Caution to the Wind: Book One of the Elementals Series (19 page)

“Your first betrayal is always the hardest,” he repeated his words from before. Loren didn’t pull away, even when he fixed her with his intense stare. There was something knowing in his eyes and she gulped. “But your second betrayal is always the deadliest.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

The old man dozed off on the couch. It gave her plenty of time to snoop about the room. Ignoring the guard at the door, she looked through the books on the table. They appeared to be instruction manuals and textbooks on topics such as science and physics—things Loren knew little about.

After a cursory glance through, she focused on the box. She was apprehensive to open it. Feeling the power they radiated made her incredibly wary of touching them. She feared one wrong move, and she might accidentally open the portal before it was time.

She wished she could rest. The last time she’d had any sleep was when she’d been with Avery. It seemed like ages ago. She was weary, but she couldn’t sleep. Not now. Maybe not ever again.

In the end, Loren sat at the table and folded her hands in her lap. She tried not to fidget, but she found herself constantly rubbing her legs. Mal’s words rang in her mind. Betrayal was hard. Her stomach knotted with it.

It had to be done. What else could she do? The others would have to understand. It wouldn’t be so much of a betrayal then.

At least, those were the thoughts Loren used in an attempt to comfort herself.

When the door opened and Ruth returned, Loren sat up in her seat. The woman ignored her and went over to the couch where her father rested. She sat on the edge next to him. The movement roused Mal.

“Are we ready?” he asked.

“Nearly, Father. Would you like me to escort you outside?”

The old man tried sit up but rested back with a small groan. “I believe another hour’s rest may be in order.”

“Very well. I will leave you to it. When you awaken, everything will be prepared and we can commence.” Ruth stood and stepped over to the table. With gloved hands, she picked up the box of stones. “Come with me,” she told Loren.

She was getting tired of orders. Loren rose and followed her out of the room. She crossed with her into the living area. Levi sat there, scowling at his computer screen. When he glanced up and saw Loren, he scowled more.

“I’m leaving her in your hands,” Ruth told him.

“Great. I always wanted to be a babysitter.”

“I shall return in an hour. Be ready then.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Levi slammed his laptop shut as Ruth left. Being stuck with Levi was far worse than being stuck with Mal. She avoided looking in his direction.

“You think you’re doing something smart, don’t you?” Levi crossed his arms and fixed her with a contemptuous stare.

“I don’t think anything.”

“That’s bullshit.”

She sighed. “It doesn’t matter what I think.” The less she said around him, the better. It gave him less fuel for his condescending.

“Probably not. I know this is some sort of trap and everyone is too self-involved to give a shit what I say.”

Her brow furrowed. She tried to refrain from asking, but the words slipped out anyway. “Why do you care?”

“I don’t.”

“It seems like you do.”

“I just want to get paid and get back to my life. You know, I had a good future until I got caught up in the whole Morgan mess. At the time, I figured I could capitalize on blackmailing them. I should’ve done something about it a long time ago. Then I wouldn’t be stuck here now.

“That’s fine though. Once the three of you step through that portal, I’m gone. I have a whole slew of video content, dozens of documents and recordings set up to go straight to every major news network in the country and then all hell breaks loose here. I can go back to my normal life and put all this shit behind me. I want out. I don’t give a fuck what happens to everyone else in the process.” Levi looked at her. “Does that surprise you?”

She shook her head.

“If whatever scheme you’re plotting fucks this up for me and I’m stuck here doing this for a second longer, rest assured I will make all of your lives a living hell.”

His threat didn’t faze her. Under other circumstances, it might’ve been troubling. In light of everything that was about to happen, it was laughable. Loren stared at him and stayed quiet. She tightened Avery’s coat around her.

Levi finally spoke, “Do you want to say goodbye to them? One last time?”

Loren hoped she could avoid any further interaction with the others, especially Avery and Callum. She didn’t want the last few minutes to be spent in an inevitable argument, or in tears. She didn’t want to see Avery look at her with accusation. It was hard enough doing this. Better to sever all ties quickly. She shook her head.

The corner of Levi’s mouth came up in a smirk. “No, I insist. You need to say goodbye.”

“I don’t want to.”

His smirk grew. “I’m sure they’d
love
to see you.”

“Levi, I don’t want to do this.”

“Too bad. Let’s go.” He gestured for her to come with him and he began walking toward the hallway. Loren hesitated and remained rooted in her spot. He stopped and looked back. “Hurry up.”

It took herself a few minutes to get her feet to move, but Loren began to walk, following him. The knot in her stomach tightened. She felt sick. 

She couldn’t prepare herself for this, no matter how she tried. She bit her lip and tasted blood.

Levi walked quickly ahead of her and Loren followed, dreading each slow step she took. He stopped before two men flanking a door. They remained motionless as Levi brought out a key and unlocked it.

Her fingers moved at her sides, gripping the fabric of her skirt tightly. Levi flashed her a grin before he stepped inside. She couldn’t see into the room where she stood, but her heart jumped at the sound of Avery’s voice.

“What do you want?”

“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

              Her feet moved with a will of their own as she stepped into the room. She kept her gaze on the floor, unable to look at any of them.

“Loren.” Avery sounded surprised.

“Now’s not the time for the cat to catch your tongue,” Levi said. “She came to say her goodbyes.”

“Loren, what’s going on?” Callum spoke next.

Loren squeezed her eyes shut. Her heart pounded and she could hear it in her ears. She forced herself to open her eyes.

She saw Callum first. His glare was sharp. She’d seen the same look directed at Avery or Levi when they’d disappointed him.

And it was pointed solely at her.

Loren drew her lips together and looked away from him. Eva sat on the edge of the small bed. The look on her face was similar. Her lips tightened in anger.

Finally, she looked at Avery. She expected a glare from him. Instead, his brow was furrowed. All she could see was hurt and confusion.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“I don’t understand.”

“She betrayed us.” Callum shifted, arms crossing. “She sold us out. She’s
joined
them.”

“But why? They want to kill you.”

Loren closed her eyes for a second and a hot tear slid down the side of her face. “I know. I can’t explain it.”

“You’ve joined their cause,” Callum accused again.

She nodded. It was safer to confirm the lie that way. If she opened her mouth, she might ruin everything.

“Why?”

“Because I have to.”

“They forced you into it?” Avery stared at her.

“No. They didn’t. I made this choice on my own.”

“Did you even break free on your own before? Did they let you go? Were you planning to betray us from the start?” The questions came too fast. Loren couldn’t answer. All she did was shake her head.

Levi smirked gleefully, enjoying every part of this.

“Avery. Callum. Eva.” She looked at them each in turn, her voice cracking with the effort to control her emotions. “I am sorry.” Her gaze lingered on Avery. “I can’t do this.”

She pushed past Levi and went out into the hall. Tears blurred her vision and she tried to blink them back as she walked quickly back to the living area.

“That was better than anything on HBO.” Levi jogged to catch up. There was laughter in his voice. “Oh, how the mighty fall. You know, I almost feel sorry—”

She spun around. She didn’t even realize she’d brought her hand up until it struck against the side of his face. The slap echoed and her palm stung with the force. “Shut your
fucking
mouth!”

Stunned, Levi brought his hand up to cover the red mark on his cheek. Loren didn’t even take a single ounce of satisfaction. She was too angry and upset to savor any sort of victory.

She clenched her hands into fists. “You’re nothing more than a sick, spineless coward who preys on other people’s misfortunes. I hope you get what’s coming to you. I’m
done
with your shit.”

Levi gaped at her. He pressed his hand against the red mark on his face. For once, there was no comeback.

Shaking, Loren glared at him. Tears blurred her vision before she stormed off, resolving not to shed a single tear in front of him.

~~*~~

Levi took up his laptop again and remained there. He ignored Loren, occasionally reaching up to rub at the red mark on his face. Now and again, he glared at her. That was as far as their interactions went.

It was perfectly fine with her.

Loren paced. Every second built up to the end. She shed Avery’s coat and stood near the window to wait. All she could do was wait.

When Ruth entered, Loren faced her. The woman was dressed similarly to what she’d worn when Loren first met her. The black clothing was slimming and seemed practical. She swept past Loren with a brief, tight smile. “Prepare her with the inhibitor and bring her to the yard. We’re beginning.”

Levi unfolded himself from his seated position and took an inhibitor device from the desk. When he jabbed her with it, he used more force than was necessary. She didn’t wince as she glared back at him.

He grabbed Loren’s arm and jerked her toward the door. He kept his grip unnecessarily tight as he led her down the stairwell and through the downstairs floors.

As they approached a large set of metal double doors, two masked men pulled them open. It was still day and the sun shone down from a bright, cloudless sky.

It was too sunny to be the end of the world.

Levi dragged her along a narrow path. Behind the building was a barren, dirty lot that served as a yard. Stones formed a wide circle in the center of the yard, stacked three high. They stepped over them as they entered. A small table stood in the direct center and atop it rested the box of stones.

Levi brought her to the table and released her. Loren stared at the box. This was it.

“Now, we wait.”

Before long, Ruth arrived at Mal’s side. Their pace was slow as he took small steps. His pace quickened as they neared the circle. Ruth assisted him over the stacked stones and he took his place at the table, opposite Loren.

Ruth stood to his right and Levi to his left. Mal’s thin hands trembled as he reached for the box. Carefully, he took off the lid.

One by one, he removed the stones. Ruth removed the box from the table. Carefully, each stone found a place upon its surface. They were several inches apart, far from touching.

The old man’s fingers hovered over the stones. Even from here, Loren could feel the power that emanated from them. Mal lifted his gaze to meet Loren’s eyes. His lips spread into a smile, revealing his teeth in a grimace.

“It’s time.”

She wasn’t ready. She lied to herself about it so many times. She had never truly convinced herself. She couldn’t do it.

Avery’s words rang in her head.
You can do this. We can do this
. But Avery wasn’t here now. It was only her. She was alone in. She had to be strong.

She clenched her hands at her sides. Her breath caught as Mal put the green stone next to the yellow stone. When they touched, they fused together instantly with an audible hum and a spike of powerful energy. A shiver ran down her spine.

Ruth sucked in a breath. She must’ve felt it too. Her dark eyes remained on the stones.

Mal slowly brought the blue stone to connect beneath the yellow. Like the others, it melded. The hum of power grew stronger. Loren swallowed.

“I can feel it…” Ruth said breathlessly.

Loren could stop this right now. She could grab the red stone before Mal added it to the others for good. All she had to do was move.

She couldn’t.

The red stone shook in Mal’s gasp. Loren’s fingers pulled at the fabric of her skirt. He lowered the stone toward the others but stopped. He brought his gaze up and narrowed his eyes.

When her father paused, Ruth glanced up as well. “That’s impossible.” Her gaze shot to Levi. “You were supposed to inhibit them.”

Levi looked shocked. “I did!”

Loren spun to see the Morgan siblings racing toward the circle. Avery was ahead of them, followed by Callum and Eva.