“Moira!” Jaiden snapped his fingers in front of my face, and I realized I’d been standing in front of a shop that sold chocolates and sweets, the same kind my parents used to buy me for birthdays and holidays.
Swallowing hard, I pried my eyes off the chocolate and looked at Jaiden. “What?” I asked, irritated.
He sighed. “Wait here and keep your eyes open for our guy.” He headed for the shop. I focused on my surroundings, but I wasn’t really looking for our thief, Brennon; I was trying to spot a familiar face. I knew I couldn’t tell anyone anything about Elemontera or ask for help, but if someone saw me, they could contact my parents. If only I could leave a message somewhere... No, it would be too risky. For all I knew, Elemontera had sent someone to follow Jaiden and me, just to make sure nothing went wrong.
My gaze fell on the cameras lining the middle of the ceiling. If Elemontera had access to them, they could monitor us all the time. Damn it. I bit down on my lip. There was no escape, was there? The cameras were everywhere, even on the street, and nothing could stop Elemontera from getting the footage. But if they could do it, then so could someone else. Someone who might be looking for me. All I had to do was show my face to one of the cameras on the street and, if I were incredibly lucky, my family would be able to track me down.
“Take this.” Jaiden handed me a bag of chocolates, making me jump. I hadn’t even seen him coming.
I took the bag, my mouth watering at the sight of chocolate. I hadn’t had any for way too long. “What’s this for?” I didn’t even dare to imagine Jaiden had seen my longing look and bought this for me.
“Part of our cover.” He grinned, putting his arm around my shoulders, and bent his head to whisper into my ear. “We’ll look suspicious if we just walk around here staring at people. Let’s find a place from where we can see everything.”
I extracted myself from his embrace and opened the bag. At least I wouldn’t have to pretend to talk about something random with him as we walked. I popped a chocolate into my mouth and had to suppress a moan as the delicious sweetness melted in my mouth. We sat down on one of the benches that had a good view. It was separated from the shops a little, so people weren’t passing by right next to us.
“What if Brennon doesn’t show?” I asked, wiping at my mouth.
“He will,” Jaiden said, his jaw clenched, his whole body tense. I suspected this mission was very important to him for some reason. As I brought the chocolate bag to my lips to take another bite, an idea sprung into my mind. If I held the bag up over my mouth, the cameras wouldn’t be able to capture what I was saying.
“Were you serious when you said you wanted my forgiveness for what you did to Noah?” I asked, staring at the crowd.
Jaiden’s head snapped in my direction. “Yes,” he said after a moment of silence.
“Prove it.” I met his dark eyes.
“How?” he breathed.
“Noah told me Elemontera’s planning to get him to work for them, so if you really want me to forgive you, don’t mind-control Noah. I’m sure you know how dangerous messing with someone’s mind like that can be.”
“Moira...”
“No, don’t say anything. If you have any shred of decency in you, you won’t put his life in danger like that just to impress the boss. You’re Elemontera’s best agent. What more could you possibly want? Simply pretend you mind-controlled Noah. It’s not as if anyone in Elemontera will know. Noah will agree to work for them on his own.”
The corners of Jaiden’s lips quirked up, but I had no idea what he thought was amusing. If he dared to hurt Noah, I’d find a way to make his life miserable. I really wished there was something I could do except wait and see what would happen. Another idea came to my mind. “Does Elemontera know you killed one of their agents?” I asked. “You know, that guy you shot in the back of the head?”
His eyes snapped to mine. “He wasn’t an agent. Not anymore. He just didn’t know it.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Really? Because he came out of Elemontera and could turn into air. Sounds valuable to me. Maybe I should ask...”
“Did you see a bracelet on him? Or wondered what I was checking out?”
I shook my head. “No, but you were looking at his I.D.... It wasn’t really an I.D., was it?” He’d burned it before I got a chance to see it.
“Of course it wasn’t. It was a message.”
“What kind of a message?”
“I can’t tell you that, but I did what needed to be done. Go ahead, tell Elemontera you know about it and see what happens.”
I couldn’t tell if he was bluffing or if anything he’d said was even remotely true. When he killed that man, had he been protecting himself and me from getting killed or captured, doing Elemontera’s dirty work or trying to prevent the guy from blowing his cover somehow? There was no way for me to tell. Maybe it was a little bit of everything. I couldn’t deny the guy’s death had benefited us all at that time, though.
A guy with very short brown hair caught my eye as he pushed his way through the crowd, a black bag swung over his shoulder. “It’s him. It’s Brennon!” I said under my breath.
Jaiden followed my gaze. “Yes, but he’s going to see us if we go after him.” He chewed on his lip.
“So?” I got up and offered him my hand. “We don’t have to look like a threat. Come on.”
He took my hand as he rose to his feet, a frown creasing his brow.
I glanced over my shoulder at Brennon, glad that he was still in sight. “Just walk slowly and smile at me.”
“Okay.” He sighed.
“What? It seems as if you don’t want to do this.” I chuckled. He’d had to be in a situation like this before, so maybe he was getting bored of his job.
“That’s because I don’t. We can’t attack here because we’d draw too much attention, and we risk losing him in the crowd. I’d prefer it if we could engage him immediately and get this over with.” He stopped and pulled me into his arms. “Where is he going?”
I rested my head on his shoulder, using the opportunity to see where Brennon was headed. “He went down the hall, but it’s dark there. I can’t see him anymore.” I let go of Jaiden, who turned to look in the direction our target had gone. “Is it just me or is that hall surprisingly dark?” I asked, wondering if Brennon had somehow recognized us and was waiting for us in the shadows.
“Didn’t you check the layout of the building?” Jaiden tilted his head in disdain. “That’s the part with private offices. They don’t want anyone to accidentally end up in there, so they keep the lights off most of the time.”
“Right.” I crossed my arms, faking a smile. “Now if you could actually tell me how dangerous the thing we’re after is, I’d be really grateful.”
He scowled, scanning our surroundings. “How many times do I have to tell you, you know everything you need to?” Wrapping his fingers around my wrist, he pulled me around the corner, pressing us both against the wall. “Whoever is in the office with Brennon will be alerted if we simply walk into that hall. Turn into air.” Before I could react, his body dissolved into a shimmering cloud. Making sure no one was around to see me, I followed his lead.
We rushed through the darkness until we could see a line of light underneath one of the doors. Jaiden slipped through it with ease, but I hit the door, my air only partially passing though the opening. I pushed myself harder, feeling a dull pain as if I were constantly banging my arms and legs against a wall. When I finally squeezed through, I saw Jaiden’s cloud of air shimmering low above the floor, so I didn’t dare raise myself up out of fear Brennon would see me.
The office was small and bright, a black table taking up most of the space. Only two chairs were occupied, and a gray-haired man in a meticulous black suit was leaning forward, his elbows resting on the table. The bag Brennon had been carrying was lying open in the middle of the table, but I couldn’t see what was in it.
Brennon pointed his finger at the man, but as he opened h
is mouth to say something, his eyes fell on me. He swore, jumping to his feet. A billow of dust swept over me, shoving me back, thousands of tiny particles biting into my invisible skin as they flew through me. Jaiden avoided the attack aimed at him and rushed the gray-haired man who had a gun out, his eyes darting across the room in confusion. The gun was knocked out of the man’s hand as Jaiden materialized. Brennon’s eyes were wide as Jaiden whispered something into the man’s ear. The man stepped back, his hands limp at his sides, his green eyes blank.
Forcing myself to become solid again, I ran for the bag, hoping I could take it while Brennon was distracted. But just as I was about to close my hand around the bag’s strap, a strong gust of wind threw me to the ground, the back of my head hitting the leg of a chair. Jaiden sent a fireball at Brennon, who dodged, grabbed the bag, and jumped through the window, bits of glass flying everywhere.
I clambered to my feet, rubbing the sore spot on my head, and hurried toward the window, my body already changing into air.
Chapter 7
Jaiden and I flew out and found ourselves in the dark alley behind the mall. Brennon was right in front of us, and I wondered if the bag was slowing him down. He needed to use a lot of energy to keep the bag with him. A shimmering thread separated itself from Jaiden’s cloud and reached out to Brennon. Only a moment later, Brennon tumbled to the ground, visible again, the bag falling on top of him.
Jaiden and I materialized, but as we came closer, Brennon rolled over, clutching the bag to his chest, and pointed a gun at us.
Jaiden laughed. “Put that toy down and come with us. Then we might not hurt you.”
“Come with you where?” Brennon panted, the gun still steady in his hand. I narrowed my eyes at him, wondering why he wasn’t aiming at Jaiden or me, but rather somewhere in between us. Maybe he was waiting for one of us to take a step forward before he fired, but that wasn’t it. His gaze seemed to be set somewhere behind us.
“You’ll see,” Jaiden said. “Put the gun down.” The shimmering thread rose off his body and traveled over to Brennon, dancing around him, but he didn’t lower the gun. Something fluttered around me, and when I glanced at my shoes, I noticed they were sprinkled with tiny particles of dust. I turned around just in time to see a huge cloud of dust spiraling toward us. Calling to my air, I blasted the dust away before it could reach us.
“What the hell?” Jaiden strode toward Brennon, creating a wall of fire behind Brennon’s back.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. This stuff’s sensitive.” Brennon pushed himself to his feet, tapping the bag that was now strapped over his shoulder.
“Then hand it over,” Jaiden said, but his fire stayed in place. “We promise to take care of it.” His air surged out, and Brennon fired, the shot resounding like thunder. Jaiden’s air was strong enough to catch the bullet and send it back at Brennon, who used his own air to deflect it. It seemed like Jaiden’s mind control hadn’t affected Brennon at all.
The street lights burst, spraying us with glass and leaving us in the darkness. My blood racing, I created a bunch of tiny fireballs and gasped when I realized Brennon was nowhere in sight. Swirling around, I saw him raising a gun at Jaiden, who was flailing his hands and spluttering, his eyes wide, as if an invisible hand was squeezing his throat. Without a second thought, I charged Brennon, my body slamming into his, the impact sending us both to the ground. My knees and hands scraped against the concrete, making me hiss in pain.
“Stupid bitch,” Brennon murmured, and my fireballs vanished, my whole body aching.
“Moira!” I heard Jaiden yell, and the alley was illuminated with his fire. Relief flashed across Jaiden’s face as his eyes met mine. Was he actually worried about me?
I wondered where Rory and Kyle were. It was getting more and more obvious that we needed backup. A rustling sound drew my attention to Brennon, who lifted the gun again. There was no time to warn Jaiden, so I gathered all of my strength and let my air out, building a shield in front of him. The bullets collided with my air in quick succession, threatening to slip through it, but I gritted my teeth and held on.
Supporting himself on the wall, Brennon dropped the empty gun, and then broke into a run. My air seeped back into me, my breathing ragged.
Jaiden crouched next to me, his warm hand resting on my cheek. “Why did you save...” he asked breathlessly, his dark eyes searching mine. I wasn’t sure if his face was really flustered or if that was just a reflection of his fire that flickered steadily around us.
“We have to go after him!” I yelled, and Jaiden blinked.
“Right.” He stood up, extending his hand to me. “Can you walk?”
“I’ll try.” My knees were wobbly and my head spun, but I managed to get myself upward. “Where’s our backup?”
“I don’t know. I can’t contact them.”
A scream rang out from somewhere not far from us, and Jaiden and I looked at each other in alert. He broke into a run and I did my best to follow, despite the protests of my aching body. As we rounded the corner into a well-lit street, we saw a woman slumped on the ground, Brennon poised over her, his element still shimmering around her. Jaiden threw a fireball at him, forcing him to step away from the woman, whose eyes were closed. I crouched next to her, searching for her pulse but couldn’t find it. My throat constricted, my hands getting shaky. Shit.
I could barely feel my element, but I gently guided it into her mouth, hoping a small amount of my air could revive her, even though I was almost sure nothing could help her now. Judging by the lack of visible wounds on her body, Brennon must have used his air to choke her. When I lifted my head to see where Jaiden was, I saw two shimmering clouds swishing up and down the street. Just as Jaiden and Brennon were about to fly above one of the buildings, a wave of water washed over them, bringing them down to the ground. Some of the water sprayed my face, making me close my eyes.
When I could see again, I spotted a dark-haired boy standing not far from where Jaiden and Brennon, now in their corporeal forms, had fallen. Getting up, I suspiciously eyed the boy. Brennon’s bag was lying at the boy’s feet and I wasn’t sure if he planned on taking it, so I slowly inched closer, my hands spread at my sides. Now that there wasn’t any danger to destabilize the device in the bag, Jaiden gripped Brennon, twisting his arm back, and put the bracelet on his wrist. Brennon wouldn’t be using his elements again anytime soon.
“Hey,” I said to the boy, who was frowning at Jaiden and Brennon, probably unsure if he should interfere. “Thanks for helping us.” I hoped he was just another elemental like us who had seen a fight and decided to help, not some guy who had come to mess up our plans.
“Who are you?” The boy’s eyes met mine briefly and then his gaze fell on the dead woman behind me, his whole body tensing.
“Umm, we’re like the cops,” I said quickly. “This guy over here,” I pointed at Brennon, who was struggling to get to his feet as Jaiden pulled him up, “is a criminal we were trying to catch. He’s killed many people.”
“Okay, but how can you do what I can? Are there more elementals like us? Can you...?” His voice was filled with excitement.
“Thank you for your help. We really appreciate it,” Jaiden said with a broad smile. Brennon stood next to him, unmoving, his face expressionless, his eyes staring at a spot on the wall. Jaiden’s mind control must have been successful this time. “Why don’t you come with us? We can explain and show you many things about your abilities.”
I shot an annoyed glare at Jaiden. He couldn’t be thinking about bringing the boy to Elemontera, could he? “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said.
“What’s your name? How old are you?” Jaiden didn’t even glance at me.
“Max. I’m sixteen,” the boy said, running his hand through his hair.
“And your elements are water and air?” Jaiden tilted his head.
“Yeah.”
I went over to Jaiden and grabbed him by the arm. “I need to talk to you. In
private.” I flashed a smile at Max before Jaiden could respond. “We’ll be right back.”
“What are you doing?” Jaiden hissed as I led him away from the boy. “He saw us. We have to take him in.”
“He’s just an innocent kid. Elemontera will turn his life into hell. Is that what you want?”
“Kyle and Rory will be here any moment. If we let the boy go, Elemontera will know. And he saw too much anyway.”
“So? Elemontera won’t be able to find him if we all keep our mouths shut.” I took a deep breath to dissolve a bit of the anger that was welling up inside of me, because I’d never get Jaiden to see reason if I started yelling at him. “Look, you said Elemontera wasn’t all bad. I get it why there has to be someone to stop guys like Brennon, but this boy hasn’t done anything wrong. Elemontera doesn’t need any more agents, so why can’t we be the good guys today and let him go?”
Jaiden licked his lips, looking down.
“Please.” If he refused to listen to me, I planned to yell at the boy to run for his life, even if that got me in trouble. I wasn’t about to let Elemontera ruin another life.
“Okay, okay.” Jaiden sighed, closing his eyes. “But you should know that there might be consequences for this.”
“Thank you!” Relief overcame me, a smile protruding on my lips. I turned to the boy, my smile vanishing. “Max, we’d love to talk to you more, but we have to go after the bad guys.”
“Then I should come with you. I can help!” Max’s face brightened.
“No, you’re too young. Maybe some other...” My voice trailed off as I saw a shimmering thread reaching out for Max, whose eyes widened.
“You won’t remember any of this,” Jaiden said. “You thought you saw someone like you, but it had all been just a dream. Your head hurts like hell now because you hit yourself when you tripped over something on the street, but you won’t think about it anymore.”
The boy nodded, turned on his heel, and went down the street. Loud footsteps echoed behind us and we saw Rory and Kyle running toward us, their faces grim.
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