by B N Miles
Jared looked at Izzy, his eyebrows up. “You heard her,” he said. “Still your call.”
Izzy shifted, foot to foot. “I don’t trust her,” she said.
“You don’t have to,” Jared said. “If she tries to pull something, we’ll kill her. But for now, we could use her help.”
Izzy chewed on her lip then threw her hands in the air. “Fine,” she said. “Fine, I’ll be your little research subject, but I swear if you try and fuck with me, with any of these people, I’ll make sure you shit your intestines out, bit by tiny bit, nice and fucking slow.”
“Deal,” Penny said.
“Great.” Jared extended a hand to Penny. “Welcome aboard.”
“Great to be a part of the team,” she said, taking his hand and standing.
“Fucking… traitor,” Clarence said, his voice a rough croak.
“Oh, shut up,” Penny said, and kicked him hard in the shin. He recoiled and groaned. “You always were a nasty little asshole.”
Jared steered her away from the half-sobbing Clarence and toward the rest of the group. Penny looked from Lumi to Nikki to Jessalene, and finally stared at Izzy, who stared right back with undisguised anger.
“So, where should we go?” Jared asked.
“Down,” Penny said. “Which means we have to take the elevator.”
“No stairs?” Lumi asked.
“No stairs,” Penny said. “They don’t care if this place collapses and burns and kills everyone inside, so long as whatever they’re doing doesn’t leak out.”
“That’s only a little suspicious,” Jared said.
“You learn to close your eyes and ears to stuff like that in this place,” Penny said. “But I’ve only been here for a few months, so I haven’t become a hardened asshole like Clarence yet.”
Jared walked to the glass door and looked out at the hallway, out toward the monkeys and the red light glowing near their cages. He felt a little guilty leaving them in there, but he knew they couldn’t release them. The monkeys would make way too much noise, mess up Jared’s plan to save Cassie, and they’d end up getting caught anyway.
“Let’s get moving, then,” Jared said. “We don’t have much longer until dawn.”
He pushed open the door and held it as Nikki walked out first, winking a little at Jared on the way. Jessalene and Izzy came next with Penny just between them. Lumi lingered for a moment, then took a length of rope from her backpack. She walked over to Clarence and tied his wrists and his ankles as tight as she could, patted him on the head, then joined everyone in the hall.
Clarence glared at them the whole time, slumped on his side on the cold tile floor.
“This way,” Penny said, leading them down the hall without even looking back at her captured colleague.
43
Penny led them down the tiled hallway, past the monkey room, and down to the next junction. She turned left and began walking faster toward the wall at the very far side.
Jared kept close to Penny with Nikki by his side. Izzy and Jessalene came next, and Lumi brought up the rear.
He didn’t trust Penny, not yet at least, but he did believe that she wanted to get out of here. She likely didn’t have any clue what Jared was there to do and didn’t understand the magnitude of her choice, but he wasn’t about to stop and inform her on just how pissed off the Medlar were going to be.
The group reached a pair of double doors with simple horizontal push handles set into a rough rock wall. Penny pulled a pass from her belt, which was attached to a retractable string, and pressed it against the pad next to the doors. It beeped, the doors unlocked, and she pushed the handle with a clunk. She led them into another short hall.
Penny paused on the other side of the doors. They stood in a much more normal-looking office space, with simple, boring white walls, a drop ceiling, fluorescent overhead lighting, and a thin but soft carpet. Several doors with large windows and metal knobs sprouted along the hall’s length.
Penny rubbed her hands out in front of her, looking down toward the junction at the other end, but didn’t move right away.
“There might be people around,” she said, her voice low. “We have to be quick.”
“We need to get to the elevator,” Jared said. “If Cassie’s in here—”
“She’ll be down there,” Penny said. “Down in the basement level.”
“Where you’re not allowed to go.”
“I don’t have access to that floor,” she said. “I can get the elevator open, but I can’t get you all down there.”
“That’s okay, we’ll handle the rest.”
She nodded once like she was convincing herself then walked forward. The group followed, moving faster than they had a moment ago.
Jared caught flashes of rooms as they went by. Conference rooms with long tables and whiteboards, a room with bookshelves crammed full with binders and folders and filled with study tables, a room with a coffee machine and a TV set up in the corner with a couch just across from it. He caught a glimpse of a woman sitting on the couch, watching a rerun of The Big Bang Theory.
Penny took them to the end of the hall and turned right. There was a big, fake plant with broad green leaves in a pot on the floor and a few weak attempts at decoration hung on the walls.
“This place is creepy,” Jared said, stepping next to Penny and keeping his voice low.
“They tried to make it like any other research lab,” she said. “You know, like we’re not in the middle of a mountain out in the Arizona desert, but at some state university’s campus instead.”
“Makes it even worse,” he said.
“You get used to it. The facilities are nice, amenities aren’t bad.”
“They pay well?”
“Better than anywhere else,” she said.
“But that’s not enough to keep you around.”
Her eyes sharpened as she strode forward. “If I were in this for the money, I’d be working at some pharma company making diabetes drugs.”
Jared studied her for a moment. “I haven’t introduced myself yet.”
She shrugged like that wasn’t of consequence. “You don’t have to tell me your names.”
“My name’s Jared Bechtel,” he said. “And if you’re going to come with us when this is all over, you probably need to know who we are.”
She looked at him and gave him a tight, reserved smile. “Nice to meet you.”
He was surprised that his last name didn’t spark any recognition in her eyes, but then he remembered she wasn’t a Magi. She probably didn’t know all the minor Magi families, and he couldn’t think of a reason why the Medlar would need to tell their researchers about the Bechtels.
“The Vampire’s name is Nikki,” Jared said, motioning back over his shoulder. “The Dryad’s name is Jessalene. The other blonde is Izzy. And the little brunette in the back is Lumi Medlar.”
That got Penny’s attention. She looked at him and her step faltered a bit.
“You mean, she’s an actual Medlar? Like, the family that runs this place?”
“That’s right,” he said. “Main family, true Medlar.”
“That… explains a lot,” she said. “I was wondering how you all even got in here. But Medlar family members have a lot of access around here.”
“It wasn’t as simple as all that,” Jared said. “The wards around the facility were… a challenge.”
She resumed her fast pace and pressed her lips together. “I suppose that would explain the blood.”
Jared let out a little laugh and ran a hand through his hair. It was stiff with dried blood, and his fingers came back sticky. He wiped them on his jeans.
“We went through a lot of trouble to get here,” he said as they approached another set of double doors. “The person we’re looking for is really important to all of us. I hope you understand that.”
She glanced at him, her face flat and expressionless. “Jared, I’m not interested in whatever it is you all are doing here. I just want
to know more about what Izzy can do.” She paused and ran an awkward hand through her short hair. “But I hope you find her.”
“Thanks,” Jared said, smiling a bit, unable to help himself. She reminded him a lot of Lumi when they’d first met, but Lumi had come out of her shell since then. He wondered if Penny would do the same.
They reached the doors, Penny buzzed them through, and they stepped into what looked like a large lobby. The floors were polished tile, and there was a receptionist’s desk off to the left, though currently empty. Most of the lights were off except for a few overheads, making the whole space seem somewhat gloomy and eerie.
A sitting area was set up to the right, nestled in a little alcove, with several chairs and a low, leather couch. Beyond that, a fountain was built into the tile floor, the top of it bubbling water. Jared caught flashes of metal inside it, and as they got closer, he realized there were coins thrown inside.
“Wishing well,” Penny said, glancing at it. “Someone tried to make this place feel cozy.”
“Still creepy,” Jared said.
Penny took them around the fountain and slowed as they reached the other side. Set into the far wall was a bank of three elevators, their doors shut, small panels like those next to the doors set in the wall in place of a call button. Penny used her ID to buzz one of the panels, and she stepped back to wait.
“I swear, there should be music playing right now,” Lumi said. “Like a department store.’
“There usually is,” Penny said. “Lots of classical. But redone with electronic instruments. It sounds… horrible. Someone has a sick sense of humor here.”
“I guess they shut that stuff off at night,” Jessalene said.
“Most of the facility’s shut down,” Penny said. “During the day, there are hundreds of people walking these halls.”
“Do visitors come here?” Izzy asked, nodding back toward the waiting area. “Like, from the outside?”
Penny glanced over and shook her head. “Not exactly. Sometimes we get visiting researchers, but they’re usually Magi from other families. Mostly that’s used by different employees waiting to get access.”
“There are other sections in here?” Jessalene asked.
“Oh, yes,” Penny said. “I don’t know them all. There’s a manufacturing area, and some place that deals with robots and building microchips. I believe this mountain has thousands of people scattered all over it.”
Jared sucked in a breath. “You’re kidding.”
“Not at all. This wing is quiet at night, but there are sections of the mountain that are crawling with people at this hour. All the employees live on the premises, so there are living quarters a couple floors up and some entertainment stuff up above that. If you’d come in a little higher, you would’ve been spotted for sure.” She gave him a tight smile and tilted her head, and Jared was surprised to note how pretty she was. “I guess you got lucky.”
“Sounds like it,” Jared said, though he felt a strange feeling creep up his spine.
The elevator doors on the left slid open. Penny hesitated and walked to the entrance, but she didn’t step inside. Jared narrowed his eyes at her and held a hand before anyone else could walk closer.
She turned to face them and seemed to compose herself for a moment. She held out her hands, palms up.
“They have cameras in there,” she said. “I thought about not warning you. I figured security would come and rescue me sooner or later. But I decided that I’m really doing this.”
“You were going to sell us out?” Nikki said.
Jessalene let out an annoyed grunt. “Why should we believe you now?”
“Because I’m really helping you,” Penny said. “That should be enough.”
Jared clenched his jaw then let it go. He looked over at Lumi, who gave him a little shrug and held out her hands, like what could she do.
“I wish you hadn’t told us that,” Jared said. “But I appreciate the honesty all the same.”
“Let’s leave her here,” Izzy said. “What do we need her for anymore?”
“I can still be of use,” Penny said. “You don’t know this facility like I do.”
“You can’t get down to where we’re going, so you won’t be much help down there,” Izzy said.
Penny opened her mouth then shut it again, looking frustrated. “Can you really blame me for thinking about getting away? You’re total strangers that broke in here, kidnapped me, threatened to kill me, used magic on me, tied up poor Clarence, and now you’re talking about breaking into restricted levels. How the hell am I supposed to trust you people?”
Jared let out a breath and looked back at Izzy. “She has a point,” he said.
“Then let’s leave her,” Izzy said.
“But I’m taking a leap of faith here,” Penny said. “I’m tired of working in this lab. I thought there’d be more to magic than just killing monkeys and blowing things up. I thought we’d try and use it for good, use it to help people. Instead, it seems like all we’re doing is building weapons and measuring effects. It’s worthless, regressive work, and I’ve been disillusioned for a while now.”
Jared chewed on that for a moment then turned to Izzy. “She’s right not to trust us,” he said. “We’re a bunch of freaks that showed up in the middle of the night, covered in blood, and threatened her. But we do need her help, all the same.”
Izzy shook her head and crossed her arms. “I can’t stop you from bringing her along, but I think it’s a bad idea.”
“I understand,” Jared said. “What do the rest of you think?”
“Bring her,” Lumi said.
“She’ll be useful,” Nikki said. “And maybe a little fun.”
Jared grinned at that then turned to Jessalene. “What about you?”
“I’m on the fence,” she said. “But we don’t have time to debate it.”
“Fair enough,” Jared said and looked back at Penny. “You’re in for now. But one wrong move and I’m breaking our little deal.”
“Understood,” she said. “Thank you.”
“Now, what do we do about those cameras?” Jared asked.
“I don’t know,” Penny said, blocking the door before it could close. “But I’d think fast.”
“Mist,” Jessalene said. “Fill it with mist. Make them think the camera’s malfunctioning.”
“Crude,” Penny said. “But it could work for a little bit. They’re going to know you’re here, sooner or later.”
“Fine by me,” Jared said, summoning his mist memgram. He snapped it into place and let the thick, billowing air roll away from his hands. “At this point, I’m getting impatient.”
The mist parted around Penny and filled the elevator car top to bottom. It looked like a wall of down fluff, and Penny turned to it with a strangely delighted grin.
“That never gets old,” she said, her voice filled with awe. “I mean, real magic. Never gets old.”
Jared stepped past her and took her wrist. “It will eventually,” he said. “Come on, save the childlike wonder for another time.”
She cleared her throat and glared at him, but her expression was lost as they stepped inside the thick fog.
The others piled in, Nikki pressed close to his shoulder, Lumi up near the number pad. The air in the car was thick and heavy with mist, and every breath felt moist and damp, leaving little droplets gathered on his eyelids and lips.
“Which do I press?” Lumi asked.
“Bottom left button,” Penny said. “It should have a little biometric reader on top of it.”
“Right.”
Jared watched Lumi’s vague outline bend down to study the panel. He saw her push her thumb against something he couldn’t quite make out.
A ring of glowing green formed around Lumi’s thumb and the doors slid shut.
“I think it worked,” she said.
“I think you’re right,” Penny said, and Jared felt her tense as the elevator began to slide down, descending faster than
he would’ve guessed, deep into the bowels of the mountain.
44
The elevator trip lasted a couple of minutes, but it felt like an eternity. Jared kept the mist memgram running, kept the car filled to the brim of it. He could only sense the girls around him.
But soon the elevator reached its destination with a bump and a disconcertingly normal ding, and the doors slid open.
Mist spilled out into a hall with laminate tile floors, a drop ceiling, buzzing lights, and door after door in even rows, stretching down to a junction and a set of double doors.
Jared stepped out first. Penny stayed back against the wall.
Lumi joined him, and together they stood shoulder to shoulder, staring at the dirty floor, at the black rubber scuff marks, at the dirty finger notches in the walls, at the flickering lights, at the doors without knobs and small windows set in the front.
“You feel that?” Jared asked.
Lumi grunted and put a hand on her forehead. “It’s hard to miss.”
There was a pulse in the hallway before them.
It was heavy and thick, like the pulse deep in the ground. It was magic, churning and growling, and it made Jared’s eyes tense and his head feel like it might implode. The whole place stank of magic, absolutely reeked of it. The doors were all warded to hell, the floor was covered in wards, even the ceiling was tightly knit with wards along the edges.
But that wasn’t all.
Above the pulse of magic, something crawled along his skin. Just one at first, but then more, dozens of them in all shapes and sizes, tastes and feelings. He sensed a forest burning, the smell of ashing plants, the taste of dust on the wind. He felt a heavy hit of sparkling ruby red wine floating in a glass and a case of dry ice fuming along a marble dance floor.
“Auras,” Jared said. “Meta auras.”
“Dozens of them,” Lumi said, grimacing as she brushed at herself like she was trying to get it away.
“What’s going on here?” he asked as he fought back a sense of panic.
“I don’t know,” Lumi said. “But we’d better find out.”
