“I don’t, but I believe he destroyed it and killed everyone there when he escaped.” It would make sense for Blake to want revenge, but he’d probably already gotten it.
“What about the families of the people he killed?” Jaiden asked, pulling his phone out of the pocket of his blue jeans. “I’ll tell Lily to look into it.”
“You do that, although I don’t think he’d go after them. He’d have done it a long time ago. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t been powerful before taking whatever it was in that syringe. Maybe he’s hiding somewhere and waiting for his powers to grow even stronger. How long will your serum work on me?”
“It should be fine until you spend your energy,” Jaiden said, holding the phone to his ear.
“Okay.” At least we weren’t under a deadline with this. I’d hate to lose my enhanced power before we got to face Blake.
“Lily thinks she found something.” Jaiden waved me over, pressing a button on his phone and placing it in between us.
“Are you there, Moira?” Lily’s voice rang through the speaker.
“Yeah. What did you find?” I asked.
“It might be nothing, but several disappearances have been reported all over the city in the last twenty four hours,” she said. “I’m working with the cops to get the info about the missing people. From what I can tell, they’re all healthy elementals, and surveillance caught nothing.”
“Do you think Blake killed them all?” I asked.
“I don’t know, but we never had so many disappearances at the same time. He could be taking hostages or killing people to get their elements, if that’s what he can do now,” Lily said.
“How many people have disappeared?” Jaiden asked.
“Um, at least fourteen,” Lily said. “The cops will alert me if there are more. So far, there are no clues about where those people could have gone.”
“I’ll text you a list of all the locations that Blake used as hideouts while I was with him,” I said. “But I doubt he’ll be there. He knows we’d find him.”
“The only question is whether he thinks he can take out whoever tries to confront him or not,” Lily said. “Do you think he could take all fourteen elements inside of him or just four elements like element preservers?”
“I’ve no idea. We don’t even know if that’s what he can do. If he found a way to collect elements into himself, then maybe he can take more than four,” I said. I really hoped Blake couldn’t take so many elements and keep them all. We’d never defeat him if he could take so much power.
“One of my scientists has a theory that Blake’s body wouldn’t be able to sustain so much power,” Lily said. “Maybe there’s hope that all those people are still alive. If the elements Blake takes expire like they do for regular magic disease carriers who’d stolen an element, then maybe he took the people so he could recharge.”
I was afraid that wasn’t the case. “Would he really need so many people then? Elements don’t expire so quickly if they aren’t being used, and you didn’t notice any spikes of energy anywhere.”
“He’s crazy,” Jaiden said. “We can’t know what he’s thinking.”
“True.” Lily sighed.
“You said the elementals were taken from all over the city. Is there an area in which more than one has been taken? That could help us narrow down his location,” Jaiden said.
“Let me see.” The sound of typing could be heard from Lily’s end of the line. “Two people have been taken near a popular club, but it might have been just a coincidence.”
“Send a team to that area and check the maps for any underground bases,” Jaiden said.
“Fine,” Lily said but didn’t sound too happy that Jaiden was giving her orders.
“Is there any pattern? Maybe we can predict in which area he’ll appear next,” I said. “Maybe he wants to take a person from every part of the city.”
“I don’t think so. If I look at the list of disappearances, it looks random,” Lily said.
“Are there any bigger areas from which no one disappeared? He could be using the disappearances as a distraction,” Jaiden said.
“Well, at first glance, not really. The city is big and not that many people have been taken,” Lily said.
“Can you send us the map so we can check it out?” I asked. “When I was with Blake, we used to do various things to distract you from what we were really looking for.”
“Okay, sending you the map right now.”
“Thanks,” I said. “We’ll call you if we find something or get an idea.”
“You do that.” Lily ended the call, and a message symbol flashed on the screen of Jaiden’s phone. He opened the map, and we both studied it. There were fourteen highlighted areas on the map, and there really didn’t seem to be any connection between them.
“I’m clueless,” I said. “We don’t really have any indication of the exact spot from which the people have disappeared because there were no witnesses.”
“Let’s check something.” Jaiden went through some files on his phone, and finally found a map that had lots of black lines crisscrossing the whole city. “If people disappeared only in areas without cameras, that means Blake was probably turning his victims into air so he could take them somewhere. We saw him kill only that one woman, and that was when he left the body behind. All those people could be still alive.”
“But there are no significant spikes of energy anywhere,” I said.
“The energy detectors wouldn’t be able to read Blake’s energy if he were underground,” Jaiden said. “There are many manholes through which you can get into the sewage system. I have a map of all the exit points. Maybe we can find through which ones he could have escaped with his victims.”
“You think he grabbed someone in an area without surveillance, turned them into air, and went with them through a manhole.”
“Yeah. That way he could have gone all over the city if he knew where to exit so he wouldn’t be seen.”
“But he’d never done that when I was with him. It would have been easier to go around unnoticed.” Blake would have told me about it, unless he’d thought I might run into someone familiar there.
“Maybe he didn’t feel the need to use it or had other reasons. Lily didn’t have much luck catching you, anyway, did she?” Jaiden said. “Or maybe he hadn’t known about it back then. We should check it out. There are tunnels that can be accessed through the sewers.”
“Did you use those tunnels while you were working for Elemontera and looking for tainted elementals?” I asked.
He nodded. “I had to find various ways of going around the city without being spotted, but it was much easier back then. There weren’t so many detectors designed to track us.”
“Okay.” I wasn’t thrilled about going into the sewers, but if Blake was using them, maybe we could find some clues about his whereabouts. “This is funny. It’s as if Blake can’t decide when he wants to be seen and when he doesn’t. You’d think he’d show his new powers off to the whole city, like he did with that first murder.”
“Maybe he lost control the first time or was just trying out his new power. If he doesn’t want to be found now, it means he’s planning something bigger.” Jaiden’s body started to shimmer, and we both turned to air. I didn’t know how much more energy Jaiden had in him, but I hoped it would be enough.
Chapter 22
The sewers were the most disgusting and smelly place I’d seen in my life. I was glad we could fly through them, but I still almost screeched when I saw a rat, which seemed to amuse Jaiden a lot. When we ended up in the deepest parts of the tunnels, I closely followed Jaiden, who had no trouble navigating through the darkness. I wondered how many times he’d been here already.
“Go right,” Jaiden said, and I obeyed. There was a soft light in the distance, and as we came closer to it, I spotted something on the dirty stone.
“What’s that?” I asked, and Jaiden materialized, bending down to inspect the thing.
&nb
sp; “It’s a shoe,” he said. “A woman’s shoe.”
“How do you think a woman’s shoe got down here?” I lowered myself enough to take a look but didn’t turn visible. If a rat jumped out of nowhere, I wanted to be able to escape quickly and without ending up in the fetid water. “It doesn’t look like the water brought it.” The shoe was high-heeled and bright red. It didn’t look like it had been worn for long or wet at some point. Jaiden used his air to lift the shoe up and turn it around.
“If Blake was carrying a woman, maybe he lost control of his element and the shoe dropped. I doubt she fought him, because he could have mind-controlled her. Unless she’d been unconscious and woke up when she saw the light, and he hadn’t had time to mind control her before.”
“Okay, let’s assume that happened.” I floated in front of him, and he dropped the shoe back to the ground. He reached for his phone and I rose up.
“There’s a manhole not far from here...” He frowned. “And a woman disappeared in that area.”
“Great. Where could he have taken her?” I looked down the tunnel. “Where does this lead? Do you know of any exits? Or maybe any buildings? Blake wouldn’t risk going back outside and causing a big energy spike, right?”
“The only place would be the old tunnels I’d told you about. They’re under a factory, and that area is restricted for everyone because it could collapse.” Jaiden scratched his head. “I’ve been in those tunnels. There isn’t much there.”
“Show me,” I said. “Maybe we’ll find him.” I had no idea why Blake would be using those tunnels and carrying people there, unless he was getting rid of the bodies. Old tunnels that could collapse at any moment would be a perfect crypt. Maybe he thought no one would find them there, but I still didn’t understand why he was hiding if he’d always wanted everyone to know how powerful he was.
“Okay, let’s go.” Jaiden turned into air and we rushed down the tunnel. He squeezed through a small gap in the wall, and I went after him, feeling as if my whole body was being squashed. We emerged into the darkness, and Jaiden used his fire to light our path. I materialized on the dusty floor and realized we were in an old, empty room. Small bugs and spiders scurried away from the fire, and I shuddered. There was a hole in the wall, which led to what looked like another long tunnel.
I let my own fire surge out and cover my arms, lighting the walls around us. Jaiden needed to save his energy. I slowly made my way down the tunnel, avoiding cobwebs. Something rustled, and I stopped, my breath catching in my throat. Jaiden raised his finger in front of his mouth and slipped in front of me. The fire on my arms slowly ebbed away, and I could see light coming from what looked like a crack in the wall.
Jaiden stopped in front of the crack and peeked through it. Then he turned into air, passing through the opening. I called my fire back and followed him. The room we entered was full of light, and my heart skipped a beat. Bodies lay scattered on the dirty floor everywhere around us. Jaiden immediately took corporeal form and crouched next to one woman, pressing his finger to her neck.
“Is she...?” I asked quietly.
“Dead,” he said, his face grim. He went to check the man next to her. “Dead, too.” I flew outside again just to make sure Blake wasn’t still nearby, but all I could see was the empty hallway and the darkness.
I returned to Jaiden’s side. “Anyone alive?”
“No.”
“There’s twelve people here,” I said, swallowing hard. “What about the other two?”
“I don’t know.” Jaiden got to his feet. “They haven’t been dead for long, and there are marks around their necks. He strangled them. I don’t think they resisted. They were probably mind-controlled.”
I thought I was going to throw up. Turning around in a circle, I tried to find another door or an opening, but I couldn’t see anything. “He must have come through that same crack like we did. Maybe he’s still somewhere in that tunnel.”
“Oh, he is,” a voice said and burst into laughter. The next thing I knew, the ground was shaking underneath me. Dirt fell on my shoulders, and I turned into air a moment before a large piece of stone detached from the wall and dropped to the ground next to me. How on earth had Blake gotten in here so fast?
When the bits of pieces of plaster stopped falling and the dust settled, Jaiden was thrown against the wall by an invisible force. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t see anything, not even a bit of shimmering. Shit. Blake had probably been here with us the whole time, but we hadn’t been able to see him. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d managed to hide the shimmering. He’d done it when he’d been mind-controlling me, and now he certainly had enough power to hide himself completely and still be able to do some damage.
Jaiden’s hands flew to his neck, his eyes wide. I gathered my strength and rushed Blake, but I collided with an invisible force and was thrown back. Jaiden was gasping for air, his arms going limp. I had to do something and fast. Calling to my fire, I sent a powerful blast at Blake, but my fire simply disappeared, probably swallowed by Blake’s own fire.
“Blake!” I yelled, materializing at the other end of the room. “Are you so afraid of me you won’t even show yourself?”
“Oh, don’t worry, baby. You’ll be next,” he said. Shit. I pulled out one of my guns and aimed it at Blake, but all I could see was Jaiden. If Blake moved only a little, I’d end up shooting Jaiden. I aimed a little to the side, squeezed the trigger, and didn’t stop firing until the gun was empty. My ears were ringing, my finger shaking on the trigger.
Jaiden slumped to the ground, and Blake was visible again and on his knees next to him.
“You stupid bitch!” Blake turned toward me, getting to his feet.
“Oh, sorry. I don’t like to wait.” Fire enveloped my arms. I didn’t dare to look toward Jaiden. He’d be fine. He had to be.
“You don’t want to fight me,” Blake said through his teeth, and I realized there was blood on his right leg. He’d been so focused on Jaiden that I’d managed to wound him. Good.
“You’re right. I don’t.” Twenty fireballs flew in his direction with lightning speed, but he deflected them all with his air. A wave of water descended upon me from behind, and I turned into air, barely avoiding it. Ice shards protruded from the ground as I materialized and rolled over. One of the spiky ends scratched my arm, leaving a bloody trail. I melted the ice with my fire, and let the fire spread toward the spot where Blake was standing.
As I clambered to my feet, a million tiny particles of dust and sand flew into my face and tried to enter my nose, eyes, and mouth. I let my air go out of me and pushed the dust away. But when the air cleared, I couldn’t see Blake anymore. Reaching out with my air, I let it glide over the room, but I didn’t bump into anything. He was gone. Fuck!
I ran across the room toward Jaiden. Placing my hands on his face, I gently shook him. “Hey, wake up. Please.”
My whole body shook in relief when he opened his eyes and blinked at me. I immediately looked down his body and didn’t see any wounds. But as I reached for the inner pocket of his jacket to get his phone, I saw a bloody gash on the sleeve of his jacket. I dialed Lily’s number, trying to tug Jaiden’s sleeve up with my free hand.
He blinked at me and groaned as he tried to move.
“Don’t,” I said. “I...”
“You shot me.” His dark eyes met mine, and I dropped my gaze. But then the corners of his lips quirked up as if something were funny. He grimaced as he moved his arm, and I heard beeping on the other end of the line and dropped the phone to the ground in frustration. Of course, there was no signal in here. Fuck.
“I’m taking you to a hospital,” I said, putting the phone in my own pocket.
“No, you have to go after Blake. He’s wounded. You have to get him before he goes into hiding and recovers,” Jaiden said urgently.
“I can’t leave you here.” I glanced at his wound. It wasn’t bleeding that much, but I wasn’t an expert. “It could take hours for Lily�
�s team to get here.”
“I’ll be fine.” His fingers wrapped around my arm. “Go!”
I chewed on my lip. If I turned him into air to take him with me, I risked hurting him even more. “Okay, I’ll go, but as soon as I’m out, I’ll call Lily and tell her to send a team for you.”
He nodded, and I turned into air, flying so fast that I thought I’d crash into something. When I found the nearest manhole, I burst out with it. Turning visible, I dug the phone out of my pocket and dialed Lily’s number.
“Lily! I need help. Jaiden got shot and Blake is on the run. We found the missing people... Blake killed them,” I blurted out as soon as she answered.
“Whoa, slow down. What do you need me to do?” she asked.
“Trace my damn phone call! Jaiden needs a doctor. Send a team for him. He’s in the underground tunnels of the old factory nearby, and they can only be reached through the sewers. I’m standing right over them. And I need all your available agents to come with me after Blake. Did you see any spikes of energy near my location?” I gripped the phone so hard I thought I’d break it.
“Yeah, he’s heading north,” Lily said. “The team’s on their way.”
“Where’s that truck with the device that can block elements?” Even if that device could stop Blake from using his elements only for a couple of moments, it would be great. He was bleeding, and that had to be affecting his energy, too.
“It’s a couple of blocks away. Why?”
“Good. I’ll try to chase Blake toward it. If you can send someone to help me do that, do it. Once Blake and I are in range, use the damn thing.”
“But what if it doesn’t work on him but only on you?” Lily asked.
“We don’t have time for this! I don’t care if you bring both of us to the ground. Just do it!” I dropped the phone and turned into a shimmering cloud.
Chapter 23
Captive (Tainted Elements, Book 4) Page 14