Indestructible (8 page)

“Umm, okay,” I drawled. “But how do we find out which one of the girls is Rosalia?”

Adrian tilted his head. “Do you know what happened to my father’s journal?”

I opened my mouth, closed it. “I think it might have stayed under the ice back at your room at the University of Magic.”

“Fuck.” Adrian ran a hand through his hair. “There is a list of people with the disease, but I never got to the end of it.”

“You think your father might have come across Rosalia?” So Adrian hadn’t lied about the names in the journal? Because he’d been lying to me a lot when it came to that journal.

“Maybe. He knew a lot of rich people, and he might have met your great-grandfather and Rosalia. We could compare the names in the journal and the names on the photograph. What are the chances that a person who went to university with your great-grandpa contracted the disease and moved in the same circles later?”

I squinted. “I don’t know. At that time, people who went to universities were practically obsessed with pure elements. I don’t think anyone would mess around with someone who didn’t have a pure element, but if a carrier had an element, there was no way normal elementals could have known it.”

“Alright, so it’s possible some of Jonathan’s female friends contracted the disease later, but how many of them still have living offspring with the disease? We could even look for photos of the great-grandchildren to see if anyone looks like the woman who attacked us.”

“But we don’t have your father’s journal! And we’re not detectives. I don’t feel like looking up nine or more different people and searching for their family tree.” I yawned. “I’m tired of all of this.”

“Maybe we can get the journal back,” Adrian mused. “Someone must have collected my things from my room.”

“Yeah.” I gave him a deadpan look. “And that person probably threw it all away after finding out you were gone.”

“Could be, but I don’t think Alan would allow it.”

“Oh, you mean your crazy, power-thirsty guardian would keep things that belong to you?” All Alan had ever cared about was to get the vice presidency or to get to a higher position in the society, even if that meant getting Adrian out of his way. And no, I didn’t care that Alan most likely wouldn’t let Adrian die.

“He would.” A small smile appeared on Adrian’s lips.

“But he won’t give us anything, especially now that we don’t have what to offer to him in exchange.” I frowned. Either Adrian knew something about his guardian that I didn’t or he had more faith in him than I did.

“He will if we ask him nicely.” The wide grin on Adrian’s face made me think he was totally planning to threaten Alan. That was fine with me, though.

“Is Alan still working at the university or did he have to resign because you left?” If Alan was still Adrian’s guardian, he had to go wherever Adrian went, or at least that was the idea.

“Actually, the whole guardian thing is being reconsidered and will probably become history because everyone realized there are way too many carriers out there and that it would be stupid to assign guardians when carriers can take care of themselves. Some of the carriers have already decided to reveal their identity and I’m no longer the only carrier the whole world knows about. Besides, I have a sub-element and I’m over eighteen.” He returned one huge dusty book to its shelf. “That means Alan is still working at the university.”

“Oh, cool.” Adrian would finally be free of Alan. That was the best news I’d gotten lately, which made me wonder why Adrian hadn’t told me earlier. “So what are we going to do? Pay Alan a visit?”

“Yep.”

The world tilted around me and I closed my eyes, my hand grabbing for something to steady myself and finding the edge of a cabinet.

“Whoa, are you alright?” Adrian placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Yeah, but my head hurts from all the dust and mold. Take that photo and let’s get out of here.”

“As you wish.”

The fresh air did nothing to chase away the tiny tremors that went through my body. What the hell was wrong with me now? As soon as we reached the car, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 11

A frown line appeared on my forehead as Adrian stopped the car in front of an apartment complex. “I thought we were going to the university.”

“Alan might still work at the university, but he no longer lives there. He doesn’t have to watch over me anymore, so he wanted to find a place where students wouldn’t bother him,” Adrian said.

“How do you know this?” The last time Adrian and I were at the university, Alan had been still living there. And we hadn’t really heard from him later because we’d hoped he wouldn’t uncover my secret and try to manipulate me again.

“I’ve been tracking him over the last three months. I sent some people to tell me where he went, what he did...” His voice trailed off as he undoubtedly saw my wide-eyed look. “What? He’s my guardian. I had to know where he was.”

“Did you talk to him?” I’d never understand Alan’s and Adrian’s relationship.

He looked at his hands in his lap and licked his lips. “Maybe.”

“Ah, I should have known. I just can’t believe you keep going back to him even after he was willing to put your life in danger to get what he wanted.”

“He raised me, Ria.” Adrian’s eyes grew sad. “He took me in when no one else wanted me and he treated me better than any other guardian would have.”

I spread my hands in defeat. “Fine. Whatever you say.” If the government planned to do away with guardians, then Alan could get whatever job he wanted without Adrian being an obstacle.

“I told him you were in a coma,” he said cautiously. “I didn’t tell him anything else about your condition, but I had to talk to someone about what was happening to you.”

“Well, even if Alan knows I have the disease, he can’t use that information against me because there’s nothing I can do for him.” At least I hoped there was nothing I could do for Alan. He was a cunning bastard and always found a way to make my life complicated, although his plans rarely succeeded.

“Don’t worry. After all the arrests and scandals, Alan is glad he wasn’t in some important position.” Amusement flashed in Adrian’s eyes. “I can go alone if you don’t want to see his face again.”

“No way. I’m not letting you to see that guy alone. He might not have any reasons to kill you or hurt you, but I don’t trust him.” I pushed the door open. “So are we going or what?”

Alan’s apartment was on the sixth floor of a building that looked more like an expensive hotel than an actual living place. The cream walls in the hall were ornamented with golden embroidery and the white marble floor was covered with thick cream carpet. Who would have thought Alan could afford to live here? Certainly not me.

Adrian stopped in front of a dark brown door at the end of the hall, his hand hovering over the doorbell.

“Don’t tell me you’re nervous.” I smiled. “You’ve been here before. I can tell because they didn’t stop us at the door. They know you.”

He gave me half-annoyed, half-playful look. “Does it bother you that I left your side for a couple of hours? I needed to talk to someone who didn’t keep telling me to say goodbye to you.”

“No, of course not. Why would it bother me?” Did he really think I’d be mad at him for leaving me? I’d been in a freaking coma for three months. I didn’t expect anyone to sit by my side all the time for that long. “I’m kind of glad you had someone to talk to, even if it’s the guy I don’t like.” I was surprised Lily had let him out, but maybe she worried only about me or Adrian had found a way to sneak out.

“I love you,” he said, and his lips briefly met mine.

“I love you too, but I don’t want to stand in this hall forever, so...” I pressed the doorbell. A couple of moments later, the door cracked open and Alan flashed us both a wide smile.

“What a surprise! I didn’t expect the two of you to pop up here.” He opened the door wider so we could get inside. “I suppose you need something, eh?”

Alan’s apartment was huge and it reminded me of the perfectly designed homes I could usually see in magazines. Judging by the number of doors, there were at least three rooms. Why would Alan need something so big if he was living alone?

“Actually, yeah, we do,” Adrian said. “Did you happen to save any of my stuff that I left at the University of Magic?”

“You mean the things that didn’t get soaked after you froze the entire room?” Alan’s voice was filled with amusement.

Adrian bit down on his lip. “Yeah.”

“Perhaps,” Alan said. “What are you looking for?”

“My father’s journal.” Adrian traced his finger across the wooden surface of the desk that was in the hall.

“The one you stole from the Council and conveniently forgot at the University as if it meant nothing?”

I didn’t like Alan’s biting tone. It wasn’t Adrian’s fault he’d had to leave the journal. “Really, Alan? You are the one who planned to blame Adrian for a murder and send him to a lab. If you have such a good memory, I’m sure you remember it.”

“Always charming, aren’t you?” Alan gave me a sour smile. “I do have the journal.”

“Great,” I said. “What do you want in exchange for it?”

“Why don’t you wait for me in the living room? I’ll go find the journal,” Alan said, not bothering to tell me where the living room was. I was wondering if Adrian had a map of this apartment because I would surely get lost in it on my own.

Adrian placed his hand on my back and propelled me toward the door to our right. The living room was not what I expected. A big cream couch occupied most of the space. A plasma TV hung on the wall in front of it. The only other furniture was a small glass desk in the middle of the room. A window almost as big as the wall offered a magnificent view of the city, but that wasn’t what surprised me the most. The thing that shocked me were the plants covering the two other walls.

“Umm, did we accidentally walk into a jungle or a garden?” I eyed the big leaves with distrust. I wouldn’t put it past Alan to own flesh-eating plants.

“He likes plants.” Adrian shrugged and sat on the couch. “He likes to use his element on them.”

“Whatever.” I settled myself next to Adrian. The couch was comfortable, but I didn’t like how a red flower was eyeing me from across the room. Seriously, it looked alive. “Are you sure none of these plants are dangerous?”

“Oh, come on, Ria. Don’t tell me you’re afraid of plants.” He was barely containing himself from bursting into laughter.

“I’m not afraid of plants. I just don’t like to be helpless around them. They don’t look friendly.” I squeezed myself closer to Adrian, desperate to feel some of his warmth.

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you if one of the plants jumps out at you.” He grinned, placing his hand on my knee.

Alan came into the room, carrying a big box in his arms. He set the box on the desk. “The journal should be here.”

Adrian leaned forward and opened the box. It took him a couple of moments to dig up the journal. The corners of the journal were frayed a little, but as Adrian flipped through the pages, I could see the content was still legible.

“You can take the journal,” Alan said. “But I want one thing in return.”

“Here we go.” I rolled my eyes. “What do you want?”

“I want you to tell me what for you need the journal.” The smile on Alan’s face was pleasant, his brown eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Adrian glanced at me and I nodded. “We need it to find an assassin who is after Ria.”

Alan’s dark eyebrows shot upward. “Why would anyone try to kill you now, Ria? You’re no longer the president and you’re not standing in anyone’s way. I doubt you know any secrets that haven’t already been revealed.”

“Oh, this one is personal. Family stuff.” I drummed my fingers against the armrest. “Wait, does this mean people know about the element collectors?”

“Not everyone, but most people in the important positions know by now and are trying to come up with a good way to tell the world the truth.” Alan ran a hand through his graying brown hair. “So why is an assassin after your family?”

“My great-grandpa made a deal with some assassins.” My lips spread into a smile. “The assassins were supposed to kill anyone in my family who married a person who didn’t have a fire element.”

“Married?” Alan’s eyes narrowed at me.

“Yeah, marriage was important back in my great-grandpa’s time. After all, he only wanted to keep up the appearances.”

“I don’t remember getting an invitation for the wedding,” Alan said.

“That’s because there was no wedding.” I groaned. “And no, I probably wouldn’t have invited you anyway. God! Why does everyone think I got married?”

“Because you two look so married.” Alan laughed, and nodded his head at Adrian and me. I was about to argue, but then I saw how comfortably close I was to Adrian and how his hand was resting on my leg as if it belonged there. I had no idea what being married looked like, but I could see what Alan was getting at.

“I don’t care what it looks like. I’m not married and the assassins weren’t after me when everyone thought I secretly married Michael.” I could feel Adrian’s body tense when I mentioned my ex boyfriend. “Something’s changed about the deal and I need to find out what.”

“Maybe they figured it out that you have magic disease,” Alan said casually.

I blanched. “What are you talking about?” Adrian and I had done everything to hide that little bit of info from Alan because he could have ruined me with it. If Adrian hadn’t told Alan about my disease, there was no way he could know.

“Oh, come on you two. I’m not stupid.” Alan gave me a pointed look. “It took me a while to figure out why you were suddenly so interested in my boy and wouldn’t let go. It only made sense that you somehow got the disease. He came to me with that story about your friend, Paula, being the one with the disease, but I think that was a lie. He was looking for a way to be with you, not to help your friend control herself better.”

I licked my dry lips. It had been only a matter of time until Alan put things together. He’d gone with us to the university simply to figure out my secret, but now it was too late. “Okay, so maybe he was talking about me and not about Paula. What does it matter?”