Element Preservers Series
Book Two
RUNAWAY
AlyciaLinwood
Copyright © 2012 Alycia Linwood
Kindle Edition
Cover Stock Images Copyright: ©Depositphotos/Tomasz Tulik
All rights reserved. No part of this novel may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior permission in writing from the author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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1st edition
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my dear friend, Gray, to my wonderful betas and readers. Thank you so much for everything!.
Table of Contents
Chapter 01
Chapter 02
Chapter 03
Chapter 04
Chapter 05
Chapter 06
Chapter 07
Chapter 08
Chapter 09
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 01
I blinked, but the scene in front of me didn't change. Adrian was really gone, and I had no idea what had happened. Fast footsteps echoed down the hall, but I ignored them, the freezing air numbing more than just my fingers.
"Ria!" I heard Paula's panicked voice and slowly turned to face her. She glanced at me and then at the room, her hand covering her mouth. "What happened?"
"I don't know," I whispered. "Something is wrong."
"How did all that ice get here?" Michael came to stand behind me, pulling me into a tight embrace and making me shiver.
"Adrian did this," I said, my voice shaky. "Something happened to him!"
"You say Adrian did this?" Paula raised an eyebrow at me, surprised. Right, since I hadn't told her, there was no way she could know about the sub-elements. Could I reveal Adrian's secret just like that even after I'd been protecting it for a long time? Yes, I could. Yes, if it meant they could help me save him from whoever had taken him. Because I was sure someone had dragged him out of this place by force, or all this ice wouldn't be here.
"Yes, it's his element," I said. "Ice is a sub-element actually."
"What?" Paula and Michael said at the same time. I couldn't see Michael's face, but I could see surprise, shock, anger and bewilderment flash across Paula's beautiful features.
"It's a long story." I shook my head, moving away from Michael. As I looked down the hall, I saw Alan approaching us, a grim expression on his face. Paula was just about to say something, but she hesitated when her eyes fell on Alan. I gave both Michael and Paula a warning look, hoping they wouldn't blurt out something in front of Adrian's guardian. Maybe Alan knew about Adrian, but he didn't have to find out that more people knew too.
"Where is he?" Alan said, frowning as he looked at us standing there in the chilly air.
"We don't know." Paula said, rubbing her arms. I glanced back at Adrian's room, which was still completely frozen. When the ice finally melted, all of his things were going to get wet. I was glad we had at least gotten the important files out of there. But what had happened? Had someone come for the files? It seemed impossible to explain this.
"Damn it!" Alan said, running his hand through his short dark brown hair, a pained expression on his face.
"What?" I glared at him. He knew something, but I wasn't sure what it was.
"I can't believe he did this. I can't..." Alan closed his eyes for a moment like he was trying to fight off a bad migraine. I wanted to snap at him to say it already, but I had to stay calm or my disease would show and we'd all be in trouble. Just how in hell was I supposed to stay calm when all I wanted to do was look for Adrian before he was away from here forever? He'd disappeared only minutes ago. Whoever had taken him couldn't have gone far. We were wasting time.
"Do you know something?" I finally said, unable to keep quiet.
"There was a murder a few miles away. The police just called me to tell me they would be questioning Adrian about it. You know that he as a magic disease carrier has to prove where he's been during the murder if there are no witnesses or clues about the murderer. Now he's gone and that will mean only one thing to the police...." Alan said.
"They'll think he did it!" Paula stated the obvious, her blue-green eyes wide with fear. "Oh my God, they're going to kill him! You have to stop them!"
"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do. The law is the way it is. They have permission to kill him on sight. Maybe they won't do it if he doesn't fight them, but..." Alan sighed.
"But you can tell them the truth," I said. "You know he wasn't there at the time of the murder."
"No, I can't, Ria," Alan said. "They wouldn't trust me for fear I'm covering for him, and I don't really have any solid proofs."
Fuck, he was right. I didn't know when the murder had happened, but if it had been during the time we'd been in the hotel, it was better no one else found out about it. Alan knew we'd been there, but not that we'd actually broken into the Pandora's Box. The last thing we needed was to get associated with that. We'd both be dead then.
Of course, Alan would probably rattle us out once the Council realized that the important guy was missing, but I hoped that would take some time. Besides, the fact that Adrian's car had been somewhere else at the time of the murder wouldn't mean anything to the police since no one could prove Adrian had been near the car, but the Council would blame Adrian for stealing the files from the Pandora's Box without a second thought. I wondered why Alan hadn't told them anything yet.
"The car," I suddenly said, startling everyone. "Is the tracker still there?"
"Yes, but he left the car here," Alan said, and I immediately felt disappointed. If Adrian hadn't gone in his car, then I was even more sure someone had kidnapped him. But who and why? I brushed past Alan, taking my phone out of my pocket and dialing Adrian's number. It went straight to voicemail. Damn it! It was suddenly hard to breathe, and I ran down the hall. I stopped just around the corner, sinking to the floor, my head in my hands. How was I supposed to fight off the pull of elements on my own?
"Ria, calm down. It's going to be alright," Michael said, his element inviting me for a drink. He tried to come closer to me, but I raised my hand to stop him.
"I have to find him," I said determinedly. "I have to go after him!"
"Why? We can find a way so that you don't need him anymore." There was a hint of anger in Michael's voice.
"It's not that! I need to find him!" I rose to my feet and saw hurt in Michael's green eyes.
"And I don't understand why! So why don't you enlighten me? Why do you so desperately want to help a guy who broke your friend's heart, manipulated you into sleeping with him and then embarrassed you in front of everyone? You're not stupid, Ria. What has he done to you?" Michael was glaring at me, the force of his element intensifying. How could I ever explain it to him without hurting him once again?
"I need to go after him... because no one else will," I said softly, meeting his eyes. The temperature in the hall suddenly went up, and I knew it was my element doing that. It was far better to feel my own element than try to go for Michael's. He observed me for a moment, then his eyes narrowed.
"You feel something for that
bastard!" he finally said. "You got caught up in his spell too! Ria, wake up! He doesn't care about you! He probably killed someone and ran away! What can you expect from a person like him?"
"He didn't kill anyone!" I said through my teeth. "You don't know him at all!"
"Oh, and you do?"
I closed my eyes, wondering what I should say to that. I knew Adrian, or at least I thought I did. My phone rang, startling me, and I answered before I even looked at the number.
"Yes?" I said, turning my back to Michael and walking farther down the hall.
"What's up, sis?" Oliver said. I sighed.
"Now's not the time..." I couldn't possibly think of a reason for my brother's call since he'd been here not a long time ago.
"I have your toy," he said, his voice strangely teasing. What was he talking about? Oh, shit. I clutched the phone in my hand like it was the only thing keeping me alive.
"You what?!"
"You know what I'm talking about, sis." There was a hint of warning in Oliver's voice. Of course, he was paranoid again that someone was listening to our conversation. Could he really be the one who had kidnapped Adrian?
"Why?" I choked out, glancing back at Michael, who was watching me carefully, alerted.
"Oh, you'll be thanking me later. But listen carefully," Oliver said ominously. "Act like nothing is going on. Someone must be around you. Don't breathe a word to anyone. Not even to those you trust. It must be a surprise."
"Ok," I said, my heart jumping in my chest. What game was he playing now? Was Adrian alright? Oliver now knew for sure Adrian had an element. Would my brother try to steal Adrian's element just because he didn't have that one yet? I hoped not, but I just didn't know.
"Have you heard that our daddy is getting promoted? He's becoming the president of the Element Preservers Organization," Oliver said casually. "He's going to have a big formal party in two days. I want you to take that other boy with you and go there. Oh, and try to appear in as many photographs as you can."
"Oh. I had no idea." I frowned. "What exactly is this Element Preservers Organization? Something like the Council?"
"Even better, sis," Oliver said. "The Element Preservers is an organization in charge of everything related to magic disease from now on. They will control all the information and take care of the experiments."
"Experiments?" I said and suddenly had a good idea what kind of an organization the Element Preservers was. My father was going to be in charge of those evil laboratories that had ruined his son's life and help the government cover up all the essential information about magic disease carriers... people like me.
"Yup," Oliver said. "Well, congratulate our dad for me, will you? It's such an awesome thing, right? Because our dad is going to do everything to get monsters and freaks off this planet. Magic disease is just way too dangerous."
"When will I see you again?" I asked, trying to get the idea that my father was so cruel off my mind. Oliver had something in mind and he had Adrian. There was nothing I could do except follow his orders.
"Soon. It's fine, Ria. I promise." With those words he hung up. Why did I have a horrible feeling he'd just referred to Adrian as if he were a thing? Placing the phone back into my pocket, I walked over to Michael. Oliver wanted me to go to a party, but how was I supposed to forget about Adrian so suddenly and not do anything about finding him? If Oliver wanted Adrian's element, he'd have taken it already. Somehow he must have found out about the murder - if he hadn't committed it himself - and decided to help Adrian. But why? Adrian's disappearance was only making things worse. No, my brother definitely knew a lot more than I did.
"Is something wrong?" Michael eyed me suspiciously.
"No. My father got promoted. He wants me to come to his party." I ran my hand through my hair, taking a deep breath. "Michael... I'm sorry. You're right. I shouldn't worry about Adrian. He... He's..."
I couldn't finish that sentence. What was I doing? Lying to Michael like his feelings didn't mean a thing to me? I was even worse than Adrian if I was going to keep up this pretense. Couldn't I just tell Michael what was really going on? Surely he'd help me... but what if I would be putting him in danger? Damn you, Oliver, for not telling me everything! How could I decide what was the best when I didn't know anything? Ugh!
"It's going to be alright, honey," Michael said, his face softening. "You can live without him. We'll find a way."
"Yes," I murmured, letting him pull me into his arms. At least his element was no longer all over the place, which meant he trusted me completely. Oh, Michael, my perfect boyfriend.
"Are you going to your father's party?" He sounded hopeful, probably thinking that a party would be an awesome way for me to forget about Adrian.
"I don't know," I lied. "What if all the elements jump on me? It would be inconvenient if my disease showed at the party with all the press around."
Wait a second. Was that what Oliver had in mind? To expose me in front of everyone? Michael must have felt my tension because he started to gently rub my back. I buried my face into his shirt, inhaling his fresh scent, which calmed me almost instantly.
"You can take a pill. I know you hate those, but I'll be there with you."
I looked up at his green eyes, biting my lip. "No pills, Michael. I have to learn how to be around people without Adrian's help."
"Fine then." Michael smiled. "I trust you, Ria. I know you can do it. If you start feeling bad, we can always leave."
"Right." If only Michael knew why I was so afraid of taking any kind of pills. How would he react if he found out I couldn't remember anything from the night we'd spent together? I promised myself these were the last lies I was going to tell Michael. He didn't deserve my dishonesty. I only hoped I could keep my promise without getting him in danger. Yeah, I kept telling myself it was all because I was worried about his safety, but was it really? I sighed.
"Well, I guess I'll just have to call the police," Alan said, walking up to us with Paula. I didn't like the tone of his voice. It was almost like he had planned to say that for a long, long time. Maybe he had, because it wasn't a secret everyone expected Adrian to give in to the disease soon. But this seemed different. I just couldn't figure it out why I felt like that.
"Will you tell them Adrian's been kidnapped?" I asked, stepping away from Michael and getting in Alan's way. He stopped, arching an eyebrow at me like I had said something insane.
"Kidnapped? Ria, dear, I don't think that's what happened. There are no traces of struggle under all that ice. I believe Adrian has done this himself to make us believe he's been taken, even though I'm not sure what he used to bring all that ice into his room." There was a sad look on Alan's face, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"And why do you think he'd do that?" I glared at Alan, feeling the warmth welling up inside of me. Taking a deep breath, I pushed my element back. Now wasn't the time for turning the hall into an oven.
"I think the disease finally got the better of him. He must have run away because he didn't want to hurt anyone." Alan sounded so reasonable and convincing that Paula actually burst into tears. She must be still feeling something for Adrian, despite everything he'd done to her. But then again, she'd forgiven me too, but I knew we'd never be as close as we used to be.
"Wouldn't that be a strange coincidence?" I said, not ready to accept his theory because I knew for a fact that it was wrong. What I wanted to know was why he wanted to make everyone believe Adrian would do such a thing. I knew he didn't want to tell about sub-elements to Michael and Paula, but saying someone else had done the ice thing would be more plausible, so why hadn't he said that? "Someone is murdered nearby, and Adrian's disease simply shows so he'd get blamed for everything? Yeah, right."
"I know it's hard to believe, Ria." Alan's dark eyes showed annoyance. "You two were close, but you'll have to accept the fact that he's gone."
Oh, it was just plain mean to say things like that while my boyfriend could hear it. Alan really seemed bent on getting rid of Ad
rian and moving on with his life. But hadn't he been so happy to find out Adrian had an element? Unless... unless Alan had already reported his discovery to the Council or whomever, and they had decided to do something about it. That made perfect sense.
Alan had probably thought Adrian would start showing more symptoms of the disease, and when that hadn't happened, he'd figured Adrian could possess an element. He'd actually made us trust him, pretending that he was happy with the news. But what if he wasn't? What if that murder hadn't even happened and was just a ploy to kill Adrian... or worse, send him back to that research place. Would the Council go that far to invent a story about a magic disease carrier going wild and fake his death to be able to do experiments on him? Of course they would. Alan would be free and the government would get their lab rat. Was my father a part of this? He was Alan's friend and the future president of the Element Preservers Organization, so it was highly possible. Oh, shit. Was that why Oliver wanted me at the party?
"So you're just going to say you don't know where he is," I said matter-of-factly. Fine, I wasn't going to let him know I had a good idea what was happening.
"Well, the police will come here to investigate." Alan shrugged. "There's nothing we can do. I'm sorry."
"This is all just... crazy." I sighed, doing my best to look resigned. Alan gave me a small smile and went down the hall. Bastard!
"I can't believe this," Paula cried.
"But didn't you say Adrian had a sub-element?" Michael looked at me. "So how can he have the disease?"
"Well, I kept my element," I said, "so it doesn't make much difference."
"Then you agree with what Alan said?" Paula sniffled.
"Umm, I'm not sure." I awkwardly reached out for her, putting my hand on her shoulder. It had probably been a wrong decision on my part to tell them about sub-elements at all, but I couldn't take it back now. The less they knew, the better. Until I could talk to my brother and ask him for an explanation, that is.
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