Mags & Nats 3-Book Box Set

by Stephanie Fazio

  A small sound from the platform brought my attention away from myself and onto the tiny, huddled figure beside the crate.

  “Hush, you,” the foreman ordered, striking the bottom of the crate with his boot. Lilly whimpered and then went silent.

  I’m coming, Lilly, I silently begged her. Just hang on.

  My magic didn’t matter. All that mattered was getting to Lilly. And I didn’t need my magic for that.

  I resumed my climbing, but I was slower now. My every movement felt sluggish. It felt like my body was fighting against itself. If it hadn’t been for the gas mask Yutika had made me, I was pretty sure I would have passed out and fallen to my death.

  “Fifteen years,” Felix said, as I labored up the side of the tunnel, one rung at a time. “I haven’t left this mine in fifteen years.”

  I was finally close enough that I could see distinct facial features. I tried not to look too hard at Lilly, because if I did, I would get us both killed in my frantic attempts to take her away from these monsters.

  “That’s some serious dedication to your cause,” I said, breathing through a burst of pain across my palms. My skin, weak and raw from the powder, was blistering against the repetitive motion of grabbing the rungs.

  My legs felt like lead. It was taking all of my energy to raise each foot to the next rung. My arms were trembling from holding up my own weight.

  “I began work on this mine when I discovered Agent Steel and the possibilities it contained,” Felix said.

  “I brought you the Agent S, don’t forget,” the foreman reminded Felix, sounding like a petulant child seeking a parent’s approval. He spewed out a mouthful of brown tobacco juice that hit the side of the metal shaft.

  “And you needed a Level 10 Alchemist to unlock its potential,” Felix snapped back.

  Clearly, this was an argument the two of them had had before.

  “Edwardian built MagLab, while I created the mine,” Felix told me. “My brother was breeding an army of regular-born Super Mags. I was creating a force of my own down here.

  “We knew it would behoove us for the rest of the world to believe I was dead, so I committed to never leaving the mine.”

  “You faked your death at that school,” I said, thinking about Michael’s stricken expression when he saw the news article about the battle.

  “There were so many deaths that day.” Felix shrugged. “My brother and I didn’t think anyone would notice if another name was added to the list.”

  “You really had this thing planned out for a while, then,” I said.

  A little closer.

  I tried to catch Lilly’s eye, but her face was downturned.

  My arms trembled. Sweat poured down my back and ran into the open blisters on my palms. The burn brought tears to my eyes.

  “My brother and I were going to avenge our parents’ murders at the hands of Nats.

  “Edwardian and I planned to combine our forces to destroy the US Federal Security Enforcers. I was going to use the Agent Steel to enhance Mags’ powers, and my brother would use the Magical Reduction Potion to encourage any unwilling Mags to fall into line with our new regime.”

  Felix held his hands out to the Synthetics standing on either side of him.

  “While we have failed in every other regard, I will succeed in this. Behold the weapon that will dismantle the Nats’ control over our country.”

  “Six minutes,” Smith said into my ear. “Bri, you’ve gotta get moving. It’s going to take you at least two minutes to get down here to the train.”

  I didn’t bother responding. I wasn’t leaving without Lilly.

  My arms were shaking violently, and my legs were refusing to move.

  Please, I thought, willing my limbs to obey, but it was hopeless. It was taking all of my strength just to hang on.

  As my panic reached a fever-pitch, I felt the brush of air against my skin, and then a familiar scent somehow permeated the shield of my gas mask.

  Cinnamon.

  CHAPTER 48

  Diego. He was here. I couldn’t see him, but I felt his arms around me, helping to support my dead weight.

  “Dios, Bri,” he murmured.

  “Lilly,” I whispered, turning my head so Felix wouldn’t see my lips move. “He has her.”

  “You’re hurt,” Diego whispered back. “Where’s your titanium?”

  Forget about me! I wanted to shout, but I never had the chance.

  One of the six Synthetics held out his arm and pointed a long, deformed finger down at the spot to my left…right where I could feel Diego hovering beside me. The Synthetic made a guttural sound. Blood dripped from his nail-less finger.

  “Ahh.” Felix came to the edge of the platform and stared down at me. “The real Super Magic has arrived. Show yourself, Chameleon.”

  With no point in staying hidden, Diego dropped his camouflage.

  He swept one arm beneath my knees and used the other to support my back.

  “I’ve got you, cariño,” Diego said, taking my weight.

  “How delightful,” Felix said, his eyes glittering as he stared down at us, like we were specimens in a lab. “The Agramontes do have such big hearts.” He stared like he was trying to puzzle Diego out. “Are you as blinded by love as your parents?”

  “You need your head examined, pendejo,” Diego said.

  I wasn’t sure if he even noticed that, even as he spoke, Diego pulled me tighter against his own body. It didn’t escape Felix’s notice.

  “I was in love once, too, you know,” Felix said. All humor disappeared from his expression. “A very long time ago.”

  “Bri,” Smith said. “Bri, what the fuck are you doing? You only have five minutes.”

  I didn’t bother responding. There was nothing to say.

  “What have you done to my girl?” Diego demanded, his whole body radiating fury.

  “Interesting,” Felix murmured. “I thought you’d be wondering about what I did with all of the Agent Steel you’ve been so desperately searching for.”

  Diego tensed, his grip tightening on me.

  A strangled scream came out of me as the foreman yanked Lilly to her feet. He didn’t throw her off the platform like I’d been expecting, though. He just pushed her roughly behind him so he could kick off the lid of the crate she’d been huddling beside.

  The foreman grunted as he tilted the crate toward us, just enough to reveal its contents.

  Diego sucked in a breath. The crate was packed with rows and rows of glittering green Agent S vials. There had to be hundreds of them.

  The foreman tipped the crate back onto the elevator. The whole platform trembled as the heavy load settled.

  Even though Lilly was blocked by the foreman’s body, I could hear her crying.

  “This is all that’s left of the Agent Steel,” Felix told Diego. “The rest has been destroyed.”

  “Why would you do that?” Diego demanded.

  “Insurance,” Felix replied. “I knew that once you learned the truth, you would attempt to kill me. I also knew that if you were anything like your parents, you wouldn’t be able to resist the only way to get more of your precious Magical Reduction Potion.”

  “What truth?” Diego asked in a flat voice. He was grinding his teeth hard enough that I heard them squeak.

  “Your parents didn’t die in the MagLab fire,” Felix said. “I killed them at least a week before that Pyro set flame to the lab.”

  All the color drained from Diego’s face.

  Felix’s mouth twitched into a cruel smile. “After my brother’s death, your parents learned what he’d really been planning to do with the Magical Reduction Potion. They found out about the Steel slaves and lost their heads. They were threatening to destroy all of their research unless I agreed to release the children. So, I sent one of my people to dispose of them.”

  “What?” Diego’s mouth made the shape of the word, but no sound came out.

  All this time, Diego had believed the Pyro was respo
nsible for his parents’ deaths. And not only had Felix killed the only people Diego had ever had in his life, the Alchemist possessed the ultimate bargaining chip…the one thing Diego wanted most.

  “Bri, you’ve got three minutes,” Smith shouted into my ear. “Wrap this shit up. Now.”

  “That’s it,” Kaira said. “I’m going to come get you.”

  An argument erupted across my earpiece, but I didn’t hear any of it.

  Felix had just admitted to murdering Diego’s parents. And he held my niece’s life in his hands.

  “I will survive this,” Felix said. “But I am curious to discover what you care about most, Diego Agramonte.” He smiled cruelly. “Will you try to avenge your parents’ death by attempting to kill me? Or will you prioritize the Agent Steel, since your parents gave their lives in pursuit of the Magical Reduction Potion formula, and this crate is your last chance to make more of it? Or, will you choose to save a single life of value to no one except your little Steel?”

  Before Diego or I could speak, there was a commotion on the platform. The foreman kicked the crate once, twice, three times…until the entire thing went over the side.

  At almost the same moment, Felix lifted my niece by her armpits and flung her off the platform.

  I screamed.

  Diego flew straight up. Before I could utter a word, I was airborne, and Diego’s arms were no longer around me.

  Diego had thrown me high enough that my hand connected with the elevator’s handrail. My skin was sweaty, but I clung on and managed to hoist myself onto the platform.

  My momentum thrust one of the Synthetics over the side. His gnarled fingers wrapped around the bottom of the platform for a second before his weight and gravity did their job. He plummeted down.

  “Lilly!” I screamed.

  Ignoring everything and everyone else, I looked over the side of the platform. I couldn’t see Lilly or the crate.

  All I saw was Diego, shooting down.

  CHAPTER 49

  Lilly and the last crate of Agent S were in a race to the bottom, and I was powerless to do anything.

  My friends were shouting across my earpiece, but I couldn’t hear anything over the crash of my pulse.

  Diego had told me his Levitator magic was the weaker of his two abilities, and that he couldn’t carry much more than his own weight. He wouldn’t be able to catch that heavy crate and Lilly. Not to mention, the awkward shape of the Agent S container would make it impossible for him to hold them both.

  Diego’s words from our fight came back to me.

  The only thing that changed was that the Synthetics made me more committed to taking away our magic.

  A broken sound tore free from my lips.

  “Get rid of her,” Felix ordered the foreman. To the remaining five Synthetics, he snapped, “And get us out of here.”

  Two of the Synthetics began to haul on the thick cables, drawing the platform up by hand. The other three stood protectively around Felix and the foreman. The Synthetics’ magic simmered just below the surface.

  “Bri!” My friends shouted my name until my ear rang.

  The metal walls of the supply shaft began to vibrate. Dimly, it occurred to me that whatever Smith had done to the mine’s electrical system was starting to take effect. Once the Agent S stones were disrupted enough, the explosions would begin.

  The foreman spat what I swore to myself would be his last mouthful of tobacco juice.

  Hope you enjoyed it, asshole.

  “Go!” I shouted into my mike. And then I threw myself at the foreman.

  The MRP powder must have been temporary, because I could feel it wearing off. Some of my strength was coming back.

  I didn’t have time for gratitude.

  I elbowed the foreman in the face, making him stumble to the edge of the platform. He wobbled for a second before righting himself. He plowed toward me like a charging bull.

  Two things happened at once. My skin transformed back to titanium. And Diego appeared beside the platform. He was cradling Lilly against his chest.

  My knees went weak with relief.

  Before I could say a word, the walls shook again, more forcefully this time.

  “Get her out of here,” I begged Diego.

  “I can’t carry both of you.”

  There was a wild look in Diego’s eyes. He might not have my friends’ frantic voices in his ear, but he understood. The mine was collapsing.

  “It’s okay,” I told him. “Please. Just get her out.”

  The foreman launched at me again. I moved out of the way with inches to spare.

  “Diego, go!”

  Diego looked sick. He wrapped a protective hand behind Lilly’s head. And then he was gone.

  Relief like I’d never experienced washed through me. I dodged another one of the foreman’s blows, letting his momentum carry him forward. I waited for him to turn around and face me. I let him see his death in my eyes. Then, I struck.

  One well-aimed punch sent him sprawling backward. For what felt like forever, he wobbled on the platform’s edge, his arms pinwheeling. His terrified gaze met mine right before he went over the side.

  The foreman howled. There was a horrible thud as his body struck the metal wall. The two sounds bounced up and down again in a chilling cacophony until they faded completely.

  Another tremendous boom rocked the entire shaft, making the platform tremble violently.

  “Kill her,” Felix ordered his Synthetics.

  The ones pulling up the elevator kept at their task, which left three to come for me. They were stronger and more powerful than me, and I was exhausted. I couldn’t take them down.

  I wasn’t useless, though. I might not be able to save myself, but I could at least prevent Felix and his Synthetics from getting out of here alive.

  “I love all of you,” I said into my mike, hoping my friends would hear me over their panicked screams.

  I let out a startled gasp as the full force of my magic slammed back into me. A grim smile tugged at my lips as I met Felix’s gaze.

  The Synthetics attacked, but I was ready. I jumped straight up, grasping onto one of the thick metal cables. I pulled with all of my strength.

  Felix shouted. The cable snapped. And then, we were all falling.

  CHAPTER 50

  Ifell for what felt like forever.

  All around me, the mine was collapsing. Debris rained down. Deafening booms ricocheted through what was left of the metal cylinder. Something heavy and metal struck the side of my face, hard. I felt my jaw crack.

  Lilly is safe.

  Those words echoed through my mind, giving me peace even as I fell and the mine exploded around me.

  The air was filled with shattering sounds. Stone and metal crumbled. And still, I fell.

  Lilly is safe.

  My grasping hands caught on the metal rungs, tearing them free from the collapsing wall. The interruption slowed my descent just enough for me to truly understand how screwed I was.

  I saw no sign of Felix or the Synthetics as I fell, but that was fine with me. It gave me no comfort to think of their bodies entombed in here with mine.

  Lilly is safe.

  I closed my eyes and tried not think about whether the impact or suffocation would be what killed me.

  ✽✽✽

  I must have fallen hundreds of feet, and yet my magic kept me from dying on impact. The dirt floor of the mine was molded around me.

  Stone, metal, and other debris struck me on their way down. I held my hands up, protecting my face as I watched what had to be miles’ worth of dirt raining down.

  Through everything, I could see a small circle of light. It was so high overhead it might as well not exist, and yet, it was a comfort. I didn’t want to die alone in the dark. That little patch of sunlight reminded me of everything good that would exist even once I didn’t. Lilly and the rest of my family. The Seven. Diego.

  I thought I was hallucinating when a very human-shaped piece of debris
came zooming down faster than all the rest. I gasped, trying to form words. Panic flooded me until there wasn’t room for anything else.

  Diego.

  “No,” I managed. He wasn’t supposed to be here. He was supposed to be safe.

  Even though I was half-buried by falling rocks and metal junk, Diego managed to zig and zag his way through everything. His hand closed around mine, hauling me out of the pile of rubble that was covering me.

  I felt his whole body convulse as something heavy hit him. He sank to his knees.

  “Get out of here!” I tried to tell him, but my ears were too full of the mini explosions going off all around us to hear my own voice.

  I crouched down beside him. Diego reached out with a bleeding, trembling hand to touch my cheek.

  “Go!” I shouted.

  There was still time. He could fly fast enough to avoid the falling rubble. He could make it out.

  Diego shook his head. He reached for me again, yanking his arm back when a shard of metal sliced across his forearm.

  I let out a muffled scream as blood gushed from the wound.

  “Get out,” I begged. I didn’t know if he could hear me, but he saw my lips moving and must have known what I was trying to tell him.

  Diego shook his head again. I understood he was as weak and exhausted as I was, and that he wouldn’t be able to get us both out. And he wasn’t going to leave me.

  When my wild eyes went back up in the direction he’d come from, the patch of light was gone. Now, the only reason I could see anything was because of my skin’s silver sheen.

  Diego winced as a huge stone came barreling toward us.

  I rolled myself on top of him, using my titanium body to shield as much of him as I could. The stone shattered across my back. Jagged pieces sprayed around us, hitting against the metal wall and bouncing back. There was one dull thud after another as debris struck my back. With their momentum, even small rocks would be deadly if they hit the wrong part of Diego.

  I looked down at him. He was trying to say something, but he was coughing too hard to get the words out. Not that I could have heard him, anyway. The only sound in my ears was the crash of the mine all around us. I felt Diego’s body shaking, though. His face was turning purple. He couldn’t stop coughing as he inhaled the swirling dust.