Page 19
“You don’t want to have a conversation. You want to have an interrogation.” She corrected. “And I have asked you to stop cursing around me, so I’d appreciate it…”
A flying egg pelted Randa, cutting her off mid-word.
Randa stopped short and looked at the gooey yolk dripping down the front of her baggy tan dress.
Not again.
“What the fuck…?” Kahn yanked her backward protectively, surveying the damage to her clothes. His face somehow grew even angrier. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” She dug in her purse for a tissue. “It happens all the time.”
Kahn blinked. “People throw eggs at you, all the time?”
“Of course.”
His jaw tightened. “Wait here.” He went stalking down one of the aisles. Two seconds later, he came back with Raj, of the Color House caught in his grasp. The boy was struggling mightily to free himself from Kahn’s grip.
“What are you doing? Let me go!” He was half-Kahn’s size, so his flailing wasn’t doing much good.
Kahn dumped him in front of Randa. “This one threw it.” He announced.
“Are you on her side now?” Raj screamed up at him.
“Of course he’s not.” Randa interjected, before Kahn could answer. There was no sense in putting him in the line of fire. “Kahn mostly agrees with you, as a matter of fact. Don’t take your anger out on the Light Phases. They hate me, as much as you do.”
Kahn shot her a glare, for no reason except he liked glaring.
Randa disregarded his surly attitude. “But you’re causing a scene in the human realm, Raj. And for what? To make me feel bad?”
“Because of you and Parald!” Raj cried, his face twisted in agony. “The Fall took everything from me.”
Randa sighed. “I can only imagine your pain. But I had nothing to do with the Fall…”
He cut her off. “Parald did! And you were his whore. You’re as bad as he is.” Tears filled his eyes. “Your own Match died in the Fall, and you belonged to his murderer.”
There were a lot of things Randa could say to that, but none of it was anyone else’s business. When she’d initially left the Air House, she’d talked to Job and the Water Phases. In the months that followed though, she’d found herself less and less inclined to share any part of her life. Her introverted tendencies and the other Phases' constant hostility made it easy for Randa to just stop explaining. They wouldn’t believe her. They wouldn’t care. She would just stay quiet and endure. Because she was leaving all of them behind, very, very soon.
Manchester, England.
Tokyo, Japan.
“Let him go.” She told Kahn, ready to be done with this spectacle.
Kahn ignored her. “Did you spray paint her door?” He snapped, his attention back on Raj.
“So what if I did?”
“So I will skin you from the feet up, if you come near her again.” Kahn made it sound like a blood vow. “Stay away from Randa. I lost as much as you did, but I don’t disgrace my family’s memories by attacking women. What the hell is wrong with you?”
Raj cringed a bit, but stayed defiant. “She hasn’t even apologized! You know that, right? Not once has she said she was sorry.”
“You used to help Lansing and Chason and their loyal Reprisal jerkoffs do all sorts of underhanded shit.” Kahn retorted. “Have you ever apologized?”
“That’s different!”
“No, it’s you being a fucking little hypocrite.” He stabbed a finger at Raj. “Get out of my sight or humans will be mopping your entrails off the goddamn floor.”
Raj didn’t have to be told twice. He went dashing towards the exit. They were probably lucky he didn’t jump back to the Elemental realm in full view of the morning shoppers.
