Restless (Element Preservers, #4) (20 page)

“The left one,” he said, and we took off in that direction. I prayed to God of Magic that we hadn’t made a wrong decision. The hall in front of us was getting darker and narrower, and I was about to ask Adrian if he was sure about this when two struggling figures came into view.

“Paula!” I screamed as I recognized Paula’s long, curly blond hair. She stopped struggling and I realized Ethan had a gun pressed to her temple. That son of a bitch! He pushed Paula in front of him so we couldn’t get a clear shot.

“Drop your guns or I’ll kill her,” Ethan said, burying his hand into Paula’s hair and forcing her to hold her head up. Ice started to form on Ethan’s arm, but it quickly melted. Paula yelped, unsuccessfully trying to avoid Ethan’s hand, which was undoubtedly hot from his element.

“Don’t you dare to use your elements!” Ethan yelled, his voice strained. “I’m not joking. I will kill her!”

“Let her go,” I said, wishing I had let Lily question him the first time she offered to do it. “You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to be the government’s pawn.”

“Don’t tell me what to do. You’re working with carriers,” Ethan spat. I could feel his element again just a second before balls of fire flew in Adrian’s and my direction. I called to my fire and created a wall between Ethan and me, but the fireballs broke through it with ease. Fuck! I wasn’t strong enough to fight him with my fire.

“Get down!” Adrian yelled when his attempt to extinguish the fire with ice failed. We threw ourselves on the ground, covering our heads. I could hear a door squealing and Ethan’s element getting away from us. His fireballs disappeared and we got to our feet, rushing after him and Paula through a small opening. A wave of light hit my eyes and made me dizzy.

I squinted and saw a dark blue Subaru speeding off. Calling to my fire, I threw a small fireball at the car, but I missed. Adrian fired his gun beside me, but Ethan drove off around the corner, the tires screeching on the asphalt.

“We can’t let him get away!” I looked around for a car we could use, but deep inside of me I already knew it was too late to follow. Ethan could have gone anywhere.

“We lost him.” Adrian ran a hand through his hair and gritted his teeth together. “He must have put the bracelet back on because I can’t feel him.”

I swore, lashing out with my foot at the empty air. Lily emerged from another door, her hair loose and caked with blood. Her gear was torn in a couple places and she was bleeding, but none of the wounds looked serious. “We saved almost everyone. Two got caught in the crossfire and there is no sign of Paula,” she said, panting.

“Ethan has her,” I said, barely containing my anger. “They drove away in a dark blue Subaru.”

Lily swore and yelled her commands to the closest member of her team, who immediately went to inform the others. “I can’t believe he’s been involved in this the whole time,” Lily said. “I shouldn’t have stopped monitoring him.”

“Yeah, and we have a problem now. Not only did he take Paula and ensure the failure of our mission, but he could also tell the president that I’m working with Adrian and you.” Maybe I shouldn’t have come with the team, but then Adrian would have gone with the others and he wouldn’t have stayed at the back, so Ethan would have run away with Paula unseen.

“The president already knows that.” Lily slid her gun in the holster. “Did you use any of your elements other than fire or show the symptoms of the disease?”

“No, but Ethan saw my fire was weaker than his.”

“Good. Then there’s nothing to worry about. I don’t think anyone would immediately connect a weaker element with the disease. Ethan’s element just happens to be pure.” The tension left Lily’s shoulders. She must be glad most of the scientists were safe, so for her our mission was already a success. More people came through the door, some of them looking a lot like the government’s men. As far as I could see, all the scientists wore their coats and overalls, not black suits. Besides, the men in suits walked with their hands behind their backs. They were probably tied up, even though I couldn’t see that from the spot where I was standing.

“We’re taking some of the kidnappers with us to question them. Maybe they can tell us something about Ethan and Paula’s whereabouts.” The gleam in Lily’s eyes told me that she meant to get revenge for what the kidnappers had done to the scientists. I was sure the questioning wouldn’t be pleasant.

“Do whatever you want, but our time is running out.” Something buzzed in my ear and I realized it was the device I’d gotten from the girl so she could redirect the president’s calls to me. Oh, crap.

“What was that little trick you were trying to pull off?” the president hissed into my ear and I winced. “Did you really think you can outsmart me?”

“I almost did. The scientists are free.”

“Yes, but the one that matters to you isn’t.” I could almost hear him smile at me, no matter how impossible that seemed. “I’m warning you, my dear. If you try anything like this again, your friend will die. I assure you it won’t be easy for you to find her this time. Paula will pay for every mistake you make. I promise you that.”

I felt cold all over as if someone had dipped me in icy water. “What about Ethan? Is he your hostage too?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” The president hung up and I nearly threw the phone to the ground. I looked up at Lily and saw sadness in her brown eyes.

“We’ll do everything to find her,” she said, but I could tell she didn’t believe we could find and save Paula in time. Even I was losing my hope because the president would expect us to attack, so he’d do something better than throw Paula into an abandoned building. Not to mention that it was much easier to hide one person than a whole group.

“It’s going to be alright,” Adrian said. “They won’t kill her because they need you to be on that protest. You can always request to talk to her as a proof that she’s still alive.”

“I hope you’re right,” I whispered.

Chapter 26

“I wish there was something we could do other than sit here and wait,” I said, leaning my elbows on the desk in my office. Adrian got up from the chair he’d been sitting in and came to stand behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders. He’d risked being seen to come to my office again, but the government most likely knew there was something between Adrian and me by now.

“I know.” He gently squeezed my shoulders and started to trace circles up and down my back. “If anyone can find Paula, it’s Lily’s team.”

“Yeah, but all they found was the abandoned car, and no trace of Ethan and Paula. They couldn’t have disappeared into thin air.” I couldn’t help but relax while Adrian massaged a tense spot in my neck. “It’s getting dark already. If they don’t find a clue soon...”

My phone rang and I nearly jumped up to answer.

“Lily knows Paula’s location,” Michael said, his voice urgent.

“Michael?” I was so stunned that he was the one who called that I could barely form a coherent thought. “Where is Lily? Is she busy?”

Michael hesitated for a moment. “No, not really.”

“What do you mean? If she knows where Paula is, she should be making rescue plans!”

“Actually, Lily didn’t plan to tell you any of this... because Paula is in a lab.”

“What lab?” I frowned. “Why wouldn’t Lily tell me?” What Michael was saying didn’t make any sense. Lily would probably argue if I wanted to come with her, but she’d never hide something so important from me.

“That lab is the government’s best kept lab. It’s impossible to get in, especially if a large group of people approaches, carriers or not.” The worry was evident Michael’s voice. “We don’t know much about the lab, except that it has 3 levels of security. All devices that aren’t approved by the security stop working in there, and there’s no way to tell who or what is inside.”

“How do you know Paula is there then?” My heart rate was increasing with each second. Did all of this mean it was impossible to save Paula before it was too late?

“Lily’s techs hacked a satellite and saw an image of Ethan carrying Paula into the lab right before the image was deleted. No one could retrieve the image, but those who saw it swear that they recognized Paula. Lily can’t risk sending in a team because that would be a suicide mission. No one knows what lies inside. The chances that the team gets Paula and survives aren’t that great, even if they go inside and start shooting like madmen,” Michael said, barely taking a breath. “There could be dozens of armed men inside.”

“Fine. Then I’ll have to go.” A suicide mission didn’t sound particularly appealing, but at least I could try to save Paula. There was no guarantee that the government would let Paula go after they killed me during the protest. I was a dead woman either way.

“No way,” Adrian said, turning my chair so I was facing him. He knelt on the floor in front of me and pressed his hands firmly against my legs. “There’s no fucking way in hell I’m letting you go there.”

“I’m afraid I must agree with your douchebag boyfriend.” Michael sighed. “I only wanted to let you know what is going on because I’m as worried about Paula as you are, but you don’t have to do this.”

“Yes, I do.” I earned myself a dark look from Adrian. “The government wants me dead, but if they want to make a spectacle out of my death, they need to kill me during the protest. I have the biggest chances of survival even if I get caught. Think about it.”

“But there’s almost no way to get inside,” Michael said, sounding resigned.

“
Almost
no way,” I repeated his words, a smile breaking out on my lips. “Do you know how to get inside?”

“Maybe.”

“Tell me,” I said, and Adrian reached for the phone, probably trying to end the call. Wrapping my fingers around his wrist, I squeezed until he pulled his arm back. He shot me an annoyed glare, but I only shook my head at him.

“You might be able to sneak in with the delivery, but even if you do that, there’s no way of telling what kind of security the lab has. We only know that it’s good. Very good.” Michael actually sounded a bit impressed.

“Oh, come on. It’s only a fucking lab. I bet they have many scientists there and don’t know what each of them looks like.” I scratched my head, trying to come up with a good plan. “Can’t Lily’s team just capture one of the guys who work there and force him to tell them everything? Maybe we’re scared for no reason.”

“I don’t think that would work. The scientists usually don’t know much and the security guys are very loyal to the president and would sooner die than reveal anything to the enemy.”

“Great.” I rolled my eyes. “The only loyal people in this country work for the president. That lucky bastard!”

“I still don’t think you should go anywhere,” Michael said.

“She won’t,” Adrian interrupted. “I’ll go.”

It was my turn to gape at him and vehemently shake my head. “No. You’re not going anywhere. They’d kill you!”

“We could offer them a trade. Me for her.” Adrian boldly met my eyes as if I’d ever send him to his death. “They know you care about me. At least I’d have better chances to escape. I know how to deal with places like that.”

“No! We can’t give the president the proof that we’re together. He’d find at least a hundred of ways to twist that fact and use it to torment us even more before he kills us!” I pushed my chair back and got up.

“Ria, there’s no reason for them to let Paula go once they off you.” Adrian got up, his gray-blue eyes flashing with determination. “If they accept the trade, you could always say you don’t care about me and never show up for the speech. You and Paula would get to live.”

“Yeah, but you’d be dead!” I turned on him with all the fury I had in me. “I can’t accept that. I
won’t
accept that!”

“Oh, really?” He got into my face, his breath tickling my skin. “And I’m supposed to accept your death just like that?”

“Maybe I won’t die. Don’t you have faith in me? I could help Paula escape, and we’d both get to live. The government can’t kill me until the protest.” Even I didn’t believe in what I was saying, so why I expected Adrian to believe me was beyond me.

“Ria, please.” He scoffed. “You can’t go alone in there and expect everyone to let you through to Paula because the president needs you for the protest. What if he changes his mind and decides to stage a nice story about your death? He could still blame carriers.”

My determination faltered and I lowered my eyes. “Then what? If we don’t do anything, Paula and I could both die.”

“Then we both go.” Adrian and I stared at each for a long moment. He’d never let me go alone, and even if I somehow forced him to stay, he’d find a way to follow me.

“You guys are both stupid. You’re all going to die,” Michael said. “Ria, why don’t you let Adrian trade himself for Paula? That’s your best chance. He’s going to die anyway if he comes with you.”

“Michael...” I groaned. “Just find a way to get us into that lab. I won’t ask anything else from you. Do it for Paula, please.”

“Alright. I’ll see what I can do.” The line went dead.

“We need weapons.” Adrian started to turn away from me, but I caught his arm and pulled him into a hug. Wrapping my arms tightly around his neck, I looked up into his eyes.

“Is there nothing I can do to convince you not to come with me?” One part of me knew that I needed him with me. He was my strength. And if someone threatened his life, I was ready to blow up the whole damn lab.