Divided

by Alycia Linwood

  "I have an idea. Wait here." Adrian vanished into the crowd, leaving me dumbfounded. I rose on my toes, trying to glimpse him above people's heads. My throat was dry, goose bumps rising on my skin from cold as my anxiety increased, leaving me weak against elements of a group of fire and water users who danced nearby.

  I moved through the crowd, unsure whether that would help me or worsen my condition, but I couldn't just stand in the middle of the dance floor and do nothing. I finally spotted Adrian and realized he was talking to Paula. She nodded at something he said into her ear and started walking in the direction of the blond guy. Oh, shit! He did not send Paula to talk to the guy! Furious, I wanted to stop Paula before she risked her life, but if I went any closer to her, the blond guy would see me. Fucking great.

  Adrian came over to me, a completely innocent look on his face.

  "What did you tell her?" I yelled, pushing him away when he tried to embrace me. "How could you just send her to that guy? He could kill her!"

  "Stop overreacting," he said calmly. "She's a big girl. She can take care of herself. Besides, she knows he's one of us, so she won't let him take her anywhere secluded. But she's the only one who can find out if he's one of Lily's guys or not."

  "He wouldn't be here if he was Lily's."

  "We could recruit him." Adrian shrugged, taking my hand and attempting to get me to dance with him.

  "Yeah, right. What if he's an enemy? One of those guys who work with people like my father? You know, the killing kind of magic disease carriers?" I knew that Adrian's first reaction to magic disease carriers was to consider them as victims of the government rather than the bad guys, but sending Paula to investigate was something even he should have thought about twice. The guy could be here looking for his next victim.

  "Then we'll interrogate him." Adrian seemed unconcerned.

  "Why do you think he'll tell anything to Paula? That would be totally careless of him."

  "Stop worrying about it." He pulled me closer, his hand low on my back. "Do you want another drink?"

  "Sure." I needed something to get my mind off the guy and Paula.

  A couple of drinks and songs later, I managed to relax in Adrian's arms, but I couldn't stop thinking about Paula. We couldn't stay close to her for fear the guy would see us, so I kept wondering what they were doing. If that guy dared to touch her, I was going to kill him... and Adrian for sending Paula to the guy in the first place.

  I rested my head on Adrian's shoulder, watching people move around us in a blur. A couple on my left caught my eye and I strained to see who it was. "Oh, fuck." I pulled away from Adrian, staring at the couple who seemed to be only a second apart from kissing.

  "What?" Adrian frowned as my body went rigid.

  "My ex and your ex are... umm, looking pretty cozy over there." What the hell was Michael thinking? His hand was low on Amaya's back, her arms around his neck. I started toward them, but Adrian caught my arm.

  "No." He emphatically shook his head.

  "Why not?"

  "Maybe he didn't tell her about us," Adrian said, but I could see the uncertainty in his eyes. "If he ran into her, he couldn't exactly ignore her."

  "He could be betraying us this very second. It isn't like he has something to lose." Michael and Amaya grinned at each other like they were best friends or lovers. Had Amaya forgotten she basically ignored Michael the last time she saw him? Oh, right. They were probably both drunk and remembering good old times.

  "Michael has his weird idealistic views. He wouldn't change his plans for a girl. Not after what you've done to him, anyway."

  I glared at Adrian, crossing my arms in front of me, aware that he was telling the truth. "So what do we do?"

  "We'll ask Michael whose side he's on when we got home." Adrian tugged on my arm. "Come on. Let's get outside. It's almost midnight."

  Reluctantly, I followed Adrian outside, searching for any magic disease carriers among the crowd. Of course, the chances that two unknown carriers would be in the same club in a huge city were small, but the bigger the city, the bigger the population, so maybe there were more carriers too. We'd have to be much more careful here.

  I shivered in the cold air and immediately formed a cloud of warmth around me. The street was almost empty except for two girls who were smoking, a guy talking on his phone and a couple kissing against the wall. Adrian motioned me to follow him, so I did, my heels clicking loudly on the pavement.

  "Are you ok?" Adrian asked when we were out of earshot.

  "Yeah." I was a bit edgy because I was worried about Paula and Michael, but elements weren't stronger than usual. Maybe I'd finally gotten used to the constant elemental buzzing in my head, or maybe Adrian's touches with short breaks rather than long ones made it easier for me to control the urge to steal someone's element.

  "Look." Adrian pointed at the sky, which was illuminated with colorful fireworks. "Happy Elemenitas."

  "Happy Elemenitas to you too." I planted a soft kiss on his lips. Adrian put his arm around my waist, and I turned my attention back to the sky. Just as someone sent a ball of fire in the air, a loud explosion shook the street. Adrian pulled me against his chest, trying to shield me from whatever that was happening. Someone screamed, people ran out of their homes and bars, looking around them in a daze.

  "Something exploded down the street," Adrian said. "But I can't see what."

  "Are you sure it was near? Maybe it was a very loud explosion or something." I couldn't see anything burning, and most of the people returned inside, clearly thinking that whatever had happened wasn't important. "Someone's fireworks went wrong, I guess."

  "I don't know." Adrian let go of me and closed his eyes, then pressed his lips together in annoyance. "I hate big cities. Can't tell if there are more unusually strong elements together."

  With so many parties around, it was impossible to tell if there was a group of firefighters or panicked people in the neighborhood. Adrian could feel elements better than me, but even he couldn't sort through hundreds of them. We listened for any unusual sounds, but we could only hear the traffic, music and chatter. "It was an accident. Maybe a gas leak. We should get inside."

  "Yeah."

  Four police cars zoomed past us, their sirens turned off. Adrian and I looked at each other, the same thought passing through our heads. Not an accident. It definitely hadn't been an accident.

  I coughed as we entered the club again, which now smelled like sweat, alcohol and smoke. People danced, bodies melting into each other, unaware that there had been an explosion. My cheeks burned from sudden temperature change because not even my element could warm me up completely in the winter night air. Of course, if I didn't need my energy, I would have used more of my element.

  Paula waved at us from the bar, a broad smile on her face. I noticed the blond guy next to her as we made our way to the bar, my hand tensing in Adrian's. He squeezed my fingers in reassurance. I hoped Paula had a good reason for exposing us to the guy, who was talking to the bartender.

  "Hey, guys," Paula said excitedly. "You have to meet Ryan. He says he knows Adrian."

  Ryan turned around, handing Paula a glass of red wine. His blond hair was short and messy, stray strands falling into his blue eyes. He had an innocent face that said, 'I'm going to rip your heart out and you won't even mind'. I could see why Paula was all flushed and giddy.

  "Adrian, long time no see," Ryan said, his eyes shining with amusement.

  "Ryan." Adrian didn't look particularly happy to see him. Had Paula done the wrong thing by calling us over? We couldn't have seen the guy's face before, so I wasn't sure whether Adrian wanted the guy to know he was in the city.

  "I've seen you earlier," Ryan said to Adrian. "But you were busy with this lovely lady." He turned to me, extending his hand. "I'm Ryan."

  "Nice to meet you." I shook his hand, but didn't introduce myself.

  "We need to talk. In private," Adrian said, and Ryan nodded. I raised an eyebrow at Adrian, but his face remaine
d expressionless. "Will you be fine?"

  "Yeah," I said. "But hurry, please."

  Adrian leaned closer to me and whispered into my ear. "If I'm not back in ten minutes, get out of here."

  I frowned at him, but he was gone before I could ask anything else.

  Paula took a sip of her wine, and cocked her head at me. "I didn't mean to tell him that I knew he was a carrier, but he sort of pulled it out of me."

  "He's hot. I get that." I sighed. "I just have no idea how Adrian knows him, and I hate not knowing everything."

  "I'm sure Adrian knows what he's doing. I called you over since Ryan mentioned he saw the two of you. It's better if Adrian talks to him, right?"

  "I hope they'll only be talking." Adrian wasn't the most patient and calm guy, so I could see him getting in a fight with Ryan or trying to force him not to say anything to anyone.

  "I'll have to find that cure." Paula laughed, nearly spilling her drink. "I seem to fall for magic disease carriers more than normal people."

  "Wow. Tell me you don't like this guy." I caught the waiter's attention and motioned for him to give me the same as to Paula.

  "You said it yourself he was hot." She giggled, looking at me through her eyelashes.

  "Have you seen Michael recently? He reunited with Amaya." I looked around me, but I couldn't see nor feel them. Maybe magic disease carriers somehow realized something was going on with the Element Preservers and decided to stick around, so that was why there were more of them in the city. I doubted Ryan's presence was a coincidence.

  "What?" Paula gaped at me, her glass half way to her mouth. She put the glass on the bar, her eyes wide. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? I have to find him!"

  "Paula, wait!" My throat was sore from yelling all the time over the music, but I couldn't let her go look for Michael. "He'll be fine. You know he and Amaya were friends."

  "I know, but she works for your father."

  "Adrian thinks she doesn't anymore. My father probably found out she doesn't have the disease, so she ran away."

  Paula didn't look convinced. "I saw Michael earlier when he was still alone... and drinking like there's no tomorrow."

  "Ok, you go find Michael, and I'll go see where's Adrian. If Amaya is still with Michael, let them be. We don't want her to know we're here too if he hasn't told her already." God, when had this night become so complicated? We'd come to have fun and now our involvement with the carriers' movement and the Element Preservers haunted us. We should have known better than think everyone would be celebrating.

  "Alright." Paula emptied her glass and disappeared in the crowd. I took a few gulps of my drink, enjoying the refreshing, rich liquid. Adrian had told me to wait for him, but I was too curious and too nervous, so I went for the nearest exit. It was better for me to be outside and not surrounded by so many elements. Besides, Adrian was supposed to be there somewhere. Even his jacket was gone when I came to pick up my coat.

  It was freezing outside, so I enveloped myself in the warmth of my element. Surely enough, Adrian and Ryan were standing just around the corner, their faces contorted in sneers. Adrian hissed something at Ryan, too low for me to hear.

  Ryan's eyes lifted toward me, and a smile spread across his lips. "Who's she, Adrian? I don't remember her from the lab. She does look familiar, though."

  Adrian turned his head and rolled his eyes when he saw me. "Go back inside."

  "No." I crossed my arms. "What's going on?"

  "If you don't want to lose her, you're going to let me go." Ryan smirked.

  "Shut up, you son of a bitch." Adrian grabbed him by the shirt and threw him against the wall. Ryan seemed unperturbed.

  "Oh, wait. I do know who she is." The only thing missing was a lightbulb above Ryan's head. "She's Ria Milanez, the president's daughter. Wow, Adrian, you infected the president's daughter. Nice one."

  "You won't tell anyone about seeing her or me, or I will kill you." Adrian's voice was so cold and scary that even I back down a step.

  The smile faded from Ryan's face, and he shoved Adrian off of him. "You don't tell me what to do. I wonder how much money I would get for this piece of info."

  Ryan started to leave, but Adrian rushed him. They both ended up rolling on the ground, but somehow Ryan managed to get up and started to run. "I'll tell the president and the press! I'm sure they'd love to..."

  Ice started forming on Ryan's legs, and he fell down. I strode over to him as he tried to get the ice off of him. "I'm the president now and I forbid you to tell anything to anyone." The ice kept spreading and Ryan's eyes widened in panic. He lifted his hands up, and I pressed my heel against his chest to keep him down. Adrian finally got himself up and came over.

  "Will you come with us? Or do we have to transport you as frozen meat?" Adrian said. "Don't try to scream because I can freeze your tongue in under a second."

  "I'll go with you," Ryan panted. "Just please stop the damn ice."

  I moved my heel off his chest and started warming up the ice until it melted. Ryan gingerly got up, shaking his wet pants. He glared at Adrian. "So you're killing people now? How can you do that after..."

  "Shut up. It's my element. I didn't take it from anyone." Adrian grabbed him by the arm and we hurried down the street before someone else saw us and reported us to the police.

  "How do you have an element?" Ryan scowled. "Ice is not..."

  "It's a sub-element," I said. It was almost weird that not everyone knew about sub-elements. Ryan obviously didn't have any kind of an element, not even a weak one. I wondered how he had survived for so long. Or maybe he had gotten the disease later, so he could still control himself. We ended up explaining sub-elements along the way until we reached the apartment. I had no idea what we would do with Ryan, but first we had to find out what he knew and what he was doing in the city.

  Chapter 19

  "It was Alan," Ryan said, intertwining his fingers in a nervous gesture. "Alan sent me to follow you and report to him in exchange for not returning me back to the lab."

  "How did Alan know where we were?" I sat down on the couch next to Adrian, wondering should we leave the apartment and find a safer place. Alan knew I had to stay near the city because of the Element Preservers business, but he couldn't have known we'd be in this neighborhood unless someone had told him.

  "I don't know. I didn't ask." Ryan shrugged, looking sincere. "What are you going to do now, A? Kill me?"

  "We're not done talking yet," I said before Adrian could respond. "When do you have to report to Alan?"

  "Tomorrow morning." Ryan eyed me suspiciously. "Why?"

  "How are you supposed to contact him?" We need to find out how Alan could tell where we were every damn time. Of course, someone from Lily's group had probably contacted him, but no one knew about this apartment except us, Lily and the guy who owned the place. Did we have trackers on us or had someone placed eavesdropping devices all over Lily's old compound?

  "We'll meet at the café bar Airborne at nine." Ryan let out a nervous laugh. "If you let me go, that is."

  "You're not meeting anyone," Adrian said, getting up and going for the door. It took me a moment to feel two water and one air element on our floor. Oh God, we had more company than we could handle right now. Had Michael really dragged Amaya all the way here? Surely enough, Michael came in with Amaya, but she was unconscious in his arms.

  "What did you do to her?" Ryan jumped, a bewildered look on his face.

  "Who's he?" Michael frowned, laying Amaya on the couch. She mumbled something and her eyelids fluttered, but she didn't open her eyes.

  "Michael, meet Ryan. It's a long story." I didn't feel like explaining who Ryan was because we had better things to do. And it was 2.a.m., so we had to sort out this mess as soon as possible. "What happened to her?"

  "She's drunk," Michael said, worry evident in his green eyes. "I couldn't leave her at the club."

  "Awesome. Did she tell you why she came to the club?" Maybe we shouldn't discuss anything in
front of Ryan, but going to another room to talk seemed silly since he already knew too much.

  "She was looking for Adrian," Michael spat, anger distorting his features. "Your father tried to send her to a lab, so she ran away. And she confessed she lied about having the disease."

  "Great. We can't trust her." I wearily rubbed my face. "And you basically helped her to find Adrian. Maybe you should take her someplace else before she wakes. The last thing we need is two people who know where we live."

  "I don't have where to take her. She needs my help." Michael was ready to fight for Amaya's rights in our apartment. How awesome. Paula sat next to Ryan, observing him under her eyelashes. Ryan flashed her a seductive smile and inched closer to her. I could swear we all weren't sober enough to deal with the situation.

  Someone's phone vibrated, breaking the silence. Adrian flinched, taking the phone out of his pocket. "Oh, it's yours."

  I took the phone, unsure I wanted to see the message I had gotten. Why every time one bad thing happened, another hundred had to follow? Couldn't we have one day without the drama? Of course not. I fumbled with the phone, my fingers slipping from the keys. When I finished reading the message, I leaned back on the couch, closing my eyes. "Would someone please turn on the TV? Apparently, the news channel is showing something we need to know."

  Paula was the quickest to grab the remote control, but it took her a few tries to find the right channel. We all stared at the blond woman who was standing in the middle of the street, police lights flashing behind her back.

  "The police confirmed that a group of magic disease carriers was responsible for the explosion that blew up and destroyed the major part of Mr. Lincoln's factory. It is unknown who formed the group and how many members it has, but this seems to be the first of various terrorist attacks that will follow. The police revealed the note which says the attacks will continue until the new president of the Element Preservers comes out in public and accepts their terms, which haven't been named yet. We tried to contact Richard Milanez, the president of the Element Preservers Organization, but he was unavailable," the reporter said, barely taking a breath. "We hope the president will clarify the situation soon, and that the police will find the terrorists and stop them before more innocent lives are taken."