by Larissa Ladd
There were complicated problems at play, Dylan reminded himself that they needed to solve one problem before they worked on the bigger ones. Get Aira well and then he would have plenty of time to sort out the situation between his brother and her. If they couldn’t get her well enough to perform the next phase of her trials so that she had a fighting chance to become the ruler of her element, then it wouldn’t matter what he understood or knew about the two of them.
“So, since we know Alex can’t be acting alone,” Aiden said, merging into a lane with faster-moving cars, “One of the things we need to figure out is who he’s working with—and why they wanted you dead.”
Dylan nodded, and Aira shrugged.
“Seems like everyone wants me either dead or married to them,” she said in a resigned tone.
Dylan grimaced, relaxing back in his seat. The poison was affecting her psyche as well as her body and elemental energy. Aira had been—for the entire time he had known her at least—optimistic in a certain way; not always bubbly, but determined and self-willed. Since she had come out of the semi-coma she had been in, she had been plagued by doubts. This new mentality was slowing her down, depressing her mind; the poison was making it harder for her to take positive action she could feel confident in. She needed to be cured of the residual poison generally before it drove Aira insane. It was bad enough that she had a kind of inherent instability to her nature; making it worse with the poison was a recipe for disaster. Dylan’s brotherly feeling toward Aira made the thought of her being put to death too much for him to tolerate.
*
They arrived at the location where the elders were holding Alex not far from the courthouse that they were using for conducting the trials for the new ruler of air elementals—but this place was much more heavily guarded. Dylan was affected by the power resonating in the building as he, Aiden, and Aira approached it. He knew it might be difficult to get Alex alone; they would have to make some kind of arrangement. Aira had taken another dose of the potion and Dylan could see her struggling to regain control over the wind blowing through the trees, focusing her mind on her abilities and essential energy. He remembered her doubt when it came to her usefulness in getting information out of Alex; she wasn’t sure she was capable of using any of her abilities at all—even the most useful one, her ability to compel. But having her there nonetheless wasn’t an option. He and Aiden couldn’t exactly leave her alone in the apartment, and they might both be needed to get the right information out of their target. Aira gestured for Dylan and Aiden to fall in behind her; she had come up with the strategy to use.
“I’m here to speak with Alex,” Aira said to the men guarding the entrance of the building. “I am sure if you ask someone, you’ll find that there’s no reason to bar me—I’m supposed to be executing him in a couple of days.” The men glanced at each other and one of them reached out with his mind—Dylan recognized the abstract look on his face—to communicate with someone telepathically. Dylan mentally applauded the council for having telepathic guards. It was a shrewd move overall; radios could be interfered with, phones could be broken, but short of killing a person or knocking them unconscious, you couldn’t block their telepathy.
Dylan had a small amount of the ability—he could perceive emotions and thoughts from others, thanks to the inheritance of his water energies. To a smaller degree, with people he knew very well—such as his brother—he could communicate basic impulses but not language. Aiden had suggested that if Dylan and Aira could put their separate elementally-aligned talents together, they would make a formidable telepathic team. They had never had a chance to try it, with things as unsettled as they had been—and if they didn’t get through this, they never would.
“You’re Aira. Who are these two?” Aira glanced casually at Dylan and Aiden and shrugged.
“They’re my bodyguards. My grandmother instituted them shortly before I came into my full abilities, and they’re continuing to serve me while I stand in contention.” The guard nodded curtly to his partner, and they stepped aside, allowing the three to pass through the entrance. Relief washed over Dylan, but at the same time he was more tense than he had been before. Had they been denied entrance into the building, that would have been an end to it, but now they would have to find Alex’s holding cell and interrogate him without anyone else finding out what they were doing. They turned a corner down the hall and Aira stopped him.
“Give me another dose of the potion,” she said urgently. Dylan looked at her sharply. She shouldn’t need the potion yet—she had been able to walk just fine, no sign of fatigue or weakness on her.
“You don’t know how quickly you’ll gain a tolerance,” Dylan whispered. Aira shrugged and smiled ruefully.
“Well, I need it right now. It’s the only possible way I’ll be able to use my abilities—and I think we’re going to need them.” Dylan reluctantly took out a vial of the potion he’d brought with him as a precaution. He had another, but he hoped it wouldn’t be necessary. He handed it to Aira and she knocked back the contents, swallowing firmly and handing him back the glass vial. She smiled at him with gratitude in her hazel eyes before turning back to continue on her way.
Aiden glanced around warily and Dylan realized that, in his worry for Aira, he wasn’t doing a very good job as her bodyguard. The building was a labyrinth. They couldn’t tell what it had originally been used for—maybe a small hospital. They also had no idea how they were going to find Alex in the twisting halls.
To his surprise, they came to a desk manned by an elemental; an older woman, obviously of the fire alignment by the energy radiating from her and the fact that, in the privacy of an elemental-owned building, she was playing with a small, marble-sized ball of fire in her hands. Dylan, Aira, and Aiden exchanged glances and Aiden stepped forward, catching the woman’s attention.
“Hey, we need to be directed to Alex, the air elemental who’s due for execution.” The woman glanced from Aiden to Aira and Dylan, curious but not unwelcoming.
“What do you need with him?” she asked, sitting back, obviously relishing her position of power. Aiden pointed to Aira.
“We need to interrogate him before she puts him to death in a couple of days.” The woman looked at Aira again, betraying her faint disbelief.
“An air elemental? I’ve never heard of an air elemental executing anyone.”
Aiden shrugged.
“The elders’ orders,” he said. “We need some information from him before he goes out though, and we need it ASAP.” The woman glanced at Aira again and then met Aiden’s gaze.
“What do you need from him? I can get it for you.”
Aiden shook his head. “Private information.” Aiden leaned in and spoke in a hushed tone. “If you’re as smart as you seem to be, you’ll notice that the woman I’m traveling with is one of those in contention for ruler of the element of air. Do you really want to offend her?” The woman’s gaze flicked over to Aira again and Dylan noticed that Aira was standing taller, moving towards the desk. He sensed the controlled focus of her mind, the energy increasing in her body in spite of the poison still lingering there.
“Let me in to see Alex,” she told the woman simply but firmly, catching and holding her gaze. Dylan almost rejoiced at the shimmering of energy he felt moving through the air, the sight of the other elemental’s eyes clouding over with confusion momentarily. Even if she couldn’t actually control the wind, the extra potion seemed to be giving Aira the ability to overcome the poison enough to exercise her ability to compel and persuade. The woman shrugged.
“Fine, you want to see him before you kill him, that’s your business,” she said. “Room 316.” Aira turned away from the desk and looked up at a roughly written directory posted on a wall. She started off down a hall and Dylan noticed that she was walking more slowly, though she was holding herself upright and proud. He shook his head in doubt as he followed her and Aiden came up behind him. He was anxious for the woman he had come to care about as the closest o
f his friends, as a member of his family; instead of being worried about the dissolution of her ability, however, he was now worried that she would push through the poison to her own detriment. He had no idea what would happen if she succeeded in that, but he didn’t think it would be good.
CHAPTER 4
THE ROOM THAT ALEX WAS being held in had been sealed around the outside with crystals that would suppress his abilities. The difficulty in that was that the same crystals making it impossible for Alex to escape also made it impossible for Aira to use even the little bit of her ability that the potion allowed her to access. She felt the low hum of earth-aligned elements in the walls around them as they approached the door and she knew she would have to be very, very careful not to touch any of the surfaces. It would be bad enough being inside of the room, but her energies would be further weakened and her abilities further suppressed, by exposure to more earth-aligned materials. Aira gestured for Dylan to take the lead as anger at the prospect of confronting Alex rose within her; if it weren’t for the poison he’d dosed her with before her verdict, Aira would have gladly killed him right at the moment the elders had decreed that it was her job to do so.
Dylan opened the door and Aira saw Alex. The look on his face was much like the attitude he’d had while being held on the couch in her apartment. He was lying on his back on a small bed, propped up slightly with pillows, holding a book. The shackles on his wrists weren’t iron as they had been before, but another metal Aira couldn’t quite identify, studded with rough jade and emeralds all around. Alex looked up from his book.
“Oh, so nice to see you, Dylan,” he said calmly. Aiden stepped into the room and Aira followed him. “Less nice to see you, Aiden.” When his gaze fell on Aira, Alex’s eyes widened. She was standing as firmly and as strongly as she could, holding the fatigue and weakness in her body at bay with force of will. “I should have expected you—but I rather thought you’d be carried in.”
Aira shook her head. “Nope. I’m fully capable of getting around, thanks for asking.” She put her hands on her hips and stared him down for a long moment. “We’ve got some questions for you, Alex. You’ll probably find that it’s a better idea to answer them than not.”
Alex shrugged. “When have I ever lied to you?” he asked her.
Aira’s eyes widened in angry surprise at the comment.
“You asshole! Stand up, right now.” She pushed out with every bit of her mind, in spite of the poison in her body and the influence of the earth-aligned materials surrounding her. She felt a sharp stab of pain through the front of her skull and all the way to the base of her neck as she flung the compulsion at him angrily, her body burning with rage.
After only a moment’s hesitation, Alex was shuffling to his feet, startled at his own sudden compliance to her command. He looked at her as he came out of compulsion, stooped and bent slightly from the effect of the earth-aligned materials binding his wrists and ankles. “You shouldn’t be able to do that,” he said nervously.
“Yeah, well, there’s a reason I’m in contention to rule the element,” Aira said tersely. She took a deep breath as secretly as possible and realized that it was going to only get harder—and more painful—for her to use her abilities in the room. She looked at Dylan. “Who wants to go first?” she asked, glancing from one brother to the other. “And do we want to stay here or take Alex somewhere more private?”
Aiden’s bright eyes lit up with malice, and Aira found herself anticipating his interrogation with glee.
“We should stay here unless we start to need your abilities,” Dylan suggested.
Aira nodded as subtly as she could, not wanting to jostle her aching head.
“I’d love to go first,” Aiden said, looking at Aira and then turning his gaze onto Alex. “And hey, maybe we won’t even need Dylan.” Aira could sense Aiden’s dislike of Alex, on more than one level. She felt a brief moment of uncertainty about Aiden’s ability to hold himself back from seriously injuring Alex. A few burns, evidence of a scuffle, and they’d be fine—after all, Alex was slated to die, and there was not as high a premium on avoiding roughness in interrogations among the elementals. But if Aiden really, seriously injured Alex, he would be in trouble as a result.
“Just don’t kill him or permanently injure him,” Aira said firmly. “We don’t need all of us going down with him.” Alex looked nervous—and he should—as Aiden approached him.
“Who gave you the poison?” Aiden asked him right away, holding his hand out and slowly forming fire in it to remind Alex just what it was he was up against. Aira felt the aching in her skull intensify, the weakness in her body and bones growing more and more difficult to resist. She had to maintain the pretext that she was fine. She couldn’t let Alex know she was so weak.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Alex said. Aiden brought the fire closer to him, barely a foot away from the other elemental’s body.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about, and if you don’t give me the information I’m looking for, we’ll see if those pajamas you’re wearing are flame-resistant-.” Alex glanced at Aira and Dylan as if waiting to see if they were going to let Aiden follow through on his threat. “Don’t look at them; you’re talking to me. Tell me who gave you that poison.” Aira almost smiled at the genuine fear in Alex’s eyes as Aiden brought the fire in his hand closer to him.
“It was a fire elemental, okay?” Alex said hurriedly. “He said a friend of his made it up, it was to go to Aira if I could get her to take it somehow.”
Aiden nodded slowly. “Now what the hell were you thinking of, poisoning her? It’s not like it was going to help your case.”
Alex stepped back, his knees pressing against the side of his bed as Aiden moved closer to him.
“If Aira were out of contention, then another elemental would become ruler of air, and I might have a chance. The guy that gave me the poison said he had a candidate in mind for the position.” Aiden growled lowly and Aira saw him extinguish the fire in his hand, pull it back, and punch Alex square in the face. Alex made a sound between a grunt and a whimper, falling onto the bed.
“Your turn,” Aiden said, smiling faintly at his brother. “Though when you’re done, I have a few more questions.” Dylan rolled his eyes but assumed a more serious look almost immediately. He crossed the room and pulled Alex up from the bed.
“Tell me about the potion,” he said, settling Alex on his feet. “Don’t think for a second that I won’t be as bad as Aiden; I could waterboard you right now without feeling a trace of remorse.” Aira saw Alex shaking, heard the rattling of the chains.
“I don’t know,” Alex said, his voice shaking. “I don’t know anything about it—other than what I already told Aira. It was made by someone else. I had to carry it in a special vial so it wouldn’t affect me.” Dylan shook Alex hard, rattling the chains again.
“You know something about it,” Dylan insisted. “You’re going to die anyway, but you can at least do the right thing.” Aira started to move forward to back Dylan up, but Aiden grabbed at her, holding her back, his hands still burning with the heat of fire energy in him.
“I’m telling you, they didn’t tell me anything.” Blood was beginning to ooze from the cut on Alex’s face where Aiden had hit him. Aira felt oddly gratified. She caught Alex’s gaze and held it. Something about Aiden holding her, his energy flowing into her, made Aira’s headache recede, and she pushed out with her mind, pulling in more of Aiden’s energy and directing her will through the focus of the fire he provided.
“Tell him!” Aira commanded Alex, pushing out harder with her mind than she would have thought possible even ten minutes before. Alex gasped, his eyes clouding over, his face a picture of confusion. Aira suddenly realized that if she commanded Alex to die right then, with the proper amount of focus and will, he would. It would take more will than she had ever brought to bear in any persuasion she had used, but it was—remotely—possible.
Dylan murmured something
, and Aira felt the temperature in the room falling, the air becoming cool and moist. He pressed his hand to Alex’s head, and Aira almost protested—worried that he was going to undo the work of her persuasion. Dylan’s murmuring grew and Aira realized that he was deepening the compulsion, appealing to Alex’s emotions, trying to pull the information out of his mind. Aira stopped, watching; she felt the fatigue gnawing at her bones, but the heat of Aiden’s touch was somehow also working through her, giving her strength and sending a strange vibration through her nerves.
“Fine,” Alex said, tears beginning to flow down his cheeks. “The guy—the elemental—who approached me said that if I gave Aira the poison, it should kill her in a matter of a few days. He said something… something about it having an enchantment on it, additional components that would make it linger in her system.” Alex looked at Aira. “You should be dead right now! Why aren’t you dead?” Alex sobbed softly and Dylan let him go; Alex tumbled down onto the bed.
“She isn’t dead because your friend didn’t what kind of power he was dealing with. Who was it?” Aiden let go of Aira and after just a moment the energy began to ebb out of her body. Dylan glanced at Aiden, and Aira barely managed to hold herself up. She was exhausted.
“Some guy. A fire elemental. I don’t know him. He came to me while I was locked up by the elders and said if I did what he wanted, he would make sure that the rest of my family wasn’t put to death along with me.” Aira glanced at the two brothers. That would be a powerful incentive.
