Queen of the Magnetland (The Elemental Phases Book 5) (23 page)

“I
never left you behind.”  Mara said defensively.

Chason
stared at her for a beat and then laughed.  It wasn’t a pleasant sound.  It sounded
like an unholy mixture of frustration and craziness.  She felt the darkness
seize hold of him, twisting along their connection.  He very carefully set his
fork down and stood up, bracing his hands on the table.

Mara’s
throat went dry, fascinated rather than frightened.  Seventy years Matched to Chason…
and she had no idea what he was about to do.  All the dependable, easily
categorized parts of him were gone.  Now he was a passionate, unpredictable
mess, who made every part of her stand up and take notice.

Zakkery
had been right.  This Chason wasn’t the man she remembered.

Since
Mara got back, she’d been annoyed at how many times Chason had called his
saintly Match “perfect.”  But wasn’t she guilty of that, too?  For years she’d
tried to be perfect, because she’d thought
Chason
was perfect.  How
unfair to both of them that was.

This
man wasn’t perfect, at all.

This
man was
more
.

Chason
must have been practicing his glare while she was away, because the one he leveled
at her was a ferocious expression to behold.  “You have left me behind. every.
fucking.
day
. since we first met.”  He ground out, each word punctuated
by his hand hitting the tabletop.  “Every one.  Even when you’re with me, it’s
just because you haven’t figured out how to leave again
yet
.”

“That
isn’t true.”  Only she looked into his eyes and saw that he believed it was.

“You
have
never
been here and you never wanted me to go
there
.”  He
pointed in the direction of the Light Kingdom with an emphatic sweep of his
palm and she felt his powers going wild.  “If you didn’t pick the glass
slipper,
I didn’t pick this fucking castle
.  You don’t want it?!”  Magnet
energy slammed out, ripping apart the wall separating the dining room from the
kitchen in one immense push.  It collapsed in a heap of magnetized rock and horribly
tasteful wallpaper, the whole palace rocking as it fell.  “Well, I don’t want
it, either!  It means
nothing
to me.”

“What
are you doing?!”  Plaster fell from the ceiling and she scrambled to her feet. 
“You’re going to collapse the house, Chason!”

“I’ve
already
collapsed the House!”  The darkened chandelier was ripped down
and crumpled in midair.  “Being enslaved to this fucking House and trying to be
perfect
for it, kept me from the only thing I ever wanted!”  The massive
lighting fixture went flying through the broken windows out onto the lawn, skipping
across the dead grass.  “It should
all
fall.  What Magnet Phases are
left fled to the Earth Kingdom, because I wanted them
gone
.  I let
Lansing and the Reprisal soldiers leave, too.  I just want everyone to go away
and let me go crazy in fucking peace!”

Mara’s
lips parted, gaping at the destruction he’d wrought so easily.

“Except…
you
.”  His head tilted at that odd angle, his eyes focusing on her. 
Madness swirled like bats in hell.  “
You
will not go anywhere, princess. 
Not without me.  I don’t give a shit what kind of shoes you wear, just so
you’re wearing them with
me.
”

The
whole table went flying, clearing the quickest path to her.

He
gripped the edge of the immense wooden surface that had separated them over a
thousand breakfasts and threw it against the wall like it weighed nothing, at
all.  Mara jolted as it splintered into pieces, but her eyes never left his. 
She couldn’t have looked away from him if her life depended on it.  He prowled
towards her, straight across the territory he’d claimed, like a warlord who’d
just conquered the world to reach her.  Her body went damp and she just stood
there, waiting for him.  He certainly didn’t look like he was thinking about
the dead and ladylike Mara, now.

Chason
stared down at her, his chest heaving.  “You won’t leave me behind. 
Ever. 
Again
.”

The
enraged order echoed through the castle, dust from his unplanned remodeling
projects filling the air.  He loomed over her, both of them breathing hard.

After
a heartbeat, Chason sort of… blinked.

“I’m,”
he brought his hands up to his temples and squeezed, “oh
fuck
.  I’m
sorry.  I…”  He met her gaze and then quickly looked away in shame.  His eyes
swept over the ruined dining room, suddenly realizing what he’d done.  She saw
fear in his expression.

Fear
for her.

“Darling,
it’s alright.”  She started to touch his arm, not even noticing when the
endearment slipped out.  “I’m fine.”

“No!” 
Chason backed up a step, holding up a hand for her to stop.  “You can’t be near
me.”  He decided wildly, his gaze ping-ponging around the destruction.  “I’m
dangerous. 
I could hurt you and not even know it until it’s too late.”

Mara
stopped moving, afraid he might jump from the room if she didn’t.  “You would
never hurt me.”  She believed it on the most fundamental level of her soul. 
Chason, of the Magnet House was the greatest man she’d ever known.  Right now
he was wounded, but that didn’t change what kind of person he was or the pull
she felt towards him.

Chason
needed her.

“Stay
away!
”  His head shook back and forth like bugs were crawling in his
brain.  “I’m too far gone.  I could’ve killed you, all over again.”  His voice
went higher.  “You have to leave. 
Now
.  Don’t tell me where you’re
going.  If you tell me, I know I’ll just follow you.”

In
that moment, Mara knew what she had to do.  She very deliberately turned to
look at the fallen kitchen wall.  “I’m not worried that you’ll harm me, Chason.”

She
arched a brow and the heap of rocks on the floor began righting themselves.  One
huge block piled up on top on another, rebuilding the wall in less than ten
seconds.  It was more power than she’d ever used in front of anyone.  More than
he’d used blowing out the wall in the first place

 Chason
had destroyed the wall.  But, Mara put every pebble right back where it
belonged, without even having to think about how they fit.

It
was surprisingly easy to manipulate the blocks with her Magnet energy
considering she ignored her powers so thoroughly.  They just flowed through her,
feeling free and right.  Very
Empire Strikes Back
.

Mara
swallowed as the last stone slid into place, glancing back over at Chason
expectantly.  She was worried about what his reaction might be.  That he might
find her less attractive or be threatened somehow.  Any other Magnet Phase male
would have been.

Even
as strong as he was, Mara still had more energy.

A
lot more.

“My
God.”  He was gazing at the repaired wall in something like reverence.  “That’s
why you were holding back.  You’re more powerful than I am.”

She
blinked back tears, amazed that he seemed so impressed.  Ashamed that she’d
hidden her energy from him.  Afraid that he still might be angry.  “I know.”

She’d
been the strongest Magnet Phase alive since before they even Phazed.  She just
hadn’t thought Chason or his father would appreciate that fact that her powers could
crush theirs, before she even came of age.  The former king, Berke, had been a
hard, proud man.  He would have been so furious.  He might have insisted that
Chason renounce her.  Mara would never have done anything to jeopardize her
Match or make Chason think less of her.

But
he didn’t seem upset or repulsed.

Just
as she’d hoped, seeing the weight of her energy made him visibly less concerned
that he’d accidently squash her.  His panic faded, the frantic tension of his
energy easing.

After
a long moment, he crossed his arms over his chest and fixed her with a level
look.  “So, you have that much power and you let
Zakkery
pin you down,
yesterday?”  His tone was now disapproving.

Of
all the things he could have said,
that
was his first thought?

“It’s
unfair to use powers during a fight…”  She began automatically, only to trail
off.  Fighting fair meant very little when a man was trying to rape you.  Honestly,
it just hadn’t even occurred to her summon the Magnet energy.  “You’re right.” 
She agreed.  “I
should
have used my powers.  My first instinct was to
call for you, though.  And you came back.”

“What
if I hadn’t?”

“You
would always come back for me.”  Mara said softly.

“What
if I
couldn’t
, then?”  He rephrased, conceding the point.  “You couldn’t
fight him off physically, so your first instinct
should
have been to
strangle Zakkery with his bicycle chain bracelet.”

“I
don’t think Zakkery would have really harmed me.”  Mara grumbled defensively.

“He
was Banished for doing worse.”  The Chason who’d relentlessly trained soldiers
every day for two centuries glowered back at her.  “What you did was careless
and could have gotten you killed.”

Damn
it, he had a point.

That
just annoyed her.

“Well,
I’m sorry.  I’m not used to fending off attackers.  Why would I be?”  She threw
up her hands.  “Every day of my life, either you or Kahn has protected me, even
when there was nothing to protect me
from
.”

He
seemed to consider that.  “I never thought about teaching Mara how to defend
herself.  I doubt Kahn did, either.”

“
Thank
you.”  Finally, he was getting it.  “This is a huge overreaction.  I’ve always
been perfectly safe.”

“Except
when you
died
.”

“Oh
for God’s sake, I didn’t die!  And even if I
had
, how could training me
to use my powers possibly have stopped it?”

“I
don’t know, but this isn’t a safe world.  It never was.  I was just too naive
to know how quickly it could all be taken away.”  He shook his head.  “You need
to know how to protect yourself, this time.  I’ll teach you.  I lost Mara.  If
I lost you, I’d…”

She
cut him off.  “You won’t lose me.  You couldn’t.”  Her mouth curved.  “Don’t
you see, Chason?  I would always come back for you, too.”

He
stared at her for a long moment and then vanished.

“Chason!” 
Mara automatically cried, even though he’d jumped out of the Magnetland and
couldn’t hear her.  He’d left!  Oh God, where could she start looking for him?

Thirty
seconds later, though, he was back and holding an armful of what looked like
women’s shoes.  Stilettos and flats and sneakers and slippers and sandals in a
barrage of colors and styles.  He dropped them onto the floor in front of her.

Mara
gaped down at them and saw that each pair was a size seven and a half.

“Wear
any of them. 
All
of them.”  He told her solemnly.  “Wear and do and say
whatever you feel like.  Just… wear and do and say it here with me.”

“What
if I’m not your Match?”  She whispered.

“I
don’t care.  I want
you.
”

For
a long moment, Mara’s throat was too tight for her speak.  Finally, she looked
back at him.  “Tell me one thing first.”  She said seriously.  “And it had
better be the truth.”

“Anything.” 
He seemed to brace himself.

“…Did
you
pay
for these shoes?”

Chason
blinked at her, realizing that she was teasing him.

Mara
laughed, overjoyed that things were going so well.  “Of course, I’ll stay with
you, Chason.  Where else would I ever be?"  She shook her head at his
amazed expression and bent down to examine her bounty of footwear.  “And the weirdest
part of all of this…?  I’m pretty sure this is the most enjoyable breakfast
we’ve ever had together.”

“I
was thinking the same thing.”  Chason said… and very slowly smiled.

War was
their one care and only pleasure.

Down to
the deepest element of death these men descend.

Then blackness
seized them and they vanished forever from the bright light of the sun.

Hesiod-“Works
and Days”

Chason
stood under the shower, his hands braced against the wall, and let the water
pound against the back of his skull.  It felt… good.  Like so much else in his
life, hygiene had seemed completely unimportant after Mara died.  He’d barely
noticed if he bathed or changed his clothes or shaved.  Now, he recalled that
he’d always
liked
showering, though.

It
seemed strange that he’d forgotten that.

Just
like it was odd that he hadn’t noticed there was no electricity in the
fortress.  The water was freezing cold and there were no lights.  How long had
that been going on?  He had no idea.  Had others pointed it out and he just not
heard them?

Chason
blinked at the tasteful stone tiles of the shower wall.  In a way, it seem like
he’d spent the past two years in a coma, just like the woman.  Everything since
the Fall felt like nothing but a rapidly fading nightmare, now.  Like it had
never happened, at all.

Like
Parald, of the Air House had never rained his destruction down on the
universe.  Like Lansing, of the Dust House had never trained soldiers where
Chason’s mother’s trees had once grown.  Like Chason had never gone crazy or
started the Reprisal or spent his seventieth anniversary in a human jail.

The
woman seemed so much more “real” than anything else in his life.

The
unheated water flattened his hair, which seemed very long all of a sudden, and
Chason realized he even knew where he was and what had happened to him today. 
For once he didn’t have to fight to see “reality.”

He
was in the bathroom that connected to bedchamber.  Mara had it renovated about
five years before and he remembered helping her pick out the colors.  He knew
that he’d had breakfast with the woman downstairs.  He’d promised to take her
to look for Kahn, so that’s what he was getting ready to do.

It
was all so
clear
.  There was no fog clouding his thinking or threatening
to pull him under.  His thoughts didn’t wander off in tangents.  The rages were
still a problem, but he hadn’t harmed the woman during the scene at breakfast
and she’d seemed unfazed by his outburst.  All in all, this was the most normal
he’d felt since the Fall.

Either
he was finally one hundred percent crazy or he was getting… better.

It
was all because of the woman.  Her presence gave him back his sanity.  She was
healing broken pieces of his mind and making him whole.  That alone was reason
enough to keep her, but it wasn’t the
only
reason he had no intention of
ever –
ever
--letting her escape.

No
matter who she was, Chason needed her and wanted her and… liked her.

That
was the main reason he wanted her to stay.

This
more beautiful and demanding version of his Match
talked
to him.  Not
just exchanging pleasant, agreeable courtesies, but
talking
. 
She
was so clever and interesting and she said things that constantly surprised
him.  She laughed and shouted.  She didn’t seem to care that he wasn’t acting
like a gentleman or a king. 
Even when she was disagreeing with
him or making snarky comments, she was engaged.  Like she wanted to understand
him, and for him to understand her, on some deeper level.

Had
he and Mara ever actually
talked?

No. 
Not really.

Why
hadn’t he realized that before?  Why hadn’t he seen the problem?

Chason
had loved Mara beyond anything in the entire universe, but he looked at this
woman and he
knew
her on a level that he’d never known his Match.  He
felt a connection to her that went deeper than anything he’d ever experienced. 
They just… fit.  He felt it and it was real.

Not
“real,” but actually
real
.

He
wouldn’t give up the woman or the connection he felt to her.  Not for anything. 
Maybe not even if he could’ve had the old Mara back.  He’d always wanted
something deeper.  Something
more
. 
Now, that he felt it with
this woman he would fight with everything he had to keep it.

To
keep
her
.

Chason
shut off the freezing cold water and stepped out of the shower.  He grabbed a
towel and wrapped it around his waist.  Seventy years of living with Mara and
he would’ve felt awkward showering with the door ajar.  Now, the woman was in
the next room and Chason hadn’t thought twice about leaving the bathroom door
and the connecting door to the bedrooms open.

…Which
was why he heard the noise in Mara’s bedchamber.

Chason’s
head whipped around, his eyes narrowing.  He could hear the other shower
running, so it hadn’t been the woman.  No one else should be in fortress,
except Raiden and those weren’t Raiden’s footsteps.  Chason never would have
heard
Raiden moving around, first off.  The guy was a stealthy SOB.  And secondly,
Raiden didn’t go into Mara’s room.  Ever.  He respected the fact that Chason
would brutally slaughter anybody who crossed the threshold.

Obviously,
someone else didn’t understand that point, though.

Chason
stalked out of the bathroom and straight into Mara’s bedroom.

A
strange Phase was stalking across the thick purple rugs, scanning around for
signs of life.  The guy was huge, dressed in some kind of weird white robe with
a deadly looking silver sword strapped to his back.

His
golden hair was tied into a series of intricate braids, which labeled him a
Light Phase even more clearly than the black streak at his temple.  Only
warriors from Mara’s homeland wore their hair like that.  Except there were only
supposed to be five Light Phases left now and this guy wasn’t one of them.

In
the midst of his sudden fury, Chason felt a surge of triumph.

He’d
known
a Banished Light Phase was involved in this.

The
guy was making his way towards Mara’s bathroom door, which was cracked open as
the woman finished her shower.  She was naked and vulnerable and there was a
stranger in her room.

Chason’s
head tilted at that irregular angle that seemed to make people especially
uncomfortable.  He’d clearly been too restrained in his homicidal tendencies,
thus far, if people thought it was a good idea to break into his home and try
to spy on his woman.

“You’ve
taken a wrong turn, Light Phase.”

His
calm voice sounded abnormally loud in the quiet space and the other man spun
around in surprise.  Black eyes met his.  Solid black.  Not like Mara’s pure
pools of ebony, but… colder.  Darker.  Like a shark, there wasn’t even a hint
of white around the edges.

Finding
an exact replica of his dead Match locked away in the Smoke Kingdom had pretty
much burned all the “What the hell?” incredulity out of Chason for the rest of
forever.  But this came damn close to surprising him.

There
was only one Phase in the universe who’d ever had eyes like that and he was
supposed to be dead.

Not
just Banished, but actually
dead
.

Vandal,
of the Light House stood before him, looking exactly the same as he had in the
history books Chason had been forced to study as a child.

The
Elementals most famous warrior and greatest cautionary tale.

Oh
shit.

“Stand
aside, Magnet King.  If possible, I would spare your life.  You could still
have use in the coming war.”

His
accent was formal and archaic.  The way Chason’s father had always
wished
Chason would speak.  Of course, this man would sound like that.  If he was
really still alive, then Vandal was the second oldest Phase in existence.

“You’re
the son-of-a-bitch you graffiti-ed my sky with light writing a couple months
ago.  And then again in the Light Kingdom.”  Something about Chason’s role in a
coming battle.  “What the hell do you want from me?”

“At
the moment, I am only here to retrieve the key.”

“Key?” 
What the fuck was going on?

“Chason,
what’s going on?”  The woman asked, pushing the bathroom door open.  “I heard
voices.”  She was wearing a purple bathrobe, her hair caught up in a towel.

Vandal
reacted like she was brandishing a machete at him.

The
woman let out a shriek of panic as he lunged at her.  Huge hands reached out to
grab her, either to hurt her or to jump her away from the Magnetland.

Chason
didn’t even think about his response.

“
No!
” 
He threw himself between Vandal and woman.  The Light Phase outweighed him by a
hundred pounds and topped him a foot.  Three hundred years of training every.
single. day. gave Chason better reaction time, though.  Just by half a second,
but it was enough.  He shoved the woman backwards, so that Vandal wound up
seizing him, instead.

The
woman tumbled back, hitting the bathroom floor with a cry of alarm.  The towel
on her head came untwisted, dark tresses tumbling free.

Vandal
hadn’t been expecting any interference.  He shoved Chason aside, but it was too
late.  Chason careened headfirst into the wall, his powers managing to slam the
bathroom door shut again, sealing the locking mechanism and trapping the woman
on the other side.

“Chason!” 
She beat against the wooden surface, trying to get back to him.

“Jump!” 
He bellowed.  “Go now!”  If she didn’t jump to safety Vandal would just crash
down the door.  Chason had only bought her a moment.

“You
are trying to stand in the way of destiny, boy.”  Vandal glowered at him.  “Gaia
herself wills this.  You can’t win against me and you know it.”

Of
course he knew it.

The
Light House bred only heroes and criminal, but Vandal had managed to be both. 
He’d been one of the greatest generals in Elemental History.  He’d saved
countless lives in battle, before becoming disillusioned with the Council and
deciding to take lives instead.  It had taken an army to stop this man the last
time he’d showed his face.

Vandal
was the greatest soldier in Elemental history, while Chason was unarmed, mostly
naked and half his size.

But,
he didn’t care.

Chason
faced him, blood dripping down his forehead.  “One of the benefits of being
crazy:  I’m too crazy to notice shit like that.”

Vandal
began to look annoyed.  “You make no sense.”  He drew his gigantic sword,
easily handling the massive weight.  “I feel the energy between you and the
woman is off.  How can you even be certain she is your real Match?”

“I
don’t believe anything’s ‘real,’ anymore.”  Chason said honestly.  The Magnet
powers shot out, ripping Vandal’s sword right from his hand and impaling it in
the ceiling high above.  “Except Magnetism, obviously.”

Black
eyes narrowed at the trick.  “I was lead to believe you were an honorable
warrior, Chason, of the Magnet House.  Using powers in a battle between
gentlemen is cheating.”

“You’re
not a gentleman, you traitorous bastard.  Neither am I.  Not anymore.”  Especially
not when it came to protecting his woman.  “Why are you after her?”

“For
the greater good.”

“What
the hell does that mean?”

The
woman gave up pounding to get back in.  Chason felt a surge of power and
realized she’d jumped out of the Magnetland.

Thank
God.

“It
doesn’t matter where she goes.”  Vandal told him.  “The Dark King’s coming is
preordained and she is the key.”  He took a step closer to Chason.  “Give her
to me and rejoice that you had even a small role to play in Gaia’s great plan.”

“No.” 
Chason said simply.

That
wasn’t what Vandal wanted to hear.  “Gaia has blessed the woman with the gift
to open the gates.”  He spoke slowly like Chason was just too stupid understand
his meaningless babble.  “You don’t see that as a true sign of Her will?”

“All
I see in a deranged, ranting asshole, who disgraced his House and people.”

Six
hundred years before, Vandal had led a force against the Agora itself and been
Banished forever.  That was the way the Elemental punished all the worst
criminals.  Cast out of Elemental society, Vandal was no longer welcomed
anywhere in the realm.  Alone and in hostile lands, this man was said to have died
centuries before.  There had been reports of him falling into an abyss or
something.

Obviously,
Vandal hadn’t read them.

“My
House deserted me!”  Vandal roared.  “It was their betrayal! 
They sided
with the
Council
.  Gaia saw that my actions were just.  As I
wandered in the wilderness, she sent a messenger to place me back on the true
path.”