The Charm Runner (Broken Throne Book 1)

by Jamie Davis

  After a while, Danny could no longer throttle his curiosity.

  He got up, crossed to the other side of the room, sat on the floor, and leaned towards the metal grate. The voices were clearer now. He heard Father talking.

  “ … I’m glad to hear the plan for the chanter problem is progressing. I am surprised more of them aren’t up in arms over this registration plan.”

  Then, Director Kane: “It’s simple, really. They are like the frog in a pot of water. If you place the frog in the water when it’s boiling, they’ll jump right out. If, however, you place them in cool water and slowly heat it, they’ll swim around until they boil to death. Most chanters are the same. They don’t see this as a big step, so they go along for the ride.”

  Father laughed. “Go along for the ride. I like that. Have your officers been able to move forward with Project X? In light of the recent arrests, I would think there are others who will be taking a ride.”

  “Yes, well, as you know, we were unsuccessful in our attempt to harvest that part of the brain used to access magic. It cut off the chanters we opened from magic, but we couldn’t enliven the tissue taken or use it to draw magic into the machine. We’ll have to force a living chanter to cast magic directly and siphon the power directly from them. Results are promising, but the effects are inconsistent.”

  “Worse than recovery from brain surgery?” Mother asked.

  “I’m afraid so. About fifty percent die outright once we’ve siphoned all the magic they can channel. Of the rest, we’ve seen everything from catatonia to high levels of aggression requiring officers to euthanize them. I suppose, in the end, we’ll have to terminate them all.”

  “It’s a shame, but unavoidable, I suppose,” Mother said. “Still, once the magic is stored in the machine, we’ll no longer need them. We’ll have all the magic required to run our cities. Why keep the cows if the faucets are all pouring milk?”

  “Indeed,” Father said. “Shall we return to the dining room? I’m sure the dessert service is in place.”

  Murmuring voices receded.

  Danny stared at the grate in shock. What the hell had he heard? They wanted to kill all the chanters by drawing off their magic into some sort of machine, and his parents were part of the conspiracy?

  Danny spent a long time sitting there, practically paralyzed, trying to wrap his brain around the truth that he’d been raised by monsters.

  He had to do something. His friends had to be warned. Maybe they could try to stop it. Maybe Artos Merrilyn would have some answers. He wanted to know more out about this Project X, too.

  He had to get word out to Winnie, save her before she got picked up by Red Legs. They had a list of threats. Surely she was on it.

  Danny stood and looked around his room. It was time to plan his escape.

  CHAPTER 41

  Winnie held the cup for her mother, urging her to sip the water.

  She’d just woken from a long nap. Winnie and the day nurse had raised the head of the hospital bed so she could sort of sit up. Her mother was steadily improving. The doctors said the process could take a while, and that she’d have to be patient. She was sick of being patient. Even with help from the nurses, it was exhausting at home, taking care of her mom.

  Though it wasn’t much easier away. She was at the warehouse with Cait, Joey and Tris, planning their runs. They had to wait until dark to avoid Red Legs. Meeting at night was an annoyance for their clients, but it was for the best, considering the way Red Legs were hurling chanters into cells for every sort of minor crime.

  And they weren’t getting released. Relatives were told that their loved ones were being detained for “public safety.” Everyone smelled the lie. Whispers said experiments were leveled on the missing, something Winnie believed, considering what had happened to Joey.

  The apartment’s doorbell rang. She handed the cup to the nurse then walked out to the living room and peeked out the peephole to see who was at the door.

  She staggered back in shock.

  “Go away, Danny. I don’t have anything else to say. You made your choice, now get out of here.”

  “Winnie, let me in. I know you’re mad at me. I don’t blame you. But I’m not the traitor. I could never do that to you. You have to believe me.”

  “Go away.”

  “I can’t. I have nowhere else to go.”

  “Go home to Mommy and Daddy.”

  “I can’t. Not now. Not after what I just found out. Please, Winnie. Let me in. I can explain everything, but not from out here.”

  Winnie rolled her eyes. She knew Danny Barber well enough to know that he wasn’t going away. She would hear him out, then kick him out. She’d get Cait to help her if needed. Winnie was looking forward to pounding on Danny.

  She opened the door and stepped back, staring him down as he entered. He dropped his eyes to the floor as he passed.

  They stood in silence until Winnie had waited enough.

  “Spill it, Danny. Then go. I don’t want you back in my life. There’s too much happening right now for me to have anything to do with you.”

  “Don’t say that, Winnie. I know you’re mad, but you don’t know what I know.”

  “Fine. Talk. I’ve got to get back to taking care of my mother.”

  “What’s wrong with your mom? Is she alright?”

  “No, and you don’t get to worry about her. Just tell me what’s on your mind. I’ll hear you out.” Then I’ll show you out.

  Danny opened his mouth but was interrupted by the nurse stepping into the room.

  “I think you two need some alone time. I’ve turned on the TV in your mom’s room and raised the volume to give you some privacy. I’m going to run down to the market for a bit while you two hash this out.”

  Winnie nodded, waiting while the nurse grabbed her coat and left the apartment.

  “Alright, Danny. We’re alone. Talk.”

  “I don’t expect you to believe me without proof, Winnie. You think I betrayed you and I don’t have any way to change your mind. I think my father and the Red Legs set it up that way when they had me released, but I know I can’t convince you of that right now.” He paused, peering into her eyes, his expression pleading.

  Winnie stared back, her arms crossed.

  “But there are more important things you need to know. That’s why I had to escape and come here. I found out what Project X is.”

  “What? How?”

  “My parents surprised me by having Director Kane over for dinner. They went into my father’s study before dessert. I overheard them: Project X is a magic-siphoning machine of some kind. They’re using it to capture magic from chanters and hold it somehow.”

  “So, where is this magic-stealing machine?”

  “I don’t know, but I haven’t told you the worst part. They capture chanters and force them to cast magic into the machine. Then it uses them as a conduit to draw the magic through them. The chanters are dead or worse. Those that don’t die immediately are getting killed off anyway. The plan is to get rid of all chanters after gathering all the magic.”

  “That’s insane. How do they think we’d let them do that?”

  “Because they already are. They’ve started catching chanters for various crimes then transporting them to the machine for processing. It’s happening and no one even knows.”

  “Danny, we need to tell Artos. He has to do something.”

  “My thought exactly. Hopefully he’s been able to learn the project’s location. It can’t be too far from the city. They’re shuttling chanters there daily.”

  Winnie pressed a finger to her temple, working to remember where her team was traveling. She hoped they were safe. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock. She turned and opened the door to her neighbor, Mrs. Sanchez.

  “Winnie, honey. I was out front on the stoop and just saw the Red Legs pick up your nurse. I thought you needed to know.”

  “They what? Why would they do that?”

  “I don’t know
. She said hello and told me she was walking to the market. A police van pulled up and three officers jumped out. They grabbed her and three others, then threw them all in the back in cuffs. Then they drove off with their siren blaring. No one seemed to be doing anything wrong, unless walking down the street is a crime.”

  Winnie looked at Danny. This was bad if they’d resorted to grabbing random chanters.

  “Mrs. Sanchez, can you stay here and watch my mom? I need to find out what happened.”

  “Of course. I’ve been meaning to look in on her anyway.”

  “Thanks, Mrs. Sanchez. I owe you one.”

  “Nonsense. You and your man go find out what happened to all those people.”

  She cringed at having Danny labeled as “her man” but let it pass.

  Winnie grabbed Danny by the arm and they left, shutting the door behind them. First, they’d hit the warehouse and tell everyone to stop all deliveries until further notice.

  They reached the street. Winnie looked up and down the parked cars, puzzled.

  “Where’s your car, Danny? We need to get going if we’re going to warn the crew and get to Artos’s in time to do any good.”

  “I don’t have it. I told you, I escaped. They were literally holding me prisoner. I couldn’t come to you until I got away.” He shrugged. “The car was locked in the garage. I had to walk downtown then catch a bus to get here.”

  “You rode the bus? You must be desperate.”

  “Maybe. But it was important to make sure you were alright, and warn you about what was going on.”

  “Well, cabs have stopped coming to the Enclave since the latest resolution. Something about keeping them clean of magic for middling passengers. We’ll start walking and maybe catch a bus on the way. We have to hurry. The closest bus stop is two blocks away. We might get lucky and catch one going the right way.”

  They jogged down the street. Two blocks passed and they were both out of breath. They reached the bus stop, heaving, a minute before the bus.

  With connections, they made it to the warehouse in twenty-five minutes.

  When they entered, Cait looked up from her chair, took one look at Danny, and started out of the chair towards him.

  “Hold it, Cait. You can have a piece of him later. Right now, he’s helping.”

  “The hell he is. What is he helping with?”

  “He has the info on Project X we’ve been looking for.”

  “And you believe him?”

  Winnie looked at Danny — he seemed more than a little uncomfortable with the conversation’s tone. Good.

  “Probably. Anyway, we’ll let Artos sort it out. He might be able to corroborate some of Danny’s information. Then we’ll know. First, I want everyone to come back, right now. Stop all deliveries and come to the warehouse. We’ll be staying here until we figure out what’s happening.

  “What is happening?” Cait asked.

  “They’ve started snatching people off the street. They grabbed Mom’s nurse and a bunch of other people while she was on her way to the corner market.”

  “What? How can they do that?”

  “I’m guessing that they’re about to give up all pretense of following the law and start rounding up chanters on sight. That’s what the armbands are for. Have Tris and Joey take theirs off and come back here without them. It might make it easier to get back here if the Red Legs are hunting.”

  Cait turned to her phone and sent a flurry of urgent texts. She kept tapping so Winnie figured she was getting a response. Good, that probably meant that Tris and Joey hadn’t been picked up by a roving patrol.

  Danny looked around. “I like the new location. What happened to the shop?”

  “It’s closed. Gone forever, as far as the Assembly’s concerned.” Winnie didn’t try to hide her bitterness. She wasn’t convinced that Danny hadn’t betrayed them. This could be a change of heart after hearing Director Kane’s plans.

  “Oh,” he said, looking around the room. “What now? Don’t we need to meet with Artos?”

  “We wait here and make sure every one of the team makes it back safe and sound. Then we wait until dark, if it isn’t dark already by that time. We need to be careful with the Red Legs roaming and picking up people like they are. Once we get to his offices, we’ll go up and have a chat and see what he’s doing about the random abductions.”

  Danny shuffled his feet, his eyes on the floor. Winnie understood what he must be feeling. She didn’t want to hang around him anymore than was necessary, either. And Cait wasn’t helping the mood, glaring at Danny, probably running over all the martial arts holds she’d like to put him through.

  Let Danny fend for himself; she was tired. Winnie pulled up a chair, settling in and hoping her friends made it back to the warehouse alive.

  CHAPTER 42

  It took too long for Tris and Joey to return.

  Winnie couldn’t sit after the first half hour. She began to alternately stand, checking her phone for messages, and pace, glancing at the windows for signs of her friends.

  Danny made the mistake of trying to talk. “Sit back down. They’ll be here soon enough. I’m sure everything’s fine.”

  “Easy for you to say. The Red Legs would just send you back to Mommy and Daddy.”

  Cait jumped in. “You betrayed us once. How do we know this isn’t another trick to get us to break the law?”

  “I told you both. I’m not the person you’re looking for. What about Joey? We don’t know everything they did to him while he was in the hospital, do we?”

  Cait rushed over and grabbed Danny by the collar. “Don’t you dare shift the blame to Joey, or anyone else. You barely spent an hour in that cell.”

  “Don’t you think that’s too easy? What if you were supposed to paint me as the traitor? Why would they give away their inside man if they were going to let you go anyway?”

  “Leave him alone, Cait. He’s not worth the trouble. Whatever Danny did or didn’t do, he’s helping us now.”

  Winnie shot Danny a sideways glance, hoping he wouldn’t notice, hand straying to her stomach. She wasn’t showing, but she worried that he might notice anyway.

  Winnie didn’t want him to know about the baby, not until she was sure he could be trusted. She caught Cait staring at her hand on her stomach and shook her head. This wasn’t the time. Cait nodded and Winnie returned to her inspection of the perimeter windows. Cait checked the other side of the warehouse.

  Winnie saw Joey first, hidden in the shadows, invisible until he was dashing towards the warehouse door. Winnie opened it before he arrived. Joey ran inside, looking behind him as she shut the door.

  “Were you followed?” Winnie asked, her eyes digging into the street.

  “No, I don’t think so. Thanks for the warning about the Red Legs, though. I’d just taken off my armband when four Red Legs turned down the street right where I was walking. They grabbed a pair of chanters, still wearing their bands, and called for a van. It picked them up and drove away. Five minutes later, I would have been grabbed, too. How’d you find out about the roundup?”

  Winnie jerked a thumb toward Danny.

  Joey raised an eyebrow. “When did he get here?”

  “Long story. Brave guy, says he escaped from his own home. He overheard stories of the roundups and stuff that’s happening with Project X. Supposedly, he came to warn us.”

  Joey glanced at her stomach. “Does he know … ?”

  “No.”

  “Do I know what?” Danny stood.

  “Nothing,” Winnie snapped. “Look, you’ve been helpful so far, but we’re a long way from trusting you with anything we can’t independently verify. So sit down and stay out of our conversations.”

  Danny sat with a sigh, eyes on the ceiling.

  Joey looked around at Cait then back to Winnie. “Where’s Tris?”

  “Still out there.” Cait pointed to the door.

  “But she was a lot closer to the Enclave than I was. What if she got picked up?”<
br />
  “No use worrying yet,” Winnie said. “She might have had to lay low for a while.”

  There was a sudden sound behind them. Cait spun around in a combat crouch. Winnie and Joey jumped in surprise, watching with curious stares as a metal drain grate in the concrete floor opened and slid to the side with a clatter. A familiar, grime-covered face appeared in the opening.

  Winnie rushed over with Cait right beside her, extending an arm to help Tris climb from the hole.

  Winnie grabbed her friend in a bear hug. “Where did you come from? How did you get down there?”

  “I got your warning and decided I’d have a hard time getting back on the streets. I’ve been down in the sewer and steam lines more times than I could count as a tech. Figured I could find my way back to the Enclave if I took my time. I got turned around and had to backtrack a bit, but I made it.”

  “You sure did. We’re glad to see you safe and sound.”

  Tris nodded at Danny. “When did lover boy get here? I thought you never wanted to see his backstabbing face again.”

  “Don’t call him that, and I didn’t. He showed up on his own.”

  Winnie filled Tris in on Danny’s return and his revelation.

  Tris looked at Danny. “Thanks for the warning, I guess. Just in time for me and Joey.”

  “Sorry I couldn’t get here sooner. Maybe others could have been spared.”

  Danny seemed genuine, but Winnie had seen that smile before, and wouldn’t fall for it again.

  “Alright,” she said. “Everyone’s here. So now what?”

  “We have to get to Artos, right?” Cait asked. “He’s the key, the only one who can help us find the Project X machine and destroy it. Or at least stop them from using it on people.”

  “That’s what I’m thinking, too,” Winnie agreed. “With everything Danny’s told us, confirmed by Joey and Tris, we need some way to reach Artos without getting picked up.”

  Joey snapped his fingers. “Tris, can you use the old sewer and steam tunnels to reach the Mender’s Hall downtown?”