by Megan Crewe
Chapter Twenty-Two
Finn
The Christmas rush was definitely not an ideal time for a race to prevent an impending catastrophe.
I dodged shopping bags and parcels, weaving along the crowded streets. Someone muttered a snarky remark as I squeezed past a group of friends. I couldn’t say I really cared about politeness in that moment.
Threatening my father’s work reputation was one thing. Ary might get Mom and Hugh killed.
Finally, I reached a side street that wasn’t entirely packed. I dashed down it, trying to remember the exact location of the building where the Recognition of Mages in Business ceremony was usually held. I’d gone to the gala once when it was Hugh’s first time getting a nod. They always put it on in the same place: a historic office building that still housed a few prominent mage-led companies on its upper floors, not far from the college. Mom’s voice rose up in my head, a stray comment from a year or two ago: The little dessert shop tucked around the back has the best crème brûlée I’ve ever tasted.
I stopped at an intersection, made a quick calculation, and headed right. A few blocks later, I swerved left—and spotted the stone face of the building, its arch protruding over wide front steps where the recognized mages always gathered to have their photo taken.
No one was nearby except for a couple of pedestrians wandering along. I jogged over, scanning the tall limestone and brick office-fronts around it. A sugary smell tickled my nose—from that dessert shop Mom loved, I supposed. Another time, I might have followed my senses to it.
Mark had said he’d bumped into Ary and her friends. Had they finished the job and left already?
Then Ary’s impassioned voice reached me from the other side of the building, where a driveway led to the parking lot. “We need it almost but not quite there. Just enough that it’ll need one more quick nudge at the right time tomorrow. If it falls too early, we get nothing.”
I slowed down just enough to gather my composure, the cold air stinging my throat, and strode around the side of the building.
Ary’s head jerked up at my footsteps. Most of her head was covered by a playful-looking pink hat with a pom-pom on top, but the twee attire didn’t diminish her hard stare when she saw me. A few other Burnouts I recognized from the group that usually gathered around her at the meetings stood beside her, along with a guy who looked only vaguely familiar.
There was no sign of Callum, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t involved. It’d have been easy enough for him to point Ary in the right direction and then pull back so he didn’t look guilty. I could start with her.
“Sorry I’m late,” I said, tossing out the first decent-sounding remark that popped into my head. I’d been so focused on getting here swiftly that I hadn’t thought of how I’d handle the situation once I arrived. “I wouldn’t want to miss out on what’s clearly a vital mission for the League.”
“Why don’t you piss off, Academy boy?” Ary said. “This has nothing to do with you.”
Her voice was so caustic it gave me pause. She was full-out glaring at me now. I knew she wasn’t fond of me, but I’d always thought it was simply because I’d interfered with her ideas for the League. Now, I was struck by the understanding that she loathed me. I supposed she didn’t see any need to feign interest in cooperating when we had no one but her friends as witness.
“Funny,” I said, managing to keep up the same glib tone as before. “I was under the impression that we were deciding League activities by group consensus. Where’s Luis? Tamara? If you haven’t had a chance to let them weigh in, I’d be happy to give them a call.”
I reached into my pocket. The guy I suspected was Ary’s boyfriend—stout and muscular, with a white-blond sheen on his head—took a menacing step forward.
Ary rolled her eyes. “You don’t have a clue what we’re even doing, do you? I don’t know who tipped you off, but this isn’t League business. It’s my business. It will be good for the whole League when we’re done here, though.”
I crossed my arms. “Why don’t you tell me what you’re doing, then? Convince me it’s a good thing.”
“She doesn’t have to convince you of squat,” her boyfriend said, but I kept my gaze on Ary. She had to know that if she didn’t convince me, I’d be talking to Luis in a moment. Her pinched expression told me she’d come up with this plan without his approval. No matter what she said, she’d want to be able to call on the League’s manpower and resources later. She wasn’t going to stage much of a rebellion with just these four lackeys.
“The Confed still hasn’t made any concessions,” she said, tempering her resentment. “If we’re going to get anywhere, we have to keep pushing—we have to hit them hard. Luis is worried about getting his hands too dirty, so I’ll take this on. He’ll be happy when we get results.”
“Results from what?” I pressed. I needed her to admit what she was doing, to spell it out in so many words. Perhaps it was easier to set a trap to kill someone if you never thought through the killing part out loud.
Ary raised her chin. “They’re not scared enough yet. They want to celebrate their rich-ass Circle-linked mages while they steal our magic from us? We should steal that spotlight from them. Dominick here has an affinity for stone-work left after his Dampering.” She tapped her elbow against the new guy’s arm.
Stone-work. Like another novice from the Exam, another girl whose name I’d lost. The idea brought to mind an image of a stone spire toppling, shards protruding from the stump like knives.
“Great,” I said, wrenching my mind back to the present. “What stone is he going to work, and how?”
She edged toward the foot of the driveway and tipped her head to the front of the building. “We just weaken that archway a little. Spread a few cracks, and then give them a jolt so it crashes down on those self-important heads while they’re smiling for their stupid photo. Let’s see them ignore that.”
“Oh, yeah,” I said. “They’ll take notice—by sending National Defense to arrest the whole League.” I turned to the new guy, Dominick. “Do you want to be a murderer? Because that’s what she’s talking about here. What do you think happens when you drop a ton of limestone on someone’s head?”
He paled a little, but his jaw clenched. “We’re not trying to hurt them that badly. Just enough to scare them.”
“Is your control really that good? You can be totally sure of how much rock is going to fall and where? One slip and it could bash people’s skulls in. Do you really want to take that chance?”
“Hey!” Ary said, her earlier glare returning. “What the hell do you even care, Academy boy? Those people stole your magic too. Do you honestly think they deserve to go around patting themselves on the back when they’re doing this to us?” She flicked her fingers toward her Burnout mark.
“I care because I don’t think anyone deserves to die over this,” I said. “Not us. Not them. After what I’ve seen… I don’t want anyone else dying.”
If the new-magic mages had gone through their schooling with Greek tragedies drilled into their heads, perhaps they’d have seen this differently. Murders out of vengeance led to more murders to avenge those, on and on until everyone ended up dead or grieving. I’d rather not see any of our lives take that route.
Dominick shifted his weight, his expression torn, but I wouldn’t put it past Ary to dig up some other stone-worker somewhere if he backed down. The other four pairs of eyes aimed at me didn’t waver.
I switched tacks. “Even if you don’t mind if someone dies, I meant what I said before. I know these people, remember? If we get blood on our hands like that, the Circle will pay attention, absolutely. They’ll put all their attention into rooting us out and making us pay. How does that help any of us?”
The girl at Ary’s left rubbed her mouth and glanced at her friend. “He might be right,” she said. “We can’t be sure they won’t know which of us did it. I don’t want to go to prison on top of everything else.”
“You can�
�t listen to him,” Ary said, grabbing her arm. “He’s practically one of them.” She spun on me. “What’s your grand plan now? We stand around with our thumbs up our asses hoping the Confed leaders take some kindness into their hearts?”
My shoulders stiffened. “Of course not. I was right there during the college protest—I dug up that information so we could pull off the one during the international conference. We push back like that. Or, gods, maybe we do some things your way. But not like this, not with you going off on your own.”
Ary’s stance was still tense, as if she saw me as an enemy. Why wouldn’t she, though? I’d argued against every plan she’d put forward, even the one I’d agreed to in the end. When had I really tried to see her side? It wasn’t as if we had nothing in common.
I dragged in a breath. “I understand why you’re angry,” I said. “I’m angry with the Circle, and the Exam committee, and—” Hades take me, I couldn’t think of anyone in this city I wasn’t at least a little angry with outside of the League—including my parents and my siblings. “There’s a lot to be angry about. People I know have done horrible things or looked the other way while someone else screwed us over. Sometimes I do want to tear it all down.”
“But you’re too comfy where you are,” Ary said, but her sneer didn’t have as much edge to it. She was watching me now as if she actually wanted to hear what I’d say next. The others stayed silent.
“Maybe a little,” I acknowledged. “But it’s mainly that I don’t want to stoop to their level. I want to be better than them. Don’t you? Don’t you think you’re better than those assholes?”
“Of course I am,” Ary snapped.
I held her gaze. “Then don’t do this, not right now. It doesn’t matter if you say it isn’t a League thing. You know they’ll tie it back to the rest of us. The Circle takes so many of our decisions away from us with the Dampering and the Exam. If you make a choice that could hurt all of us, without even giving us the chance to talk about it first, you’re doing the exact same thing.”
Those last words tipped the balance. Even her boyfriend’s expression twitched. Ary set her hands on her hips, but I could read accession in her eyes.
“Are you telling me that if I pitch something like this at the next meeting, you’re not going to shout me down?” she asked.
“I’ll argue if I disagree with you, and then people will decide whose arguments they agree with more,” I said. “Like always. I did end up supporting you on the conference protest. I’m simply asking that we have that discussion properly, with everyone. If you don’t think this idea is sound enough that the rest of the League will agree to it, then how is it right to go ahead with it anyway and then pin us with the responsibility?”
Ary’s gloved hands balled into fists, and her boyfriend bared his teeth with his scowl. Dominick turned and hurried away, his posture defensive, as if he were afraid someone might chase after him.
No one did. The other four were all focused on me.
“All right,” Ary said. “Have it your way, Mr. Bleeding Heart. Just watch. People want to take real action. I’ve seen it in them. Soon they’re going to get tired of waiting for some change that never comes, and then the Confed should watch out.”
She jammed her hands into her coat pockets and motioned for the others to follow her out of the driveway with a tip of her head. The tension inside me drained away as I meandered after them to the sidewalk. My lungs ached when I exhaled.
Crisis averted. No stony hail would be raining down on my family tomorrow, at least.
“Hey!” a voice rang out from across the street. “Hey, Finn!”
My head jerked up. A guy in a trim overcoat was waving to me on the opposite sidewalk. It was one of my old classmates from the Academy: Bradley Chamberlain. We’d never been close, but he’d know me, all right.
My pulse stuttered, but it was too late to pretend I hadn’t heard him. He was loping across the road now. Ary had glanced over at us.
Perhaps they’d keep walking. Perhaps he wouldn’t say anything that mattered. I halted, forcing my mouth into a smile and searching for an excuse to usher him in the other direction.
“Hey, Bradley,” I said, hoping I didn’t sound too stiff. “It’s been a while.”
“No kidding. Man, it feels like ages.” He stopped on my sidewalk, his gaze traveling straight to my Burnout mark, which couldn’t have been more than partly visible by the edge of my hat. His attention lingered there for a few beats.
At the edge of my vision, Ary and her friends had turned to watch our conversation. Fine. Just keep it easy and boring, and either he or they would leave without my two worlds completely colliding.
“Damn shame about the Exam, isn’t it?” Bradley said. “You’ll figure it out, though. Are the tests as bad as everyone figures?”
I wasn’t sure I’d ever been more glad to say, “I can’t talk about it. Sorry.”
“Right, of course. Code of secrecy and all. Wouldn’t want to get you into trouble.” He made a gesture as if zipping his mouth. “Imagine you having to go in there at all.”
“It’s done now,” I said quickly. “How are things at the college?”
“Oh, you know.” He made a face. “Lectures, studying, the usual. It really is more dull without you around.”
“Well, thanks for saying so,” I said, relief starting to trickle through me. I wasn’t sure he’d actually stopped for more than just to rubberneck at my misfortune, but I couldn’t say I blamed him. I’d been morbidly curious about those who were burned out too. We’d exchanged niceties. Now I could get out of here.
I opened my mouth to make some excuse, and Bradley cuffed my arm. “Still can’t believe you didn’t make it. Finn Lockwood—I figured you were a shoo-in.”
I nearly choked on my tongue. My heart was suddenly hammering at my ears, but not loud enough to drown out Ary’s disbelieving voice.
“Finn Lockwood?”
“The one and only,” Bradley said with a pleased smile, as if he’d just done me a favor. “Your granduncle must be sorting something out for you, yeah?”
“Something like that,” I said weakly.
He glanced at his watch. “Well, I’ve got to run, but it was good to see you.”
That should have been my line. It was too late for me to use it now. Just like that, he was off again, leaving me stranded next to the last people on Earth I’d have wanted present for that conversation. I turned from his retreating back toward the cataclysm he’d just created.
Ary stalked closer as Bradley disappeared around the corner. Her trio of friends flanked her.
“You’re a Lockwood,” she said, her narrowed eyes all but burning a hole in my forehead. Her voice was seething. “One of the Lockwoods. All that ‘oh, I’m angry too, I just don’t want to be like those assholes,’ and you are one of them.”
I held up my hands. “Ary—”
“No wonder he was so worried about our plan,” she interrupted, glancing back at her friends. “He wasn’t looking out for the League. How much do you want to bet there’s going to be a Lockwood on those steps tomorrow? Not to mention the one in the Circle who’s ‘sorting’ everything out for him.” Her gaze snapped back to me. “That’s who that guy was talking about when he mentioned your granduncle, right?”
“Yeah,” I said. “But it’s not—he isn’t helping me. We hardly see eye-to-eye on anything. I only wanted—”
“You wanted to spy on us,” Ary spat out. Rage and indignation radiated from her voice, her posture. “I knew there was something off about you. I bet you’ve been reporting back to the Circle the whole time. You two-faced prick.”
She swung at me, so swift and sudden I didn’t have the wherewithal to dodge. Her knuckles slammed into my cheekbone. Pain burst through my face as I stumbled backward.
Her boyfriend came at me with a knee to the gut. The other girl stomped at my shin. An elbow clocked me across the temple. My head spun, blood seeping over my tongue with a metallic edge from
where I’d bitten the inside of my cheek.
“Who put the rest of us in danger, huh?” Ary said, throwing another punch that glanced off my ribs. “You’d better regret the second you thought about screwing us over! We can show the Circle what we think of their kind right now.”
In that moment, with my head throbbing and blows falling from all sides, it seemed like a real possibility that they might kill me as some sort of statement. They certainly weren’t asking for my side of the story. My Academy training served me only so far as offering up a melancholic line: Stat sua cuique dies.
My last day would not be today. My feet skidded on the concrete, spinning me around. I shoved myself away from them and bolted. I just had to get back to Fifth Avenue, where more people were around…
Ary’s voice carried after me. “That’s right. Run like a rat! Wait ‘til Luis hears about this.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Rocío
Polina’s jean jacket looked way too thin for the cold December night. She hunched her shoulders inside it as we stood at the edge of the dark alley that looked out onto the back of the abandoned movie theater. The bitter wind tossed the strands of her hair that had slipped free from her usual braid.
When she’d insisted on escorting us to the meeting place she’d heard about rather than just telling us the address, I wasn’t sure if she’d assumed we’d be taking her inside. Sam might have appreciated her intel, but he was still cautious of her. So the two of us had been stuck out here keeping an eye on the two young men who were standing guard in the thin light from the fixture over the arched back door. The rest of the squad had slipped inside through a window under the cover of ’chantments to spy on the meeting.
The guards were chatting, not looking all that on guard, really. Only a ten-foot stretch of concrete courtyard lay between them and our alley, but the bubble of shadow and silence I’d cast around us had kept us undetected. From what Polina had said, the local gang of mages who’d affiliated themselves with the Borci was on the fringes of the movement.
