Fae (22 page)

"Oh," I said. The plan. "I
forgot."

"I'm sure they would have
caught up to us sooner or later anyway."

As if on cue, vibrations
thundered through the floor and the sound of what could only be
described as a stampede roared even over my wave. I guess everyone
had given up on stealth.

We turned a corner and met
a different kind of wave. A wave of red, blue, and green, and
practically solid. I couldn't distinguish between the different
people anymore. I couldn't even detect the red, pulsing orbs of
their rifles' energy cells. It was just one big mass of
bright.

Meir's lighted form
stopped. The electricity from so many weapons charged the air. I
felt my hair stand up on my scalp.

We all stared at each
other, though to be fair, I couldn't be accused of staring at
anyone. No one made a move as we sized each other up. I wondered if
they could guess at their stupidity. So many molecules in one
place...

I licked my lips in
anticipation.

My heart raced.

Do it.

My muscles
twitched.

Feed the
monster.

My skin
tingled.

Now.

Ahead of me, green lights
raced to meet each other, following my unspoken command. Red and
blue exploded outward. Soft chunks smacked against my face, my
clothes. Some stuck to my legs and arms. The walls, ceiling, and
floor now glittered with red stars.

"El save us," Meir
whispered.

A second wall of green had
formed in front of us. It's surging molecules, dancing for joy at
their release from their vile masters' bodies.

And then I sent them
moving ahead of us to plow down anyone stupid enough to stay in our
way.

After a short pause, Meir
led the way again. With no one left with the guts to challenge us,
we made it to the door of the Royal Wing within minutes. The two
guards who should have been there to challenge us weren't at their
post.

I sighed, disappointed,
and separated the green molecules.

Meir's lighted form turned
toward me. "The door is locked. Only someone with clearance can get
through."

"So what you're saying is
I need to get it open." The lights danced in
anticipation.

"Yes. But I'm sure you can
save your showmanship for the soldiers who are undoubtedly waiting
on the other side."

If he wanted subtle
finesse, I could give it to him. Blue lights framed the door seam,
despite how tight they'd tried to make it. I expanded them outward
and pushed the door sideways. The gears that controlled the entire
mechanism fought against the intrusion and ground against each
other, but air won out in the end.

On the other side of the
door, we didn't find another mass of soldiers, ready and waiting.
Only one lit form stood in the corridor, his black eyes facing
us.

Chapter Eight

The Truth about First

"Welcome," he said, his
voice strong and confident.

"First?" Relief swelled
through me. I hadn't expected a friend to greet me on the other
side.

"Hello, Ella." His voice
was heavy with satisfaction. His lighted arm extended out to us,
beckoning us forward. His black eyes turned squarely onto me. "I'm
glad you made it." Did I imagine hidden meaning in that? There was
something different about him, but I couldn't pinpoint what. He had
to have known what I'd done. I couldn't imagine the Royal Wing not
having access to every bit of information. He should have been
scared, but he'd come alone.

The boy stared back. The
pulsing red, green, and blue lights of his body moved in quiet
rhythm, showing no signs of stress.

Who was he
really?

"Where is everyone else?"
Meir asked, echoing my thoughts.

First's black gaze turned
to him. "In their Information Viewing Room. Ranen is very impressed
at what you two have accomplished." He turned back to me. It
irritated me that I couldn't read his expression. I had no way to
tell what he might be thinking or trying to communicate to
me.

"Are we all just going to
stand here?" Meir asked. "Or are you going to take us to them? This
is a rescue mission, after all."

"Certainly. Follow
me."

The room wasn't far away.
In fact, the Royal Wing was a lot smaller than any other of The
Block's wings. There were maybe two or three side corridors that
ran off the main and only a dozen or so rooms. The Viewing Room
itself was smaller, too. Certainly not designed to accommodate
hundreds of people. And no silky smooth voice vibrated in my
head.

One person sat on a large,
black sofa-shaped form staring at what I guessed was the same type
of wall from Meir's former favorite hangout with its streaming
information in an endless, repeating ribbon. The boy who'd led us
here made a small sound in his throat. The single person turned his
head. Based on its small stature, I guessed it was
Ranen.

He jumped up from the sofa
and ran to me. Before I could put my hands up to stop him, his
molecules wrapped around my neck. I froze, unsure if I should
attack or bear it. His squeeze was firm, but not sinister. A
hug.

I patted him on the back.
Standing this close to Ranen, I was reminded how much we were
alike. Both diminutive freaks among giants.

He pressed his cheek
against my head, his lips brushing my ear, and I almost recoiled,
except his arms tightened around me. "Help me," he whispered so low
I could barely hear it. "The boy."

I patted him again and
smiled, uncertain of how I should react. Since I'd never known
Ranen to be terrified before, even when facing Fire and an airborne
raid, I decided to play along. "I missed you, too."

He pulled away and stared
at me. Based on how long he stared, I was positive he was trying to
communicate something. I needed to share my condition with him
without raising suspicion.

"A lot has happened since
the last time I saw you," I said, keeping my tone light. "I got
attacked by your people and oh yeah, they blinded me."

The red molecules in his
veins raced and the two blue orbs in his chest pulsed in and out in
quickened bursts.

"What?" he squeaked. Yeah,
I guess I was bad at keeping things light and not arousing
suspicion. "How?"

"Apparently, Lastrini's
lost his mind. He had his men attack me. A Mosandarian weapon did
the job."

He nodded his head. “I
guessed as much, based on the info streaming in. He's pulled all
the soldiers away from this section of The Block, leaving us to
fend for ourselves," he said in a shaky voice. His black eyes
darted to First in widened terror.

"That might be my fault."
For some reason, blood warmed my cheeks. "They tried to stop us
from getting here. They weren't successful."

His gaze stayed fixed on
First, frozen, unblinking. His red molecules raced through his
veins. Ranen had mentioned "the boy." What about him? And why did
the royals need my help?

I looked around the room.
No one was in here but Ranen. I wondered where the others were.
Perhaps hiding in their rooms? Anger swelled inside me at the
thought of their pathetic Emperor. For a leader, he seemed to lack
a certain ability to...lead. Especially considering he'd let his
Commander completely take over without so much as uttering a
word.

“I’m running low on food
in here," Ranen said, his words thick with meaning. "Perhaps, Ella,
you and I could go get some from storage."

First's form instantly
reacted. He stepped forward, putting his hand on Ranen. "Allow me.
You can stay here." I might have been going crazy, but I was pretty
sure I heard a clear threat in his stiff, lowered tone. Not at all
like the gentle First I knew. "I know how you enjoy watching the
info wall." Yup, there was definitely a threat there. The implied
words popped out as clearly as if he'd said them out loud: talk and
you're dead.

I kept my face neutral,
innocent. "I could use a moment to sit." I shrugged, perhaps a bit
too enthusiastically. "And if that wall's streaming info about
Lastrini and his troops, it's a good idea to get as much intel as
possible before we, you know, do anything...rash."

I felt First's eyes on me,
but I didn't face him. Instead, I stared at the screen with
overzealous interest, especially for someone who couldn't even see
it. I hoped he forgot that particular fact. After a few moments, he
left and pulled Meir with him. Warning sirens went off in my head.
I did
not
want
Meir alone with that boy, but I couldn't say so without giving my
suspicions away.

I extended my vision and
watched as the two lighted forms walked further and further away,
making sure Meir was all right. When they'd gone far enough to make
me confident that First couldn't hear us, I grabbed Ranen's arm and
pulled him closer.

"Talk," I said.

His body shook under my
hand and his molecules raced. "He trapped us here weeks ago. I’m
the only one left. The Emperor’s dead. Everyone’s dead."

Ice slithered through my
veins. "How? He's just a boy." First couldn't have been older than
me. And he was so passive, so weak-willed.

"He's Auri."

My blood froze.
"What?"

"And a Watergatherer, we
believe."

Understanding dawned and I
let out a heavy breath. So he was the Marid. Posing as the
Emperor's First. Cailen had been right. Guilt ate away at my
insides to think I'd defended him.

"How long has he been
here?"

“He had been the Emperor’s
First for years. No one had any idea he was Auri."

I shook my head. "He's not
Auri." The weight in my stomach dropped. "He's Fae'ri." And
powerful enough to control an entire planet.

"A Marid," Ranen
whispered, nodding. "I should have guessed."

Laughter erupted behind
us, sick and twisted. We both turned to face it, slow, so slow. My
body felt like mush trying to wade through the thick and heavy air.
First was there, alone. I finally knew what was different about
him. The green molecules danced around his body, reacting to his
movements, always ready to obey. "Your arrogance continues to amaze
me," he said. "You insects only guess what we want you to
guess."

My heart sank as I
realized I'd never faced another Auri before. Not really. Cailen
hadn't fought back like he could have. And I suddenly wasn't sure I
was up to the challenge. Confidence radiated off of First in waves.
He'd controlled every water molecule on the planet. He'd earned his
confidence. And even Cailen had been terrified when he'd realized a
Marid was here. Highly trained and battle-hardened
Cailen.

The Marid were a whole
different class of Fae'ri.

"Where's Meir?" I willed
my voice to be strong.

"Not here."

"Then bring him
back."

"I'll take you to him."
His voice turned softer, almost reverent.

I paused, caught off
guard. In that moment, he made his move. I didn't even see him
coming, but one second he stood a few feet in front of me, framed
by the black walls, and the next moment he'd shoved Ranen to the
floor and towered over me, looking down with his abysmal
eyes.

How had he grown so
tall?

Though my insides shook, I
stood my ground. Only one would be crowned master of the elements
and I had no intention of letting it be him.

I prepared for my
onslaught, ready to pull the breath straight out of him, but he
surprised me again. He dropped to one knee as emerald green wings
burst out of his back.

I took a step
back.

"Forget these rodents," he
said. "Come with me and take hold of your destiny."

"What?"

"Haven't they betrayed you
enough?" He laughed in scorn, bitter and dark. "They don't deserve
to breathe the same air as you and yet you've made sacrifice after
sacrifice for them."

"I haven't sacrificed
anything for them." My stomach twisted as I thought about all I'd
done to them. Bringing the Mamood, and now the Fae'ri.

"No?" I could hear the
sneer in his voice. "What about your sight?"

My jaw snapped shut. I
clenched my fists.

"Did they take care of
your friend, Meir? Or did they poison him? Make him an addict like
everyone else?"

Meir. Suddenly I'd lost
the ability to breathe. They
had
tried to ruin him. His mind had been gone, just
like all the rest of them. And even now, he was different, more
reserved. Not the Meir I remembered.

"We have him, safe, on a
ship above the planet," he said softly, leaning close. "I told them
he was a sort of favorite of yours. They're treating him very well.
For you. All for you."

"Why?"

"We felt what you did to
the Mamood star system. We were very impressed. So I'd halted the
rain to delay the war
and
to test you," he said. "As long as I had active
control of the water element, you shouldn't have been able to do
anything with it...unless you were very powerful." He paused and I
imagined a smile ticking at the corner of his mouth. "I felt you do
something several days ago. I'd tried to stop you, but you'd
controlled the element anyway. And when you kept overriding my
control, day after day, that's when I told the rest of my people to
come. "