Magic of the Wood House (The Elemental Phases Book 6) (21 page)

“How
do you win?”  She demanded, finishing off her own can of orange soda and
reaching for Sullivan’s.  “Is the popcorn ready, yet?”

“No,
in a minute.”  He began dealing the cards.  “To win, you have to get to
twenty-one.  See?  You have to add up the…”  He trailed off, his gaze cutting
over to the door.

A
second later, Teja heard it.  Boots climbing up the exterior stairs of the
trailer.  She felt her heart beat speed up, as the tension level in the room
ratcheted higher.  Teja looked over at Sullivan and Melanie.  “Stay back.”  She
ordered, even though they couldn’t hear her.  Teja walked towards the door,
deliberately stepping in front of her Match.

“Shit.” 
Sullivan muttered.  “He’s home already.”  His tone went dead, the way it did
whenever his dear old dad found his way back from the liquor store.  “Mel,
you’d better go.”

Melanie’s
eyes narrowed.  One little hand came over and latched onto Sullivan’s sleeve. 
“No.”

Sullivan
scowled.  “Mel, go out the back before…”

“No!” 
She interrupted.  “I’m not going to leave you here alone.”

In
the stubborn set of Melanie’s jaw, it was easy to see the woman who grew-up to
become Uriel, of the Wood House’s Match.  Melanie was still a bit of a nut. 
Sullivan was older, bigger, and stronger, but Melanie clearly saw herself as
his protector.

It
occurred to Teja that she might have some difficulties winning the girl over
back in the present.  God knew that Teja wasn’t known for her charm.  Her own
Match wanted to date other women.

Perfect.

As
if she didn’t have enough problems with her own family, now Teja had to deal
with an overprotective cousin-in-law, as well.  It was impossible to dislike
Melanie or to hold her attitude against her, though.  After all, Melanie was
trying to guard Sullivan and that was all a Fire Phase could ask of another
person.  Sullivan needed as many protectors as he could find.  For a human
barely out of babyhood, he got into a lot of trouble.

Teja’s
eyes narrowed as the door to the trailer swung open and Sullivan’s father came
stumbling in.  She didn’t need feelings to know how deeply she hated Jacob
Pryce.

She
was looking at the cause of all her Match’s trust issues.

Sullivan
backed up away from his father, dragging Melanie with him.  He shoved Melanie
behind him, as Jacob slammed into the living room.  The man reeked of liquor. 
Over six feet tall, with a thick chest and black ponytail, Jacob had once been
a handsome man.  Even through the bloated, jaundiced complexion that the
alcohol had given him, Jacob retained a certain boyishness.  He looked like a
down on his luck teen idol all grown-up and headed for rehab.  It was no wonder
that Flora had fallen for him.  Personally, Teja was glad that Sullivan looked
like his grandfather, though.  She’d take big and roughhewed over charming any
day.

Jacob
staggered sideways into the coffee table, sending the playing cards scattering everywhere. 
For some reason, he seemed to blame Melanie for his shaky equilibrium.  “Damn
kid.  I thought I told you to stay away from what’s mine.”  He glowered over at
the little girl.  “You cause nothin’ but problems, makin’ a mess and
distracting him from his chores.”

“Sullivan’s
mine, too.”  Melanie retorted.  “And he wants to see me.  We weren’t hurting
anything.”

Jacob’s
bloodshot eyes narrowed.  Something feral and dangerous moved behind his sneer. 
He’d never hit Sullivan, but that was only because he was terrified of Parson. 
At the moment, he didn’t seem sober enough to recall the Wood Phase’s threats,
though.

“So,
how come you’re back before happy hour, dad?”  Sullivan asked flatly.  “Bars
close early?”

Teja
wanted to laugh, even as she wished that Sullivan had just kept his mouth
shut.  Not everyone appreciated Sullivan’s wiseassery as much as she did. 
“Sheriff, don’t piss-off the drunk.”  She warned.  Jacob didn’t need a lot of
provocation before he went psycho.

Melanie
was apparently thinking the same thing, because her hand tightened on
Sullivan’s arm.

Sullivan
shook her off and moved closer to his father, drawing Jacob’s attention away
from Melanie.  “It’s my house, too, and I want Mel here.”

“
Your
house?!”  Jacob retorted.  “This is
my
fucking house, boy. 
Mine
! 
I
pay the rent. 
I
lived here with your mother, before you killed
her by bein’ born. 
I
belong here.  You’re just a trespasser in my
life.”

“Bastard.” 
Teja bit-off angrily.

Sullivan’s
face didn’t change, but she could tell that the words hurt him.  The kid wanted
to belong.  Whether it was because of his crappy home life or the powers he was
suppressing, Sullivan felt different from the other humans, though.  As the
memories went on, Teja saw how he withdrew further and further into his own
world.

Aside
from his grandparents and cousin, he didn’t seem to care about much.  No wonder
Sullivan just endured whatever happened with calm, self-possession.  He was
used to not fitting in and keeping aloof from people.  It made him apathetic
and stoic about everything that he endured.

Teja
should be happy about that.

It
meant that Sullivan would never push her about their relationship.  He wouldn’t
demand that she love him.  He’d just go along with what Teja offered, always
holding himself apart.  Hell, if she renounced him, Sullivan would probably
just nod and walk away.  It was exactly what Teja needed from a Match.  Plenty
of time to herself, no emotional entanglements, and a healthy distance between
them.  It was ideal for everyone.

Except
it made her furious.

“If
you don’t want Sullivan here, then he can come home with me.”  Melanie told Jacob. 
“Or he can go live with Grandma and Grandpa.”

“Your
high and mighty family thinks they can steal him from me!”  Jacob jabbed a
finger at Melanie.  “But, no one’s taking my boy.  He’s mine, you stupid,
little bitch.”

“I’m
telling my grandpa you said that.”  Melanie snapped.

Jacob
took a menacing step towards her and Sullivan shifted back into his father’s
path.

Teja
swore.

“Mel,
go home.”  Sullivan ordered, without taking his eyes off of his father.

Jacob
grabbed Sullivan by the arm and tried to push him aside, intent on getting to
Melanie.

Sullivan,
for the first time in all the memories, shoved his father back.  Jacob stumbled
backwards a step and fell against the cheap paneling of the wall.

Sullivan
looked shocked, but he didn’t back down.  He moved his hand out, keeping
Melanie behind him.  The popcorn began to burn on the stove.

Teja
watched a red heat suffuse Jacob’s face and knew what was about to happen. 
“No.”  She breathed.  “Sullivan, please, run.”  Sullivan was tall, but he was
still a kid.  There was no way in the world he could put up a fight against his
father.  Jacob was drunk and mean and about to take all his frustrations out on
Sullivan.

Sullivan
knew it, too.  “Mel,
go
.”  He ordered, again.

Melanie
paled slightly, as she stared at her uncle’s enraged face.

“You
son-of a bitch.”  Teja fixed her eyes on Jacob and knew that she couldn’t do a
damn thing to stop this.  “If you touch my Match, I swear to God, I’ll dig up
your bones and feed them to dogs.”

Jacob
launched himself at his son, his massive fist slamming into Sullivan’s jaw. 
Sullivan hit the floor with a gasp of pain, just in time for Jacob to send a
brutal kick to his midsection.  Sullivan shoved back at his father’s leg and
tried to get to his feet, but Jacob beat him down, with another punch to
Sullivan’s face.

Melanie
ran for the door, screaming for Parson at the top of her lungs.

Teja
felt something inside of her crack as another kick sent Sullivan flying towards
the kitchen.  Feelings started to leak through.  Her powers exploded outward,
unable to find a target in the memory space, but sizzling the air itself with
the force of her rage.

“Son-of-a-
bitch
!” 
She roared.  “
I will fucking kill you
!”

Teja
couldn’t watch as Jacob grabbed Sullivan by his shirtfront and lugged him
towards the stove.  The popcorn fell to the stained linoleum, the burnt kernels
crunching under Jacob’s boots.  She actually raised her hands to cover her
ears, trying to block out the horrific sounds of the grinding of popcorn into
the floor, Sullivan’s cursing, and Jacob’s fists.

He
pushed his son against the stove and Teja knew how Sullivan got his scar.  Jacob
shoved her Match’s face against the hot burner and Teja couldn’t hear
Sullivan’s screaming over her own.  She wasn’t sure if she was actually using
words or if it was just noise.  Blinded by the horror of it, Teja squeezed her
eyes closed.  It was like being back in the Fall.  The smell of smoldering
flesh mixed with the burn popcorn, turning her stomach and reminding her of the
pyres.

Only
worse.

So
much worse.

Because
this was Sullivan.

In
spite of her own best efforts, Teja knew that she felt something for this man
that went into the very core of her being.  Something that snuck past the icy
barriers she’d erected and straight into her frozen heart.

Jacob
tossed Sullivan to the ground and Teja sank down next to him.  “It’s alright. 
You’ll be alright.”  Since Sullivan couldn’t hear her, the words were for her
own benefit.  She looked up at Jacob with so much hate that it wasn’t even an
emotion.  It was a hot a living thing inside of her.

A
miasma covered the scene now, as if Sullivan’s memory was getting cloudy or
maybe Teja’s own mind was just doing her a favor and dulling the edges of it. 
She wasn’t certain how Sullivan could’ve stayed conscious, but his Wood Phase
brown eyes flicked around as if --in his dazed state-- he could somehow sense
that Teja was there.

…Except
he
couldn’t
be that strong, right?

Being
able to interact during a memory-sharing was something only a Phase like Job
could do.  It took tremendous, universe-spinning, mind-bending energy. 
Certainly, it was beyond the capabilities of a mostly-human child.  It
had
to be.

“Sullivan,
I’m here.”  She told him, anyway.  “I’m right beside you.  You’re not alone.  Just
stay with me.”

“I
should have finished you off years ago, for what you did to me!”  Jacob
roared.  “Stole my wife!  Ruined my
life!
”  There was a crazed look on
his face.  The man was totally out of control and set on killing his son.

He
reached down again, as if he planned on strangling Sullivan right there on the
kitchen floor.  Sullivan’s injured body was like a rag doll in his grasp.

“Sullivan!” 
Teja shouted, terrified that her Match was about be murdered right before her
eyes.  “
Don’t you leave me!
”

Jacob
never saw the jungle vines coming.  They ripped through the floor of the
trailer, wrapping around him like pythons and holding him back.  Jacob bellowed
in rage and shock as they lifted him right off the ground and pinned him to the
ceiling like something out of
Poltergeist
.

Teja’s
mouth parted in astonishment.

Sullivan.

He
wasn’t even aware that he’d used his powers.  He didn’t seem to be aware of
much at all, in fact.  Sullivan just lay on the floor struggling to breathe and
staring unseeingly at the spot where Teja was standing.  But, that was
his
Wood energy at work, controlling the plants and keeping him safe.

She’d
known that he was strong, but she’d never expected something on this scale.

Sullivan
had heard Teja call to him.  She knew it.  He’d heard her and he’d kept
fighting.  At thirteen, Sullivan created those massive vines without even
trying.  That was incredible.  Not even a full-blooded Elemental child would’ve
been able to do that.  Even more incredible was the fact that he’d clearly kept
his vast energy harnessed all this time.  Sullivan’s powers had come out
because he was in shock.

His
powers weren’t dormant.

Sullivan
had just kept them chained inside of him for so long, that he’d forgotten that
they were even there.  No wonder he was always so controlled.  His whole life
was built on hiding huge pieces of who he was from everyone… including
himself.  God only knew what he’d be capable of if he ever dropped the walls.  They
must’ve drained huge amounts of energy and Sullivan wasn’t even consciously
maintaining them.  It was impossible.  No one could do that.

Except
Sullivan
was
.

Her
Match was one of the strongest Phases ever born

Jacob
continued to scream and struggle against his leafy prison.  Sullivan didn’t seem
to notice his father’s Venus flytrap-like predicament.  He rolled onto his
side, as if he was planning to get to his feet.

“Sullivan,
no.  Stay still.”  Teja ordered.  She might as well of been talking to
herself.  Which she sort of
was
, obviously.  Sullivan continued to move,
half crawling, towards the door.  Warriors always kept going.  It was who they
were.