"It doesn't matter, Ria." Adrian sighed. "He was far kinder to me than anyone else, especially considering that he was forced to accept the guardianship."
"Right." When I was sure I was the only human in the room, I took off the wig and let my natural, dark brown hair spill around my shoulders. "So Alan has bodyguards, wants to overthrow my father to fulfill his sick fantasy of power or God knows what... Oh, and my elements are still a mess. Nice way to start the week."
"But you're coming here," Adrian said.
"Yep. I'll finally be able to see what you're all so secretive about." Oliver was adamant that no one should tell me anything too specific about his hidey-hole and since all of our means of communication belonged to him in some way, I could only wait until I got there myself.
"Oliver says he's going to send you the details about the trip," Adrian said. "See you soon."
"Yeah, soon." I breathed, hoping my fears of destroying Oliver's labs and buildings wouldn't come true. I'd had some time to learn how to control myself better, but that didn't mean something couldn't go wrong. Pushing the dark thoughts away, I ended the call and waited for my brother's instructions.
"To what do I owe this pleasure?" I grinned as I saw Oliver coming out of the black Audi, which unsurprisingly had tinted windows. "I expected you'd send some of your goons for me."
"Ria, Ria, I'm not a mob boss." Oliver leaned on the car, his eyes hidden by dark shades. Did the brightness of heavy gray clouds bother him so much? God, we were lucky there wasn't a living soul for miles around here, or people would think my brother was retarded.
"You're wearing Italian black suit, incredibly neat tie and your shoes are shining like a damn mirror. What am I supposed to think?" I stepped closer to him, shaking my head.
"I'm your driver. I have to look nice." He flashed me a smile.
"Not nice enough." I laughed. "Your hair is a mess."
"Nope, it's perfect." He ran a hand through it to show how his new spikey hairstyle couldn't be budged.
"I should have known. You're smuggling hair gel."
"Just get inside, sis. We have a long drive ahead of us." He actually opened the passenger door for me, and I had no other choice than to get in the car and put the seatbelt on.
"Please tell me you're not planning to kill me and fake an accident," I said as he settled himself in the driver's seat. "I doubt it you can drive the whole way."
"Right. I forgot to ask you something." Oliver flicked his shades in the pocket of his suit jacket. He turned his head in my direction while he started the car. Great, he wanted to scare me because he wasn't watching the road as the car lurched forward. "Did you melt your driver's license?"
"Nope." Oh, so he expected me to drive later. I held his gaze, praying we wouldn't crash just because he wanted me to look away first.
"Good." He finally concentrated on the road ahead of him. "We're going to pass through more populated areas, so unlike around here, we could get pulled over."
"I wouldn't go anywhere without my license, even though I doubt it the cops wouldn't recognize me and call Father." I rolled my eyes. "But hey, you still didn't tell me why you came personally and risked your life, exposure or whatever. Won't your people be mad if something happens to you?"
"Nothing will happen," he said coolly. "I just want to make sure my sister arrives safely to our compound."
"It sounds as if you're trying to kidnap me." I carefully eyed him, but his face remained expressionless. Adrian and Paula didn't sound over the phone like they were being held against their will, so I assumed we'd all be allowed to leave Oliver and his group whenever we wanted. I just hoped I wasn't mistaken about that.
"There's no need for that, sis, but you're right about me having an ulterior motive for coming for you alone." He reached for a round, black and silver device, which could fit in his palm. Placing it in the storage compartment in between our seats, he pressed a button, and a red light started to glow on the device.
"What is that?" I pointed at the device.
"A blocker. It will prevent anyone from eavesdropping."
My eyebrows shot upward. "Wow. That's a whole new level of paranoid. Can't you trust your own people?"
"You're my sister, Ria, and some things you can only tell to family."
"Oh, does that mean you're going to tell Mom and Dad?" I innocently batted my eyelashes, fully aware that I'd piss him off.
"Not to the crazy part of the family." He glared at me.
"I thought we were the crazy part of the family." I shrugged, looking outside the window. There was nothing to see except endless trees and melting snow, so I stifled a yawn and turned my attention back to my brother. "Whatever you want me to know, spit it out already!"
"Lily," he suddenly said. "Her name is Lily."
I opened my mouth to ask what the hell he was talking about, but then I had a moment of realization. "The leader of your group."
He nodded. "We met by accident." The corners of his lips quirked up as he spoke, and he had that weird, distant look in his dark eyes. "She was trying to break into one of the government's labs, just like I was. We helped each other obtain what info we needed, got to know each other better and she introduced me to the rest of the group."
"I knew it." My charming brother had seduced the leader of the group or he wouldn't have gotten so much influence so fast. "Does she believe you love her?"
"Probably." He couldn't help but grin, but his face was serious again in a second as if someone had flipped a switch. "Anyway, her group can help us achieve what we want."
"Yeah, to take over the Element Preservers, blah, blah, blah." I ran my hand over my face, feeling more tired than ever. Unfortunately, my brother most likely wouldn't let me doze off before he told me everything or even got me to agree with him.
"Yes, but the only way Lily will let me use her team's help is if we can get the presidency without causing too much panic. I want to seize the building and kill everyone inside, but Lily won't let me do it."
"And you can't do anything without her team. Lovely." I inspected my fingernails, hoping that was a hint strong enough for Oliver to realize that I couldn't care less about his business endeavors.
"That's why you're going to help me, little sister," he said. "You're going to get inside of the Element Preservers. I'm sure you're not interested in leading an organization, right? So you won't mind if I snatch the presidency from our father for myself."
"What?" I yelled, staring at him wide-eyed. "Do you think taking over an entire organization is just snapping your fingers and it's done? Our parents will most likely kill both of us, not leave you in charge of everything. Hell, I don't even think it works that way. Our father doesn't own the organization. They had chosen him or something."
"Don't rush, sis. You are the only one who can enter the building without raising alarms and drop a device in his office to disable security so the team can enter."
"Oh, come on! Can't you send someone disguised as a delivery guy or something like in the movies? The guards will be on me long before I reach our father." If there were awards for stupid plans, Oliver would be blasting his competition.
"No, because there's an element-enhanced lock on the door of his office. Only our father can let someone through... or one of us. Considering he still likes you better than me..." Oliver gave me a quick smile. "Delivery guys, random people.... No one can get in. Father would just go out in the lobby to greet them. At night it's impossible to get inside."
"What makes you think he'll let me in after all I've done?"
"He'll want to talk to you in private," he said. "You know, scandal and all. Can't really let you cry and beg in front of everyone, right?"
"I'm not going to..." I glanced at my brother, realized his face was completely serious, and sighed. "Any other brilliant ideas other than that one? Can't I just walk inside in my high heels and burn the place to the ground? It would be way more fun."
"We're going to wait until the end of working hour
s. Only the secretary and the guards will be there. Father will be tired and he'll want to talk to you first."
I chewed on my lip, more nervous than ever. "So, let's pretend I do manage to fool our father that I'm a repentant daughter and I drop your device somewhere in the main office. What then? He'll take me to a lab, and that's only if he feels generous."
"Our device will do what it's supposed to, we're going to get in and take over. It's simple. You'll make sure our father doesn't escape until we come. Lily might insist you take the presidency because our father can transfer it only to someone from his family without raising suspicion. Everything would be legal because we'd cover up the fact that we attacked and forced our father to resign, at least for a while. Of course, Lily's group doesn't trust me, but they won't be able to do anything if you transfer the presidency to me later." He sounded as if he truly believed in what he was saying. Oh great, my brother was officially insane.
"What makes you think Father will agree to that? He'd sooner die." I didn't even dare to tell him his secretive, totally awesome team might not be successful for fear we'd end up in a ditch at the side of the road.
"Don't worry about that. He'll do the right thing." My brother reached for my hand and squeezed it, as if that was supposed to reassure me.
"Why is it so important to be the president of the Element Preservers?" I pulled my hand away from his.
"You'd never understand." His eyes darkened. "If we don't fight now, magic disease carriers will never have a place in this world. We'll be hunted forever, used like lab rats, exterminated, feared,... We don't want to live like that."
"And Lily doesn't think you're capable to be the president?"
"Her stupid group convinced her my ideas are too radical. She wants to negotiate, bring peace and similar crap. She's too soft." He stepped on the gas and swerved between the cars. "MDCA tried negotiating and look where that got them. They can't even take a breath without having to explain themselves to the government."
I gripped the seat with both hands, regretting mentioning Lily to him at all. "And what if I refuse to help you?" I looked up at him, bracing myself for his reaction. Thank God I couldn't feel his elements or we'd both be in trouble. He'd said having four elements brought you peace, but even peace had to have its limits.
Oliver stepped on the brakes so suddenly that we lurched forward, and he fixed his dark brown eyes on me. "Adrian dies."
"What?" I stared at him incredulously, not believing my ears.
"You heard me. If you refuse, Adrian dies."
Anger welled up inside of me, warmth spreading through my body. "You did not just threaten Adrian's life."
"I did." Oliver ignored the furious honking of the cars behind us. Apparently, he believed he owned the street and could pull over wherever he wanted.
A ball of fire flew in his direction before I even knew I'd created it, but it met a bigger one and merged into it, disappearing into thin air.
"Nice try, sis, but my fire element is stronger than yours." My brother gunned the engine as if nothing had occurred at all. "All of my elements are, actually. You'd be wise to remember that before you do something stupid."
"And you will not threaten Adrian's life!" I took a deep breath in a futile attempt to calm myself down. "I can't believe you're so heartless."
He shrugged. "I'm only doing what I have to. Do what I say and Adrian will be fine."
"Fine. Kill him," I said, my voice devoid of all emotion. Oliver's head snapped toward me, shock written all over his face, but he quickly masked it.
"Really, Ria? After all you went through to save him from that lab, you think I'm going to believe you don't care?" He relaxed a bit, but his knuckles were still white on the steering wheel.
"Really, Oliver?" I mocked, imitating his voice. "After all you went through to establish your position in your little group, you think I'm going to believe you'd endanger everything by killing a fellow group member?"
His eyes briefly met mine and he set his mouth into a tight line. "I'll convince you that my plan is the best," he said after a long silence. I simply gave him a broad smile and closed my eyes, resting my head on the seat. We hadn't spoken until Oliver got too tired of driving and asked me to switch our positions.
Chapter 04
After who knows how many hours of driving through remote places, Oliver instructed me to pull onto a macadam road hidden between the trees.
"I swear I'm getting tired of secret hiding places in the middle of nowhere," I said, slowing down the car. "Isn't it better to hide in plain sight?"
"Stop complaining and drive." Oliver's mood had improved after he got some sleep, but he was still a bit grumpy.
"What is this place?" I asked as tall, blackened buildings came into view. "An abandoned factory?"
"Yeah, it used to be a factory until a fire rendered it useless."
"It doesn't look safe." I eyed the half-collapsed roof, broken windows, moss on the walls and rusted machinery, wondering how could anyone live there.
"It isn't." Oliver winked. "Stop the car."
"Fine." I stepped on the brakes at a safe distance from the factory, glaring at my brother. "Now what?"
"Now we wait." He leaned back in his seat, a satisfied smile on his face.
"Wait for what?" I wanted to bang my head against the wheel or punch my brother until he told me everything. A movement among the trees caught my eye and I looked through the window, squinting at the shadows. I couldn't feel any elements, but that didn't mean magic disease carriers weren't all around us.
"This," Oliver said a second before armed men dressed in military green and brown ran out of the woods, pointing their rifles at the car. Since my brother seemed unnerved, he knew the men wouldn't harm us.
Oliver opened the door, nodding at the man closest to us. "B. Meet my sister, Ria."
"We have good news," the man said. "You haven't been followed and there aren't any trackers on the car. We should get you inside before that plane flies right above the place."
"Sure." Oliver closed the door, and the men drew back and disappeared among the trees again. Suddenly the ground started to shake, and a rectangular block of the road lifted up, revealing an opening large enough for a car. Ah, great, the secret hiding place really was secret and underground.
"Start the car," Oliver said. "We have a garage inside that is like any other underground parking lot in the city, but drive slowly."
"Whatever you say." I sighed, tempted to scratch the car and annoy my brother. As we descended into a well-lit garage with numerous expensive cars, I started to wonder how big my brother's group was. Maybe they had enough resources to take over the Element Preservers. Right now I wasn't sure was that a good or a bad thing.
Oliver led me through a long, bright hall with light blue walls. There were black doors on both sides, but we didn't stop in front of any of them and I didn't see anyone coming out either. The only sound that I could hear was the soft click of shoes on the gray tiles. I didn't see any cameras, but I suspected they were camouflaged.
A black glass door was at the end of the hall, and it slid open as we approached it. I entered the huge, light blue room with strong neon lights on the ceiling. The room was completely empty, which made me stop dead in my tracks.
"This is weird," I said, looking across the room at yet another door. "Why do you have..." The door I was observing slid open and familiar faces came through. Adrian strode toward me, his lips spread into a smile. I hurried over to him, trying hard not to grin like an insane cat. I'd been seeing Adrian through the video link, but that hadn't been even close to seeing him in the flesh. Blurry videos and shaky connection definitely didn't enable me to see Adrian's black hair had grown a bit longer.
We met right in the center of the room and I threw myself at him. He caught me into his arms, lifting me up as I wrapped my legs around him and pulled him in for a kiss. I ran my fingers through his hair as he sucked on my lower lip, biting lightly. Closing my eyes, I kissed him
one more time, my tongue intertwining with his in a passionate dance.
Breathless, I let go of him, leaning backward until I felt like I was flying, and Adrian's strong arms on my hips were the only thing that kept me from falling to the ground. He slid his hand up my back and pulled me against his chest. I opened my eyes, a giggle escaping my lips.
"I missed you," I said as he set me on my feet.
"I missed you too." His gray-blue eyes were warm and sparkling with delight.
"You've gotten stronger," I teased, lightly squeezing his biceps.
"Do you want me to take my shirt off for better inspection?" He chuckled. I finally noticed that he was wearing a black sweater and dark blue jeans. God, I'd never been so distracted by him before.
"Maybe later." I winked, and faced Paula and Michael who were still standing near the door. Michael's face was grim, his green eyes looking everywhere but at Adrian and me. Golden curls framed Paula's cheerful face, her blue-green eyes meeting mine.
"Ria!" Paula said as I approached her. "So good to see you."
"Finally! Now it's time for me to see what you're all hiding in here." I briefly hugged her, taking in her dark blue overalls which reminded me a lot of a doctor's outfit. "Are you a doctor now or...?"
"No. Just one of the scientists." The corners of her mouth quirked up. "We prefer blue over white most of the time. Many magic disease carriers who live here were in labs at some point of their lives, so they despise too much whiteness."
"Oh." That actually made sense, but I hoped this place wouldn't ruin blue for me.
"Ria." Michael politely nodded and ran his hand through his short brown hair.
"Michael," I said, and felt Adrian's hand brush against my lower back for a moment. The feel of Michael's element, water, intensified when Adrian pulled away, but it was nothing unbearable. I'd have to remember to ask Paula how the hell Michael and Adrian had survived together in the same place for such a long time.
At least I was glad I didn't have any weird reactions to touching Adrian again. Last time I'd been without him for a couple of days, I couldn't control myself. The conditions were different now because I'd spent more time alone and without so many elements and stress, so maybe that was why touching another carrier didn't immediately make me go for Paula's or Michael's element.
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