“Um, guys,” a dark-haired girl said. “Were we expecting this to happen or should we run for cover?”
“Not yet, Emma,” the guy said. “It won’t stop immediately.”
But as more walls fell, I tapped my foot against the ground, my stomach churning.
“You’re a bit too confident about this, Spike,” one of the tainteds yelled, but I couldn’t see who it was because I didn’t want to look away from the tornado.
“Shh, just give it time.” Spike came to stand closer to me. I could feel his eyes on me, so I looked up at him. “You and I should create one final wall.”
“How?” I frowned. All I’d seen him do was create a firewall, and that one had fallen too, so I didn’t understand why only he and I should do it. Besides, our elements wouldn’t be able to work with each other, unless we somehow kept them apart enough. Maybe that was what he meant. Maybe he could manipulate his element better, so there would be no risk of the elements touching.
“Use clean fire,” he said. “And let it merge with mine.”
“Merge with yours?” My eyebrows lifted in surprise. “I don’t think that would work.”
“It will.”
He looked pretty confident about it. “I’m sorry, but... I doubt I can do that. I mean, I wasn’t really merging my element...”
“Don’t worry. You won’t have to do anything. I can take care of everything, but I need your element.”
If he meant he could swallow my element into his and then use it, then he was more than confident about his abilities. Just who did this guy think he was? Now wasn’t the time to show off, and since we’d never fought together or tried this out, we couldn’t know how our elements would react. “And what if my element defeats yours?”
“Doesn’t matter. I can still take control of it.”
“Hurry up,” Kenna said. “This thing is about to go through the tenth wall.”
The tornado was nowhere near stopping. “I...”
“We’re cousins,” Spike said, and I gaped at him. “From your father’s side. That’s why I can work with your fire easily.”
It took me a moment to process that thought. I didn’t know much about my biological father’s family, but if Spike said we could do this... “Okay.”
I let my fire surge out and focused on creating a wall almost as huge as the tornado itself. Spike’s fire joined in, and I almost thought it would break through mine, but it didn’t. The wall kept getting thicker and stronger as we both fed it with our energies.
“Everyone get out of the way!” I yelled, just in case our attempt failed. The others didn’t have to risk their lives.
“Are you sure?” Marissa asked.
“Yes!” Spike and I yelled at the same time, and they immediately broke into a run while some turned into air.
“Watch out for the tornado if it changes direction,” Spike said.
My heart was thudding loudly in my chest, sweat trickling down my back, but I kept feeding the wall.
“Marissa!” I yelled, just as the tornado went through the last wall and was heading toward Spike’s and mine. “If something happens to me... find Jaiden and the others!”
“I will!” she yelled back, and a fraction of me relaxed. “But you’ll beat this!”
“So, cousin,” Spike said as if we were chatting over a coffee. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“Yeah, you too.” Although I didn’t know anything about him, so I wasn’t sure yet.
I was barely breathing when the tornado collided with the wall. The heat and wind rushed around me, making it hard to concentrate, but I didn’t stop fueling the wall with my energy. The tornado made a dent in the wall, stretching it out, but it didn’t break through. At least not yet.
“Wrap the fire around it!” Spike said, and I did as he told me. The tornado was now a fiery tornado, but it was moving in place, as if caught in a net. “Take the energy back into yourself.”
“What? But how?”
“Just imagine your energy returning back with your element.”
“But...”
“No buts; do it!” Spike commanded, and I closed my eyes, allowing my energy to return to me and hoping this wouldn’t unleash the tornado again. A strong gust of wind threw me back, and I opened my eyes. Shouts broke out in the field, and as I lifted myself up on my elbows, I noticed a big black hole in the ground, and the tornado was nowhere to be seen.
Spike was lying on his side and coughing. Other tainteds immediately appeared at his side, helping him up.
“We did it!” Marissa skipped toward me as I pushed myself to my feet. I could feel the energy inside of me, and I placed my hand over my chest, although I doubted the energy was actually there.
“What happened?” I asked as Marissa jumped around me.
“You and Spike sucked the tornado’s energy into yourselves,” she said.
“We did?” I made my way to Spike, who was high-fiving his friends, a broad smile on his face.
“Hey,” he said to me. “It worked.”
“Yeah, how did we... do that exactly?”
“The mix of our elements was stronger than the tornado, and we turned its energy into ours, so we could easily take it back.”
“Thank God for that.” I ran my hand through my tangled hair.
“Yeah, there was a high chance it wouldn’t work or that the tornado would resist, but I’m glad it didn’t,” he said.
“Me too.”
“At least we got our energy back:” He offered me a smile.
“We have to go,” Sam said. “Sophia and Terry could free themselves and...”
Spikes’ eyes narrowed. “Sophia and Terry?”
“We have to go help our friends,” I said, not willing to talk about this with strangers. Spike might be my cousin, but I didn’t know anything about whose side he was on. Just because he had helped stop the tornado didn’t mean he knew how it had been created or by whom.
“Can we help?” Spike asked.
“No, that won’t be necessary,” I said quickly.
“Where did that thing come from?” Emma asked.
“Yeah, who created that? It had to be an elemental.” Spike searched my eyes, but I wiped all emotion off my face and just smiled at him.
“We’ll figure it out.”
“Someone’s coming!” Ashley yelled, and I heard the distinct sound of helicopters and sirens. The cops were coming here. It was time for us to leave.
“We really have to go now.” I said. “Thank you for your help. We couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Okay, good luck to you, cousin. I’ll deal with the cops and the press.” He inclined his head to me. With a smile, I rushed toward Kenna, who was already turning into air with Ashley. Grabbing Sam and Marissa, I let my air envelop us all and rose into the sky.
Chapter 25
I breathed out a sigh of relief when I saw Sophia and Terry still sitting on the ground. They were struggling against the bracelets and cuffs we’d put on them. Sophia sneered at me when I approached.
“You won’t get away with this,” she yelled. “If you kill me, the whole world will be after you!”
“Tell me where you took my friends.” I crouched in front of her.
“They’re dead!” she spat out.
My hand shot out and wrapped itself around her throat. Sophia’s eyes widened. “Tell me where they are or I swear to God there won’t be enough pieces of you left for the cops to identify.” I didn’t plan to hurt her too much, let alone kill her, but she didn’t have to know that. “And you’ll be next.” I shot a glare at Terry, who visibly swallowed.
“Just tell her!” Terry blurted out.
“No, she can go to...” Sophia’s words were cut off as I squeezed harder.
“Tell me!” I said through my teeth.
“Okay, okay!” she finally whispered, and I let go of her.
“I’m waiting,” I said, as she coughed.
“They’re in an old shack near Howell Park. You can’t
miss it,” she said, and something flashed through her eyes. I doubted she’d lie to me, but I had a feeling someone was guarding that shack, and she thought she’d be sending me into a trap.
“See? That wasn’t hard.” I got to my feet, and turned toward Marissa. “Call the cops.”
“What?” Marissa frowned. “Are you sure we...?”
“Yeah, call the cops.” Sophia bobbed her head. Poor Sophia. She thought the cops would come here and free her, and she’d spin some story about how evil tainted elementals had kidnapped and threatened her. I took Marissa by the arm and pulled her aside so that Sophia and Terry couldn’t overhear us.
“My camera is still working.” I glanced down at tiny thing on my shirt. Thank God these things are element-proof and resistant to pretty much anything. “I think.”
“Mine fell off.” Marissa grimaced.
“Doesn’t matter. We should have enough proof against Sophia on this.” I detached the camera and handed it to Marissa. “Check the others and get the footage. Then send Ashley or Sam to put it up on the Internet before you call the cops. If they were mind-controlled to destroy all evidence against Sophia or are working for her, this should be enough to protect us.”
“Wait, aren’t we going to get Noah and the others?” Marissa tilted her head.
“Yeah, we are, but only Kenna and me. We can deal with Sophia’s guards quietly, and I don’t think we can carry all of you with us to the other end of the city.”
“Oh, okay.” Marissa’s face fell, so I placed my hand on her shoulder. “You stay here and make sure those two don’t escape, and be careful.”
“What if the cops try to arrest me?” she asked.
“I don’t think they will, but if they do, I’ll come for you, okay? If you see they are hostile and are planning to attack you, run like hell. Do you think you can do that?”
“Yeah.” She offered me a small smile.
“Good.” I really hoped Sophia hadn’t mind-controlled all the cops in the city, but maybe she hadn’t bothered since she could change shapes. Maybe her mind control wasn’t as strong as her other abilities. “Just make sure the cops know what they’re dealing with.”
I wondered how the trial would proceed if Sophia took on someone else’s likeness, but I supposed her elements could be used to identify her since she couldn’t change them.
“Kenna!” I yelled, and she looked at me in annoyance. “We’re going to get your brother and the others.”
Her face immediately lit up and she turned into air.
“Follow me.” I let my air consume me and surged up. Hang on, Jaiden. I’m coming.
Kenna and I materialized not far from the shack Sophia had mentioned. There were no windows, and the door was closed.
“Do you think they’re really here?” Kenna asked.
“Probably. Sophia knows we’d come back for her if they weren’t,” I said. “But there are probably guards inside or maybe element-blockers.” I wasn’t sure how they were keeping Jaiden, Noah, and Nick in there because they were all very powerful. And together, they would’ve blown up this small shack ages ago. Unless something was hiding behind the innocent-looking walls.
“I could fly around and see if there’s a hole I can squeeze through.” Kenna eyed the shack.
“Okay, do it, but come back.” From my hiding spot behind the thick bushes, I could easily blast anyone who dared attack Kenna. She whooshed past me and headed for the shack. Nothing moved. Maybe the guards were all inside.
My stomach did a nervous flip at the thought that they might have transferred Jaiden and the others somewhere else when they hadn’t heard back from Sophia, but as long as everyone was still alive... My mouth was dry, and I blinked, trying to clear my thoughts. Kenna landed next to me.
“I couldn’t see much, but there’s a tiny hole in the wall. At least two guards with weapons are in there. Whatever protection they have, it might be inside.”
“Okay.” I called to my air. “Then let’s see if we can get them out.”
“How?” Kenna asked, then saw my shimmering thread. “Oh.”
“Where’s the hole?” I asked.
“Right there, under the roof,” she said. I let my air feel the wood and slip through the hole. Maybe I couldn’t see who was inside, but I could try to get into someone’s head. And if someone severed my thread and could see my shimmering, then we’d know we were dealing with people like us. My air roamed through the space, and I guided it forward, unsure if I would be able to actually sense someone’s mind or I’d have to brush against it with my air first to be able to tell it was there.
“Anything?” Kenna asked after a while.
“Not yet. I hope I won’t slip into the mind of one of our own.” Although that might not be a bad idea after all, because if they were unconscious, maybe I could wake them up.
“What if they’re not in there?” Kenna worried her lower lip.
I raised my finger to shush her, and lifted my air a bit higher. Something collided against it, and I waited for a moment, then let it crawl over the thing. An image of white brain signals flashed in my mind, and I felt myself smile.
“Open the door and come out,” I whispered so my thoughts would stay clear. I didn’t want to risk losing control or messing something up, especially when my target was so far away. A couple of moments later, an armed man in military clothes walked out, opening the door wide.
“Hey, what are you doing?” another man rushed after him. “We’re not supposed to go outside!”
“I heard something. Let’s check it out.” I forced the guy whose mind I was controlling to say exactly what I wanted him to.
“Heard what?” The other one snapped his fingers. “What are you talking ab... Shit!”
“They figured it out!” Kenna yelled. “Let’s go before they close the door.”
I nodded, pulling out of the man’s brain, and followed Kenna. We whooshed into the shack just before the men closed the door.
“It’s one of them!” a man yelled, his voice filled with panic. “They’re here!”
“I don’t see anything!” another one said.
“Of course you don’t, you dumbass, they’re tainteds.”
“Oh shit. Oh shit. She told us they wouldn’t be coming!” The first one sat behind a computer, pressing a button. “They’re here! The energy is spiking!”
“What if it’s yours? You’re freaking out like a little girl.”
“It’s not mine. I swear.”
“Look at him. He’s sweating.”
“What? It’s hot in here.”
Kenna and I pressed ourselves against the wall, flying low, although I doubted these men would see us even if we appeared right in front of their eyes. They weren’t like us. Kenna’s shimmering finger waved toward the part of the room hidden by a white curtain. We slipped underneath it, and as we rose up, my invisible heart skipped a beat. Jaiden, Nick, and Noah were lying on metal beds, their arms and legs tied, their eyes closed. Kenna immediately materialized next to her brother and placed her hands on his face.
“Nick, it’s me. Wake up!” she whispered.
I watched Jaiden’s serene face and started undoing the binds, my hands slightly shaking from both relief and the desire to get Jaiden and the others out of here as soon as possible.
“They’re in here!” The curtain was pulled back and more shouts followed. I let go of Jaiden and blasted the first man who approached me with my air. Someone fired and I swallowed the bullets into my fire.
“Can you take them with you?” I asked Kenna, who was quickly freeing Noah.
“I’ll take my brother. You carry Jaiden and Noah,” she said. “I can’t carry two.”
“Okay. Go!” I watched her as she turned herself and her brother into air and flew past the men, who weren’t even able to see her. Sophia clearly hadn’t expected anyone to get the location out of her, and since Terry hadn’t blurted it out immediately, that meant she had been the only one who knew. Of course, findi
ng other tainteds and getting them to watch over Jaiden and the others would’ve been difficult and might have caused spikes of energy that were too big.
I sent two gusts of air at the guards, sending them flying and knocking the weapons out of their hands. Grabbing Jaiden’s and Noah’s arms, I turned us all into air and zoomed out of the shack before anyone could react. I could see Kenna’s shimmering in front of me, so I went after her. When she lowered herself into one of the alleys, I knew she was going for the lab.
Once we got inside, I lowered Noah and Jaiden on the beds. Kenna had materialized her brother on the sofa, but his eyes were still closed.
“What’s wrong with them?” Kenna’s voice was high-pitched.
“I guess they’re asleep.” Their breathing seemed regular and they didn’t have any visible injuries.
“When are they going to wake up?” She paced up and down the room.
“I don’t know.” I rubbed my arms. “We should check what the others...”
“We can text them to come here if they didn’t get in trouble.”
“Okay. Do it.” I was sure Kenna needed something to occupy herself with. She immediately went to find a phone.
“Jaiden, can you hear me?” I said softly, placing my hand over his, but he didn’t even stir.
“The others are on their way here,” Kenna said when she returned. “And surprise, surprise. They weren’t arrested. The cops only took Sophia and Terry.”
My eyebrows shot up. That was indeed a surprise. “Turn on the TV. Maybe there’s something on the news.” The press was probably going wild about the tornado, and if they heard Sophia had been arrested, they’d be all over that too.
“Are you sure this thing still works?” Kenna stepped in front of a tiny old TV that had a layer of dust on it.
I shrugged. “Try it.”
She pressed a button, and something like a pop could be heard. The screen flickered, but a few moments later it cleared, and we could see the reporter. Kenna fiddled with two buttons, and the reporter’s voice became audible.
“According to the latest reports, Sophia Mornell and her partner, Terry Garrly, have been arrested for multiple crimes, including the creation of a big tornado that was threatening the city. It appears that Ms. Mornell is a tainted elemental herself. We aren’t exactly sure how that is possible, considering her age, but we should find out more once the official statement is released,” the woman said. “Take a look at the newest footage.”
Hunted (Tainted Elements, #5) Page 15
