Shifters And Glyphs

by Bauer, Christina;

  “We’ll talk more at breakfast, yeah?” asks Knox. “Then, we can chat about that whole West Lake thing too.” He heaves in a rattling breath.

  My inner wolf goes back to whimpering. “Our mate is very ill.”

  “I know,” I reply.

  Knox slogs down the hallway. It seems to take forever for him to step into the elevator and disappear. That’s another thing that isn’t like him. Usually, there’s at least one smartass comment before he goes.

  Sighing, I turn my attention to the master security panel in the wall by my door. All of a sudden, finding the Codex Mechanica never seemed more important. One way or another, that damned fountain is the source of all Knox’s pain. I know it. And if destroying it at least gives him some peace, then maybe that’s just what I have to do.

  Chapter 17

  I step into the apartment. There’s no telltale clacking of keys and grumbling from the living room, so I figure Alec isn’t here for once. The place seems strangely quiet without him.

  Elle’s voice echoes into our little reception hall. “I’m in the kitchen!” she calls. A delicious scent fills the air.

  My wolf grumbles inside me. “Elle ordered from City Lights of Beijing again.” Her tone says she’s definitely not interested.

  “That’s your favorite,” I reply in my mind. “Don’t you want any?”

  “Not hungry.”

  I step into the kitchen and see the largest spread of white delivery boxes ever. “Dang.” I start counting the containers. “Twenty?”

  Elle spears a fried crab rangoon from the box in her hand. “And they’re going quickly, my friend. I’m one hungry girl.”

  I take my regular seat at our high top, sniff out some mu shu pork, and try to force in a few bites. My wolf isn’t the only one without an appetite. “How was the rest of school?”

  Elle talks through a mouth full of rangoon. “Weird. How was the basement?”

  “Creepy.”

  “The workstation?”

  “Decent.” Not that I expected anything less. Alec’s parents were footing the bill. They want me to find the fountain and empower Alec to have an heir ASAP. You’d think the two of them were going to die any day now, the way they’re obsessed about an heir.

  “And the papyri?” asks Elle.

  I freeze, my chopsticks halfway to my mouth. “I found something out.”

  “Go on.” She motions in circles, encouraging me to speed up.

  “The workstation at school also had some new papyri on them. I found the fountain.”

  Elle’s mouth falls open. “No. Way.”

  “Well, not exactly the fountain, but this thing that will find the fountain. It’s called the Codex Mechanica.” I could add more about visiting Az and the Void—or needing to destroy all magic to stop the Shadowvin—but Elle wouldn’t remember any of that anyway.

  Stupid memory curse.

  Elle straightens. A determined look gleams in her eyes. This is what I call her plotting mode. She’s getting ready to act. “What can you tell me about the device?”

  Now, I could tell Elle what the Codex Mechanica looks like and how we could search for it online, but the words seem stuck in my throat. If Elle knows all that stuff, she’ll want to help me find the device and face down the Void.

  I can’t have her risking herself like that. As Az said, this is my task. Magic chose me. I can’t risk anyone else’s life against the Shadowvin and the Void. It’s bad enough I have to face them. Plus, there’s the whole “taking responsibility for destroying all magic” part. I don’t want to load that on anyone else.

  My wolf sits up straight and lifts her furry chin. This is her judgy pose. “You know more about that Codex Mechanica. I was sleeping when you were with Scar. You learned things, I know it.”

  “We’re not having this discussion,” I reply in my mind.

  “You’re holding out on both me and Elle.” She curls into a ball and pretends to go to sleep.

  Elle scoops up a bunch of white food containers in her arms and marches off for the living room, because that’s where we keep our best computer system. “Finding the Codex Mechanica on the internet, how hard can it be?”

  A twinge of guilt tightens across my ribcage. I searched on the term Codex Mechanica back at school. There’s nothing on the web about it. Like zero. Without knowing what the device looks like, Elle won’t get very far. Guilt weighs down my limbs. I should tell Elle she’s about to waste her time, but that would open up a lot of questions. And once Elle starts asking questions, I crack like an egg.

  Nope, it’s better to let her try, even if it’s nearly impossible that she’ll find anything.

  I force a smile. “Let’s get hacking.”

  And by hacking, I mean breaking into a ton of secured computer systems dealing with illegal or magical devices. Elle and I have workstations in our bedrooms as well as the master system in the living room. I scoop up my own set of preferred Chinese food containers and follow Elle into the living room.

  At least, I think it’s our living room.

  The place looks redecorated with a bunch of silvery stuff. I slowly step around the space. Normally, all our furniture is what I’d call modern generic. Now, there are small statues, big statues, and tons of canvases covered with silver images.

  They’re all about the same subject.

  Elle.

  Setting aside my takeout grub, I pause by a life-size statue of Elle by the window. She’s wearing her school uniform and laughing. “Um, what’s all this?”

  Elle plunks on the couch. “Oh, some of the kids at school made me gifts.”

  I step over to a smaller statue by the couch. This time, it’s an imagined version of Elle in a ballerina costume. “Gifts from who?”

  “The other fae students.” Elle fires up the main monitor and starts typing passwords into a keyboard. “I think they do it for all new kids.”

  I step over to a stack of canvases against the wall. “Is that what Alec told you? They didn’t have anything like that for me or Knox.”

  Elle keeps pounding away at a furious pace. “These are the fae. They’re weird.”

  She has a point; there’s no knowing why the fae do anything. Only, it’s not like them to do anything nice. I flip through the canvases. “Wow. And there’s no sleeping dust on these paintings?”

  “Nuh-uh.”

  “No booby traps?” I ask.

  “Nope.”

  “No magical dust that makes you break out in zits?”

  “Definitely not.”

  “Huh.”

  I stop and hold one up. “You look really good in these. Like perfect hair and everything. Don’t any of them show you with slobber on your chin or something?”

  “Not that I’ve seen.” Elle’s gaze stays locked on the screen.

  “That’s so un-fae.” I step over to another stack of canvases and look through them. The fact that fairies would do something so genuinely kind just floors me. I pause at one particular image: it shows Elle with long silver wings cascading down her back.

  The moment I pick up that particular canvas, Elle stops typing. “It’s weird to see a picture of me with wings, isn’t it?”

  “Not really.” I quickly set the canvas down again. “I really don’t care about fae wings, one way or another.”

  Elle leans back into the couch and sighs. “Well, that was before Principal Goldi started making a big deal about it. Now, it’s only a matter of time before you ask me, so I might as well tell you.” Her big blue eyes glisten with held-in tears. “I’m a freak. I think that’s why all the fae are being so nice to me.” Her voice shakes. “I lost my wings.”

  I move to sit beside Elle on the couch. My aunties rarely showed their wings. As in, I can remember seeing them like once or twice, tops. And they were dinky little things anyway, so nothing to show off. Even so, even faes with massive wings keep them hidden. It’s all part of avoiding unwanted attention from humans. A flash of wing and—BOOM—you’re surrounded by morta
ls trying to get a selfie with you.

  All these years, I just figured Elle was the same way. In fact, I never really thought about the whole wing issue until today. When we were in in the principals’ office, Goldi asked Elle where her wings were. It never occurred to me that Elle had lost them. I don’t know much about fae culture, but I’d have to imagine losing your wings is a big deal.

  I scooch closer to Elle on the couch and take her hand in mine. Her palm is cool and slick with sweat. This is really bothering her.

  “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to,” I say.

  “No,” Elle sniffles. “It’s time to get this off my chest. I had to leave my stepfamily. They had me under a curse, Bry. It was the Cinderella life template. I was basically their slave.”

  I give her hand a gentle squeeze. “Go on.”

  “My fairy godmother, Blackaverre, figured out how to break the curse, but there was only one way. And the spell? Only a very strong fairy could do it. And I had to give up something special in order for it to work.”

  I nod slowly. “Your wings. You had to trade them for your freedom. I’m so sorry.”

  “I looked different before. Losing my wings made it possible to change my appearance, and that helped me hide.” Elle sighs. “I don’t even know if I’m really a Cinderella life template. This could all be a way to hide me. There are other fairy tales where someone’s kept locked up.”

  “I’m so sorry this happened. Did Blackaverre explain all this before it happened?”

  Elle nods. “She told me everything. It was my choice.” She shivers. “I had to get away from them, Bry.” She hangs her head. “My stepfamily. Maybe I should call them the people who kept me imprisoned. They made me do terrible things with my magic. That’s why I have to be so careful about my powers now. My magic has a unique signature. My stepfamily thinks I’m dead. If they got wind of my magic, they’d know I’m alive.”

  “So that’s why you developed, uh, other skills.”

  Elle’s shoulders slump. “That’s why I lived on the streets and became a master thief, hacker, and con artist, yes.” She releases my hand and tosses her hair over one shoulder. That’s Elle’s way of saying she’s done sharing and wants to change the subject. “Hey, you’ll never guess who I saw today.”

  I shoot her a sad smile. I’d love to hear more about what happened to Elle, but it’s amazing enough that she’s shared as much as she has. “Let me think.” I tap my chin. “Avianna and Scarlett?”

  “So you saw them, too?”

  “Yes, after I translated the papyri, Knox and I went over to visit Az. You know how that old were knows everything about everything. Well, Avianna and Scarlett were there, too.”

  “So two other people skipped school so you could get more use out of skipping school. Nice.” She shakes her head. “Starting capers a little early, eh?”

  I roll my eyes. “Well, Knox and I were stuck in the basement, so there wasn’t much for us to skip. But yeah, it was an eventful first day, that’s for sure.”

  Elle grins, and it makes her entire face light up. “So, what did Az have to say?”

  “Oh, you know Az. Mister Doom and Gloom. He had Avianna and Scarlett use their powers to help me learn more about the Codex Mechanica.”

  Elle leans forward. “And?”

  Once again, I’m dying to spill everything. The journey back through time to the pyramids. What the fountain really looked like in its prime. The First Wardens who figured out how to control magic. But that would lead to the whole “I have to go off, face the Void, and find the Codex Mechanica” thing. I’m just not ready to share that yet. So, I go with the other whammy discovery of the afternoon.

  “Here’s the big news,” I say. “You know how Knox has been sick?”

  Elle nods.

  “Az thinks magic is hurting Knox. It doesn’t like the fact that Knox is a warden and he’s my mate.” I hate the wobble that’s crept into my voice. “Being around me might be killing him.” All of a sudden, my eyes sting. I wipe beneath them with my fingertips. “I need to find the fountain. Maybe then, magic will stop torturing Knox—or we’ll figure out a way to heal him.”

  Again, I can’t even get to the part about possibly having to destroying it because, dang, there’s enough going on already.

  “No time to lose, then, right?” Elle turns back to face her computer screen. This is such an Elle move, by the way. She’s not one to mope around. “Codex Mechanica, here we come.”

  I step back from the couch. “If it’s okay with you, I’ll search from my room. This Elle artwork is a little creepy.”

  All of which is a lie. I want to search on sites where people trade ancient stuff and then post about the specifics on the Codex Mechanica. I don’t want Elle to know anything about it. If she knows I’ve found the device, she’ll want to help me acquire it.

  There’s no way I’ll put her at risk with the Void.

  I’m finding the Codex Mechanica on my own.

  A shiver rolls across my shoulders. The idea of going solo makes my insides squirm with fear.

  Don’t get ahead of yourself, Bry. Find the Codex first. Everything else is second.

  “I hear you on the artwork,” says Elle as she types away. “Alec transported it here, but we need to find something else to do with it.” She leans back as fresh lines of code scroll across the screen. My bestie is deep into a hack now. “Give a yell if you find anything.”

  “Will do.” A pang of guilt moves through my insides. I never hold things back from Elle. Or Knox either, for that matter. Now, all of a sudden, I’m holding out on both of them, big time.

  It’s just one more reason why everything about finding this Codex Mechanica feels way wrong. Part of me wants to go back to my room, pop in a good movie, and forget any of this ever happened. But then, I picture the dark circles under Knox’s ice-blue eyes.

  Hiding from this problem is not an option.

  Instead, I return to my room, fire up my computer, and start to search for the one thing my soul tells me most to avoid. The Codex Mechanica.

  Chapter 18

  Hours later, my eyes sting with the need for sleep. I’ve been hacking away all night, posting on hidden message boards to find someone who has the Codex Mechanica. Back around 3 a.m., Elle fell asleep on the couch. I didn’t wake her. Now it’s a little after 5 a.m. Considering how school starts at 8:30, it’s good thing one of us had a decent night’s sleep.

  Pounding on my keyboard, I access another chat room on what’s called the Magiweb, which is basically a secret internet for shifters, fairies, and witches/warlocks. Sure, the name is cute and all, but the Magiweb is a place to find all sorts of illegal and nasty stuff. I’ve tried all the aboveboard places to locate the Codex Mechanica. Now, I’m going to one of the illegal realms of the internet.

  The chat board fills my screen. Every time I reach one of these rooms, I do the exact same thing. This board will be no exception. I start typing away under one of my dozens of aliases.

  * * *

  Looking4Goods: Hello, I’m searching for a particular historical item for a client of mine. Specs: created about 2000 BC, wooden box with three discs inside. Any ideas or leads? Willing to share part of the buy price.

  * * *

  I see three dots, which mean someone is typing a response.

  * * *

  Selling3000: Don’t have anything like that in stock. Will keep an eye out for you. I take it this is a sensitive buy?

  Looking4Goods: Yes. Keep me posted.

  * * *

  I wait a few more minutes and get a few more replies just like the first. I go through this same routine for hours. I post about the device. They say they’ve never heard about anything like it and will keep an eye out. It’s super disappointing. I’m about to log off and try another board when another user pops onto the screen.

  * * *

  WaterGirl: Join me in private chat.

  * * *

  My heart kicks at a faster
pace. Private chat means that WaterGirl may have news for me and doesn’t want any of the other sellers stealing her deal out from under her. I open up a secure, direct chat room. Before I can even invite WaterGirl, her name pops onto the screen. On reflex, I start running my latest tracer bots. These programs can always figure out where someone is really typing from. More small dots appear as WaterGirl types away. A moment later, her text appears on the screen.

  * * *

  WaterGirl: I have the Codex Mechanica and am willing to sell.

  * * *

  My breath catches. I didn’t even say the name of the device, and WaterGirl goes right to Codex Mechanica? This is looking good.

  * * *

  Looking4Goods: How much?

  WaterGirl: Free. To the right person.

  * * *

  I roll my eyes. It’s a total red flag when someone says they want to give you something for free. No one works for free, especially on the Magiweb.

  * * *

  Looking4Goods: What’s the catch?

  WaterGirl: None at all. Why wouldn’t I want to help you, Bryar Rose? After all, it’s not everyone who can take down the undead version of Julius Caesar and live to tell the tale. Perhaps I merely wish to have someone as powerful as you who owes me a favor.

  * * *

  My heart, which had already been going at double speed, charges right into palpitation territory. How does this WaterGirl know who I am? Even so, I know enough not to make things worse by confirming that she’s blown my cover.

  * * *

  Looking4Goods: I don’t know what you’re talking about. Are you willing to sell or not?

  WaterGirl: Meet me at the Boucle-Roux. Tonight. Midnight.

  * * *