Queen of the Magnetland (The Elemental Phases Book 5) (25 page)

There
was a sudden surge of energy signally someone jumping into the fortress.  Her
head snapped around to stare at the doorway in alarm, moving to protect Chason
as best she could.  What could she do to ensure his safety if…?

“Chason?” 
A perfectly modulated male voice called.  “Are you here?”

“Job!” 
Mara’s eyes widened as she realized who had arrived in the fortress.  “Job,
we’re up here!  Please hurry, Chason’s hurt!”

There
was a pounding of footsteps on the stairs and Job appeared in the doorway.  He
looked the same as he always did, except his tie seemed much more colorful than
Mara ever remembered him wearing before.

She
was so relieved to see him, she nearly cried.  “Job, quick!  Help him!”

Job
gaped at her,
his normally unreadable face going blank with shock.

A
mountain of man with the looks of a dragon appeared behind him.  Mara had never
seen him before.  She would definitely have remembered.

“Who’s
that?”  He asked Job.  “She’s wearing my mother’s necklace.”

“It’s
Mara.”  Job’s voice was barely a sound.

“Oh.” 
The dragon said.  “Isn’t she dead?”

“
Do
something!
”  Mara screamed when they just stood there.  “He’s been shot!”

“Shot?” 
The dragon stalked over and crouched down beside her.  “Guns don’t work on
Elementals.  Believe me I’ve tried.”  He examined Chason’s chest as if he was
convinced she was mistaken and he’d find a stab wound, instead.

Mara
watched him pale as he studied bullet hole.  “What is it?  Will he be alright?”

“Whatever
weapon did this, it’s not supposed to be here.”

“Kingu,
can you tell if she’s… real?”  Job got out.

The
man called Kingu pulled his attention away from Chason.  “I never met the
original woman, but this one seems passable.”  He looked over at the Earth
King.  “If you wish I could do some experiments…”

“No,
I just…”  Job seemed completely overwhelmed as he turned to Mara.  “How did Chason
bring you back?”

“It
wasn’t him!  It was a Time Phase named Daphne.  She gave me the necklace right
before I died and it protected me somehow.”

“Ah,
that explains it.”  Kingu agreed.  “The pendant can do many things, even in the
hands of idiots.”

“There
is no Time Phase named Daphne.”  Job declared authoritatively.

Mara
glowered at him.  “Well, I think she’d beg to differ.”

Job
was clearly still suspicious.

Mara
didn’t care.  “Look, I don’t have time to do this right now!  Please just help Chason.
 If you’re mad that I’m alive, I’m sorry.  But, don’t let Chason die because of
it.  He doesn’t even believe I’m me. 
Please
, Job.”

Her
words seemed to get through to him.  Job blinked, his attention shifting to
Chason’s still form.  “He’s dying?  From a gun?”  He sounded incredulous.

“
Yes!
”

“The
Magnet Phase doesn’t know your own Match?”  Kingu snorted.  “Fool.  I would
know my Match anywhere.”  He looked back at Mara.  “Hope and I are destiny,
though.  Not all are so fortunate.”  He brightened.  “Have you heard we are
having a daughter?”

Job
snapped out of his trance and moved into the room.  “What really happened to
Chason?  Who did this?”

“Vandal,
of the Light House attacked us.”  Mara moved over slightly so Job could crouch
down beside her.

“Vandal’s
alive?  How can that be?”  Job’s eyes went to Kingu.  “Was he hiding in the
Cloudland with the others?”

“No. 
I would have seen him.  The man was reportedly dead.”

“Well
he was here two minutes ago.”  Mara tried to keep from sobbing.  “Chason’s
losing too much blood.  We have to get him to Freya.”  The doctor was Chason’s
only hope.

“We’ll
jump Chason to the Cold Kingdom, right now.”  Job put his hand on Chason’s chest,
his eyes processing the damage.  “Kingu, do you recognize the kind of bullet
that did this?”

“No. 
That’s the problem.”

Mara
blinked at him in confusion.  “What?”

“I
know all the weapons there are in this universe.  The gun that created that
wound,” Kingu pointed at Chason’s chest, “does not come from our world.  If a
Time Phase is involved, I’m guessing that this weapon came from the future.”

So what’s
the use to all your judgment and energy?

It's the
elements.  You can't go against God and fate.

Anton
Chekhov-“The Wife”

This
vision feels different.

Closer
somehow.  Something mysterious and important appears in front of him. 
Something Raiden’s never seen before.

Stones,
with carved markings on them, are arranged in a circle.

They
look like Stonehenge only… older.  It seems as if no one has been here for
thousands of generations, but he knows that this part of the vision isn’t
happening in future.  At least, not far into it.  The stones are here
now
and they play a part.  Even covered in vines and dirt, they glow with
energy.

Raiden
glances up at the sky and finds it obscured by impossibly tall trees.  He knows
there is only one place this scene could be and that something important will
happen there very soon.

He
needs to…

Raiden’s
eyes opened against the musty smelling mattress of his cell, breathing hard.

The
Light Kingdom.

Those
stones were in the Light Kingdom and they would be involved in the ruined
future.  Raiden needed to get to the monoliths and find out why.  Find a way to
stop them from doing whatever it was they’d do.

Where
was he?  He had to leave.

There
was so much he needed to do before midnight.

Raiden
turned his face and saw he was surrounded by Plexiglas.  He was instantly
bombarded with images of Phases suffering and dying in this forgotten Smoke
House dungeon.  Sometimes he could sense the past, as well as the future.  It
was never a pleasant experience.  Mara had recently been held in the cell next
to his.  He could still feel the traces of her and Chason’s energy.

Chason.

Was
the Magnet King dead?

The
fog in Raiden’s mind vanished under a tide of panic. Was he too late?  He
jolted upright, his eyes going to readout on his watch.  No.  He let out a
breath of relief.  He still had time.  Not much time, but for now Chason was
still alive.

Raiden’s
brain was pounding in his skull, but he wasn’t sure if it was from tension or
the blow he’d taken.  It didn’t matter.  He just had to get out of there.

He
looked out at a dark haired man who was leaning against the wall across from
the cell.  The guy looked like he’d recently taken a beating. Now he was playing
Angry Birds on his iPhone, his bicycle chain bracelet clinking as he moved his
hand.  He could only be Zakkery, of the Smoke House.  The Union Jack high tops
were fairly distinctive.

Apparently,
Raiden had finally found his quarry.  Or rather his quarry had found him.

Raiden’s
jaw tightened as he remembered everything that happened.  This man had knocked
him out cold.  How could Zakkery have
possibly
designed such an ambush? 
No one had known that Raiden would be in that garden.

A
new and terrifying thought pierced his pounding skull.

Once
Raiden had been unconscious… Zakkery must have been alone with Fee.

Something
like fear moved through Raiden’s chest, his own fate and the destruction of the
world abruptly becoming unimportant.

“Oh
good you’re awake.”  Zakkery sighed and set his game down.  “Look, I know you
must be pissed, but I was just following orders.”

“Where
is she?”

Zakkery
blinked.  “Huh…?”

Raiden
cut him off, trying, and probably failing, to hide his panic.  “Where
is
she?  Did you harm her?”

Understanding
dawned on Zakkery’s face.  “Ohhh…. The
child
.”  He met Raiden’s eyes
steadily.  “She’s fine.  Don’t worry.  I left her right there in her garden.”

Raiden
let out a long breath.  On some level, he believed him.  He’d know if Fee was
harmed.  Still…  “If you touch her, I will kill you and then myself, so I can
follow you into hell and kill you some more.”

“Well,
that’s graphic.”  Zakkery made a face.  “Seriously, dude, your Match is
fine
. 
That girl is in no danger from me.  I give you my word.”

The
Smoke Phase knew Fee was Raiden’s Match?

How?

Raiden
stared at him, trying to figure out Zakkery’s game.  “And I should take the
word of a criminal?”

“Like
your past is so lily white.”  Zakkery retorted.  “Look, everything I’m doing,
I’m doing because I want my Match, too, okay?  I get it.  You’re upset.  But,
we’re kinda stuck with each other, so we might as well make the best of it.  I
swear on my life, the child is safe and sound in her house.  Alright?”

No,
it wasn’t alright.

“Let
me out of here.”  Raiden ordered.  “Now.”

“Wouldn’t
that be kinda silly, considering the trouble I just went through to lock you
up?

Raiden
paced behind the plastic door to his cage, his eyes scanning the cell for a way
out.  If Fee was safe, he could refocus on his other missions.  “Why am I
here?”

“Maybe
I just like your company.”

If
Raiden could’ve reached him, the Smoke Phase would’ve been a head shorter.  Questions
bombarded him and, for once, he saw no answers in his mind.  “How did you know
where I’d be?”  And more importantly.  “What could
possibly
hope to gain
by keeping me in this cage?”

“
A
lot
of people are getting locked up recently.  It’s supposed to be some
kind of predestined pattern of unification or something.”  He shrugged.  “I
don’t know.  I kinda breezed out during the explanation of why there was so
much ‘recurring circality.’”  He made air quotes around the phrase and
snorted.  “I don’t even think
circality
is a word, but it apparently
likes to see folks tossed in prison.”

He
was talking about some kind of alignment.

Shit.

That
would only happen if key pieces were moving into new positions.

Raiden
drew in a deep breath.  “You need to release me, before you doom the universe.”

“Wow,
you
really
just said that, didn’t cha?”

Goddamn
it, why didn’t people just
listen
to him?  “You must know who I am.  You
know
I see the future.  If you don’t let me go immediately, the
repercussions will be unimaginable.”

“Oh,
I bet you say that every time you get into trouble.”  He adopted a gravely
imitation Raiden’s ruined voice.  “I see the future.  If you give me that jaywalking
citation, unimaginable repercussions will befall…”

“It’s
not a fucking joke.”

“Everything
is kind of a joke, when you look at it big picture.”  Zakkery refocused on his
video game.  “Anyway, here’s the deal, pally.  I
know
you’re supposed to
die tonight protecting Chason, of the Magnet House.”

Raiden
glanced at him sharply.

“I
know that plays into some bigger war.  A war that
no one
wins.  And I
know the only way to change that outcome is keep you off the board for a while. 
You’re sort of the pivotal pawn in cosmic chess, which means you can’t go out
and play after school today, son.”

Raiden
blinked.  “No.”  It was the only thing he could think to say.

“No?”

“
No.
” 
Raiden flattened his palms against the plastic door.  Seeing the black nail polish
Fee had dumped on his thumb made his heart pound even faster.  This couldn’t
happen.  He wouldn’t
let
it happen.  “This is my final day alive.  I’ve
seen it.  I save Chason and the world is preserved. 
That must happen.
”

At
three minutes to midnight Chason would perish and the future would end… unless
Raiden died in his place.  It was all so clear.  Even new visions of the ruined
future couldn’t change what had to happen.  Raiden
had
to die.

Zakkery
looked unimpressed with that plan.  “Sorry, but we’ve interrupted your regularly
scheduled destiny.  Nothin’ personal.”

“You
can’t do this.” Raiden scraped a hand over his shaved head and tried to sound
reasonable.  “Without Chason, the entire world will suffer.”

“Chason’s
not going to die, either.”  Zakkery hesitated.  “Well, probably not.  I’ll
admit, I’m a little sketchy about that part of the overall strategy.”

For
the time being, Raiden didn’t know or care who Zakkery was working with.  “Whatever
your ‘strategy’ is, it’s wrong.  It destroys us
all
.”  He glanced down
at his watch, willing the numbers to slow their relentless countdown.  “I’ve
seen it in my visions.  I’ve
seen
what will happen if I’m still alive in
ten hours.”

“I
have it on good authority that the world
after
you die isn’t so great,
either.”

It
wasn’t, but it was still better than the bleak emptiness of his visions.

Raiden
didn’t know how much of the future Zakkery was privy to, but it didn’t matter. 
The results would be the same regardless.  “Fate has a plan.  Disrupting it means
countless ripples in the pond that change
everything
.”

“Maybe
that’s the point.”  Zakkery retorted.  “Maybe this
is
fate’s plan.  Maybe
Gaia didn’t like the outcome of that other future and she wants us to rewrite
it.”

The
boy didn’t understand.

Raiden
tried a different tactic.  “You saw my Match.”

As
insane as it was, a small part of him was
glad
that someone else knew
that Fee was his.  That he could finally call her his Match out loud.  When he
was gone, no one else would know who he’d been to her.

“Yeah,
I saw her.”

He
met Zakkery’s wary eyes.  “You say you desire a Match of your own.  Imagine if
she’d been given to you as child.  Helpless and innocent and small… and
you
are all that’s standing between her and the coming darkness.  What would you do
to protect her?”

Zakkery
winced.

Raiden
kept going, more words than he usually spoke in a month pouring out of him.  “Today,
it will be my life or Fee’s.  My future or hers.  Look at me and tell me which
you would choose if she was your Match.  What would
your
choice be in my
situation?”

Zakkery
sighed.  “Honestly, I’d do the same damn thing that you want to, even if it meant
saving that asshole Chason.  But, this
isn’t
your choice.  Today we’re
changing the future, whether you like it or not.”  He met Raiden’s gaze.  “Trust
me your Match will be okay.”

“I
have never trusted anyone in my
fucking life
and I’m not going to start
with
you.
”  Raiden had spent centuries maintaining control and now his
temper snapped.  Pissing off a Radiation Phase was never a good idea.  If
Raiden hadn’t been locked behind plastic, Zakkery would’ve been nuked into ash. 
“
Open this goddamn door!
”  He slammed his fists against the Plexiglas
wall so hard the entire cell shook.

Zakkery
took a step back.  “Yeah… Why don’t I go and get us some lunch.  Give you a
chance to think things over and not want to kill me.  You like Chinese?  Sure
ya do.  Everyone likes Chinese.  Just meditate about eggrolls and be zen. 
Wait.  That might be Japan.”

“You
son-of-a-bitch!  If I’m not dying today,
I swear to Christ,
I’ll make
sure you and everyone else involved in this dies
tomorrow.
”

“Nobody’s
gonna die.  Vandal shot Chason, but he’ll live.  Everything’s gonna be fine.  Just
stay calm and I’ll be back in later.”  Zakkery jumped out of the room without
waiting for a response.

“
What!
” 
Raiden roared even though there was no way Zakkery could hear him.  “Are you out
of your mind?! 
Vandal’s not the one who kills Chason!
”