Kaira’s eyebrows flew up. Graysen’s friendly gaze turned colder than ice.
“I’ll take my wife exactly as she is, thanks,” Graysen said.
To prove his point, he took Kaira’s face in his hands and gave her a long, slow kiss. The reporters’ cameras flashed.
“Ooh, one of those is going to look great on the Globe’s front page,” A.J. said.
When Graysen came up for air, he turned to face the reporters.
“I’m sorry,” he said, glancing in Valencia’s direction and giving the reporters a puzzled look. “Were you still here, Valencia?”
The reporters tittered at that.
“I’ve called the press here this morning to share an exciting new discovery my Nat scientists have made,” Valencia said. She wobbled a little on her stack of crates before righting herself.
That was when I noticed the small group of nervous-looking people in white lab coats standing behind Valencia.
Valencia snapped her fingers at one of them, and the woman passed her a syringe.
“My scientists have recreated the Magical Reduction Potion,” Valencia announced as she held the syringe over her head. “It’s so easy and effective, anyone can make it at home. Once I share my recipe, we’ll be able to make Boston what it should be—Natural!”
“What’s she talking about?” Yutika said, nervously looking around.
I clenched my hands into fists so I didn’t go across the street and rip Valencia’s head off her body in front of all these cameras. She was basically inviting Nats to brew their own concoctions and inject it into any Mag they could find.
“I want to be very clear with the entire city of Boston,” Kaira said in a clear voice that somehow carried farther than Valencia’s, even though she wasn’t holding a mike. “It is illegal and unethical to attempt to remove a person’s magic.”
“The Alliance’s Report of Laws calls for a minimum five-year sentence for magically-motivated attacks of any kind,” Graysen added. “I speak for the Alliance’s Magical Law Office when I saw we will prosecute anyone found attempting to make or utilize MRP to the full extent of the law.”
“We’re Bostonians,” Kaira said. “Our city is a haven because Magics and Naturals are equal.”
“Woo!” A.J. shouted, clapping his hands. The rest of our friends and most of the reporters joined him.
“Director Gald-ah,” Valencia said. “I invite your wife to be the first to come forward and accept this gift.”
“That’s it,” Graysen growled. “I’m going to kill her.”
He started forward, but Kaira pulled him back. Her gaze darted to the cameras in warning.
“Kaira,” Michael said in a quiet voice. “Let me take care of this.”
He stepped behind a tree where only we could see him. Then, he was gone. My eyes caught on the movement of a tiny bunny on the lawn, right where Michael had been.
“OMG adorbs,” A.J. whispered.
If any of the reporters had been looking at the ground, they might have noticed a bunny walking on its hind legs. Fortunately, Valencia was doing all the work of captivating everyone’s attention.
“It’s scientific,” Valencia said, emphasizing the word like she’d just learned it. She held the vial right in front of her face, letting the cameras capture the yellowish liquid inside. She turned to the white-coated Nats at her back, who were looking more nervous by the second. “Tell the report-ahs how it works.”
The white-coated man who now held the megaphone in his trembling hands gave the cameras a deer-in-the-headlights look.
“Hello,” he said awkwardly. “The thing is, we’re not yet ready for the trial stage. The serum Ms. Stark is holding is more of a concept rather than an actual, usable—”
Valencia snatched the megaphone from him before he could finish. The reporters’ snickers grew louder.
“The serum relaxes the magic muscle,” Valencia said with great confidence, “and so their pow-ah just slips right out. It doesn’t even hurt.”
Her lip curled in distaste at that—clearly, she would have preferred it to be an agonizing experience as one’s magic was being stolen away.
“What a crock of shit,” Smith said. “That makes no sense.”
“Which begs the question,” Graysen said grimly, “what the fuck is in that serum?”
All at once, Valencia’s expression turned placid. She tilted her head to the side.
To anyone who didn’t know what was happening, it would probably seem like she was just gathering her thoughts. To the Seven, it was obvious Michael was Whispering to her.
Valencia cleared her throat and brought the megaphone to her mouth. “I’m going to prove my serum is perfectly safe and works as intended,” she announced. “By injecting myself.”
The scientists behind her erupted into a flutter of lab coats and frantic whispers. One of them tugged on Valencia’s arm, trying to pull the syringe away from her.
Valencia batted the scientist away. With a smile for the cameras, she plunged the needle into her arm and squeezed the plunger.
The small crowd went silent. Almost at once, Valencia’s face contorted. Her cheeks reddened and her shoulders hunched. She made a strange grunting sound.
“Ugh,” one of the reporters standing closest to her said. “What is that smell?”
“Her pants,” Yutika gasped, holding her stomach as she started to giggle. “Look at her pants.”
We all did.
“Ho-ly shit,” I said. “Did she just—”
“You got the shit part right,” Graysen said, grinning.
The scientists and reporters were backing away, but the video cameras were still rolling. The reporters who weren’t busy holding their noses were explaining the situation to everyone who was watching the broadcast live.
The Seven of us looked at each other. Yutika snorted, and the rest of us were done for.
It felt good to laugh, and even better to see the look on Valencia’s face as she hurried away from the reporters. A dark streak marked her path on the road behind her.
“Fecal incontinence,” Smith read off his laptop, wiping away a tear of laughter. “It happens from a loss of bowel control—”
“Stop,” Kaira begged, hanging onto Graysen as she tried to stifle her giggles.
“She did say something about relaxed muscles,” A.J. pointed out, slapping his thigh as he chortled.
“So brilliant,” Yutika whispered, her face alight with pride.
The only one who wasn’t in hysterics was Michael. When Kaira pulled his bunny illusion away, it was to reveal him standing beside us again with a gloomy expression on his face.
“You’re my new hero,” I told him.
Michael ignored me and scowled at Kaira.
“A bunny?” he demanded. “How about a hawk or a snake?”
Kaira was still laughing too hard to respond.
“How did you know that would work?” Smith asked him.
Michael lifted a shoulder. “I Whispered to a couple of the scientists. They weren’t sure what would happen if it got injected into a person, but they all seemed confident the effects wouldn’t kill her…but also wouldn’t be pleasant.”
“Incredible,” Yutika said. “Seriously brilliant.”
For the first time since our fight with Blade’s army, Michael smiled.
“Thanks,” he said, ducking his head as a flush spread down his neck.
“I don’t think anyone’s going to be trying to make their own version of the MRP anytime soon,” Graysen observed, still chuckling.
Now that the crowd Valencia had attracted had dispersed, we were free to go back to the mine without anyone asking questions.
Two cars pulled into the driveway at that moment. The crew guys piled out, yawning and holding coffee travel mugs.
“Did we just pass Valencia on the road?” one of the guys asked. “She had all of her windows down and was screaming something about natural bodily functions.”
The Seven of us lo
oked at each other and devolved into hysterics.
CHAPTER 46
The train car glided to a stop at the California end of the long tunnel. We clipped on our earpieces and mikes. All of the Mags in our group also had a pink mask in case the MRP gas was used against us again.
I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or disappointed that I hadn’t caught the hint of cinnamon or the heat of Diego’s magic since he left the mansion.
“Our priority is getting Lilly and the rest of the slaves out,” Graysen reminded everyone as we got off the train and hovered around the door that led into the mine. “Once that’s done, we’re going to destroy this place.”
We all nodded in agreement.
“Thank you,” I told all of them, catching myself before my voice hitched. “I can’t tell you—”
“You don’t have to, hon,” A.J. said, gently. “This is what we’re here for.”
Nodding, I wiped the back of my hand across my eyes before any tears could fall.
“Don’t go getting soft on us now, Hammond,” Adam ordered with mock seriousness. “Put your Steel pants on, and let’s go kick some ass.”
In response, I blew on my fists.
We left Smith behind in the train car so he could do Techie stuff. The rest of us went on to the tunnel that led up to the main part of the mine.
The tunnel was eerily quiet and empty. I wasn’t sure if it was because my friends had managed to get so many of the children back to Boston during our last trip here, or because some new horror was lying in wait for us.
Knowing the way the Remwalds’ minds worked, I assumed the latter.
“Good news,” Smith said, his voice coming through our earpieces. “I’ve hacked into the mine’s electrical system. I’m going to install a virus that’ll bring this whole place down once I activate it.”
“How are you going to manage that?” Yutika asked.
“My malware will get into the electric grid and short-circuit the system,” Smith explained.
At our dumbfounded silence, he said, “You know, like how your phone or computer can overheat, only a million times more intense. I figure once it catches fire, it’ll ignite the Agent S and kaboom.”
“Good thinking, Smith,” Graysen said, clearly impressed.
“There’s just one issue,” Smith said. There was something in his voice that made my hopes sink. “This malware will be enough to bring the whole mine down, but once I put everything in motion, there’s no way to stop it. It’ll take ten minutes from the time I set the virus for the electrical fire to catch onto the Agent S and ignite.”
“So if we want to destroy the mine,” Graysen said, “you have to set up the malware exactly ten minutes ahead of time?”
“Yeah,” Smith confirmed. “And once it’s going, I won’t be able to do a thing to reverse it. So we need to be damn sure we’re out of there by the time it blows.”
We all stopped talking when we reached the end of the tunnel. The open room was as busy as ever, except it wasn’t crowded with kids and carts brimming with Agent S the way it had been before. It was full of Synthetics.
Their cloaks undulated around them with every movement. They didn’t make a sound, which made their presence even more eerie. Their magic felt slimy and unstable.
The Synthetics congregated around the elevator, like they knew where we were headed…like they’d been waiting for us.
Yutika gulped audibly.
“Okay everyone,” Kaira whispered. “Here we go.”
Our normal appearances vanished and were replaced by exact replicas of the Synthetics.
“I left our hands looking normal,” Kaira explained. “That way, we can easily tell us from them.”
I glanced at the silent, cloaked Super Mags. Sure enough, their hands were gnarled, cracked, and bloody. A little shudder passed through me when I caught sight of the tubes sticking out of the backs of their necks. There was something creepy and distinctly non-human about them.
“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Graysen asked Charlotte, who stood between him and Emory.
Charlotte looked down at Sir Zachary, whose fur was standing on end as he growled quietly at the Synthetics.
“We’ve got this,” she said.
Her golden eyes flashed, and then the little girl was gone. In her place was a beautiful black-and-white Border Collie. Unlike our appearances, which were illusions, Charlotte had really become what she appeared to be. She whined softly to Sir Zachary.
The two dogs looked at each other. Then, they both shot off like bullets.
Charlotte and Sir Zachary split off in opposite directions, their bodies hunched low as they raced around the Synthetics. They bared their canines and snapped at the Synthetics’ ankles.
The Synthetics all turned their hooded gazes onto the two dogs. One of them opened his mouth, displaying double rows of pointed teeth.
“Oh my—” Kaira began.
The Synthetic screeched.
The sound was like nothing I’d ever heard before. The cement walls reverberated. Cracks appeared between my feet. I felt something wet and sticky trickling out of my ear. When I reached up to touch it, my fingers came away stained with blood.
My friends’ mouths were moving, but I couldn’t hear more than a jumble of senseless words. Blood streamed from their ears.
“Sir Zachary!” A.J. shouted.
Relief at discovering I wasn’t deaf turned to terror. Sir Zachary was facing off against a line of Synthetics.
When Sir Zachary reared onto his hind paws, the rest of us got the hell out of his way.
Sir Zachary opened his mouth. Fire spewed out.
The Synthetics let out harsh wailing sounds as a wall of fire surrounded them. Some of them allowed themselves to be herded by Charlotte, moving wherever they could to avoid the fire. The rest fought back.
A wall of ice appeared between Sir Zachary and the Synthetics.
Border Collie-Charlotte transformed again. This time, she became an enormous polar bear.
Charlotte rose up on her hind paws and roared.
The sight of her was almost as terrifying as all of the Synthetics combined. The creatures must have agreed, because they tripped over their cloaks as they hurried to get away from her…and ran right into Sir Zachary’s flames.
The only problem was that there were only two of them against all of the Synthetics. And the ice-wielding Synthetic was a match for Sir Zachary’s fire.
“What do we do?” Yutika asked in a panicked voice.
“Sir Zachary and Charlotte can hold their own,” A.J. said. “For a little while, anyway. Let’s get moving. I’ve got a trick up my sleeve, but it’ll only work once.”
We didn’t waste time asking him for details. We ran to the elevator on the far side of the room.
We went up to the isolation chambers on Level 4. With my magic no longer impeded by the Energy Manipulator, I had no trouble wrenching the doors off every single one of the cells. My friends hurried in after to help the kids back out to the elevator. Most of the kids were hysterical and too weak to walk on their own.
Their skin was covered with grime and their clothes were in tatters. Some of them were even barefoot. I took one look at the cowering, bone-thin children and saw red. These kids were afraid of us because they’d had a lifetime of learning to fear adults.
What kind of monster did this to children?
Michael Whispered to the kids, calming them enough so they trusted us to carry them out.
We worked quickly. We focused on the job so we wouldn’t all succumb to our fury over how these kids had been treated. We couldn’t afford to lose our heads…not yet, anyway.
I promised myself that the ones responsible would pay.
“First group coming your way, Smith,” Graysen said, lifting a straggling little boy in his arms and carrying him after the others.
It was especially slow going, because with my magic interrupting theirs, the kids didn’t have their Steel strength. Some of them scrabbl
ed on hands and knees because their legs were too weak to support the rest of their bodies. Charlotte and Sir Zachary kept the Synthetics occupied while the rest of us carried, dragged, and cajoled the children down the tunnel that led back to the train.
Given what had happened on Level 1 of the mine last time, we decided not to push our luck with trying to find the supply shaft that led all the way up to the surface. We figured it would be safer to take the kids straight back to Boston. Besides, none of us was especially interested in ending back up in California territory, only to have to battle Blade’s insane followers to get the kids the hell out.
It wasn’t a perfect plan by any means, but it was the best we had.
“Go,” I told Smith, once the train car held as many as we could fit.
There were a few whimpers from the kids as the door to the train slid shut. I felt badly that we couldn’t explain to them what was happening, but there wasn’t time.
Michael stayed with the next batch of kids who would board the train as soon as it came back, keeping them calm while they waited.
“The isolation chambers on Level 4 are cleared of slaves,” Adam announced. “We’re gonna go check the offices on Level 3.”
“The rest of us can deal with Level 2,” Graysen said. “I saw a bunch of kids heading up that way the last time we were here.”
“No,” I said, thinking about the vault full of liquid Agent S vials on that level. I didn’t know whether Diego had already come and gone, but I’d promised myself to let him take what he needed. “Start at the nursery on Level 1.”
“On our way,” Kaira said.
I felt like a traitor to my friends and everything we stood for, but there was also relief. I was no longer in Diego’s debt.
“Sir Z’s exhausted,” one of the crew guys said. “And Charlotte isn’t looking much better. They’re not gonna make it much longer.”
“Get Charlotte and Sir Zachary back to the tunnel,” A.J. ordered. “I’ll deal with the Synthetics.”
“A.J., what—” I began.
Before I could finish, I heard a sound like tinkling bells. I barely had time to press myself to the side of the dark tunnel as dozens of glass vials came zooming my way. The vials shimmered with the liquid green Agent S inside.
Steel for 5 (Mags & Nats Book 3) Page 31