Hunted (Tainted Elements, #5)

by Linwood, Alycia

  I swallowed hard and glanced at Jaiden, whose face was completely expressionless.

  “And if there are more elementals as powerful as them? If they wipe our minds or force us to do God knows what?” Ella persisted.

  “From what I’ve heard, mass mind control would be hard and it’s possible to notice something is wrong and realize your mind has been tampered with, which would then unravel most of the mind control.”

  “But if they force us to kill each other or hurt our families, and we couldn’t fight them off... what’s the point if we realize later what we’ve done?”

  “There’s no reason to panic,” Miranda said, raising her hand. “Everyone is thinking the worst of these elementals just because they’ve seen two of them do something bad. I know it’s scary that someone could control our minds or kill us with one thought, but there are other ways of forcing people to do things... blackmail, drugs, threats... and we have elements and weapons... That makes all of us dangerous. We shouldn’t be on a hunt for innocent teenagers. We should catch those who make trouble and violate the laws, but let’s treat everyone like human beings.”

  Ella chewed on her lower lip, probably trying to come up with something to say. Miranda had valid points. If someone wanted to do bad things, they could.

  “Those special abilities do make it harder to catch and find the real perpetrator,” Miranda continued. “But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. I heard the police can already track the elemental energy of tainted elementals and find them.”

  “Well, they haven’t really had luck with Moira and Jaiden, have they?” Ella all but whooped in delight over her bright idea.

  “Not yet, but I’m sure they’ll find them. In many cases the perpetrators aren’t found immediately. It takes some time, but it’ll be solved,” Miranda said confidently.

  “If you say so.” Ella gave her a condescending smile. “I’ll be praying for the day when they invent blockers so that no one can enter my mind.”

  Miranda just glared at her.

  Jaiden sighed, and I focused my attention on him.

  “The government still hasn’t given any official statements, have they?” I asked.

  “I don’t think so,” he said. “They would be having a different kind of a debate right now if they’d done it.”

  “Right.” I looked back at the screen. Ella had gotten to her feet and was pointing at the big display behind her.

  “Let’s see what the public says.” A graph appeared behind her, filling the whole screen. “Seventy-eight percent admit they aren’t entirely comfortable around those new elementals, two percent are indifferent, and only twenty percent feel safe and don’t think this changes anything.” Ella’s triumphant face came into view. “See? People aren’t that fast to agree with you, Miranda.”

  “It’s normal that they’re scared of the unknown, but once they realize their children, neighbors, and friends are tainted elementals, that they haven’t known it, and that everything is the same, they’ll accept it,” Miranda said. “As long as people like Sophia Mornell are trying to spread fear, things won’t get better.”

  “I wouldn’t say Ms. Mornell is trying to spread fear,” Ella said. “She warned us about a very potent threat, and maybe even saved our lives. Who knows what those two elementals would’ve done if they hadn’t been discovered? People who knew about this would’ve kept it a secret for God knows how long, and we’d continue with genetic manipulation, unaware of the danger.”

  “Please tell me you’re not suggesting that people should stop genetic manipulation and that we go back to having high rates of magic disease and weak elements.” Miranda gaped at her. “You can’t possibly think that magic disease carriers are less dangerous than tainted elementals. Would you rather live surrounded by people who might lose control of themselves and go for your element, or by tainted elementals who don’t have any reasons to harm you?”

  “I can use an element-blocking bracelet, thank you very much,” Ella said. “And against tainteds, what am I going to use? I can only hope I don’t cross their path.”

  “And what about our water and energy supplies? Did you forget we have those only because we’re taking elemental energy from people with pure elements? Not every genetic manipulation results in tainted elements. Many actually end up creating a pure element that we need.”

  “We’ll find a way,” Ella said, her forehead wrinkling. Genetic manipulation had solved so many problems, and finding another solution could take years, and by then, it might be too late. Our water supplies were actually coming from converted elemental energy of water elementals. “Maybe we can increase the amount of energy collectors.”

  “Yeah, and whose energy are they going to take if children are born with impure and weak elements? Or the disease? Then we better go look for an elixir of immortality, because otherwise... we’re not going to stay here for long.”

  Ella’s lips twisted into a wry smile. “No, we should find the mistake that turns these elementals into tainteds. They’re not all tainteds, so that means there’s been a mistake. Once that’s fixed, there will be no more tainteds.”

  I threw myself on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Things might be easier if Jaiden and I turned ourselves in, but Sophia... she had to have a plan, and I wanted to know what it was.

  My phone vibrated and I immediately grabbed it, checking the screen. It was a message from Nick. “Lily thinks there might be a way to retrieve some of the information about Sophia that was deleted and destroyed. She’ll let us know once it’s done, but she’ll have to be careful because the media and the cops are all over her because they think she’s helping us.” I groaned.

  “Let’s hope she finds something.”

  “Yeah. If we make sure Sophia isn’t a threat for every tainted elemental out there, then we can try to talk to the cops or give our side of the story.” Actually, as long as I knew everyone else would be safe, I’d hand myself over to the cops. If they found me guilty for what I did and thought I needed to be punished, then so be it. I wouldn’t be running from what I’d done for Elemontera or while I’d been under Blake’s mind control.

  Jaiden’s hand found mine and I interlaced my fingers with his. “If she wants only us...” he started to say.

  “...then she’ll get us,” I said. “But not anyone else. I’m not going to let innocent elementals pay for our mistakes.”

  Chapter 6

  “Honey?” my mom’s voice said quietly from the other end of the line.

  “Mom?” I said with excitement. I’d been texting my parents whenever I could to let them know I was fine, but I didn’t expect them to call me until it was perfectly safe.

  “I need to see you,” she said. “It’s important.”

  “Sure. Where...?” My mom would never put my life at risk, so whatever she had to tell me definitely wasn’t anything trivial.

  “Two blocks away from your favorite bar. At the time you usually went to Magic Studies,” she quickly said. “Stay safe.”

  She ended the call, and I met Jaiden’s concerned eyes. “My mom wants to meet me in two hours.”

  “Why?” A frown appeared on Jaiden’s brow. “Did something happen?”

  “I guess. I don’t know. She didn’t want to say anything over the phone.” The number she’d called from wasn’t familiar, but that wasn’t surprising. The cops were probably monitoring my parents to see if she’d contact me, so I hoped my mom had a good plan to avoid any unwanted tracers.

  “Okay.” Jaiden picked up a gun and tucked it into the back of his pants. I really hoped we wouldn’t have to use any weapons or our elements.

  I hovered above the place where my mom had told me to come, not willing to materialize until she came into view. Jaiden was crouching behind one of the cars, and I hoped the owner wouldn’t appear anytime soon. Although, judging by the mud on and around the car, it hadn’t been moved in a while. This alley was mostly abandoned, and there were high walls that remained after one of the buildin
gs had been demolished. On the other side, there were two houses hidden behind thick trees, so it was unlikely someone would see us from one of the windows or a balcony.

  Two figures in dark coats caught my attention, and as they approached, I recognized their faces. My mom’s eyes darted from one corner to another, and I finally turned visible. Her shoulders slumping in relief, she rushed toward me and pulled me into a hug so tight I thought I wouldn’t be able to breathe. My dad joined in, ruffling my hair.

  “Thank God you’re alright,” my mom said, and when her face darkened, I knew Jaiden had come out from his hiding place. “Why is he here?”

  “Mom...” We so didn’t have time for my mom’s disapproval of Jaiden.

  “All of this is his fault,” she hissed. “If he hadn’t taken you to that God-awful Elemontera, you’d never have had to use those abilities...”

  Jaiden paled slightly, and I glared at my mom. “Not now, Mom. Why did you want to see me?”

  “Oh.” She shook her head, patting her pocket for something, and then took out a flash drive. “This is all Lily could recover about Sophia.”

  “What did she find out?” I took the drive, too curious to wait to find out.

  “I’ve no idea. We could barely transfer the data to the drive before the cops forced their way inside. They think she’s helping you, so they’re looking for any clues.” She let out a heavy sigh. “But everything is here, so whatever it is... you’ll have to find a way to use it. I’m not going to lose you because some crazy woman thinks you’re...”

  “You won’t,” I interrupted, clutching the drive in my hand and then placing it into a pocket on my jacket that had a zipper. If I lost the drive, I’d never forgive myself.

  “Oh, sweetheart, come here.” My mom pulled me into another hug, her eyes filling with tears, but when I withdrew, I could see her glaring at Jaiden over my shoulder.

  “Mom, Dad, please stay safe,” I said, but as I looked up at my dad, I spotted movement behind his back. “Watch out!” I yelled, and tackled my dad to get him out of the way of a fireball. My mom ripped the silver element-blocking bracelet off her arm and faced the attacker. She had to have the bracelet on around my dad, who was a carrier and could feel her element, but now she needed her element.

  But as I created a fireball, I noticed more elementals coming our way. There was at least a dozen of them and they were all ready to attack. Shit! I threw fireballs at the two closest to me, and then tried to blast another two with my air. Jaiden managed to push one of the attackers off his feet, and my mom was thrusting her air against another air elemental.

  Who were these people? They were dressed completely in black, their faces covered with black masks. There were no symbols or anything on them, and I couldn’t even tell if they were regular elementals or not. Dodging a waterball, I dropped to the ground and called to my air, guiding it out of me and toward one of the attackers.

  But as I tried to slip my element inside his mind, my element bounced off some invisible force. What the hell? I increased the strength, just in case they were tainted elementals with an ability like mine that could sever my thread of energy, but no matter how hard I pushed, I couldn’t break through. A gust of air hit me in the back, and my breath caught in my chest as I fell forward, a fireball nearly scorching my hand.

  Creating a shield of air around me, I looked up at and saw Jaiden unsuccessfully trying to enter a person’s mind. His shimmering thread went around the person’s head, but then it just disappeared, as if he’d pulled it back, but I knew he hadn’t. My mom was barely holding up her own shield in front of her and dad while the elements assaulted it. We were surrounded, and there was nowhere to go. Two more masked people appeared out of nowhere, but they didn’t attack.

  My shield was shimmering already, the water threatening to pierce right through it and get to me, but I gritted my teeth, increasing the strength and successfully shoving the water back until it disappeared. Enveloping my arms into fire, I was about to throw a fireball at the attackers when the assault of elements suddenly ceased and they all raised their hands up. What the hell?

  Before I could react, they all unleashed their elements on us. I was thrown back, and when my vision cleared, I realized the only thing stopping the elements from hitting me was a thick layer of air.

  Jaiden’s brow was drawn in concentration, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. My parents, he, and I were all huddled against the wall, his shield the only thing keeping us safe.

  The elements crashed against the shield, trying to make an indent and break through it. As their power increased, Jaiden’s hands started to shake and he clenched his jaw.

  “Jaiden?” I asked. “We have to...”

  “No, if I drop the shield, you won’t have time to raise yours,” he said. “Their elements are strong. I can feel them in every bone of my body. They’ll break through. There’s too many of them.”

  “What are we going to do?” I glanced at my parents, who were staring at the shield. Jaiden was right. We couldn’t risk dropping it, but if we didn’t do anything, his shield would give in eventually.

  “Turn your parents into air,” Jaiden said. “When the shield drops, fly like hell. You’ll get them out. You’re strong enough.”

  “What about you?” The elements were getting closer and closer. Jaiden’s shield was thinning and he fell to his knees.

  “Damn it, Moira, just go, okay? Don’t worry about me. I’ll fight them off somehow.”

  We didn’t have much time, so I faced my parents. “Hold onto each other and take my hand.” I hoped I could turn both of them into air even if they weren’t directly touching me. Reaching out with my other hand toward Jaiden, I summoned my air. It was a surprise he could keep the shield up for so long under the assault of so many elements.

  “Jaiden...”

  “Now!” he yelled. His shield shimmered and burst outward, blasting the elements back toward the attackers. I immediately grabbed his hand and turned us all into air, darting toward the sky and not looking back.

  My whole body felt heavy, my chest constricting. If I didn’t land soon, I’d lose control of my element. Carrying three people after a fight wasn’t an easy feat, and as soon as I was sure we were far enough, I descended on top of one building. Letting go of my parents and Jaiden, I scanned the sky for any shimmering, but I hoped the attackers had been knocked down by Jaiden’s bursting shield long enough to leave me sufficient time to run away before they recovered. Since I couldn’t see anything, I focused my attention back on my parents, who were getting to their feet, looking shaken but unharmed.

  “That was...” My mom stumbled, running her hands up and down her body as if she was trying to check if all her body parts were still where they were supposed to be.

  “What was that?” my dad asked, dusting off his pants.

  “I’ve no idea.” I said, my breathing still unsteady.

  “Someone must have followed us.” A vein throbbed in my mom’s neck.

  The problem was that we couldn’t be sure if it had been someone who wanted to catch us for experiments, kill us, take us to Sophia, or maybe get a reward from the cops for turning us over. Great. But as I looked at Jaiden, I realized he was still lying on the ground and wasn’t moving. I rushed to him and placed my hands on his face, my heart jumping into my throat, my blood racing. “Jaiden?”

  His eyelids fluttered, but he didn’t open his eyes. His skin was a bit cold to the touch and his hair was caked with sweat.

  “Hey, can you hear me?” I asked, shaking him gently, but he only murmured something I couldn’t understand. “No, Jaiden. Wake up.”

  “What’s wrong with him?” My dad crouched next to us, a concerned expression on his face.

  “His elements...” My voice cracked, because no, I didn’t want to think that Jaiden might have drained his elements with that last attempt to stop the attackers. Keeping the shield up against so many elements and for so long must have taken a big amount of energy, but
that didn’t mean his elements were completely gone, and if they were... No. I pushed that thought away. He would be fine. He just needed some rest.

  “What about them?” my dad asked.

  “We need to find a safe place for him to recover.” I let go of Jaiden and scrutinized the sky and our surroundings.

  “He doesn’t look well. Are you sure he doesn’t need a doctor?”

  “I...” I wasn’t sure about anything because the only person who might know what would happen in case Jaiden completely drained his elements was his father, and he wasn’t anywhere around for us to ask him.

  My mom came closer, her gaze falling on Jaiden. “Do you think he drained his elements? It happened once to Ria and she fainted. Well, she was out for a while, but she’s an element preserver and her elements weren’t her own, so...”

  Except that didn’t mean a thing for Jaiden, because technically his elements weren’t his own either, or maybe they were? Oh, God.

  “We can take him to one of the old labs. No one will look for us there,” my mom said, and I nodded. “Where is it?”

  “Not far from here, but I don’t know how we’ll get there,” she said.

  I flexed my arms, and called to my air just enough to feel it surge through me. “I still have enough energy to carry all of you.”

  “Okay, then I’ll show you...” She paused. “Wait, can I talk while we’re... invisible?”

  “Sure.”

  “Then I’ll tell you.”

  I nodded, and placed my hand on Jaiden’s chest. He’d be fine. He had to be.

  Chapter 7

  “Put him here,” my mom said as she cleared off one of the beds. I fiddled with my air, trying to figure out how to turn Jaiden visible exactly where I wanted him. Focusing on the bed, I pushed what I thought was Jaiden above it, then slowly called my air back, revealing parts of his body. Finally visible, he was sprawled on the bed, his eyes closed, his face way too pale.

  “Can you do anything?” I gave my mom a pleading look, then placed my hand on Jaiden’s sweaty forehead. His breathing was shallow and his skin was still cold. Stepping back so my mom could come closer, I collided with a metal chair behind my back. The room was small, with light blue walls, and there were some devices covered with white blankets. My mom uncovered one of the devices that resembled a TV and pressed a button. The screen came to life, and various lines in different colors appeared across it.