The Chilling Change Of Air (Elemental Awakening, Book 3) (2 page)

Not even my beloved Theo.

"But then, I've always wanted to know what a
Gi
is like without the ability to smell scents," he added. "Perhaps we'll save the heart for a special occasion and play with your head."

I was alone with a mad scientist.

"Nothing to say?" he teased, a disturbing chuckle filling the room with hollow noise. "What say we see if you can scream instead?"

And I knew my dreams were far better than reality. The eerie howl of the wind so much sweeter than the ominous sounds of a drill or electric saw.

I lay perfectly still. Sucking in air, terrified it would be my last chance for a while.

And inside I screamed.

It was not alone.

It was the screams that were going to kill me.

Not the torture.

Not the endless solitude.

Not the dark, dank cell.

Not even the separation from Theo.

I'd been through all of that. A different
Ekmetalleftis
branch pursuing my pain, but the agony inflicted was just the same.

You had to ask yourself, why me? What had I ever done to deserve this kind of treatment? From one day to the next my life had changed. A pit full of dirt and I was suddenly thrust into a preternatural world I had not known existed.

I reached for my
Gi
side now, finding a trickle in the lichen and mould between the solid blocks of stone that made up the four walls of my new abode. Not enough to make the ground rumble with my disquiet, but enough to feed my soul, feed my
Stoicheio
.

But the
Pyrkagia
part of me was bereft, bare, empty. There was no homely fireplace flickering brightly in my corner of the dungeon. The only time I could fuel that side of me was when they hauled me from my cell for another round of "let's prove the
Gi
is not immortal."

It was better than "let's test the extent of the
Aether's
abilities." Theo and I had worked hard to keep that knowledge from his father, the
Rigas
of
Pyrkagia
. Oh, he knew I had some form of connection to Fire, but he still thought me a
Gi
imposter, perhaps enhanced with Alchemist training. But how long we could keep that a secret remained to be seen.

For one, they were torturing me, almost daily. Although, by my count, it had been more than a day since they threw me back in here. I glanced down at my chest, visible through the unbuttoned shapeless shirt they'd dressed me in, and winced at the sight of my still healing torso. The rudimentary stitches their "doctor" had used to stop my ribs from poking through my flesh, were thick and dark, stark against the paleness of my skin.

How much more could I tolerate before I let the truth slip?

Another scream sounded out. Another agony-filled cry for help.

It was hopeless. Someone should tell the screamer to save his energy. It took me a full week to realise screaming did nothing but use up reserves which were better spent hurling insults at your captors and healing.

There was something familiar about the voice, if you can call a heart wrenching wail a voice. But I refused to acknowledge it. If I tried to identify who that scream belonged to, it could kill me. Even thinking that Theo is a prince of
Pyrkagia
and would never be subjected to maltreatment was too close to acknowledging who that scream came from.

So, I counted off in my head how many times that particular scream had been heard. Scream one. There were four different screamers in this hideous torture chamber of death from what I could tell. And who knew how many were mute like me. But "scream one" had managed to hit triple figures. We should celebrate.

A single tear rolled down my cheek, but I dashed it away. My right hand landed on the cold stone floor at my side with a thump, my dirty, broken nails dug into the grout between the blocks. Earth flowed through me. A trickle, but there.

Shhh
, it whispered.
Shhh
, the sound faded away.

I sucked in a deep breath, grimaced through the sharp stab of pain inside my chest and wondered if my lungs had fully reformed yet.

The "doctor" called it vivisection. Not a word I'd had to use in my former life. Making deli sandwiches and serving hungry Parnell workers and shoppers did not require dissection or experimentation on live animals.

Animal. That's how they treated us. Worse than a beloved dog. Inhuman, if you could call an
Athanatos
human. They look human, they just happen to be able to manipulate and feed from all four Elements; Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Then there's the fifth. Me. Quintessence. We still didn't know exactly what that meant, only myth and legend from centuries ago.
Aetheros,
the Greek God of Elementals, otherwise known as the God of Upper Air and Light, or the First Born of the Elemental, gifted the
Stoicheio
of
Aether
to one
Ekmetalleftis
at a time of great need.

We hadn't figured out what exactly the gift of
Aether
would entail. Or what that time of great need actually was. But my money was on a whole crap heap of trouble and a truck full of why me?

According to legend the fifth Element should be bestowed on a born Elemental, of which I obviously was not. I was born a human, here in Auckland, New Zealand almost twenty-four years ago to George and Anne Eden. I have an older brother, Marcus, a best friend I went to school with in Pakuranga, Sonya. And until the pit of dirt incident, just a green thumb and a deli shop to my name.

But, and here is where I become a lab experiment for the
Rigas
, I have ties to the Alchemists. My grandfather apparently was one. Or
is
one. The jury is still out on that. And the Alchemists are the arch enemy of the
Ekmetalleftis
, humans who have coveted the power of the Elements since the dawn of time.

I tried a more gentle sigh and was relieved to note my chest no longer hurt. I wanted to lift my head and look at the healing skin, but it felt like too much effort, and I already knew the answer. I may not have been born immortal, but I sure as hell was one now.

Another scream. Different voice this time. Who the hell did they have in this dungeon? Me and Theo, but who else? I would have guessed Aktor had I not known he'd betrayed us. I would have hoped Isadora, but I my luck had proven pretty freaking poor lately. Maybe Nico. Theo's cousin. I closed my eyes and breathed through the thought.

There was no point thinking. No point trying to identify the screams, wonder why the
Pyrkagia
Rigas
was doing this. Wonder what would come next. No point.

I rolled over, landing on all fours, letting both hands dig into the mould between the blocks of stone beneath me, pulling as much
Gi
as I could from the plant life that existed in here, and with determination pushed to my feet. I swayed, staggered slightly, but made it to the cot in the corner of the room, landing in a heap of squeaking springs on top of a scratchy, foul smelling sheet covered foam mattress.

Much more comfortable than the hard floor. I was surprised they even bothered to provide such luxuries as a bed and soft bedding. Not that the inch of foam and the filthy linen or the rusted and broken frame was anything near luxurious, but compared to the floor it was heaven.

I traced an invisible pattern on the stone wall beside me and wondered if
Aetheros
existed, did God? And if He did, if either of them did, why would they let us suffer like this?

It was probably an unwise train of thought, definitely depressing. So, I turned my attention to what I would do to the
Rigas
when I came into my next
Stoicheio
. If I kept true to form and Gramps was correct in my dream visions, then I still had
Aeras
and
Nero
to go. Air and Water. My money was on Water, because how the freaking hell could that help me in here? It would stand to reason I'd gain an Element that would do me absolutely no good at all.

Now Air. There's something I could work with. I smiled, an unbelievably unexpected expression to effect, as I remembered Hippolytos, or Hip as he liked to be called. For a mountain dwelling, atmosphere manipulating, freaky white eyed guy he was actually not all bad. As strange and semi-unwelcoming as our visit to Peru had been, I had enjoyed at least Hip. His shaman of a grandfather was unusual, and the ill concealed threat from the
Aeras Rigas
was unwanted, but Hip was OK.

If I came into my Air Element would the
Aeras
know and would they come to me? Hip had told me to contact him when it happened, that he'd help me get adjusted. If I didn't contact him would the
Aeras Rigas
come to me? Use their lightning ability to flash right into this cell.

It was a waste of time to rely on anyone else to get us out of here. I couldn't even get out of this cell, let alone the whole dungeon with Theo and whoever else was being held here against their will in tow.

And to accompany the burgeoning defeat was yet another scream. Scream one. Oh, they really weren't playing nice today. Hadn't he had enough? I blinked to still the tears, knowing any weakness could be used against me and right now I could not afford to lower my guard, even if it was to have a good sob.

But they kept coming. The first time since I'd been imprisoned here that I hadn't been able to will them to cease. Rivulets of tears rolled down each cheek, pooling on the stinking mattress beneath my head. My eyes stung, my chest hurt and it had nothing to do with my previous treatment. My nose became thick and my throat closed over making me swallow painfully past the lump.

A noise swelled in volume, unfamiliar to my ears. Wretched in its hollowness, tormented in its crescendo of pain-filled sound.

Me. I was screaming and they weren't even doing a thing to me right then.

I had to stop. I had to get a handle on this maelstrom of agony before they realised I'd reanimated and took advantage of the fact. My scream was joined by another and another, until I was sure all those held in the
Pyrkagia
dungeon had joined in. A lament of misery echoing through the dark.

But it was too late. One by one the screams were abruptly cut off and then the door to my cell swung open.

"You really shouldn't do that, my dear," the
Rigas'
doctor said. Thick black hair, hazel eyes, firm jawline, impressive physique all wrapped up in the obligatory tanned skin; the look of the
Pyrkagia
. Gold flickered behind the brown in his gaze, a swell of
Stoicheio
which he'd never shown me before.

I was too weak to pounce. By the time I realised he was wantonly throwing his Elemental power around he'd tamped it out. The flare of heat from his unexpected display scorched the hair on my arms but did little to feed my Fire. Once again the good doctor was well contained.

I'm not sure if he used a form of magic to keep his
Stoicheio
just out of my reach, but I was sure whatever he did, it was working again. Just that brief moment when he walked in and laid eyes on me, screaming, sobbing, writhing on the cot, and he'd weakened, dropped his guard, fed his Element when he had never done that before.

"Now, let's see how you're progressing," he purred, crossing the cold stone floor to loom over my bed. The door was left open, a temptation that we both knew I wouldn't take. I was too weak, too underfed and under-fuelled. All I had left was my willpower and anger, and even those had just let me down.

Maybe that's why he reacted. The first time his experiments had elicited a result.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," he admonished. "These stitches need to be removed already. Well, at least that proves one thing, doesn't it, dear?"

I blinked at him, loosening the last of the moisture that had hung doggedly to my lashes, feeling the tears trickle down my temples and join the rest that had pooled inside my ears.

"You are as immortal as the rest of us. Truly remarkable, considering you aren't
Ekmetalleftis
at all."

His cold, long finger ran down the centre of my chest, pulling on each stitch as it slowly moved past. It didn't hurt so much as make me feel sick. And he knew it.

"Are you going to cooperate in today's session?" he asked pleasantly, tugging on the last stitch making the skin around my navel lift in a grotesque stretch of black and blue bruised flesh.

"Aren't you tired of this yet?" I asked. My voice was scratchy. It helped, because anger flowed back through my veins at hearing that show of weakness.

"Miss Eden," the doctor said, "we've only just begun."

I wondered if there was a hell for
Ekmetalleftis
, like there's a hell for Christians. And then I wondered if it would be hell to a
Pyrkagia
at all. Hell's meant to be all fire and brimstone, isn't it? Not exactly a hardship for a Fire wielding Elemental.