I didn’t expect anything less from them. “Oh, and if I fail, what happens to you?”
“Nothing. I’ll be forced to train some other recruit.” He flashed me a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
I suspected he’d been mind-controlled into helping me. “Is there a competition of some kind? Do only winners go to the next round? Or everyone in this room could become an agent?” Chewing on the insides of my mouth, I looked at the elementals who were in the middle of their training. I had no clue how good their abilities were, but mine weren’t anything spectacular, especially because I had yet to master the ability to turn into air.
“No, it’s not a competition at this stage. All of you could become agents, but usually not many do.”
I sighed. So much for getting my hopes up. “Wait, what do you mean at this stage? Is there a competition once you become an agent?”
“Officially, no. Unofficially...” Nick chuckled. “Elemontera tracks our every move and mission, so the best agents sometimes get rewards and certain privileges.”
“Who’s the best agent right now?” I tilted my head at him.
“Jaiden Maiers,” Nick said through his teeth.
“And why is that?”
A vein pulsed in Nick’s neck. “It’s funny actually. One day he left Elemontera and everyone thought he went rogue. Agents were told to look for him and do everything to catch him, but no one could. Then he returned and it turned out he’d been working undercover to find powerful elementals for months. Elemontera went to great lengths to maintain his cover, so now that he’s brought you and the elusive Noah, he thinks he’s a goddamn hero. Not to mention he has some pretty nifty abilities. Once he did something to me just to impress the boss.” Nick shot a quick look at the cameras and bit down on his lip.
I wondered if he’d told me something he wasn’t supposed to. “Well, then. I guess we should get back to practice.”
“Yeah. You should really learn how to turn into air.” Nick lifted his head to look at the glass behind me. “The element-proof room is available. We should have more space there. Let’s go.”
As I followed him, I couldn’t stop thinking about Jaiden. Elemontera had let him go for a long time, probably without supervision, so they clearly trusted him a great deal. But why hadn’t he brought in everyone from the hideout? Why only Noah and me? And if he wanted only the two of us, why hadn’t he simply let Elemontera capture us in the city? Unless he’d thought I’d turn into air when faced with danger. I didn’t know if the others were part of his plan, so there was a chance he’d bring them in when they were ready. Maybe under the pretext they should come save Noah and me.
Nick mentioned Elemontera had gone to great lengths to protect Jaiden’s cover, but I’d actually seen Jaiden kill one of their agents to protect our identities or was there more to that? It just didn’t make any sense, unless Elemontera had found a way to threaten Jaiden with something. They did it with most of their agents, so they could have done it with him. Maybe he thought he’d escaped them or maybe he’d gotten to like his life with Noah, Kenna, and the others, so he hadn’t let Elemontera take us while we were in the city, but they’d forced him somehow to change his mind later on the island. The more I thought about it, the more confused I got. I couldn’t know what was in Jaiden’s mind. Even if I could, I didn’t think it would make a difference.
Chapter 3
One day as I sauntered down the hall after another boring training session, I noticed a group of agents dressed in black hurrying toward an open door, their faces serious. Taking a step closer, I realized they were going to an elevator and not to another room. I’d finally discovered how agents got in and out of here.
The cameras were undoubtedly watching them, but with so many people moving around, how fast would it take them to notice someone who wasn’t supposed to be there? Hoping that no one would pay any attention to me, I inched closer to the door. My bracelet definitely couldn’t open the door to the elevator, but this time the door was already open.
Keeping my head down, I followed the group. The agents were too busy discussing something, but I couldn’t hear much. Just as I was about to pass through the door, the sound of the alarm pierced the air, the lights on the wall glowing bright red.
“Nice try, but you’re not allowed to go there, my dear,” a deep masculine voice said behind my back. The agents had stopped and were now facing me, blocking my path, their eyes narrowed. I turned around and found myself face to face with a dark-haired man in a black suit who appeared to be in his fifties. A tall guy with broad shoulders stood close by, probably a bodyguard.
Nick ran toward us, flustered. “I’m sorry, sir. She’s new and...”
The man lifted his finger and Nick went quiet. “I don’t want to hear your pathetic excuses.” His eyes raked over me. “This won’t happen again, understood?”
“Yes, sir,” Nick said.
“You two will be having an extra training session tonight,” the man said. “And I’ll be watching.” He started for the elevator, smirking.
“Damn it, Moira. Did you have to piss off the boss?” Nick grabbed me by the arm, his grip like iron. “If I lose my privileges because of you...”
I glanced back at the door, which was now closed and looked like any other door. “You could have told me the bracelet would trigger an alarm, not just prevent me from opening the door.”
Nick rolled his eyes. “I thought Sheridan had told you.” He finally let go of my arm.
“Nope, she didn’t. So what do you know about the boss? Who is he?” I spoke quickly, my lips barely moving, just to make it more difficult for those behind the cameras to interpret my words.
“Not much,” Nick whispered. “He’s the one who founded Elemontera.”
“Does he have a name?”
“Of course he does. We just don’t know it.” The corners of Nick’s mouth quirked up for a second. “Well, I don’t know it.” A frown creased his brow.
“Oh, okay.” I had an impression that agents had been mind-controlled so they couldn’t find out anything about the boss that could put his life in danger. I couldn’t imagine anyone actually liked the man who was responsible for the deaths of their loved ones and for creating the organization that had ruined their lives.
“All you have to know about him is that if one of the agents or recruits tries to attack him or harm him, our bracelets will kill us all.”
My eyebrows went up. “Great.”
“You know what else would be great?” Nick stopped in front of the door to my room, and I shook my head. “That you turn into air tonight.”
I lowered my head, chewing on the insides of my mouth. “I’ll try, but...”
“Please. If you don’t impress the boss, he’ll get angry, and we don’t want that.”
“I’ll do my best. But why is turning into air so important? Some elementals don’t even have air.”
“Every elemental is chosen for a different purpose. I suspect they picked you because they have plans for your air.”
I leaned on the wall, closing my eyes. My bracelet must have been too close to the door, which opened, the air carrying the scent of food. My stomach rumbled in response.
“Get some rest.” He ran a jerky hand through his hair. “And don’t be late for the training.”
“Can’t we at least have lunch together?” I gave him a shy smile. It was impossible to talk to him during training, and I was sick and tired of eating alone every day.
“No.” Without another word, he turned on his heel and stormed off.
I took a deep breath, but nothing helped to chase away the tension in my shoulders or remove the weight that had settled in my chest. Even Nick was rubbing and twisting his hands, his eyes darting from me to the man who stood at the other end of the room. The boss’ bodyguard wasn’t with him, which meant he was confident no one would try anything against him inside the building.
He watched us like a hawk, his lips upturned in a lazy smile. “
Why don’t you show me what you can do?”
“Turn yourself into fire,” Nick said quietly.
I called to my fire and pushed it out of me until my hands and legs were pure fire.
“Boring.” The boss yawned. I found my air deep inside of me and my fire turned blue. Nick used that moment to send a blast of water at me, which disappeared as soon as it hit my flames.
“Slightly better,” the boss said. “But what about your air? It should be your strongest ability.”
Extinguishing my fire, I hoped the air that had helped me create blue fire would stay, but it didn’t. Nick gave me an encouraging nod and I concentrated solely on his eyes. If I could pretend the two of us were alone, maybe I would relax enough to do this properly. Gathering all of my strength, I forced my air out. A strong wind started to swirl around me, making me squint my eyes. Wrong move. Damn it!
“No, don’t push at your air so hard. Maybe strength works with fire but not air,” Nick said. “You have to gently guide your air out and shape it into what you want it to be.”
I closed my eyes, blocking out Nick’s voice and the boss’ soft laughter. When I was sure my air was tucked safely inside of me, I imagined touching it with my fingers. It slowly rose out of my body and I guided it toward my arm. But when I opened my eyes, I only saw shimmering around my still visible arm. I groaned in frustration, furiously shaking my arm to get rid of the shimmering. Nick’s advice clearly didn’t work for me.
“It’s okay,” Nick said, getting closer to me and placing his hand on my shoulder. “You need more practice.”
“Stop coddling her!” The boss scoffed, crossing the room toward us. Nick pulled back, uncertainty flashing across his face. The boss’ cold gray eyes bored into mine. “You can’t even turn your little finger into air. Maybe we should try cutting it off and see if you can make it disappear in time.”
My heart skipped a beat as I gaped at him like a fish, my whole body trembling. My air slipped out of me all on its own, my breath catching in my throat. Now wasn’t the time to lose the control of my elements, but I couldn’t help myself.
“Threats always work better,” the boss said, a satisfied smile tugging at his lips. I looked down at my hand and noticed two of my fingers were transparent. A nervous laugh escaped me as I tried to change my whole arm into air, but all I did was turn my fingers solid again.
“Keep practicing.” The boss headed for the door, and I sighed in relief once he was out of sight.
Nick wiped the sweat off his forehead, his hand unsteady. “Thank God he’s gone.”
“Do you think he was... serious?” I cradled my hand to my chest, wondering if I’d ever be able to repeat what I’d done. My element had surged out all on its own, so I had no clue whatsoever what to do to turn my fingers invisible again.
“Probably, but you’ve made progress.” Nick clapped me on the shoulder. Well, it was something, but I hoped the boss wouldn’t be anywhere near me anytime soon.
Chapter 4
5 months later
I dropped the phone on the bed and ran my hand through my hair, a sigh escaping my lips. I’d sent another photo of me on some imaginary vacation as Elemontera had requested and left a voicemail for my parents, all under the pretext that it was too dangerous for me to talk to them directly, but they insisted on seeing me. I was certain they knew something was wrong, but all my attempts to give them a hint about my whereabouts had failed. Were they trying to look for me at all those places I pretended I’d visited?
My throat constricted, my eyes getting teary at the thought of my mom and dad. I would give anything just to see their faces or be able to hug them, but even if they’d tried to send some photos to me, Elemontera must have blocked them. The worst part was that Elemontera was probably tracking my parents’ phones, so they knew exactly where they could find my mom or dad if I disobeyed an order. Wiping off the tear that had slid down my cheek, I got to my feet and headed for the training room.
“You’re late,” Nick said, leaning on the wall next to the door, his brow furrowed.
“Late for what?” I fought the urge to roll my eyes. After being trapped for months in this hellhole and failing to find out anything that could help me escape, I was going from training to training like a robot. If I didn’t get to breathe in some real fresh air soon, I’d lose my mind. As I glanced to my left, I thought the wall would fall down on me, but strangely, it didn’t. That was just my head spinning.
“Moira!” Nick raised his voice and I blinked up at him. A tick started in Nick’s jaw and I wondered if he was fed up with me. No matter how hard I trained, I hadn’t managed to turn into air. The door opened as I came closer, and Nick shoved me inside. I stumbled and stopped dead in my tracks. All the recruits were lined up in the middle of the room, and before them stood Jaiden, his dark brown eyes briefly turning to me. He looked just like I remembered him, except his dark brown hair wasn’t as messy. My muscles went rigid, my stomach feeling as if I’d swallowed a brick. For a second, I considered unleashing my elements on him, but I wanted Elemontera to let me out of here, not kill me for attacking their favorite agent.
“Don’t forget that tomorrow is a big day,” Jaiden said, raising his voice. “After the final test, some of you will become agents. There won’t be training today, so you’re all dismissed. Except you, Moira.” He stepped back as everyone hurried to the door. I shot a quick look at Nick, but he only shrugged and turned to leave.
I crossed my arms, glaring at Jaiden. “What do you want?” The door swished shut, leaving us alone, or as alone as we could be among all the cameras.
He sighed, taking a step toward me. “Look, I know you’re mad at me, but if you don’t turn into air, you won’t be chosen.”
“Why do you care?” I started pacing up and down the room, just to have something to do with myself. “Will you become the second best agent if I fail?”
He licked his lips, looking away, and I noticed a bracelet on his wrist. It seemed that Elemontera didn’t trust their best agents either, which was strange, considering he hadn’t had the bracelet on the island. But just because I hadn’t seen any tracking devices didn’t mean the boss or someone in a very high position hadn’t known exactly where Jaiden had been the whole time or maybe he’d pissed them off by killing one of the agents. “There are so many things you don’t understand,” he said.
I stopped and put my hands on my hips. “Really? Then why don’t you explain it all to me?”
“Not now.” He swatted his hand as if an annoying fly were pestering him. “You’re turning into air today.”
I laughed.
“Don’t you want to go out? Be invisible to most people?” The gleam in his eyes was almost feverish.
“I’d love to, although there isn’t much fun in invisibility. I feel like I’m invisible here already.” Aside from not allowing us to talk to each other, Elemontera had done everything to keep new recruits away from each other. The guards blocked any attempt of contact pretty quickly, so everyone kept their heads down, went on with their business, and waited to exchange a couple of words with their mentor or some other supervisor. “I guess you overestimated my abilities because I’ve been trying and...”
“You haven’t tried hard enough.” He went to the door and it slid open. “Come,” he said to someone outside, then turned back to me. “If you won’t do it for yourself and you’re having trouble picturing what will happen to your parents if you don’t succeed, then maybe a little demonstration will help.”
Two guards entered the room, their strong hands wrapped around Noah’s arms. My mouth went slack, my ears ringing. Noah’s wrists and ankles were bound together, his mouth covered with duct tape. His blue eyes darted from me to Jaiden, his face pale.
“What are you doing?” I asked Jaiden, my throat dry.
“He’ll die unless you save him.” Jaiden nodded at the guards and they let go of Noah.
“What? No! You can’t!” I vehemently shook my head, calling to my e
lements, but when I wanted to send a fireball at Jaiden, it wouldn’t come out. My bracelet became warm and heavy on my wrist. I swore under my breath.
“Relax. You’ll be able to use your elements, just not yet.” Jaiden’s lips quirked up and I considered rushing him, but I was outnumbered. The guards would be on me before I reached Jaiden, who could simply turn into air.
“What kind of a sick game are you playing with me? Noah is your friend,” I pleaded. “You...”
Jaiden raised his finger. “Shh, no time for talking.” He slowly unbuttoned Noah’s black shirt and stepped back.
I flinched, nausea rising in my stomach. Some kind of a device with a blinking timer was attached to Noah’s chest. A bomb. Oh, God. “Are you out of your fucking mind?” I yelled, taking a step toward Jaiden, but one of the guards got in my way.
“Stop screaming and focus, will you?” Jaiden said. “We don’t want him blown to bits.”
My hands were shaking, my vision clouded by rage. I punched the guard in the face, pleased as I heard his nose crack under my fist. He yelped, covering his face with his hands. I sidestepped him and advanced on Jaiden. The other guard made a move toward me, but Jaiden raised his hand to stop him.
“You can disarm the bomb very easily,” Jaiden said, pointing his finger at the wall behind him. “There’s a button in that vent. You won’t be able to get there unless you turn into air. And don’t touch the bomb because it will explode if someone tampers with it.” He waved at the guards and headed for the door. “You have fifteen minutes. Save him or die with him. Elemontera doesn’t need weak agents.” A loud beep pierced the air, signaling the start of the timer.
“Jaiden! Wait!” I tried to run after him, but a blast of his air sent me flying to the ground. The door closed, leaving me alone with Noah. “Shit, shit, shit.” I ran my hands through my hair, trying to come up with an alternative way to save Noah. My knowledge about disarming bombs was nonexistent, and if Noah could free himself on his own, he would have done it already.
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