Exile in the Water Kingdom (The Elemental Phases Book 3) (10 page)

He
wanted that.

Except,
he hated it.

Ty
had
to stop her research.  There was no choice.  Gion needed Ty and he
couldn’t let her rip free of his life.  But, he still
hated
it when she
shut him out.  No more smiling or touching.  Ty just stared up with emotionless
turquoise eyes and didn’t say a word.

Gion’s
jaw went rigid.

Ty
always did this.  She just stopped talking to him and it drove him insane.

When
Gion felt powerless and annoyed, he got sarcastic and cold.  When he got
sarcastic and cold, Ty got quiet.  Then, he’d get
more
annoyed that she
was ignoring him and get
more
sarcastic and pretty soon Ty wasn’t even
in the same room with him.  Oh, she still stood there physically, but she
withdrew somehow and Gion couldn’t reach her, at all.

That
really
bothered him.

Once,
Gion accidently sent Ty into a panic attack, trying to get her to respond. 
He’d wanted her to remember the mob attacking her, partly to scare some sense
into her and partly because he just wanted her to recall his presence.  Ty
didn’t seem to have any real memories of that night during the Fall.  Whatever
sensory fragments she did retain obviously still terrified her, though.  Gion
hadn’t even known that Elementals could
have
panic attacks, but when Ty crumbled
right in front of him, his whole world stopped.

Gion
still hadn’t forgiven himself for that.

Now,
he watched in frustration as Ty pulled back into herself.  She just vanished
into her mind and he couldn’t read her, at all.  Plus, Ty
still
hadn’t promised
him that she’d back off the research.  She’d stopped fighting him outright, but
Ty hadn’t given in.

She
was so damn stubborn.

Shit.

Gion
closed his eyes and moved away from her.  For a few minutes, she’d trusted him
and he’d ruined it.  He screwed up everything important.

He
always had.

“Ty.” 
Gion whispered her nickname without even thinking about it.

Amazingly,
that got her eyes snapping back up to his.  Gion realized that he’d never
called her “Ty” before.  Not to her face.  He always stayed safe behind the
formality of her full name.

It
got her attention and, once he regained that, Gion couldn’t bear to lose it,
again.  Even though he knew he should keep pushing her, he found himself
softening.  “Ty, please.”  He crouched down next to her chair and tried a new
tactic.  “I… like the energy.  Don’t take it away.”

What
Gion felt for Ty, kept him alive.  Like gravity, it anchored him.  Without it,
he’d just float off into nothing.

She
chewed on her bottom lip, again.  “You like the energy?”  She remained distant,
but at least they were back to a verbal exchange.

“Of
course, I like it.”  Gion scoffed.  “God, I certainly don’t blame you for wanting
me out of your life, but what I feel between us is
real
.  It’s the only
real thing I have.”

“It
feels like Phazing energy.”

“I
know.”

“That’s
not normal.  It’s not real.”

“It’s
close enough.”

“What
if you find your actual Match?  Wouldn’t you want to know how to stop the
energy between us?”

“No.” 
The word was unequivocal.  “I don’t want a Match.”  Gion just wanted Ty.

Ty
frowned.  “Everyone wants their Match.”

“Really?” 
Gion arched a brow.  “Did you?”

“That
was different.”  She turned in her chair so she could face him.  “Most Matches
love each other.  What if you love this woman, but you’re still tied to me? 
Then
wouldn’t you want me to fix this connection?”

“No.” 
The idea that he’d ever want somebody else struck Gion as ludicrous.  No other
woman held the slightest interest for him.

“Well,
I guarantee that your Match
really
won’t like your energy touching
another woman’s.”

“Too
bad.”

“That’s
a terrible attitude.”

Gion
barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes.  “Why don’t we worry about all the
‘what ifs’ later?”  He didn’t see the point in debating his troubled
relationship some fictitious Phase-Match.  “Will you leave the energy between
us alone?”  This time he phrased it as a question.

She
considered him for a long moment.

“At
least for now, Ty, just leave it alone.  Promise me.”

She
pursed her lips.  “I won’t disrupt the energy without discussing it with you.” 
She finally allowed.

Okay,
that was something.  “Unless, I
agree
.”  Gion pressed.  “Don’t disrupt
it unless I
agree
.  I should have a vote.  The connection is half mine.”

And
he’d
never
fucking agree to get rid of it.

Ever.

So,
her promise meant that their connection was safe.  Gion watched Ty, closely,
willing her not to notice that small detail.

Another
long pause.  “You won’t get rid of the energy without me agreeing to it,
either?”

“I
won’t.”  It was the firmest guarantee ever made.

“Alright.” 
She murmured.  “That’s reasonable.”

Relief
flooded him.  Not just because she’d agreed to forget about her research, but
at his new discovery.   Ty shut him out when Gion pushed and threatened.  When
he
asked
her, though, she compromised.

That
was huge a breakthrough.

Gion
smiled.  “Thank you.”

“Just
don’t try to intimidate me into getting your own way, again.”  She warned.  “I
don’t like it and it won’t work.”

“I
know.  I’m sorry.  Give me some time and I’ll adjust to life here.  I can be
right for you.”

“I
don’t want you to be ‘right.’  I want you to be
Gion
.  I want you to be
the better man that I see in you.”

He
had no idea what that meant, but he nodded anyway.

Ty
sighed, apparently picking up on his total lack of comprehension.  “Come back
over here.”  She gestured to his chair.  “We can go over the report.”

Gion
debated that.  Not that it was much of an internal struggle.  His obsession
with Ty made the outcome pretty easy to predict.  “Very well.”  He took his
seat.  “If you’re sure you want to do this with me instead of an independent
third party.”

“I’m
sure.”  Ty said gravely and moved the report so it sat between them.  “I
wouldn’t trust anyone else to do this as well as you can.”

Gion
shot her a sideways look and cleared his throat.  “Right.  Well,” he focused on
the neatly typed pages, “I am concerned about a few areas.”  He frowned. 
“Actually, I’m concerned about
a
lot
of areas, but these eight on
page one are the top priorities.  That’s the immediate action section.  I go
into more detail about each problem in their individual chapters, but we should
start at the beginning.  Here, I brought a highlighter for the bullet points.”

Ty
glanced up at him and smiled.

These
elemental furies are coming at him with a purpose of malice, with a strength
beyond

control,
with an unbridled cruelty that means to tear out of him his hope and his fear,
the

pain of
his fatigue and his longing for rest

Joseph
Conrad- ‘Lord Jim’

Chason,
of the Magnet House stared at his Match’s grave.

The
white marble sepulcher stood in pristine silence amid his decaying world.  The
Magnet Kingdom had fallen into a deep, gray gloom since the Fall.  The
buildings and grounds wasted away under Chason’s neglect, but Mara’s tomb
remained surrounded by roses and lavished with attention.

Chason
saw to it personally.

Everything
here had been done to his exacting specifications.  He’d forced Stone Phase
artisans to redo the structure three times until he was satisfied that it was
perfect for Mara.  The craftsmen created beautiful Art Deco carvings on the
mausoleum’s surface.  Languid women in flowing dresses danced among weeping
willow trees.  Their lovely faces reflected the joy and life that his Match had
brought to the world.  Every figure held a different instrument: harps and
flutes and Elemental lutes.  Mara loved music and, in death, Chason made sure
that it surrounded her.  The crypt truly was a work of art.

Chason
hated it.

Hated
envisioning his beautiful bride trapped inside of it for eternity.  Hated the
marble walls that separated them.  Hated that he couldn’t yet join her in
endless silence.  But, the tomb was all he had left of Mara, now, so he came
here every day.  It drew him.  In the entire Magnet Kingdom, it was the only
spot that held any meaning.  The only spot where he could still feel his Match.

Chason
no longer cared what happened to the rest of his homeland.

He
no longer cared about anything but revenge.

Once,
Chason had been a good man.  He’d been raised as an officer and a gentleman. 
He sacrificed for his people and followed the Council’s laws without question. 
He protected anyone weaker than himself.  He believed in honor, truth, and
justice.  He was a dutiful son and a pious follower of Gaia.  Cason had tried
so hard to do everything expected of him.

Chason
had thought that God rewarded his efforts when he found his Match.  Mara gave
Chason’s strict, disciplined life meaning.  She played music and made him
laugh.  She warmed him and made him better.  Everything he’d ever wanted was
because of her.

Mara
was the light in his world.

Then,
the Air House killed her and the world went dark.

Parald
released the Fall and destroyed Chason’s soul.  Watching Mara die had
extinguished every drop of compassion and reason he’d ever possessed.  Chason
was a shell, now, existing purely on rage and bitter hatred.  His faith was
gone, burned out of him.  Nothing remained of the man he’d been, except a
gaping hole where his heart had once beat.

Chason
wanted to follow Mara into the next world.  Every second without his Match ate
at him like acid.  But, he couldn’t leave, yet.  Couldn’t allow the Air House
to get away with their treachery.  Chason planned to kill himself, but, when he
did, he’d take the rest of universe down with him.  Every Air Phase needed to
die.  Without Air, the world would end, but Chason didn’t care.

All
he cared about was revenge.

Once
everything blinked out like a porch light, Chason could finally rest.

“Commander.” 
Lansing, of the Dust House walked towards him across the dusty, gray soil. 
“I’m sorry to disturb you, but we have news.”

Chason
left strict instructions that no one was to bother him when he was with Mara. 
He turned away from the tomb, frowning at his second-in-command.  “What?”

Chason
had an army of followers, now.  The Reprisal.  Phases who’d survived the Fall and
despaired at what they saw.  Phases who knew that the world would never be
right, again.  Men and women from nearly every House joined Chason’s war on the
Air Kingdom.  It was only a matter of time before they succeed in destroying
the universe.

Only
a matter of time.

…Time
that he might not have.

“Sir,
we know where Gion is.”  Lansing nervously cleared his throat.  “The Water
House gave him amnesty yesterday.”

Chason
heard a roaring in his ears and a terrible rage filled him.  From childhood,
he’d possessed a horrible temper and he’d tried to master it.  Since the Fall,
though, it had been slipping beyond his control more often. 
Everything
was slipping beyond his control, now.  One day, Chason knew that he’d lose his
grip completely and careen into total madness.  He could see the bottomless pit
looming ahead of him; the laughing, merciless specter of insanity ready to pull
him under.  If he didn’t kill Parald soon, Chason feared that it would be too
late for him.

Chason
was going crazy.

Not
metaphorically crazy.  Honest-to-God, straightjacket and rubber room
crazy. 
He could feel the
blackness spreading in his mind.
 
Sense it
shadowing his movements and clouding his thoughts, luring him towards the edge
of oblivion.

But,
he no longer cared.

Chason
had just enough awareness left to realize that he was running out of time.

The
Magnet powers jerked free of his restraints and slammed out over the kingdom. 
The magnetized rocks beneath his feet shifted and groaned from the strain. 
“The Water House took
Gion
in?”  He ground out.

“Yes,
sir.”  Lansing warily glanced down at the shaking ground.  “Parald put that
price on his head last week, so it looks like Gion went to Ty for help.”

Next
to Parald himself, Chason hated Gion more than anyone who’d ever existed in the
history of creation.  Parald never would have seized control of the Air House if
not for Gion.  That bastard paved the road to Hell.  And now fucking Nia,
Tharsis, and Ty wanted to
adopt
the son-of-a-bitch?!

Chason
squeezed his eyes shut, trying to reign in his fury.  It was Job’s fault.  The
Elemental’s own Dr. Manhattan thought he could control everyone; make them all
play nice and make peace.  He was wrong.  Job’s fucking amnesty idea had incensed
Chason to begin with and now, to see it applied to Gion, of all people….
Gion
,
who stood at Parald’s side while Mara rotted in a tomb…

No.

It
was intolerable. Gion couldn’t just walk away from the misery he’d created.  He
had to pay.  There had to be justice.

“Why
would Gion go to the Water House?”

That
question was delivered in a distinctive raspy tone.  Raiden, of the Radiation
House had his throat slit in the Fall.  The untreated wound hadn’t healed
properly and it affected his voice.

Chason
hadn’t heard him come up, but that wasn’t unusual.  Nobody noticed Raiden
unless he wanted them, too.  His dark hair was shaved close to his head in an
effort to obliterate the gamma ray green streak at his temple.  His vibrant
chartreuse eyes glowed with madness and sorrow and something approaching the
divine.

Chason
no longer believed in God, but he believed that Raiden saw things beyond the
physical world.  Whatever else existed out there, the guy had it on speed
dial.  That was one of the reasons that the Radiation House wanted him dead.

Of
all of the Reprisal soldiers, Chason trusted Raiden both the most and the least.

“Well,
not many Houses are stupid enough to let the Air Phases in.”  Lansing shook his
head.  “Damn do-gooding Water Phases have always been soft.”

“Why
would Gion choose the Water House, though?  He knows the Quintessence.  She’d
accept him.”  Raiden came closer, his large hand brushing against the pedals of
one of Mara’s white roses.  “Why not go to the Earth House with Tessie?”

Chason
didn’t appreciate anyone else touching his Match’s flowers.  Even through his
anger, he saw Raiden’s point, though.  His brows came together and he glanced
over at Lansing.  “Did Job refuse to give Gion amnesty?”

“Job
would never refuse Tessie.”  Raiden intoned.  “If Gion wanted to be there, the
Earth House would have let him in.”

“Perhaps,
Gion didn’t want to compete with Job for power.”  Lansing suggested.  “In the
Water House, he’ll be the strongest and he won’t have to worry about Job
crushing him.”

That
made sense, except Gion was too arrogant to be concerned about Job.  The
asshole would never think that anyone could stop him.  Why would Gion choose
the peaceful, quirky, Water Kingdom?  Even before the Fall, it had been a place
of grace and eccentric charm.  Gion would fit in like a shark in a school of
tropical fish.  Nia would never let him have any real influence.  None of the
Water Phases could possibly trust him.

Why
would Gion go there?

Gion
was an evil dick, but he was powerful.  Chason wouldn’t have been surprised if
one of the Houses agreed to take him on as their ultimate super weapon.  Or
–Hell-- he could’ve even killed Parald, if he wanted to.  Chason would have bet
on Gion in just about any fight.  The guy cheated and played for keeps.  As
smart and ruthless as Gion was, Parald wouldn’t have stood a chance if Gion
pulled an Ides of March on his ass.

Gion
could be in charge of the Air House, right now.

So
why was Gion with the Water Phases?

“They
say he broke Ty out of the Air House dungeon.”  Raiden put-in.  “She owed him.”

Lansing
scowled at the mention of her name.  “Ty owes us
all
.”

Like
many in the Reprisal, Lansing hated Ty, blaming her for triggering Parald’s
wrath and, with it, the Fall.  Chason himself had nothing against the girl. 
She hurt Parald more deeply than anyone else when she renounced him.  That
pretty much made Ty and Chason even, in his book.

Raiden’s
glowing eyes watched Lansing.  “Ty, of the Water House is vital to our world.”

Chason
had no idea what that meant and he didn’t bother ask.  Half of what Raiden said
was like something out
of a Nostradamus quatrain.  It
only became clear after the event already happened.  None of Raiden’s
soothsaying made much sense a
nd, yet, he was somehow always right.

“She’s
a fucking bitch.”  Lansing shot back.  “Ty and Gion deserve each other.”

“Perhaps
they do.”  Raiden’s head tilted as if something was whispering in his own
fractured mind.

That
was one of the reasons that Chason relied on Raiden.  No matter how crazy
Chason was, Raiden was worse.

For
now.

Chason’s
gaze went back to his Match’s grave.

“Look,
I just don’t understand any of this.”  Lansing shook his head.  He was a man
who preferred neat and tidy explanations for everything around him.  “What
triggered Gion to switch sides?  Why would he want out of the Air House when he
was the strongest?  Why would he betray Parald for
Ty
?  What can she do
for him?”

Ty
and Gion deserve each other
.

Chason’s
head tilted, too.

The
writing over Mara’s sepulcher was simple and to the point:

Mara,
of the Magnet House.

Beloved,

Forever
and Then Some
.

His
amethyst eyes traced over the words.

Why
would a Phase do things that made no sense?  Why would he leave his home and
risk his life?  Why would he free his enemy from a dungeon?  Why would he
abandon everything and ask for amnesty from a House where he’d never fit in?

A
woman.

The
right woman made everything else fall away.  Made you do whatever it took to
have her and keep her forever.  No one knew that better than Chason.  If you
loved a woman, logic meant nothing.

Chason’s
mouth parted as he realized the truth.

If
he’d still believed in God, he would’ve sworn a heavenly choir of angelic
voices soared in a prefect, revelatory “laaaaaaaaaaaaaaa” all around him.  For
once, the reminder of music didn’t cut through him, though.  Chason stood at
the feet of true inspiration and looked upward at the answer to all his empty prayers.

Gion
had a woman.

Gion
had a weakness.

Ty.

It
had to be Ty.

It
seemed so obvious, now.

Killing
Ty to punish
Parald
would have been pointless.  The man was incapable of
love.  Ty was just a possession to him.  But, Match or not, if Gion really loved
Ty, then losing her would destroy him.  That sweet, little redhead was the key
to bringing Gion to his knees.

If
this was true, Chason could do to Gion
exactly
what had been done to him
when Mara died.  He could rip out Gion’s heart and leave him alone in an empty
world.