Five

by Christie Rich

I leapt to my feet. “What!” What kind of sick option was death?

  “Stop glowering at me,” Jessica said. “I didn’t make the rules. Great life we have, huh?”

  My anger slowly melted into regretful acceptance. I hoped that this knowledge would be a power I could use. “I’m not going to wait here like a helpless fool to be taken at their leisure. Tell me more about Elemental power.”

  She looked at me warily and stood up. Instead of answering, she headed for the door. “I have to get to class.”

  “Skip it. I refuse to accept that there is nothing to be done. We can figure out a better way.”

  She widened her eyes. “What makes you think you’re smarter than the rest of us?”

  “I don’t; I’m desperate.”

  She laughed. It was a pleasant sound. “All right, but if you don’t come up with something good by my next class, I’m out of here.”

  I nodded. I checked my phone: no missed calls or messages. I had expected Zach to at least call me this morning. Had I finally scared him off?

  “We really don’t know much about how the power works. It’s dormant until the bond is complete. We interrogate every Elemental that comes with us, but specific memories of their fae life fade quickly. There is said to be a secret entrance into Faeresia, but if it does exist, we haven’t found it. I would love to get in there to see what I could learn. We do what we can, but it isn’t much.”

  I didn’t know a whole lot about Jessica, but there was one thing that I needed to clear up. “Aren’t you still within the age of power?

  She scratched at her scalp. “I hate using this stuff. I will be so glad when I can go home. I’ll be twenty-four in three days. That’s why I was chosen. My mom was reluctant to send me, but I’ve been able to avoid detection better than anyone else. I’ve been working on a theory, but it’s a hard one to prove. I think paranormal investigative tools might be able to detect fae presence. But to really test it out, we have to put someone in danger. The fae stay away from Elementals once they are returned to the human realm. Hence the other reason I am here.”

  She was much smarter and way more interesting than I thought. “So that was why you were flirting so hard with Adam.”

  “It’s why I suggested IPS come here.” She waggled her brows. “He’s cute, don’t you think?”

  I nodded, but I hadn’t even considered it. I rummaged through my purse. I showed her the recorder. “He gave me this. I’m supposed to turn it on tonight.”

  She frowned thoughtfully. “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

  Why wouldn’t it be? “He was upset about not being able to investigate in here, so he improvised. I didn’t think it would hurt anything to help him?”

  She shrugged. “It depends. If you caught something otherworldly on tape, things could get complicated. Can you imagine what would happen if everyone found out that we are ruled by the fae? A certain amount of conspiracy theory never hurt anyone, but that kind of information would disrupt life in a way that wouldn’t do anyone good. It isn’t like we can kick them off the planet.”

  That was a fantastic idea. I was going to have to let it steep for a while. “Wouldn’t Adam just think that I recorded a ghost?”

  Her dubious glance didn’t give me much hope. “It’s possible, but what if he didn’t?”

  I bit my lip. “Even if he put it on the internet, most people would think it was a fake.”

  “I guess. There most likely isn’t anything to worry about anyway.” She smiled mischievously. “I know where he lives.”

  She was a little scary. “So you don’t know anything about Elemental powers?”

  “I didn’t say that. We have the ability to manipulate the elements. It is the same sort of power the fae have, but we haven’t found a way to access the power without bonding. Brain scans in Elementals are very different than humans even though we have the same genetic make-up. We haven’t been able to pinpoint the cause of the differences. Our problem is that we haven’t had access to an Elemental while her power is active. We’ve performed experiments, but they haven’t resulted in useful data.” She started fiddling with her sleeve, looking away.

  “What are you not telling me?”

  She looked sad. “We stopped experimenting a few years ago. Our resources are limited, and it takes a lot to care for the damaged.”

  I shook my head. Elementals were being used by everyone. It was time we did something about that.

  “Where’s your boyfriend?” she asked as though she was trying to change the subject.

  “I haven’t heard from him today, why?”

  She pulled the curtains back and looked out the window. “I really should go, and I have strict orders not to leave you alone.”

  I took the not-so-subtle hint and called Cassie. She didn’t answer so I tried Zach. He agreed to come immediately. I was glad because I didn’t want to be left here with just anyone.

  Jessica spent the next twenty minutes in the bathroom. She looked worse when she came out than when she went in. She had clearly put on make-up, but it was in all the wrong places. She had gone overboard with the charcoal, as though instead of heading to class, she was about to audition for the role of Sallow Livedead: Queen of the Zombies. I wished I could see her real face.

  Zach avoided my gaze when he came through the door. He looked terrible as though he was really worried about something.

  I gave him a belligerent look. “It’s nice to see you too.”

  He had me in his arms in less than a heartbeat. Once there, I wanted to cry. He was giving me silent permission to lose it, but I was over that. I had to do something about my situation before Jett or one of the others came looking for me. I glanced up at him. “I think I need to leave school.”

  He pulled away from me, his gaze guarded. “Where would you go?”

  “I thought you might have some ideas.” Without other sanctuaries, I was fresh out of ideas. “I can’t stay here.”

  He raised a brow. “What happened?”

  Why did I feel guilty about this morning? “I was nearly taken.”

  His voice was whisper thin. “I see.” He turned away from me. “How did you get out of it?”

  “A sister walked in on us. I was stupid. I’m not going to make excuses for myself. I’m so terrified, Zach. How can I fight this?”

  He glared at me, shaking his head. “What makes you think I have the answers?”

  When I touched his arm, he looked away. “Are you angry with me?”

  He sighed, his shoulders tighten and he stepped away from me. “I have a solution, but you won’t like it.”

  “If it gets me away from Jett, I will do anything.”

  He glanced at me slowly. His eyes were intense, full of an indefinable emotion. “I never wanted this. Why did you have to be so…” He lowered his gaze.

  I closed the distance between us. “What?”

  He looked around the room warily, his gaze darting to every corner. “This is not the place to talk. Were you serious about leaving?”

  “I’m not going to wait for one of them to take me. I just hope I’m not as easy to find now.”

  He opened his mouth as if to speak, frowned and closed it again. “Why wouldn’t you be?”

  I held out my hand. The fire in the ruby glinted as he pulled my fingers closer.

  “That’s a nice ring; very pretty, in fact.” He gazed at me through fringed lashes. His eyes blazed with intensity. “But what could it possibly do to protect you?”

  My skin was hot under his touch. “It’s supposed to dampen my signal. Whatever that means.”

  He dropped my fingers as though shocked. “Look. I need to do something. Don’t go anywhere without me. I need to check on a few things before we can make any sort of plan.”

  Cassie came barreling into our room just as he walked out.

  Her eyes followed Zach out of the room. She nodded toward him. “What’s wrong with him?” She took one look at me and asked, “What happened?”


  “I’m fine. I just—”

  She gave me a knowing look. “There’s no point in lying. Why don’t you want to tell me?”

  Tears welled in my eyes. I batted them away angrily. “Is my life ever going to be normal?”

  Her face stilled. “No.” She sat beside me. “It can’t ever be again. You know about them, Rayla. More importantly, they know about you.”

  I sniffled. “I should have gone to Snow. I should have listened to Aunt Grace. I should have—”

  She stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. “The past is gone. I honestly don’t know if we can stop what’s in motion now, but we can try. Don’t give up.”

  Simple words: where was the substance to back them? I was tired of worrying about the little things. I was tired period. “I’m not.”

  “Rayla.”

  I lowered my gaze from her intense stare. “I’ve had a really bad day. I just need some rest, okay?” I didn’t want to talk about my encounters with the lords yet. I needed some time to get my new reality clear in my head.

  She smiled kindly. “I’m going to go to Mass with Natalie. I’ll be back before dinner.”

  I shuffled toward the comfort of my bed. “Sounds good.”

  I wasn’t supposed to be alone, but I didn’t know what else to do.

  I woke to loud banging and staggered to the door.

  Natalie was in hysterics. “Get your shoes on!”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Cassie’s been hurt. The ambulance is taking her to the hospital now.”

  “Ambulance?”

  She shoved shoes that weren’t mine at me. “Hurry, Rayla.”