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“So you agree to the guidelines, Kahny?” Mara asked him.
Kahn’s forehead wrinkled, thinking things over.
Randa held her breath.
Kahn muttered a curse and shifted his shoulders, making up his mind. “Yeah. Fine. Just tell me the safe word.”
“Heart.” Randa said, because it was the first word that came to mind.
“Heart.” Kahn agreed with a nod.
“Perfect!” Mara positively glowed with satisfaction. “Welcome to the family, Randa. Kahn will try not to screw this up.”
Chapter Eighteen
After all, this is a world of rock and water and air. It is elemental.
Janet Kauffman
“Who the hell is Happy Applewhite and why is he asking me about my favorite animal?”
Cross looked over at Gion from across the table. “You have a favorite animal?” He asked around a mouthful of eggs.
As they did most mornings, the Water Phases had gathered for breakfast together. Nia, and Brokk were in the kitchen making omelets. Tharsis was reading a paperback novel featuring a shirtless pirate kissing a voluptuous maiden. Ty was brewing Earl Grey tea. It was all very ordinary.
Except for the weird text.
“No, I don’t have a favorite animal.” Gion muttered and then considered the question more closely. “…Maybe a vulture.” He turned his phone around so Cross could see the screen, where a cheery message was illuminated. “This can’t be meant for me. How do I tell them to go away?”
“How the fuck am I supposed to know?”
“Well, do you know how they got my number?” He paused, thinking it over. “What is my number?”
“I don’t know that, either. First of all, I wouldn’t ever call you. And secondly, I don’t know how to work a cellphone and don’t want to learn.”
Historically, few Phases used phones, for many reasonable reasons. They were difficult to work in the Elemental realm, requiring several different Houses cooperating to give them a usable signal. Also, there simply weren’t that many Elementals left, so not a lot of people needed to keep in touch. And, obviously, smartphones were confusing for beings who’d lived for centuries without them.
The Water House was caught up in the fad of them, though. They loved toys.
When Ty realized Gion didn’t have a phone --that he had never had a phone, because why would he have a phone?-- she’d given it to him. “You can send me all the new security measures you’re always obsessing about.” She’d teased.
Gion had received very few gifts in his long life. Getting one from Ty made it invaluable. Even though the phone vexed him constantly, he fought through his aversion, because it was a present from his precious Match. …But it was a hard battle.
“I don’t understand how any random human can just talk to me.” He complained. “Why is that allowed? I only want to accept Ty’s texts. Happy Applewhite shouldn’t be filling up my phone screen with his inanity.”
“Could be a ‘she.’” Cross pointed out, eating another bite of omelet.
“A woman? But I’m Matched!” Gion looked back towards the phone with a scandalized expression. “Wait, is Happy Applewhite attempting to lure me in? I saw that on one of Thar’s TV shows. Humans use their phone to order sexual partners.”
“Really? On the shows I watch, they just used them to track serial killers.” If Cross had to endure television, he preferred true crime programs. He was a morbid bastard. “I’ve told you before, carrying that thing around is a bad idea given all the people you kill. It makes it so easy to follow you.”
Gion disregarded that advice, dark suspicions filling his mind. “This is unacceptable.” He turned towards the other end of the table. “Tharsis!”
Thar made a vague sound, his gaze on the pages of his bodice ripper. He’d been reading it all morning, paying no attention to the other people at the table. The smut level must have been off-the-charts depraved to keep him so engrossed.
“Thar!”
“What?” He dragged his turquoise eyes away from his lurid book.
