Captive (Tainted Elements, Book 4)

by Linwood, Alycia

  “How did it go?” I forced myself to smile.

  “Terrible.” He slipped out of his jacket and threw himself on the bed next to me. “Can you believe that bitch Lily found a way for her agents to block me out of their minds?”

  “Really?” My eyebrows shot up. At this point, I didn’t know if it were true or not.

  “You know that time I went with the others to create a diversion so you could get inside the building?” he asked.

  “Yeah.” How could I ever forget that? “What about it?”

  “I was stupid enough not to use mind control on anyone. I figured it wasn’t necessary to come so close to them, so we only fought with other elements, but... Lily’s techs must have found a way to scan my elemental energy and create something that blocks me from entering other tainted elementals’ minds.”

  I tilted my head. “That was really stupid. You knew Lily had managed to block you out, so why did you think she wouldn’t protect her agents as well?”

  “Because I wasn’t using mind control on them! So I thought it was safe.” He swore, covering his eyes with his arm. “We have to find the Strong before they find a way to catch us all. We need more power.”

  “Do you think there could be more than one Strong?” I asked, and he moved his arm away to look at me.

  “Why do you ask that?”

  “Well, it would be easier to find one of them if there were more, you know.” I shrugged. “I used to think I was the only tainted elemental and look how many of us are out there.”

  “This is different. There’s only one elemental who can fill the role of the Strong.”

  “I know.” I gave him a smile, tracing my finger over his hand. “So where do we look now?”

  “I don’t know. We should probably storm some labs and find a couple of scientists who might know something.”

  “Labs, huh?” An idea sprung into my mind, but I wasn’t sure if it would be of any help. “Do you know of any labs that were trying to catch tainted elementals?”

  “I destroyed all of them. But maybe some of the labs that are researching other kinds of elementals came across tainted elementals, too. I don’t know.” He sighed.

  “Would a lab of scientists who researched enhanced elements help?” I asked, the corners of my lips tilting up.

  Blake lifted himself up on his elbows. “What do you mean?”

  “I’m the heiress of all Marlau’s companies, remember? My grandpa was researching enhanced elements.”

  Blake eyed me carefully. “But the cops confiscated and destroyed everything when he was arrested for conducting illegal experiments.”

  “Yes, he was arrested, and a bunch of people who worked with him were arrested, too, but his companies that weren’t involved in the whole thing remain active.”

  “I still don’t see how that could help us.”

  “Do you really think my grandpa would have only one lab? Just because there was no proof of illegal activity in any of the other companies doesn’t mean someone somewhere didn’t do it. Besides, maybe there were people who worked at the first lab but were transferred and never got involved with bad things. I mean, hundreds of people worked for my grandpa. And maybe some worked for him secretly and there was absolutely no evidence to connect them with the case.”

  “So what are you suggesting?” Blake’s eyebrows shot up.

  “We could pay a visit to some of these companies and see if anyone knows anything.” I smiled. “Maybe we can get the names of people who were experimented on. Maybe some of them survived and went on to have a family.”

  Blake gave me a blank look, and I knew he wasn’t getting it.

  “My father had an enhanced element and I turned out to be a tainted elemental,” I said. “There’s a chance that a child of someone who had their element enhanced turned out to be a tainted elemental.”

  “It seems like a long shot, but it’s worth a try.” Blake didn’t sound too convinced. “I doubt many of those lab rats survived and got out to have a normal family, and even decided to manipulate their child’s genetic code.”

  “True, but they could still help us find a secret lab. Maybe my grandpa worked with someone. I doubt he came up with all those ideas on his own. Besides, not many scientists were arrested with him, and most of them that were arrested appeared to be clueless.”

  “Well, the prosecution didn’t have mind control to check if they were telling the truth.” The corners of Blake’s lips quirked up.

  I laughed. “We could help people so much and they shun us.”

  “Soon they’ll see their mistake.” Blake’s eyes hardened, and I leaned down to give him a kiss.

  “Yes, they will.” My eyes met his. He’d see his mistake soon too, but then it would be too late. “You should get some rest. You had a long day.”

  “Will you stay here with me?” he asked in his sweetest voice.

  “Of course.” I snuggled next to him, caressing his hair. What were the chances that there was another Hero out there? Maybe there was or maybe there wasn’t. I didn’t know, and I didn’t have time to look for him. Blake would have to do. When he was fast asleep, I extracted myself from his embrace and reached for his jacket that was lying discarded on the floor.

  Glancing at Blake to make sure he was still asleep, I took the book out of his pocket. The energy immediately started to pulse through me, and I closed my eyes, enjoying the sensation. All the power could be mine. I just had to take it. Tucking the book into my small black purse, I got to my feet. As I was about to walk out of the room, I looked back at Blake. He’d be furious when he found out what I’d done, but I had to make sure he didn’t replace me. I had to find the Strong on my own. Well, with some help.

  Chapter 7

  “Raven!” I yelled as I walked into the living room.

  She looked up at me, annoyance flashing across her features. “What?”

  “Blake wants us to go to my grandpa’s companies and find out if someone knows any tainted elementals or where we could find them. Well, it’s not that simple, but I’ll explain on the way. Bring the others, too.”

  Raven raised an eyebrow at me. “Now? Where’s Blake?”

  “He’s sleeping. He wants us to handle this on our own. What do you say? Are you coming or staying?”

  “I’m coming,” she said grudgingly.

  “Good. Get the others and meet me outside.” With a smile, I strode out of the house.

  “What exactly are you trying to achieve with this?” Raven asked after we landed not far from one of the more famous companies that my grandfather used to own. “Do you plan to take over the company or something?”

  “Well, my grandpa did leave me his companies, but I’m not the only living member of his family. I don’t really care about this company at the moment, and that’s why we’ll just go inside and take what we need. It isn’t personal.” I could have sworn someone had come for me and told me I should accept my legacy, but the woman’s face and name were just a blur in my mind.

  “Whatever you say.” Raven’s forehead wrinkled. “What’s our plan?”

  “Ulry and Ben will look around to see who’s coming and going, and maybe try to find any hidden passages, any labs, or abandoned buildings nearby. They’ll warn us if the cops or Lily’s men show up.” I nodded at the guys, who immediately left, and I faced Raven. “You and I will go inside and see what we can find out. We’ll fly around, make sure no one sees us, and get inside the minds of any person we might encounter. I’ll see if I can find anything on their computers. How does that sound?”

  “Okay, I guess.” Raven shrugged. “What am I supposed to ask people?”

  “Ask them if they have any connections to illegal experiments or the lab that had been closed down. See if they know any scientists or people who participated in the experiments or met with my grandfather. Or if they simply know someone who managed to escape the cops.” I turned into air and flew toward the building.

  As I slipped through the crack under
the door, I wondered if the building had any protection against elementals like us, but it probably didn’t. It was just a company that produced medical and scientific equipment. No one really expected any tainted elementals to break in. I was sure there was nothing illegal going on in here, especially not after what happened with my grandfather, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t anything useful.

  I whizzed past unsuspecting people who were busy with their jobs. A woman with dark brown hair strolled right next to me, her arm brushing my air, but she didn’t even flinch. She was carrying a folder with papers, her face serious. I followed her to her office, and when she closed the door, I made myself visible in the corner of the room, just under a small camera. The woman’s back was turned to me as she flipped through various papers on her desk. I guided my element toward her, letting it slip into her mind.

  “You won’t panic, you won’t see me, and you won’t remember any of this,” I said quietly. Her whole body tensed, her back straightening, but she didn’t turn around. “You will answer all of my questions truthfully. Do you understand?” It was very easy to catch her brain signals.

  “Yes,” she said.

  “Do you know anything about Anton Marlau’s experiments on elementals?”

  “He ended up in prison because of that.”

  “Anything else? Did you ever meet him?”

  “No. I’ve been working here for a few years, but Marlau never came here after he was released from prison for good behavior.”

  Maybe she was too inexperienced to know anything about the experiments, but maybe she knew someone who wasn’t. “Do you know anyone who worked for Marlau and helped him with these experiments? Perhaps someone who’s still alive and not in prison?” Breaking into a prison would be nearly impossible, since they were all completely built out of element blockers.

  “I don’t know anyone,” she said, and I sighed. Maybe I was asking the wrong questions.

  “You sell equipment to scientists here, right? Can you print out the list of names of people you work with?” If Marlau had wanted to make secret deals, he could have done it through this company and pretend he was shipping something else to them instead of the subjects. Hell, maybe he’d been providing equipment to one of the other labs.

  “Yes.” She immediately went to her computer and started typing something, then the printer turned on. She picked up the papers and handed them over to me. As I skimmed over the list of clients, one name caught my attention. Jack Maiers. Why did that name sound familiar? He was on the list of former clients, and the info about the company he owned was marked as private.

  “Who is Jack Maiers?” I asked.

  “He used to own Elemontera. He purchased some of our products for his lab.”

  I flinched. Elemontera. Where had I seen that name before? And why could I remember stupid details like what type of drink I’d had on my first date with Blake but couldn’t remember anything about this man or his company? “Where is Elemontera?” I could take a look and see for myself what it was that I couldn’t recall.

  “Elemontera is gone. It used to be a governmental organization, but it turned out they were involved in illegal activities, so it was shut down.”

  My eyebrows shot upward. Illegal activities? Yeah, Jack Maiers definitely sounded suspicious. “And what happened to Mr. Maiers? Is he in prison?”

  “No, he escaped. The cops are looking for him,” she said.

  Interesting. If I could find that man, maybe I could figure out exactly what kind of stuff he’d been involved in. “Do you know anything about those illegal activities?” I asked.

  “The press said he was experimenting on people. That’s all I know.”

  “Okay. Go back to work.” I slipped out of her mind and turned into air before she could realize something was wrong. As I flew through the rest of the building, I connected to the minds of a few more people, but no one knew anything useful. I hoped Raven’s luck had been better.

  Raven materialized, her long black hair flowing around her, her blue eyes sparkling with delight. “I found something,” she said. “Most of the people here know nothing or can’t remember it, but there’s one guy who used to work as security at the old company before he was transferred here. He worked there only for four months, so the cops didn’t find him suspicious enough because they thought he wasn’t going anywhere near the lab, but my little inspection proved that he was in there.”

  “Okay, and how does that help us?” I asked.

  “He knows a woman who was working with your grandfather’s scientists but wasn’t really one of them. She used to come late at night and he was the one to let her in. Apparently, the cops never found out about her because the cameras were turned off when she came and everything she did there was a secret.”

  “Great. That means we can find her. She could lead us to one of the experiments or she could even lead us to another lab. We know my grandfather wasn’t the only one who tried to enhance elements, and if she worked with my grandfather’s scientists, that means she could have a lab on her own like...” ...some guy had. A memory flashed in my mind of a small lab of some scientist that had been hidden in... a store of some kind? What was that memory? I’d never been there before, and yet, the image seemed clear.

  “Are you okay?” Raven asked.

  “Yeah. What’s the woman’s name?”

  “I don’t know.” Raven stared at her feet.

  “You don’t know?” I scowled, my hands curling into fists. “God, Raven! How’s that going to help us?”

  “The security guard never found out her name. He just knows what she looks like.”

  “That’s strange.” I frowned. “They were doing a lot of things to keep this woman’s visits a secret. I wonder why.”

  “She had to be involved in something illegal.”

  I nodded. “What was she like?”

  “She had shoulder length dark red hair and green eyes. She was like two inches shorter than me and she was always wearing a long black coat.”

  “Anything else?” I tapped my foot against the floor and noticed Ulry was coming toward us, his black hair falling into his gray eyes.

  “Not really. The only thing the guard remembers is that she has great boobs.” She rolled her eyes.

  “Great. Just fucking great.” I ground my teeth together. “How many green-eyed redheads are in this city? And how are we supposed to find her?”

  “I don’t know,” Raven said.

  I started pacing, trying to come up with something. Ulry and Ben came up to us.

  “We haven’t seen anything suspicious, but a shimmering cloud is flying above the city a couple of blocks away. We think it’s one of Lily’s agents,” Ulry said, his brows drawn in concern.

  “Okay, you should go now,” I said, and they both turned into air.

  Raven eyed me suspiciously. “Are you coming?”

  “Yeah.” I offered her a small smile, and she flew away. Just as I was about to turn into air, a dark-haired guy came from around the corner. He froze, his dark eyes meeting mine, his lips slightly parted. Before he could come closer, I broke into a run. I didn’t stop until I was in an abandoned alley, and then I turned into air.

  Chapter 8

  I barely had enough time to open the door of Blake’s house and step inside before a blast of air slammed me back, knocking the breath out of my chest. I stumbled, doubling over, my stomach feeling as if I’d been punched. Blake was standing in the middle of the room, his eyes blazing with fury. Straightening my back, I gritted my teeth and slammed the door behind me, my blood boiling.

  “What the fuck was that?” I yelled, glaring at Blake. Raven was sitting on the couch, her face expressionless.

  “Where is it?” Blake asked, his voice low and dangerous.

  “Where is what?” I couldn’t believe he’d just used his element on me. Was he out of his mind?

  “The book! I know you stole it from me! So where is it?” Blake came closer until his face was only inches from
mine, his nostrils flaring.

  “Yeah, I took the book. It’s safe.” I took a step back, putting some distance between us. If he was going to attack me, I wanted some space to fight back. Thanks to this little outburst, I was determined not to let him lay his hands on the book ever again.

  “What were you thinking? You can’t just take the book and go on some mission you didn’t even tell me about!” His arms were shaking, the vein in his neck straining against his skin.

  “I knew what I was doing. I don’t need your permission.” I’d strapped the sheath with the book to my back where it was safely hidden under my shirt and jacket.

  “Yes, you do!” His jaw set, Blake advanced on me, and I backed away until I hit the wall. Warmth spread down my back, making me shiver. The book was pulsing against my back. “Give it to me. Now! Or I swear to God I’ll...” A shimmering thread rose from Blake’s body and started toward me. I couldn’t believe it! Was he really so stupid to try to mind control me? Son of a bitch.

  “How dare you talk to me like that? And pull your element back or you won’t like what I do next,” I said, and Blake gaped at me, taking a step back. Someone gasped, and I realized it was Raven. Blake raised his hands in the air, backing off.

  “I’m sorry, baby. I was... I was upset that you didn’t tell me what you were going to do, and you know how precious that book is to me. I don’t want...” he said as if he were talking to a small child. “Can you forgive me, baby? I’d never hurt you. You know that.”

  “No, I don’t,” I said through my teeth. “You sent a fucking blast of air at me and you tried to mind control me! Do you really think an apology will make everything right?”

  “Baby...” Blake stared at me, as if unsure what to do. “I’m sorry. I really am. It won’t happen again. I’ve lost control of myself. I’ll do anything to make this right.”

  “Okay.” I crossed my arms. “The book stays with me. And since this is your house, I’m going to go sleep somewhere else.” I turned on my heel and started for the door.