Origin of Angels: Elemental Legacy Book 1 (28 page)

The man’s subconscious complied immediately while his conscious mind fought for control. “He’s stronger than his predecessor,” Luke commented. It didn’t take him long, though, before he had complete control of Lambert. The beauty was in the details. Lambert remained unaware of the suggestions as coming from an outside source.

Luke showed his mastery by instructing Lambert to move the Elementals in our region in response to an unknown threat. When Lambert spoke, his men listened. They did not question, if Lambert’s thoughts were any indication. It wasn’t hard to discover the locations of all Elementals under Order control. The disturbing reality was there were less than we thought. It appeared the Order officials were under the impression we had taken many Elementals before the troops were able to recover them. None of it made a bit of sense, but we didn’t have time to sort the troubled thoughts of an insane man.

Faine touched my hand, drawing my attention away from the scene in Lambert’s mind. The pinched look on her face showed her discomfort. “What is it?” I asked.

She closed her eyes which moved rapidly under her shaded lids. My breath caught. She was having a vision. I waited for her to come out of the trance, and when she did, she shook. “We have to stop him,” she breathed. The commotion around us came to a halt as everyone except Luke stared at her. Even Jett had emerged from his surveillance. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as if she were hyperventilating.

I knelt in front of her and took her hand. Her thoughts swirled rapidly with mine. She showed me a battle, bloody and violent. Mortals fought alongside fae. Each human death lessened our chances of survival. “Who do we need to stop?”

Her eyes cleared until they were completely trained on me. “Luke. Tell him to sever the connection.”

“What? We can’t.”

Her eyes widened before she pushed me aside and rose to her feet. She made it to Luke before I could hold her back. “Disconnect,” she commanded. When he didn’t open his eyes, she slapped his face. “Get out of his head, Luke!”

“I’m almost completely in,” he whispered.

“You’ve got to disconnect. If you don’t, the fae will no longer have a home.”

Luke did nothing to comply. Jett frowned at me, then Faine. “Are you certain?”

She nodded. “It’s sure if he continues.”

Jett shook his head. “You’ve been wrong before.”

He was right, but Faine had perfected her visions toward the end of our bond. It was difficult to tell whether she’d retained her knowledge, though, and neither Jett nor I would stop Luke if there were any doubts.

A shadow filled with hurt crossed her features before she shook her head at me. I was about to address Luke when she took his face between her hands and kissed him. It was long enough for me to have to yank her away.

Luke blinked at us from the sofa, untangling his legs as he stood. He stared at Faine both confusion and lust showing in his eyes. “What the hell?”

She looked at him, then me and stalked out the door. Luke followed her. I wasn’t about to let the two of them start something I wasn’t ready to face. Faine made it to the large van before she whirled, eyes alight with rage. “When will you people ever learn to trust me?”

Luke may have gotten to her first, but he stopped two yards away. I kept going until I had her pinned against the white metal. “When you prove you can be trusted,” I said, letting ice seep into my tone.

She waived her hand dismissively. “I had to do something. You weren’t.”

Anger welled inside me. I’d visited purgatory because of this woman, and I wouldn’t do it again. I shook my head. “You’ve made your choice, and this time, I’ll not be fighting you.” I stepped back until Luke was in view. “She’s yours.”

BEFORE AINESSA COULD STOP ME, I joined the melee. The problem was I had no idea what to do. It wasn’t as though the enemy wore signs on their chests, and I wasn’t too familiar with who was friend or foe. In the end I decided to play
backup to Taylor.

The instant he saw me, he growled. “I told you to go!”

I smiled, sending a fire bolt to the guy behind the one Taylor was fighting. It got caught in the whirlwind between the two, causing it to corkscrew into the sky instead of where I’d intended. Shaking my head, I shouted, “No. You told Ainessa to take me away. I’m staying, so get used to the idea.”

My opponent grinned, rushing forward. I still didn’t know his element, but he informed me immediately. The area beneath my feet rumbled. I jumped, narrowly avoiding the sinkhole. My shoe gave behind me, but I twisted until I was on firm ground again. I only had a moment to light him up, so I didn’t waste a second. I pummeled him with fireballs until his clothes singed, then burned.

He ripped off his shirt, while one of his friends doused him. If he thought I would go easy, he needed a brain transplant. I kept at him, but the fire wasn’t doing anything to him after the spray he got. Not knowing what else to do, I tested other abilities. When I focused on the rocks under his feet, they shook. Grinning, I deepened the connection to the stone. My mind seemed to spring forward, showing me the little details of what made up the earth. It was as if I could see the energy swirling around each atom. I bounced them into one another, causing more of a roll until the man jumped to the side to avoid the gaping chasm swelling before him.

As much as I liked using fire, this new ability excited me. Looking around for other targets, I quickly located those who were fighting my team. Each one got a lesson in balance. My compadres caught on, and in no time, we tag teamed our way into winning. About the time I thought they’d turn tail and run, more bad guys materialized.

Taylor grunted when he saw the leader. I didn’t know the man, but Taylor didn’t seem to like him. I at-tacked before they could get too comfortable. Taylor shot me a warning look, but it was too late. My shockwave came back to me doubled. It was all I could do to calm the rumbling. Mr. Bad Guy went to work making sure I didn’t have solid footing. He was better than good, and I realized the earth worker I originally faced wasn’t very skilled.

He kept going, not stopping his assault. A guy named Lad from our team came to my side. I was given a nod before he joined my efforts to school this fool. Soon, Taylor joined us. In the heat of sucking the air away from our attacker, he said, “Fall back, Travis.” I frowned but didn’t dare take my eyes off grumpy face Mr. Bad Guy. “His name is Theran, and he has a vendetta to settle against your mother. If you know what is good for you, you will go with Ainessa.”

It was only then I noticed the nymph at my flank. Her hand snaked out. “Enough fun for today, lover boy.” Before I could speak, my head spun, and my cells vibrated. It felt like my stomach launched to my neck then slammed to my toes.

When I blinked again, we were somewhere else. “What did you do?” I shouted, clutching my hair so I wouldn’t hit her.

She stepped away. “Followed orders, like you should have done. What were you thinking? You could have been killed.”

My voice grumbled. “No, I wouldn’t have. I’m indestructible.”

A laugh sounded behind us, making the hairs on my neck stick out. I whirled to face a man with black hair and bright blue eyes. Ainessa grabbed my arm again, as if she would transport me somewhere else. When we didn’t move, I stared at her while she peered unbelievingly at her hand. Then, she stepped in front of me, her hand lighting with a purple glow. It pulsed like a heartbeat, disturbing the air around me.

The man stood relaxed, appraising us, it seemed. No one moved. My breathing was the only sound I heard until the man spoke. “Welcome, Travis. We’ve been expecting you.”

I stared at Ainessa who only shrugged as if in defeat. Off in the distance, someone moved away from the wall. I recognized her immediately. My girl walked closer until she stopped to stand beside the smug man.

Swallowing, I made myself look at him. I had no idea who he was, and I wasn’t about to make things worse for the one woman in the world I cared about. My heartbeat thrummed in my ears, and my fists ached to pound the guy for standing so close to her. She hardly looked at me at all, while she couldn’t
seem to get enough of him. Rage filled me until I thought I’d explode. I expected her to be with Lambert, but she was with a damn fae, and from the way she doted on him, they were bonded.

The man stared at her, and the fervent looks between them hinted they were having one of those internal conversations the fae seemed to like so much. What was wrong with using vocal cords to communicate? I hoped the longing in my heart didn’t show on my face. To keep my mind under control, I turned to Ainessa. “How could you?”

Her eyes darted away. “We all have choices to make, Travis. You’ve made yours, so I’ve made mine.”

THE PLAN WAS SET, AS WAS the stage. Since the cavern hadn’t originally belonged to the Order, I wasn’t so concerned about surveillance. Yet something in the back of my head nagged at me. When I’d been captured, Lambert had cameras everywhere I went. He was sick, and the idea he hadn’t spread the corruption didn’t set well. Once here, I searched for hidden equipment. Apparently, the Order didn’t have time to set the place up right because there wasn’t a single hint of recorders. I hoped we’d looked everywhere.

I stayed with the Elementals and remaining human boys, waiting for the Order soldiers to show. We’d all been fed, but we decided against washing up. My nose rebelled at the smell in the stifling space. When I couldn’t take it any longer, I focused on clearing out the stench. It was really quite simple. All I did was cycle the dingy stuff in here for the fresh stuff outside. Soon, the ripeness was down to a minimum. Heath and the others waited for my signal in a nearby tunnel. Since the strange scent I couldn’t name was everywhere, I switched out their air, too. They didn’t have an air wielder with them, and despite the fae, we still had Cassie and Amy to worry about. I’d told them to stay at the hotel with Natalie, but both women insisted on coming.

Our hopes that the Order members would come tonight died with the dawn. I’d only spent a few hours in the place, but the Elementals who had been trapped had been in here for an entire month. They were right. The sun did creep under the only door, which happened to be sealed. I was beginning to wonder how the prisoners hadn’t gone mad until the group settled into couples. The humans had been a much needed comfort. Those without companions cuddled together, their grim faces reflecting my mood.

The place was awfully dark, only being lit by a few exposed bulbs hanging from the metal ceiling. If I had to guess, I’d say it was iron. Zach had once explained to me the whole fae being weakened by iron had been a ploy to avoid a war with mortals. Faeresians had acted a good part, even pretending to die when stuck with iron weaponry, but the truth was the fae weren’t susceptible to death. They could be injured, like anyone, yet they healed almost instantly. I wasn’t sure how someone could recover from a beheading, but I’d been told they could. It took decades, even centuries for the person to come around, apparently. The idea of a headless body sent a shiver through me.

I’d seen it happen when we’d faced the Order the last time. Some Fae warriors fell in the battle. What remained of their bodies had been taken back to Faeresia to heal. Even though I didn’t know any of them, I mourned the loss with the others. Fae society depended on every individual, especially since I’d changed the whole setup. Since there wasn’t anything else to do, my mind wandered. I thought about the way things had been under Valen’s rule. I wanted to deny him any credit, yet he’d done a few things better than I had. I’d already thought of changing things again. This time, I would set the idea to a vote. The fae had every right to decide how they lived. I’d left my mother in charge, and I hoped everything was okay.

With the borderland creatures serving us, we had little threat of invasion, but the idea that Valen would be content to stay in the mortal realm rang false. The man thrived on ruling. I’d never agree with the way he operated, but I couldn’t deny he wanted good things for his people. Like Ainessa, he’d gotten ensnared in dark thoughts. Once taken, it was a never-ending spiral of doom. The thing that kept me sane while I’d been in the Order facility was my desire for freedom. They’d manhandled me into doing what they wanted, but they couldn’t control my thoughts. While there, I’d focused on the men I cared so much about. I’d had a lot of time to decide who I wanted to be with. At the time, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get out, but hope remained in my heart. I’d realized hope wasn’t something someone could give me. It either dwelled inside, or it didn’t.

Our hopes of facing the Order fizzled with the second night and no action. I wasn’t sure why I’d thought they’d come so soon. Perhaps I’d been wrong, and the intention had been to let the Elementals starve with their companions. I couldn’t wrap my head around something so wasteful. When had the Order been known to be frugal? If anything, Lambert had brought his lavish tastes to the lowest ranking guard. While I had been around them, they’d lorded over Elementals as if superior. The human men and their big ideas made me laugh. They would have had nothing if it weren’t for the women they corralled here and there.

Heath brought us more food — donuts and chocolate milk. You’d think he’d brought filet mignon for the way each bite was savored. I smiled as I watched the others eat, picking at the chocolate frosting on my own breakfast. Heath settled in beside me against the rigid wall. His voice was rough from nonuse when he spoke. “What are your plans?”