"Wait." I pushed myself off the floor. "Some people still believe in God of Magic today. Even I do, but why haven't I heard of anyone who still believes in Hell? I heard of the Devil, or however you want to call the creature that might roam the Earth and manipulate people into giving up on their elements or misusing them, and the angels, who fight him and help people, but Hell... Nope, never."
"That's a good question," Michael said. "It's interesting people suddenly stopped believing in it around the time the hunt for magic disease carriers was the strongest."
"Do you think it's related? Was the person behind that idea a magic disease carrier?" Paula tilted her head as if she were trying to process the information.
"Talking about people without elements," I interjected, "did you go to Hell if you died only without an element or did a stolen element count too?"
"Yes, it could be related," Michael said. "And according to what I read, it explicitly said people without an element. No mention of magic disease carriers, of course. I told you the idea is much, much older."
"So it's quite possible the government thought magic disease carriers killed more people because they were afraid they'd die without an element and go to Hell. Since elements could expire pretty soon, that would raise the amount of murders and everyone would go after magic disease carriers. They could have easily invented that magic disease carriers came up with that belief to justify what they were doing, no matter how weird that sounded." I was more interested in the topic now that it seemed related to the real history, not just some crappy stories.
"Oook, that's freaky," Paula said. "But what does it have to do with us?" We both looked at Michael, who raised his hands in the air.
"Whoa, don't look at me like that." The corners of his lips went up a bit. "I'm trying to show you that no matter how strong some belief is, there's always a way to thwart it."
"Really, Michael?" I teased. "You're such an idealist. Do you think people would believe us if we revealed shocking info about magic disease carriers? Or about government's plans, whatever they are?"
"If you think I'm a fool for having faith in humanity, so be it." Michael's green eyes flashed in defiance. "Unfortunately, you're the one who has the chance to do something and uncover the secrets that could change the world, not me. I would have followed the brain in my head, not the other one."
My temper flared and the notebook on the nightstand next to Michael went up in flames. Paula gasped in surprise, but Michael remained calm enough to douse the fire with his element, which didn't help my self-control at all. Would Michael and I ever be able to have a normal conversation? Probably not.
"I'm out of here. We'll go over the details later." I winked at Paula and left the room. The spontaneous fire definitely wasn't a good sign. I needed to find my mother sooner rather than later.
"How do you even do that?" I said, amazed, as fireballs the size of pearls danced around my mother's arms. She hadn't even asked what I wanted when I came to her, simply stood in the middle of the room, away from the furniture, and started this breathtaking play of fire.
"It's all about the practice." My mother had never looked as happy as she was now. Then again, using elements tended to make us all cheerful.
"It didn't burn you!" I exclaimed as one fireball brushed the bare skin of her wrist. The first thing everyone told us when we got our element was that we shouldn't use it anywhere near ourselves or we'd get burned.
"Of course not, sweetie." She did it again. "It's our fire, and as long as it's touching our skin, we're fine, but the moment it touches something else, like our shirt, it ceases to be ours and burns us like regular fire does. But you have to concentrate on what you are doing because a little slip or a bit of dust in the air... and your fire will turn against you. Your element also needs to be mostly pure and very strong."
"Which means I shouldn't even dream about trying it," I said, disappointed.
"Maybe one day." The fireballs started to melt into one huge ball, which floated in front of my mother's head. A second later, the fire was gone.
"Ok, how do I do that?" I came to stand next to her, pressing my teeth together to stop them from chattering. I hoped my mother couldn't see the goose bumps on my skin because that would tip her off something was wrong. Her element was calling to me, but I knew my disease wasn't going to get any better, so I had to see what I could learn in such a short time. Besides, my new element wasn't going to be new forever.
"The same way as if you were setting something on fire. Concentrate, picture what you want to do and do it." She made it sound so simple, but it wasn't. Didn't she think I would have done it already if the whole 'picture it in your mind' thing worked?
"Like this?" The warmth of my element filled me, and I imagined a perfect fireball. When I let go of the warmth, there was a bright spark in the air, which disappeared in a second and didn't even remotely resemble a ball. I let out a frustrated sigh. "I can't do it!"
"Sure you can. You just need to try it a few times." My mom was trying to stifle a laugh.
"Right." I took a deep breath, repeating the process, but didn't get the desired result. Twenty something attempts later, I managed to create a tiny fireball, which would have ended up plastered against the wall if my mom hadn't used her element and caught it. She could easily envelop my fire in hers since we were related, so elements sort of recognized each other. In a fight with elements, stronger element would always win. That had me thinking whether my element was weaker because of the disease. Maybe I'd never be able to do everything like people with completely pure elements, but wasn't my mother's element a bit impure too? God, so many questions, so little answers.
"I think this is it for today." My mother pulled me into a hug. We'd had fun, and it was for the moments like these that I loved her. Could I turn my back on her and leave with Adrian? Would she ever forgive me for that? I really, truly hoped she would.
"What?" I said as I saw Paula's face after she returned from the lab the next day. She was chewing on her lower lip and her blue-green eyes looked troubled. "Bad news?"
"The security... it's too much. You can't do it." She flopped into the chair, rubbing her face. "They told me what happens in case someone brings down the door of a room with elements."
"And?" My heart was racing like crazy and she hadn't even said anything yet.
"Well, first they laughed at me because something like that would never happen, like ever. And then they told me if in some wild dream it would happen, the whole building would go on lockdown in five minutes." I opened my mouth to say that wasn't so bad, but she lifted her finger to silence me. "Once all special doors are down, the cameras go off and you can't get out no matter what. Not with elements, not with force.... Only if someone opens the main door with a code. The president is the only person who knows it and if he doesn't use it in an hour, the whole lab explodes."
I gaped at her. "They would destroy the whole lab for that?"
"Yeah, apparently they would."
"What else are they doing in there?" What could be so important that they didn't want it to see the light of day? Michael was right; someone should be investigating all that, but I couldn't let them kill Adrian while I snooped around.
"Who knows?" Paula shrugged. "But your plan is madness. You can't get him out of there in five minutes."
"Why not? It takes only a minute or two to get to the exit when the hall is clear. I don't think a few guards can stop us." I pulled out of my pocket a copy of the map Paula had given me and studied it carefully. "Look, we can go here. Why would the guards go after us when it would take them too long to get inside? That only leaves scientists, and they will be too busy with saving their most prized files and experiments. Who would risk getting blown up?"
"Your logic has so many flaws." Paula reached for my hand. "You're going to get yourself killed."
"They wouldn't kill the president's daughter," I said automatically.
"What about Adrian?"
"I'll make sure
he's safe," I said determinedly. "Do you know if his cuffs can be melted with fire?"
"Yes, they can." She sighed, getting up and walking to the window. I knew my plan had upset her, but we didn't have a better one. "That's why they are still in testing. They told me the cuffs can block only the element of the person whose skin they are touching, and the special material they are using isn't strong enough against fire.
"Great." Now I only had to figure out how to use my element to melt the damn things without anyone noticing too soon.
"Will you practice with your element?" Paula glanced at me over her shoulder, her tall and slim form illuminated by the last rays of sunshine that were coming through the window.
"I'll see if my mom's around. If I try something by myself, set something on fire and fail to extinguish it in time, it will trigger the smoke alarm. My father would freak out and it would only prove the theory that we're all too young and too dumb to use our elements. And I'm sure Michael doesn't want to be around me."
"So, are you getting Adrian out tomorrow?" She asked as if we hadn't established that a dozen of times already. I guess it did sound kind of surreal and impossible.
"Yeah."
"I'll be there," she said, "to help."
"Paula, no." I started to argue, but I could see it in her eyes that she wasn't going to back down on this one. Fine. I would do the most difficult task by myself anyway, and if she somehow managed to reach me, I could always claim she didn't have anything to do with the whole drama but only wanted to help me.
What worried me the most was that my father hadn't respected our deal and let others torture Adrian. It would be a huge problem if Adrian was too weak to run or fight. I'd refrained myself from asking my father anything because he could interpret that as my unreasonable worry about Adrian. The last thing I needed was to get fired from my new job.
Chapter 15
My hands were sweating as I entered the lab, followed by June, who was clutching a folder to her chest. She gave it to my father as soon as we entered the control room and left with a smile. My father was dressed in a black suit as usual, his dark hair neatly combed. The scientists, or whatever they were, seemed to be glued to the screens of their computers and the huge black glass.
"Are you ready, honey?" My father spread his arms, waiting for me to come to him and hug him. I awkwardly stepped into his arms, hoping he wouldn't notice how nervous I was. He looked so proud that his only daughter would torture a magic disease carrier for the first time that I wasn't sure what to think. When I was little, I'd been in a play once and he'd said he was proud, but the excited gleam in his eyes had been missing. Great, another thing he'd lied to me about. Maybe I wouldn't miss my parents after all. Maybe.
"Of course." I put on my brave and arrogant face. He looked me up and down, frowning for a moment as his eyes fell on my black sneakers. Aw, crap. Who'd have thought my father would notice I wasn't wearing heels like usual? But I couldn't run around and count seconds in the damn heels. Besides, I was wearing dark gray jeans and a black top with a red heart on it, which wasn't exactly unfashionable. Couldn't my father think I was becoming more responsible when it came to my job? "It would be unfortunate if I broke the heel on my favorite shoes, wouldn't it?"
"Oh, what you wear doesn't matter, honey, as long as it is decent." He took me by the hand and led me aside. Wow, again something he didn't want others to hear. "Do you need anything before you go in?"
"Do you happen to have something like a fireplace poker?"
"It can be found." My father's eyebrows shot upward. "Why do you need it?"
"Well, I can't really get too close to the monster now that he's stronger, can I?" I winked.
"Ah, of course." My father started for the door. "I'll be right back."
Ok, this was the easy part, provided that my father wouldn't appear with the security in tow when he got back. I casually walked over to the computers, trying to get a glimpse of Adrian through the dark glass. One man in a white coat looked up at me, his hazel eyes suspicious, but he turned his attention back to the screen in front of him. Feeling courageous, I lifted my eyes in the direction where Adrian should be. He was sitting on the exact same spot, his hands still bound above his head. His jet black hair was even messier than usual, but he didn't look like he was in pain.
The door behind me opened, making me jump. My father was back, holding a poker as if he had picked it up from a fireplace. Did they have a fireplace somewhere in here? Maybe a fake one in an office? Oh God, what was I thinking? I'd rather do anything other than walk into that room. My father handed me the poker and I nearly dropped it because I was shaking, and it had nothing to do with elements, which were starting to make me uncomfortable.
"So," I said, gripping the poker. "Am I still supposed to find out how he found me and what he wanted? What else?"
"Yes, and use fire on him so we can see if he can break through the cuffs. If he does, you have to fend him off for thirty seconds. That shouldn't be a problem, right? Fire can melt ice just fine." He encouragingly clapped me on the back. His lack of questions for Adrian only made me think more that this was a test for me. Thirty seconds, huh? We'd have to be really fast.
"Oh, I wanted to ask you something and I always forget to do it." I was stalling. How awesome was that?
"Yes?" My father said, looking a bit impatient.
"Will people of different elements really be able to have a family and children with a pure element?"
"Of course. We've been investigating that for years and I think we're close to discovering something major. Maybe you'll have to wait a year or two, but I assure you it will be possible."
"That's awesome." I still couldn't believe he was really planning to do that. Maybe it wasn't just a cover story after all.
"Yes, but we can talk about that later," he said.
"Sure." I turned to go, but stopped and looked back at my father. "One more thing. That girl, Amaya, told me she had magic disease. I can't believe you let her work with normal people."
"Oh, I know, honey," my father said, curling his lip in disgust. "But she proved to be useful, didn't she? I have a few more tasks for her and then I'll put her where she belongs."
"How did you even find her?"
"She found us, actually, and offered her help. Her hatred for the monster is amazing." He chuckled.
"How did she know you were looking for Liandre?" Adrian had been missing only for a few days and I had a feeling Alan hadn't mentioned anything to people at the university. Even if someone asked about Adrian, Alan could always say he went to do some tests or something disease related. Not to mention Amaya no longer went to our university, so how had she found out?
"One of our agents is her friend and she told her." My father sighed.
"What?" I scowled. "That's confidential information. Did you fire that woman?"
"She swore she told Amaya only because she knew how her friend felt about Adrian. And who could track him better than another magic disease carrier? Of course, she hadn't confessed that until I refused her offer to help us."
"Are you sure she has the disease?" It was ridiculous that my father would hire someone incompetent and suspicious. "Why did she wear that special suit then?" I nearly bit my tongue as I said it. Did my father and others know magic disease carriers could sense people's elements all the time? But why would they wear those damn suits if they didn't?
"It doesn't matter. We'll find out in time." He shrugged. "I hired her because she knows the monster and how he looks and behaves. That was all I needed and, as you can see, it worked. And we decided it was better she wore the suit in case she still had an element or rests of it. We couldn't afford the monster killing her and sucking in that tiny little bit of her element and using it."
"Oh, ok. But you shouldn't trust her." So the suits were mainly supposed to be protection so Adrian couldn't get another element, but maybe my father wasn't telling me the whole truth. Would my father really mind if Adrian got another sub-element
or something? It would mess up his plan to observe the sub-element alone and maybe Adrian would be too strong for their cuffs. Yeah, I could see why my father wouldn't want to risk anything going different from what he expected, but that didn't mean he didn't know about other things.
"You should go now." He waved his hand at me so I would hurry.
"I'll be right back." I grinned, going for the door. June was waiting for me outside, surprise written all over her face as she saw what I was holding in my hand. "Open the door, please." My voice sounded scary even to my own ears. Was I getting too much into my role? Probably. June typed in the code and stepped aside, letting me into the too bright room.
"You!" Adrian spat as he saw me, but I could see the sadness in his gray-blue eyes. He didn't want me to be here with him. Maybe he'd hoped I wouldn't come.
"Yes, me," I said sweetly, walking over to him as the door firmly shut behind me. The poker felt heavy in my hand as I tried to figure out how to use it the best so the cuffs would break.
"What do you want?" he said, straining against the cuffs.
"Oh, just some fun." I crouched very close to him, bowing my head. "Can you move a bit so I can find a way to burn through the cuffs with this?" I waved the poker in front of him, hoping it would look like a threat to everyone who was watching us. The problem was that the stupid cuffs were somehow intertwined around the pole so I couldn't get through both sides at the same time. If I tried to free one arm and then the other, everyone would see the first cuff falling off and that would be it. They'd be on us before I got to the second one.
I stood up, shielding Adrian from view as he tried to get the cuffs in the right position, but his hand or arm was always in the way. Fuck! Raising the poker, I concentrated on my element and started warming it. Adrian stopped struggling and gave me a small shake of the head. I frowned, unsure what he wanted to say. Inching closer to him, I hoped no one would overreact and make the stupid decision to bring in the guards.
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