And then Ty smiled.
The scene shifted again and Tessie realized that she was now in the middle of the Fall. Within seconds, any thoughts that Tessie might’ve had about Job’s lack of emotions were gone forever. Job was crying. Trying not to, but tears still spilled out of his eyes as he walked through the decimated Earth Kingdom.
“Oh God, honey.” Tessie tried to comfort him, even as she covered her mouth against the smell of the purifying bodies. It was the worst stench in universe; so thick and rotten that it seemed to taint the air green in places. “Job.” She looked over at him and resisting the urge to gag. “What are you doing out here? Go inside away from the disease, you idiot.”
This time Job didn’t hear her. He wiped at his eyes and kept weaving his way through the stacks of corpses. He was reading his mail as he walked, but she could tell from the way he just let the letters heedlessly drop to the ground that he wasn’t processing half of what was going on around him.
Job was in shock.
How could he not be? How could anyone live through the end of the world and not be traumatized by what they had seen? How could he function, at all?
By this point, Tessie had figured out that seeing all this was part of the fake Phazing. Matches shared memories. Parson had explained it all to her. But, even knowing that it was just a symptom of whatever powers Job had unwittingly used to connect them, she still felt his memories tearing down her defenses. Job had been through so much and he tried so hard. It wasn’t fair that such a good man was so alone.
Someone in a nearby bar was blaring Ozzy Osbourne’s
Road to Nowhere.
The song echoed in the land of the dead, creeping Tessie out. She moved closer to Job, her eyes scanning for threats. Every horror movie she’d even seen came rushing back to her. Visions of zombies rising from the dead to devour the living flashed in front of her eyes.
Shit.
“Job.” She prompted again. “Let’s go inside.”
Job stopped walking and looked down at the ground.
“Oh God.” Tessie whispered, again, when she saw the dead child clutching the stuffed duck. “Oh, honey.” Her gaze swung back to Job as he pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes and doubled over like he’d taken another hit from Parald. “It wasn’t your fault, Job.”
Even if he heard that he didn’t believe it. She could tell.
Job swallowed hard. He bent down and draped his council robes over the little girl. “I’m sorry.” He whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
Tessie’s soul shattered and reformed again around this man. Whatever else happened to her, she knew that Job would always the very best part of her endless existence. Tired and dirty and broken, he was still the noblest person she’d ever met. How was she ever supposed to give him up?
Job resumed walking and Tessie followed him up towards the Earth Palace. AC/DC was playing now.
Highway to Hell
. “Nice to know that the apocalypse hasn’t wiped out everyone’s sense of humor.” She muttered.
Glass crashed inside the bar and Job spared it a disinterested sort of look. He really was out of it. Ordinarily, Job would be hurrying over there to help fix everyone’s problems for them. The universe’s all-purpose backup plan.
But, who was there to help Job?
Job finally stopped in front of the brick wall in his garden and stared at the spray painted “Your Fault!” message for a long moment.
“You think they mean you, or Ty, or Parald?” A female voice demanded.
Tessie turned and saw a Phase sitting on a low wall beside the path. Even haggard and dirty, she was one of the loveliest women that Tessie had ever seen.
Oh,
hell
no.
Tessie scowled at the newcomer. Job was
Tessie’s
fake Match. She moved closer to him, already prepared to dislike the woman.
“Maybe they mean all of the above.” Job suggested. Even his voice sounded tired, stripped of its usual beauty. “Are you alright, Teja?”
Great. The news that the fashion model was Teja, one the most powerful Phases alive, didn’t exactly thrill Tessie. Powerful people bugged her, anyway. Except Job. His powers were crazy sexy. But, if beautiful Phases visited her pretend Match, they should at least be really weak so Tessie could beat them up.
“None of us are alright.” Teja stood up. “Oberon’s dead.”
Job squeezed his eyes shut.
Tessie winced. She’d only see that loudmouth Fire King in Job’s memories, but she’d appreciated his zest for life. She could tell that Oberon had liked Job a lot from the way the guy had cheerfully antagonized him. Job had very few people in his life who’d ever tried to joke around with him and he needed that.
Job cleared his throat and folded his arms behind his back, military “at rest” style. “I’m sorry. Oberon will be missed.” The words were formal, but there was a catch in his throat.
Tessie felt her own eyes watering as she realized that he was trying not to cry, again. Job had really cared for Oberon. He was on the verge of breaking completely and still he tried to be strong. To be the leader that Wiset had raised.
Teja nodded. “Yeah.” She blinked rapidly and let out a long breath. “My grandfather…” She gave a cough. “He -uh- wanted you to have this.” She held out a small box. “He liked you very much, Job. He liked your blue-sky arguments and the way you’d threaten to have him beheaded all the time. ”
Tessie felt a stirring of awareness as she stared Oberon’s gift. “Oh Gaia…”
Job accepted the package and pulled out a small shiny box covered in odd markings. “Thank you.” He squinted at it in confusion and then put it away, again. “I’ll treasure it.”
Tessie started laughing, a slightly hysterical laugh that came more of astonishment than humor. Job had just slipped the Tablet of Justice into his pocket.
… And he had no clue what it was.
The elements obey me not. I sink
Dizzily down, ever, forever, down.
And, like a cloud, mine enemy above
Darkens my fall with victory!
Percy Shelley- “Prometheus Unbound”
Job came out of the memory space with a gasp and a spinning sensation in his head. He didn’t remember closing his eyes, but he had to open them in order to see and the first thing he focused on Tessie’s stunned face.
“Wow.” She blinked, looking a bit dazed. “Did you feel that? Or experience it or whatever? It was…”
Job didn’t let her finish. He was too overwhelmed to really process her words, anyway. He reached out and grabbed her arm, his eyes scanning her face. “Tess, it was real.” He got out breathlessly. “My God. Gaia. It’s really
real
.”
Tessie’s eyebrows shot-up. “Yeah, no shit. I could feel it and everything. It was like I was seriously right there in your memory.”
“What are you two talking about?” Sullivan demanded. “Damn it, Tessie. If you’re on something illegal and mind-altering…”
“It was
real
, Tess.” Job didn’t even hear Sullivan’s complaints. Instead, he actually laughed. Earth Kings didn’t laugh, but Job didn’t care. He didn’t care about a single thing in the world except this woman. “No one can fake a memory sharing like that. This is
real
between us. It’s a Phase-Match. You are my
Match
.” Just saying the words was a miracle.
“What?” Tessie’s mouth parted. “No, Job. No, no, no, no, no.” She shook her head in something like panic. “It’s not.
I’m
not. You said it was fake.”
“I was wrong.
I
didn’t create the energy and
you
didn’t do it. It’s Gaia.” Job reached out to touch her face, too far gone to even worry about overstepping Tessie’s boundaries. “I am so glad to be wrong. I waited for you. And then you showed-up and I…”
“NO!” Tessie pulled free of his hold, her eyes darting up at the sky as if looking for stealth bombers. “Just be quiet, okay? You have the wrong girl and you need to just forget this. We aren’t a Match. Not for real.”
Job’s jaw tightened. His first instinct was to back off and give her space. This had to be a somewhat unpleasant shock for her. Job knew himself to be unbending and serious. For someone as free spirited as Tessie, it would probably be a nightmare to be stuck with him for eternity. The only honorable thing to do would be to respect her wishes.
“No, I won’t forget it.” Job heard himself say instead. “It
is
real.” He moved forward to cover the ground she’d put between them. “We’re a Match.”
“Shhhh!” Tessie hissed. “God, shut-up.” This time she looked at him when she gave the order. “What if someone hears you?”
“I hear you.” Sullivan volunteered. They’d been arguing in English. “If he’s bothering you, Tessie, I can run him in. I got no problem arresting these weirdoes.”
Job actually
did
process that part. No one was taking him away from his Match, especially not a human with a warrior’s mark who every Elemental woman in the world was lusting after. He turned to give Sullivan a deadly look.
“Stay out of it, Sully!” Tessie roared.
Sullivan held up his palms “I surrender” style. “Whatever. Keep staging your own little soap opera, then. I’ll be back in my office if you change your mind and decide to lock Romeo up.” He went stalking away. “Oh and call before you come over to the house.”
Job frowned at Sullivan’s retreating back, then refocusing on Tessie. “I don’t give a damn who hears me.” He said honestly. “You’re my Match. That’s all that matters.” He hesitated. “And why are you going over to the human’s house?”
“None of your business.” Tessie ran a hand through her hair, her eyes wild. “Okay, fine. So, maybe the Phazing is real. I
told
you it felt real. I
told
you!” She shook her head in frustration. “You’ll just have to fix it.”
“I can’t undo a Phase-Match.” Job reported. “And, even if I
could
, I wouldn’t undo this one. I love you.”
Tessie winced. “
Shut-up!
God, you’re just being stubborn.”
“I’m your Match and nothing can change that.” Job regarded her seriously. “You know that I’m right. You can feel it between us, even stronger now, just like I can.”
Tessie didn’t argue with the feelings part, but she still didn’t back down, either. “If we’re a Match, then I
can
change it. I’m going to do what
all
Matches have the right to do and renounce your ass.” She declared. “Right now. It’s done and over. Satisfied?” She made a slashing motion through the air. “No more Match.”
Job’s eyes narrowed. Under Elemental law, Tessie had a right to renounce the Match and, honestly, who could blame her for it? But, if she thought that he
wouldn’t
toss aside everything he believed in --all the protocol and pride-- just to have her… Then, she was wrong.
“You can’t renounce me.”
“Yes, I can! I saw it in your memories.”
Job shrugged. “And who do you plan to
petition
for the renouncement? The Council?
My
Council? The Council where
you
don’t even have standing, because you’re not an Elemental? The Council where
I’m
the High Seat?” Earth Kings didn’t smirk, but Job came damn close. “I truly don’t think that will work.”
Tessie’s violet gaze burned into him like a laser. “You can’t stop me from renouncing you. It goes against all those stupid Elemental rules.”
“I don’t care.”
And he didn’t. For the first time ever, Job was about to break the law for a purely selfish reason and no one was strong enough to stop him. All of Wiset’s lectures on dignity and standing stoically alone went flying out the window. Job didn’t want to be like his grandfather. He’d spent his whole life trying to live up to Wiset standards. But, in the end, his grandfather fell short of Job’s. Job didn’t want to be a distinguished, emotionless statue.
He wanted Tessie.
Job might have always been awkward in emotional situations before, but having Tessie as his Match sent a surge of confidence through him. They belonged together. Phase-Match or not, he’d believed that from almost the first and now he felt like even Gaia herself knew it. He wasn’t going to screw this up. “I love you and I don’t care about the stupid Elemental rules.”
“Well, I’m the Quintessence and if you think that I don’t have the incredible superpowers to stop…” She trailed off as Job arched a brow.
“Do you
really
want to take the conversation in that direction, Tess?” It wasn’t that Job didn’t have plenty to say on the subject of her non-powers, but he’d prefer to do it in private. There were too many Phases eavesdropping on them as it was and he didn’t want anyone to know that Tessie was helpless.
Tessie let out a hissing sound of exasperation. “Job, just listen, okay? You don’t understand all the facts. You can’t
do
this.”
“Of course, I can. I’m the most powerful Elemental alive, the High Seat on the Council, and the oldest Phase in the universe.” He straightened, not with the cold ceremony that Wiset had taught him, but like very hands-on ruler that Job had become. “I’m Job, King of the Earth House and, basically, I can do anything I want.”
And he could. It wasn’t just his own massive power… it was
all
the Elementals’ powers backing him up. Job was the one who the other Phases looked to for leadership, because he was always right there in the middle of their messes. In a very real way, his voice was the final word. He’d gotten amnesty for the
Air Phases
, for Christ’s sake. If he said no one could renounce his Match, not a single Council member would gainsay him. And if they tried, Job could stop them.
Job would bring the whole damn world to its knees before he lost Tessie. Throwing his weight around was an incredibly liberating sensation. He had the brief thought that Oberon would be proud. “Accept it. You can’t renounce me. It’s impossible.”
“Son-of-a-bitch!” Tessie gave him a shove that somehow turned into her hanging onto the front of his jacket. “You have no idea what you’re doing here, Job. You have no idea what will happen to you if you push this.”
Job wasn’t particularly surprised by the words. “If this is about your sister…”
“Of course, it’s about my fucking sister!” Tessie shouted, giving him a shake. “What do you think Kay will do to you, huh? What do you think she’ll do to you if you’re mine?” Her voice broke and she sagged against him. “You have to get away from me.” She murmured. “Please, Job…. Just go away before it’s too late.”
“No.” Job pulled her closer to him and rested the side of his face in her hair. “I’ve missed you. For a thousand years I missed you and I hadn’t even met you, yet. I won’t let you go, now. I can’t.”
“Oh… shit.” Tessie whispered into his shirtfront. “Stop saying stuff like that.”
Job felt his mouth curve. After a lifetime of being stymied by any sort of emotional conversation, the words suddenly came easily. He wasn’t alone on one side of a crowded room anymore. Now, he had Tessie.
“I love you. Before I knew you were my Match, I knew that I loved you, Tess.”
“You’re gonna die if you love me.” Tessie pushed herself free of him, again. “I mean it. You’re not thinking straight. Do you remember what happened to Antoine and Parson, huh? What Kay did to them?”
“I saw what happened to Antoine and Parson in your memories.” Job agreed. “They weren’t me.” Stressing that he was the most powerful Phase in existence wasn’t
just
about arrogance. Tessie had to understand that he wasn’t going to die. She wouldn’t accept their Match unless she saw that Job was different from all the other people that Kay had murdered. He’d seen Tessie’s hesitancy to care for people in her memories and it wasn’t going to happen with him. “I’m actually very strong and difficult to kill. Don’t worry.”
Tessie gave a slightly hysterical laugh and backed away from him. “Don’t
worry
? Are you fucking
insane
, Job? She’ll rip you apart just to hurt me. Do you think I’d ever take that kind of chance?!”
“Tess.” Job moved forward, sensing that his Match was about to do something crazy. She could jump into other realms. Hide in places that Job didn’t even know existed. Her energy was different from the Elementals. He might not be able to trace it. Vanishing was the one power the Quintessence actually gave her and she could use it to evade him. “Don’t. Please.”
She bit her lower lip and hesitated at the plea. Tessie’s expression turned soft and yearning. “I need to go so that Kay doesn’t find you. You have to see that.”
Job beat down panic. “Stay with me, Tess. Please. Don’t go.” Earth Kings didn’t ask for things and now he was begging. “I’m willing to risk this. More than willing.”
“Well, I’m not willing to risk you.” She edged back a bit more. “Not for me. You’re too important, Job.”
He followed her. “I swear to Gaia, I won’t keep our Match a secret, anyway. I’ll hire skywriters and get TV commercials in every realm there is. But, believe me, everyone
will
know that you’re mine. Leaving won’t do you a damn bit of good.”
“Job?” Cross came marching over. He’d apparently slipped out from under Nia’s watchful eye and was ready to wade into the fray. “What’s going on? Does this girl seriously have you swearing, now? And shouting? What’s gotten into you lately?”
“Stay out of this, Cross.” Job warned. “It’s between me and my Match.”
“You said that she
wasn’t
your Match.” Cross retorted, not listening to his uncle’s order. Which really wasn’t anything new for Cross. He never listened to anyone, especially not to Job. “You said it was fake. Are you sure you’re not under her spell or something? Because, you’re acting…”
“Now, he says that I am his
real
Match.” Tessie put-in. “He’s getting totally crazy about it. You talk some sense into him and I’ll amscray, okay?” She edged behind Cross. “Job is really smart. He’ll see reason if you just give him a few...”
Job cut her off. “Cross, have I ever lied to you about anything in my life?”
“No.” Cross said instantly.
“Well, then trust me. Tessie is my Match.” Job met his nephew’s eyes. “I know it. The same way that you knew Nia was yours. I feel it. I’ve been in her memories. I
know
that she’s mine. Tessie’s just overreacting because she knows it too and it scares her.”
Cross still wasn’t thrilled with Tessie being in the picture. But, being Cross, conscientious objector wasn’t an option and there were only two sides to this fight. He chose his team and turned to scowl down at Tessie. “What? My uncle’s not good enough to be your Match or something? Job’s the best fucking Phase in the universe.”