn’t seem to hear that. “You think I’ll risk losing her a second time? Risk going back into the dark? Mara is my light.” The word was anguished.
“You’re not in the dark.” Mara assured him. “I’m right here with you. Pull back from it, darling. I know you can.” And once he did, he’d feel so much more confident in his own sanity.
“I think Chason is talking sense for once.” Gion complained. “I vote we let him kill Vandal and go home.”
“Chason.” Mara crossed over to touch his arm, seeing him slowly pulling himself back f
rom the ledge. “That’s it. Don’t worry. We’re fine. No. We’re so much better than fine.” She moved to wrap her arms around him as he wrestled through the passionate fury and returned to her. “I knew you’d come.”
Chason exhaled a long a breath. She felt the frantic pull of his energy ease. The need for violence gave way to staggeringly relief… And he left the darkness behind. Chason would never get swept into madness, again. He’d fought it. They’d fought it.
Together they could fight anything.
“Mara.” Chason wilted against her, drained. “Don’t leave me.” He buried his face in her hair. “I couldn’t survive it, again. Not when I love you even more this time.”
She blinked back tears. “I’m not going anywhere. I told you, darling, we’re forever and then some.”
Chason swallowed and seemed to regain the last of himself. Mara hadn’t ever doubted that he could. He might have some flashes of crazy, but Chason wasn’t crazy. She could feel every part of him and he was whole, now. With a little time and a lot of love, he’d heal completely.
Chason looked over at Cross and Gion. “I’m sorry I took Nia and Ty from you.” He whispered and clutched Mara like she might vanish at any moment. “I forgot what it was like to hold your Match.”
“I don’t forgive you.” Cross announced and looked at Gion. “Do you forgive him?”
“No.”
“I’m a Fire Phase.” Kingu put-in importantly. “We only kidnap our own Matches.”
Satisfied that Chason would be okay, Job turned his attention to Vandal. The Light Phase was still writhing on the ground. “Why have you returned?” He demanded quietly.
“Gaia spared me,” one black eye looked up at Job with pure hatred, “to create a better future for all Elementals.” He surreptitiously grabbed for his severed hand. “A day of Darkness and Light is coming, Job. A day of reckoning.”
Mara had no idea how he found the energy, but Vandal somehow managed a jump. His powers surged out in a final uncoordinated show of strength. His battered body disappeared, leaving nothing by a bloody smear on the stone concerning the Happiness box.
Queen of the Magnetland (The Elemental Phases Book 5) Page 28
