Elements of the Enemy (Alliance Society Book 1)

by C. J. Felver

  Oversight

  Pain lances through my fingertips as the brick rips into my flesh. It doesn’t compare to the agony I feel from the muscle in my shoulder pulling with my abrupt stop. Sagging against the wall, I keep my eyes clenched firmly shut. Looking down is not an option.

  That was a monumental mistake.

  I work to control the ragged rhythm my breath and pulse are hammering out.

  Holy crap, I almost fell off of this freaking wall. Why am I climbing this wall?

  “Cleo, you’re clear for entry,” Lyza’s voice says in my ear. Okay, that’s the signal, but I can’t quite move yet. Gotta get my bearings back.

  “Give me a minute,” I say with a groan. As quickly as I can, I begin dragging myself back up the wall. Thankfully, I caught myself on the window directly under where I was, so I don’t have a lot of climbing to make up. But my shoulder throbs excruciatingly, making the process slow.

  “Girl, I don’t know if we have a minute.”

  “Stall. I’m having a little bit of a situation. I won’t be long,” I say between grunts and huffs.

  “Alright. I got you, girl.”

  I owe this girl big when this is all over. Without her, I don’t know where I would be.

  My screwed-up shoulder is making the climb take longer this time around. I tune everything out and grit through the pain, because, damn, this hurts. I’m about halfway up when Lyza’s voice comes through the communicator again.

  “I bought you some time, but not much.”

  “Okay. Almost … there.” The words come out gruff and clipped. I pull myself up the last foot and reach back into my pocket for my porcelain stick. Finding that pocket empty, I move on to another pocket. That one is empty too.

  My stomach drops. The sound of my pulse thudding in my ears drowns out everything else. There’s only one place that porcelain stick could be.

  My shoulder screams in protest as I stretch it above my head, readjusting my grip on the wall. Peering under the crook of my elbow, the sight of the ground rushes up to meet me. My head spins.

  Closing my eyes, I squish myself against the wall. Resting my forehead there, I take a moment to breathe.

  When I open my eyes, I focus on the porcelain stick wobbling on the window ledge at my feet, ready to fall at any moment.

  Slowly and carefully, I bend my knees, holding on to the wall for dear life. My hand shakes as I reach for it, my heart thundering in my ears. I manage to snatch it before it topples off the edge.

  Just as slowly as before, I straighten back up. Then slam the porcelain stick into the window. The entire window instantly shatters into thousands of tiny shards, raining down around me. Pieces clink as they hit the floor of room 414, others clattering to the sidewalk.

  “Cleo, you gotta hurry! We can’t hold them here much longer.” Lyza is urgent this time, sounding strained.

  Not wasting any time, I shuffle across and clear the room. It’s a massive lab, but empty of employees. Hoisting myself over the ledge is agonizing, but I carefully avoid the glass and push myself off the floor. “I’m in.”

  This room is packed with equipment I don’t understand or recognize. I try not to touch anything as I walk through the room. One side has a counter running the full length of the room, stacked with scientific instruments.

  The far back of the room has a glass vault, allowing me to see the contents clearly: shelf after shelf of cases, each one labeled neatly and full of vials of clear liquid. As I get closer, labels on the cases become clear, but I have no idea what the numbers and letters mean.

  “Uh, Wren, any idea what I’m looking for in the vault here?”

  “EC-274,” he tells me. His voice is strained, as if he’s running.

  I start scanning the labels, realizing everything is organized alphabetically. Skimming toward the E section, seeing EM-068, EP-025, EW-969 … nothing for EC. The longer I look, the further my stomach sinks.

  “Wren, that one isn’t in here,” I say, trying to keep the rising panic out of my voice.

  “There’s one more place you can look. Check the—”

  “Incoming!”

  Blaring white lights burst to life above me. The voices in my ear are drowned out by my thundering pulse. I spin to find someone’s back to me as they close the door. Dread fills my stomach and seeps into my limbs, freezing me in place.

  My mind is screaming at me to spring to action, but my body is motionless, refusing to listen. My breath hitches in my chest, coming in ragged puffs.

  The figure turns, revealing a face I would rather not see right now, one that has haunted my dreams since last seeing him and those cold blue eyes.

  He chuckles, stepping further into the lab.

  “As soon as I saw former lieutenant Sayers on my monitors,” Aulder says with his melodic voice, “I knew what was going on. I’ve been expecting this visit since our last encounter.”

  Honestly, his voice is the worst. It sounds pleasant, but … what’s that saying about flies and honey? Well, you get the picture.

  “I’m afraid I have bad news for you, Miss Daniels. You won’t find what you’re looking for here. I had that particular serum moved after our last interaction.”

  Shit. We should’ve known better. This was a huge oversight on our part.

  “Cleo, keep him talking. Don’t engage. Maybe we can get him to tell us where it is,” Zander says over the communicator.

  “Keep who talking?” Lyza asks.

  “Doctor Harlow. He’s in the room with her now,” Zander replies.

  “We’re on our way. I don’t want you near him alone,” Wren growls.

  I silently hope they don’t come into the room. If I can get Aulder talking, them entering the room may ruin that. But I have no way of telling them without tipping off Aulder, so I’ll just let the cards fall where they may.

  “By moved, do you mean destroyed?” I ask, surprised by the strength of my voice. Strangely, false bravado has chased the ice from my veins. I take a tentative step forward.

  A horrid smile crosses his face as he takes another slow step toward me. He folds his hands in front of himself, like he’s trying to keep them in sight. The motion feels … off though.

  “Oh, no,” he says with a shake of his head, “not at all. I have big plans for that particular serum.”

  “Big plans, huh? You going to drop it into the water system and sterilize us all?”

  He tips his head back and lets out a barking laugh. I didn’t think it was funny—I was dead serious. When he looks at me again, his gaze is sinister. An expression I remember all too well.

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Miss Daniels,” he scoffs. “You watch too many movies.” He takes another small step toward me, the gap between us slowly closing. “While I believe your kind shouldn’t exist, your abilities are too useful to destroy entirely. I couldn’t possibly, in good conscience, eradicate the entire elemental race. Though … maybe I should …”

  Is this guy for real? Eradicate? Wow, someone thinks he’s God.

  “It sounds like you’ve put a lot of thought into this,” I say, circling my way back to the window, one step at a time. “So we’re too useful to eradicate, but you still plan on sterilizing—what—half the population? How are you planning to accomplish that?”

  “I hadn’t been planning to tell you, but something tells me I might enjoy your reaction,” he says, taking another step toward me, leaving only about five feet between us now. He steeples his hands before him, standing eerily silent, watching me.

  I have a feeling I’m not going to like what he has to stay. The false bravado falters for a moment.

  “Stay calm, Cleo. Don’t give him the reaction he wants,” Zander says in my ear, bringing me back to confidence.

  “I’ve recently been in touch with a few judiciary members. It took some …” he looks to the ceiling as if the word he’s looking for could be found there. “… persuasion, but I convinced them to rule in favor of giving elementals rights.”

&
nbsp; Wait a minute, what? Did he just say what I think he said?

  “Once that happens,” he continues, not giving me time to process what he said, “your kind will have to register. That’s where my serum will be given discreetly to those deemed unfit.”

  This just took an unexpected turn. “Unfit for what?”

  Two guards come into the room, fanning out behind him. These two are both wearing unzipped jackets that match the black fatigues. One has a hat and the other has black hair, buzzed close to his scalp.

  “That, Miss Daniels, I cannot tell you.” His stance turns predatory, betraying his professional persona and matching the Aulder who haunts my dreams. Unease turns my stomach. “I’m afraid I’ve already said too much.”

  He snaps his fingers and both guards lunge for me. I drop to the ground and tumble away, but they follow. These guys are fast.

  As I rise to my feet, they grab for me again. Relying on what I learned in self-defense, I grab one side of hat guy’s open jacket. Shoving my knee into the space between my hands, Hat Guy jerks forward. Still holding his collar, I quickly grab him by the back of his head and I smash my other knee into his face. Then I pull his jacket up around his head and maneuver his body between me and the other guard.

  The other guy tries to move around his partner, but I move to keep Hat Guy between us, never letting go of his jacket. Hat Guy’s arms flail, but he can’t reach me, his jacket blocking his range of motion.

  “You won’t escape me, Cleo,” Aulder growls. “You know too much.” He nods to the other guard who produces a stun stick. Immediately sparks fly from the end of it, clearly at full power.

  The guard wastes no time jabbing me with it. Every muscle in my body clenches

  “Hold on, Cleo,” Wren’s voice sounds in my ear, but I can’t concentrate on it. Now free, Hat Guy slams me against the wall, jamming his elbow into my throat. The other guy steps beside him, grabbing my shoulder and pinning me to the wall. I call to my water, but it doesn’t respond. The connection still severed.

  “Ah,” Aulder says, looking me over as he comes to stand directly in front of me. “My serum is still in effect, I see.”

  I smash my forehead into his face. Aulder flinches, but he isn’t fast enough. He rubs his face as he works his jaw where it’s already turning red. His eyes turn murderous.

  “I had planned to take you back to my lab, but I believe you’re too much of a risk. You’ll have to die.”

  My stomach bottoms out.

  Someone speaks into the comms, but I can’t decipher it.

  Aulder Harlow just threatened my life. He’s going to kill me.

  Taking advantage of my distraction, Aulder reaches for me. Fingers wrapping around my throat. I struggle, but the two guards hold me in place.

  Unable to do anything else, I bring my knees up and ram my feet into Aulder’s chest. He flies backward. The black-haired guard curses, going after Aulder. Hat Guy keeps his hold on me, but flicks his gaze between me and Aulder.

  I duck under Hat Guy’s arm, breaking his hold on me. Running toward the door, I let out a scream as he drags me back by my hair.

  “Almost there,” someone says in my ear.

  I grab Hat Guy’s hand, locking it in place still tangled in my hair, and pivot under his arm, twisting it behind his body. Hat Guy’s fingers release as he yelps in pain. Before I can yank his arm up behind his back, he turns on me. The movement is so fast that we both topple over, landing in a heap on top of broken glass. I scramble to get to my feet, but strong hands grasp my ankles. I roll to my back, kicking out. The other guard grabs my leg, pinning it to the ground with his knee.

  With both guards holding my legs, Aulder sits on my chest, wrapping his fingers around my throat. I grab hold of his wrists with bloody hands, but I can’t wrench myself free.

  I reach for his face, ready to claw and scratch, but someone wrenches my arms away, holding them down.

  Aulder’s hold doesn’t loosen. Each gasping breath drags in less and less air. I call to the water, but it doesn’t respond. I still can’t feel my connection to it.

  Again and again, I buck, trying to free myself. My movements become slower, doing nothing to stop him. His grip tightens. No matter how hard I try, I can’t suck air into my lungs. The pressure in my chest grows past discomfort, past pain, past panic.

  This is it.

  I’m dying.

  Desperate, I call to the water one more time. The edges of my vision darken.

  The water answers!

  Responding to my call, it rushes up his arms, reaching his face before he notices. The water flows toward his nose and mouth. He jerks his head, loosening his grip long enough for me to suck in a ragged breath before his fingers threaten to crush my windpipe again.

  At my command, the water flows into his nostrils and open mouth. He gapes, opening and closing his mouth like a fish, but the water stays there. He coughs and spits, but it does nothing. The sinister look in his eyes gives way to sheer hysteria.

  Not breathing is a bitch, isn’t it?

  The door slams against the wall as it swings open. The two guards disappear as bolts of electricity fill the room.

  I rip Aulder’s hands away from my throat, breaking his hold. He tumbles onto the floor beside me.

  Rolling to my side, holding my chest, I gulp air through my hoarse, tender throat. Lyza reaches me a moment later. The air burns as I gasp and sputter. She helps me into a sitting position.

  “Holy shit. I was so worried,” Lyza says. “Did I see that right? You got your powers back?” I give her a small nod.

  The two guards are on the floor out cold. Wren has Aulder by the collar, pinning him against the wall. For once, the doctor doesn’t appear to have it all together. It’s quite a satisfying sight.

  “Tell me!” Wren’s shout echoes around the room. He slams Aulder into the wall. Wren’s knuckles are nearly as white as Aulder’s lab coat.

  “Tell you what?” Aulder says, spitting each word.

  “Where is EC-274?”

  “It’s no longer in my possession.” He coughs, expelling more water.

  “Where is it?”

  Aulder chuckles, then coughs immediately afterward. “It doesn’t matter if I tell you or not. My plan is already in place.” He chokes out another laugh. “You can’t stop this.”

  Escape

  The tension in the room is stifling. Static seeps from Lyza, making the hair on my arms stand on end. Lyza helps me get to my feet and I walk toward Wren and Aulder.

  “We may not be able to stop it,” I say, meeting Aulder’s frigid gaze, “but you can.” My voice comes out husky and gruff. “Whatever you’ve done, undo it.”

  “It’s not possible. There is no reversing it.”

  “You’re the one who put this in motion. Un. Do. It.” My command doesn’t hold as much strength as I’d like it to with the way my voice squeaks and croaks. Aulder looks down his nose at me, smug and satisfied.

  Clenching my fists and ignoring the sting from my palms, I stomp toward him, ready to lay into him and—

  “Incoming AGAS members,” Zander urgently tells us. “Twelve by my count. Get out of there!”

  Wren and I share a look. One that asks, Do we chance taking on his rescue troop? Or hightail it? Aulder has a lot to answer for.

  Lyza’s hand winds around my arm, anchoring me. “I know what you’re thinking, and I’ll support your choice either way, but we really should get out of here. Look at the condition you’re in …”

  She’s right. It looks like we won’t be getting anything else out of doctor dirtbag today. We were so close I could taste it, but I guess this is as far as we’ll get tonight.

  Looking to Wren, his face is taut with indecision. His gaze shifts between me and Lyza and Aulder, who he still has pinned against the wall. Footfalls echo from the corridor.

  Of course, he doesn’t want to let Aulder go. That would be risking our safety and ability to escape. But … how will Wren get out of here?
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br />   “Go,” Wren says. “I’ll hold him here, you and Lyza go.”

  “Nuh-uh, dude. You don’t get to play the hero,” Lyza says. As much as I agree with her, I’m not sure what choice we have. I grab Lyza’s arm and usher her toward the window. Before we can move through, Wren’s gaze slams into mine. His rich, brown eyes are so full of turmoil that it makes my heart sink in my chest. Why is he looking at me like that?

  “We’re going out the window, aren’t we?” Lyza asks, her voice low and laced with unease. I give her a single nod and drop to the floor, scooching toward the ledge of the window, doing my best to avoid the broken glass. Lyza does the same, looking extremely uncomfortable. I hop out, turning my body to grip the wall once more. Just before I drop below the view of the room, a dozen guards fill the room with their guns drawn.

  “Hurry, Lyza. Go!” We move with haste, my raw hands protesting against the brick, leaving a trail of blood. My shoulder screams with pain, threatening to lock up, but I keep moving.

  If we stop … I don’t even want to think about the possibilities.

  Only, Lyza doesn’t follow right away. She stops halfway out the window. Yells echo from the room as lights flare brightly before exploding.

  “That should buy us some time,” Lyza says.

  Slowly, we shuffle across the ledge, moving over to another fourth story window. This time, I don’t have my porcelain stick. We’re short on time and I need a solution. These windows are pretty thick, so I doubt I’ll be able to punch or kick through them. If only I could change the temperature of my water, that could be useful. Only seriously powerful elementals can change the density of their element like that.

  The water could be helpful despite that. Mentally reaching out, I pull it from the pouches of my jacket and guide it against the surface of the glass. Willing it to swirl around the edges of the window as fast as it can, I silently hope the current is strong enough to cut through the glass.

  “Holy shit,” Lyza says. A second later, the pane creaks and snaps, falling into the room, cracking into a few pieces as it hits the floor.