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Gareth studied the paper. Nicholas Merrick. Hello, weak link.
But an Air Elemental. That begged caution. An Air Elemental wouldn’t have the flash and drama of the others. An Air’s power was far more subtle—and far more subversive. At seventeen, this boy might not have the more nuanced abilities of sensing emotion or detecting an enemy from a great distance, but he’d surely feel any breath of power in the atmosphere.
This assignment would take patience.
Gareth pulled a few more pages from his stack. “And these young men?”
Silver glanced at them. “I know nothing more than you see there. Seth Ramsey isn’t a pure Elemental—and he’s on some kind of probation or house arrest due to an incident with Becca Chandler. He’s a minor, so the records were sealed. Tyler Morgan isn’t a pure Elemental, either. His sister died five years ago—and it’s rumored that Michael Merrick had a hand in it.”
“I know Tyler Morgan.”
Silver’s eyebrows went up.
Gareth shrugged. “His family was quite vocal about the Merricks at one point. I assume that hasn’t changed?”
Silver shook his head. “I had no time to observe him.”
“And the only Elemental to be destroyed so far was Kate Sul-livan.” Gareth glanced up. “Your trainee.”
“Collateral damage. Kate lost sight of our goal here.”
Gareth nodded. “It happens.”
And it did. Not often, luckily, but their connection to human-ity sometimes left them vulnerable to the weaknesses of others.
Silver had been doing this long enough to have lost any em-pathy for humans.
So had Gareth.
He gathered his papers and slipped them back into his briefcase. “Are you ready to get out of here?”
Silver nodded. “What is our plan?”
Gareth stood. “Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Make it look like you’re having trouble breathing.”
One thing Silver had always been good at—following orders.
He pressed a panicked hand to his throat and sucked in a long rush of air.
Gareth’s power latched on to that air, feeling it move into Silver’s lungs, making them expand, exchanging oxygen for carbon dioxide.
Silver felt that power. His eyes snapped open.
“Again,” Gareth said, keeping his voice even, reassuring. His power filled the air in the room. This was all part of his plan.
“I’m going to call for help in a moment.”
Another breath.
“One more,” said Gareth. He moved toward the door. “Hold it. Pretend you can’t breathe.”
Silver inhaled, a breath full of Gareth’s power. He held it.
Gareth gave the element a little push, quadrupling the pressure inside Silver’s chest. He felt the other man’s shock. His sudden fear. His pain.
But his death was silent. Air rushed out of his mouth, but it was too late.
Once his lungs burst, he couldn’t make a sound. He collapsed forward onto the table.
