Different (Tainted Elements Book 1)

by Alycia Linwood

  “Letting her win won’t help her.” Jaiden seemed to appear out of nowhere, his face serious, annoyance flashing in his dark eyes.

  “He didn’t let me win.” I rolled my eyes. “Why would he do that?”

  Jaiden snorted. “I don’t know.” He looked at Noah. “Why would you?”

  “I wasn’t...” Noah said, lowering his shirt. “She’s pretty good for a newbie.”

  “And if she runs into Elemontera and thinks she has a chance against them, they’ll capture or kill her in five seconds,” Jaiden glared at Noah.

  “Hey, I’m right here.” I stepped in Jaiden’s way, waving my hands. “If you think Noah is holding back with me, then you fight me.”

  Noah opened his mouth, his blue eyes widening. “Umm, Moira, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  Jaiden’s dark eyes sparkled with amusement as they met mine.

  “So, what’s it gonna be, Jaiden?” I crossed my arms. “Can you even do something without your elements and mind control?”

  Noah still gaped at me, and a small smile crossed Jaiden’s lips.

  “Okay.” Jaiden gave me a playful look under his eyebrows. “I won’t use my elements, but I won’t hold back either.”

  I nodded, my stomach doing a nervous flip. My cockiness was about to get me in trouble, wasn’t it? Uh oh. But it was too late to back down now.

  “You can still change your mind. I won’t hold it against you,” Jaiden said in what had to be his sweetest voice.

  I shook my head.

  “No? Fine.” Jaiden pulled his black shirt over his head, flexing his muscles. My eyes fell on his perfectly shaped abs and I wondered just how much stronger he was than me.

  “Moira...” Noah was rocking back and forth on his feet.

  “Quit whining,” Jaiden said, shaking his head at Noah and putting on the gloves. “I’m not going to kill her.”

  “I hope not.” Noah rubbed his wrists. “Moira, if you think you can’t go on, stop the fight. He wins against... well, everyone.”

  Great. If Jaiden was so good at this, then the only thing I could do was try to last as long as possible. Then again, I was sure Elemontera wouldn’t be gentle or go easy on me. I took a deep breath, stretching out my arms. Glancing at Noah, I realized his blue eyes were transfixed on me in admiration. “Any rules you didn’t tell me about already?”

  “No, not really. No one likes rules,” he said.

  “Good.” I lunged myself at Jaiden, hoping to catch him by surprise, but slamming my fist into his stomach was like hitting a mountain. He didn’t even flinch and his smile only deepened. Oh shit. I barely had time to avoid a hit aimed at my head. His other fist collided with my shoulder, not hard enough to cause pain, but it knocked me slightly off balance. I jumped back and we circled each other.

  Jaiden tilted his head, slowly licking his lips like a predator ready to eat his prey. I waited for him to make a move, but he was keeping his distance.

  “What’s the matter, Jaiden? Are the guys in Elemontera this hesitant to attack too?” I teased. My chances were better if I let him come at me and then try to surprise him somehow, or at least that was what I thought.

  “No,” he said. “But they tend to wait for the right moment. No need to rush.” The words had barely left his mouth when he came for me, his fist held high. I side-stepped and kicked out, going for his knee. He twisted out of the way and kicked me in the back, sending me sprawling to the ground. I rolled over, catching his leg with my foot. He went down and I pushed myself up. Before he could scramble to his feet, I threw myself at him. Straddling him, I wanted to keep him down long enough to get him to surrender. But he flipped me over and my back hit the mats, my breath leaving my chest.

  He pushed himself against me, trapping me underneath him. I couldn’t even move my hands because he had managed to pin both of my wrists above my head just with one arm. He laughed, his breath tickling my face. I tried to move my legs, which were wrapped around his waist, to try to throw him off me, but he only pushed himself closer to me. There was no way in hell I could push him off when his whole body was pressed against mine. If this were a real fight, I’d have tried to bite him because our faces were only inches apart, but I couldn’t come up with any decent and harmless thing to do.

  “I guess you won,” I said, meeting his dark eyes. His lips parted slightly as he gazed down at me.

  “Jaiden!” an ear-piercing screech sounded from the door and he grimaced. I turned my head and saw Kenna’s furious face. Jaiden untangled himself from me and got to his feet.

  “Kenna...” he spread his hands as if he were approaching a rabid dog.

  She curled her lip in disgust, shaking her head. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing? With her?”

  I pushed myself up on my elbows, still trying to catch my breath. Kenna’s cold eyes focused on me, then on her boyfriend.

  “We were just practicing. Nothing more. I don’t know what you think you saw, but it’s not...” Jaiden said.

  Kenna let out a nervous laugh. “Was that why you were grinding your hips against hers?”

  “What?” Jaiden said, bewildered. “Kenna, don’t be ridiculous.” He reached for her arm. “You should calm down first and then we can discuss this. In private.”

  “Don’t touch me!” Kenna bared her teeth.

  “Kenna, please.” Jaiden’s dark eyes softened. “You’re overreacting.” He placed his hand on her shoulder.

  “I told you not to touch me!” She raised her hand and slapped him hard on the face.

  “Hey!” I clambered to my feet, going toward her. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  She gave me a look full of contempt. “You stay out of this. I don’t want to talk to you.” She turned on her heels and stormed off. Jaiden ran after her.

  I looked at Noah, who was leaning on the wall, his face somber. “What is her problem? Is she always like this?”

  He shrugged. “We’re used to this. Just pretend nothing happened. She’ll forgive him when she gets what she wants.”

  My eyebrows shot upward. “Wait, are you saying she’s doing this because she wants something?” That didn’t make any sense to me whatsoever.

  “Yeah,” Noah said, scratching his head. “I don’t know what she wants now, but last time she accused him of cheating on her with Ashley because he wouldn’t let her go to the city.”

  “And Jaiden is okay with that?” I just couldn’t see someone like Jaiden putting up with Kenna’s outbursts. Actually, I couldn’t see anyone putting up with that.

  “Love is blind,” Noah said, motioning for me to take off my gloves. “I guess. I don’t know. Don’t worry about it, though. Jaiden can take care of himself.” He gave me a small smile.

  “Right.” I pulled off my gloves and handed them to Noah. “Have you ever been in love?”

  Noah tipped his head. “No, not really. Why?”

  “Just wondering.” I shrugged.

  “Let’s go get something to drink.” He put the gloves in the drawer, a smile breaking out on his face. I smiled back, waiting for him near the door. After everything that happened, I needed a drink and a long, long shower.

  Chapter 14

  I tossed and turned in my bed, but sleep wouldn’t come. Beads of sweat appeared on my forehead and I threw off the covers, sitting up. An hour or so earlier, I’d heard Kenna yelling and slamming the door of the room next to mine. From what I gathered, she was still pissed off, so she decided to sleep in another room and not in the one she shared with Jaiden. Maybe Noah was wrong about her. She wouldn’t act like this simply because Jaiden hadn’t given in to her demands, would she? I didn’t know her well enough to be able to tell.

  I got to my feet and padded over to the door. The hall was quiet and empty, so I headed for the kitchen to get a snack. I didn’t think chewing on something would help me fall asleep, but I didn’t know what else to do. It wasn’t like there were many entertainment options down here.

  I stopped dea
d in my tracks when I saw Jaiden poised over the counter, his breathing ragged, his back turned to me.

  “Hey,” I said tentatively. He spun around so fast that something clattered to the ground, his dark eyes wide. The tension left his shoulders when he saw me. Was he afraid that I was Kenna? “What are you doing?” I slowly approached him, hoping he wasn’t mad at me.

  “Nothing.” His arm moved behind his back as if he were hiding something on the counter. “Do you need something?”

  “I can’t sleep, so I thought I’d eat something instead.” I offered him a shy smile. “I know that’s a perfect way to get fat, but I don’t care.”

  His brow creased and he ran a hand through his disheveled dark brown hair, then a boyish grin broke out on his face. “Do you want me to make you something? French toast, maybe?”

  It took me a moment to pick my jaw off the floor. “Yeah, that would be great.” Was he trying to provoke his girlfriend and get her to kill us both? I took a seat on one of the high stools, glancing nervously over my shoulder for any signs of Kenna. “Look, I’m really sorry about what happened...”

  “Don’t apologize. Wasn’t your fault.” He opened the cabinet, searching for and then quickly lining up the supplies on the counter.

  I stared at my hands in my lap. It wasn’t fair that Kenna was angry with Jaiden for nothing because of me. There had to be something I could do, but if I talked to her, she’d probably get angrier. She didn’t seem to like me, and if what Noah had told me was true, then there was no way to convince her that Jaiden and I hadn’t done anything.

  He turned his head and looked at me as the stove buzzed. “I should probably apologize for how I treated you when you got here.”

  I frowned, unsure what he meant. Then I remembered he hadn’t been happy to have me here. “Oh, it’s okay. I understand.” I waved my hand. “You thought I’d tell my parents where you guys were hiding. That’s a valid concern if you want to keep everyone here safe. I didn’t know much about people like us, let alone that we have enemies. This whole world is new to me.”

  “Here.” He put the plate of delicious-looking French toast in front of me.

  “Thanks.” I took a bite, letting the bread melt in my mouth as Jaiden watched me intently. “What?” I mumbled, still chewing.

  “Do you like it?” He bit down on his lip.

  “Yeah, it’s really good.” I popped another piece into my mouth.

  “Kenna hates it.” He wiped his hands, a satisfied smile spreading his lips.

  I was starting to wonder if there was anything Kenna didn’t hate. “Umm, is Kenna’s family in the city?” That would explain why she wanted Jaiden to let her go there.

  His face was expressionless. “Sort of.” He looked around, frowning. “I need to do something. I’ll be right back.”

  “Okay,” I said, munching on another piece of toast. He clearly didn’t want to talk about Kenna’s life. Who knew what kind of a secret she was hiding? Maybe Jaiden simply didn’t feel like talking about her, but he was the first one to mention her. Or maybe he didn’t feel like he should tell me anything that Kenna wouldn’t want me to know.

  I spotted a small bottle on the counter. It looked like a pill container. Making sure Jaiden wasn’t nearby, I slid off my chair and went to take a closer look. The label indicated that the pills were actually sleeping pills. Was that what Jaiden was planning to take before I came? Sleeping pills? I put the pills back to their place just as I heard Jaiden’s footsteps.

  “Are you going to eat that?” He raised an eyebrow at me, pointing at the last bit of the toast on my plate.

  “No, I’m full.” I reached for a glass, pretending I was only going to get some water and hadn’t noticed the pills.

  “Okay, then.” He picked up the plate and popped the remaining piece of toast into his mouth.

  “Do you need help with the dishes?” I offered after taking a big gulp of refreshing water.

  “Nah. You should go to sleep.” He collected the remaining plates and put them in the sink.

  “I don’t feel sleepy at all,” I said, wondering if he would offer me one of his pills.

  “I might have something that can put you to sleep very quickly,” he chuckled.

  “Yeah? What would that be?”

  “A book.”

  “You’re not talking about hitting me over the head with a heavy book, are you?” I handed him another plate.

  “No. I’m talking about a really boring book. I have some in my room.”

  “Can I go get one? I doubt they are that boring.”

  “Yeah, go ahead. I’ll be right there.” His dark eyes were unreadable.

  “Thanks.” I gave his arm a little squeeze and headed for the room. I was sure Jaiden would come in a moment, especially with his amazing ability to fly. As soon as I entered the room, I noticed the computer was on, the screen split in various smaller images. The images were mostly black, but I recognized the entrance. Jaiden was monitoring the tunnels for intruders. I was sure an alarm was somewhere too. That could be a problem if I ever wanted to leave this place without anyone’s permission.

  “The books are over there.” Jaiden pointed in the direction of the shelf, leaning his back on the doorframe.

  “Has anyone ever tried to break in?” I made my way to the shelf.

  “Not really. Unless you count the animals.” He pushed himself off the door and came toward me.

  I squinted at the titles of the books on the shelf. Most of them were encyclopedias and history books. A big book with a purple cover caught my eye and I picked it up. Dust flew into my face, making me cough. “You didn’t touch this one at all, did you?” I looked at Jaiden.

  “No,” he chuckled. “I stole it by mistake. Pretty cover. What can I say?”

  My eyebrows shot upward. “So you’re a book thief? Wow, who would have thought?”

  “Some of these books are rare and very expensive. One of the guys from Elemontera had them and I figured he didn’t need them as much as we did.” He picked up one of the books and weighed it in his hand. “This one is about evolution of elementals over the years. I tried to find something that could help us, but there wasn’t much, only speculations.”

  “And what is in this one?” I opened the book I was holding, flipping through the pages.

  “I don’t know. Some prophecies and stories. Superstitious stuff.” He shrugged.

  I took another look at the cover and at the weird symbol that resembled an eye. “Why is there no title or name of the author?”

  “No idea.” Jaiden shook his head. “Maybe it’s a collection of stories from various anonymous authors.”

  “Wouldn’t they put the name of the editor then?” I checked the front pages, but I couldn’t find a date or time of publication, not even the copyright page. “So strange.”

  “If you like the book, you can take it.” Amusement glinted in Jaiden’s eyes.

  I clutched the book to my chest. “Yep. I’m taking it. But it looks like I won’t be sleeping after all.” I’d sooner get a headache because of the poor lighting in my room.

  “You can stay here to read if you wish.”

  “I’d like that, but if you’re planning to go to sleep...” His sleeping space was divided from the rest of the room only by a sheet. I was sure the light from this part of the room was bright enough to pass through the almost see-through black material.

  He shook his head. “I have some work to do.”

  “Okay then.” I settled myself on the sofa, the book resting on my lap. Jaiden took a seat in one of the chairs and started tinkering with some sort of a small device, his face drawn together in concentration. I would have asked him what he was doing, but I didn’t want to annoy him.

  The first story in the book was about God of Magic who created our planet and gave every human being one of the four main elements under the condition that they ensure elements never mixed. The rule was disobeyed and God unleashed magic disease on the world as a punishment.
It was a very old story; one that went against almost everything we could scientifically prove, but smaller religious groups still believed in God’s wrath.

  I squirmed in my seat, wondering what God, if he existed, would think about elementals like me. The most devout religious groups were against genetic manipulation because they thought scientists were trying to play God, even though the whole point of genetic manipulation was to prevent the disease and ensure healthy elementals had a strong and pure element. I didn’t ask Noah and the others how they got more than one element, but we were all more or less the same age, so I assumed their parents had requested the genetic manipulation, either to ensure the purity of an element or to hide family secrets.

  I looked up at Jaiden, who was still busy with the device. He had to be older than us, so how could he be one of us? The genetic manipulation had been at its beginnings when I was born, and the only way to do it successfully was before the baby was born.

  “I can feel you staring at me,” he said, not looking up from the device. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, sorry. I was just thinking about something.”

  “About what?” He lifted his eyes, curiosity flashing in the dark depths.

  “Well, I was thinking...” I licked my lips. “The reason we all have more than one element is because there was something wrong with our genetic manipulation, right? None of us here developed another element on our own.” I raised a questioning brow at him.

  “Yeah.” He looked away from me, his brow furrowing. “I don’t think anyone developed another element without some kind of scientific intervention.”

  “First genetic manipulations occurred some eighteen years ago. Does that mean that there aren’t older elementals like us, only younger?” I carefully observed his face, but his expression was guarded.

  “Most of elementals like us are younger, but there were some earlier attempts at genetic manipulation before your mom and her group of scientists announced it to the world.”

  “So there could be older elementals like us? How old are you?” I tried to keep my tone neutral.

  “Twenty.” A smile broke out on his lips.