Restless (Element Preservers, #4) (13 page)

I took a shaky breath and tried to push paranoid thoughts out of my mind. The elevator opened with a ding and I stepped into a large empty room.

"Hey, you made it!" Lily said with a smile, waving me over. We ended up in another large room filled with computers. Adrian, Paula and Michael were sitting around the big table in the middle of the room.

"Ok, what the fuck is going on?" I faced Lily, who didn't even blink at my anger. She shook her head and turned her attention to a large computer screen.

"We're good. There's absolutely no way a satellite picked up a picture of you coming here and no one followed you." She glanced at me over her shoulder. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you about this beforehand, but we needed to make sure no one knew about this meeting. We have more enemies than we could ever imagine."

I cast a suspicious look at Michael, who was staring at his fingers. Ever since Michael started hanging out with Amaya, I couldn't really say he was trustworthy, but I was probably being unfair. If Lily trusted Michael, I'd trust him too.

"Ria," Lily said. "I couldn't prove your theory about Ethan's father. It looks like he never leaves his home, and his house is surrounded by heavy security. Even the satellite couldn't pick up anything."

"So it's possible that he has the disease, right?" I frowned. "If he's in a bad condition, he'd want to hide from everyone."

"Yeah, but how would his family live with him then? They all have elements as far as we could check," Lily said.

"Maybe they have the element-blocking bracelets," Paula said. "Or he's held in an element-proof room."

"There are many possibilities, but we can't be certain," Lily said. "I tried to find any records of Ethan being in the hospital, but either that woman was misinformed or they deleted all the records."

"He could have been admitted to the hospital under another name," Michael said.

"Yeah," I said, taking a seat next to Adrian, who gave me a big smile. "But if Ethan's father has the disease, what does Ethan want with me?"

"I have no idea," Lily admitted. "But it's alarming that he sent someone to follow you. I interrogated the men that he hired, but they don't know anything."

Adrian's gray-blue eyes met mine. "There's something you need to know about Ethan. He's throwing you a surprise birthday party."

"What?" I groaned.

"Oops, did I ruin the surprise?" Adrian chuckled. "I hope Ethan won't be too mad."

"But we don't have enough space for parties at the university." Our new university wasn't as big as the University of Magic and I doubted it the dean would allow Ethan to throw a party in the main hall.

"It's not at the university. The jerk has enough money to rent a club for one day," Adrian said bitterly.

I wasn't a big fan of birthday parties because I preferred to spend my day shopping, eating at some fancy restaurant and going somewhere fun with Paula. "I don't plan to show up for that party."

"You have to," Lily said. "We don't have time to deal with a scandal. The media would have too much material to cover up the government's little schemes. And right now more and more people are becoming aware of the new law and I'm afraid things could escalate very quickly."

"Right." I licked my dry lips. "Speaking about the government, did you find out anything about the bigger plan that Philip was talking about?"

"No, nothing." Lily ran her hand across her forehead, pushing dark strands of her hair out of her face. "That's what worries me the most. None of my contacts know anything or they simply don't want to tell me. Paula, did you hear anything suspicious at the lab?"

"No." Paula shook her head. "I'm sure no one discovered anything because at least one of the scientists would have bragged about it. Unless they work in isolation and can't contact anyone."

"I noticed there are more carriers in the city than usual, but no one wants to talk," Adrian said, leaning his elbows on the table.

"We should raise the awareness of the new law somehow. Maybe carriers and people with weak elements would gather and organize a protest," Michael said, his green eyes focused on Lily. "It would be impossible to cover that up. Not all the media is under the government's thumb."

"We could try, but I don't want to make any rash decisions that could cost us dearly if things went wrong," Lily said, her face pensive. "We need to find out first if something is really hiding behind that law."

"I'll spread the word about the law on forums, chats and social networks," Michael said determinedly.

"But even if people go wild and get together to fight against the law, the government will still have the support of the rich and who knows how many more," Paula said, worry creasing her forehead.

"Never underestimate an angry crowd." A smile quirked Lily's lips for a second before it disappeared completely. "But I hope it won't come to protests or an uprising because that would ruin our chances to achieve equality and acceptance. There are people with pure elements who aren't rich, just like there are rich people who don't have pure elements. All these people will have to choose a side. If carriers side with people with weak elements and create an angry mob, a peaceful protest could easily escalate into violence. Then the undecided would see us all as a threat to their safety and would side with the government. It wouldn't take people long to find confirmation for their prejudices about us."

"That sounds complicated," I mused. "Hey, did you catch that guy, Gary?"

"Yeah, but he refuses to cooperate. He doesn't trust me, just like any carrier who doesn't know me." She sighed. "It doesn't surprise me, really."

"Yeah, he didn't look too friendly and I'm sure he doesn't want anyone to expose him." I remembered the way Gary had looked at me when he still believed I was a carrier. He'd have probably tried to kill me if I hadn't worn that bracelet. "But we don't need him, do we?" I looked at Lily. "You can still contact your friends in higher positions in the government, right? They can speak up against the law."

"Sure, but we need more people to complain, so you should release an official statement on behalf of the Element Preservers," Lily said. "It takes some time until the law is implemented, so the complaints will slow it down."

"I guess I can do that." I grinned. "It sounds easier to write a statement than try to figure out how the new taxing system works. Actually, it would be awesome to see everyone's faces when they tried to collect my element and couldn't do it."

"Don't worry. It won't get to that," Lily said, but there was something in her voice that made me think she wasn't so sure in her words.

"I guess the meeting is over," Michael said, getting up.

"Wait," I said, earning myself a glare from Michael. "Do I really have to go to Ethan's party? I want to spend my birthday with people I care about, not with him and a bunch of unknown students. Besides, Ethan is unstable."

"Well, he can't be more unstable than you, can he?" Michael snickered.

I rolled my eyes. "Ethan has to be a spy, or he's just plain crazy. I mean, one moment he acts nice, and the other he's angry and moody, especially if things don't go his way."

"We don't have enough evidence," Lily said. "He could be a normal guy who was pushed into a fake relationship with a girl who he might like and now he's under everyone's scrutiny. It's not easy for him to be in all the news either, but his family is influential, so you won't find any unflattering comments about him in the press."

"So he's simply a guy under a lot of pressure?" I had a hard time believing that, but who was I to do a psychoanalysis on Ethan?

"That doesn't mean you have to trust him. Quite the contrary," Lily said. "I sent a team to follow Ethan, but nothing suspicious popped up."

"And that means I have to go to that party," I concluded, shaking my head. I knew not showing up at the party would be a problem, but I could always tell Ethan to cancel it. "Maybe..."

"No." Lily gave me a sharp look. "I said you'd go no matter what."

"How am I supposed to control myself with tons of drunk students around me? I thought the sole idea of me going to a club gave you an aneurysm." She hadn't wanted me to go the club to find Adrian, so I was a bit peeved that she'd let me go to a club with Ethan.

"Ethan might be more talkative at a party," Lily said, a smug smile on her face. "I guess you'll have to save your strength and stay away from Adrian." She gave Adrian a warning look and focused on me again. "You'll take Kayla and Sinclair with you. Introduce them as your dear friends and don't separate from them."

"You thought of everything, didn't you?" I said through my teeth. Damn it.

"I always do." Lily shrugged. "Paula, Michael, you should go now because we can't all leave at the same time. Don't forget to report to me."

"No problem," Paula said, getting up and putting her bag over her shoulder. "See you soon." She flashed me a smile.

"Bye," Michael said, brushing past Lily and going for the door. Paula followed him out, and the feel of their elements dulled until I couldn't sense them anymore.

"I'm sorry about your birthday party," Lily said, coming over to me and placing her hand on my shoulder. "But if you want something, maybe I can get it for you. You know, as a gift."

I narrowed my eyes at her, wondering what she could give me that was enough payment for the trouble of going to a party with Ethan. "I want to spend some time with Adrian in my office."

Lily gaped at me. "That's impossible! Someone would see him."

"Not during the day," I said. "We could sneak in, change cars like we did to get here. Please, Lily. Only once. For my birthday, as you said. Please!"

Lily looked from Adrian to me, shaking her head. "Fine, but one night only."

"Thanks!" I grinned. "I have a paper due on the day before my birthday, so I could be with Adrian the night before that."

Adrian's eyes widened, a tick starting in his jaw. "That's not what I had in mind for our time together."

"You have to write that paper too. We can help each other." I winked at him. "The night is long."

"Not long enough," Adrian mumbled.

"Well, I can stay awake one night because I can miss only one morning of classes. And I need to get that paper done. I don't have time to do it during the day because I have work to do and I can't focus on anything else. I'm sure you won't do your paper all on your own."

"Right," Adrian drawled.

"Good. I'll make all the necessary arrangements," Lily said. "Adrian, you have to go now. The car is waiting for you."

Adrian got up and reached for me, pressing his lips against mine in a soft kiss.

"Hey, stop it!" Lily snapped. "No touching! There are elements in the building."

"Yeah, we noticed," Adrian said, amusement flickering in his eyes as he went for the door.

"I'm really sorry about your situation, but you'll have to stay away from him." Sadness filled Lily's brown eyes, but I wasn't exactly sure why. Adrian and I would be fine no matter what anyone else thought. We just had to survive my stupid birthday party.

Chapter 17

My heart was thudding loudly in my chest even though I knew there was nothing in my office that I should be afraid of. Still, the darkness wanted to seep into every pore of my being, so I created a small fireball and trapped it inside of a glass box, which worked similarly to Elemenitas balls, and let it bathe my office in a weak reddish glow.

"This is not what I had in mind for our time together," Adrian said for God knew what time, looking around the office. The shadows danced on the walls like they knew our secret, threatening to close over us. Determined to chase away my crazy thoughts, I took Adrian's hand in mine and pulled him over to the desk. He bent his head and placed his lips on mine, sucking gently on my lower lip.

"Better?" I asked, breaking the kiss.

"A little." His lips spread into a smile. I found our bags and took out pillows and blankets, spreading them on the floor.

"Looks like we're having a picnic." Adrian chuckled.

"I guess." I shrugged and sat down cross-legged. It wasn't the most comfortable thing to sit on, but at least it was better than sitting directly on the ground. "I never thought I'd be having a picnic in the office."

"I never thought you'd have an office." He knelt next to me, taking out a box of cookies from his backpack.

I grabbed the pack of drinks and placed them on the floor within our reach. "Me neither."

Adrian dumped our textbooks on the floor like they were trash. I shot him a disapproving look, but that only made him laugh. Piling the books one atop another, I couldn't help but laugh too.

"Why are
you
laughing?" Adrian grabbed one of the pillows and leaned it on the wall.

"I don't know." I grinned, handing him over another pillow. "I'm amused at how far you're willing to go for me."

"Yeah, about that... " Adrian made a grimace as he lay down on the blankets, his head propped up on the pillows. "I think my fear of floors has just kicked in, so could you come here and make it all better?"