Mags & Nats 3-Book Box Set

by Stephanie Fazio

  “Fine.” She sighed again. “Beautiful Mexican woman. Poor soul was so frightened she was stuttering. I swear I ain’t never seen a dead person so scared.”

  A dozen questions were on the tip of my tongue, but I knew better than to give voice to any of them. With Grandma Tashi, the only way to get information was to let her talk at her own pace.

  “She said somethin’ about those three children not dying when everyone thought they’d died,” Grandma said. “She also said their bodies weren’t buried properly and were left to rot in a terrible place.”

  “Did the dead lady tell Tashi where the bodies are?” Smith asked me.

  “I didn’t ask, and she didn’t tell,” Grandma Tashi said. “And you tell Smith if he has somethin’ to say to an old woman, he can tell her himself.”

  “Sorry, Tashi,” Smith mumbled.

  “Ask them what they want me to bring over for dinner,” Ma called from the background on the other end of the line.

  “Lasagna,” Graysen said.

  “No, tacos!” Yutika shouted, reaching for the phone.

  Pot roast, please,” Michael said.

  We’d no doubt end up with all three, plus a vegan variation. It was honestly a mystery that we weren’t all obese with the way Ma fed us.

  “Okay, well if you hear anything else, will you let us know?” I asked my grandmother.

  When there was no response, I looked at my screen. She’d already hung up.

  “Well, I guess that’s that,” Bri said.

  “What are you going to tell Pruwist about all of this?” Michael asked.

  “You shouldn’t tell him a damn thing.” Smith waved his spoon around. “What if he’s involved?”

  “If he wanted Remwald dead, he would have just let the trial go through,” Graysen pointed out.

  “If Pruwist can make sense of all these disconnected clues,” I said tiredly, “then he deserves the information.”

  “What do we have so far?” Gray asked, pushing aside his plate and propping his elbows on the table.

  “Remwald had part of his memory intentionally wiped by Jenny Yang before the trial,” Yutika said.

  “And then Jenny Yang killed herself for reasons unknown.” A.J. tapped his finger against his chin.

  “After calling Mallorie and saying she needed something from him,” Michael added.

  “And then we show up to Mallorie’s house,” Bri jumped in, “only to find his mind turned to mush. The only thing he seemed to remember was the formula for the Magical Reduction Potion.”

  “The dead are talking to Tashi,” Graysen said. “And there are at least three graves that were supposed to be filled with DAMND victims and are empty.”

  Those kids had to be dead, otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to visit Grandma Tashi. The question was, why weren’t they in the graves where they were supposed to be? And who had erased their records?

  “That just about covers it, I think.” I rubbed my temple.

  As much as it grated on me to let all of these loose ends go, Gray was right. We weren’t equipped to handle something of this magnitude.

  More importantly, I had my own problems to worry about. Depending on how this meeting with Pruwist went, I could soon be on trial for my own high crimes. If I was convicted, none of this would matter. Because I’d be dead.

  CHAPTER 13

  The sun was setting as Graysen and I drove onto the tree-lined drive that cut through the heart of the BSMU’s campus. Even though Dr. Pruwist was the interim Alliance Director, he was still officially the college’s president. Thus, he still lived on the BSMU campus.

  We left the city behind and found ourselves in a green oasis. The sounds of traffic had been replaced by chirping birds and music drifting from an open dorm window. Yutika had created us a convertible, since we didn’t need the van for just the two of us.

  The car was a flashy red with black racing stripes.

  Yutika’s powers seemed to go a little wild sometimes. I wasn’t sure if it was a result of her Creator magic or her quirky personality.

  Fortunately, the weather was cooperating. I tipped my head back to look up at the sky and let the sweet-smelling summer breeze cool my heated skin.

  I was wearing ivory slacks and a satin V-neck black top. In a deviation from the black flats I normally would have chosen for a professional meeting, I’d opted for four-inch red pumps.

  If I was about to negotiate for my life, I certainly wasn’t going to look up to Pruwist while I did it.

  I glanced at Graysen as he drove. With the exception of a few scratches on his face and a shadowed bruise on his jaw, his fitted charcoal suit covered all of his injuries. I reached up to brush his hair back from his forehead. It was still slightly damp from his shower and appeared almost black.

  He looked completely relaxed as he drove with one arm slung over the back of my seat. Even though he was silent and still, I could almost hear the way his thoughts churned.

  We’d spent the last several hours putting together the arguments for my defense. I knew he was going over all of his points in his head. Gray was confident we’d be able to convince Pruwist to make an exception for my second high law violation, given everything I’d done to expose ex-Director Remwald.

  I didn’t share Gray’s confidence. Either Pruwist was going to arrest me or he wouldn’t. I doubted anything we said would matter.

  But that was the difference between Gray and me. He believed the system would work fairly, while I expected the opposite.

  The thought of my fate resting in the hands of a single Nat who had been useless the last time we’d needed him didn’t inspire much confidence.

  Gray parked in the student lot and led me down a brick path that cut through campus. There were pockets of students around, laughing and chatting as they walked across the green. It was as though the trees that surrounded this campus somehow warded it from the violence that was brewing in the rest of the city.

  “We’re a little early,” Graysen said, pulling me out of my thoughts. “Want to go for a little stroll before we head in?”

  I grinned. “Is that what BSMU students do all day? Stroll?”

  In response, Gray wrapped an arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head.

  A jolt of nerves went through me. My gaze darted around, before I remembered we didn’t have to hide anymore. It was still so foreign to be able to touch each other and show little affections without fearing for our lives.

  Gray led me along a path lined with beautiful wrought iron lamps. We stopped at a stone wall that overlooked the Charles River. There was a bridge in front of us, but we didn’t go onto it. Gray just stood behind me with his arms braced on either side of my body as we stared out over the river.

  The BSMU’s boathouse was in front of us. The apricot globe of the setting sun was directly behind the building. Its light reflected on the smooth water of the Charles, making the river look like it was streaked with fire.

  “Do you miss all of this?” I asked.

  “No.” Gray’s answer came a little too quickly.

  I chewed on my lip as an ugly thought wormed its way into my mind.

  When I’d pushed Graysen away from me, I’d done it because I knew he couldn’t have me and a future in the Alliance. But there’d been another reason behind my actions.

  If I hadn’t betrayed Graysen and forced him to let me go, he would eventually and inevitably have had to pick between me and the Alliance. And I hadn’t known which he would choose.

  I was ashamed and had tried desperately to bury my insecurity where even I wouldn’t have to deal with it. Something about standing here and staring at everything Gray had lost made it impossible for me to ignore the truth.

  It had been more bearable to make the choice for him. Even though it was selfish, I didn’t think I could have handled Gray choosing to follow his dreams over being with me.

  “You were so close to having everything you ever wanted.”

  I didn’t ev
en realize I’d spoken the words out loud until I felt Gray’s body tense behind mine. He turned me around to face him.

  “I want you,” he said, his turquoise eyes luminous in the falling dusk. “Without you, the rest is meaningless.”

  His words eased something inside me, although the old guilt remained.

  Graysen was meant to change the world. Regardless of whether Pruwist branded me a criminal today, the stain of what I’d done would follow Gray throughout his career.

  “Hey.” Graysen brushed his fingers under my chin, lifting my gaze until it was level with his. “Did you ever image we’d be able to do this?”

  He closed the inches between us and kissed me.

  “Never.” I rested my cheek against his shoulder and inhaled his clean scent.

  “You didn’t take anything away from me,” he said, his breath warm against my ear. “I—”

  He glanced to the side, and his whole body tensed.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, searching around for whatever had caused his reaction.

  Gray didn’t respond. His attention was fixed on a group of students crossing the bridge over the river and heading straight toward us. There were six guys, and all of them were wearing BSMU crew jackets.

  Graysen let go of me and stepped slightly in front, so he was between me and the men. His arms hung loose at his sides, but his jaw was clenched.

  I glanced around. Dusk had fallen, and all of the students had cleared out. The nearest building was across a grassy field.

  Since Gray didn’t say anything about making a break for it, I stayed where I was.

  I readied my illusions, just in case things got messy.

  The group of guys stopped at the end of the bridge when they caught sight of us. Graysen didn’t say anything, so neither did I.

  The guys were huge, with the exception of one who was smaller than me. I knew just enough about crew to assume he was the coxswain.

  If it came down to it, I could take him down before I used my illusions to mind-fuck the rest of the group.

  “Hey, Galder,” one of the students said. He had blonde, gelled hair and a square jaw that screamed college jock. With the way he stood slightly in front of the others, it was obvious he was in charge of this little group.

  “Good to see you, Adam,” Graysen said. His voice was light, but tension radiated off him.

  Adam stared past Gray to me. He looked me up and down, but not in a creepy way…it was more like curiosity. Still, I didn’t let my guard down.

  “Damn.” Adam whistled. To Gray, he said, “You going to introduce us, you lucky bastard?”

  I gave Adam a cool look.

  “This is my girlfriend, Kaira,” Graysen said. “Although you already knew that.” Without taking his eyes off Adam, Gray said, “Kai, these are my ex-teammates.”

  I saw a few of the guys flinch like they’d been slapped. Others cast their gazes down at the ground.

  The silence stretched, and the air heated.

  “Ah, look, Graysen.” One of the other guys scratched the back of his neck and shifted from foot to foot. “We didn’t exactly have your back with everything.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Graysen said. “I don’t blame any of you.”

  He gave them an easy smile that would be enough to fool just about anyone. Only I could sense the hurt that lurked deep below his easy demeanor.

  His friends had abandoned him when he’d needed them most. They had believed he was guilty of murder.

  For that, I wanted to tear them apart. Since that would be completely inappropriate, I contented myself with standing at Gray’s side and lacing my fingers through his.

  “Kaira and I better get going,” Graysen said, turning so he kept his body between me and the group. “Nice seeing all of you.”

  “Galder, wait.”

  Adam took two steps forward until he was standing right in front of us.

  “We fucked up,” he said, all traces of humor gone. “You were our captain…our friend. We shouldn’t have believed what people were saying about you. We should have known better. I should have known better.” Adam blew out a harsh breath. “What I’m trying to say is, I’m sorry, man.”

  Graysen stood there for several seconds, seeming stunned.

  “I’m sorry, too,” the coxswain said. “And we miss you, man. The team’s falling apart without you.”

  I gave Gray a little nudge and stepped aside.

  Graysen took the hand Adam held out to him and shook it, before pulling him into a back-slapping hug. Gray did the same with the coxswain. Relieved chuckles and more back-slapping commenced.

  “Coach has been pretty much despondent since you left,” another one of the guys added. “He also went completely bald. Not sure if the two are related, but anyway—” He cleared his throat, his cheeks turning pink as his eyes darted everywhere except on me.

  One of his teammates punched the blushing guy in the arm. “You’re babbling. It wouldn’t have anything to do with Galder’s beautiful girlfriend, would it?”

  The man’s face turned even redder.

  “So, now that we’re friends again, can I give your girlfriend a hug?” Adam asked, winking at me.

  “Only if you want to get your teeth knocked out,” Gray said, but he was smiling. When he draped an arm around my waist, his muscles were no longer tensed for a fight.

  “Come to dinner with us,” Adam said.

  “Love to, but we’ve got a meeting with Pruwist,” Gray said.

  “Of course, you do.” Adam tipped his head up at the sky and groaned. “We always knew you’d get too important for us poor schmucks.”

  Gray shrugged. “My girlfriend’s an important woman. I’m just along for the ride.”

  I scoffed. “And in case I need legal counsel.”

  “We could come as your bodyguards,” one of the biggest guys offered. “If anyone gives you trouble, we’ll throw them into the river.”

  A smile spread over my face. To Gray, I said, “I like your friends.”

  We shared a look.

  All through high school, we’d had to keep our relationship separate from every other part of our lives. The risk of someone finding out about us was just too great.

  This…chatting with his friends in the open where anyone could see us…. It was nice.

  “We’ll meet up for dinner as soon as everything calms down,” I told the guys.

  After that, Gray exchanged hugs and promises of getting together soon with the rest of his teammates.

  It was only after we had parted ways that I remembered our real reason for being here. Stomach clenching, I took Gray’s hand and let him lead me to the president’s house. We were walking toward a tangle of trees. In the dark, they looked to me like they were shaped like gallows.

  CHAPTER 14

  ANat woman I assumed was Pruwist’s wife opened the door. She actually sniffed at the sight of us. She flicked her French manicured finger at us and disappeared down the hall. I took that as an invitation to come inside.

  A white floof of a dog yipped and bit at our ankles as we followed Mrs. Pruwist through a short hallway. I hoped Sir Zachary wouldn’t think we’d been cheating on him when we got home.

  We were shut into a study that was precisely the kind of room I would expect to find in a university president’s house. Shelves of books lined the walls. There were also glass cases that held what I suspected were first-edition Alliance documents. We sat at a large, circular table, which was covered with mail and other papers.

  I jumped a little when the door opened.

  Dr. Pruwist came inside. His tie was unknotted, his graying hair askew, and his pants sagging. He’d also missed a button on his shirt. Clearly, the pressure of his new position was getting to him.

  “Graysen.” Pruwist offered a tight smile. “Kaira. It’s good to see you both.”

  He shook both of our hands before seating himself across from us.

  As I stared across the table at the interim Direct
or, Smith’s warning from earlier came back to me. All at once, it didn’t seem like paranoia not to trust this man, who was Alliance down to his core.

  I no longer wanted to tell him what we’d discovered.

  But if we stayed silent, a murderer would continue his rampage across the city.

  “Dr. Pruwist,” Graysen began. “We need to tell you about some discoveries we’ve made over the last day. We think—”

  Pruwist held up a hand, stopping him. “The Alliance is aware of William Mallorie’s…mental problems. And we’re investigating Jenny Yang’s suicide in conjunction with Remwald’s murder.”

  “That isn’t all,” Gray said. “There was also—”

  “I think we can all agree there is more happening in the city than our law enforcement officials can track.” Pruwist rubbed his eyes. “If we spend the next hour talking about it all, we won’t have time for why you’re really here. And there are a few critical matters I need to discuss with you.”

  A drop of cold sweat slithered down my back, making my satin top cling to my skin.

  Pruwist pushed aside some of the papers stacked on the table. “First item on the agenda is damage control.”

  There were at least a few possible emergencies he could be referring to.

  “Valencia?” I guessed.

  Pruwist looked surprised for a moment. “No, not her.” He shook his head. “That unfortunate little stunt you pulled in the courtroom.”

  Gray and I exchanged a puzzled look.

  “What stunt?” Graysen asked.

  Pruwist looked at Graysen like he was a little dim. “The one where you were so focused on your girlfriend that you let Valencia and Remwald escape.”

  I gaped at the man seated across from us.

  “Securing that trial was your responsibility, not ours,” I snapped before remembering I was supposed to be on my best behavior.

  “You’ll need to issue an official apology to the citizens of Boston,” Pruwist told Gray, as though I hadn’t even spoken. “You can come to my campaign event tomorrow and do that before my speech.”

  “Dr. Pruwist, there were a hundred other people in that courtroom,” Graysen said in a far more diplomatic voice than I’d used. “None of them put capturing Valencia and Remwald ahead of their own lives.”