Restless (Element Preservers, #4) (25 page)

I rolled to the ground and quickly got to my feet, but he was already up too. “You can’t simply kill thousands of innocent people.”

“God of Magic doesn’t think they’re innocent and neither do I,” he spat. Someone shoved me from behind and I stumbled. Afraid that Ethan would run away and disappear in this chaos, I threw a fireball in his direction. He dodged it with ease because I couldn’t risk hitting anyone else. I tried to jump at him again, but a fireball came at me at a mind-boggling speed. I ducked and barely managed to avoid it. Someone yelped behind me, and the smell of singed hair told me I hadn’t gone unscathed either.

Ethan and I circled each other, the crowd thinning around us. I wondered why Ethan hadn’t used the trigger before everyone managed to flee, but I guessed he didn’t want to part with his life so easily. The bastard’s plan must have been to escort me to the stage and disappear, then trigger the bombs from a place where he couldn’t get hurt. Of course, there was always a possibility that he didn’t have the trigger and was only playing along until someone else used it, but he was the one the president trusted.

“You won’t stand a chance against me.” Ethan laughed. “I’m stronger than you.”

“That’s what you think.” He was right, but I had to stall him until everyone got away from the bombs. He moved to the left, I moved to the right. He threw a fireball, I dodged. I created a wall of fire behind his back to prevent him from running, he did the same to me. But when he formed a wall of fire in front of me, I coated myself in my fire and rolled right through his wall. My left arm hurt like hell, and I realized I had a nasty red burn right above my elbow. I swore and Ethan grinned, clearly entertained.

The screeching of tires, screams and gunfire filled my ears, but I was afraid to look away from Ethan.

“Looks like the army arrived.” He smacked his lips together in satisfaction, as if he’d just eaten a good meal. “All carriers and their sympathizers will be dead and no one will live to tell the truth about what happened. But guess who will get blamed for the whole thing? The world will hate carriers and hunt them all down.”

“That can happen only in your dreams.” I focused on my fire and created a fiery circle around Ethan, hoping to catch him off guard. Fire erupted from his fingertips and formed a long, thick sword. He held the hilt as if it was something solid, raising the sword above his head and admiring its beauty. I’d never seen anything like it. The sword looked real and it must have felt real to him, but it was all fire. Ethan cut through my circle with ease, advancing toward me.

I attacked him once again, but all my fireballs disappeared when they came in touch with his sword, so I had to jump back to avoid him. The sounds of fighting continued around us, but we were focused solely on each other. I had two more elements to use against Ethan, but I didn’t want to use them prematurely and lose my only chance of winning this fight. I had to be very careful. Reaching for the knife that was hidden inside of my boot, I tried to come up with the best strategy.

Ethan’s whole body shook with laughter, but his sword remained the same. “Are you going to fight me with that tiny thing? What is it? A kitchen knife?”

I refused to answer him and threw hundreds of small and big fireballs at him. He stumbled back, but he managed to fend them off with the sword and his own fire. How he could still use fire and keep that sword in perfect shape was a mystery. For how long had his family had a pure element? For centuries? I could feel his element as any other pure element, but it seemed like some elements were purer than the others.

I didn’t want to wait and find out for how long he could keep up like this, so I doubled my attack with fireballs, fully aware that it would be futile. As he destroyed my fireballs with his sword, I came closer.

“Is this all you’ve got?” He teased, ready to fight off my last fireball.

“No.” It was now or never. I was close enough to him, so I found water inside of me and sent it full force on Ethan’s sword. The sword disappeared under a huge splash of water, which soaked half of Ethan’s jacket and pants. His eyes went wide as he looked at his empty hand and then at me. He clearly hadn’t been prepared for my attack or his fire wouldn’t have disappeared so easily. His face contorted with fury, and he threw fiery daggers at me. I managed to stop them with water, but even my water could be swallowed by fire if it wasn’t powerful enough.

Gripping the knife in my right hand, I formed a shield of water in the other and rushed toward Ethan. His fireball melted into my shield and I was fast enough to tackle him down. Water splashed my face as I fell forward, and I had to close my eyes for a moment. My knife sliced through something soft and Ethan cried out.

I looked down between our bodies and realized I had stabbed him in the stomach. Blood seeped through Ethan’s shirt and I used the opportunity to search through his pockets. I snatched a small round device with a keypad out of his pocket and slipped it into my boot. I figured the trigger worked only if someone used the right code, so I hoped the code couldn’t be accidentally punched in.

Ethan struggled underneath me, but I straddled him and didn’t let him up. My pants were getting soaked by blood and I shivered, suddenly feeling cold. Ethan’s fire burned inside of him brighter and stronger than usual. Was I losing control or was it him? I didn’t know, but his element was so beautiful, so warm, so perfect, so... tasty.

“You missed,” Ethan said. “You couldn’t even aim for my heart, you stupid carrier bitch!”

“I didn’t miss.” My voice didn’t quite sound like my own. It was much deeper and huskier. The slow smile that twisted my lips felt odd too, but I agreed with the words that had come out of my mouth. Hitting Ethan’s heart would be difficult since I doubted my lame knife would find its way through Ethan’s ribs.

My fingers wrapped around Ethan’s throat and he sputtered, closing his hands over mine and trying to use the last bits of his strength to shove me off. The fight we’d had must have drained a lot of his energy, so I wasn’t expecting him to overpower me, especially when his blood was pooling on the ground underneath him.

His body grew warm and I quickly used my water. He wasn’t going to escape me. No fucking way. I applied more pressure and admired my strength as Ethan whizzed and coughed, his eyes almost popping out of his skull, his face reddening. This was so much fun! I could feel the power filling every fiber of my body.

Ethan gasped for breath, scratching at my arms and drawing blood, but I didn’t feel pain. The chill in my bones was slowly fading away, replaced by warmth so delicious I could feel it inside and outside of me. An image of a warm home flashed through my mind. A bright fire burned in the fireplace, casting a red glow on the floor.

My blood burned in my veins as something hot spread through my fingers and shot up my arm. “This is for Paula,” I heard myself whisper. Energy filled every inch of my body, making me feel more alive than ever. I threw my head back and laughed. There was nothing more amazing than a pure element rushing inside of me.

I looked down my body and saw Ethan’s empty eyes staring at me. The burn on my arm was gone, my skin completely healed. I was a bit lightheaded, but that didn’t concern me because this was the best I had felt in my whole life.

Chapter 31

“Ria!” Adrian’s voice broke through my hazy mind and the world became clearer, a veil that covered my eyes disappearing into nothingness. I realized I was sitting on top of something and blinked. That something was Ethan’s body. I scooted back, horrified, and looked down at my hands. I’d choked Ethan to death.

Adrian and Lily came running toward me, heavily armed. Adrian crouched next to Ethan and checked his pulse. He shook his head at Lily, got up and took a step toward me, his hands outstretched. “Are you alright?” His gray-blue eyes were filled with worry.

“Don’t touch her!” Lily yelled, and Adrian flinched, a pained expression on his face. He went down on his knees in front of me, so we were face to face. Even if he couldn’t touch me, he was still here to comfort me.

The initial thrill of having a new element had died down, and now I was completely numb. “I killed him,” I choked out. “I killed him and I wanted to do it. I enjoyed it.”

“It wasn’t you. It was the disease. You know it affects your mind,” Adrian said.

“I know, but one part of me... One part of me wanted him dead for what he did. I just...”

“We don’t have time for this!” Lily said, adjusting her rifle over her shoulder. Something exploded in the distance, fume rising from one of the buildings. This was a war, or at least a really big fight between two opposed sides. I nearly laughed out loud because my brother had finally gotten what he wanted. I wondered whether he was ready for this. Now we could find out how serious he was about the whole thing. It was always easier to talk about something than do it.

“Ria, hey.” Lily snapped her fingers in front of my face to catch my attention. “Let’s go. You need to get up.”

The whole concept of getting off the floor and walking seemed strange to me. Couldn’t they just leave me here for a little while? Surely the fight would wait for us.

“She’s in shock,” Adrian said, getting to his feet. “Ria, look at me. We need to go. Can you stand up?”

I nodded, feeling heat spreading through me. Lily took hold of my arm and pulled me to my feet. My legs were wobbly, but I managed to make a couple of steps.

“What happened?” Lily asked as we made our way across the square, which was now empty of people. Living people, at least. The dead still lay where they had fallen.

I rubbed my face, hesitant to talk about it. Hell, I wasn’t even sure myself what exactly had happened as I was pretty much out of it for a while. It was strange, because my actions had felt like my own, but they weren’t exactly mine. And when I’d thought I could think clearly, I’d been wrong. “Ethan had the trigger for the bombs and I tried to take it from him. We fought and I killed him.” That was the shortest possible version that I could give her, and I knew my voice sounded detached as I said it.

“Where is the trigger now?” Lily said cautiously.

“I have it.” I remembered slipping it into my boot, and since I could feel something biting into my skin, I was sure the trigger was still there.

The tension seeped out of Lily’s shoulders. “Good.”

At least we didn’t have to worry someone would blow us up while we were still at the square. The warmth inside of me started burning even stronger, and I gasped.

“Are you hurt?” Adrian asked, and I shook my head.

“My elements feel a bit strange,” I said sheepishly. “That’s all.”

“Did you take Ethan’s element?” Lily’s brown eyes met mine.

“Yes.”

“Then explain this strange feeling you have.”

“It burns.” I focused on the sensation, but I wasn’t sure how to describe it. It was impossible to pinpoint where it was coming from. “It feels like I ate something spicy. It burns through me, but I’m not sure where. It’s like an itch I can’t scratch.”

“Can you feel any elements?” Adrian’s eyes narrowed at me. Lily stepped away so our shoulders were no longer touching.

“Yeah, but only a little.” The area around us was swarmed with elements, but they were merely a blip on my radar.

“I didn’t know you could have two fire elements.” Adrian’s forehead creased. “Can you feel both inside of you?”

Focusing on fire, I found it inside of me, but it was only one element, not two. “No, there’s only one.” I frantically searched for my fire, but it wasn’t there! Ethan’s fire was mine now, but it felt slightly different. It was heavier, bigger, stronger and brighter. “Where is my fire?” I couldn’t have lost my fire. No. Just no. I had to find it! Had Ethan’s fire substituted mine because it was stronger? Had his fire destroyed mine?

I took deep breaths to chase away the panic that threatened to consume me. Breathing through my mouth, I could taste the smoke and dust on my tongue. A guy came at us from around the corner, his gun pointed at my head. Before I had time to do anything, Adrian used his ice and froze the guy. I couldn’t feel the guy’s element, which meant that he was blocking it somehow.

I glanced down the street to our left and saw more men in military clothes. They were mostly shooting at people, but some of them were using their elements too.

“Run!” Lily clapped me on the shoulder and we started running for cover. We couldn’t stop and gawk at the men without risking our lives.

Chapter 32

Only two blocks away from the chaos, a large brown tent stood in the middle of the street and Lily ushered us inside. The tent was filled with various equipment.

In the corner on my left, Lily’s techs were observing the fight on two computer screens, their fingers flying over the keyboard. On the other side, there was a big table and all sorts of medical equipment. It was a good thing the fight hadn’t spread all over the city or we’d be in serious trouble. Maybe people on the other side of the city had no idea what was going on and were calmly drinking their coffees in their favorite coffee shops.

Lily immediately went over to her techs, giving them instructions and observing the screens. A middle-aged man with big brown eyes entered the tent, his blue overalls covered in blood. He didn’t seem to mind the blood at all as he walked past us and flashed us a smile.