I landed behind his back and threw multiple fireballs at him, but instead of smashing into him, they bounced off an invisible wall. Turning visible, I lunged myself at him. He barely dodged me, and I ended up rolling on the ground, but he lost his balance and tripped. As he tried to catch himself, someone hurled a huge fireball at the car nearby, which exploded, the force of it flinging me across the parking lot.
I covered my head as burning bits and pieces flew around me, and I formed an air shield to protect myself. When I could see again, Phil’s body was shimmering and he lifted himself up in the air. An air element wrapped itself around him, and I created a shimmering net right above it, but not close enough to touch it. More air nets were positioned one atop another as the others came to help.
“Try to shrink your nets slowly. Just be careful not to cancel each other out,” Noah yelled, and we carefully tightened the nets around the shimmering cloud that was Phil. The shimmering intensified and I felt light pressure against my shield, but nothing that I couldn’t handle. Everyone was doing fine too, until a branch came out of nowhere and wrapped itself around my foot.
I fell to the ground, the control of my air faltering, but I gritted my teeth, kicking at the branch that was trying to wind itself around me. Letting my second element surge out, I turned my legs completely into fire and the branches started to crack and burn. As I kicked off the ashes and stood up, a strong burst of something hit me in the back, sending me to the ground again.
Did Phil have more than one element or had he brought help? Another explosion rocked the parking lot as another car ended up in flames. When I looked up, my air net was still around the shimmering cloud, but the other nets were mostly gone. Just as I was about to check what had happened to the others, I spotted a thin shimmering thread breaking through all the nets and making its way across the ground toward me. Water splashed the asphalt, and I jumped back.
“Can someone cut through that shimmering thread?” I yelled, because I was sure that if I used my air to break through the thread, my net would go down too. Instead of an answer, a fireball flew in my direction, and I realized Marissa was running toward me and was ready to throw another fireball at me. Fuck. He’d gotten into their minds! But how? Hadn’t my protection stopped him?
My heart skipped a beat. What if he’d destroyed their brain signals and there was no way to get them to stop fighting us? Oh, God. My net of air was still in place, but if I didn’t do something soon, Marissa would be on me. A scream brought my attention to Nick and Noah, who were fighting. There were vicious cuts covering Nick’s body and his shirt was soaked in blood.
Not too far from them, Ashley and Sam were going at each other with their elements. I had to stop this. I couldn’t let my friends hurt each other. Forcing more of my strength into the net, I tried to squeeze it completely around Phil, but instead of pinning him to the ground, my net exploded into tiny shimmering bits.
I swore when I saw Phil flying away, and I hoped Jaiden was ready for him. Luckily, Phil hadn’t mind-controlled Jaiden or me, because if he had... I shuddered at the thought, and flung my air toward Marissa, who was only a few steps away from me. When she chucked a fireball at me, I hunched down, my air going for her head.
I was barely breathing when I entered her mind and captured her signals, ordering her to stop. She froze in spot, her eyes starting at me. A bit of the tension left my shoulders when I saw the signals were only darkened and not shriveled, so I immediately healed them all. As soon as I pulled back, I expanded my air toward Noah, Nick, and the others, entering their minds and healing them.
“What happened?” Marissa blinked at me.
“He mind-controlled you, but luckily it wasn’t permanent, so I healed your minds.” I finally pushed myself up as everyone started coming toward Marissa and me, some holding their hands over their wounds, some looking bewildered.
“Oh, God. I did that? I’m so sorry.” Noah’s voice cracked as he looked at the cuts on Nick’s chest and arms.
“It wasn’t you.” Nick shook his head.
“I know, but...”
“He got away. Again!” Kenna threw her hands up in frustration, one part of her shirt singed.
“Where’s Jaiden?” I turned around, but I couldn’t see him anywhere.
“He wasn’t here,” Noah said. “Maybe...”
I didn’t wait for him to finish the sentence, just turned into air and flew up. Nausea rose in my invisible throat as I looked everywhere for any sign of Jaiden. A figure lying on the ground caught my eye and I immediately plunged toward it.
“Jaiden!” I yelled as I turned visible and crouched next to him. His eyes were closed, his body unmoving, and I immediately pushed my air into his mind, my heart thudding so loudly that I couldn’t hear anything else. None of the signals in his mind looked shriveled, so I pulled out. “Jaiden, hey, wake up!” I shook him gently, checking for any wounds, but aside from scrapes and bruises, I didn’t see anything serious. His eyes finally opened and he looked up at me.
“Oh thank God.” I pulled him close to me, planting a kiss on the top of his head.
“Where’s Phil? Did we...?” Jaiden asked.
“No, he got away.” I let go of him and got to my feet. “How did you end up here?”
“I was trying to catch a shimmering cloud that was coming toward me, but it sent a blast at me, and I lost my balance. The next thing I know, I was on the ground and visible again.” He pushed himself up, his shoulders tense. “How did he pass through all of us again?”
“I’ll tell you everything.” I took hold of his hand. “Come on. We should get back and see if everyone’s fine. I hope he didn’t hurt anyone inside the factory.”
As we threaded through the trees, I wondered what we could do that would stop Phil once and for all.
Chapter 19
“This is insane,” Lily said, gripping her phone. “No! You can’t do that. We’re facing a serious threat and probably the most powerful elemental in history, and you want us to leave?”
I rubbed my face and glanced at Jaiden, who was pacing up and down the room. Noah and the others were sitting on the couches and waiting for Lily to finish her conversation with the president of our country.
“Yes, sir. We’ll do that.” She finally sighed and ended the call, clutching the phone in her hand as if she wanted to chuck it across the room.
“What did he say?” Noah raised an eyebrow at her.
“He wants us to come home,” she said. “It looks like no one believes that there’s a guy out there who can do all that and defeat us all. Guess what the president said? That if there’s a potential threat, we should leave the others to deal with it as long as it’s not happening on our soil. And he even told me that he wasn’t really sure what we were doing here, and that if we didn’t return soon, he’d start an investigation of our organization.” Lily fumed.
“Wow, that’s terrible,” Nick said. “But how do they think we got all our injuries? And what do they think happened to all those people? Didn’t you send them a photo of Phil?”
“I did, but they seem to think that I picked some guy who’s been missing for years and made up the story about him, and that there’s no way a regular elemental could have so much power. They basically all think we’re spying on someone or trying to do something illegal.” Lily closed her eyes for a moment, placing her hand on her hip. “I honestly don’t know what to do. If we could get some proof that this guy was there and doing all those things... But the cameras are down and people have been mind-controlled so they’re all unreliable witnesses, and everyone thinks that since you’re tainteds with similar abilities, that you’re doing dirty work for me.”
“It’s difficult to catch the guy on camera when he corrupts every single device around him,” Noah said. “Should we try to find him and just film him to prove that he exists? Maybe if he doesn’t know we’re doing it, he won’t destroy the footage if we’re far enough.”
“No, that won’t work. No one will believe us,”
Lily said. “And did you look at what the media is saying? They’re making us look like the bad guys who infiltrated their country!”
“Then what do we do? Just pack our things and go home?” Nick frowned. “Should we just wait until this guy does God knows what?”
“I don’t know what to do at this point, but since we didn’t find a way to take him down and we have nothing that we could use... We probably won’t have a choice,” Lily said, baring her teeth.
“What if we could do something? Get proof, I mean?” I said, and Lily’s head snapped toward me.
“Get it how? Any video or audio evidence wouldn’t survive, and I’m not sure how we can present anything else and get everyone to accept it,” she said.
“What if the guy appeared in front of everyone and did something the media could actually film?” I asked.
“I’m not following.” Lily’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“What if... What if I tried to turn into him and to do something to show people there’s a serious threat out there?”
“You would shapeshift into him? Can you even do that?” Noah gaped at me.
“Yeah, I think I could. Since we were fighting, I think my element was close enough to him that I could take his shape.” I didn’t know for sure if I could do it, but it was worth a try. At this point, we really had nothing to lose.
“I don’t know. That sounds...” Lily stopped and just stared at me, and I could almost see the wheels in her head turning. “That wouldn’t exactly be legal.”
“Well, yeah, I know, but no one aside from us knows that Jaiden and I can turn into other people, right?” My parents and Jack knew too, but they weren’t here, and I bet they hadn’t told anyone. Jack was under close surveillance, so there was no way for him to speak to anyone about it. Not that he’d gain anything by telling that to anyone.
“No, no one knows. People would lose their minds if they found out that there are shapeshifters in their midst.” She dropped into a chair as if her legs had given out. “What did you plan to do if I agreed?”
“I don’t know. I could threaten people, pretend to mind-control someone... maybe some of your men... and get the media to film me. We could say exactly what Phil wants to do, so any of his so-called partners who hadn’t been mind-controlled might contact us, or someone might report something,” I said.
“It sounds like a dangerous plan,” Noah said. “Pissing off that guy isn’t a good idea, and I’m sure something like this... revealing him to the world when he’s done so much to hide his image... it would do more than piss him off. He’d go after you and maybe even take his rage out on other people, like he did with that man.”
“Yeah, probably, but what if we don’t do anything?” I met his eyes. “We go home, and Phil can secretly kill a bunch of people who don’t provide him with his special serum. And what about after he goes through all the factories and places that make serums and none of them have what he wants? Won’t he go on a killing spree then? He’s powerful, but if every single person on the planet is looking for him, it won’t be so easy for him to do whatever he wants.” At least that was what I hoped, but seriously, there was no guarantee the guy wouldn’t go on a killing spree anyway, and if we were too far to do anything, this could turn into a disaster.
“But he’ll find out what you can do,” Marissa said. “Maybe we should keep your ability hidden, because if he knows some of us can do it... he’ll be more careful.”
“He’s already careful, but he won’t be able to know it was me who did it. So what if we have one shapeshifter among us?” I said.
“Actually, can we blame it on someone else?” Jaiden asked. “A video can be recorded in any place.”
“Yeah, but what if people realize the video was staged?” Lily’s eyebrows squished together.
“Maybe, but when they recognize Phil’s face from the photo you sent them, they won’t be able to just dismiss everything you told them,” I said. “They’ll at least have to investigate.”
“It’s still a huge risk,” Lily said. “If Phil starts frying people’s brains or something... or goes after us...”
“Then we’ll confront him and make sure he comes after us,” I said. “If he’s mad, his mind will be clouded and he won’t be as careful as he usually is.”
“Fine.” Lily let out a loud sigh. “Since we have to leave the country in forty-eight hours if we can’t get any evidence, I think we should try this.”
I nodded, but Sam was shaking his head.
“It’s too dangerous,” he said. “We couldn’t do anything to stop him, so why do you think we’ll be able to when he’s furious? Wouldn’t rage only fuel his energy more?”
“Do you have a better suggestion?” Lily asked. “Because I’d really love one, but it has to be something really good or we’ll have to go home and whatever happens after...”
Sam stared at his hands in his lap. “Not really, but innocent people could die and...”
“We know,” Lily said, “but we’ll have to take that risk and see what happens, or Phil will be able to do whatever he wants. Just because we didn’t find the bodies yet doesn’t mean he hasn’t already killed many people.”
“So let’s say we do it. Then what?” Noah asked.
“Then we wait and see.” Lily got to her feet. “Moira, do you want to try this now? If you can’t turn into him, then there’s nothing to discuss.”
“I can try.” I stood up, closing my eyes and trying to focus on my element. Picturing Phil’s face in my mind, I wanted to remember how his body had felt when my element was touching it. He’d mostly been a shimmering cloud, but I’d attacked him while he was still himself. A current shot up my arms, and I could feel my air surrounding me and coating me with a shimmering layer. My body constricted and expanded, my stomach flipping. But when I opened my eyes, the looks on everyone’s faces told me that I’d done it.
“I’ll never get used to this,” Noah said. “Can you also find out something about him? Like read his mind? Use his abilities? Remember what moves he uses when fighting?”
I shook my head. “No, it’s just a mask. It doesn’t really give me any insight into him. I’m still me, just wearing another person’s body. Well, an image of it.”
“Pity,” Nick said.
“Someone grab a camera,” I said. “And find some volunteers for the video, preferably someone who doesn’t mind being mind-controlled for a bit. We have to make it look as realistic as possible.” People couldn’t see mind control, but they could see the glazed look in someone’s eyes.
“Right away.” Lily clutched her phone and immediately dialed someone’s number. While she was talking to someone, Nick, Kenna, and Noah rushed outside to find our volunteers. Jaiden just sat there on the couch, unmoving, his lips pressed into a thin line.
“What? You don’t like my new disguise?” I grinned, and the sound that came out of my throat was strange, because my voice wasn’t mine anymore, and it surprised the hell out of me.
“Nope, I don’t.” His eyes bored into mine. “I’m not sure about this. You’re putting yourself in danger. Phil will figure out it’s one of us who’s doing it. And what if your plan gives him ideas to use that ability too? We don’t know for sure if he can change shapes, but what if he didn’t do it before because he didn’t even think there was such a thing?”
“I don’t think he has that ability, and I bet he tried out everything as soon as he got his powers. If not, well, that won’t change much. He’s still able to go wherever he wants and erase people’s memories. And how else are we going to stay here without everyone thinking we’re spies?”
“You’re probably right,” Jaiden said, his eyes darkening. “But if he comes after you, I’ll convince him that it was me who came up with the idea and that I was impersonating him in the video.”
“No,” I said. “You don’t have to protect me. Besides, we’re not really going to negotiate with him or let him kill any of us.”
“W
e should have tried getting inside his mind and killing him instead of putting up those nets,” Jaiden said. “He might not have been able to fight it off.”
“I doubt we’d be able to get inside his mind, let alone kill him. He has to be weak or trapped before we can do any of that.” Maybe if we could sedate him or get someone to poison him with something... But we didn’t know where he was, and it was unlikely he’d be constantly visiting his favorite restaurants after what we pulled. Besides, there was always a chance he’d use other people to taste the food for him, and then nothing would’ve worked. “I hope we can come up with a better plan eventually, but in order to do that, we need to stay here, and we need to be able to follow him through various countries if he decides to go somewhere else.”
“He could just do us a favor and go home,” Jaiden said.
“I don’t think he’s planning to do that. He’s been to various labs everywhere, and he still has a bunch more to visit.”
“I just hope your plan will work.”
“Me too.”
Chapter 20
“He’s going to kill us, isn’t he?” Kenna said as we were all sitting in front of a TV, watching the video we’d filmed. In the video, Phil was threatening everyone to produce the serum for him or he would start killing people, and he also vanished into thin air and forced people to do things for him.
We’d actually ended up filming outside and showing real mind control, but the people we’d used our elements on were Lily’s men who’d volunteered for the whole thing. So far, no one had been hurt. Yet. The local news was already talking about Phil, and I wasn’t really happy that we’d upset the public, but there was a real threat right under their noses and maybe they would help us catch him before it was too late.
“He’ll probably try,” Lily said. “But we upped our security, and now we no longer have to worry about being kicked out of the country. Even the local forces are helping us and looking out for Phil. I think that’s good. People will also be more careful, and maybe we finally capture this guy.”
Resilient (Tainted Elements, #6) Page 11
