Hunted (Tainted Elements, #5)

by Linwood, Alycia

  “Hey,” I said, my lips spreading into a smile.

  “Hey,” he rasped, smiling back.

  “Feeling any better?” I asked, although he didn’t really look like it. His face was still deathly pale, his skin clammy and cold.

  “Not really.”

  “Listen, I know you don’t want me to go after your father, but we have no choice. He could be the key to getting you better and solving our Sophia problem. Do you know any places where your father could go to hide?”

  “No.” Jaiden’s eyes flashed with intensity. “I won’t tell you anything.”

  “Why not? Even if you don’t want anything from him anymore, that doesn’t mean we have to risk the lives of every tainted elemental because we didn’t dare talk to him about Sophia. Please.” I ran my hand down his cheek.

  “No.” A frown line appeared on his forehead, and he blinked at me.

  “I think it’s the only way to stop Sophia. She has another plan to lure us out in the open and make a spectacle of us or whatever. We can’t let her do this to us and other tainteds,” I pleaded.

  “I can’t...” He narrowed his eyes, his hands starting to shake slightly.

  “I don’t understand. If you only get weaker and we don’t find a way to stop Sophia or thwart her plans, what then? I thought you wanted to help those like us.”

  “I won’t tell you anything.” He raised his arm and placed it over his head.

  “Yeah, you keep repeating that.” I bit the inside of my lip. “But you’re not giving me any good explanations, so... if you have a really good reason except that you’re afraid that your father might have protection and that I could get caught, then tell me. Otherwise...”

  “I...” Jaiden coughed, then shook his head. “Something... something’s wrong.”

  “What?” I put my hands on both sides of his face and met his dark eyes. “What’s wrong?”

  “I can’t tell you anything.” He bit down on his lip so hard he drew blood. “Why can’t I...?”

  “Shit.” I let go of him. “Do you think someone mind-controlled you?”

  He only gave me a brief nod, his eyes wide. Well, that was a problem. “But how? When?” I raised my finger before he could try to say anything because I was sure he couldn’t tell me what he wanted to. “I can help you.” Calling to my air, I guided a thin thread toward Jaiden’s head and tried to gently push inside, but my air slammed into a barrier.

  “Can you let me in? I can fix this.” I’d healed other elementals’ minds before, including my own, so I believed that I could do the same with Jaiden if I could get inside his mind and see the blackened brain signals. But as I pushed a bit stronger with my air, the barrier still stayed, and Jaiden winced, so I pulled back.

  “Do it,” he panted. “Just do it.”

  I focused on my element again, making the shimmering thread dance around Jaiden’s head and using more force to get it inside, but the barrier was still there, and this time he cried out. My stomach did a nervous flip and I took a deep breath. There was no other way to do this because Jaiden didn’t know how to heal his own brain signals, and even if he did, I doubted he’d have the energy for it. I might have done it once and risked my own sanity in the process, but I’d been strong enough.

  “It’s okay.” He gripped my arm. “Don’t be afraid. Do it.”

  I closed my eyes, blocking every thought out of my mind. If I wanted to do this, I had to ignore Jaiden’s pain, and that was much harder than anything else. I wasn’t sure if it hurt more because he was weak right now or because he’d been mind-controlled to protect his own mind, no matter what. Something told me it was the latter.

  I gathered my strength and shoved my air into Jaiden’s head, pushing and pushing until I finally slipped through. A scream pierced the air, but all I could see were the darkened signals in front of me. There weren’t many, which was probably the reason Jaiden hadn’t realized something was wrong, but someone had done a good job, and it had been someone powerful enough to break through Jaiden’s protection. I hoped we wouldn’t be dealing with another Blake.

  I forced my element into the signals, capturing them and feeding them back until they were restored to their white color, or at least that was what I pictured in my mind.

  As soon as I was done, I let my element slam back into me and opened my eyes, almost dreading what I might see. The tension sipped out of my shoulders when Jaiden looked at me.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah.” His nostrils flared. “I can’t believe someone mind-controlled me not to look for my father.”

  “Do you know who it was?” I leaned forward.

  He shook his head. “Whoever it was, they were standing behind me... in that hallway that led to that room where I’d been keeping my father.” He narrowed his eyes. “My father didn’t escape because someone helped him. It was me. I left the door open and then later came back to close it.” He gritted his teeth, trying to push himself up, but I placed my hand on his chest.

  “Don’t waste your strength. Is there anything else you remember about that person?”

  “The voice... it was male,” he said. “He ordered me to free my father, forget about it, and to stop looking for him.”

  I rubbed my forehead. Great, another strong elemental who was working against us, but why? Why would anyone help Jaiden’s father and want to make sure Jaiden didn’t know he’d let his father out? Someone who was clearly trying to hide his existence. One more reason to find Jack as soon as possible. I just hoped the elemental wasn’t someone who wanted Jack dead. “Do you know what that person could want with your father?”

  “No clue. If it was to keep me away so I couldn’t protect him...” Jaiden frowned. “If he’s dead, then...”

  “Okay, let’s not jump to conclusions. Your father is a resourceful man. Maybe the elemental was working for him. Going through so much trouble just to kill him seems strange.”

  “Yeah, you’re right.” He looked around. “Do you have a phone or a map? I know the places my father used to frequent and maybe somewhere he would seek shelter or just pass by...”

  “Sure.” I fished my phone out of my pocket and handed it to him, praying that Jack was still alive, which had to be the weirdest thing ever. But the information and the serum he had were very valuable to both Jaiden and me.

  Chapter 9

  I groaned as I crossed out yet another spot on the map that Jaiden had indicated. His father was nowhere to be seen, and I was already starting to lose hope that I’d find him or that he was even still alive. But as I flew between the cars in the parking lot in front of a club Jack apparently loved to visit, I spotted a black car with tinted windows.

  Circling the car, I found the ventilation system and slipped through it, squeezing my shimmering cloud. As I popped out into the car, I landed on the back seat and noticed a phone just lying there on the seat with a piece of paper tucked underneath it. Turning myself visible, I carefully picked up the phone and inspected the note. My heart skipped a beat when I saw my name written across it in a neat handwriting.

  Sliding my finger across the screen of the phone, I brought it to life and found only one number in the contacts. There wasn’t anything else on the phone. Obviously, it was meant for me. Someone had known I’d come here, which made me uneasy. What if this was one of Sophia’s sick games? Did she have anything to do with Jaiden’s mind-controlling and Jack’s release? But why would she work with tainteds if she hated them so much?

  I lifted the phone and checked the battery, just to make sure it wasn’t a bomb that would detonate when I made the call. The phone seemed clean, so I turned it into air and left the car. I didn’t want any hidden attackers to jump on me if whoever had left the phone expected me to stay trapped in the car.

  When I found a spot safe enough, I tapped my finger against the number and pressed the phone to my ear. Something clicked on the other end of the line, but no one answered. I waited for a moment, and a soft noise could be h
eard in the background.

  “Mr. Maiers?” I asked, scanning my surroundings just in case someone was tracking the phone.

  “I’m glad you called,” Jack said, and the happy sound in his voice made me sure that he wasn’t being held captive anywhere. Well, unless he’d been mind-controlled.

  “Is that so?” I said, wondering how much he knew about what was going on.

  “I’ve been expecting you. Is my son with you?”

  “Why?” I didn’t want to tell him anything just yet.

  “You know why. I saw that video on the news. Jaiden’s elements couldn’t have withstood that. How is he?” I could swear I’d heard worry tint Jack’s voice. Was he really concerned about Jaiden?

  “Not well. He needs the serum.”

  “Yes, he does. Bring him to me and we’ll fix him.”

  Fix him? Great. “No, you’ll give me the serum and I’ll take it to Jaiden.”

  “That’s not how things will go. You’ll bring him to me and your friends won’t follow. Understood?”

  “No.” It was impressive how he expected me to just bend to his will. “What do you want with Jaiden? Give me the serum and that’s it. You owe him that after all you’ve done.”

  “Now, now, Moira,” Jack said dryly. “You’re forgetting one thing. If Jaiden doesn’t get the serum soon, he’ll die.”

  There wasn’t anything in Jack’s voice to indicate that he was lying and I bit the inside of my cheek. My fears had been right. I needed that serum, but if Jack wanted us to come to him, that meant he had other plans. Plans that would undoubtedly benefit him and prove to be a problem for us.

  “You won’t let him die,” I said.

  “Ah, but neither will you,” he said. “Agree to my terms or we’ll both have to live with the consequences of your decision.”

  My eyebrows shot up. My decision? Yeah, Jack would lay the blame on me with no problem. Fuck. “Okay. I’ll bring him to you.”

  “Good. Keep the phone. I’ll send you a message,” he said. “And don’t even try to trace the call. You won’t catch me. And if anyone comes with you or follows you, I’ll have to disappear, and that’ll lower Jaiden’s chances of survival. Please make sure my son stays alive in the meantime.”

  I had to fight the urge to chuck the phone at the wall across the street. “Did you have someone mind-control him to let you out? Was it Sophia?”

  “See you soon.” The line went dead, and I clenched my fingers around the phone. Jack was hiding something, and oh yeah, he at least knew who Sophia was. The only problem was how to get the information and Jaiden’s serum without ending up in Jack’s clutches.

  I didn’t trust Jaiden’s father at all, and I knew I’d have to be extra careful. But Jaiden needed the serum and I wouldn’t let him die, even if Jack found a way to capture me. We had no other choice as long as Jack was the only one with the formula for the serum. Maybe it was time to change that, but I’d have to figure out a way to force the information out of him or steal it somehow. My mom hadn’t been able to recreate it before, but if she knew exactly what had to be done, step by step, then maybe she’d have a better chance.

  Chapter 10

  When I got back to the lab, I almost ran into Noah. “Hey,” I said, a smile tugging at my lips.

  Noah’s lips quirked up briefly, but he looked tired and worried. “Did you find his father?”

  “Yeah, kind of. I spoke to him.” I started toward Jaiden’s room and leaned at the doorway. Jaiden’s eyes were closed, his chest barely moving up and down. “He wants me to bring Jaiden to him.”

  “What? Why?” Noah gaped at me.

  “He doesn’t want to hand over the serum, and probably has some twisted plan in mind, as usual.” I stretched my arms, my muscles aching.

  “But you can’t just take Jaiden to him! If he’s working with Sophia... and even if he’s not, it’s still too dangerous to trust him. Why wouldn’t he just name his price and give you the serum?”

  “I don’t know. He didn’t say much, just that it would be my fault if I didn’t get Jaiden to him in time, or refused to bring him.” I banged my head lightly against the doorway.

  “So he could really... die?” Noah’s eyes were filled with worry.

  “Yeah.” I stared at my feet. “I can’t let that happen.”

  “I know... I just...” He glanced at Jaiden, then back at me. “Isn’t there another way to...?”

  I shook my head. “I wish there was, but not yet, and we don’t have time to do experiments.”

  “What are we going to do then?” Noah asked. “You can’t just go there alone. Maiers might want to capture or hurt you.”

  “We have no choice. He would run if he saw someone coming with me, and then it might be too late for Jaiden. I won’t take that risk.”

  “So you’re just going to do as he says?” Noah raised his voice.

  “Yeah.” I gave him a long look and noticed my mom coming toward us.

  “What’s going on? Did you find the serum?” my mom asked as she stopped next to Noah.

  “Jack wants me to bring Jaiden to him.” I raised my finger before she could say anything. “I’ve made my choice. This is the only chance Jaiden has, so I’ll take him wherever Jack wants.”

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Jack might be lying to lure you out,” my mom said. “He’s not an honorable man. If he cared about his son, he would’ve already sent him the serum or would have given it to you.”

  “I’m well aware of the danger,” I said.

  “What if Jaiden won’t die? What if he’s just feeling sick until the elements completely vanish from his body?” Noah asked.

  “Do you think we should just wait and see?” I met Noah’s eyes.

  He licked his lips, his gaze flying to Jaiden. “No,” he finally said, sighing. “We can’t do that.”

  “Can we send someone else with Jaiden?” my mom asked. “You don’t have to go. You’re too valuable to Jack because of your abilities.”

  “It has to be me. I doubt Jack would agree to anyone else coming, and besides, my abilities give me a better chance of confronting him.” Risking someone else’s life wouldn’t be a good idea, and if Jack actually wanted Jaiden and not me, he’d have to let me live if he wanted Jaiden to cooperate. Losing me wouldn’t make Jaiden the most agreeable person in the world.

  My mom’s eyes filled with tears, but she pushed them back. “I know, but...” She stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around me. “I wish there was something else we could do.”

  “Me too.” I looked over her shoulder at Noah. “Did you come here because you have news on Sophia or...?”

  “No.” Noah scratched his head. “I came to see Jaiden. We spoke... and I... He was glad to see me.”

  I let go of my mom and gave him a brief nod. The phone Jack left for me vibrated, and I immediately checked it. “Jack just texted me the address. I have to go.”

  “Where does he want to meet you?” Noah asked, his eyes alert.

  “Downtown. Public place.”

  “Do you want me to go with you? I’d stay out of sight.”

  “No. No way. I don’t want Jack to get scared and run.” I turned to my mom. “Is there some kind of a device that could alert you of my location or something?”

  “I’ll go look around for it.” My mom rushed down the hallway.

  “Be careful,” Noah said.

  “I will.” I headed into Jaiden’s room, hoping Jack wouldn’t try to trick me, because if he did, I would be really, really pissed off.

  Chapter 11

  Jack was standing in front of a car with tinted windows, his hands in the pockets of his black coat. As I flew closer, he took something out of his pocket and looked at it, a slow smile spreading across his lips. As if he knew I was there, he opened the door of the car and I flew inside, settling into the back seat. Materializing Jaiden and myself, I looked up at Jack.

  “Hello, Moira,” he said, closing the door and then getting int
o the driver’s seat.

  “How did you know I was here?” No one except those like us could see the shimmering, so I suspected the device had something to do with it. I just didn’t know what it was.

  “Energy levels detector,” he said, starting the car. “Very useful thing.”

  “Weren’t you afraid someone might see you out here in the open? You’re still a fugitive.” The cops had to be looking for Jack too, since he was responsible for everything that had happened in Elemontera, but because Jaiden had saved him, no one had been able to locate him, or Jack had connections that had allowed him to escape.

  “Not really.” He glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “Haven’t seen any cops around here and not many people can recognize me.”

  “Where are we going?” I asked, watching the people in the street. Jaiden let out a soft moan, his head resting in my lap, and I placed my hand on his cheek.

  “You’ll see.” Jack turned in his seat to look at Jaiden, and I thought I was hallucinating the concerned expression on his face.

  “Will Sophia be there too?” I checked around the car for any strange devices that could be used to trap me, but I didn’t see anything. Still, I had to be very careful, especially if there was an elemental who could mind-control me. “Or that tainted elemental who helped you escape?”

  “You’re asking all the wrong questions.” Jack turned on the music and upped the volume. “We’ll talk once we get to the lab.”

  The lab? So Jack already had a lab, or maybe it was one of his old ones that no one knew about. I didn’t like the sound of that. The car swerved into an abandoned alley and sped toward the old factory at the end. My mouth went dry when I realized Jack wasn’t slowing down, and we were rapidly approaching the building’s dark red rusty metal wall.

  Before I could say anything, the wall parted and we passed through. We reached another set of doors that lifted and revealed a long, dark tunnel. At the end of it was a parking lot with a few cars, and a big glass door with elemental protection, similar to what Jack had had in Elemontera. Shit. This was probably a trap. If he could’ve kept us in Elemontera, he could keep us here too. The car pulled up into one of the free spots.