The second guard leaped forward. He whacked Alice across the back of the head and she collapsed to the floor. “Then you won’t stand at all,” he growled in a thick southern accent. “Any other objections?” No one else said a word.
“Follow me,” the first guard barked at the prisoners and marched through the doors. The second guard waited as the prisoners followed.
As he was waiting, the second guard turned to the boy guarding the entrance. “So we got Rockwell?”
“And the Council,” confirmed the boy.
“Are you sure they can’t escape?” asked the guard worriedly.
The boy laughed. “You doubt us?”
The guard shook his head. “Of course not.”
The boy laughed again. “Relax, Steve. If anyone got away, we’ll find them. We have patrols everywhere and guards along the outer wall. No one’s getting in or out of here without us knowing.”
Steve followed the last prisoner into the Assembly Hall, dragging Alice behind him. The boy guarding the door took one last look around the lobby and shut the door, locking it with a loud click.
Milo tapped the others on their shoulders and pointed to the tower entrance. They snuck out from behind the desk, crept across the lobby, and hurried out of the tower. “Quick, head to the lake,” Milo whispered. “We can hide in the trees.”
No one argued. They all wanted to get away from the tower as quickly as possible.
They arrived at the lake a few minutes later and hid among the trees. No one talked as they caught their breath and watched the surrounding area for signs of anything suspicious.
“Who was that?” Sean finally whispered.
“Obviously not our friends,” answered Milo.
“The boy’s name is Desmond,” Skylar said. Everyone turned to look at her. “He was there when I first got my powers.” She quickly told the story. “I have no idea what they were doing, but Desmond was one of the three boys.”
Someone had raided the academy, and from the sound of things, was now holding everyone else hostage. Even worse, the raiders were busy looking for anyone who had escaped their grasp, and as far as Lincoln knew, he and his friends were the only ones who had done so.
CHAPTER 18
THE SECRETARY’S SURPRISE
“WE NEED SOME ANSWERS,” MILO announced, taking charge of the situation. “But first, we need a better place to hide. We won’t last very long here.”
“What about the underground lair?” Sean whispered.
“That’s perfect,” answered Milo.
“What’s the underground lair?” Lincoln asked. “You never said anything about an underground lair.”
“The entrance is hidden under a boulder behind our dorm. You would never believe how we found it. We were in the middle of one of last year’s pranks on the aides when two of them spotted us. We thought we were toast, when out of nowhere—”
“Focus, Milo,” said Kennedy.
“Right. Let’s split up and head for the lair. That way, if some of us get caught, the others will still be free. I’ll lead one group and Sean can lead the other.”
They divided into two groups. After making sure the coast was clear, Milo, Kennedy, Guga, and Jack snuck away. Sean, Lincoln, and Skylar waited five minutes and then followed.
Sean led his group away from the path and into the trees. Within seconds of leaving the path, Lincoln had lost all sense of direction. He hoped Sean knew where he was taking them.
After several minutes of walking, Sean stopped and crouched down. Lincoln and Skylar did the same. Somehow, Sean had known where he was going the entire time. They were now at the edge of a clearing, near the back of the Finn dorm. Lincoln could see the top of the dorm chimney just above the tree line. Sean crawled forward and looked to the left and right and back again.
“The coast is clear,” he whispered. “Follow me.”
They scurried forward to a group of trees and several large boulders near the center of the clearing. Sean crawled toward one of these boulders and used his fingers to brush several inches of dirt away from the bottom of it.
“Look,” Skylar whispered into Lincoln’s ear. Someone had carved a small eagle into the boulder. Sean placed his hand on the center of the eagle, and the boulder silently split into two halves, revealing a flight of stairs.
“Hurry,” Sean said, “before the entrance closes.” They followed him through the opening and down the stairs. Two lanterns hung from the ceiling, which Lincoln and Sean quickly lit. The lair was bigger than Lincoln had expected. Crude stools and dusty mattresses lay scattered across the dirt floor. The back wall was covered in lockers, each with a different colored label. Next to the lockers sat several sealed crates and boxes. The others had not yet arrived.
Sean, Lincoln, and Skylar sat down on the stools. Ten minutes passed. Sean looked uneasy. “I’ve got a bad feeling, mates. They should have been here a long time ago.”
“I know,” Lincoln said. Another five minutes passed. Lincoln stood and began pacing back and forth. Something is wrong, where are the others?
His thoughts were interrupted by sunlight streaming onto the stairs above. Lincoln exhaled as he saw Milo and Kennedy stroll down the stairs.
“Where are Jack and Guga?” Skylar asked.
Milo smiled. “Turns out we weren’t the only ones from the academy still out and about. You’ll never guess who we found.”
Kennedy stepped into the lair, crinkling her nose distastefully as she surveyed her surroundings. Jack and Guga were right behind her, and they weren’t alone. Standing between the two of them was someone with a hoodie over her head. Lincoln raised his eyebrows at Milo.
“I didn’t want her to know where we are. Guga, take it off.”
Guga pulled the sack off the prisoner’s head, revealing a head of blonde, shoulder-length hair. Lincoln felt a surge of panic. He reached into his pocket for his mayoke. It wasn’t there. And then he remembered that he had hidden it in his secret compartment last night and had forgotten to retrieve it in the morning’s rush. He cursed himself for his own stupidity and prepared to use the rites.
“Grace, the secretary?” Sean exclaimed in surprise.
“Not according to her,” answered Milo. “But I’ll let her explain.”
Grace stepped forward. “You need to understand something.” Her serious tone stopped Lincoln from using the rites to blast her into the wall behind her. “I’m not who you think I am. I’m here on assignment.”
“Assignment?” Sean repeated. “Who sent you?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“Why not?”
“Boss’s orders. But I can tell you why I’m here.” She pointed to Lincoln. “A few weeks before your grandfather’s death, he came to us with some big conspiracy theory. He claimed there was a group plotting to overthrow the Council. Led by a mysterious man known only as Xander, this group was after a powerful G2 they believed would make him invincible. But your grandpa found it first, and knowing this Xander fellow was hot on his trail, hid it in the safest place he knew of. The academy.
“Tyler was convinced Xander’s followers were everywhere. He wouldn’t even tell my boss what the G2 was or where it was hidden within the academy. So I was sent here to keep an eye on things and to try to find the G2 while the rest of our company tried to track down Xander. Unfortunately, neither assignment has turned out too well.”
“Why aren’t you trapped with everybody else?” Sean asked.
“Luck,” she admitted. “They attacked just before the Awards Ceremony was supposed to start. There were hundreds of them. I ran to the bathroom, climbed through the window, and got away.”
“Sounds a little too convenient, if you ask me,” muttered Sean.
“I could say the same about you showing up after the attack.” Grace gave him a look and then stopped talking.
Was she telling the truth? What she said made sense, and she appeared to be sincere, but maybe she was just a good actress. One thing was still both
ering Lincoln, something he couldn’t figure out.
“If what you’re saying is true ... if you really were working with my grandfather, then why did you treat me like you did?”
“I had to. Whoever killed Tyler was going to be watching you very closely. I needed you to stay away from me, or I risked blowing my cover.”
“That’s harsh,” said Skylar.
Grace shrugged her shoulders. “It’s the truth. And it may have saved both of our lives. Whoever these people are, someone helped them get into the academy ... someone on the inside.”
“It was Trevor,” announced Lincoln, glancing at both Kennedy and Skylar. “We saw him sneaking into Sector 8 two weeks ago.”
Grace shook her head. “Trevor’s my nephew. He’s been helping me with my assignment.”
“Then why did he try to hack into my e-mail a few days ago?”
“I have no idea. But he’s not the one.”
Grace was wrong. Trevor was mixed up in this whole thing. Lincoln could feel it. But right now there were more important things to worry about. He could prove Trevor was the one later. “So, now what? Do you have a plan?”
“I need to get out of the academy.”
Sean snorted. “Good luck with that. They’ve got patrols everywhere and guards along the perimeter.”
“Why do you need to get out?” Lincoln asked.
“She needs to contact her boss.” Milo, who had been quietly listening, jumped into the conversation. “She thinks he’s the only one who can stop them.”
“And she can’t do that from here?”
“Something’s blocking the signal. Listen ...,” Milo paused, and for the first time, Lincoln saw the tiniest hint of desperation in his friend’s eyes. “Simon’s in there. So are the rest of our friends. We have to try to help them.”
Lincoln knew what it was like to lose a brother. He couldn’t let that happen to Milo. “Okay,” he agreed. “What can we do?”
“Help her,” answered Milo.
“If she’s going to try to sneak out of the academy, she’ll have to get past the Barrier without setting off the alarm,” Skylar pointed out.
“I heard there’s a kill switch somewhere in Rockwell’s office,” Jack offered. “Maybe that’s how the raiders broke into the academy.”
“It’s there,” Milo interjected, “but there’s no way we’re getting to it. The tower’s full of the raiders. I’m sure some of them are in the office.”
“So then, what do we do?” Lincoln asked him.
“We use wristbands.”
“Great idea, Milo,” Kennedy said sarcastically. “There’s only one small problem with your master plan. We don’t have any wristbands.”
“Oh, really?”
Milo led the others to the back of the lair and opened a small, green-labeled locker. It was completely full of blue and grey striped wristbands, identical to the ones they had used during squad tryouts. “You know how crazy insane the Keepers are about making sure no wristbands go missing. Well, these were here when Sean and I found the place. I have no idea who put them here, but I figured they may come in handy at some point.” Milo reached in and grabbed several, handing one to Grace and to each of the recruits. He grabbed a couple of extras, shoved them in his pocket, and then shut the locker door. “You never know, we might need these later.”
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this,” Kennedy said, “but good work, Milo. I’m impressed.”
“Give me a chance later and I’ll show you just how impressive I can be.” Milo smiled as Kennedy turned bright red.
Lincoln read the labels on the other lockers. Bandages, Vanishing Spray, Deleo Poison, and several more. “What’s that?” he asked, pointing to the Deleo poison locker.
“Deleo poison blocks a Guardian’s ability to control rites,” Milo answered. “It’s powerful stuff.”
As the rest of his friends gathered around Milo near the center of the lair, Lincoln opened the lockers and grabbed a few vials of vanishing spray and Deleo poison, stuffing them in his pocket. He might not have the mayoke, but at least he had something. He shut the lockers and hurried to where his friends stood.
Milo was already talking. “... and someone needs to guide her through Sector 8.”
“I’ll go,” Jack offered, standing up.
“No way,” Skylar protested. “You just got out of the Trauma Center. I’ll go.”
Jack gave a hollow laugh. “Nice try. I’m going, not you.”
“Why don’t you both go?” Milo asked. “Two’s better than one, right?” Jack looked at Skylar and shrugged his shoulders. Skylar nodded.
“Okay, then,” Milo said, “go save the academy.”
CHAPTER 19
SACRIFICE
THEY SPENT THE DAY HIDDEN INSIDE THE lair, discussing the invasion and debating who could have helped the raiders. Jack, Skylar, and Grace left on their mission shortly after the sun set.
Lincoln had remained quiet as the others argued back and forth. He felt far too guilty to say anything. As far as he was concerned, he already knew who had helped the raiders. If only Lincoln had told on Trevor after seeing him sneak into Sector 8, then none of this would have happened. Finn may have lost the Challenge, but the academy would be safe. What had happened was Lincoln’s fault. His thoughts were interrupted by a shout.
“They’re back!” Sean yelled from the top of the stairs. He was peering through what looked like a periscope. He sounded worried. Jack and Skylar were back much too early. It wasn’t even nine o’clock yet. Their mission should have taken at least another hour.
The lair entrance opened. Jack and Skylar burst in and jogged down the stairs, panting. They were soaking wet and looked exhausted.
“They got her,” Jack whispered.
“What?” Kennedy shouted, sitting up on the mattress she had been using as a bed.
“It wasn’t our fault,” Jack said, giving Kennedy an angry look. Skylar was staring at the ground.
“What happened?” Milo asked.
“Death hounds.”
“Death hounds?” Lincoln asked.
“Giant dogs with fur so black they’re next to invisible at night,” answered Milo. “They’re twice the size of the biggest Rottweiler you’ve ever seen, and ten times as mean as the meanest pit bull. They’re nearly extinct. Somehow, they have the ability to block a Guardian from using his powers. A long time ago, they roamed the world in huge packs, hunting and killing whatever got in their way, especially Guardians.”
Jack nodded. “We were halfway through Sector 8 when we heard the first howl. Grace knew what it was. She screamed at us to run and told us we needed to find a river or a lake to throw them off our scent.
“It felt like we ran for miles. The howls were getting closer and closer.” Jack shuddered. “The sound was awful. I wanted to stop and make a stand, but Grace wouldn’t. Finally, we found a river. We jumped in and grabbed onto a log.
“Just then, one of the death hounds jumped out of the trees. We could hear more of them howling behind it. We were never going to get away.”
Jack lowered his head. “Grace told us to be quiet and pushed the log into the current. I didn’t want to leave her. I tried to stop, but the current was too strong. The last thing I saw was the death hound jump on top of her. She screamed, and then ... and then the current swept us away.”
Jack stopped talking and looked at Skylar. Tears fell down both of their faces.
No one spoke. What could be said? Their one hope, Grace and the mysterious company she worked for, was gone. She had sacrificed herself to keep Jack and Skylar safe. What were they supposed to do now? They were only kids. They should be arguing about which girl at the academy was the cutest, or who was the best at gravity control, not running from a group of killers.
Lincoln walked over to where Skylar sat. He put his hand on her shoulder and crouched down. She looked at him, tears still filling her eyes. “This wasn’t your fault.”
“You don’t know that,�
�� she whispered back.
“Yes, I do,” answered Lincoln. “If you and Jack couldn’t keep her safe, none of us could.”
“So what do we do now?” Kennedy asked. “We don’t know how to contact Grace’s boss. We don’t even know his name. And we can’t escape or the death hounds will catch us just like they caught these guys.” She pointed to Jack and Skylar.
“We’re not going to escape,” Milo announced matter-of-factly. “We’re going to rescue our friends.” “Brilliant,” Sean said, his eyes gleaming.
“You’re joking, right?” Kennedy asked. Milo shook his head. “So what, we just barge into the tower and tell this Xander guy to let everyone go?”
“I’m in,” Lincoln said, before Milo could answer her. Kennedy’s mouth dropped open as she and everyone else turned to look at Lincoln. “It’s my fault the raiders are here. I have to help.”
“Me too,” added Guga. “The academy is my home, and everyone here is my family. I won’t just sit here hiding.”
Jack and Skylar both nodded. All eyes shifted to Kennedy. She gave them her signature glare. “Fine, but you’re all dead when this is over.”
“So how do we free the prisoners?” Skylar asked.
“Well, before we make a plan, we need to know what we’re up against,” Milo answered, smiling, “and I say we go right to the source.”
CHAPTER 20
DUNCAN THE RAIDER
“LINK, YOU READY?”
Lincoln turned to Milo and nodded, hoping he looked more confident than he felt. They were hidden in the bushes along the path between their dorm and Roemick Tower. They had been there for the last twenty minutes, waiting for the chance to go ahead with Milo’s plan, and now that chance had finally arrived. A single raider was hurrying down the path, glancing back and forth nervously.
“Now!” Milo whispered. He and Sean dove forward. The raider heard them coming and jumped sideways, barely avoiding their outstretched arms. He whirled around to face them, his eyes glowing and his arms raised, ready to attack. But when he saw them, he hesitated.
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