Chapter 5 – Misconception

"Fix him!" Elanie's icy glare penetrated into Dr. Barros' core and yet he could not force his feet to move. Frozen, he stared at her as he desperately tried to resolve scientifically what he knew to be impossible, to what he had witnessed. What had she done?

It had all started out so wonderfully. Elanie had finally figured out that he was her ideal mate—her precious face had lit up and she embraced him with such tenderness that he knew there could be no other explanation. All that was left was to seal the agreement with a kiss and speak to the council on the marrow. They would have been mated by week's end.

The warmth of desire had flowed through him as he focused in on her luxuriant lips, noticing with anticipation how they quivered slightly at his approach. Then, abruptly, Jared charged between them and pushed him away. His first reaction was irritation—after all, Jared was aware of Dr. Barros' choice and had to have known this day would arrive eventually—what right did he have to interfere? However, before he could say anything, an explosion erupted from the floor in front of him. It threw him back against the wall, charring his clothes and possibly breaking a few ribs.

Immediately, he had moved to see about Elanie. It would be a shame for him to lose her now. However, when he leaned over her body, he found her completely unharmed. She had fainted and appeared to be asleep, but there was not the slightest smudge on her clothes. With a small sigh of relief, he grabbed a pillow and gently placed it under her head, then turned towards Jared lying a few steps away.

His crumpled body was balled into a crescent shape, subconsciously protecting his internal organs from injury. The navy blue shirt and dress pants that had looked so pristine only moments before had been ripped to shreds, and a large gash ran the length of his left leg where his skin was now exposed. He was completely unconscious, but Dr. Barros could see his chest rise and fall slightly; he knew he was still breathing, if only shallowly. His instincts as a medical professional called to him to move towards the body for a more thorough examination, but as his inspection shifted along the ground where Jared's feet were resting, his body reacted in an automatic flight response; pushing him back against the wall furthest from the scene.

Jared had been standing where Dr. Barros had been only seconds before, a dark circle on the rug marking the exact spot. It was that circle that had him glued to the back wall. He could not force himself to move forward. It was impossible, yet it appeared that somehow Elanie had caused the explosion. But how? And why?

"I don't know how." Elanie whispered and Dr. Barros realized he had murmured those last thoughts aloud. "I was overcome with emotion. I was unprepared for your sudden attack and I got scared…"

"Attack! You think I attacked you!" His incredulity at the accusation required him to rudely interrupt her, despite his better judgment. He could not have her under a false sense of ill treatment.

However, his bad manners snapped her out of her bout of self-pity. "Dr. Barros! I do not have time to sit here and rationally discuss with you the inappropriateness of your behavior—my brother is dying! Why won't you help him?"

At that moment, he was forced to make a choice. Either admit to her that he was terrified of her, or follow his instincts and attend to her brother. His instincts won out by a very small margin. "Go to the kitchen and get me a bowl of water and a clean cloth. Then I will need you to go to the closet and pull out all of his emergency medical equipment…" He droned on as his professional side took over. He would have plenty of time to consider the ramifications of tonight's events later.

It had not taken long for Dr. Barros to realize that Elanie needed to be turned in to the Council for judgment. She had been expecting it. Honestly, she was surprised that he had delayed an entire week; waiting until Jared was awake and released from the hospital before turning informant. She suspected that it was some sort of guilty feeling that gave him pause—especially after the conversation that took place the night of the incident.

Once Jared had been stabilized and brought to the infirmary, Dr. Barros had broached the issue of the "attack" once more. She had been sitting in the cafeteria, her head resting on her arms, when she felt his hand on her shoulder.

She truly tried not to glare at him as he sat down next to her—after all, he had given her the ability to see and thus deserved some respect—but she was still drained from the earlier exertion and could not muster up a feeling of gratitude at that time. "Do you have some information for me about my brother?" She rasped, her voice weak from exhaustion.

He seemed taken aback by her hostile expression and mulled over his words before speaking. "No. He is still sleeping, but we anticipate a quick recovery once the Bone Vigoratus have completed their work sealing up the hairline fractures. The burns have already been completely healed." He paused. "Elanie, I wanted to speak with you about the…accident."

She put her head back down. "I don't want to talk to you about it."

"But, we need to understand what happened. If this is related to my medical treatment, we must know immediately."

Elanie did not respond right away. She did not trust Dr. Barros, but it was too late; he already knew her secret. Finally, she lifted her head and focused on the specks of coal that were his pupils. "I know what caused the explosion. This has happened before, on a smaller scale. Jared and I thought we had it under control…we were wrong." Her face blanched as she remembered how pale Jared appeared as he was wheeled out of the house. He was breathing. That was all that mattered.

"You thought you had what, exactly, under control?" He asked, obviously trying to sound sympathetic.

"The magic." She sighed, defeated, and told him everything. He sat still as she explained, his scientist gears turning as he digested everything she said. When she got to the events of the evening, she tried to phrase it in such away as to avoid offending him, but she failed.

Although his face remained steady, she could see his eyes dim and his shoulders hunch slightly, dejected. "I was sure that you were not only expecting my declaration of affection, but anticipating it with joy. After all, you hugged me. What was I supposed to think?"

"That I was pleased that you were finally moving forward with my friends. That is what we had been talking about!" Her voice rose slightly in frustration, garnering a few stares from passersby.

An embarrassed look crossed his face and he moved in closer in an attempt to avoid attention; glancing from side to side to see who was looking before speaking once more. "Elanie!" He hissed. "You can not just run up, hug people, and expect them to think nothing of it!"

She blushed. She knew she had acted inappropriately, but that still did not give him the right to act on his preconceived notions. "Dr. Barros, you of all people know that I have been secluded from men my entire life. Women do not hold back their emotions—or at least, the women I grew up around don't. When we are sad, we cry. When we are angry, we yell. When we are thankful, we hug. It is a hard habit to break…" her voice broke off as she heard what she was saying.

Was it because she had been raised around women that she was unable to hold in her emotions, or was it because the magic within demanded an outlet? Her face paled as she remembered Jared's words, 'I don't think you can stop.' She knew now that he was right. She could control it for weeks or even months, but the flame was too strong. When she became weak, it would take over.

Oblivious to her internal thoughts, Dr. Barros recoiled from her words. "Elanie, I apologize for insulting your sensibilities. You are completely in your right to abhor me, and I am only ashamed that my actions have caused you and your brother harm. Please forgive me." With that, he abruptly left without even a parting glance.

She did not see him again until she and Jared were summoned to the Council.

As the Council members deliberated the information imparted to them by Dr. Barros, Elanie was struck once more by the grandeur of the meeting hall. Actually, the whole building seemed out of place. Where as the rest of the city was utilitarian, and white—very white—the room she was in appeared to serve no purpose other than as a resting place for the occasional Council meeting. To further confound her, the furnishings, walls, and window frames, as well as the entire exterior, were covered in gold. It was almost gaudy in its extravagance.

The building was in the shape of a giant dome, with the Council Chamber taking up the majority of the space. A hallway encircled the assembly hall with small offices and adjacent restrooms, but this room was the focal point of the structure. The ceiling ran three stories up with murals decorating the walls from the ground to the sky. Although there were some reading lamps strategically placed on desks around the room, the majority of the light came from a large, circular window that was the dome's crest. The suns rays reflecting off the gilded statues and shelving, made additional illumination unnecessary.

There could only be one reason for a room like this. Intimidation.

"Please rise. The Council has reached a verdict." The herald announced. Elanie had already determined her dislike for the little man based solely on the dull expression that never left his face, except when he looked at her—then it changed to fear.

The head of the council wasted little time on pleasantries. Looking directly in her eyes, the portly man sucked in his gut, summoned his courage, and announced, "For the safety of the Hemos' population, you, Elanie Noel Striker, are hereby banished, effective immediately."

Jared, his injuries having completely healed, angrily took a step forward. Elanie placed a hand on his arm to restrain him. The pronouncement did not bother her; in fact, she agreed with them. She could not be trusted.

"Also, effective immediately, all attempts at curing the mole women are to be stopped. Beneath our city lies a danger greater than any we have faced before. These women cannot be allowed to unleash their abilities on an unsuspecting public. The underground cities are to be sealed. Any and all contact between the mole women and those above ground are to be halted without delay."

This was an unexpected blow and Elanie was forced to sit down in stunned silence. She knew she could not be trusted, but those women were innocent. Without aid from those above ground, they would not be able to survive. Her friends, her family, had been sentenced to die.

Surprisingly, Dr. Barros spoke up in their defense. "Now, wait a minute, Your Honors. I did not give you the information about this young woman to scare you into sending her into exile, and definitely not for the purpose of eliminating an entire population of women. I merely did my duty to inform you of a complication with the procedure. I do not believe Elanie is dangerous in the extent that she will purposefully harm our society. We need to study the changes in her to determine how to help her. This minor flaw can be fixed. We owe it to her and those poor mole women to see this through."

"Did she attack you?" One of the lower members of the council asked, his voice confirmed that he was bored of these proceedings already.

Dr. Barros cast a swift look at Elanie and Jared before standing more erect and defiantly answered, "No sir, she did not. It was an accident and one that can be avoided if we can teach her how to control it."

Elanie could not believe her ears. Dr. Barros, who knew he had no hope of securing her affections and, she was sure, had been terrified of her just a week earlier, was standing up in her defense! Not just her defense, but also the defense of everyone she had lived with for most of her existence. His kindness melted some of the ice off her heart.

Then she turned and saw the faces of the Council. In that instant, she knew his statements were being thrown to the wind. They did not intend to allow the mole women to linger. The members' eyes held a victory. They had been planning this day for a long time—merely waiting for an excuse to exterminate those who were not "productive members of society." Finally, they could justify it to the people with this new danger they had uncovered.

"Dr. Barros. We realize this is a difficult decision and we do not make it lightly." His greedy eyes lit up even as he hung his head, as if truly sorry for the words he had spoken. "Unfortunately, your own argument just now outlines precisely why we cannot risk any more exposure with these women. At any moment another 'accident' could occur. We cannot take risks with the possibility that you might be able to teach her or these other women how to control it. 'Ifs' do not help our people to sleep soundly at night." He let out a breath. "No. I am afraid our ruling stands. Guards, please escort Ms. Striker to the boundaries of Hemos territory. Immediately."

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A/N: See everyone…Jared is just fine! This chapter is dedicated to DragonCeres and The True Dreamer since you were both kind enough to review and tell me how wonderful Jared is…I agree! :-D

Please review and let me know what you think of this chapter…give me my candy!

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Preview – Chapter 6

The flash of white was the only warning she had. In an instant they were surrounded, unfamiliar weapons aimed directly at their throats. For the first time since learning of her abilities, Elanie desperately wished she knew how to use them-now when all hope was lost.

She knew they would not live long enough to beg the Dronas for assistance.