"You think you're brave, huh? Let's see about that," I said coldly, then lowered my voice to a whisper. "It's not going to work. I can't do it without burning you!"
He quickly nodded.
I stared at him, open-mouthed. "No, I can't," I hissed.
"Do it, Ria," he said urgently. "Just do it."
I hesitated, then saw the steely resolve in his eyes. "I'm sorry," I whispered, tears threatening to come out, but I pushed them back. I pressed the hot poker on the cuffs, barely avoiding Adrian's skin. As I heated the poker more and more, the cuffs started to melt easily, but they didn't stop glowing. What the hell were they made of? That definitely wasn't any normal material. Adrian gritted his teeth as the poker neared his skin. I knew I wasn't going to be fast enough to move it right at the moment the poker touched him. He cried out, and a second later ice covered the poker, almost freezing my fingers.
"Use your element on the door!" I yelled, dropping the poker. Adrian pushed himself up, leaning on the wall. My heart was thudding loudly in my chest as I focused on the door, heating it with fire, and tried to find air in me. It felt so good and liberating when air pushed its way out of me and joined fire, creating a shimmer around the door. The air smelled like smoke and ozone, joined by the smell of rain as Adrian's ice melted into the combination.
The door literally exploded in front of us, flying outward in pieces. I knew our thirty seconds were up, but as we ran outside, I hoped we wouldn't encounter too many guards. The hall was in chaos, the alarm piercing the air. People in white coats hurried around in panic, collecting things and going for the exits. Two guards were lying on the floor, obviously knocked out by the door. They hadn't expected something like that to happen. But where were the others? Making sure my father got safely out of the building? I didn't have time to think about that.
Grabbing the map from my pocket, I gave it to Adrian. "We have five, probably four, minutes to get out of here before the place locks down! Let's go!"
"I have to do something first!" he yelled. "You go. I'll meet you outside."
"What?" It wasn't the time to ask a million of questions, but I couldn't understand what he planned to do.
"If they are looking for us, it's better that we split up. Don't worry." He put his hand on my face, quieting elements for a moment. His gray-blue eyes bored into mine. "Promise me you'll get out as fast as possible."
"I promise," I said, confused. He smiled and then he was running down the hall. Turning in the opposite direction, I followed the hall that should lead me to the nearest exit. As I passed more shocked and panicked people, I wondered whether we had surprised them so much that they didn't know what to do, even with all those protocols and plans they had. Had they even practiced evacuation at some point? I wasn't sure as I felt like elements were trying to rip me apart. I could almost taste them in my mouth and had to fight their pull. Using air and touching Adrian must have made me even more unstable.
No one tried to stop me or even looked at me as I ran, so even if my father had suspected something, he couldn't have known that Adrian and I would be able to blow up the door. I bet he wasn't proud of me now. As I reached the emergency exit, I felt a familiar element. Focusing on it, I realized it was Paula's. Oh, crap, she was still in some room and she wasn't moving! What was she doing? Glancing at the exit, I turned around and sprinted to the room Paula was supposed to be in. I still wasn't sure whether my element detection skills were working properly or not.
"Are you insane? We have to get out of here! Now!" I yelled as I noticed her clumsily going through some files. There was no one else except her in the room and she nearly dropped everything when she heard me.
"Just a sec." She picked up a few more papers.
"I don't think we have a sec!" I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of there. The whole building seemed to be shaking. Fuck! We were going to be too late. "This way!" I pointed to the hall leading to the main exit; the one that was supposed to close the last. A large glass double door came into view and it was slowly starting to close. I ran faster, aware that the door must have been made of some special material even though I could see through it. If it closed before we reached it, we'd never come out.
The alarm suddenly went quiet, leaving us in utter silence. We were getting close, but the door was now moving faster too. Only one person could go through it. Paula was slowing down, already looking out of breath because of the damn papers. Taking a shaky breath, I ran as fast as I could, crashing into her and pushing her through the door. She fell down on all fours, papers flying everywhere, and I staggered back, watching the door close between us. Paula got up, her face as white as a sheet, her eyes staring incredulously at me.
"No!" She banged on the glass, trying to break it, but I knew it would be useless.
"Go, damn you!" I smiled at her, feeling eerily calm. "Get those files and get out of here! Now!"
"I'm not leaving you here. It was my fault." Tears filled her eyes.
"No." I placed my hand on the glass where hers was on the other side. "It's all my fault. Go tell my parents I'm in here."
"Ok." Her voice broke and she bent down to collect the papers. "I'll try to send you a message to your phone. Don't worry. Your dad will open the door." She tried to give me a reassuring smile, but a sob escaped her lips. I couldn't help but wonder why we could hear each other perfectly, but couldn't break through the damn thing. Stupid magic. After what seemed like an eternity, Paula walked away, leaving me alone in my new prison, which could explode in an hour. Oh, joy.
Of course, there was a slight chance my father would decide to save my life and his precious lab. I could still hope, right? No one could answer that question. Sighing, I leaned my forehead on the glass. I could feel groups of elements gathered around the building, but they were all too close together for me to be able to tell who was who. Sensing movement behind me, I turned around and froze.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Adrian yelled, bewildered. I was rooted to the spot, wondering if someone had let poisonous gas and I was hallucinating. A hysterical laugh escaped my lips as he strode toward me, his eyes blazing with anger. The air went so cold that I could see my breath.
"I trusted you!" he said, his voice like thunder. "You promised me you'd get out. You fucking promised!" I wanted to tell him the same thing, but I had never even dreamed he'd react like this.
"I thought you'd think of yourself first, damn it!" He ran his hand through his hair, revealing angry red burn on his inner wrist. I grabbed a fistful of his white shirt and pulled him to me, pressing my lips to his. His whole body tensed, but he kissed me back, our tongues intertwining. Breathless, I pulled away, and he bent his head and rested his forehead on mine.
"Why?" he whispered.
"It was either Paula or me." I closed my eyes for a moment, savoring the gentleness of his touch. "She wanted to take some files and we weren't fast enough." I stepped back, crossing my arms in indignation. "And what the fuck prevented you from following our plan? Did you have to kill someone before you were ready to leave?"
"No, but there were other magic disease carriers here. I gave them the map because they would never be able to get out by themselves. They were just some kids, like I once was." He sighed. "I was about to leave when I felt Paula's element. I miscalculated the time we had left, so... here I am."
"Umm, do you know the lab could explode in fifty minutes or so?" I sat down on the floor, hugging my knees to my chest.
"Yeah, I assumed it was like that. Remember, I used to live in a place like this." He made himself comfortable on the floor opposite from me. I grasped his arm, inspecting the mark I'd made with the poker.
"Does it hurt?"
"No." He shook his head, and I raised an eyebrow at him. "Ok, a little. My element makes it a bit better. Happy?"
"Yes." I interlaced my fingers with his.
"Your parents won't let you die," he said confidently.
"That's questionable. If they figured out that I helped you and that I have mor
e than one element... they'll overlook the fact that I'm their daughter."
"How did you get another element?" He frowned.
"Do you think I killed someone to get you out of here?" I said playfully, watching his expression.
"Sure. You'd kill for me anytime." He grinned, stroking my hand in slow circles. "I'm simply that irresistible."
I went on to tell him about the accident, wondering if maybe we were supposed to die today. What would happen then? Would we really become a part of the planet according to our element as religion taught us? Or would we simply cease to exist? Oh, God, I didn't even want to think about that because I was immediately scared. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I was glad it had survived my failed rescue mission.
"Paula notified my parents that I'm inside, but of course they knew it. They told her they were going to decide soon how to proceed." Wow, my parents were going to take their time. How nice.
"Good. They're going to get you out."
"Why would they? Unless they can't figure out how to cover up my death." I played with my phone, turning it over.
"They love you." Adrian licked his lips, distracting me for a moment.
"Maybe. Somewhere deep, deeeeeeeep inside." I looked away. "They used to love my brother too, and now they'd arrange his death if they could cover it up efficiently. That's why he can't even be around them. I know they would do anything for me as long as it is something acceptable. And this is not. I'm afraid they'll react the same as they did with my brother. They'll see me as a monster."
"Give me your phone," Adrian said, his face serious. I complied, eager to find out what he was planning to do with it. He lifted the phone up, pointing the camera at me. I raised my hands in front of me, shielding my face.
"Hey, what are you doing?" I laughed, peeking through my fingers to see whether the camera was still on. It was. Ugh.
"You're going to say who you are, where you are, and what is going to happen if your parents don't come to save you," he ordered. What game was he playing? Fine. We'd see.
"I'm Ria Milanez, the daughter of the famous president of the Element Preservers Organization." I grinned at the camera. "I'm trapped in one of my daddy's labs, which might explode in half an hour if he doesn't decide I'm worth saving. So, bye bye, world! It was nice knowing you. Oh, and change those ridiculous laws which forbid us from using our elements in public until we finish university." Ok, that was fun.
"Perfect." Adrian lowered the phone, trying hard not to laugh. He was typing something, his long fingers moving swiftly.
"Can I know what you're doing?"
"Sending this to your parents," he said, not looking up from the phone.
"What?" I said, horrified.
"Well, it doesn't look like they're coming, so they probably know you helped me. I sent them this video and I'm sending it to Paula before they manage to fuck up the signal. If they refuse to come here and negotiate to let you go, Paula will put the video on the net and send it to every news station before they can move a finger."
"What?" I sounded dumb even to myself, but his plan was so... unexpected.
"You'll get out of here alive. I promise. They won't let me go, but they'll have to let you unless they want a huge scandal." He put the phone down, a satisfied smirk on his face.
"Impressive," I said, but I didn't bother telling him I wouldn't go anywhere without him. He was crazy if he thought I'd do such a thing. "But I really want to find out why this magic glass lets the sound and signal pass through. It's freaky."
"I guess we're lucky magic can't block everything." He shifted on the floor, so his face was only inches from mine. His eyes were the warmest shade of gray-blue I'd seen. My lips parted as I observed him, barely breathing. The warmth welled up inside of me as he gently traced his finger down my face and along my jaw.
"I..." I started to say, but he silenced me, pressing his lips against mine with almost bruising force. The warmth inside of me intensified as he deepened the kiss, making me forget about everything. I felt my element push outside, and I didn't try to stop it because I didn't think I could concentrate enough to set something on fire. My hand ended up in Adrian's hair while he put his arms around me, his hands roaming down my back.
I shivered as the warmth of my body was replaced by sudden coldness. It felt like I had drunk a glass of icy water and I could tell how it was spreading all over my body, but it wasn't painful; it was the best feeling ever, even as ice seemed to prickle every part of my skin. I closed my eyes, enjoying the sensation, and heard Adrian gasp. He was still holding me in his arms, and I pictured myself walking over a frozen lake. Even though all I could see were the snow and ice, I didn't really feel cold. A moan escaped me as Adrian's soft lips grazed my neck. Then I shattered into million pieces, the ice pulling back as fast as it had come.
Adrian broke away from me, panting. I opened my eyes, trying to catch my breath. The walls were black and covered in soot, although I couldn't see anything burning. A pool of water formed a perfect circle around us. Adrian looked as shocked and surprised as I did.
"What the hell just happened?" I gingerly pushed myself on my feet.
"I have no idea." Adrian shook his head, a few strands of his black hair falling into his eyes. "I think I felt your element. Everything was so warm and bright. I was on a beach with a huge sun in the middle of the sky, and it felt so good."
"Shit," I muttered. "Do you still have your element?"
The temperature in the hall dropped by a few degrees. "Yeah."
"Good." I checked for mine and everything seemed fine. Air was somewhere in there too. "Did we somehow... I don't know... exchange our elements for a moment?"
He shrugged.
"How would you explain this?" I waved my hands, pointing at the soot and water, which was starting to spill and glide toward us.
"Well, according to my expert opinion," Adrian said, "our elements just had sex."
"What?" I couldn't help it; I burst out laughing and tears filled my eyes. "No, that can't be it."
"No?" He smirked, then froze as he looked past my shoulder. I slowly turned around and saw the grim faces of my parents. Well, fuck.
Chapter 16
"I suppose you want to leave this place in exchange for not spreading that dreadful video," my father said, glaring at me with so much anger that I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me. If he could set me on fire, he'd do it. My mother was standing a few feet behind him, looking like she had swallowed something sour.
"I want you to let Adrian and me walk out of here, and promise you won't send anyone after us." I'd never thought I'd be negotiating like this with my father.
"No. The magic disease carrier stays."
"Do you really want that video on every web page that exists? Surely your enemies are waiting for it." I wasn't going to back down on this. "You don't need him anymore."
"Ria, think for a moment. You're ruining your life because of your misguided conception of love." My father's voice softened. Did he really think I was still that little girl who would believe his every word? "That monster killed someone. He should be under control all the time. You wouldn't have opened the door of his cell otherwise."
Awesome. So my father thought Adrian had another element, not me. He thought I was just a silly girl in love. Less rational part of me wanted to use air in front of him only to see the look on his face, but if I did that, everyone would blame Adrian for giving me the disease. "Nothing you say will change my mind. I believe you have ten minutes to open this door." I knocked on the glass to emphasize my point. "Are you going to ruin what you've worked for your whole life?"
My father sighed, looking weary. My mother took a step forward, her hands clenched in fists at her side as if she were trying to stop herself from whatever she wanted to do. I had an impression that she wanted to break through the glass and pull me away from Adrian, because the looks she kept giving him were terrifying.
"Fine. I'll let you both go," my father finally said, d
efeated.
"No! You can't do that! That monster will kill her," my mother cried, grabbing my father's arm.
"Our daughter is not a child anymore and she has made her decision." My father took a small black device out of his pocket and pressed a few buttons. Three guards armed with rifles came to stand behind him and my mother.
"If you shoot Adrian while we're leaving, our deal is off," I said warily.
"I know, but we can't let him attack us as soon as he is out." My father reached for the control panel near the glass, which I couldn't see clearly, but I hoped we'd be free soon. And since my parents remained inside, I didn't think they'd blow up the lab.
"Come." I extended my hand toward Adrian and he took it. My father needed his guards for safety and I needed Adrian. My emotions were all over the place. Somewhere deep inside I had hoped my parents wouldn't let me die, but I hadn't expected I'd have to leave them like this. Besides, I didn't want to feel anyone's element or expose myself. I wasn't sure what that temporary element exchange with Adrian had done to me, and I certainly didn't want to find out now.
"Stay close," Adrian whispered as the control panel beeped and my father stepped away from it. The whole building seemed to be shaking once again, the glass door sliding apart.
"Ria, honey, I don't understand this," my mother said. "What about that nice water boy?"
"No one must know about this, understood? I don't want to hear anyone saying the president's daughter ran away with a magic disease carrier," my father added. "If he doesn't kill you first, you'll realize what a mistake this has been and then you'll come back and beg us to forgive you."
"Don't worry about that. I won't alert the media unless you force me to." I tightened my grip on Adrian's hand because I could sense he was getting restless. Looking in front of me, I passed by my parents as if they were statues. My heart was breaking in two and the little girl in me wanted to run back and hug them, but I couldn't do that. The guards had their rifles trained on us, and I prayed they wouldn't get an itchy finger.
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