Magic of the Wood House (The Elemental Phases Book 6) (26 page)

Pele
snickered at that.

“Eian
give it a rest.”  Nia, of the Shadow House rolled her eyes.  “You know they’re
innocent.  If the Fire House wanted to destroy the Cold Kingdom, they wouldn’t
have stopped with just the palace.  It would be a wasteland.”

Alder
smiled, as if imagining that picturesque scene.

“Also,
since when do the Fire Phases
plan
attacks?”  Nia went on.  “They don’t
carefully rig bombs, for Gaia’s sake.  People just get in their way and they’re
stabbed a bunch of times.”  She shook her head at Eian.  “Honestly, you should
have just listened to Job and saved us all
hours
of our day.”

“Agreed.” 
Gion, of the Water House nodded.  The Water House and Shadow House always voted
together and they nearly always voted with Job.  “Not that I wouldn’t jump at
the chance to Banish Djinn, but I’ve seen that footage from the Cold Kingdom. 
There are two Tejas running around at the end of it. 
Obviously,
someone
set the Fire House up.”

Other
Houses started loudly disagreeing with that assessment.  Gion was hated enough
that a sizable number of Phases would loudly disagree if he said water was wet.

“Of
course
you’d
side with murderers!”  Anton, of the Dust House shouted. 
“You’re just like them, Gion.  A fucking plague on civilized people.  It’s a
travesty that you aren’t being Banished, too.”

Gion
smirked.  “I guess it’s just a matter of time until someone barrows my handsome
face and bombs something, then.  Personally, I’m hoping my imposter gets
you
. 
It would make getting ‘framed’ almost worth it.”  He added air-quotes to the
word.

Anton’s
eyes widened at the warning.

“Gion’s
one of Job’s favorites.”  Eian interjected, with a pointed look around.  “The
Water House, the Shadow House, the Magnet House, the Fire House… They’re all
protected.  We all know
nothing
happens to Job’s favorites, no matter
how many laws they break.”

Job’s
eyebrow rose at the idea of
Djinn
being one of his favorites.

Mara,
Queen of the Magnet House cleared her throat.  “If the Fire House had bombed
the Cold Kingdom, I believe they’d admit it.”  She said and everyone paid
attention.  Mara was universally loved.  She’d been sitting on the Council for
several weeks now and people fell all over themselves to listen to her every
word.  “They have done questionable things in the past, but they’ve never
lied
about them.  On the contrary, they always seem quite proud of their criminal
accomplishments.”

“That’s
a good point.”  Alder nodded.  “If we’d done this, we’d be
happy
about
it.  We don’t like him.”  He gestured towards Eian.  “The guy’s a dick.”

“Seconded.”
 Frankie raised a palm.

Eian
wasn’t about to make an enemy of Mara --the woman was untouchable-- but he
clearly wasn’t happy about her dissent.  “They’re gangsters.  Who knows why
they do what they do?”

“Well,
without knowing the facts, how do you expect us to vote to Banish them?”  Mara
shook her dark head.  “There isn’t enough evidence.  It’s not right.”

“You
know what’s
not right
.”  Eian hissed out through clenched teeth.  “My
palace being reduced to a fucking puddle!”

At
least a dozen Houses frowned at him for swearing at the Magnet Queen.

Job
picked up his coffee mug.  Nia was his nephew Cross’s Match and she’d given it
to him when she became pregnant.  It featured a gaggle of baby ducks and the
words “World’s Best Uncle-To-Be.”

“Eian,
what were you doing in the Agora today?”  He asked calmly.  There was no way
Job would allow this Banishment to happen, but he’d prefer to let Eian screw it
up himself.  Stopping the Fire House’s trial by force would just lead to more
acrimony on all sides.  Better to give Eian enough rope to hang himself.  “I
checked into it and it seems that you were supposed to be at meetings in the
Cold Palace all day.”

Djinn
looked at him sharply, realizing that Job believed him about Eian setting all
this up.

“Thanks
Gaia I had a last minute change of plans.”  Eian adjusted his cufflinks.

Job
settled back in his chair.  “Yes.  It was… miraculous.”

Eian’s
eyes narrowed.  “You think
I
had something to do with the attack?  Need
I remind you that my sister is still missing?”

“I
also checked that.  Freya wasn’t supposed to be in the Cold Kingdom, either.”

Eian
started to snap a reply, but he was interrupted when the double-doors at the
back of the Council Hall slammed open.  The assembly let out a startled gasp as
they realized who’d arrived.  Teja and Sullivan stood there, along with Freya
and all five of the Light Phases.  None of them looked happy.

Eian
paled like he’d seen a ghost.

Job’s
mouth slowly curved.

“Hey,
Tej.”  Djinn shouted without bothering to turn around.  “Glad you could finally
join the party.”

There has
been an element [here] hostile to me from the first,

and during
your trial and sentence these persons have used every effort

to spread
a feeling against me.

Hamlin
Garland- "The Eagle's Heart"

Christmas
Evening

Teja
watched as her Match faced down the Council of All Houses.

Half
the room refused to believe a word the Fire Phases said.  Half were eager to
blame Eian for everything.  With the Council at an impasse, all eyes went to
Sullivan to break the tie.  He was the only thing the majority of Elementals
could agree on.  Not even the most cynical observers doubted the word of a Wood
Phase.  Their House had always been the hopelessly moral and Sullivan himself
was at the top of every Elemental popularity poll.

Whichever
side he supported would win and it was pretty clear who her Match liked best. 
He was standing in front of the Fire Phases, like he was protecting them. 
Which he sort of
was.

Teja’s
mouth curved.

Sullivan
was treating the Council Hall like it was any other human courtroom.  It
occurred to Teja that he was probably the most qualified person here to deal
with criminal trials.  Being a cop, he probably did stuff like this every
week.  It didn’t intimidate him, at all.  But, then
nothing
intimidated
Sullivan Pryce.

“At
that point, I realized that there were two sets of Fire Phases.”  He said, his
eyes on Job.  “I made the statement that I believed they were being framed.  I
could identify physical differences between the real Fire Phases and the fake
ones.  Also, they used weapons that the actual Fire House wouldn’t need to
commit arson.”

“They
were tricking you!”  Eian thundered.  “You’re a child.  You cannot…”

Sullivan
cut him off.  “Most tellingly, I was standing
with
the real Fire Phases,
while they were
watching
the imposters on TV.  They couldn’t be in two
places at once.  It’s empirical fact that there were
two sets of Fire Phases
.” 
His voice was emphatic.  “A fact you well know, Eian, since you
told
me
you were working with Vandal and planning something like this.”

All
eyes went to Eian.

The
Cold King swallowed, realizing Sullivan had his memories back.  “He’s just a
human.”  He desperately looked around for support.  “The boy has no idea what
he’s saying.”

“He
appears cognizant to me.”  Gion drawled.  “Personally, I have no use for that
human, but I’ve always found him to be drearily forthright.”

Sullivan
flashed Gion a glare.  The two of them had never gotten alone, because Teja’s
Match had excellent taste.

Except
in furniture.

“The
Fire House brainwashed him.”  Eian insisted, his eyes still cutting around the
room and finding nothing but closed faces.  “They’ve somehow convinced him to
invent this story.”

“It’s
quite
a story for them to concoct.”  Cam, of the Heat House drawled.  He
glanced at Djinn.  “I’ve never known you to be such a gifted weaver of tales. 
Unless you count the
Penthouse Forum
shit.”

“Hey,
that all fucking happened.”  Djinn retorted.  “Ask Pele.”

“Gion’s
right.”  Ty, of the Water House put in from the gallery, agreeing with her
Match and sparing them all from endless recitations of Djinn and Pele’s
sexploits.  Ty hated public speaking, but she apparently liked Sullivan enough
to speak up on his behalf.  “I mean, not the ‘dreary’ part, but Sullivan Pryce
is always very honest.”  She nodded.  “He’s my friend.  I know him and I
guarantee he has
not
been mind-controlled.  I don’t think he
could
be mind-controlled, actually.  He’s far too obstinate.”

Sullivan
sent Ty a half smile.

Teja
rolled her eyes towards to the ceiling.  Why did her Match have to have such a
huge fan club of pretty girls?  Granted, Sullivan’s popularity was about to
save the Fire Houses’ necks, but it still got old.  Especially, since Teja’s
hold on him was so sketchy.  Until she figured out a way to Phaze with Sullivan,
he could still slip away.  It all went back to the trust thing.  If she could
just get Sullivan to trust her, he’d see what was already so damn clear.

They
belonged
together.

“If
Sullivan hasn’t been brainwashed, then he’s lying.”  Eian tried frantically. 
“He’s trying to protect Teja and he’s willing to perjure himself to do it.”

“
You’re
the one who’s lying, spiteful son-of-a-bitch!”  Melanie snapped.

“The
boy is Parson’s grandson.”  Abram, of the Wood House thundered at the same
time.  “He’s the direct decedent one of our greatest warriors.  No one would
doubt his word.”

“Well,
Eian isn’t a liar, either.”  Freya objected and then paused, shooting her
brother a suspicious frown.  “At least, not usually.”

“What
the hell is that supposed to mean?!”  He bellowed back.

“You
tell me, Eian.”

The
Hall descended to shouting for the fiftieth time that day.

“This
is the best trial I’ve ever had.”  Alder stage-whispered at Teja.  “But, only
my second best Christmas.”

“Third
best.”  Missy corrected.  “Remember that time with Frankie in New Jersey.”

Alder’s
face spread into a delighted grin.  “When we crossed the Delaware and fought
beside those Hessian dudes?  Yeah, that was awesome.”

“No,
we
killed
the Hessians.”  Pele corrected.  “Until that dipshit
Washington took the rest of them prisoner.”  She snorted.  “Frankie just
looooved
Washington.  Gods knows why.  The Redcoats were way better dressers.”

“They
both liked little horses.”  Hope reminded her over Satour’s snoring.  “They saw
them at the circus together that time.”

“That
was with
Lincoln
.”  Pele frowned.  “I think.  All those president guys look
the same.  Except the cute one.”  She sent Djinn a sideways glare.

“I
did not shoot Kennedy!”  Djinn roared, anticipating her next remark.  “How many
times do I have to tell you that, huh?!”

Pele
sniffed, unconvinced.

Kingu
disregarded all of them, flipping through a baby name book.  “What about
‘Kingina’ for our daughter, Hope?”

“Is
that even a name?”  Qadesh demanded skeptically.  “I don’t think that’s a
name.”

Alder
squinted in deep concentration.  “Wait, we were supposed to be on the
Americans’
side of the Revolutionary War?”  He laughed uproariously at that belated news. 
“Whoops.”

Teja
closed her eyes and prayed for patience.  She
really
should’ve requested
a separate hearing.

“There
is only one explanation for this!”  Eian shouted over the din.  He was being
backed into a corner and coming out swinging.  “I should have seen it before. 
The Fire House are too stupid to have conceived of this scheme on their own.” 
He nodded like a zealous preacher with the spirit upon him.  “We all know there
is only
one species
destructive and duplicitous enough to plot something
this vile.”  He jabbed a finger at Sullivan.  “The
human
is the
mastermind behind this whole plot!  It was all
his doing!
”

Gasps
filled the Council Hall.

Teja’s
eyes narrowed.

Sullivan
just looked amused.  “Really? 
That’s
going to be your defense?”

“We’ve
all heard the rumors that he has the Happiness box.”  Eian continued with
fanatical zeal.  “All sorts of thugs have been looking for him lately.  We were
thinking they wanted to find the Tablet, but really they’ve been
working
for him.  I was naive to defend the human!  It’s clear now that Sullivan Pryce
is out to destroy all of us!”

Djinn’s
brows compressed, annoyed that Sullivan was stealing all the credit.  He looked
over at Pele.  “Why’s the human get to be mastermind?”

“Bullshit.” 
Pele agreed loudly.  “
This
is the kid’s big plan to rescue us.  You see
what a frigging ‘mastermind’ he is?  I’d be better off with
Job
planning
my terrorist attack.”

Job
arched a brow.  “Thanks.”  He said wryly.

Eian
wasn’t giving up.  Sullivan was popular, but many of the Elementals still held
anti-human prejudice.  He began urgently appealing to the lowest common
denominator.  “The human even admits that he knew about this Star of Bethlehem. 
He
surely
planted it in my kingdom.”

“
Vandal
had that bomb.”  Rysimer growled and the other Light Phases nodded.

“You
don’t have any proof of that.”  Eian retorted.  “And your House’s reputation is
hardly enough to just accept your word alone.  What we
do
know is that
the bomb is a
human
weapon.  The Fire House has always hated the Cold
Kingdom.  So, they recruited a human to pretend to be Teja’s Match and
smuggled…”

Teja
cut him off.  “
Pretend
.”  She repeated in a dangerous voice.

Most
people had the good sense to step back.

Sullivan
glanced at her over his shoulder.  “Darlin’; no one is listening to his lies. 
Don’t get upset.”

Teja
was
waaaaay
passed upset.  Eian was threatening her Match.  Something
very much like an emotion flooded her.  “Does anyone here believe that Sullivan
is making all this up?”
 She looked around.  “Does anyone want to tell
me that he
isn’t
the best person in this room?  Because, if
any of
you
have something to say about my Match, this debate is about to get
a
lot more fucking heated!
”  The last part came out as a roar.

Teja’s
duel powers slipped as her temper detonated.  Small flames ignited in midair,
sparking throughout the vast space.  At the same time, snow began falling from
the ceiling, the frosty particles swirling in miniature blizzards.  Phases slid
down in the chairs, afraid they were about to be flash-fried and then frozen
solid by her wrath.

Job’s
mouth twitched.

Sullivan
stared at her, a strange expression on his face.

Melanie
crossed her arms over her chest and smirked.  “See?  Teja gets it.”

“Sullivan
has never been anything but patient with us.”  Teja continued.  “I have no clue
why, but he’s painfully tolerant of all things Elemental.  He’s never locked
any of us in Mayport’s jail without cause, and --Gaia knows-- we annoy him
enough.”

Nia
and Ty nodded ruefully at that.

“He’s
never taken advantage of the fact every un-Matched woman here has propositioned
him.”  Teja glowered out at his crowd of supporters.  “He never slept with
any
of you, because he knew you
aren’t
his Match
.
”

“Hell,
I’ll sleep with him, anyway.”  Hallie, of the Weather House volunteered with a
grin.  “The guy’s so damn pretty.”

Teja
decided to get her for that later.  Right now, she had bigger problems.  “Sullivan
has had video evidence that we aren’t human for months and he’s never exposed
us on the internet, or to his government, or to scientists in white lab coats. 
Which is kind of a shame,” she glanced over at Gion, “’cause you and Chason
would’ve looked just
beautiful
strapped to a dissection table.”

“Chason
looks beautiful all the time.”  Mara murmured dryly.

Kahn,
of the Light House was Mara’s cousin.  He shuddered at that remark.

“Gion
is very sorry for the Home Depot fight.”  Ty assured the Council.

Gion
snorted.  “No, I’m not, angel.”

Teja
ignored that.  “And now Sullivan’s here defending the people who kidnapped him.” 
She waved a hand at her family.  “We didn’t
brainwash
him or hire him to
mastermind a bombing plot.  We threw him in a dungeon!  He has no reason to lie
for us and every reason to want us gone.  We insulted him, and nearly got him
blown up, and made him watch inane holiday specials on TV.”

“That’s
true.”  Missy piped-up.  “Sullivan was very annoyed when we put on
Deep
Throat
.  He said it was pornography and not at all in the spirit of
Christmas.”  She gave an elaborate shrug as if she couldn’t fathom such a crazy
statement.  “It must be a human thing.”

“Idiot
canine.”  Djinn concurred, getting annoyed at Sullivan all over again for his
complaints.  “It’s a goddamn metaphor for giving!  How is that hard to
understand?”

Sullivan
didn’t rise to the bait, his eyes still on Teja.

“Sullivan
Pryce is brutally honest and absolutely good.”  Teja looked around the
Council.  “He’s
one hundred percent
trustworthy.  He’s standing here,
because he believes he can just tell truth and people will believe it.  And I’m
standing here, because I believe in
him
.  So, if you want to find the
Fire House guilty,
fine
.”