Warrior from the Shadowland (18 page)

Whatever
the hell Tharsis was scared of out there, Cross found himself instinctively
moving so he was between Nia and the door.

“You
want to leave?”  Nia gave her twin a blank look.  “And go where?”

“It
doesn’t matter where, just so it’s not here!”  Tharsis crossed the room with
angry strides and lowered his voice to a hiss.  “If Parald survived this, then
he knows where she is.”  He gestured towards Ty.  “He took
everything
from me.  He’s not getting you and Ty.  You’re all I have left.”  Thar’s tone
edged into anguish and he closed his eyes, trying to regain control.

Cross
was impressed that Tharsis had already figured out Parald’s role in the Fall. 
It had taken most Phases hours longer to piece together the source of the illness.

“Parald
wouldn’t dare come here.”  Nia’s pressed her lips together and refocused her
energies on willing her father to heal.  “He’s too much of a coward to fight
anyone face-to-face.”

“Alright,
how about this happy news, then?”   Tharsis stalked over to one of the windows
and yanked the heavy drapes open.  “See that?”  He pointed below.  “Anyone
healthy enough to stand is gathering on the steps of the palace.  And they
aren’t caroling.”

“Oh,
shit.”  Cross murmured.  The crowd coughed and undulated in jerky movements,
its antipathy towards the healthy Phases inside rising up like waves.  Hundreds
of Phases with nothing to lose stood outside.  So many Elementals blamed Ty for
Parald’s actions.  And she was just a few short stories above them, immune to
the pestilence wiping out their families and lives.  Water Phases, dying from
the Fall, circled like hungry dogs beneath a tree, staring up at their prey.

“They’re
gonna start rioting soon.”  Tharsis scowled down at the mob.  “Bastards might
as well light up some torches and chant, ‘kill the witch.’  We need be
somewhere safe. 
Now
.”

“What
about Dad?”  Nia’s grip tightened on the thick blankets.  Cross could tell the
room was a comfortable temperature, so there was no need for the quilts. 
During the earlier stages of the disease, Phases shook uncontrollably, though,
as if hypothermia might take them before the Fall had its chance.  Her father
was beyond feeling any temperature now, deep in the final, comatose sleep
before death claimed him.  But, Nia, clearly wasn’t going to accept that.

Princesses
fought.

“We’ll
take him with us.”  Tharsis said, instantly.  “Or we can…”

Nia
cut him off, shaking her head.  “We can’t move him.  He’ll die.”

Their
father was already dead.  Cross looked at Tharsis.  “Make her leave him, then.”

It
was as if Nia heard him, or maybe she read the indecision on Tharsis’s face,
because she exploded.  “I don’t care if the palace is on
fire
, I’m not
leaving Daddy!  He could get better.”  Tears rolled down her cheeks.  “Thar,
he’s still alive.  There’s a chance he could recover if we just let him rest
here for a little longer.  Please.”

Tharsis’
gaze went to their father’s gray, shrunken features.  Cross could see his love
for the man warring with the knowledge that the Fall would take him very, very
soon.  Thar glanced back over at Ty’s tiny form and swore in defeat.  “Okay.” 
He told Nia.  “Of course, you’re right.  We won’t leave Dad, until we’re sure. 
I’d never do that.  And we won’t move him.  But, after…”  He broke off,
swallowing at the word and all that it really meant.  “
After,
we go to
the human realm or someplace until we figure out what to do next.”

Cross
knew that was the wrong decision.  He could feel it.  The three of them were
exposed and helpless in the palace.  A growing sense of urgency invaded the
memory.  “Nia,
go
.”  He said, uselessly.  “Take your father with you,
but go now.”

The
scene shifted again, so it was night, and panic filled him.

Voices
screaming.

Flames
twisting in the darkness. 

So
many faces filled with sickness and hate.

“Nia!” 
Cross bellowed, looking around for her in the confusion.  They were still in
the Water Palace, but it was some kind of hallway.  The mob outside must’ve
gotten in somehow, because they were destroying Nia’s home.  Furniture toppled. 
Glass broke.  Pictures ripped from walls.  And, above it all, a cacophony of
shouted threats and deadly, relentless coughing.

He
finally spotted Nia and Tharsis at the edge of the riot, headed straight for
him.  They were wearing the same clothes they’d had on in the earlier memory,
so it may have been the same day.  It was hard to be sure, since no one had
spent a lot of time on hygiene during the Fall.  No one had it in them to
care.  Cross instinctively moved forward to help Nia, even though he couldn’t
do anything.  She and Tharsis were running for a curving staircase at the end
of the hall.  A mass of Fall victims followed them, rage and fever burning in
their eyes.

“Get
to the bedroom!”  Nia bellowed at her brother.

Cross
saw that Tharsis was carrying something in his arms.  At first, he thought it
was a bundle of bloody clothes, but then he saw the drape of red hair.  Ty. 
She’d been beaten so badly that even Cross cringed at the sight and he’d thought
he was immune to other people’s pain.

Tharsis
hefted Ty further up against his chest and reached the stairs.  He hit the
first step and stopped, not going any further without his sister.  He turned
and found Nia a few yards behind him.  “Watch out!”

Hands
grabbed at Nia and she shook them free.  “Go!”  She screamed as the crowd
reached her.  Phases, eager to blame anyone for their fate, attacked her. 
Grabbing Nia, they pulled her to the ground.   Nia went down with a cry of pain
and a slew of Elemental swearing

Cross
let out a roar as they swarmed over her.  He tried to reach for her, again. 
“Nia!”

Tharsis
started back for Nia, Ty in his arms.  “Nia!”

“No,
damn it.”  Nia slammed her fist into a man trying to hold her down and somehow
kept her eyes on Tharsis.  “Get her upstairs!”

Tharsis
concentrated for a beat and Cross felt the stir of power.  Not as strong as
Nia’s, but close.  Thar sucked the moisture from the air and then slammed it
out like a solid mass.  It knocked the first wave of rioters off their feet,
tripping up the ones coming in behind.  “Nia, move!”

She
was already on her feet and racing towards Thar.  There was a cut on her lip,
now, and blood seeped down the corner of her mouth.  “Go.”  She panted, dashing
up the stairs.  “Hurry.”  She headed straight for a room at the top.  The same
bedroom that they’d been in earlier.  It wasn’t just the decorations that let
Cross know that.  Nia’s father’s body was still on the bed, the blanket that
had been keeping him warm covering his still face.

Tharsis
slid into the room after her and Nia slammed the door closed.  “Help me block
it.”  She ordered.

“They
broke in the front door.  If we lock ourselves in, they’ll just break down this
one, too.”  Tharsis nevertheless dumped Ty onto the ground and dashed over to
push at a massive dresser.  The very haphazard way he laid Ty down told Cross a
lot.  Namely, Tharsis thought that they literally had only seconds left to
barricade the door before they were all dead.  Otherwise, Ty would have been
carefully arranged somewhere softer than the tile floor.

Cross
glanced down at Ty.  It looked like the mob had tried to take off her head. 
Not surprising, since it was the surest way to kill a Phase.  Blood stained her
clothes and skin, bruises covered her body.  Her breathing had a shallow, raspy
quality that Cross knew from experience meant internal damage.  How the hell
had she survived like this?  His eyes went to the wound at her neck.  It was
deep and caked with dried blood.  It should have been enough to finish her off
without fast medical care.  Why wasn’t she bleeding out?

Tharsis
and Nia shoved the dresser into place as the mob began beating on the door. 
“It won’t hold for long.”  Tharsis repeated and scraped a palm through his
hair.  “Do we have enough power to take her to the human realm?”

Cross
knew that they didn’t.  Jumping to the human realm usually took two or three
Phases all contributing energy.  Nia and Tharsis might have been able to go,
but they couldn’t drag Ty with them.  And they’d never leave her.  Tharsis and
Nia treasured Ty.  He could see it in every move they made as they huddled over
her, inspecting the damage.

“We
can’t risk jumping.”  Nia ran a hand over Ty’s cheek and let out a whimpering
sound.  “Thar, look what they
did
to her.”

“God.” 
Tharsis hunched down with his elbows on his knees and his forehead in his
palms.  He was struggling not to cry.  “She’s just a baby.  She’s not going to
make it and she’s just a baby.”

Cross
would’ve agreed with that assessment had he not seen the girl alive and well
just an-hour before back in reality.

“She’ll
be fine!”  Nia’s bit off, angrily.  Then, her eyes widened in sudden urgency. 
“Did she stop breathing?”

Tharsis
pressed two fingers to Ty’s pulse.  “Nia, she’s not breathing.  I don’t think
she’s breathing.”  His voice got too high.  “Oh, Gaia.  Please.  Ty?  Honey?” 
He bent over her and started doing human CPR.

One
one thousand.

Two
one thousand.

Three
one thousand.

Breathe.

Cross
was willing to accept that human technique would work on Phases, since they had
very similar physiological systems.  But, he had no idea why the air that
Tharsis provided didn’t rush out of the hole in Ty’s throat.  It made no sense
when Ty suddenly jerked back to life.

“Ty?” 
Nia shouted, although she was only inches away.

Turquoise
eyes fluttered for a second, as if Ty heard her and tried to respond.  Then,
she passed out, again.

“Thank
you.”  Nia whispered to the room at large as Ty resumed breathing on her own. 
“Thank you.  Thank you.  I can’t lose Ty, too.”

“Nia,
watch the door.”  Cross ordered, because she was way more centered on her
cousin then the angry mob.

 “She’s
okay.  She’s okay.”  Tharsis kept his fingers at Ty’s pulse.  “We should put her
on the bed…”  He trailed off as he realized what he’d just suggested.

He
and Nia both turned to look at the body of their father, lying under the
blankets on the mattress.

“Oh,
God.”  Cross breathed, the horror of the situation rushing in on him from all
sides.  The mob was slamming against the door, Ty was struggling to stay alive,
and the corpse of Nia’s father was locked in the room with them.

How
the hell had his Match ever recovered from this?

Maybe
she hadn’t.  The Fall still haunted her so much that she was determined to find
the damn Quintessence to fix things.  This was why.

“Daddy
won’t hurt her.”  Nia said, finally.  “Put Ty on the bed.”  There was a
determined glint in her eye, now.  That ‘damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead’
fire that defined the very core of her.  “We need to stop them, Thar.”  She
gestured towards the door as her brother lifted Ty into his arms, again.  “You’re
right.  They’ll get in if we don’t do something.”

“I’m
open to suggestions.”  Tharsis carefully placed Ty on the edge of the mattress,
as far away from his father as he could.  He kept his eyes averted from the
body, his jaw locked tight.  “Any ideas?”

“Yes.” 
Nia declared.  Turning back to the door, she unlocked it and twisted the knob.

Cross
stifled a shout at the move.  He could feel her gathering energy like the pull
of a current.  Even before the door cracked all the way open the ice was
forming.  A thick, impenetrable, frozen barrier between the bedroom and the mob
stretched across the threshold.

“You
watch
X-Men II
way too much.”  Tharsis reported as if trying to play
down the tragedy raining down on them.  He didn’t seem surprised by the
incredible feat Nia had just pulled off, but Cross certainly was.  The mob
couldn’t break through with Nia’s work.  They didn’t have the energy.  Cross
had never seen another Water Phase freeze water molecules that fast.  Ice was
primarily the Cold Phases’ dominion.   It was an extraordinary display of power
and Nia didn’t even blink.

“Wolverine’s
hot.”  Nia kept her eyes on the block of ice protecting them.  The other Phases
were just shadows against the white frozen center of the frigid wall.  “Thar,
you want to try something that might hurt them a lot?”

“Yep.”  
Tharsis crossed the room so he was standing next to her.  For all his
wisecracks about comics, the guy looked like he was about two inches from a
total breakdown.  “Every fucking one of them is dead.  If the Fall doesn’t
finish them off, I will.”

Nia
reached down and grasped his hand.  “Throw your energy behind mine, okay? 
We’re gonna jack the House.”

“What?” 
Cross and Tharsis demanded at the same time.

Phases
didn’t do that.  Not without incredible power.

“Don’t
you
dare
.”  Cross snarled, even as saw her gearing up for the attempt. 
She was going to try and steal the Water from the other Phases.  Drag the
weight of it away from them, so she and Thar and Ty supported the entire
House.  The other Phases wouldn’t die, but they wouldn’t be able to control the
Water anymore.  Jacking a House essentially left its victims impotent, their
energy usurped and redistributed.