Lexi (Clarissa Lovett Book 1)

by Jamie Gray

  "What happened, Daymian?" she finally asked, her voice deep as she spoke barely above a whisper, and yet her tone had the same affect on him as if she had decided to scream.

  He felt locked in place by her stare. "I don't know. The Light Element just appeared and took them. It was so fast, I barely-I didn't have enough time to react," he lied, bumbling over his words. He had never been good at lying, and he knew she would see right through him, but he couldn't admit to having any kind of connection to Lexi. There was no worse crime for someone like him.

  "You're not growing attached to her, are you?"

  "No."

  "Then why are you stuttering in your speech?"

  "I don't know. Maybe because you're accusing me!"

  She took in a deep breath through her nose. Her stare pressing him into the floor. Still, she kept her composure, holding him in her palm with nothing but her eyes. He didn’t dare move. She began to approach him, shortening the distance between them with slow echoing steps. "You are aware that if you have formed any kind of relationship with her, you will be deemed a traitor by the Council."

  "Yes, I'm aware." He had completely forgotten about how severe the consequences would be. Should his true feelings be discovered, there would be no going back. He would surely be casted out, left for dead, or killed. He didn’t want to leave his home. Sure it wasn’t perfect, but at least he had her. She had always protected him, and without her, he knew he wouldn’t survive.

  "Good. I suggest you keep it that way," she told him darkly. It was like she already knew. Like she was reading straight through his act. Her icy stare sent chilling shivers down his spine. “Now, we have other matters to attend you,” she went on. “Such as how the Light Element was able to use the Universe Elements ability to teleport away.”

  “Yes!” he exclaimed, having watched the whole encounter go down. “But how is something like that even possible?”

  “Did you know?” she asked accusingly.

  “What? No! Of course, I didn’t know.”

  Appearing to accept his response, she shifted her gaze to think. “Father did tell me about a legend from the old religion that speaks of such things, but I never believed it could be true. I’m shocked she’s been able to stay hidden all this time.”

  His mind was racing. All this time he’d spent with Lexi, and still he had no idea she could do such astonishing things. “Oh, god. I can’t believe she-th-this is insane!” He swallowed hard, trying to bring himself back down to sanity. He couldn’t allow himself to spiral, not now. He held his breath. "So, what now?" He stuffed his hands into his jacket pocket in order to hind their shakes, but it would mean nothing if his entire body began to shake from nerves. He had to remain still, act as though he cared little if Lexi lived or died. "You could've killed the Light Element out there. Why didn't you?" he asked, his voice strained as he feared releasing his breath. “She attacked you, why didn’t you attack back?”

  She glanced over him, crossing her arms. “In truth, I’ve considered the point you posed to me the other day. I realized that perhaps keeping her alive for now may benefit our objective after all.”

  Her words sent a shock through him, although he didn’t flinch. “For now?”

  "There is a time and a place for everything, Daymian," she told him harshly. “And that legend didn’t guarantee a happy ending.”

  He shook his head. Sure, he didn’t want Lexi dead, but this is not what he expected. And with her having mentioned the Council, all he could think of was the consequences that would await them in Arespea. "You mean, you're changing the plan without consulting home base?" He knew what she was really trying to pull. She wasn’t actually agreeing with him, she was simply trying to make him think that it was his idea, as a way to get him on board. She did this often enough for him to know she was only doing this for control and authority. She wanted control over the situation, so that she could decide what happens, who knows what, and do things the way she sees fit. They weren’t supposed to be making any changes to the plan without consulting home base first, and he didn't want to get in any more trouble because she wanted to prove something.

  She scowled at him, burning a hole through his skull. She clearly hadn’t expected that response from him. "I mean that in this unprecedented circumstance, I am disciplined and experienced enough to make these kinds of decisions without the consent of our superiors," she snapped bitterly. "Unlike you."

  He crossed his arms, beginning to feel more ambitious. "Says the one who's stepping all over the Light Element and her friends just to satisfy her own pride."

  She outstretched her arm, liquifying the dark shadows around them into a black wave, as she whipped her hand forward. Before he could blink, he was thrown off his feet with his back slamming against the wall with an aggressive bang that echoed through the warehouse, like thunder. "This isn't just any assignment, Daymian." She clenched her hand into a fist to solidify the dark wave around him, holding him in place.

  With his feet dangling off the floor, he clenched his jaw as he groaned in pain. Trying to return air to his lungs as he felt the wind knocked out of him.

  "You seem to forget that we are working with a Light Element,” she went on, her fist held out in front of her to keep the darkness solidified around him. “I am taking such drastic measures to properly achieve justice for the abuse and cruelty her Element administered on our kind. Particular care must be taken with this case, especially now that we know she has the ability to control more than one element. That doesn’t just make her a target, that makes her a threat, and I know what kind of action father would want me to take in a situation like this," she explained, holding herself with poise and confidence as she stood before him.

  "What about the capitol?" he asked, his voice gruff and raspy from being thrown across the room into a brick wall. He was desperate to make her see reason. “The Council. We'll both have to answer to them if we don't follow protocol," he warned, his enthusiasm being overwhelmed by his distress as he continued to gasp for breath. He could feel the darkness pressing against his chest, squeezing his stomach until he submitted to her.

  She shook her head tiredly, disappointed in his lack of faith and perception of the administration. "The council isn't going to do anything, not to us, and once we explain the circumstance, they will sway to our side," she explained, speaking collectively again as she continued to try and convince him to cooperate.

  It wasn’t too out there. She had definitely taken things further than this before. She’d had crazier plans, and things usually ended well for her regardless of the circumstance. Not to mention, she said that she wasn’t going to kill Lexi, yet, meaning he had time to figure out a solution. He let out a silent sigh, making sure she wouldn't notice. He blinked rapidly. "Alright, then what's the new plan?" he asked, nodding his head. If he had to be on anyone's side, it needed to be hers.

  She didn't answer. Her expression fell dead of emotion. As she turned around, she lowered her arm and let her hand fall loose, releasing him to the ground as the darkness redispersed to the different edges of the room.

  His knees nearly gave out upon dropping back down to the floor, but he strained his legs to merely bend and hold him up. Needless to say, falling to his knees would do nothing to help him in this situation. She was acting very unstable, and he had no idea what to expect from her when she turned off her emotions like this. "Mara?" he barely whispered, more of a whimper as his fear made even his voice shiver. He didn’t know why he called her name, in fact he found himself regretting it the moment it slipped from his mouth. All he could do was wait.

  She stood tall, her back kept to him. "Considering you were ineffective against a self taught Seny, your objective is to follow my orders without question. Can you do that?" She spoke to him in a strict tone, as they both knew her words were less of a question, and more of an order.

  "Yes," he quickly replied. He fell silent, standing straight, arms at his sides, with his chest pressed up. He had told her what
she wanted to hear, and he had thought that it was what he wanted, but at the moment he'd answered, he knew that he wasn't being entirely honest, with himself. He knew that what they were doing was important, and that it wasn't unjustified. For so many years he had been taught not to care, to separate himself from the assignment, but this time was different. He had always had trouble in the past, but nothing like this. Lexi was something special, something beyond belief, she was kind and understanding. Though, did that outweigh the required justice for his Elements? Does it outway the expectations and commitment he has to his family and his job? To his culture and beliefs? He didn't know any of the answers, and he feared he never would.

  Chapter 19

  Upon reaching the Miller residence, the group of friends rushed up to Kadence and Adrian's shared bedroom. They made sure to sneak past Stephanie and Joseph without a sound, so that they wouldn’t risk them seeing Lanie, Kadence and Adrian's injuries. The last thing they needed was for the police to get involved. As they cautiously walked up the stairs, each of them helped to guide Kadence up each of the steps since with only one eye, her perception of depth and balance had been changed. She had difficulty walking in a straight line, which demanded them collaborate in holding her steady, if they wanted to make it to their room unheard.

  When Adrian opened the bedroom door, and everyone piled inside, they saw the room clearly split down the middle. One half was decorated with purple walls and clean rugs, whereas the other half was covered in orange walls and clothes scattered across the wood panel floor. Two single beds were pressed up against either side of the room. One bed had plain dark purple bed sheets and pillows that had clearly been made and fluffed that morning, while the other bed had unmade wrinkled sheets that had a bright orange ombre colour, like a sunset. It was quite obvious who's side of the room belonged to who.

  Kadence and Adrian both went to sit on their respective beds, Kadence sitting with her feet still touching the floor, while Adrian crossed his legs and practically wrapped himself in the vibrantly coloured sheets, relishing in its warmth as he flipped the sheets over his head like a hood. Lanie took a seat in the center of the room, sitting cross-legged on the dark brown hardwood flooring with a warm water bottle in her hand from the car. Lexi was the last one to enter the room, and therefore took it upon herself to close the door behind her. She leaned back against it, crossing her arms in front of her chest, as she waited for someone to start talking. Her back was still sore, but she wasn't one to complain. Besides, she was in no mood to sit in a little circle to discuss her and her friends' problems.

  Adrian went on to explain the terror they experienced in the interrogations Mara made him and Kadence endure. Kadence kept quiet through most of it, letting Adrian go on and on. He explained how she and Daymian were Dark Element assassins sent to Earth to kill Lexi. How she had done her research, and that she knew things about them they had never even spoken aloud before.

  This haunted Lexi's thoughts. Made her wonder how much research Mara had done on her, on her family. She certainly proved her ability to read people back at the warehouse. She had revealed things about Lexi that even she hadn't come to accept. What if she knew about Brooke? Surely she would know everything about her by now. It made her feel violated, like she was always being watched.

  Lexi had noticed a certain awkwardness between Kadence and Adrian. They hadn’t spoken a word to each other since getting in the car, and now they wouldn’t even look at each other. Adrian hadn’t said anything about them getting into a fight, nor had he explained what the circumstances were leading up to Kadence losing her eye. It was incredibly suspicious, but Lexi found that she’d rather not know. It would only infuriate her further to know the details. She eventually found her mind drifting back to Daymian. Why was he there? Had he really taken part in her friends torture? Adrian had described him as a coward, just watching from a distance. That he was malicious and conniving. Despite Adrians claims, Lexi continued to remind herself of the dagger. He'd left it there for her. He wanted to help her. He's on their side, she told herself, but the more Adrian went on, the more that thought faded from her mind. Was he really as manipulative and treacherous as her friends had described? He had to be, if all he did was stand by while two people were tortured. Perhaps in truth, she didn't know Daymian all that well after all. They had only spoken a select number of times, but there was something about him. He had told her the truth before, but had that all simply been a part of his plan to turn her against her friends? Had he really come to Earth to kill her? She wanted to believe that he was a good person deep down, but that simply couldn’t be the case. For all she knew, he and his sister wanted them to escape. Maybe he wanted her to trust him so she would let her guard down-or-or something. She didn’t know anymore. Lies were being mixed with the truth, and all she could do was hold onto something, anything that could act as an anchor for her.

  "I think we need to get out of dodge as soon as we can," Adrian finally suggested, throwing the sheets off of his head as he moved to lie on his back with his hands clasped behind his head. "I'm not looking to get kidnapped again."

  Kadence nodded slowly. "I concur with Adrian. I'm sorry to say, but if we ever want to be rid of the Voids, we need to disappear."

  "What!" Lexi threw herself off the door, trying not to wince at the pain that rushed down her spine. She couldn’t believe that they were okay with just giving up. "You just want to leave everything behind?” she quieted her voice, stepping closer. “Walkout on Stephanie and Joseph?"

  Kadences eye closed tiredly, slowly shaking her head "Lexi, we don't have a choice," she sighed gloomily. "I know you don't want to leave your parents and Brooke. We don't want to leave Stephanie and Joseph, but the longer we stay here, the more danger it puts them all in."

  "But if we have these abilities, we should be able to use them to protect our family," she protested, gesturing to the door as she refrained from shouting. "If we can't do that, then what's the point?"

  Kadence sternly met Lexi's iron stare. "Our abilities are what's going to get these people killed if we don't leave. The way we left that street in the east end after Mara captured us, all that fire and destruction, it's going to spread. And soon enough that's all that will be left of this town if we don’t leave.” Her voice sounded as though it scratched against her throat with every word. “The Voids will follow us in their pursuit. They won't bother to kill our friends and family if we sever our connection to them."

  Lexi huffed as she stopped to stand behind Lanie. Her eyes shifted to the wood floor as she swallowed hard. She refused to run just because of fear. She was no coward, and she was not willing to walk out on her life and family, but if she had no choice in that matter she at least wanted to have a destination, a goal in mind. "Fine, but if we leave, I want to go to Arespea."

  "What?" Lanie blurted, looking up at Lexi with a bug eyed expression.

  "Lexi, no," Kadence snapped, pushing herself off the bed to meet her at eye level. They still stood several feet away from each other, but the tension between them vibrated through the entire room. "We would only be running further into the battlefield," she told her grimly.

  If Lexi was going to leave her family, she needed to know it was for a good reason, and she could think of no better reason than to find the people who gave birth to her. "I can't live in this world, knowing that my family is just around the corner, searching for me." she could feel her body trembling with anxiety. She was angry, arguing, and she knew she wouldn't be taken seriously if her nervousness was recognized. She had considered this ever since Daymian told her about her birth parents. She had wanted to take this next step in her life, eventually. She just never thought the opportunity would come so suddenly. "I want to find my birth parents. That is the only thing that will make this all worth it." Doing it like this was the only way she could stand to live with herself. She would not abandon her parents, and she would not abandon Brooke because she was scared. She would never forgive herself. If she was going
to leave it all behind, it needed to be for a greater mission.

  There was a long pause that spread amongst the group.

  "I wouldn't mind going back to Arespea," Adrian finally mumbled grumbly, turning on his side to put his back to Kadence and his face to the wall. His voice was like a breath of fresh air for Lexi. Finally someone else was beginning to see reason.

  Kadence shifted her piercing gaze to stare at Adrian. With only one eye, she looked more intimidating than usual. Like she would slit your throat if you got her mad enough.

  Adrian hit his forehead against the wall as she groaned sorrowfully. "There is so much that I left behind. That I never resolved." His voice barely exceeded a whisper as his words disappeared into the wall he faced.

  Lexi was baffled. She couldn't believe Adrian actually agreed with her, with the way Kadence was talking in the car, at Lanies street performance, made it sound like Arespea was a place neither she or Adrian wanted to return to. She knew how they all felt, but there was one person she wasn’t so sure of yet. “What about you, Lanie?” she promptly asked, looking down at the girl sitting at her feet.

  To her surprise, Lanie hesitated, stuttering as she darted her gaze all around the room. "I don't know. I mean, I have always wanted to explore Arespea outside of Orbison and Umbie-But Earth really isn’t that bad.” Her voice fell incredibly quiet. “And how would we even get back there? Without the ability to create a portal or a Lacus Sphere to use, we have no way of getting back." She hugged her waterbotter against her stomach as she pressed her chin against her chest, looking only at the dark wooden panels along the floor.

  Lexi leaped to the side, trying to recapture Lanies attention. "But we have you and me," she cheered encouragingly. "I can use my abilities to copy your Element and create a portal just like I did with the teleportation."