Elemental (10 page)

He smiled and dipped his head into my hand.
He inhaled and let his breath trail out. “This is good, isn’t
it?”

“So good.” And it was. Everything about his
arms around me, his eyes locked on mine, was right.

“I have something for you.” He put his hands
on my waist and lifted me off his lap. I started to protest, but he
put his hand up to stop me and stood.

I stayed on the floor, gazing up at him. I
could feel the huge smile spread across my face—my cheeks began to
grow sore.

He rummaged through his jacket pocket and
pulled out a long, gold chain.

Everything changed very quickly then. One
moment, Cailen was gazing down at me with a smile as big as mine.
The next moment, Olorun and the other man were at his side,
dragging him away.

I was frozen in shock. What was happening?
The smile on Cailen’s face twisted into pleading rage as the air
around them melted and they disappeared.

“Cailen?” I couldn’t get my voice above a
whisper. The air lodged against a hard lump in my throat.

“Ella.” The voice was all wrong—far too
deep—but my head whipped to the side anyway, hoping. Meir was
leaning against a crate, supporting his weight against his arm.
Dried blood caked the whole left side of his face.

I swallowed and blinked my eyes, struggling
to get a grasp on reality. Surely, I’d dreamed everything that’d
just happened. Winged men didn’t exist and there was no man with
green eyes to take me home. No Cailen. It all had been a dream.

A tear split through my heart and I gasped
for air. Meir was by my side seconds later, patting his hands all
over me, checking for wounds. He wouldn’t find any, though. My
wounds were inside, beyond human eyes.

“Cailen,” I called out between my
hyperventilating gasps, daring to hope. He had to be real. He had
to be.

“Who?” Meir was anxious now. “Ella, who’s
Cailen?”

Something on the floor caught my eye and I
shoved myself away from Meir’s fluttering hands. I picked up the
gold chain with its round locket and clutched it to my chest.

He was real. I hadn’t dreamed anything. He
was real.

I studied the delicate workings with my eyes
and finger. Red and orange petals rose from the face of the locket
and framed a single, clear gem whose facets changed color with each
subtle movement. I twisted the locket back and forth, marveling at
the beauty of the jewel.

I closed my eyes and wrapped the chain
around my neck, fastening the clasp. “So good.”

“Ella, who is Cailen?” Meir spoke slowly
this time, emphasizing each word.

I didn’t turn when I answered him.
“Mine.”

Chapter Eight
:

Malik’s Stand

Malik had come in then to check on us. When
he saw there was nothing more wrong with us than a few superficial
scratches—though I knew they’d been much more than superficial just
minutes before—accompanied by what seemed to be a psychotic episode
on my part, he left us alone in order to avoid suspicion.

Before he’d left, I’d picked up a few words
from Malik and Meir’s conversation as I’d lain on my cot.
Apparently, those battleships had caught up to us, taken out the
two fighters that were supposed to provide us protection, collided
with the
Meridian
to pull us out of hyperspace, and then
left. Malik assured us there was minimal damage to the ship. We’d
still make it to Soltak.

Only I knew the rest of the story. They
hadn’t just left. They’d almost taken me with them. I was sure
Cailen had intended to. But now they were gone. None of it made any
sense.

I clung to the locket around my neck as my
mind battled with itself. The logical side of my brain kept saying
I’d been hallucinating or dreaming, just like it’d done after the
attack from the Shakai. But the evidence denied this claim. The
first time, there’d been the burning carcasses Meir had seen. Now
there was the locket. Logic couldn’t argue against that. But what
did it all mean? What connection did I have to those winged men? I
didn’t have wings—I think I would’ve noticed that. I
could
somehow control fire, which was… odd.

Perhaps there was no connection. Maybe my
mind was playing a sick game with me: get my hopes up and dash
them. That had to be it.

Physically weak? Here’s the ability to
control a rather powerful element! But wait, we’re not going to let
you be able to do it whenever you want. You’ll just have to keep
getting yourself into sticky situations and see if you’re lucky the
next time.

Completely alone with no connection to any
person or race of people? Here you go! Someone who wants to treat
you like a daughter, but we’re going to destroy his life in the
process. And don’t forget the mystery man who makes you feel like
you have some kind of sacred bond with a person that transcends
time and space. Now he’s gone. Deal with it.

I sighed. Hearing voices was a bad sign.

None of it really mattered anyway. I was
still entirely resolved in my original plan, perhaps even more so
now. The longer I strayed from my destiny—death at Manoo’s hand—the
more bonds I would make, and the more people would suffer. Now that
I knew about Cailen, I
had
to turn myself in. No one else
was going to get hurt—I would make sure of that.

I felt us making our descent as I floated
above my cot for a few seconds before settling back down and
slipping halfway off. I grabbed hold of a crate before gravity and
the steep angle of the ship had a chance to send me tumbling
against the front wall. Stupid Mamood. I’d have thought they’d put
some
kind of restraints in the cargo hold for passengers.
But maybe they didn’t care about their slaves, no matter how
“respectable” they were.

The ship landed with a dull thump, and I
peeled my eyes open. Other than the descent, I didn’t think I’d
moved since I’d lain down. Meir had tried talking to me and given
up when he realized I didn’t have the motivation to answer him. I
needed to be alone. It was hard enough thinking about the sacrifice
I’d decided to make before I’d met Cailen. Now that I realized just
how much I was losing, my mind spiraled down into a foggy,
meaningless haze.

Escape had been a bad idea.

I sighed and sat up, swinging my legs off
the side of the cot. Although it’d been a bad idea, it’d ultimately
been worth it. Knowing what I would sacrifice myself for made me
feel almost heroic. I didn’t have to be terrified as I stared into
Manoo’s eyes. He could take my life, but he couldn’t take away the
person I had become. I wasn’t an empty wraith anymore. I wasn’t
that bumbling little girl who stumbled out of
Sho’ful
out of
sheer luck. I was a real human being who loved something more than
herself. And I was strong—strong enough to give myself up and let
Manoo do whatever he planned to do to me.

I smiled.

“Feeling better?”

I looked up, surprised. I hadn’t realized
Meir had been watching me. Had he been watching me the whole time?
He must’ve thought I was going crazy. Perhaps I was. My thoughts
were so jumbled I didn’t even really know what was going on in my
own mind.

Was
I feeling better? No, not really.
I knew what I had to do, and I accepted it—even found some
satisfaction from it—but I still wished there could be another way.
I wondered why
I
had to be the one to die, and not
Manoo.

Manoo. Dead.

Even though the thought pleased me greatly,
I held back my smirk. Meir didn’t need to know my violent side.
That didn’t stop me from imagining it.

He eyed me critically, waiting for my
answer. When he realized he wasn’t going to get one, he stood up,
handed me my mask, and put his own mask on. He started to break
down his cot and I did the same, watching him carefully and doing
as he did.

Just a few seconds after the
Meridian
had come to a complete stop and all evidence of our stay there had
been removed, Malik’s voice came over the intercom. He gave the
same formal command he had when the Delsa-Prime had boarded the
ship. Part of the ploy, I assumed.

Meir and I took our stations beside the
door, and I waited as Meir punched in the code and Malik strolled
through the open door. My hands wrapped around my NK-4 without any
difficulty this time. I marveled at my new strength, shocked to
think I had once thought the weapon heavy.

Malik studied us, his eyes lingering on
me—likely making sure I played my part. And I would, for now. As
long as they were in danger, I would play along. As soon as I’d
talked to Malik and gotten Meir away, the charade would be
over.

He nodded and turned back to Meir. “I’ve got
a plan.” He motioned for us to follow him as he wove his way to the
back of the cargo hold. “It requires some skill on your part, Meir.
Not to mention your particular knowledge of the city of
Co’ladesh.”

My heart pounded against my chest. Malik was
planning on putting Meir in danger. I needed to talk to him
soon.

He stopped at the hatch and pressed a round,
red button. The door creaked open, letting soft, gray light stream
through. My lenses adjusted immediately to the change. I wondered
what time of day it was. The subdued light could have been morning
or twilight.

“I have to sign off the cargo,” he
continued. “It wouldn’t raise any suspicions for the two of you to
accompany me. While I’m taking care of business with the
Ladeshians, I’m going to try to separate us. The girl will come
with me, but you’ll have to escape the base.”

My heart sprinted into full gallop mode now.
This was perfect, better than I’d imagined. Meir would be long gone
by the time I turned myself in. My plan was going to work.

Malik pulled something out from beneath his
sash and handed it to Meir. “Take this communicator with you. It
has a locator chip in it. When I’m done and you’ve escaped, I’ll
inform the crew and the Delsa-Prime that I’m taking the girl to
look for you. We’ll pick up some clothes on our way to meet you,
but we have to get to your friend quickly. I imagine once inside
the Old City, he’ll be able to protect us.”

Meir nodded. “He will.”

“Good.” He paused and raised an eyebrow. “Do
you think you can get off the base?”

“It won’t be easy, but I’ll do it.”

Malik’s lips pulled down at the corners when
he turned to me. The scowl was back. “Don’t mess up this time.”

I gulped. I wondered what Malik thought
messing up would be. Turning myself in? Would that be considered a
huge flub in his book? Not likely.

I smiled beneath my mask, stifling a
chuckle. I was ecstatic. Meir was going to be all right. Doing what
needed to be done suddenly didn’t seem so bad when I thought about
my savior being safe.

The ramp slid out from beneath the ship and
Malik descended with us following at his sides. It was far easier
for me to walk on the smooth surface than before. Everything was
easier for me now—walking, breathing—and I wondered why that was.
Just what did Cailen do to me, and how did he do it?

Seven men formed a small cluster a few yards
away from the ramp. All except one stood rigid, their hands behind
their backs. The man in front seemed ridiculously relaxed compared
to the statue-like men behind him, his slouch at total odds with
his clean, pressed uniform and razor-straight haircut. He also
looked like a giant standing in front of them—a lazy, overly clean
giant. I didn’t know much about measurements, but I imagined I’d
only come up to his waist. The men behind him barely made it to his
shoulders. He extended one of his hands and smiled. Malik, as tall
as he was, looked like a toddler next to him.

“It is good to see you made the journey
unharmed.” The giant had a thick, slurred accent, almost like his
tongue was too big for his mouth. His eyes flitted past Malik and
he chuckled. “Although, not completely untouched.”

I suppressed the urge to turn and see what
he was talking about.

“You should see the other guy.” I could hear
the smirk in Malik’s voice.

It was then I realized they were talking
about the damage to the cargo ship. I sighed.

“I can imagine!” The large man threw his
head back in laughter, slapping Malik on the back.

Still laughing, the man motioned to the six
men behind him. They filed past us up the ramp to unload the crates
of… that stuff. I was pretty sure Malik and Meir had been calling
it Lumin-something.

“I’m Base Commander Lastrini, by the way.”
All pretense of leisure drained away from his formerly open face.
What replaced it was hard and guarded. Calculating blue eyes bore
into us rather than welcomed us. I shivered. “Come. While they
handle inventory of the gems, we will go to my office to take care
of the formalities.” He turned on his heels and led us a few
hundred yards across the length of the tarmac to a large, stone
building. We all struggled to keep up with his stride.

The structure was void of beauty and
character. With few windows and plain, flat walls, its utilitarian
purpose was clear. This was a bunker.

Just as we were about to pass through a
narrow, arched entrance, Malik placed his hand on Meir’s shoulder.
“Go back and guard the ship. Report to me immediately when you get
there.”

Meir gave a sharp nod and started walking
back to the
Meridian
. I knew, though, that as soon as we
were out of sight, he’d make his escape. Now I just needed to get
Malik alone. It didn’t look like I was going to get that chance
within the next few minutes. That was all right by me. Meir needed
time.

Malik motioned for the Base Commander to
continue and I followed them into the dank tunnel. A set of steel
blast doors stood closed ten feet ahead of us. Lastrini waved his
hand in front of a blue-lit screen and the doors slid to the sides,
hiding behind the stone walls.