A Hidden Element

by Donna Galanti

  A HIDDEN ELEMENT

  The Element Trilogy – Book Two

  Donna Galanti

  A HIDDEN ELEMENT

  The Element Trilogy – Book Two

  Copyright © 2014 by Donna Galanti. All Rights Reserved.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. And any resemblance to actual persons, living, dead (or in any other form), business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  www.elementtrilogy.com

  FIRST EDITION Kindle ebook

  Imajin Books - http://www.imajinbooks.com

  August 28, 2014

  ISBN: 978-1-927792-90-2

  Cover designed by Ryan Doan — http://www.ryandoan.com

  Table of Contents

  Praise for A HIDDEN ELEMENT

  Acknowledgements

  CHAPTER 1: The Beginning

  CHAPTER 2: Seven years later

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  CHAPTER 26

  CHAPTER 27

  CHAPTER 28

  CHAPTER 29

  CHAPTER 30

  CHAPTER 31

  CHAPTER 32

  CHAPTER 33

  CHAPTER 34

  CHAPTER 35

  CHAPTER 36

  CHAPTER 37

  CHAPTER 38

  CHAPTER 39

  CHAPTER 40

  CHAPTER 41

  CHAPTER 42

  CHAPTER 43

  CHAPTER 44

  CHAPTER 45

  CHAPTER 46

  CHAPTER 47

  CHAPTER 48

  Message from the Author

  About the Author

  IMAJIN BOOKS

  Praise for A HIDDEN ELEMENT

  "Chilling and dark, Donna Galanti’s A Hidden Element is a twisty journey into another world, where fathers and sons fight the ultimate battle, and ghostly strangers manipulate those left behind on Earth. Don’t miss it." —J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author of When Shadows Fall

  "A Hidden Element is a fascinating look at the bleak and graphic world of the Elyon Destroyers, a humanoid race with special powers and a strong drive to endure and procreate at all costs, and other Elyons who struggle to stop them and save humanity. It is also a haunting story about just how far parents will go to protect, or destroy, their children in the name of love." —Rebecca Cantrell, New York Times bestselling author of The World Beneath

  "Donna Galanti's A Hidden Element expertly mixes genres, combining sci-fi with mystery, thriller and romance. The result is a pulse-pounding read that will keep you up long past your bedtime, turning pages as fast as you can. If you love suspense, do yourself a favor and make Donna Galanti’s Element series your next read." —Allan Leverone, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Final Vector

  "A darkly fresh take on the paranormal genre." —Scott Nicholson, international bestselling author of The Red Church

  "An intoxicating blend of sci-fi and suspense! Donna Galanti brings together all my favorite elements—psi-powers, aliens hiding among us, sex as a weapon and secret rebellions that could change worlds. A Hidden Element is an edge-of-your-seat read that had me holding my breath and crossing my fingers…at least until I had to turn the next page!" —John Everson, Bram Stoker award-winning author of Siren

  "A compelling page turner! A Hidden Element is an evocative mirror on humanity as seen through the eyes, hearts, and desires of a dying alien race. Bone-chilling suspense with a tantalizing palpable menace readers will devour." —Jordan Dane, bestselling author of the Sweet Justice series

  "Donna Galanti’s A Hidden Element masterfully depicts the most powerful battle of all: great love against great evil, with an unearthly twist. The book wraps its confident storytelling around you on page one and rivets your attention to the heart-racing ending. A triumph of craft and characterization, A Hidden Element drips suspense from every compelling word. A gripping, emotionally involving, and unsettling read—highly recommended!" —Dakota Banks, award-winning author of the Mortal Path series

  For Mike. Who never stopped believing.

  Acknowledgements

  Special thanks to Teri Goggin-Roberts who helped me shape this book as I wrote it, and for cheering on "Team Caleb".

  Thanks to my wonderful beta readers Randi Sherwood and Lisa Green, who know how to call me out!

  Somewhere in this book is a hidden “Easter Egg,” a link to 3 FREE Qwickie novellas by 3 bestselling authors. This is a time limited offer, so happy reading and hunting!

  CHAPTER 1: The Beginning

  Silent dark hung under a star-filled sky.

  The dark deepened as they headed into the forest. Ancient conifers towered over them, blocking out the moon. Rain fell cold and lifeless. The nearest town of Benevolence, Oregon, was five miles northwest.

  Caleb Madroc's father stood across from him, waiting for his people to gather their belongings. Their pale faces glowed like orbs within gray hooded robes as they waited for his father's instruction.

  "We head toward town," his father ordered. Caleb opened his mouth, but there were no words for his feelings of anger and loss at suddenly leaving the only home he'd ever known. It raged inside him, a tumult of emotion he must quell for now. At least his own black hair, like his face, was a constant reminder of his mother to his father. This made him glad.

  Caleb shut his mouth and nodded, stepping in behind his father. Rain fell cold and lifeless. He fell behind as he helped the womenfolk with their bags. One young female sent him a furtive, desperate look as she touched his hand in passing.

  I'm so scared. What will happen to us?

  He smiled at her. Keep your thoughts to yourself. It's safer this way. All will work out once we settle. She bit her lip, her eyes full of tears, and nodded looking back down at her feet.

  "Father, how much further? Some of the younger females are struggling," Caleb sai
d.

  His father's eyes stung him through the mist rising up from the forest floor. They were eyes so different from his, and from his mother's. Caleb had often seen sadness and pity for his father in his mother's eyes. The day he had found her dead in the well her eyes held only nothingness.

  "Can't we stop and rest, Adrian?" A few in the group grumbled. They looked wet and tired, a sea of gray flowing before him. His father glowered at their weakness. As Caleb scanned the sodden crowd a female smiled at his father, holding the promise of submission. Perfect for his father, who wanted to breed another son to take his place. A worthy son.

  "We do not stop." His father's voice rose over the line of people before him, and he smiled back at the female and a strange sense of relief washed over Caleb. If his father did create a new prodigal son to groom it might remove his first born from his watchful eye.

  With that thought, anguish over his mother's absence hit him fresh again. At eighteen and bigger than his father, he still needed his mother. She had been his kindred spirit, like Uncle Brahm. But now he was alone in this strange place. No longer did he have someone to be his true self with. He must step carefully.

  His father continued to scan his flock. They stood still and silent, conveying their subservience. He nodded, apparently satisfied with their response. "You all took the oath to come here. Hard work lies before us in breeding our new community. Understood?"

  They nodded in a collective wave.

  Just like you bred with Aunt Manta while your wife lay dead? Caleb spewed out in his head without thinking.

  His father moved closer, until his flaring nostrils touched his. Caleb stepped back, but his father gripped his arm. Dozens of eyes watched their battle.

  Do not ever mention my brother's wife's name again, Son.

  His father's fingers pinched him hard and his hot breath pulsed across his face, but Caleb couldn't stop. Mother's dead because of you. And what about Aunt Manta? Did you kill her, too?

  I didn't kill anyone. And your mother should have been more careful.

  You let her travel alone. She fell and died because she was alone.

  It was your well, Caleb, she fell into. Your hideaway you carelessly covered up. Your fault.

  His father's accusations stabbed him with painful truth. He sucked in his breath. My fault. Yes. My fault.

  He looked around the watchful crowd as his head reeled with the agony of what he had done. His people stared back at him, their thoughts hid behind blank faces. Why did they come? Didn't they have dreams and wants and needs of their own, too? Or were they all obedient drones of his father?

  His father thrust his arm away and turned around, plunging faster through the woods. Caleb hesitated then followed behind, trying to keep up. He envisioned himself standing still until everyone glided around him, leaving him to remain alone under a watchful moon.

  Branches snagged his robe shooting him back to reality. His father's people followed in silence. If they didn't obey there would be consequences. As Caleb knew. He had no special privilege here as Adrian's son.

  At last his father stepped out onto a paved road. It stretched far into the distance, where welcoming lights beckoned them across the final mile. They reached the main intersection of town. A car flashed by. A radio blared. Faces stared out at them. He stared back. They were so different from himself and yet…not.

  He broke his gaze realizing how out of place this group looked late at night. The people here wore jeans and shirts, the shapes of their bodies outlined under tight clothes. The female's curves called to him, unlike his people who clothed themselves in shapeless robes to discourage free sexual thoughts. They were now to breed only with those chosen for them.

  His father led them single file down the sidewalk. A handful of people sat behind windows drinking. They pointed at them as they walked by. "Gillian's Bar" flashed in neon green above the doorway in the late evening hours. A man and woman, heading into the bar, stepped back from the sidewalk to watch them pass. Freaks, he heard the man say. And his father erased the memory of the encounter from these strangers' minds in the seconds it took to pass them.

  "Father," Caleb whispered in his ear. "Where are we going?"

  A large building rose at the far end of a parking lot. "Ray's Lots" blinked over and over.

  "Here is where we go."

  A woman pushed a cart filled with bags to her car, the only car left in the lot. She stopped and stared at them. Her hair framed her face in tight curls. A blue and white striped dress strained to contain her breasts and belly.

  "Good evening, brothers," she said with a hesitant smile.

  His father motioned for them to stop. He smiled at her. She smiled back.

  "Good evening, madam," his father drawled.

  "God bless you." She grabbed his father's hand. Caleb swallowed a laugh at the way his father looked at her with such a serious, doting face.

  "And God bless you, my child."

  "What church are you with?" The woman fingered a cross at her neck. "Are you having an event in town?"

  His father had said a church was the perfect cover. One of the many cultural ways learned before infiltration. All part of his father's master plan.

  "It's the Church of Elyon," his father said.

  The woman took her hand away and frowned. "Never heard of it. You're not one those crazy cults are you?"

  Caleb stepped to his father's side. Let me work her mind, Father. "What's your name, Madam?"

  "Sally."

  "I'm Caleb Madroc." He shook her hand hoping his father didn't have some depraved mission in mind. Caleb wanted to get food for their hungry group and shelter and have as little interaction with these town people as possible. "We're simple folks. Our bus broke down outside of town. We seek food and a place to stay nearby. Can you help us?"

  "What a nice young man you are. Of course I can help you." She abandoned her cart and pulled Caleb toward the store. "My cousin runs this store and can stock you up with food. And the Mercenary Motel is down the street."

  He didn't understand her eagerness as she dragged him along then it was made clear by his father's mirthful laugh. His father had probed her mind and now controlled it—she would do whatever he commanded.

  Caleb followed her into the store. Their people streamed in behind. Sally dragged him to a counter where a short red-faced man scowled at them. "Ray, these folks are here in town from a wonderful church. Their bus broke down and they need food."

  Within seconds Ray's frown changed to a wide grin as Caleb's father continued his mind games. "Come in, come in. Time to close up anyhow." He flicked the sign on the front door and shut off the lights outside.

  "Thank you," his father said. "I need food here for my flock before we find a place to stay."

  "Help yourself to anything you want." Ray ran his hands over shelves. "Pretzels, baked beans, cereal, Ding Dongs. We even sell the word of the Lord." Sally and Ray beamed at them.

  His father directed everyone to gather food and drinks. Sally and Ray stood by the counter, their minds blank except for what his father put into them. He dared not combat his father's powers. Not here. Not now. But someday.

  "Ray, I need all your money now," his father said.

  Ray clapped his hands together. "Of course." He pulled money from a nearby metal box.

  When his father's bag burst full of items he handed it to a community member and cocked his head at Ray and Sally. "Time to go now, my new friends." He motioned his people out the door. Ray and Sally stood with stupid smiles on their faces as the group filed out into the parking lot. All, except his father.

  "Come on, Father," Caleb pleaded, the dark knot in his stomach hardened. "Our job here is done."

  "Not quite." His father moved toward the smiling cousins, a book in his hand. The Holy Bible. He thumbed through it to a passage and looked up smiling. "As for God, his way is perfect, is it not?"

  "The word of God is true," Sally sang out, clutching Ray's hand. Her cousin nodded.
<
br />   "Ray, isn't Sally lovely? Look at her." His father pointed at the heavy set woman.

  Ray turned to Sally. His pants bulged and Sally's eyes widened. She tugged on her dress top.

  "Have your way with her Ray, you know you want to."

  "Father," Caleb whispered, clutching at him but his father stayed his hand.

  Ray licked his lips and nodded.

  "Sally, unzip your fine dress and show Ray what you've got."

  Sally stepped out of her dress in a motion more fluid than one would have thought possible given her size. Her belly oozed over her thighs and her bra cut into her mountainous breasts. Ray panted, tapping his hands against his skinny legs.

  Caleb moved toward the door.

  "Stay, Son, I want you to watch this."

  "I won't."

  "You will or you know what will happen."

  Caleb stopped and sighed, looking down at the floor. Eyes watched from the parking lot.

  "Look."

  Caleb focused on the dirt in the floor cracks. His muscles twitched with anger. His father thrived on his hate, wanted him to hate—wanted his son to be a Destroyer like him. They had hidden their true selves for so long and now were free here to unleash it. Not Caleb. He refused to give in to the dark inside. He tried to release the hate for his father, but it now filled his every pore. He made a vow right then and there, he'd never allow himself to be controlled. No matter the consequences.

  He finally looked up. His father nodded, pleased, and turned back to his playthings. Ray massaged his crotch. Sally moaned, squeezing her mammoth breasts, and stepped out of her underwear.

  "Take her, Ray. Bend her right over the counter. Dive into all her lushness."

  "Lush, yes." Ray moved toward Sally, fumbling to unbuckle his pants. She squealed with glee and bent over the counter to receive him, her white bottom rising like a pitted sea of blubber. Ray mounted her, forged a path through her two white mountains, and slapped up against her in his glory.