Steel for 5 (Mags & Nats Book 3)

by Stephanie Fazio

  The rest of us followed our noses to the kitchen, where Sir Zachary already had his entire head buried in his food bowl. My gaze zeroed in on the huge pot in the center of the table and loaf of fresh-baked bread, before another sight erased all thoughts of food. My stomach did a somersault that had nothing to do with hunger.

  Kaira’s cousins and Oliver were already seated at the table, Oliver with a book and Kaira’s cousins with half-eaten plates of mac and cheese. Sitting across from the two girls, telling them something that was making them both giggle, was Diego.

  He had one arm thrown over the back of a chair and a huge bowl of chili in front of him. He grinned at me.

  “Hola, mi pequeña diabla.”

  CHAPTER 34

  What the hell are you doing in our house?” Kaira demanded, since my throat had chosen an inconvenient moment to seize up.

  “Kaira Hansley,” Ma said, aghast. “Mind your manners.”

  “How did you get past security?” Smith hissed, once Ma had moved out of earshot.

  “He probably just flew in from above,” I said, giving Diego a glare that should have laser-fried him where he sat. The arrogant prick just winked and ate a bite of chili.

  My face turned to flames as he locked gazes with me before licking his spoon. I drew my finger across my throat in response before shifting my attention to Smith.

  “You and I need to talk about rewiring our security so this doesn’t happen again,” I said.

  “Definitely,” Smith replied, although he was giving Diego a look that was more intrigue than anger. I got the sense that my friend respected Diego’s skill…and Smith didn’t dole out respect lightly.

  I couldn’t decide how I felt about that.

  “Stop being mean,” Cora told us. “Diego’s nice.”

  “Thank you, princesa,” Diego said, making Cora smile and duck her head in bashfulness.

  “Get out,” Kaira said, keeping her voice low enough that she wouldn’t incite Ma’s ire.

  “No,” Diego replied. “We have things to discuss that will be of interest to all of you.”

  “So call,” Graysen said. “You didn’t need to drop by.”

  “I don’t have a phone,” Diego replied, completely nonplussed. “Too easy to track.”

  “Huh.” Smith peered at Diego. This time, there was no mistaking his expression for anything other than respect.

  A.J. gave me a sidelong glance but didn’t say anything. The rest of us glared at the arrogant Super Mag making himself at home in our kitchen. I gave my scarf a self-conscious tug.

  “I went back to the mine earlier today,” Diego said. “I was poking around some more, and—”

  “You went back to the mine?” I demanded.

  Diego nodded.

  “Why?” Graysen asked, his voice laced with suspicion.

  “That light-speed train thing is fun to ride.” Diego shrugged. “And I wanted to make sure I knew my way around so I’d be able to get out before you all blow me up along with the mine.”

  “Nonsense,” A.J. said, before I could formulate a response. “You’re too pretty to blow up. We might bury you, though.”

  “I’m flattered,” Diego replied dryly.

  I blinked at A.J. He only teased people when he liked them. It was his weird stamp of approval…and he’d just give it to Diego.

  Somehow, in coming into our house uninvited and being as offensive as humanly possible, Diego had won over both Smith and A.J.

  Go figure.

  “No one said anything about blowing up the mine,” I began, trying to get everyone back on track.

  “But it’s the obvious conclusion to all of this,” Smith said. “Once we’ve rescued the kids, of course.”

  Diego and Smith exchanged a nod.

  “You said you learned something useful yesterday?” I asked Diego, before he managed to befriend Kaira and Graysen, too. Although I didn’t think there was any real chance of that.

  Diego pushed aside his bowl. He pulled a folded paper out of his pocket and smoothed it out on the table. It was a bank statement.

  There was a Magic Bank of California letterhead at the top of the page. Below it, there was an account number and a statement date from last week. The name printed below was Eugene Forrager.

  “Who’s that?” I asked.

  “The foreman,” Diego replied. “I did some digging into his background. He’s from California and has always been involved in Nat-hating groups. He got pretty wealthy by scavenging and reselling scrap metal all over the state. He made regular appearances in local news for petty crimes and for generally being a dick, but all mentions of him stopped over a decade ago.”

  “Probably when he started working in the mine,” Graysen said.

  Diego nodded.

  “Look at this.” Smith tapped the top transaction on the page. It was for a million dollars.

  A.J. whistled. “That’s a lotta mulla.”

  In the description section next to the amount, it said, “Account Transfer In.”

  “Transfer from where?” Graysen asked.

  Diego shrugged. “I tracked the money to a blind trust, but I couldn’t figure out who was behind it.”

  “That’s my area, Chameleon,” Smith replied, opening his laptop and getting to work.

  We all waited in silence while Smith tapped on his keyboard and muttered to himself.

  “Did he fall asleep?” Diego asked several minutes later, when Smith closed his eyes and went still.

  “Shh,” we all replied.

  Smith’s eyes snapped open. “Huh.”

  “Talk, Smith,” Kaira ordered.

  “It’s next to impossible to track the original source for these things, because the funds have been funneled through so many dark money trusts. These companies only work with super wealthy and shady people who don’t want their money traced.” Smith’s lip quirked. There were few things he loved more than a technological challenge.

  In the space of the dramatic pause he’d left, I asked the question Smith was waiting for.

  “Were you able to find the original source?”

  “You betcha.” Smith gave us the closest thing he ever managed to a smile. He paused, relishing in the way the rest of us squirmed. “Felix Remwald.”

  I gave Smith a blank look.

  “Do you mean Edwardian Remwald?” A.J. asked. “You know, the ex-Director who started the MagLab fiasco and then got murdered four months ago?”

  “No,” Smith replied, at the same time that Graysen said, “Didn’t Remwald mention he had a brother? A Level 10 Alchemist, right?”

  I nodded. “But we all heard Remwald say his brother died during the Slaughters.”

  “That’s the part that doesn’t make sense,” Smith acknowledged, his face falling a little. “Felix Remwald was born in 2005 in Detroit, Michigan. He also died there.”

  Smith flicked his hand, and a news article popped up on the wall. It was a picture of a building that had been razed to the ground. Bodies were everywhere. The article was titled Worst Slaughters Tragedy: Detroit Public’s Magic School for the Gifted.

  “That was a school?” Kaira asked, pressing a hand to her stomach.

  When I looked closer, I saw that most of the bodies on the ground were too small to be adults. Backpacks and books were littered among the corpses.

  All at once, the smell of food was making me nauseous.

  “What does this have to do with Felix Remwald?” Graysen asked in a tight voice.

  Smith tapped the wall, underneath the article that described how a school had become the epicenter of a gruesome battle between Mags and Nats. There was a list of names…all of the victims whose lives had been claimed in the battle.

  Hundreds of names, all crowded together. They looked like nothing more than words on a page, until I thought about all the lost lives those words represented.

  My heart gave a painful squeeze.

  I skimmed the article, which described how a nearby Slaughters battle got out of h
and when a Teleporter accidentally brought himself to the school. Nats had tracked him there, and then the rest of the fighters had reconvened in the school parking lot. A combination of magic and homemade bombs had resulted in the horrific cover page photo.

  Smith pointed to the list of faculty & staff. About a third of the way down the long list, there was a single name I recognized. Felix Remwald.

  “This happened fifteen years ago,” Smith said. “So, someone else must have access to Felix’s money and is using it to fund the mine.”

  I remembered the note we found in the foreman’s office that was addressed to Remwald, and the personalized notepad with the R and signature that looked like Remwald.

  But both Remwald brothers were dead.

  “Any chance of another Remwald relative we didn’t know about?” I asked.

  Smith shook his head. “Nothing that I could find.”

  “Okay, so we know someone is using Felix Remwald’s fortune to pay the foreman’s salary,” I said. “I’m not sure how that helps us.”

  “Could be good to know at some point,” Smith said, but even he looked dubious.

  “There’s something else,” Diego said. “I was wondering about those spinal needles that we saw on the foreman’s list, since there’s no reason they should be needed for anything to do with the MRP.”

  “Did you figure it out?” Graysen asked.

  In spite of his obvious dislike of Diego, Graysen couldn’t disguise his scholarly interest. While I’d rather just go beat some people up, Graysen excelled at logic puzzles.

  Diego nodded. “My parents tested a lot of the earlier MRP formulas on me, to see how different compounds would interact with so much magic.”

  “Monsters,” Kaira whispered.

  “I wanted it,” Diego snapped, showing the first real emotion since this conversation started. “But that’s beside the point. The point is that, during their experimentation, they found a way to make magic stronger.”

  “How do you mean?” Graysen asked, folding his arms across his chest and giving Diego a skeptical look.

  “I mean, they theoretically figured out how to make a Mag’s power more…well, powerful. They couldn’t create Magic where it didn’t already exist, but with a few adjustments to the liquid Agent S, they thought it might be possible to make a Mag stronger.”

  “So, are you saying—” Graysen began, but Diego cut him off.

  “I’m theorizing that the reason for the mine isn’t to produce shitloads of Agent S for the MRP.”

  “Watch your mouth,” Oliver growled. “There are children present.”

  “Keep going,” Desiree said, leaning forward to catch Diego’s every word.

  True horror stirred inside me as I began to process what Diego was saying.

  “I think,” Diego said, “the foreman and whoever’s pulling his strings is planning to inject Agent S directly into Mags’ spinal fluid. Kind of the opposite of the MRP, where their magic will be permanently enhanced.”

  “Synthetic Super Mags,” Kaira whispered.

  Diego nodded.

  Holy shit.

  All I could think about was Blade’s army of psycho Californians, and what it would mean for the country if any of those people got enhanced magic.

  Nothing good.

  “That’s insane,” I whispered.

  “Some Mags would do anything to become more powerful,” A.J. said. “This could start another round of Slaughters.”

  Mags would want the magic-enhancing substance as much as Mag-hating Nats wanted the Magical Reduction Potion.

  “There’s an obvious solution to magic-enhancing and magic-reduction,” Smith said. “Once we destroy the mine and all the Agent S in there, we won’t have to worry about any of this stuff.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Diego’s jaw tighten.

  “You’re right, Smith,” Kaira said. “We have to get the slaves out, and then we’ll obliterate the mine. We just have to figure out how to do it.”

  I could have sworn I heard Diego grinding his teeth. I ignored him, focusing on my friends.

  “I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer,” A.J. said, raising a finger, “but it’s going to take more than the 7.5 of us to rescue hundreds of slaves, deal with that maniac foreman and his boss, and destroy a five-level mine that’s full of Agent S.”

  “I think I have an idea of where we can get some help,” Graysen said, his brow furrowed in thought.

  By now, we’d all come to recognize his Level 10 Brainiac face, and we just waited for whatever revelation he’d had.

  “I’m going to talk to Emory and see if we can get him and Charlotte on board.” He patted his pockets, which were empty, and then turned to Kaira. “Can you text Adam? We’re going to need the crew team.”

  “Didn’t Adam get a new phone?” Kaira asked, flipping through her contacts. “I don’t think I have his number.”

  “I have it,” I said, pulling out my phone. “I’ll text him.”

  Diego’s head snapped around at that. It probably made me a terrible person, but it warmed me to see him squirm. Just a little.

  “Let’s all convene first thing tomorrow morning,” Kaira said. “That’ll give us time to get everything together and then head to the mine.” She started to get up from her chair before her attention caught on Diego. She’d clearly forgotten he was still with us.

  “Thanks for the info,” she told him stiffly. “You can go now.”

  “But I just got here,” Diego said, stretching like a cat.

  I tried not to notice the sliver of stomach he revealed when his shirt rode up.

  “Besides.” Diego gave me a shrewd look that instantly put me on high alert. “I’m not going anywhere until you keep your end of our bargain.”

  My stomach dropped out.

  “What bargain?” Kaira demanded. She glanced from Diego to me.

  I gave Diego a look that promised a slow, painful death. Then, I focused on my friends. I swallowed.

  “In exchange for Diego rescuing us from the isolation chambers, I agreed to get him as much Agent S as he can carry before we destroy the mine.” I said the whole thing in a single breath, with some of the words melting together.

  I cringed as I waited for my friends’ enraged responses. They didn’t disappoint.

  “Are you out of your goddamn mind?” Smith demanded.

  At the same time, Kaira and A.J. screeched, “What?!”

  Even Sir Zachary let out a little yip, not wanting to miss out on all the excitement.

  Graysen didn’t say anything, but his flashing turquoise eyes spoke for themselves.

  “I gave him my word,” I said helplessly. “But I swear I’ll make it right.” I pinned Diego with my gaze. He returned the challenge without blinking. “I won’t let him get away with this.”

  “I feel faint.” A.J. pressed the back of his hand to his forehead.

  “I feel murderous,” Kaira snarled. She rounded on Diego. “You took advantage of us when we were in a helpless situation, and now you’re taking advantage of Bri’s integrity. You are—” She glanced at her younger cousins, who were soaking up every word of our conversation, and sealed her lips tight.

  I sat motionless, listening to Kaira defend me when I’d been lying by omission to the Seven for days. I should have told them about my bargain with Diego sooner.

  Instead, I’d been busy sneaking out of my window to go flying with him.

  “You don’t owe him your loyalty,” Graysen told me. “If our positions had been reversed down in that mine, any one of us would have helped Diego without demanding anything in return.”

  “I’m not going to apologize for going after what I need,” Diego said. “From everything I’ve seen from all of you, you’re no different.”

  My friends ignored him. All of their attention was on me. Their trusting gazes said they knew I would make the right choice.

  The only problem was I wasn’t sure what the right choice was. I understood Diego’s rea
soning behind his actions. I knew that he believed he was doing the right thing…not just for himself, but for all of the Super Mags. He’d spent his life obsessing over this mission.

  If I sided with my friends as I knew I should, I’d be depriving Diego of all of that. If I took away his last chance at becoming a Nat, it would destroy him.

  How could I do that to him, especially after I’d already given him my word that I would help?

  “Actually,” A.J. began, and then shook his head. “Never mind.”

  I gave him a questioning look, but it was clear that, whatever he’d been about to say, he’d decided to keep it to himself.

  “What will it be, cariño?” Diego asked quietly.

  “My friends are right,” I said, ignoring the ache of regret that pulsed through me. “You did stop the Pyro before he could kill anyone else.” I swallowed. “But you also took away the power of Super Mags who hadn’t done anything wrong. There are too many ways Agent S can be used to destroy innocent lives. I’m sorry, but I can’t let you do this.”

  An emotion flitted across Diego’s dark eyes so quickly I would have missed it if I hadn’t been watching him. Disappointment? Betrayal?

  I felt awful.

  “I thought you might say that,” Diego said, his tone deceptively light. “So, I kept a little extra incentive tucked in my back pocket, just in case.” He crossed his arms and looked straight at me. “You will do what I’ve asked…what you already promised…because I have something you’ll be wanting in exchange.”

  “There’s nothing that will make me change my mind,” I said, feeling sick.

  Diego raised an eyebrow at me. “Then, I guess you won’t be interested in hearing that I found your niece.” He stared straight at me. “I found Lilly.”

  CHAPTER 35

  Ileapt to my feet, already titanium. I grabbed Diego by his shirt and slammed him against the wall with so much force a crack shivered up to the ceiling.

  “Where’s Lilly? Where’s my niece?!”

  Diego didn’t reply, his dark eyes holding mine.

  “Sweetie, he can’t breathe,” A.J. said, giving my arm a gentle tug.

  He was right. I loosened my hold enough for Diego to answer my question.