Mag Subject 6 (Mags & Nats Book 2)

by Stephanie Fazio

  “So, is that a yes?” Gray murmured, his eyes twinkling.

  Another laugh-sob escaped me as I nodded. “My answer to you will always be yes.”

  The smile that lit Gray’s face was radiant. He slipped the ring off its velvet cushion. On the satin interior of the ring box, there was gold script that read Yutika & Co.

  I laughed.

  “Is this what you were all acting so sketchy about?” I asked.

  “Yep.” He grinned as he slid the ring onto my finger. “I wanted to buy one the normal way, but I would have needed you to illusion me so the UnAllied didn’t kill me. And I wanted it to be a surprise.”

  I looked down at the ring sparkling on my finger. There was an oval diamond in the center, surrounded by a band of smaller diamonds.

  “What do you think?” Gray asked, a note of anxiety creeping into his voice. “I remembered in high school you had a fake ring that looked kind of like this, so I thought—”

  “It’s perfect,” I managed. “You’re perfect.”

  I had barely gotten used to being able to call Gray my boyfriend again. I had spent my teenage years dreaming about a life together, even while knowing it could never happen. And now—

  Gray lifted me in his arms and kissed me. Then, he carried me to the edge of the terrace. When I looked over, a surprised laugh erupted from me.

  Everyone was standing in the yard, waiting expectantly.

  “She said yes!” Gray shouted.

  Whistles, shrieks, and flower petals exploded. I heard the pop of champagne bottles, and even some enthusiastic yips from Sir Zachary.

  As soon as we made it down to the bottom floor of the house, we were engulfed by our loved ones. Everyone was talking and hugging, and there were more than a few tears shed. Ma enveloped Gray and me at the same time. Even Grandma Tashi and Older Smith were almost smiling.

  “Limo’s waiting for us,” Yutika announced.

  “It’s time to party!” A.J. shouted.

  Gray took my hand as we were herded to a stretch limo idling in the gravel driveway.

  “If Yutika’s driving, count me out,” Smith said.

  Everyone laughed. Yutika gave him a playful smack.

  Bri handed us flutes of champagne as we climbed into the limo. Yutika tugged a driver’s cap onto Michael’s head. He scowled but didn’t take it off.

  We all tried to convince Older Smith to join us, until Smith told us to leave it alone. When Cora offered to stay behind to keep him company, Older Smith’s hard expression softened. Ma refused to budge until Older Smith at least agreed to let us bring him back dinner.

  Music filled the limo, and then we were off.

  ✽✽✽

  Most of the high-end restaurants in the city had closed because of everything going on with the UnAllied and Enforcers. Michael stopped the limo right outside a beautiful restaurant in the North End, which I recognized because we knew the owners. It belonged to a family I had helped back when we were just the Six. They were a huge Italian family from Bridgeport, Connecticut, who lost their business when their oldest daughter went unMarked. They had gone into hiding to protect their daughter from the police.

  My friends and I had gotten all twenty Morellis to Boston. We’d helped them buy this restaurant, and they now had a reputation for the best chicken parm in the entire North End.

  We had the whole place to ourselves, since the Morellis had opened the restaurant just for us. The staff pulled out all the stops, and there was enough food and wine for an entire army.

  Everything smelled incredible, but I was too excited to eat. I didn’t let go of Gray’s hand except to show off my ring. Sir Zachary sat on his own chair at the table, wearing a bowtie and a vest that said “I do!” on the back. I’d illusioned him into a refined elderly man so he wouldn’t offend the chefs, and he only got a few strange looks from the Morellis as he scarfed down his unseasoned steak without utensils.

  We laughed and talked until Cora was falling asleep at the table. Yutika created a car to take home Ma, Grandma Tashi, Cora, and all the food the Morellis had packed up for Older Smith.

  “Where are the rest of us going?” I asked.

  “Where else would we go for a celebration of this magnitude?” A.J. asked. “Karaoke!”

  There was only one Mag karaoke bar in the city, and it was far enough from the riots that it hadn’t needed to close down. So, that was where we went. When we got out of the limo, Gray’s entire crew team was there waiting for us. I was absorbed into bear hugs by guys I’d only met once before. I got a few appreciative whistles on my dress, which prompted Gray to threaten to have Bri kill them.

  There was a line outside the bar, but after Michael spoke a few words to the bouncer at the door, we were ushered right in.

  We were led into a giant private room, which smelled like a combination of movie theater popcorn and smokey Korean barbeque. The room was ringed by a leather couch, and there was even a small stage and dance floor.

  Within seconds, A.J. and the crew guys were belting out lyrics into the microphone that flew around the room without anyone seeming to control it. The mike had a tendency to linger in front of those who could sing, which meant it avoided Gray and me like the plague. Drinks periodically materialized inside the closed-off room, hovering in front of their recipients without spilling a drop.

  Sir Zachary, who I’d illusioned to look like a gorgeous woman to get him past the bouncer, was curled up on the couch. How he could sleep through the ruckus, I had no idea.

  Bri and the coxswain were belting out some European techno song that wasn’t even in English. Yutika was dragging Michael onto the makeshift dance floor, where the crew guys were rocking out. Gray and I stayed a little off to the side, partially hidden by a mountain of stacked bar stools.

  I’d always loved dancing of any kind, but dancing with Gray gave me even more of a rush than when I’d been on the ballet stage in front of hundreds of people.

  The dress I was wearing was thin and tight enough that I felt Gray’s every touch. It had been so long since we’d danced together the way we had back in high school, when we’d been alone in our house and no one else had known about us. I’d almost forgotten what it felt like to move against him like this.

  “Do you think anyone would notice if we left early?” I asked in Gray’s ear, as his hands moved down my back…and kept going.

  “Keep wiggling on me like that,” he said in a breathless voice, “and you’re not going to make it out of this building.”

  “Mmm.” I kissed his jaw. “Do you think there’s a coat closet or something?”

  Gray grabbed my hand and started tugging me toward the door.

  “Kidding,” I gasped between love-drunk giggles.

  “Where are you two love birds going?” Adam, Gray’s old suitemate, batted his eyes at us.

  There were lots of oohs from Gray’s teammates that made my cheeks heat. I was about to plead innocence, but I never had a chance.

  A bloodcurdling scream tore through the air.

  CHAPTER 44

  Ithrew open the door to the hallway, which was full of bar employees. They were running down the hall, clutching at their heads and shrieking like the devil was after them.

  Movement flickered against the white wall before disappearing.

  “He’s here,” I called out.

  With all of the screams and music still blaring from inside our room, I didn’t know if anyone could even hear me. “Subject 6 is here.”

  “Move!” Bri shoved me back as she sprinted into the hallway.

  She didn’t do any of the crazy backflips she usually used right before she kicked someone’s ass. She dove forward before Subject 6 could take control of her mind. They collided.

  Bri hit the floor with a heavy thud, wrestling around with what appeared to be nothing more than air.

  I ran toward them, desperate to help and having no idea how I could. My illusions weren’t working.

  “Get down!” A.J. shouted.
<
br />   Gray dragged me to the floor just as a bar stool sailed out of our room and crashed into Bri and Subject 6.

  The wood smashed apart as soon as it struck Bri’s titanium skin, but some part of it must have struck and stunned Subject 6. Bri got in a few solid punches that had me wincing in sympathy for the man on the receiving end of her fury.

  Blood spattered onto the wall. And then Subject 6’s invisibility fell away.

  An unconscious man lay on the carpet.

  For a few seconds, we all just stared.

  Subject 6 was small…as thin as me and almost as short as Bri. Even with the baggy jeans and T-shirt he wore, I could tell his weight wasn’t just natural slenderness. The man was emaciated.

  Subject 6’s pale skin was sallow, like it had never seen the light of day. He had a few wisps of white hair on his otherwise-bald head, even though I knew from Smith’s file he was in his twenties.

  He was curled on the ground in a fetal position. He looked…vulnerable.

  “What do we do now?” Yutika asked, prodding the man with her toe. “Should we call Pruwist and seal this deal?”

  Gray and I looked at each other.

  “Not yet,” Bri said. “Please. If Pruwist gets a hold of him, I’ll never get answers about my niece.”

  I nodded. It was the least Bri deserved, and it wasn’t like waiting a few extra minutes would change anything with Pruwist.

  “Handcuffs,” I told Yutika.

  Michael crouched beside the unconscious figure and cocked his head, like he was listening to the silent and still man. Then, Michael looked at me.

  “Can you reach your magic?” he asked.

  I hadn’t even thought to check, but sure enough, my illusions came without hesitation.

  “Yeah,” I said. “How about you?”

  Michael nodded.

  “Being injured must make his magic weaker than yours,” Graysen said.

  “I can sense we’ve got at least ten minutes before he wakes up,” Michael said.

  Bri clipped the handcuffs on Subject 6 that Yutika had created.

  Bri paced back and forth in front of the unconscious man.

  “A watched pot never boils,” Yutika said.

  Scowling, Bri gave Subject 6 a hard nudge with her shoe. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t wake.

  “We’re going to get you answers, sweet pea,” A.J. told Bri. He held Sir Zachary firmly against his chest as he looked down at Subject 6. “And then we’re going to publicly parade him right to Pruwist’s front door, so the interim Director can’t take credit for our work.”

  I nodded in full agreement.

  “Ohmygosh,” A.J. said, shifting Sir Zachary in his arms so he could snap his fingers. “As your campaign manager, I should be writing a press release right now. There’s no way you’ll lose the election once everyone knows you’re responsible for bringing in the killer.” A.J. turned to Yutika. “Pen and paper. Now. The brain cogs are churning.”

  “Since when are you our campaign manager?” Graysen asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Since you actually have a shot at winning,” A.J. replied. “Obvi.”

  Subject 6’s eyelids fluttered. His hand twitched.

  “Michael—”

  The door at the other end of the hall exploded. Plaster and wood burst inward. And then an army’s worth of Enforcers stormed into the hallway.

  CHAPTER 45

  The hall was full of people and debris. Everyone was shouting.

  “Get Subject 6 out of here,” I ordered Smith and Michael. “Don’t let him out of your sight for even a millisecond.”

  The rest of us could take care of the Enforcers.

  The uniformed Nats stalked toward us. Instead of their batons or guns, they held syringes full of the Magical Reduction Potion in each hand.

  Rage boiled in me.

  Bri let out a war cry and bounded down the hall. The rest of us were right on her heels.

  In seconds, we were all just a tangled mass of punching, kicking, and flailing limbs.

  “Kaira!” Yutika called.

  I looked up just in time to see a baseball bat come flying through the air toward me. I caught it and smashed the knees of an Enforcer in a single motion. He howled and went down. I turned and swung again, this time cracking my bat across an Enforcer’s ribs.

  I felt no sympathy. These men were here to take away our magic.

  “Bring it,” I goaded the man in front of me.

  When he lurched forward, I brought my bat down on the hand wielding the Potion.

  Even with the madness surrounding us, I heard the man’s forearm break. He screamed.

  There were more of the Enforcers than us, but we were the Seven. And we had magic.

  Bri ran up the side of the wall like gravity didn’t apply to her. Her titanium skin flashed in the harsh white light. She did a backflip as her shoes tapped the ceiling and stretched out her limbs like a star as she fell back down. She took out four Enforcers before she hit the ground.

  Graysen’s teammates gaped at us for about three seconds before throwing themselves into the fight. The crew guys were huge, and not even the Enforcers’ bulletproof vests could protect them from the savage blows the athletes dealt them. The crew guys naturally congregated around Gray, working together almost as seamlessly as the Seven. One of them also appeared to be a Teleporter, which was awesome. Every time one of our people was struggling, he appeared and helped take down the Enforcers.

  “So this is what it’s like to party with Graysen Galder,” Adam said, grinning. He punched an Enforcer hard enough to send the man crashing through a wall.

  “Just another day in the life,” Gray replied as he slammed his own fist into one of the men, who was sneaking up on the coxswain with a syringe held out like a knife.

  The coxswain stood in the center of the chaos, protected by three of his teammates, as he held his arms outstretched. Water burst through the wall and from beneath the floor. The gushing liquid congregated into waterspouts that bowled right over the bad guys and left the rest of us standing.

  Cool.

  Another one of Gray’s Nat teammates had a bunch of brass knuckles, which he was doling out with abandon. I didn’t ask why he’d brought them to an engagement party. I just slipped on a pair and took them for a test run on an Enforcer’s jaw.

  Syringes full of the Magical Reduction Potion flew out of the Enforcers’ hands. A.J. flicked his fingers, and the syringes bashed themselves against the ceiling until they shattered. Droplets of liquid ran down the walls.

  A.J. similarly divested the Enforcers of their guns. The weapons hovered over the men’s heads, and were even doing a choreographed dance that made them look like they were imitating the Rockettes.

  We were careful not to break the first high law—the only one of the high laws that I didn’t take issue with—by killing any of them. But everything else was fair game.

  “You…interrupted…my…engagement party,” Gray informed one of the Enforcers between punches that had the other man spitting blood.

  I exchanged a grin with him before a wall of fighters separated us again.

  Bri took care of half of the Enforcers all by herself. She left a trail of groaning and unconscious men in her wake.

  “We’re winning!” A.J. yelled, prancing between the moaning Enforcers and pumping his fists in the air.

  I kicked off my heels and paused just long enough to tear a slit in my dress so it wouldn’t hamper my movements. Then, I turned to face my next opponent.

  All of the air went out of my lungs as a giant man tackled me.

  I struck the floor with enough force that I saw stars. His weight was crushing me, and my arms were pinned by my sides. Panic lanced through me when I realized I was completely outmatched.

  My skin flickered as I cycled through one illusion after another in my terror.

  The Enforcer pinning me laughed.

  “Mag freak.” He leaned closer. “Don’t worry. I’ll make you human again.” He reac
hed into his pocket for a syringe that was no longer there.

  Just as he realized the Magical Reduction Potion was gone, a blur of motion landed beside us.

  Sir Zachary latched his small teeth onto the Enforcer’s bulletproof vest and shook his head.

  Sir Zachary couldn’t have weighed more than twenty pounds, and yet, the man was flung off me as though he weighed nothing more than the stuffed animals we played fetch with. As soon as the man was no longer on top of me, Sir Zachary barked.

  Fire spouted from his muzzle, enveloping the man who had attacked me.

  The sickening smell of burnt hair filled the hallway as the shrieking Enforcer sprinted away.

  “What the fuck?” one of Gray’s teammates, who had been coming to help me, looked at Sir Zachary like he was the devil.

  Our little dog wagged his tail and trotted back into the fray.

  “Kaira,” Smith called. “Mag cops on the way—”

  The rest of his words were drowned out by Yutika’s scream.

  “Michael!”

  He was on his hands and knees, his body unnaturally still as sweat streamed down his red face. Subject 6 was lying on his back. His invisibility flickered in and out.

  Michael groaned.

  Bri and Yutika raced toward them, but they both stopped before they reached the pair. My friends cried out and clutched their heads. I managed only a single step before nausea surged through my gut. Mental claws dug into my brain.

  Through vision that was spotted with darkness, I saw Subject 6 stagger to his feet.

  I was desperate to stop him, but my legs weren’t working. Every time I tried to so much as lift my foot, the pain in my head became too unbearable to think about anything else.

  Subject 6 limped down the hallway toward A.J.

  No.

  Sir Zachary, who had been at A.J.’s side, leapt in front of Subject 6 and started to bark fire. Without warning, Subject 6 disappeared from view.

  At that moment, I was able to reclaim control over my mind. My legs unfroze.

  “Come back here, you bastard!” Bri screamed, racing down the hallway after Subject 6. Gray was right on her heels.