Before the awkward silence had time to set in, the door slid open again and a girl with a long, black hair entered the room, her big, dark brown eyes quickly scanning over us. Her dark red lips spread into a smile when she spotted someone behind my back.
"Oli," she said, "you're back."
I cringed at the sweetness in her voice when she said his name. Hell, she was probably the only one Oliver let to call him Oli. He came over to her, giving her a quick peck on the lips.
"Yuri, my angel," he said, caressing her hair. I raised an inquiring eyebrow at Paula.
"That's Lily," Paula said quietly. "Her parents were Japanese and her name used to be Yuri, which means lily. She doesn't let anyone to call her Yuri, except Oliver, of course."
"She's kind of young," I whispered, watching Lily and my brother exchange nonsense. I'd expected the leader would be much older. Lily was thin and not really tall, but she didn't look frail as she stood on tiptoes to give another kiss to Oliver.
"She's 25 actually," Adrian breathed into my ear, nipping at my earlobe. He stepped back when Lily's attention turned to us. She came over to me, observing me from head to toe.
"You must be Ria," she said, keeping her hands in the pockets of her black jacket. I knew touching another magic disease carrier could weaken you, but I doubted shaking hands briefly would be a big deal. Obviously, Lily didn't share my opinion. "I heard so much about you."
"That's funny, because I wasn't allowed to find out anything about you," I said. "Do I have to pass a test of some kind before you let me in?" Actually, I wasn't even sure Lily wanted me to be a part of the group at all. Maybe she only wanted to use me for a while only because Oliver insisted I could help.
"You don't have to pass a test." Lily shook her head as if that thought amused the hell out of her. "I trust your brother's judgment. He hasn't been wrong about your friends, so I'm sure you'll fit in just fine."
"Great. Thanks." I glanced at my brother, wondering what he had told her about me. Most likely I was never going to find out.
"We'll have time to talk later. You must be tired from your trip." Lily offered me a smile, her hand finding Oliver's. Oh, so she was only touching my brother. I had to stifle a laugh because my brother wasn't exactly a hand-holding kind of a guy. However, the blank look on his handsome face betrayed nothing.
"Paula, ask Mitch to find a room for Ria," Lily said and Paula nodded.
"I want her to stay with me. My room is big enough," Adrian said, and my brother shot him a dark look.
"That's unacceptable," Oliver bit out. "You two certainly won't share a room."
"Why not?" I raised an eyebrow at my brother. "Adrian is my..." I didn't know how to finish the sentence, so I looked at Adrian, who was biting his lip.
"It doesn't matter," Oliver said. "It's better for all magic disease carriers to avoid touching as much as possible."
"Yeah, like you just demonstrated," I said, and Lily had the grace to flinch. My brother's face remained cold and serious. He was crazy if he thought I'd follow the rules and be a good little girl while he went around kissing and cuddling with his dear Lily.
"No one shares a room here," Lily said as if that made it better.
"Lily and I aren't unstable like you are," Oliver said, holding my gaze. "You have only two elements and your control is imperfect."
"Yet you want someone as unstable as me to deal with our father." I flashed him a quick smile.
"Like I said, we're going to talk later." Lily pulled Oliver toward the door. He reluctantly let her drag him outside, but still had enough time to give me a warning look.
"Let's go find you a room," Paula said, her element, air, pulsating lightly inside of her. I wasn't as sensitive to air as I used to be, but strong emotions on both sides could prove to be fatal for Paula.
"Sure," I said, taking a deep breath to calm myself. Adrian reached out for me, tracing a finger down my face and drowning out the feel of Michael's and Paula's elements. The walls had to be isolated somehow because otherwise I'd be able to feel other people's elements too. Surely not only Michael and Paula were normal people with elements in here, or they were simply the only ones nearby. I really hoped I would stay in control of my elements and that spending some time with Adrian wouldn't weaken me too much.
Chapter 05
"Is this one of the good rooms or the crappy ones?" I asked when Paula and Michael left Adrian and me alone in my new "room". The room looked more like a small prison cell with light blue walls and no windows. It was big enough for a steel double bed and a steel writing desk with a wooden chair. A small hole in the wall covered with wood served as a closet. The bathroom was at the end of the hall and people from all the rooms on this floor had to share it.
"Crappy ones." Adrian toyed with a strand of my hair, his gray-blue eyes glinting with amusement. "You're new here and not a member of the group, so they haven't really been generous."
"I think I'm going to risk getting kicked out of here and join you in your room." I picked up my bag, which someone had carried to the room in the meantime. "Unless that room is as horrible as this one, but maybe your company can make it better." I batted my eyelashes at him.
"Maybe?" he exclaimed indignantly. "Ice Queen, you forget things so easily."
"I guess you'll have to remind me." I slowly licked my lips, waiting for his reaction.
"Yes." He cocked his head and observed me for a long moment.
"What?" I squeaked, unnerved by his gaze.
Adrian's face broke into a wide grin. "It's just hard to believe you're here."
"So you think I'm an alien pretending to be me?" I shook my head. "Are you an alien expert or what?"
"No, I'm definitely not an alien expert," he said, leaning in so our lips nearly touched. "But I'm a Ria expert."
"Oh, really?" My eyebrows shot upward at his self-confidence. His answer was a long and deep kiss that rocked me off my feet.
I should have known Adrian's room was bigger, brighter and more comfortable. I hadn't asked, but I guessed he'd gotten one of the rare rooms with small windows only because he requested it in order to stay.
Windowless rooms just weren't his thing, and I had no idea how other magic disease carriers who'd spent a long time in the labs could stand it. But everyone was different and didn't react the same to things. Hell, maybe windowless rooms were only given to people who didn't mind being in them. Of course, no one had bothered asking me what I wanted.
"Do you like my room better?" Adrian inquired, leaning on the doorframe.
"Well, it's big enough for two people, you have two small windows with bars over them, a desk and a real closet.... so yeah, I prefer your room over mine."
"Right. You're staying here for the big closet." He rolled his eyes. "And not for this?" He pointed at himself.
"Yeah, well, I don't know, Adrian. Closet is much more important to me. You know, can't get my dresses wrinkled, even though I have no clue when I'm going to wear them." I strolled over to him, putting my arms around his neck. "Will you show me around?"
"Follow me," he said, taking my hand. I glanced down at our intertwined fingers.
"Aren't people going to freak out that we're touching?"
"Fuck them," Adrian said. "They can't tell me what to do or they'd be the same as your father's team."
"Teams, groups, presidents, leaders,..." I sighed as we left the room. "It all seems like a dream I can't wake up from."
"Don't worry about that. We'll soon be free to do whatever we want." Adrian led me to a big dark blue door just down the hall from his room. A blond girl dressed in black passed us in the hall, her green eyes widening slightly as she noticed me caressing Adrian's hand.
The blue door was locked with a keypad and Adrian rapidly punched in a code to open it. He ushered me inside, keeping his eyes on the hall behind us as if he were afraid someone would come and tell us to stay away from the room.
"Is this some kind of a super secret room I'm not supposed to know abou
t?" I frowned as I realized the room was completely empty. Even its grayish walls didn't have any pictures, markings or anything. "Ok, what the hell is this place? A torture chamber?"
"You could say that." Adrian chuckled, and shards of ice embedded themselves in the wall closest to us.
I turned to Adrian, amazed. "Wow, these look sharp."
"They are." The wall started to shake and parted in the middle, revealing a smaller room full of exercising equipment and some weird devices that I hadn't seen before.
"What is this?" I picked up a long silver knife, inspecting the sharp blade.
"Oh God, Ria. You've seen a knife before." He took it out of my hand, gently placing it back to its spot in the wooden box.
"I can see it's a knife," I said dryly. "But why is it here? Are you butchering people with it?"
"If we want to go against your father and his followers, we need weapons," he said. "And you need to learn how to use them, so I'm going to teach you."
"Weapons?" I raised an eyebrow at him. "We can use our elements. Besides, we aren't going to a war, are we?" Adrian remained quiet, his gray-blue eyes losing bits of their warmth.
"Are we?" I said more forcefully. "Aren't we just taking over the presidency of the Element Preservers? I'm not sure we'd actually be fighting. That would be insane."
"Your father's men use weapons because they don't believe in wasting elements on fighting. Elements are hard to use and not easy to control. Guns and knives solve everything in a cleaner and faster way."
"Yeah, but those men are trained to fight and we're not. No matter how hard we train, we don't have enough experience to be decent opponents."
"We're counting on the surprise effect. You know, your father has no idea two hundred people plan to storm his offices."
"Two hundred?" My jaw dropped because I wouldn't have guessed in my wildest dreams that unfriendly magic disease carriers and their sympathizers could join together in such numbers.
"Yeah, we're finally doing something." Adrian closed his eyes and when he opened them, ice erupted from the floor near his feet, making a blindingly fast line toward the other wall, icy spikes growing everywhere like thorny bushes. Surprisingly, the tiles on the floor remained untouched under the ice, even though I expected the ice to form holes in them or at least scratches.
"The room is elementproof. Perfect for practicing," Adrian said when he noticed my suspicious look. I focused on my fire, calling it from somewhere deep inside of me, and enveloped Adrian's ice into it until the floor was sparklingly clean and dry. My fire was still flickering against the floor, but it seemed to be rebounding from a protective coating on the tiles. Since I'd been sending fire from my fingertips, I was able to call it back to me and extinguish it.
Adrian gave me an appreciative look. "It looks like you haven't been only shopping and planning outfits. Who would have guessed?"
I grinned at him. "That's why I think we should use our elements. You can't hide two hundred people around my father's building, but you can surprise his guards by using elements."
"Yeah, but we need to get too close to them and risk being shot before we can melt their weapons, freeze them or something. Besides, not many people can do it." Adrian picked up a gun, aiming it at the bullseye that appeared on the farthest wall as soon as he lifted the black weapon from its place.
"Only if we want a controlled fire. Of course, we're risking burning the place to the ground, but... would that even be a bad thing?" I stepped back as Adrian fired and hit the center of the target. The shot was quieter than usual, and I realized the bullet was small and blue. It looked more like a tiny device than a bullet. "Can't we send wind users first and just clear the building with controlled mini tornadoes?"
"No, because your father would have time to run and hide. Destroying or capturing the building without him wouldn't mean a damn thing." He handed me the gun and I gingerly took it. "God, Ria, you're not holding a mouse. It's not going to start squeaking and bite you."
"Are you sure?" I weighed the gun in my hand, feeling its rough surface. "I don't like guns." The rifles my father's guards had pointed at me left me with a bad memory. I didn't believe I was capable of shooting someone. Burning someone with my fire was doable, but firing a gun... Adrian's hand closed around mine before I could place the gun in its safety box. I met his gray-blue eyes, shivers spreading down my arm.
"You need to be able to defend yourself, both with elements and weapons," he said, coming to stand behind my back, not letting go of my hand. I remained quiet as he wrapped his other arm around my waist, turning my body toward the target on the wall.
"I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you," he whispered, lifting my arm so the gun was pointed straight at the red circle of the target. My hand was shaking so badly that the gun would have fallen a thousand of times if Adrian's grip wasn't firm.
"You can do this, Ria." He let go of my hand and bent his head, his soft lips brushing against my neck. I closed my eyes, taking a steadying breath. I had no idea how he thought I could stay concentrated when he was touching me like that.
"Pull the trigger," he said, pressing himself closer against me as if he wanted us to melt together into one person. The warmth of his body was reassuring, giving me the strength that I needed so much. When I opened my eyes again, it seemed like my hand wasn't my own, and someone else fired the gun, missing the center of the target for a couple of inches.
"Good," Adrian said approvingly. "Do it again."
The second time was much easier, even though I missed the target again. Firing a gun wasn't thrilling like using an element, but it was a fast way to incapacitate anyone who got in your way... provided I ever learned how to hit the target properly. Of course, I didn't plan on actually killing anyone, so I guessed I had to practice like crazy. The only problem was that Oliver wasn't going to give me enough time.
Chapter 06
"We have to act fast. Richard's plans will go into effect in three weeks and we can't let that happen," Oliver said, gaining nods of approval of everyone assembled in the conference room. I'd spent only two weeks with his group and he was already preparing all of us for a big move. Adrian, Paula, Michael and I were seated at the back of the room since most of the people considered us to be a nuisance rather than useful. Adrian's and my closeness unnerved everyone, especially those who were strongly against touching between magic disease carriers.
The conference room was huge and it had a big stage in the front, which Oliver was using right now to persuade people to agree with him. His lover, Lily, sat in a white chair next to the stage, gazing lovingly at my brother. But even she couldn't do much if the members of her group disagreed with Oliver. During my stay I realized that, even living together, magic disease carriers weren't trusting and weren't willing to risk their lives and exposure for a bad cause. Of course, the main problem was that my brother apparently inherited our father's charm and appeal, so he had at least a few followers who could then persuade the others.
"We don't know what Richard is planning," a red-haired girl said, getting up from her seat, drawing everyone's attention and earning an impatient glare from Oliver. "You're advocating an attack and exposure of all of us to stop something you have no knowledge of?"
"All Richard's plans are harmful for us. My sister and I are the best proofs of that. The more time we let pass us by, the harder it will be to fix the damage Richard does." It was weird to hear Oliver speak about our father as if he were some unknown person. I didn't like it that he mentioned me, but he seemed bent on involving me in as many things as possible.
"Why should we trust you?" an older man shouted from the back row. "You're Richard's son! We should have never let you set your foot in here!"
"Paul, please." Lily stood up, all business and authority. "We've discussed this already. If you have any complaints, you don't have to participate. We won't force anyone to go with us."
"Can't we send your sister to investigate first?" a blond woman asked, look
ing up at Oliver from her chair in the first row. She had to be someone with more importance because Oliver's expression changed from cold and distant to inviting and friendly.
"We could, but I fear for the safety of my dear sister," he said, and I rolled my eyes. Yeah, right. Like he gave a damn about me. "If we lose too much time, we might not be able to do anything. My sister will be making a great sacrifice for all of us just by appearing in Richard's proximity, so we have to use the opportunity to strike before his security picks up on something suspicious."
"What if we fail? What if Richard's security is too complex and too good for us?" a man interrupted.
Oliver's head snapped in his direction as if the man had struck him. "We will not fail! That's why we're going while Richard is preoccupied with other things. If you're so afraid, you can stay at home."
"Maybe I will, since I don't want to follow an incompetent fool."
Oliver started toward the man, his eyes flashing with raw fury. Lily placed a hand on his shoulder, effectively stopping him. A murmur rose from the crowd, drowning out whatever Lily was saying into Oliver's ear. He turned his back to us, letting Lily deal with the situation. Wow, what my brother wouldn't do to achieve what he wanted! A woman ordering him around surely didn't make him happy.
"Should we do something?" Paula asked, turning her big blue-green eyes in my direction.
"Do what? Fire a gun?" Adrian shook his head. "Even if they managed to hear us, they'd ignore us."
"Maybe not if we do something shocking." I rose from my chair, offering my hand to Adrian. His eyebrows shot upward, but he took my hand and got up. I led him toward the stage while Lily was futilely trying to calm everyone down. My brother was standing behind her back and glaring at the crowd. The silence was deafening as we reached the stage, followed by people's curious, perplexed and angry looks. Lily opened her mouth to say something, but stayed quiet as Adrian and I came to stand next to her.
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