They tried to pull me into the woods, but I yanked my wrists free.
“No! We need to protect these Elementals. They’re Modernists. You know they don’t know how to fight.”
Cade reattached his hand to my wrist. “Who do you think the soldiers are here for, them or you?”
I bit my lip. “I know, but—”
“He’s right, Val,” Sienna cut in. “You staying here will only make it worse.”
I looked behind me, where shadowy figures were drifting in on the breeze like spiders. I’d never seen anything like it. There were at least a dozen of them, more than the Sect had ever sent before.
“Come on,” Cade pressed. “Let’s get back to the truck. I’ll make sure there’s no signature to follow in the earth.”
Sienna nodded. “And I’ll erase it from the air.”
I had mere seconds to deliberate before they dragged me through the woods or the Sect started tracking us.
Their logic on leaving seemed sound, but my desire to actively defend was incredibly strong. Which would be the better choice? In my mind, leaving would be cowardly and staying would be noble. I mean, what if we left and these people got slaughtered like cattle? Then again, what if we stayed and I really did make it worse?
“We’ll lead the soldiers away,” I said finally.
It was the best compromise I could make.
Cade’s lips thinned, but he nodded his consent, as did Sienna.
“Find Holden,” I said to her. “Make sure he gets his people to safety.” Then I turned to Cade. “Gather our teachers. Tell them to run a scatter drill. I’ll skirt the perimeter of town until we regroup.”
He gave me a dangerous look, one that might’ve been frightening but instead jacked up the heat inside of me.
“You’d better not leave without us again,” he threatened. “This is not one of those times to be testing your luck solo.”
I stepped closer and curled into him, running my fingers through his disheveled hair.
“We’re a team,” I said, losing myself in the emerald depths of his eyes. “I’ll wait for you.”
He leaned his face into my palm and kissed it. “Don’t get killed.”
“You either,” I said, the words accidentally coming out as a whisper.
A second later, he was gone. I blinked, studying the woods as I slowly dropped my hands, but he was nowhere. Sienna had left already, too.
I turned back to the chaos of the frantic festivalgoers. From across the street, I was met with a menacing pair of eyes, pale compared to the black serpentine uniform the figure wore. The irises were almost turquoise in color.
Could it be Elise?
Fear curled in my stomach. If it was her, I wouldn’t know what to do. She was my cousin, the one who’d taught me almost everything I knew about stealth and survival, and I didn’t want to hurt her. But, she was also an agent of the Shadow Sect, and I knew she’d capture me if they’d ordered her to.
Even if it wasn’t her, I needed to get my ass moving.
I took a deep breath then sprinted back into the mayhem, and the Sect soldier followed, charging through the crowd as if the streets were empty. My anxiety level ratcheted up, and I pushed my legs harder. I may have wanted them to follow me, but I sure as hell didn’t want them to catch me.
When I hit the edge of town, I did as I’d said I would and circled around, giving Sienna and Cade time to catch back up.
Suddenly, two Sect soldiers appeared before me. I faltered, slowing to a jog as I veered toward the tree line instead, but another soldier emerged from the shadows. I halted and glanced behind me. The first soldier was still on my tail.
I was completely surrounded, and there seemed to be only one way out.
Taking a deep shaky breath, I ignited the flame in my right palm and the water in my left, prepared to fight.
6
A net spiraled at me from the barrel of a strange gun, but I dove to the side and rolled. It was most likely made of that same element-proof rope no one could ever seem to overpower—no one except Nicholai, of course.
One of the soldiers lassoed a rope into the air, letting it fly at my head. I rolled again, moving a bit too close to the two enemies by the woods. They each grabbed at my arms, but only one caught hold. I yanked hard, whipping him to the ground before he lost his grip.
Another net flew into the air. I shot a fireball at it, but as I suspected, nothing happened. The rope was definitely element-proof. At the last second, I sprinted toward the soldier with the turquoise eyes. Elise or not, I had to stop these people from capturing me and destroying Center Allegheny for the third time in half a year. We hit the ground skidding, each vying for the upper hand.
The sound of another net being ejected rushed to my ear. Quickly, I scrambled away from the soldier I’d tackled, but my legs still ended up caught.
Time to test my theory. I pulled a knife from my shorts pocket and slid the blade across the rope. A few tendrils let loose. Bingo. The ropes resisted the elements, but not manmade weapons.
I sawed faster and harder, but just as my feet were freed, my right hand was caught in a lasso, and the knife dropped to the ground. Wrapping the rope around my hand a few times for leverage, I yanked on it, jerking the soldier holding the other end down to the ground.
Untangling myself, I smashed a fist into the ground and sent a jagged trail of frozen spikes toward the woods. The icy blast knocked two of them off their feet and speared one through the thigh. The soldier cried out as blood spilled down the crystalline shaft.
Not waiting to discover his fate, I ran across the ice and into the forest. The three with good legs were hot on my trail.
I wasn’t sure what their elements were, so I didn’t know exactly how to proceed. It was possible at least one of them was an Earth, and if that were the case, they were close enough to enlist the entire forest to try to stop me. It was also possible one of them was a Wind and could slow me down considerably. That was problematic, seeing as I needed to cover a huge distance.
I moved to the outside edge of the woods, sticking close to town in case I needed to flee the trees. From there, I saw Modernists streaming through the streets. Half of them scattered into the forest, and half ran around in circles, unsure of where to go. Certainly, their houses didn’t feel like a safe enough option with the Shadow Sect soldiers patrolling outside. Wherever Holden had directed them to go, they were clearly too panicked to follow orders.
Pushing myself harder, I realized it was getting more difficult to gain speed. Suddenly, I saw the ground rising up, higher and higher, until there was nowhere left to go but up. Then the earth spilled over like a wave, piling on top of me.
Shit! I cried in my mind as I frantically fought to find a way out.
Putting my palms against the wall of dirt, I quickly sucked the water from the soil and turned the wave into sandy dust. Unfortunately, it still accumulated around me, essentially trapping me from the waist down.
The three soldiers surrounded me.
I knew it wasn’t wise to use my fire after dark, but I was running out of options. Blue flames ignited across my skin and baked the nearby earth into a hardened mixture of clay and glass.
“This is pointless, Valerie,” said the turquoise-eyed soldier. She removed her helmet, and beautiful blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders.
Elise.
Taking a deep breath, I amped up my flames. I could not be caught. Slowly, the glass started melting into a viscous pool.
Then it stopped.
I glared at the soldier on my right, who was obviously a fellow Fire. He was staring intently, concentrating hard on containing my flames. I threw a fireball at him. It didn’t hurt, but it was enough to break his focus.
“Enough, Valerie!” Elise said in an exasperated tone. “You should’ve cooperated with Exis when you had the chance.” She nodded to her companions. “Bag her up. She gets taken in alive.”
“The hell I do,” I muttered through clenched teeth
as I boiled the soupy mess enclosing me.
The heat was enough to force all but the Fire Elemental back a few steps. I lifted myself from the ground and shot a row of icy spikes at him. They punched through his arm and shoulder before he had a chance to block them. He flamed up and melted them, but they’d already done their damage. Blood dripped from his fingertips onto the ground as he squeezed his arm tightly.
I started running again, but the earth began sucking at my feet. Growling, I rolled out an icy carpet across the terrain and regained speed.
Ahead, I noticed a strange movement between the trees, like the convex silhouette of something invisible—or, more to the point, like an Earth Elemental blending in seamlessly with the vegetation.
Cade!
I sprinted to the strange spot as fast as I could, balls of ice and fire soaring through the air behind me. The earth was no longer opposing my escape, so I knew Cade must have overpowered Elise.
When I got there, he immediately pulled me into an embrace behind a tree and put his finger to his lips. I nodded my understanding and kept as quiet as possible while still trying to catch my breath. Sienna suddenly appeared out of nowhere and touched my shoulder. My breathing was instantly quieter and easier. I smiled my thanks and amazement at her.
The two unscathed Sect soldiers approached the woods and looked around. Elise bent down and palmed the ground, snarling when she came up emptyhanded. She glanced at the other guy, who must’ve been a Wind. He put his hands into the air and slowly spun in a circle. After a moment, he shook his head.
Hell yeah, Sienna! I couldn’t help but squeal in my mind. She was making progress by leaps and bounds, and it was definitely coming in handy.
“Damn it, Valerie!” Elise shouted. “I know you’re out there! I will find you, and when I do, you will wish you had been caught sooner.”
She thrust her helmet onto her head and stormed off.
Cade held me tight for a few minutes longer, eyes silently drifting from tree to tree until he was absolutely certain they’d left. He and Sienna shared a nod, and we all heaved a collective sigh of relief.
“That was way too close,” she said, running a hand through her silky black hair.
“You were amazing, though!” I said, pulling her into a tight hug.
“She’s right,” Cade said from behind me.
I let go of Sienna and looked at him.
“You were almost captured,” he said softly. “We have to be more careful, one hundred times more vigilant. Losing you is not an option.”
“No, it isn’t,” Sienna agreed, shaking her head. “In fact, it might even be worth having an extra Fire and Water added to the entourage…”
Kale and Xavier.
She must’ve really been worried if she was willing to inconvenience herself so severely. I wasn’t really sure we needed to take it quite that far, but I wasn’t about to argue against a chance of getting them back together.
“We’ll see,” I said, hoping to table the discussion for the time being.
“No,” Cade argued, crossing his arms. “We will add them. I’ll tell Kale and Xavier as soon as we get back home, and we’ll travel everywhere as a team.”
Sienna glared into the woods in thought. “I think we should call them now. Better safe than sorry. Better sooner than later.”
“That’s not necessary,” I said, not wanting to feel like a total invalid. “I’m the strongest Fire and Water around. I can handle life without them for a few more hours, I’m sure.”
We then looked to Cade for the tiebreaker vote. His eyes widened when he realized what he had to do.
Uncrossing his arms, he slipped his hands into his pockets. “At this point, I think Sienna’s right. Better safe than sorry.”
I shook my head. “Unbelievable.”
Cade smiled sympathetically. “Everywhere as a team.”
Great. How the hell was I supposed to meet up with Madam Lucia alone if I was now stuck traveling with everyone as a team?
We made our way back to Cade’s parked truck while Sienna called the boys and made sure they’d meet us there.
It was an interesting predicament. On the one hand, I knew how incredibly awesome it was to have such loyal friends supporting me and my campaign. On the other, it was difficult to constantly feel like a childish burden. I understood that they wanted to protect me. God knows I didn’t want to end up dead or in the custody of the Shadow Sect either, but there had to be a better way of going about it.
Xavier and Kale showed up a few minutes later, and we were soon speeding down the winding roads that led the way back home.
When we arrived at the house, I entered first, tiptoeing around because Dad and Kendrick were probably already asleep. I flicked the kitchen light on and our five-Elemental team found seats at the table. Leftover pizza sat in the middle, wrapped in foil.
“Yes! I forgot we had pizza left,” Xavier said, rubbing his six-pack abs. “I’m starving.”
Cade rolled his eyes at his brother. “You always think you’re starving.”
I smiled and made my way to the fridge. “Kale, you’re more than welcome to have some pizza, too. Does anyone want a drink?”
I passed out a few sodas—one of the only manmade treats I’d indulged in since Cade had moved in—and retook my seat at the table.
Then an idea came to me. “Do we have any maps I could look at?”
Cade shot me a curious glance, as did the other three. “I’m sure your dad has some in the study. Why?”
“Because Holden gave me a half-assed location,” I said. “I need a map to figure out what the hell he’s actually talking about.”
“What did he say?” Cade asked, keeping his voice carefully neutral.
“He said, ‘Wellsfield. Parker Center. One week.’”
Kale ran his thumb across his chin. “Isn’t Wellsfield close to the Pennsylvania-New York border?”
I shrugged. “I have no idea.”
Cade nodded. “Well it looks like we’re going to have to find out. The Elitists have stayed quiet since the bombing of Center Allegheny, but now that they’re creeping back out of the woodwork, we’ll have to stop them at all costs. If we can win, I bet more people will join the Revolutionist cause.”
He was right; I was sure of it. This was going to be a huge make-or-break moment for us.
“Anyway, here’s the thing,” Sienna said, getting the meeting back on its original track. “We need to be with Valerie always. You guys saw for yourselves how the Shadow Sect is gunning for her. We need to make damn sure they don’t so much as touch her, let alone take her.”
All heads nodded in agreement.
“You feel like moving in, Kale?” she asked, drawing a frown from Xavier. “Everyone else is already one room away in case of an emergency. You might as well be, too.”
Kale glanced between the two of them, probably torn between the practicality of the idea and the fear of violating some bro code.
Before he could answer, I put up a finger. “Can I just have one more day of freedom before being surrounded by bodyguards all the time?”
“No,” everyone said at once, though Sienna’s voice stuck out the loudest.
Cade frowned at me. “What’s so important that you need to do it alone, Val?”
His voice was quiet…too quiet. This was a very precarious ledge we were now standing on. Our relationship was being tested in a way I couldn’t fully understand, but I knew in my heart I couldn’t afford to lie. If I lied now, he’d never be able to fully trust me, and we would eventually crumble and fall right off that ledge into the nothingness below.
“I don’t want to lie to you,” I whispered, feeling the sharp pang of tears stabbing me behind the eyes. “Can you just trust me?”
He swallowed and his jaw ticked. “Val, I’m trying really hard here, but this is your life we’re talking about. I don’t know why you’d keep anything from me, but we can’t afford to let you out of our sight, not anymore. I’m…I’m sorry.�
��
I shook my head. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be keeping things from you”—I glanced around the kitchen table—“any of you, but I have to.”
Kale pursed his lips in thought. “Is there any way we can meet you in the middle? A compromise of sorts?”
I considered his words before sighing. “Maybe… How about I let you guys follow me around and play bodyguard, but you don’t question anything about where we are or what we’re doing?”
“What the fuck, Val?” Sienna said, but it sounded more like a questioning plea.
“I’m sorry,” I said with a guilty smile. “I love you too much to let you stop me.”
“Stop you from what?” Xavier asked, mouth full of pizza.
I shook my head at him then turned to Cade. Confusion, suspicion, and probably a little bit of hurt twisted in his emerald eyes.
“Please,” I said, my voice barely a whisper as I took his hand and squeezed. “This is the best I can do. Just…trust me.”
Cade nodded, but he didn’t look happy. “When are we leaving?”
Hope flooded through me. “Seriously? You’re willing to go along with this?”
He smirked and shook his head. “Will you always be amazed at the shit I’m willing to do for you?”
“Probably,” I said, barely able to believe I’d heard him right.
He squeezed my hand and kissed it. “Well, get used to it, baby girl. I can’t think of anything I wouldn’t do for you. If that means following you around with no clue about where I’m going just to keep you safe, so be it.”
I took a deep breath and tried to ignore the swelling and fluttering of my heart.
I loved him. I loved him so freaking much it hurt.
“We’ll leave tomorrow after training, then,” I said with no further elaboration.
The sooner I talked to Madam Lucia, the sooner I could heal my best friend’s heart. Then I could get to Northland and find Aunt Marge another book, one that would hopefully be of more use than the others had been. Once I did all that, we could focus on stopping Nicholai and the Elitists from destroying the world, one human city at a time.
Elemental Betrayal Page 5
