Magic of the Wood House

by Cassandra Gannon

  Jacob’s bloodshot eyes narrowed. Something feral and dangerous moved behind his sneer. He’d never hit Sullivan, but that was only because he was terrified of Parson. At the moment, he didn’t seem sober enough to recall the Wood Phase’s threats, though.

  “So, how come you’re back before happy hour, dad?” Sullivan asked flatly. “Bars close early?”

  Teja wanted to laugh, even as she wished that Sullivan had just kept his mouth shut. Not everyone appreciated Sullivan’s wiseassery as much as she did. “Sheriff, don’t piss-off the drunk.” She warned. Jacob didn’t need a lot of provocation before he went psycho.

  Melanie was apparently thinking the same thing, because her hand tightened on Sullivan’s arm.

  Sullivan shook her off and moved closer to his father, drawing Jacob’s attention away from Melanie. “It’s my house, too, and I want Mel here.”

  “Your house?!” Jacob retorted. “This is my fucking house, boy. Mine! I pay the rent. I lived here with your mother, before you killed her by bein’ born. I belong here. You’re just a trespasser in my life.”

  “Bastard.” Teja bit-off angrily.

  Sullivan’s face didn’t change, but she could tell that the words hurt him. The kid wanted to belong. Whether it was because of his crappy home life or the powers he was suppressing, Sullivan felt different from the other humans, though. As the memories went on, Teja saw how he withdrew further and further into his own world.

  Aside from his grandparents and cousin, he didn’t seem to care about much. No wonder Sullivan just endured whatever happened with calm, self-possession. He was used to not fitting in and keeping aloof from people. It made him apathetic and stoic about everything that he endured.

  Teja should be happy about that.

  It meant that Sullivan would never push her about their relationship. He wouldn’t demand that she love him. He’d just go along with what Teja offered, always holding himself apart. Hell, if she renounced him, Sullivan would probably just nod and walk away. It was exactly what Teja needed from a Match. Plenty of time to herself, no emotional entanglements, and a healthy distance between them. It was ideal for everyone.

  Except it made her furious.

  “If you don’t want Sullivan here, then he can come home with me.” Melanie told Jacob. “Or he can go live with Grandma and Grandpa.”

  “Your high and mighty family thinks they can steal him from me!” Jacob jabbed a finger at Melanie. “But, no one’s taking my boy. He’s mine, you stupid, little bitch.”

  “I’m telling my grandpa you said that.” Melanie snapped.

  Jacob took a menacing step towards her and Sullivan shifted back into his father’s path.

  Teja swore.

  “Mel, go home.” Sullivan ordered, without taking his eyes off of his father.

  Jacob grabbed Sullivan by the arm and tried to push him aside, intent on getting to Melanie.

  Sullivan, for the first time in all the memories, shoved his father back. Jacob stumbled backwards a step and fell against the cheap paneling of the wall.

  Sullivan looked shocked, but he didn’t back down. He moved his hand out, keeping Melanie behind him. The popcorn began to burn on the stove.

  Teja watched a red heat suffuse Jacob’s face and knew what was about to happen. “No.” She breathed. “Sullivan, please, run.” Sullivan was tall, but he was still a kid. There was no way in the world he could put up a fight against his father. Jacob was drunk and mean and about to take all his frustrations out on Sullivan.

  Sullivan knew it, too. “Mel, go.” He ordered, again.

  Melanie paled slightly, as she stared at her uncle’s enraged face.

  “You son-of a bitch.” Teja fixed her eyes on Jacob and knew that she couldn’t do a damn thing to stop this. “If you touch my Match, I swear to God, I’ll dig up your bones and feed them to dogs.”

  Jacob launched himself at his son, his massive fist slamming into Sullivan’s jaw. Sullivan hit the floor with a gasp of pain, just in time for Jacob to send a brutal kick to his midsection. Sullivan shoved back at his father’s leg and tried to get to his feet, but Jacob beat him down, with another punch to Sullivan’s face.

  Melanie ran for the door, screaming for Parson at the top of her lungs.

  Teja felt something inside of her crack as another kick sent Sullivan flying towards the kitchen. Feelings started to leak through. Her powers exploded outward, unable to find a target in the memory space, but sizzling the air itself with the force of her rage.

  “Son-of-a-bitch!” She roared. “I will fucking kill you!”

  Teja couldn’t watch as Jacob grabbed Sullivan by his shirtfront and lugged him towards the stove. The popcorn fell to the stained linoleum, the burnt kernels crunching under Jacob’s boots. She actually raised her hands to cover her ears, trying to block out the horrific sounds of the grinding of popcorn into the floor, Sullivan’s cursing, and Jacob’s fists.

  He pushed his son against the stove and Teja knew how Sullivan got his scar. Jacob shoved her Match’s face against the hot burner and Teja couldn’t hear Sullivan’s screaming over her own. She wasn’t sure if she was actually using words or if it was just noise. Blinded by the horror of it, Teja squeezed her eyes closed. It was like being back in the Fall. The smell of smoldering flesh mixed with the burn popcorn, turning her stomach and reminding her of the pyres.

  Only worse.

  So much worse.

  Because this was Sullivan.

  In spite of her own best efforts, Teja knew that she felt something for this man that went into the very core of her being. Something that snuck past the icy barriers she’d erected and straight into her frozen heart.

  Jacob tossed Sullivan to the ground and Teja sank down next to him. “It’s alright. You’ll be alright.” Since Sullivan couldn’t hear her, the words were for her own benefit. She looked up at Jacob with so much hate that it wasn’t even an emotion. It was a hot a living thing inside of her.

  A miasma covered the scene now, as if Sullivan’s memory was getting cloudy or maybe Teja’s own mind was just doing her a favor and dulling the edges of it. She wasn’t certain how Sullivan could’ve stayed conscious, but his Wood Phase brown eyes flicked around as if --in his dazed state-- he could somehow sense that Teja was there.

  …Except he couldn’t be that strong, right?

  Being able to interact during a memory-sharing was something only a Phase like Job could do. It took tremendous, universe-spinning, mind-bending energy. Certainly, it was beyond the capabilities of a mostly-human child. It had to be.

  “Sullivan, I’m here.” She told him, anyway. “I’m right beside you. You’re not alone. Just stay with me.”

  “I should have finished you off years ago, for what you did to me!” Jacob roared. “Stole my wife! Ruined my life!” There was a crazed look on his face. The man was totally out of control and set on killing his son.

  He reached down again, as if he planned on strangling Sullivan right there on the kitchen floor. Sullivan’s injured body was like a rag doll in his grasp.

  “Sullivan!” Teja shouted, terrified that her Match was about be murdered right before her eyes. “Don’t you leave me!”

  Jacob never saw the jungle vines coming. They ripped through the floor of the trailer, wrapping around him like pythons and holding him back. Jacob bellowed in rage and shock as they lifted him right off the ground and pinned him to the ceiling like something out of Poltergeist.

  Teja’s mouth parted in astonishment.

  Sullivan.

  He wasn’t even aware that he’d used his powers. He didn’t seem to be aware of much at all, in fact. Sullivan just lay on the floor struggling to breathe and staring unseeingly at the spot where Teja was standing. But, that was his Wood energy at work, controlling the plants and keeping him safe.

  She’d known that he was strong, but she’d never expected something on this scale.

  Sullivan had heard Teja call to him. She knew it. He’d heard her and he’d kept fight
ing. At thirteen, Sullivan created those massive vines without even trying. That was incredible. Not even a full-blooded Elemental child would’ve been able to do that. Even more incredible was the fact that he’d clearly kept his vast energy harnessed all this time. Sullivan’s powers had come out because he was in shock.

  His powers weren’t dormant.

  Sullivan had just kept them chained inside of him for so long, that he’d forgotten that they were even there. No wonder he was always so controlled. His whole life was built on hiding huge pieces of who he was from everyone… including himself. God only knew what he’d be capable of if he ever dropped the walls. They must’ve drained huge amounts of energy and Sullivan wasn’t even consciously maintaining them. It was impossible. No one could do that.

  Except Sullivan was.

  Her Match was one of the strongest Phases ever born

  Jacob continued to scream and struggle against his leafy prison. Sullivan didn’t seem to notice his father’s Venus flytrap-like predicament. He rolled onto his side, as if he was planning to get to his feet.

  “Sullivan, no. Stay still.” Teja ordered. She might as well of been talking to herself. Which she sort of was, obviously. Sullivan continued to move, half crawling, towards the door. Warriors always kept going. It was who they were.

  “Sullivan!” Parson raced into the mobile home, shaking the foundationless floor as he ran forward. He spared Jacob a brief look and then he was on his knees next to his grandson. “It’s okay. I gotcha, Sully. It’s okay.”

  Teja saw Parson’s mouth tighten as he took in Sullivan’s cheek. “Mel, go back to my house and call an ambulance.” He yelled and Teja saw Melanie hovering in the doorway. “Do it now, honey. Don’t come in here.”

  Melanie hesitated for a beat and then took off again.

  Parson wrapped his arms around Sullivan and looked up at Jacob, again. “I fucking told you what I’d do if I ever saw you touch this boy.” His voice shook with wrath. “Didn’t I?”

  What little awareness Sullivan had left seemed to fade with his grandfather there to take command. His hands came up to hold onto Parson, tears rolling down his face and mixing with the blood. Teja had no idea how Sullivan could have a memory of this, since he was so out of it, but she very clearly watched Parson break Council law and execute a human.

  Parson’s powers were so ancient that not even Teja could equal him. It was child’s play for him to take control of Sullivan’s vines and use his own energy to manipulate them. One second Jacob was screaming for Parson to cut him down. The next, a gigantic vine snaked out and encircled his throat.

  Jacob’s eyes went wide as he began to choke. He ineffectually tried to pry the vine loose.

  Teja actually smiled as Parson yanked away all the plants holding Jacob up, so the man dropped with nothing but the noose around his neck to break the fall. A resounding crack echoed through the room as vertebrae snapped. Parson let Jacob’s dead body tumble to the floor and hugged his grandson closer to his chest.

  That was why, virtuous White Hats or not, you didn’t screw with the Wood Phases. They were relentless about justice. And protecting.

  Sullivan must’ve passed out complexly at that point, because there was nothing but blackness for a beat and then Teja heard the beeping of hospital equipment. Through a foggy sort of filter, she realized that Sullivan was lying in the bed, a huge bandage on his face. He was drugged and semi-conscious, but those incredible powers of his had pulled this memory out of long term storage, too.

  On the other side of the small room, Parson stood next to a huge man with black hair and familiar bushy eyebrows. “Grandfather?” Teja breathed, gaping at Oberon. What was he doing in the human realm? She stared at him, marveling at what a miracle it was to see him, again.

  “I told you to stay away from here.” Parson whispered fiercely in Elemental. “You draw too much attention and I need to keep a low profile.”

  “Me draw attention?” Oberon scoffed. “I wasn’t the one using powers with all the subtlety of the D-Day invasion. That was you and your boy.” He shrugged. “Not that I blame you, but you have to know that others will have noticed. Others who are looking for the Tablets of Fate.”

  Oberon wore a pinstriped suit and a black fedora. The outfit was obviously his way of “blending-in” with the humans. As an added bonus, it made him look like Dillinger.

  The Fire Phases all loved Dillinger.

  Despite everything, Teja felt her mouth curve at how insanely Oberon that costume was. She’d missed her nutty grandfather so much. Hearing his voice again was such a gift. Sullivan had given her this moment. She would never be able to repay him.

  “The box is safe.” Parson assured him. “I have it hidden where no one will think to look. As long as I have the Happiness Tablet and you have the Justice Tablet, no one will be able to put them all together.”

  “Good, because I like time just the way it is. For the present, anyway.” Oberon moved to look down at Sullivan. “The mostly-humans glow so bright, don’t they?” He murmured. “My granddaughter, Hope, is the same way.” He glanced at Parson. “Elementals would stagnate without them. Get frozen and stuck in the past. The human blood keeps us on our toes. Reminds us there’s magic.”

  Teja’s mouth curved.

  Oberon checked Sullivan’s medical chart, like he understood what the doctor jargon said. Hell, he probably did understand it. There were very few things her grandfather couldn’t do. “Seems like Sullivan will be okay.” He diagnosed, flipping through pages.

  “They say he’ll recover. He’ll always have the scar, though.”

  “That’s a lucky break. Warriors’ marks can only help a guy, in the long run.” Oberon smiled. “His Match will have her hands full, because the women will be allllll over this boy.”

  Teja made a face at her grandfather. “Thanks. That’s exactly what I needed to hear.”

  Parson didn’t look so thrilled, either. “I should’ve killed his son-of-a-bitch father long ago.” He muttered. “Following the law endangered my grandson. I was almost too late.”

  “That’s why I just ignore all the rules that I don’t write.” Oberon agreed easily. “Wood Phases need to have some more fun with their powers. This one will, I’ll bet.” He leaned over to tousle Sullivan’s hair. “He’s a powerful kid. You should prepare him for what’s to come.”

  “I will. When he’s old enough to understand, I’ll teach him everything.” Only Parson had apparently died before telling Sullivan what he needed to know. The Wood Phase was murdered by the Air House, sometime very soon.

  “He’ll do what needs to be done. The kid’s got guts.” Oberon gazed down at Sullivan and grinned. “I have big plans for you, son.”

  Teja’s eyes narrowed. There was no way he could know that Sullivan was her Match. It was impossible. Except, Oberon always had some trick up his sleeve and he was looking pretty smug. “Grandfather, what are you…?”

  The scene shifted and Teja saw Sullivan as he grew into a warrior. Fighting in human wars and doing his best to keep people safe. Shit. He’d been right. He did know how to use a gun. Clearly, she should have listened to him, because…

  Teja’s thoughts stopped short as she found herself in the Cold Kingdom.

  This memory had to be close to the present, because Sullivan looked exactly the same as when she’d first met him. She glanced around, realizing that Sullivan was locked in one of the Cold Palace’s icy cells. Jesus, her relatives just loved tossing the poor guy into dungeons.

  “Someone needs to explain what the fuck is going on.” He snapped at the nurse preparing the needle. Teja recognized her as Lima, of the Cold House. “That Vandal guy you’re so interested in appeared in front of me, back in Mayport. I didn’t attack him, if that’s what you’re thinking. I was trying to help him and he somehow zapped me here to Ice Station Zebra.” He paced around the small room. “Now, I’m not sure why you freaks locked me up, but I think I’m entitled to use the phone. I want to call a woman named
Teja. Now.”

  Teja’s mood zoomed upward. When he was in trouble, Sullivan’s first instinct had been to come to her. That was a hugely promising sign for the Match.

  “If you’d called, I would’ve come for you.” She promised him. “Nothing could’ve stopped me.” She would’ve melted the Cold Kingdom herself, if it meant freeing him.

  “No one is blaming you for this, human.” Lima gave him a distant and professional smile. “We know Chason, of the Magnet House attacked him. The shot will just help you forget about meeting Commander Vandal. The past twelve hours will be a blur. We can’t have word getting around that he’s here. He has too many enemies.”

  “You’re not injecting me with that shit.” Sullivan shook his head. “No way in hell.”

  “It’s perfectly safe.” Lima assured him. “It’ll just erase your memory of all this. You’re too valuable to harm.”

  “Valuable?” He scoffed. “To who?”

  “To me.” Teja said, annoyed that he always thought so little of himself.

  “To all Elementals.” Lima informed him at the same time. “Humans can pick their own Matches. We’re aware that you’re infatuated with that turncoat Teja…”

  “Damn right he is.”

  Lima kept talking, not hearing Teja’s interruption. “But, that’s only because you haven’t met Doctor Freya, yet.”

  “Who?”

  “My sister.” Eian, of the Cold House stepped into the room. His aristocratic face was set into frigid lines, a golden crown on his pale head. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hope for a better Match for her. I mean a human is hardly good enough for a Cold Phase princess. But, you’re the best option available and she certainly doesn’t seem to be rushing out to win you for herself. It’s all up to me.” His expression grew darker. “And I’ll be damned if I see you go to Teja and her gangster relatives.”

  “Too bad for you, Teja is the only woman I want, dickhead.” Sullivan retorted.

  Teja’s insides took a pleasurable dip. Her Match was always so delightfully disagreeable when he was kidnapped. It just didn’t occur to him to be wary of his abductors. Sullivan Pryce always said exactly what he thought and screw any “mutants” who didn’t like it.