Invisible

by Alycia Linwood

  “Yeah, I can do that.”

  “Great. Follow me.” We strode across the field to the other side of the building. At least no one would see us turning invisible behind the huge trees. I was glad the cops were successfully containing the students from wandering around. My heartbeat raced as we found ourselves among the trees, but Marissa was nowhere in sight. “Marissa?” I called tentatively.

  “Moira?” Marissa came out, her eyes bulging at the sight of Nick.

  “It’s okay. He’s a friend. We’re going to get the others,” I said, inching toward her.

  Marissa tilted her head, her gaze focused on Nick. “Is he...?”

  “Kenna’s brother? Yeah, he is.” I let my element out and my body slowly started to shimmer. I’d never wanted more to get away from the university as soon as possible. “He’ll carry you.” I rose into the air as Nick took hold of Marissa, who wasn’t capable of tearing her eyes off him. Their bodies turned into air and I followed Nick’s shimmering cloud. But as we glided over the city, I looked behind us and noticed another shimmering cloud.

  “Nick!” I yelled. “We have a problem. Someone is following us.”

  “Can you tell who? Maybe it’s another agent,” Nick said. “Wait, who is actually on your side in this? Noah?”

  “Noah and Jaiden, but I don’t think it’s them.” Noah or Jaiden would have yelled something or rushed after us, but this cloud was at a distance, as if it were observing us. I didn’t dare to think it was one of Elemontera’s agents. But if Elemontera suspected something, wouldn’t they have locked my elements instead of sending one agent after me? No, they weren’t that stupid. “Shit, it’s probably one of those who attacked us at the library.”

  “Are you sure?” Marissa asked. “I don’t get it why they’re doing this. Maybe we should land and try to talk to them. I mean, they seemed like good people. People like us.”

  “I don’t think they want to talk. Why don’t we hurry?” I increased my speed. Fighting in the air would be complicated or nearly impossible, not to mention that it would considerably slow us down. We had to get away from this elemental somehow.

  “We’re close!” Nick said as we charged forward, zigzagging between the houses and buildings. We plunged to the ground, right behind one house. Nick and Marissa turned visible, so I let my body solidify, too. I looked around and at the sky, but I couldn’t see any shimmering. Good. Maybe we’d bought us some time.

  “The van is around the back,” Nick said. “What now?”

  “You wait here for a bit,” I said. “Marissa, you’re coming with me.”

  “What are you going to do?” Nick’s brow creased with worry.

  “I’m going to pretend we caught another elemental.”

  “Oh, okay. There should be only two guards watching over the van, anyway.”

  “What?” I looked at him. “Only two guards? Why didn’t Elemontera order them to take the elementals to the headquarters already? What are they waiting for? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they’re still here, but why?”

  “I don’t know. I guess they trust technology to alert them of any suspicious elemental activity and keep the elementals from escaping. Other agents had to go deal with your emergency with mysterious attackers. I suppose they’re waiting for clearance first. Elemontera doesn’t like unexpected attacks, so they’re probably staying here where it’s safe until they make sure the whole way back to the headquarters is clear, too.” Nick shrugged.

  I chewed on the insides of my mouth. What if this was a trap? Another one of Elemontera’s tests for me? I frowned at the house in front of us. All the blinds were shut and the weeds had grown all over the porch. “Does anyone live here?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  Okay, so maybe this was one of Elemontera’s safe houses, but if no one lived in it, then no one could have seen us coming or realize that Marissa was with us willingly. Not that they could prove I hadn’t mind-controlled her first, but still. “The guards can tell we’re here because of our bracelets, so let’s go. Nick, come after me later and keep the guards busy. You can talk about that elemental who followed us and see what they know about that. Marissa, keep your hands behind your back and don’t say anything.”

  I grabbed Marissa by the arm and pretended to drag her with me. The black van was parked right around the corner and two guards came out, their guns pointed at Marissa and me.

  “Identify yourself, agent,” one of the guards yelled.

  “Moira Arnolds.” I watched as the guard raised a tablet and nodded. They could confirm my identity by voice? Lovely.

  “I’ve got another elemental.” I offered them a smile.

  “You didn’t report to the headquarters.” The other guard narrowed his eyes at me. “Why?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I just chased this elemental all the way from the university. I’m so sorry I didn’t have time to land on a freakin’ roof somewhere so I could inform the boss about it. Now could you please just let me put her with the others? I’d hate to have to chase her again.” Marissa fidgeted, and I pretended to tighten my grip on her elbow.

  The guards looked at each other, and then one of them nodded. “Okay, put her in with the rest.” I pushed Marissa forward, and the guard lowered his weapon and started for the back of the van. “My partner should come soon. He went to investigate another suspicious elemental,” I said and saw the other guard tense, his gun still raised. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Nick, who stopped in the middle of the street, panting.

  “Whoa, easy there, guys,” he said, lifting his hands in the air. “I’m agent Nick Elinders. We have a problem, though.”

  “What kind of a problem?” the guard who’d been going for the back of the van stopped, his eyebrows shooting upward.

  “Greg, I’m detecting high levels of elemental energy nearby. It isn’t anyone we’re tracking,” the other guard said, finally lowering his gun, his eyes trained on a monitor in the front of the van. Whoever had been following Nick, Marissa, and me couldn’t be far, and it was only a matter of moments before he or she showed up. An attack would provide us with a much needed distraction. I considered reaching out for the guards’ minds, but I wasn’t sure I could mind control them both without them realizing. They looked like a regular kind of elementals, but they’d probably be able to see the levels of elemental energy rise around me, so that could trigger an alarm.

  “Whoever it is, I’m afraid they have some crazy abilities.” Nick whistled, getting closer. “We should hide or run... or something.”

  Greg scratched his head. “I’ll contact the headquarters. See what they say.” His dark eyes met mine. “But we should get your elemental locked up first.”

  “Oh, don’t worry. She won’t go anywhere. I mind-controlled her.” I offered him a smile. He blinked, his shoulders tensing, and he shuffled to the front of the van and got inside. Nick leaned on the door, blocking Greg’s view of me. Perfect. I let go of Marissa and we started for the back door, but as we rounded the van, I stopped dead in my tracks.

  Chapter 17

  A tall girl stood not far from us, her long black hair flying in the breeze, her blue eyes narrowed. I tried to yell at Marissa to run, but I didn’t get a chance because the girl sent a blast of air at me. My back hit the van, my breath getting knocked out of me. I managed to regain my balance and not fall to the ground, letting my fire overtake my body. A slow smile spread across the girl’s face, and a wave of water hit my fire with so much force that steam surrounded me, my fire painfully pushed back inside of me.

  In the corner of my eye, I could see Marissa taking a step toward the girl and sending a dozen fireballs in her direction, but the girl turned into air and deflected the fire with ease. The guards and Nick came running, and Nick tried to blast the girl with his air, but she avoided him and charged one of the guards, kicking the gun out of his hand. I turned to Marissa, who was crouched near the van, her eyes bright and wide. “I’ll cover you! Just free the others. Do you think
you can do that?”

  She nodded and lifted herself enough so she could reach the door. Greg glanced our way and I knew he’d try to stop the elementals from escaping rather than fight the girl. I felt for the device in my pocket and pressed the button, praying that no one at Elemontera would be able to see what I was about to do. As Nick and the other guard chased the girl down the street, I strode over to Greg, who was picking up his gun. I had no idea why he thought a gun would help him in a fight with elements, but as I drew nearer, I realized he wasn’t going for a gun but for some kind of a device.

  My blast of air caught him from behind and he stumbled. I used my air to get hold of a log that was lying at the edge of the road. Lifting the log, I smashed it against the back of Greg’s head before he could get to his feet. A shimmering cloud settled not far from me and turned itself into our attacker, who tilted her head at me, her lips slightly parted. She hadn’t expected me to attack the guy who was supposed to be one of my own, had she?

  Nick used the opportunity and slammed his body into hers, the impact sending them both to the ground. The girl rolled over, attempting to get up, but the guard was on her, a pair of special element-blocking handcuffs in his hand. I made a step toward them, but a wall of fire rose in front of me, and I had to use my own fire to take it down. A gust of air hit the guard in the chest, throwing him against a house, his head hitting the brick wall with a sickening crack.

  Nick’s scream pierced the air as he thrashed on the ground, his hands covering his face. I saw a shimmering thread forcing its way into his head and lashed out against it, severing it. Nick cried out, and I advanced on the girl, materializing a ring of fire around us. The girl’s hands turned into fire as we circled each other. If I wasn’t wrong, she actually had three elements, like Noah.

  “Why are you attacking us? It looks like we’re on the same side,” I said. She’d seen me take out Greg and she knew that we both had abilities superior to regular elementals, so why hadn’t she stopped her attack? “Elemontera took me against my will. Whatever you...”

  The girl smirked. “You agents are all the same. You work for those bastards and kill your own kind! You should want me to kill you and put you out of your misery. To save those you love.”

  I felt warmth behind my back and jumped forward, barely avoiding the fire triangle she had created behind my back. “I didn’t kill anyone,” I said, even though I didn’t believe the girl could be reasoned with. Especially not in a middle of a fight. I let my fire creep up to her feet, but she doused it with water.

  “You’re one of Elemontera’s strongest agents. It’s nothing personal, but I have to take you down.” The girl rushed me, two big fireballs preceding her. My blue fire consumed my hands and I met the fireballs head on, swallowing them with my fire. But as I tried to dodge the girl, she blasted me with her air and I was thrown toward the van.

  “Moira!” Marissa yelled, crouching next to me. “The door won’t open. I need a code of some kind. The van is element-proof.”

  “Get behind the van!” I struggled to get to my feet, creating a wall of fire to protect Marissa and me from the girl who was getting closer, her water assailing my fire.

  “No.” Marissa stood up and stepped in front of me, facing the girl, as the last bits of my fire ebbed away. “Raven, stop this! What are you doing? You promised you’d help my friends, not hurt them!”

  “This one is not your friend. It’s too late for her.” Raven’s eyes were cold and hard. “Get out of my way, Marissa.”

  “No!” Marissa stomped her feet, her fists curled at her sides. “I won’t let you hurt Moira. I won’t.”

  A shimmering thread appeared out of nowhere and wrapped itself around Marissa’s head, sending her to her knees. My air shot out of me and cut the thread. I was about to attack Raven with more of my fire when I realized she was looking at the sky. My fireball was halfway to her when she turned into air and flew up, rapidly gaining speed. She was out of sight only a moment later.

  Jaiden and Noah materialized next to me and I frowned. “How did you guys find us? I thought the device would block our location,” I said. I supposed they could have seen the shimmering and the fight from the air, but they’d have to know where to go. Perhaps one of the agents had told them the location of the van.

  “Don’t worry. Your signal went out,” Jaiden said. “Elemontera sent us to investigate the place where the signal had disappeared, and now our signals are gone, too, so we should go. More agents will show up very soon. Actually, every single agent will be here.”

  Noah crouched next to Greg’s slumped body, pressing his fingers to the guard’s neck. “He’s alive, just knocked out. What about the other guard?” He looked up at me.

  I shook my head. “Check on Nick!”

  Jaiden offered Marissa his hand and she took it, getting to her feet.

  “The van,” she breathed out, wiping at her forehead with the sleeve of her shirt. “Won’t open.”

  Jaiden frowned and got closer to the door of the van, his hand hovering over the keypad. He lowered his head and mumbled under his breath. I didn’t move as I waited for him to do something, well aware that he knew the code. He just didn’t know whether he wanted to use it. Was the code one of those only few people would know, so he thought Elemontera would know he was the one who freed the elementals? But Greg must know the code, too, because he hadn’t complained or said anything when I pretended that I wanted to put Marissa with the rest.

  Unless Greg was the only other person who knew it and he’d tell Elemontera he hadn’t given out the code to anyone. As an Elemontera agent, he was probably protected against Jaiden’s mind control, but he wasn’t against mine. Of course, that would get me in trouble once Jaiden, Noah, and I returned to Elemontera.

  A soft beep brought my attention to the van, and I saw Jaiden opening the door. Marissa gasped next to me and rushed to the van. I followed her, a sour taste in my mouth, my stomach rolling. Where were they? Why weren’t they coming out?

  “No!” Marissa let out a high-pitched shriek.

  “It’s okay. They’re fine,” Jaiden said, climbing into the van. I was close enough to see Ashley lying on her back, her eyes closed, her face pale. Bailey lay on his side, his mouth slightly open, a dark bruise on his cheek, his blond hair sticky with blood.

  “But... but... they’re not...” Marissa hiccupped.

  I reached for Ashley’s wrist, but Jaiden caught my hand. “Be careful,” he said. “We need to take off the bracelets first.”

  I looked at Ashley’s wrists, but I couldn’t see a bracelet. “I don’t...”

  “Look closer,” Jaiden said, taking Ashley’s hand in his and gently trailing his fingers toward her wrist, raising a shimmering line on her skin. I blinked and it was there; a thick shimmering bracelet.

  “I didn’t know such bracelets existed.” I held my breath as Jaiden touched the shimmering, and the bracelet turned black.

  “They’re part of Elemontera’s newest technology. Our temporary bracelets lock people’s elements, but they can be taken off too easily. These can’t be, because not everyone can unlock them.” Jaiden slipped the bracelet off Ashley’s wrist, and she stirred but didn’t open her eyes.

  “You helped them make those,” I said, my voice more intense and accusing than I wanted it to be.

  Jaiden looked away, licking his lips. “I did...”

  Marissa placed her hand on Ashley’s shoulder, squeezing lightly. “Does that mean you can take off Moira’s and Noah’s bracelets, too? If they let you see how that technology works, maybe it’s similar!”

  “No.” Jaiden moved closer to Bailey so he could use his element on the bracelet. “Regular bracelets are different. They come with a tracker, special chip... Anyway, they might work similarly, but they need to be adapted and custom-made for every elemental. And temporary bracelets work on all elementals, but only to block their elements and to infuse them with a sedative. Now that they are invisible, not many people can free el
ementals, and there is less chance an elemental will manage to take off the bracelet before the sedative kicks in.”

  Marissa’s mouth went slack. “Umm, how do you know all that? Elemontera actually trusts you with all that info?”

  Jaiden threw three bracelets to the ground, which meant he’d freed Sam, too.

  “Are they going to wake up soon? We really need to get them out of here,” I said. Now was not the time to explain to Marissa that Jaiden wasn’t just another agent like Noah and me.

  “Yeah, in a moment or two,” he said. “What about Nick? If you have to mind control him, you better do it now.”

  “I hope he will come with us until we get everyone to safety.” I didn’t wait for Jaiden’s reply but jogged toward Noah, who was cradling Nick in his arms. Nick’s face was covered in bruises, blood trickling from his nose.

  “Are you okay?” I lowered myself next to him, grasping his hand.

  He nodded, grimacing. “My whole body hurts, but I’ll be fine. Just... give me a moment.”

  “We’ll have to get out of here. Get rid of any device or weapon Elemontera gave you, and, Noah, destroy any phones that might have been confiscated. We don’t want them to use any of those to track us.” I hadn’t asked Jaiden if the device I still had in my pocket would block only the tracker in the bracelets or everything that emitted a signal. Even though I hadn’t heard or noticed any sign that Elemontera was trying to use the communication devices to contact us, it was better to get rid of anything that could give Elemontera clues about our whereabouts.

  “What about our biggest threat?” Noah nodded in Jaiden’s direction. “If he informs Elemontera about...”

  “He won’t,” I said as we pulled Nick back to his feet.