The Elementalists

Chapter 14

Kass

Everything. . . Everything is WONDERFUL. COLOURS are BRIGHTER, and Sammi looks almost pretty—why is she running around—and Rai is on the floor. Why is he on the floor?

'What's going on?'

Sammi struggles to prop Rai up, weird Rai, crazy Rai. 'Kass, oh my god will you please shut up and help me!' She smooths Rai's sweaty hair back from his face, with that bright-eyed look of someone about to cry. No, you can't be sad right now, not when everything's so great, so frikkin' great—

I do as I'm told and crouch down beside her. An alarm starts going off and it hurts my head—Sammi begins rubbing Rai's back, but his mouth is still opening and closing, no breaths coming out. Ha. He looks like a fish. Something occurs to me.

'WHY IS YOUR HAIR BLUE?'

'Kass!'

'But, Sammi, can't you see? His hair is so blue—'

'Aaargh! Rai, come on, breathe dammit! Come on!' She bangs his chest hard, blows on his face, but nothing makes a difference. Rai just continues to gape at us, his hands scrabbling at his throat, his chest—jeez. Is he panicking or what.

'ARE YOU OKAY?' I take Rai's face in my hands and stare deep into his eyes—the tips of our noses touch. 'Hey, are you crying?'

Rai squirms, trying to wriggle free. 'It—it hurts, oh god, please, give it back, give it back—'

'Guys?'

André appears in the doorway. His eyes bulge.

'What the hell is going on?'

He dives to the floor beside Rai, shoving me and Sammi out the way, and takes over rubbing Rai's back. His voice shakes as he hisses:

'You guys were supposed to be ready. We need to go!'

'I—I'm okay,' Rai gasps—and inspiration hits me in a wave of genius. I ram my inhaler into his mouth.

'Use this, Rai! It won't hurt you, it just helps you breathe.'

'He shouldn't use your medication, Kass,' Sammi moans, but she helps Rai press the puffer down all the same.

'We haven't got time for this.' André leaps to his feet; he seems to have surpassed fury, his face turning blotchy. You can practically see steam coming out of his ears. 'Didn't you hear the curfew alarm? We have exactly twenty minutes to get to the back door before it automatically locks and we get stuck in here. If we miss this chance, we've had it.'

Throwing my inhaler back at me, Sammi helps Rai up. He sways, grey and gaunt, a hand still scrabbling at the back of his neck where the pads had been.

'Please.' He grabs me by the wrist and I pause, meeting his eyes. Woah, they're so blue. So blue. And I thought Sammi was pretty. But Rai . . . I could swim in his eyes. Deep blue, velvet blue, sapphires, ancient skies and rivers-of-old blue—

Hang on. Is he sad right now?

What's sad like again?

'Please give them back,' Rai whispers. His voice cracks, full of ghosts none of us can see. 'I—I didn't know it would be like this. I need them, it hurts so much—'

'Come on,' André barks and I jump. Oh yeah. The mission. Didn't the mission scare me? Before? I'm too useless.

Hell. I'm not useless. I CAN DO ANYTHING.