Mag Subject 6 (Mags & Nats Book 2)

by Stephanie Fazio

  “You applied to the BSMU?” I asked her, raising an eyebrow.

  “Yeah.” Yutika shrugged. “My second cousin twice-removed spent our entire childhood bragging that he was going to get into the BSMU, so naturally, I took the entrance exam just to prove he wasn’t all that.”

  “What happened?” Cora asked.

  “I got accepted and he didn’t.” Yutika shrugged. “I obviously couldn’t go when I decided to take out my tracker, but I still remind him about it every time I see him.”

  “I didn’t know you got a perfect score,” Graysen told Yutika, clearly impressed.

  The exam was a beast, and the only person I’d ever heard of getting a perfect score was Gray.

  “Not all of us embrace our inner dork like you,” Yutika told him affably.

  “I am not a dork,” Graysen said, pretending to be offended and then giving Cora a wink.

  My cousin giggled.

  My heart swelled until I wasn’t sure my chest could contain it. I hadn’t thought it was possible for me to fall even more in love with Gray.

  While Gray, Yutika, and Cora discussed practice tests and study schedules, I went into the other room with Ma and Grandma Tashi.

  One look into Ma’s heartsick eyes, and all I wanted was spare her the pain of what I was about to tell her. But everyone connected to Gray and me was in danger, now more than ever. Ma and Grandma needed all the facts. So, I told them that Desiree had been the one to give up the location of our house to the UnAllied, and that she was trying to get Gray killed.

  Grandma Tashi kept looking up at the ceiling and saying “Oh Lord.”

  Ma didn’t say anything at all. I knew she was going over every conversation she’d had with Desiree and replaying every fight, looking for a way everything could have turned out differently. I knew because it was the same senseless exercise I was doing. It didn’t matter. At the end of the day, Desiree had left and Cora’s magic was gone.

  “I really want you all to come with us to Mr. Smith’s house,” I told Ma and Grandma, focusing on practicalities. “It’s not safe for you to stay here with everything that’s going on.”

  “I won’t leave without Desiree,” Ma said in a fierce voice. “She’ll come home, and when she does, she and I are gonna have a long talk.”

  I bit my lip. I didn’t like the idea of leaving Desiree behind either, but with Gray and me being such a target, I couldn’t risk what was left of the Hansley clan.

  “We’ll come back for her if she texts you,” I told Ma, “and I’ll have Smith keep tabs on her. But Valencia is going to try to use you to get to me and Gray. We can’t let that happen.”

  I gave her a pleading look. As she wavered, another thought struck me.

  “Mr. Smith is a Level 8 Mender,” I said. “Maybe there’s something he can do to help Cora.”

  I saw the decision register across Ma’s face before she relented.

  Ma turned for the stairs. “Alright, then. Give me half an hour to pack.”

  “Kaira.” Smith, who was standing in the doorway, beckoned to me.

  As soon as Grandma had gone upstairs to pack her own bag, Smith held out his laptop to me.

  A map filled his screen. It was so overlaid with GPS coordinates and black X’s that I couldn’t recognize any landmarks. The X’s all seemed to be clustered together on various parts of the map.

  “What is this?” I asked.

  “Remember the list of names we got from Cooper Zillin?” Smith asked.

  “How could I forget?” I replied.

  One name in particular was clear in my mind. Lilly Hammond, Bri’s niece.

  “I’ve been looking for a connection between the Magical Reduction Potion and those empty graves,” he said.

  That got my attention. I’d promised Bri we would investigate the mystery behind the supposed DAMND deaths. With everything else that had been going on, though, we hadn’t had a spare minute.

  “What did you find?” I asked.

  “Nothing at first,” Smith replied. “All of their records are gone. Poof. Nothing in the Magical Marking Office, and no tracking information. The only evidence that they ever existed is their death certificates, which all show death by DAMND.”

  “What does that have to do with these?” I asked, pointing to the coordinates on the table.

  Smith pointed to the X’s. “Those are the locations of the kids’ graves.” He tapped his space bar, and a red line connected each cluster of X’s until it formed a jagged, imperfect circle. A red star popped up in the center of the circle.

  I gave Smith a questioning look. “What’s that?” I tapped the star.

  Smith looked up at me.

  “MagLab.”

  CHAPTER 41

  Have I developed double vision, or are you people multiplying?”

  Older Smith held up his lantern and glared as we all traipsed into the house.

  “This is Kaira’s family,” Smith told his father. “Ma, Tashi, and Cora.”

  I watched Ma, Grandma Tashi, and Cora take in the dim, electronic-less interior. Cora clutched her backpack closer to her chest.

  “Nice to meet you,” Ma told Older Smith. “You have such a wonderful son.”

  Then, before Older Smith could utter a word, Ma hugged him.

  “Can she do that?” A.J. whispered to me.

  Apparently, she could. Older Smith didn’t hug her back, but I could have sworn he leaned into her. Ma was a force of nature. I didn’t think anything with a pulse could resist her comfort.

  “We don’t want to be a burden,” Ma told Older Smith. “So you just let me know what I can do to make things easier on you.”

  “It’s no trouble,” Older Smith said, clearly as susceptible to Ma’s charms as everyone else.

  Grandma Tashi didn’t bother with pleasantries. She walked right past Older Smith, ignoring him completely, so she could examine a painting on the wall I hadn’t even noticed.

  I cringed a little at Grandma’s rudeness. It didn’t seem like Older Smith was a stickler for manners, but still.

  “This is a fine piece of artwork, Mr. Smith,” Grandma Tashi declared.

  She brushed her fingertips along the tarnished frame, which held an oil painting. When Older Smith went to stand beside Grandma and held up his lantern, I saw the painting was of this house, maybe a decade or two earlier. It was full of bright colors, which seemed discordant in the dark house.

  “Very nice,” Grandma Tashi murmured, which had to be one of the most effusive compliments I’d ever heard out of her. “It’s hard to find real art these days, what with all the 3D this and computer-generated that.”

  If I didn’t know better, I would have sworn a smile crossed Older Smith’s face.

  Smith and I exchanged a What the fuck? look as his father and my grandmother stood side-by-side, discussing Victorian-style verandas like they were at an art gallery or something.

  Ma stood in the center of the main room. She used one arm to tuck Cora tight against her side, while the other was planted on her hip as she surveyed her new kingdom.

  “Mr. Smith,” she said. “You have any objection to me putting some illusions around this place so it looks like unoccupied land?”

  “I’d appreciate that,” Older Smith said in his gruff voice.

  “Alright then,” Ma replied. “Have you eaten breakfast yet?”

  Older Smith gave a slow shake of his head.

  “Well, I’d better fix that.” Ma went to the kitchen and turned up the lanterns positioned on the counter. “The Hansley clan is a lot to handle on an empty stomach. Besides, Menders need their Wheaties, just like the rest of us.”

  Older Smith allowed Ma to steer him over to one of the barstools. In minutes, the house was filled with the smell of fresh coffee and the sound of butter sizzling in a pan.

  Older Smith answered Ma’s questions and helped light the burners by hand, since there was no electricity. This whole situation was bizarre to the max, and yet, everyone was taking it in str
ide.

  While Ma was flipping fried eggs onto a platter and Cora was buttering toast, Older Smith slid off his barstool and came over to me.

  “What happened to the little girl?” he asked in a quiet voice.

  My insides lurched as both of our gazes went to Cora.

  “She was injected with the Magical Reduction Potion,” I said, my voice catching. “Is there anything you can do for her?”

  I knew before I even asked the question what his answer would be. I could read the regret on his usually-surly face.

  Older Smith shook his head. “My ability only works on Mags, and your cousin isn’t a Mag anymore.”

  Those words made me go cold.

  Cora wasn’t a Mag anymore.

  There was a world of difference between being born a Nat, and becoming one after one’s magic was stolen away. Mags’ abilities were a part of us as much as our heart, brain, and blood. All of my hopes that Cora might miraculously get back that lost part of herself crumbled into dust. I leaned against the wall.

  “She’s got a strong heart and mind,” Older Smith told me. “She’ll be alright.”

  I nodded, because I didn’t trust myself to actually speak.

  A heavy exhaustion settled onto me that had nothing to do with a lack of sleep. Unable to bear the company of my friends and family, I quietly excused myself from the hubbub in the kitchen.

  Everyone else seemed occupied enough that I thought I could eke out a few minutes just to gather my thoughts.

  Gray and Yutika were sitting on either side of Cora. They were looking at a sheet of paper and whispering to each other, probably about the BSMU’s entrance exam. A.J. and Bri were playing fetch with Sir Zachary, who was running back and forth between them as he chased a stuffed bear. Michael stood in the kitchen, washing dishes for Ma and sneaking glances at Yutika. Smith was the only one who was absent. I’d seen him go upstairs a little while ago with his laptop, probably to do more research.

  I shut myself into mine and Gray’s room and sat on the edge of the bed. But as soon as I was surrounded by silence and darkness, I realized the last thing I wanted was to spend time worrying about dilemmas I couldn’t fix.

  I had no idea how to deal with any of the big problems…like how we were going to hand Subject 6 over to Pruwist without getting ourselves killed. But there was one small problem that had been nagging at me.

  Getting off the bed with a groan that would have put Grandma Tashi to shame, I went down the hall in search of Smith.

  I found him in one of the bedrooms, where he’d set up a work station for himself. He had two new computers. He must have asked Yutika to create them when his dad wasn’t looking.

  “Can you find a phone number for me?” I asked. “And, um, can I borrow a laptop to make the call?”

  It was an unwritten rule that none of us ever touched Smith’s computers unless invited, but I’d lost my phone during the Public Garden fiasco and hadn’t bothered Yutika for another one.

  With only a small amount of grumbling, Smith handed over a computer and a pair of headphones. He didn’t ask any questions, which was one of the qualities I appreciated about him. He found the number I wanted and made a dial pad appear on my screen without so much as touching the computer.

  I thanked Smith and went back to my room. I took a second to collect myself, and then I dialed the number Smith had found for me: the head of the Magical Marking Office.

  The idea to call the head of the Magical Marking Office had been kicking around in my mind ever since my disastrous conversation with Gray’s dad. It occurred to me that if I could get Joseph back his old job, maybe he’d be less resentful and would make up with Gray.

  I had nothing to lose at this point except my pride, which I was more than willing to sacrifice for Gray’s sake. It was a slight risk to draw direct attention from the department that facilitated Marking when I had no intention of ever becoming Marked, but it was worth the risk. So, I made the call.

  ✽✽✽

  I felt lighter after getting one burden off my shoulders. I had told the head of the Magical Marking Office everything. I’d made it clear that Joseph Galder wasn’t responsible for my missing file in any way and should thus be given his old job back.

  The rest was out of my hands…for now.

  I returned Smith’s computer and was going to rejoin the others when I heard Gray’s footsteps coming up the stairs.

  “Where have you been?” he asked, his gaze warming at the sight of me.

  “Nowhere.”

  I didn’t want to fess up to what I’d been doing until it actually paid off. There was no point in giving him false hope, just in case everything fell apart and Joseph decided never to pull his head out of his ass.

  Gray raised his eyebrows.

  “What have you been up to?” I asked before he pushed me for more.

  “Nothing.”

  His response came a little too quickly. My interest was immediately peaked.

  “I have an idea.” Gray backed me against the banister, caging my body with his. He leaned in, making his hair fall across his face. “Let’s save the talking for later.”

  I brushed the soft strands of hair back from his eyes as I closed the inches separating us.

  “Jeez, what is it with the two of you?”

  I peeked around Gray to see Smith, a laptop tucked under each arm, standing in the hall.

  Graysen let out a pained groan. “Do you have bad timing radar, or something?”

  “No, it’s just that the two of you never take your hands off each other,” Smith retorted.

  “He has a point,” I said, nuzzling Gray’s neck.

  I let out a squeak of protest when Gray abruptly let go of me and stepped back. He held up his hands like he was surrendering.

  That was when I heard Grandma Tashi’s voice coming up the stairs. She and Ma appeared a second later. Michael and Older Smith followed behind, carrying their suitcases.

  Grandma took one look at Gray and me and frowned. We were standing several feet apart, but her shrewd gaze said she didn’t trust us as far as she could throw us.

  “If the two of you think you’ll be sleeping in the same bedroom just because our city’s gone to holy hell,” Grandma Tashi accused, “you can think again.”

  “Kaira is sharing a room with Bri,” Ma smoothly informed my grandmother. “And G-Baby’s bunking with A.J., so don’t get your feathers ruffled.”

  They strode down the hall like they owned the place, bickering as they went. Shaking my head, I turned back to Smith.

  “What was it you wanted to tell us?”

  Smith huffed. “I figured you’d want to know that Pruwist got permission from the election board to move voting up from November to July.”

  That was a month from now.

  “Can he even do that?” I demanded.

  Gray nodded. “He’s probably doing it so there’s less time for people to get to know us as candidates. Everyone already knows his platform, but with so little time—”

  He didn’t need to finish the thought. Pruwist was a known quantity…a safe choice. While everyone in Boston knew our names and faces, they didn’t know much about our politics. Unless being jailbreakers and overturning the third high law…and starting a revolution…counted as politics.

  “Pruwist would have moved the date even sooner if he could,” Smith said. “But there are logistics with getting the voting booths from other states, and I guess July was the earliest he could manage.”

  “Wonderful,” I groused. “Like our timeline wasn’t tight enough as it was.”

  “We’ll deal with it,” Gray said, as unruffled as ever.

  I bit back a groan of frustration.

  “Any news on Subject 6?” I asked Smith, already knowing the answer before the shake of his head. If Smith knew something, he would have already shared it.

  “No,” he said. “But the Super Mags are causing so much damage throughout the city that it’s hard to separate what’s them fro
m any other unusual activity.”

  “We’ve got to be missing something,” Graysen said. “Pruwist is the only Board member left, and he doesn’t know anything. What is Subject 6 up to?”

  That was the question. And we had two days to figure it out before Pruwist made good on our deal and came after me.

  CHAPTER 42

  We were out of leads…mostly. The only remaining clue was what Smith had discovered about the DAMND victims’ graves, and their strategic placement around MagLab. I had no idea how that might help lead us to Subject 6, but it was all we had. So, instead of the shower and nap I was desperate for, I went to gather the troops.

  “Anyone want to go check out some graves with me?” I asked the room.

  “Absolutely.” Bri jumped up from the couch, her skin flickering titanium in the lantern light.

  I hated that we hadn’t been able to prioritize getting her family answers about Lilly’s death. Maybe this little trip to the cemetery could accomplish two goals at the same time.

  “I’ll come,” Smith said.

  When no one else moved to join us, I looked around the room. Cora and my friends were exchanging furtive glances that I didn’t know what to make of.

  “Problem?” I asked.

  “I need Graysen’s help studying,” Cora said, speaking so quickly her words blurred together. “And Yutika and Michael’s. And A.J.’s.”

  “And I was so looking forward to more grave robbing,” A.J. said, plopping down next to Cora and letting out his best imitation of a self-sacrificing sigh.

  Gray looked conflicted.

  I narrowed my gaze at the group of them. Judging from their shifty-eyed expressions, they were clearly up to something. And unless I planned on using cruel and unusual torture, I didn’t think any of them would give up their secrets.

  “It’s fine,” I told Gray, who seemed to be the only one who was concerned. “We won’t get into any trouble, and we’ll be back soon.”

  Famous last words.

  “Bring Sir Zachary, at least,” Gray said, still looking uncertain. “And promise you won’t go looking for Subject 6 until we’re all together.”