Elemental Hunger (19 page)

I studied him and found as much earnest desperation in his expression as I felt coursing through my body. “So we try to get Councilman Davison to charter the Council.”

“With things as politically unstable as they are in Gregorio, anything is possible,” Adam said. “Maybe we can sneak in and complete the charter without anyone knowing.”

I thought about that for a minute, wanting to act my part but not knowing how. “Yeah, but Alex and Felix are probably already there, telling Davison how awful I am.” A flicker of fear made my breath catch. “Or looking for Cat.” I hoped she was still alive, that we’d find her in Gregorio first. She was smart; she’d know how to lie low until Isaiah came for her.

“Nah. Gregorio is far,” Adam said. “At least a couple of days by vehicle. It took me nine days to get to the Outcast settlement on foot.”

“I knew you’d been there before,” I said, interested in hearing the story of how he found the Outcast settlement.

Adam laughed softly. He fumbled for my hand. He wore gloves, protecting his skin from mine. I was surprised at the snag of disappointment I felt that I couldn’t press my skin to his. I shifted closer to him as he moved toward me.

“Yeah, I was almost dead the first time Chief Tavar found me. I hadn’t eaten for three days.”

“Really? Three days?” My stomach recoiled at the thought.

“Yeah. What about you? You said you’d tell me how you ended up in Forrester when we weren’t seconds from dying. I think we’ve got a couple of hours at least.”

I sighed. The selection ceremony, the fire, Jarvis, the escape, the knives, hiding in the warehouse, and cutting my hair were unhappy memories. Things I’d rather forget.

Adam inhaled the scent of my hair. “You don’t have to tell me,” he murmured.

With those words, I wanted him to know. So I told him about the fire I was accused of setting in Crylon. How Jarvis had known about my Element. About throwing the can of soup at Patches, stealing his knives, and vomiting in the street.

As I spoke, the weight of my life lightened, and Adam now shared some of my burden. With a start, I realized he’d already carved a place in my life—whether I liked it or not.

He rubbed his thumb along my wrist, silent. Then he said, “You’re brave. I’m glad you found me in that clearing.” He placed his hand on my cheek. Slowly and carefully, he pulled me closer. The armor guarding his emotions cracked. His eyes filled with warmth. With pleading. With an edge of fear. He kissed me like his life depended on having his mouth on mine.

He pulled away too soon. “So you are my girl,” he whispered. “I was worried when I saw you in Isaiah’s arms.”

I smiled despite the fire raging just beneath my skin. I brushed my fingers through his hair, trying to find the courage to speak. For the blazes, I couldn’t.

He chuckled, sending a vibration through my chest. “You never tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I’m not thinking anything,” I said. At least nothing I could say out loud. To a
guy.

“Right.” Adam trailed one gloved finger over my jaw. “Here’s something I’m thinking: Kissing you hurts like hell. But it’s sure worth it.”

I giggled, mortified at the girly sound coming from my mouth. But it sounded better than anything I could’ve said. Sudden worry seized me. What if I wasn’t good at kissing?

Halfway through my analysis of how Adam pressed his lips to mine, how they moved, he squeezed my shoulder. “Come on. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

I choked on a breath, trying to reel my thoughts into normalcy again. “Um, I’m sorry it hurts. I like—” I clamped my mouth shut, thankful for the deepening darkness that hid the blush creeping into my cheeks.

Adam rubbed my upper arm. “Don’t worry about it. If I didn’t want to do it, I wouldn’t.”

So maybe I was doing it right. He certainly was.

The silence sounded loud, the memory of his lips on mine still fresh. His steady breathing next to me, the pressure of his fingers on my bicep, reminded me how close we were. I wanted to kiss him again, yet it terrified me at the same time.

Isaiah yelled in his sleep, and Adam slid away. I leaned against the wall with my eyes closed.

“Sorry.” The weight of Adam’s gaze penetrated the near-darkness. He moved close enough that I smelled the warmth of his skin. “I’ve never felt anything like what I feel with you. The rush—or the pain. When I’m with you, when I touch you, it hurts. When I’m not, I feel like I’m dying.” We were so close, I heard him swallow. “I’m yours, as long as you want me.”

A million emotions exploded inside. First: Relief. He wanted me. He was mine. To kiss, to consult with, to charter a Council with.

Second: Happiness. He
wanted
me.

I leaned forward, touching my mouth to his. My blood turned to lava. Especially when he moaned, “Gabby—”

“Boulders and landslides,” Isaiah swore. “I’m glad I’m blind. Are you guys decent? Hanai?”

“He’s out cold,” Adam said, standing up. “And we’re more than decent.”

The fire inside died with his distance. Still, a smile stole across my face. Interrupted or not, kissing Adam was amazing.

“Hanai wasn’t kidding when he said you had it bad for her.”

“Can it, Isaiah,” Adam said.

Isaiah sat up and stretched. He made an inhuman noise that echoed through the underground cavern. He looked like he was yawning but he sounded like he was dying a slow and painful death. I clapped my hand over my ears as the sound intensified in pitch.

Adam started chewing Isaiah out for being so obnoxious, but I couldn’t look away from Hanai.

He hadn’t moved, even with the ruckus around him. I knelt at his side, pressing my fingers to his neck. His pulse felt thready and weak. I closed my eyes and willed my therma-vision to kick in. What I got: A miracle.

When I scanned Hanai, his body temperature registered way too low. I pulled off the useless cloak and placed both hands flat against his chest. I engulfed him with heat until his body glowed bright red.

“Adam,” I called over my shoulder. “He’s freezing and barely breathing.”

“I don’t have any medicine,” Adam said, kneeling next to me. “Isaiah, do you?”

“Nope.”

I met Adam’s worried gaze before I shook Hanai. “Wake up, Hanai. I need you.” My voice cracked on the last word.

The last of the daylight disappeared as I struggled to keep the tears from falling. Adam shook Hanai a little harder. Just then, I sensed the smoke. It was hot, hot, hot, filling my entire being with foggy goodness.

Status: Moving fast.

“Guys,” I said. “I’ve got an idea, but we gotta move. Adam, try to wake him up. Isaiah, help me pack.”

Adam rolled Hanai off the cloak and threw it to Isaiah. “What’s up, Gabby?”

“A train,” I said. “Heading south—and fast. We need to be on it.” I shoved the other cloak in the backpack and helped Isaiah put it on. He widened the hole in the ceiling and rode a wave of earth to the surface.

He brought me up next, and it was strange to feel something so solid shift underneath me. I steadied myself on my hands and knees, willing myself not to throw up. By the time I had control of my stomach, Hanai was moaning next to me.

“Hanai?” I put my hand to his forehead in a motherly action.

“He’s barely awake,” Adam said.

“Right. You two help him. This way.” I strode toward a vast expanse of flat land. Adam kept a stream of encouragement going. Hanai coughed several times and then groaned.

I scanned for the train. The smoke teased my soul, but I couldn’t see it.

“There,” Isaiah said, pointing to the right. It was freaky that a blind guy could spot the train before me.

But there it was. The black steam engine crested a gentle rise in the plain, the puffs of smoke pouring into the chilly night air.

“Come on, guys. It’s not stopping for us.”

“It’s moving fast,” Isaiah said. “How are you planning to get on?”

I grabbed his hand. “Run and jump. You’re with me. Adam, can you manage with Hanai?”

“Gabby, I don’t—”

I spun around, my Element shooting to my fingertips. Hanai, pale and panting, leaned heavily on Adam. Neither one of them looked like they could run, let alone hop on a moving train.

“This is the fastest way to Gregorio. I’m not tromping through the snow eating salty garbage for the next nine days. Let’s go. Now.” Without waiting for an answer, I turned and started running, thankful Chief Tavar had healed my feet.

Isaiah matched my pace, and the footsteps of Adam and Hanai pounded behind me.

“I’ll tell you when to jump, okay?”

“Most excellent.”

“Just straight,” I said. The train barreled closer. It stretched on and on, the coal-colored cars streaking into the night.

“Gabbers—”

“Keep going,” I shouted. “Straight.”

The engine roared by us, and we were still at least fifty yards away. I ran faster, sending steam to clear a path in the snow.

“Adam?”

“Right behind you,” he answered.

Problem: The car doors were all shut. I scanned the train, desperation choking me at all the closed cars. Finally, I saw a rusty boxcar with the side open.

“Slight right.” I changed my straight course so we could intercept the open car at full speed. “Twenty feet,” I gasped out.

Isaiah flung his arm out, and a series of steps formed in the earth. We took them side-by-side, two at a time, and I screamed, “Jump!” I pushed off with my right foot at the same time Isaiah launched himself off his left.

I might as well have been blind.

See, I’d timed the jump wrong.

All—

—wrong.

I envisioned myself
falling under the train.

The deadly kiss of steel.

The crushing pain as my ribs snapped.

A blazing inferno ripping through my muscles as my Element leaked into oblivion.

Then a strong wind—an Elemental wind—slammed into me, propelling me forward. I lost my grip on Isaiah’s hand as we crashed onto the floor of the boxcar.

I rolled, hitting my elbow and head on the far wall. I sat up just as Adam landed silently on his feet inside the compartment. He sent his wind away as he lowered Hanai to the floor and bent over him.

“Elementals,” someone whispered.

I jumped to my feet, straightening my clothes to cover all the offending parts. Isaiah stood, and we edged closer to Adam and Hanai. It smelled like moldy straw and rotting flesh. I inhaled through my mouth to calm my stomach.

I wanted to light my hands to see how many strangers we were dealing with, but I didn’t.

“Elementals. Help,” another voice said.

Adam stood up. “We’ll help anyone we can. But first we need some medicine for our…
Firemaker.
Does anyone happen to have aspirin?”

I stared at him, too shocked to speak. Inside I was screaming
I’m the Firemaker!
Adam looked everywhere but at me.

“I do,” a raspy voice said. As Adam moved past me he hissed, “Play along.” He collected the medicine and knelt next to Hanai.

“We need a corner for him to rest,” Adam said. “Like I said, we’ll help you, but he needs a few minutes to recover.”

Some scuffling followed, and we moved into the corner of the car with the door immediately to our left. The confining steel walls constricted the air entering my lungs, and I wished Adam would call on his Element again to save me. He’d done a brilliant job of guiding us into the train with his air.

“Firemaker?” I hissed without moving my lips as Adam laid Hanai in my lap.

“If I said he was our Unmanifested, we wouldn’t have gotten the medicine,” Adam whispered. “They’d let him die, hoping we’d choose one of them instead. Trust me, it’s better if they think he’s our lead man.”

“Adam’s right,” Isaiah murmured.

Adam was always right. I stroked Hanai’s hair, pleading silently for him to wake up. By the time he stirred, my butt was numb and my bones felt spongy from the constant vibrating of the train.

“Give him this,” Adam said, shoving a bottle into my hands. Isaiah helped me prop Hanai up. He moaned as I poured the water into his mouth. I pressed one hand to his forehead.

Status: Too hot. I absorbed the fever, relishing his familiar heat.

A minute later, he said, “Why’s it so dark?”

Adam exhaled, and my relief-filled sigh joined his.

“You wouldn’t wake up,” Isaiah murmured.

“
Gabe
helped you,” Adam whispered, his mouth barely moving.

I cleared my throat. Boys did that, right?

“Thanks,” Hanai said, playing along. He slipped his hand into mine, squeezing as I helped him sit up.

Adam broke the tense silence by unzipping the backpack and passing around a package of crackers. After we’d each had several, Adam moved around the boxcar. I sat in the darkness with my hand in Hanai’s, afraid to let go. So un-guy like. But Hanai didn’t pull away either.

“There are seven others here.” Adam leaned down to whisper in my ear. “They’re cold. Act sick, but warm it up in here. I took some items from that house that we can distribute so we can gain their trust. See if we can get them to talk to us.”

I didn’t know what he’d taken, but I stood up and took a second to find my balance, hoping that would be enough to fool the passengers into thinking I’d been the one who was sick. Once in the center of the car, I ignited both hands. But I let the sparks filter out, hoping to appear weak. It wasn’t that big of an act. See, I felt like throwing up. The rotten smell, the lurching car, Hanai’s illness….