Treasure of the Fire Kingdom (The Elemental Phases Book 4) (16 page)

“He doesn’t need to lead the men.  The time for the
Reprisal is over.”

The simple words detonated like an atom bomb in
Lansing’s head.  “
The hell it is!
”  The Reprisal wasn’t over.  It would
never be over as long as Gion and Isaacs and the other Air Phases still
breathed.  He stalked towards Raiden.  “The Reprisal is as strong as we ever
were. 
More
, now that Parald’s gone.  We could be running the entire
realm if Chason just woke up!”

Raiden didn’t even blink as Lansing got right in his
face.  “When Parald fell, the mission ended.  That war’s over.”

“No!”

“Yes.  The next fight has already begun.”  Raiden
casually stepped around Lansing. “You need to pick a side.  Don’t let anger
force you into the wrong one.”

Lansing’s mouth tightened in impotent fury.  He wanted
Raiden dead, but he wasn’t going to come at the guy head-on.  Not only was he a
mind reader, but he was also one of the largest Phases in any House.  The guy
was massive and a damn Samurai with blade.  Lansing could bide his time.  “If
you and Chason keep this up, whatever side you’re on… I’ll be on the opposite
one.”

“I know.  I’ve seen it.”  Raiden stopped in the
doorway to regard him seriously.  “There’s still time, though.  Change your
course, because I won’t let you harm Chason.  If he dies, we all die.  I’ve
seen that, too.”

“I don’t believe you.”  Lansing spat.  “You’re saying
that because you know he’s weak and I could easily kill him.  A broken leader
can’t stay in charge.  He has to die. 
Has to!
  I won’t let him ruin…”

Raiden cut him off with a sword.  The sharpened steel
was extended before Lansing even saw him move.  One second, Raiden was standing
there looking bored, the next he was grabbing Lansing and throwing him against
the wall.  One hand held him off the floor, the other wielded the blade.  The
edge of it pressed into his throat hard enough to draw blood.  Lansing could
feel it running down his neck.

He froze.

“I knew it was pointless to reason with you.  Let’s
make it clearer.”  Raiden leaned down so their noses nearly touched.  “If you
move against Chason, I will stop you.”  He words were terrifying in their
flatness.  “No matter what I have to do, I won’t let the universe fall.  His
fate is tied to all of us, and there are things in this world that I won’t
lose.  Things that I will protect, no matter what I have to do.”

“Like what?”  Lansing ground out, discreetly reaching
for his own blade.  “You have
nothing
and we both know it.  No Match, no
family.  Even your own House wants you dead.”

“Pick a side.”  Raiden snarled.  “Either you’re with
Chason or you’re gone.”  He gave Lansing a harsh slam against the stone wall,
preventing him from pulling his weapon free.  “One more body on my conscience
means nothing to me, at this point.  Nothing, at all.”

“I’ve been a Reprisal soldier for longer than you
have!  You can’t kick me out.  I outrank you!  The men will follow me.”

“Anyone who would go, I don’t want here, anyway.  Take
them.”  Raiden finally stepped back, lowering the sword.  “You have an hour to
decide if you’re leaving, before I choose for you.  Think carefully.  One path
doesn’t end well.”

“Save your prophetic bullshit.  Jesus!  I don’t even
want
to be here.  The Reprisal is bigger than Chason or the Magnet Kingdom.  They’re
both dead, anyway.”

As he said the bitter words, Lansing realized they
were true.  The Reprisal was alive and well, but the mission couldn’t survive
in this place, surrounded by unbelievers and insanity.  No matter what the cost
to his pride, he needed to walk away and carry on elsewhere.  It was his duty. 
The reason he’d survived the Fall:  To bring justice to the world.  Raiden and
Chason’s punishment could wait.  Lansing had more important plans.

“I’ll go and I’ll take the mission with me.  I’ve
always
been the only one who really believes in our destiny.”

“You’re wrong.  I do believe in destiny.”  Raiden said
quietly.  “That’s what scares the hell out of me.”

I am not from the
East nor the West, nor out of the seas nor from beneath the

ground, not natural
or unearthly, not composed of elements at all. I do not

exist.  I am not a
part in this world or part of the next.

Rumi

“Technically,
I’m not any kind of man.”  Kingu’s voice was flat.  “I am a god.  I believe
I’ve mentioned that before.”  He snapped his fingers and a pewter goblet
appeared in his hand.  He took a casual sip from it as if he refused to let her
disapproval affect him.  As if this was just another day at the office here in
CrazyBanishedLand.

As
if Hope
hadn’t
just caught him doing business with criminals.

“I
don’t care if you’re a sea monkey, you can’t make deals with the Banished
Phases.  Especially, not Zakkery.  He’s a bad person.  We all assumed he was
dead and we were
happy
about it.”

“Honestly,
I’m not thrilled about his survival myself.”

“And
yet I just watched you hang out with the guy!”  Hope stomped down the steps,
vacillating between anger and incredulity.  Good Lord, it was no wonder Oberon
had sent her here to save her monster.  Kingu was
completely
screwing up
his life.  “Zakkery and that Galen guy are probably plotting against the
Council and you’re
in
on their schemes?!  How could you?”

“If
it makes you feel any better, having even an ancillary connection to a plan
conceived by the Elementals makes me ask myself the same question.”  He snapped
his fingers again and held out an identical goblet for her as she marched
closer.

Hope
automatically took it.  “You think you’re being a fucking wiseass, but I live
with
a lot
of them and I’m immune.”  She ran her free hand through her
hair.  “And shit –
shoot
-- there goes another demerit in the swearing
contest.”  Perfect.  Qadesh was going to beat her for sure at this rate. 
Hardly ever talking already gave him a natural advantage.  “Well, I hope you’re
happy.”

Kingu
didn’t look happy.  He looked baffled.  Like he’d expected the conversation to
go in a very different direction.  His expressionless mask slipped a bit and he
lowered the goblet.  “Swearing contest?”

“Yes! 
It’s really hard and now I’ve lost another round.  You’re not supposed to swear
for a day and then you win. 
Maybe
I could have gotten an exemption for
almost getting beheaded, but this time is definitely going to count.”  She
frowned.  “Anyway, don’t change the subject.  This is about you being okay with
that slimy son-of-a-bitch…”

He
cut her off, looking almost fascinated.  “Who are you in competition
with?
”

“Don’t
change the subject, I said!”  Hope glowered waaay up at his face, not wanting
to be distracted by talk of the Fire House.  Or taken in by Kingu’s beautiful
red eyes.  It was pretty much a lost cause on both fronts.  “Okay, fine.  My
family and I are all playing the game, but none of us can win.  It’s been
weeks.  Now focus on how your buddies…”

“Color
Phases find it
that
difficult to abstain from constant streams of
profanity?”

“Yes,
we do.  So shut the hell up and start explain your behavior.”  Hope crossed her
arms over her chest.  “Why are you doing business with them?”

Kingu’s
eyes narrowed.  “I don’t answer to you, woman.  Your opinions on my actions
have no bearing on our relationship.”

God,
why could warriors never admit when they were wrong?  “Don’t be an idiot.  Of
course
,
it has a bearing on our relationship if you’ve gotten mixed up with the Banished
Phases!”

“You
think to leave me?”  He arched a brow and drank from his goblet like they were
discussing the weather.  No.  More unconcerned than that.  The weather from
last Tuesday, maybe.  “You think I’d let you?”

It
wasn’t really a matter of “letting her” do anything.  Sooner or later the Fire
Phases would track her down.  Hope figured she’d be in the Cloudland for forty-eight
hours
tops
.  Not a lot of time to redesign her entire future around a
grouchy monster with a flair for decorating and a bad group of friends.

Hope
was getting dizzy managing all the conflicting thoughts whirling in her head.

On
the one hand she knew that, physiologically, she couldn’t have a Match.  But,
on the
other
hand she also knew that Kingu was the monster that Oberon
had told her to save.  Fire Phases could always quickly identify destined
partners and, no matter what Kingu believed, their meeting today was destiny. 
She looked at this man and just
knew
him straight down to her soul.

On
the one hand, she couldn’t wait to get out of Cloudland and never look back. 
But on the
other
hand, Kingu didn’t seem ready to pack up and move to
the Fire House with her, yet.  No Fire Phase would leave their other half and
Kingu seemed stubbornly fixated on staying in this horribly pastel kingdom.

On
the one hand, Hope had never been happier then when she looked up into Kingu’s
beautifully monstrous face.  But, on the
other
hand, the man was
apparently intent on driving her up a wall.

It
was a confusing day, all around.

“I’m
not talking about leaving you.”  Hope said honestly.  “I’m talking about
helping
you.”  Planning her own escape was a last resort.

Alder
and Missy would be sooo disappointed if Hope didn’t a give them a fair chance
to rescue her before she freed herself.  They lived to plan out rescue
strategies like this.  Her family would be worried when she didn’t come home,
but they’d also have a wonderful time finding her.  They
were
Fire
Phases, after all.  Hopefully, if she stayed here a little longer, Kingu would
be ready to
willingly
leave the Cloudland with her, rather than having
to tie him up and carry him.

He
really was very big.

Hope
tried to stay positive.  Hopefully, she wouldn’t need to kidnap Kingu.  She
would if it came to that, but maybe he just needed a little more time and he’d
learn to trust her.  Making him realize that he wanted to work
against
the Banished Phases was a perfect opportunity for team building.

“You’ll…
help
… me.?”  He repeated like words were foreign to him.

“Yes,
I’ll help you see how wrong it is to support these criminals.  Then, I’ll help
you get back that necklace do-hickey you just gave him.”

Kingu
seemed perplexed.  “Why would I care about that?”

“For
crying out loud!”  She started to take a sip of her drink, but somehow one of
the gemstones in the goblet’s side fell off and landed in the water.  Hope
stopped mid-lecture.  “Oh dear.”

Kingu
looked shocked.  “How did that happen?  The goblet was only created two seconds
ago.  My powers don’t make faulty…”

“It’s
me, not you.”  She set the drink down.  “I have bad luck.  Ignore it.”  They
had bigger fish to fry.  “Look, you
should
care about saving the
Elemental realm from whatever it is these Banished Phases are plotting.”

How
could Kingu not understand?  The two of them being here was destiny, again. 
She and Kingu were supposed to do something to stop this disaster.  Fire Phases
were warriors.  Hope wouldn’t just let this happen and do nothing to stop it.

“They’re
plotting nothing of importance.  Believe me, the Banished Phases aren’t
strategizing an attack on Job.  They’re too busy preparing for the Council’s
attack on
them
.  Obviously, they’re too stupid to realize the Council
couldn’t care less that they’re still alive.  Well, Zakkery may be slightly
smarter than the rest, but…”

Hope
cut him off.  “But, what if they try to assassinate Job or something?”

“Good. 
I don’t like Job.  Or his Match.”  Kingu scowled at the mere mention of Tessie,
probably because of his human prejudice.

“My
family doesn’t like Job all the time, either, but we’ll still never allow him
to be usurped.”

The
Fire Phases cared nothing for Elemental politics, but they would absolutely
fight to the next end of the world before they let someone take over the
Council by force.

Rule
number thirty-two of being a Fire Phase:  Never support a revolt that you don’t
start.

“They
have no plans to usurp anyone.  They couldn’t even spell the word.”

She
ignored that.  “We are going to have stop this and it’ll be easier now than
later.”  Pacing back and forth in front of Kingu, Hope chewed her fingernail in
agitation.  “The question is how do we do it?”  Fire Phases weren’t trained for
this kind of situation.  The curriculum was heavy on ways to
start
violence,
not prevent it.

Kingu
stopped in the process of examining his own goblet for flaws.  “Who is ‘we’?” 
He demanded warily.

“You
and I!”

A
long pause, like he couldn’t believe what she’d just said.  “You see us as a
‘we’?”

“What
else would I see us as?  A
them?
”

He
blinked.  “And you truly think
we
should involve ourselves in this
pointless squabble?”

“Yes! 
Zakkery and Galen and the rest of them are the
bad guys.
”

An
even longer pause.  “So what am I?”  The question was delivered in a whisper.

“You’re
a good guy, of course.  A
confused
good guy, apparently, but we’ll work
on that later.”  She waved a dismissive hand, focused on strategizing.  “Let’s
start with you telling me everything you know about their schemes.”

Kingu
no longer seemed reluctantly fascinated.  He looked flat-out transfixed.  “What
facet of my character could
possibly
make you think I’ll suddenly act
like a hero?”  He demanded.  His flame colored eyes were intense.  “I’m the
monster of this tale, Hope.  Not the knight.”

She
tilted her head.  “Can’t you be both?  Isn’t that who a warrior is, at his
core?  Fierce and heroic, at the same time?”

The
longest pause, yet.  So long that Hope wondered if he planned to answer, at
all.  He just stared at her with something like longing.

Poor
Kingu.  He was so lost, he couldn’t even find himself.

Hope
reached out to touch his arm again and he jerked away.

“No!” 
Kingu gave his head a clearing shake.  “The Phases are
not
my problem.” 
He slammed his drink down on a decorative table shaped like a tombstone.  The
impact cracked the black marble top, sending a hunk of it crashing to the
floor.  “You will not
make
their petty bickering my problem, with your
words and eyes.  I will
not
be controlled by you or any other.”

“I’m
not trying to control you.  I’m trying to
save
you.”

“
I
don’t need to be fucking saved!
”

His
bellowing didn’t bother her.  Honestly, she liked it a lot more than his cold
mask.  “I think you do.”  Hope arched a brow.  “And the Elementals need
both
of us to save them.”

“I
don’t. 
Want
.  To save.  The Elementals.”  He spaced out the words like
she might have a brain ailment.  “How much clearer can I make that?”

“
I
want to save them.”

“And
you think I care about this asinine desire?”  He snorted.  “I am the captor
here.  What
I
want is all that counts.”

She
nearly rolled her eyes.  Oh, please.  No Fire Phase would stay captive unless
they willingly allowed it.  Did he really not get that?

“So
you don’t care about my feelings, at all?”  Which is no doubt why he’d all but
offered her the moon when she’d been upset about the bracelet.  Because he was
soooo hardhearted.

“I…” 
Kingu hesitated, looking for a way out of that question.  “I would have you…
smile.”  He admitted after a moment.

“So
you want me to be happy here?”

“Yes.” 
He allowed cautiously.  “To a point.”

“And
that point is the very first thing I ask for?”

“No,
that point is the gods damn Phases!  Dealing with them will be tedious and
inane, and I have better ways to spend my afternoon.  That is the end of it.” 
He started for the stairs.

“No,
it’s not the end.”  Hope followed him, hurrying so she could get in front of
him and block his assent.  She only tripped twice.  Kingu paused to steady her,
which gave her time to slip past him.  Reaching the fourth step, she braced her
arms across stairs, one palm on each railing.  “I
am
a Phase.  It’s not
tedious or inane to me.”

“But,
you are no longer a Phase.  Not really.  Now you are the consort of a god.”  He
nodded like that might really work to change her mind.  Like she’d just
brighten up and say, “Good point, honey.  Let my whole civilization fall and
we’ll go watch TV.”

“I’m
a
Phase
, Kingu.”  And a half human one at that.  Gaia, but she didn’t
relish telling him about that, though.  Not after his reaction to the mere
mention of Tessie and her mortal DNA.  Hope dropped her gaze.  “Look, I’m sorry
if you feel like I’m not good enough for someone like you, but…”