The video shifted to footage of Gray shielding me during the court trial.
While the video played, Pruwist talked about how he would never prioritize an individual over the greater good of Boston.
The video paused on the frame where Valencia passed close enough for Gray to touch. The focus zoomed in to clearly display the fact that Gray’s attention was so fixated on me that he didn’t even notice Valencia.
Pruwist waffled on long enough for the video compilation to loop ten times. By the time he finished, I was in the process of grinding my teeth into dust.
Pruwist hid his smile with his water glass.
“Thank you for that audio-visual accompaniment,” Graysen told Pruwist in a light tone.
That got him a few snickers from the students in the audience.
Gray’s easy smile disappeared. He walked to the edge of the stage.
“You all know why I escaped from prison. If I hadn’t, I would have been executed for a crime I didn’t commit, and Remwald would have continued to murder Boston citizens.”
Several people in the crowd nodded.
“And I’m not going to apologize for caring more about Kaira’s safety than capturing Valencia,” Graysen continued. “If I could go back in time and do it all again, I’d make the same choice.” He scanned the audience. “Would you really want a Director who is capable of abandoning the person he loves?”
“No!” A.J.’s voice called from the front row.
His shout was echoed by others.
Pruwist’s lip curled before he got his expression under control.
“Mr. Galder makes a fair point,” Pruwist said as he tried to recapture the crowd’s attention. “But I would like to question Ms. Hansley’s motivations.” He turned so he was facing me. “I challenge you to explain why our city should elect you, when you’ve chosen to ignore our most important laws.”
This was the moment I’d been dreading.
As I looked at Pruwist’s smug expression, I knew he expected me to fail. I also knew I wasn’t going to let that happen.
I leaned against the podium so my wobbling knees would be less visible. My ballet performances had made me immune to being in front of a crowd, so what I was feeling now wasn’t simple stage fright.
Memories crashed into me, assaulting my mind with images that had haunted me since I was a child. Memories I’d never shared with anyone except Gray and my own family.
Everyone was waiting.
Gray nodded at me, silently giving me permission to evade the question so I wouldn’t have to re-open a wound that hovered just beneath the surface. But if I did that, we’d lose before we’d ever even had a chance.
I reached for the microphone.
You can do this, I told myself. You have to do this.
When I spoke, I addressed the crowd instead of Pruwist.
“It’s no secret that I’m a law-breaker.” I had to stop myself from rubbing at the scar on my forearm. “But it isn’t because I think I’m above reproach. It’s because I believe that unity isn’t enough.
“If you elect Graysen and me, we’ll do whatever it takes to bring true equality to Boston. And we’ll start with getting rid of Marking.”
There were murmurs in the audience. I didn’t need to look to know there would be disapproving expressions on many of their faces.
Breathe.
I continued, “I know most of my life is an open book at this point, but there’s a part of the story that you don’t know. I hope that once I tell you, you’ll understand why true equality between Mags—er, Magics—and Naturals is so important.”
I glanced at Gray. He was staring at me with a combination of pride and deep respect. It bolstered me.
A piece of my family’s history that I hadn’t shared with even my closest friends began to spill out of me.
“My father came from a rough neighborhood in Atlanta,” I began, knowing I was laying my soul bare in front of thousands of strangers.
“He was a Level 7 Mathematician, so all the gangs wanted him to manage their money. He always refused. Eventually, they got tired of hearing no.”
Gray came to stand beside me. He knew what it was taking for me to get these words out.
“One gang in particular wanted my dad, and they threatened to kill the rest of my family if he didn’t work for them.
“So, he and my mom scraped together their savings. They moved to the other side of Atlanta, where they had a few years of peace.”
A phantom tingling went through the scar on my forearm. I held onto the microphone more tightly.
“The gang wanted to make my dad pay for refusing them. So, they bribed a cop to get my dad’s tracking information. Later that day, they showed up at my house.”
I lowered the microphone while I tried to catch my breath. As hard as I tried to suppress the memory, I couldn’t block out the screams that sounded as real and raw in my mind as they had that day, fifteen years ago.
I had only been seven at the time, but I still remembered my dad shouting at Ma to take me and run.
Ma must have called her brother, because he showed up along with my grandparents. All of them faced off against the gang. I had a vivid memory of the thunderclap of a gun going off. And then I saw red blood splattering across a white wall, like paint.
I never told Ma, but I could still remember the way my father’s body had looked on the floor. Half his skull had been missing.
Ma had taken me out then, so I hadn’t seen my uncle and grandparents. But I heard the gunshots that killed them.
That day became known in the Hansley clan as the anniversary. Every year on August 28, we had a small memorial for all of the people we’d lost. But they were never far from our minds on every other day of the year.
I pushed on. “If it hadn’t been for my father’s tracker, the gang wouldn’t have been able to find him so easily. Instead, my cousins were orphaned and my mom lost her husband.”
In the silence that followed, I could hear a bird chirping from a nearby tree. No one else made a sound.
I realized all of my fear and apprehension were gone. Telling this story had exposed me, but it hadn’t made me weaker. Quite the opposite, in fact.
“No one should have to live their life that way,” I said, no longer needing to feign the confidence in my voice. “We preach about unity and equality, but the truth is that as long as Mags are Marked, we won’t really have either.”
I cleared my throat, letting the bright sun and Gray’s nearness bring me out of that blood-soaked room and into the present.
“Graysen and I are going to fight for our future children and all the Super Mags like them. We’re going to fight for the Naturals who fear for their lives every time they pass one of the UnAllied on the street. And we’re going to fight for the Magics who want nothing more than privacy.”
In the time it took me to catch my breath, the audience erupted in applause.
I waited until the quad went quiet again.
“We’re after more than the unity you’ve been promised elsewhere.” I tipped my head in Pruwist’s direction. “If Graysen and I are elected, we’re going to fight for equality…for all of us.”
I would have said more, but the thunderous cheers that filled the quad was deafening. Students were stomping on the bleachers, drowning out the rebuttal Pruwist was speaking into his microphone. His face was glistening with sweat and his lips were moving a mile a minute, but his words were lost amid the shouts of “Kaira and Graysen.”
Even with all the other sounds, I could pick out our friends’ cheers from the front row. I was pretty sure they were the ones who began the chant that was quickly spreading through the entire student body.
Get shit done! Get shit done! Get shit done!
Apparently, Gray and I had a tagline. And it was a good one.
When I turned to Gray, he mouthed I love you.
Energy buzzed through me. I couldn’t believe we were here…doing this. I couldn’t believe I was fig
hting for the issue I cared about most, and that we actually had a chance at changing a law that had stood for thirty years.
Since I’d cut out my tracker, I had been fighting the second law behind the scenes by helping unMarked Mags disappear. Now, we had a chance to change things for our entire city. It felt right.
All at once, the crowd’s chanting was punctuated by more discordant sounds. Cheers transformed to shouts that were more scared than excited. At the back of the crowd, a group of people who looked too old to be BSMU students were unfurling a massive flag.
Three words were printed on the flag: Kill Graysen Galder.
All at once, the peaceful gathering turned to chaos.
UnAllied were everywhere. They attacked the security guards who tried to corral them.
No, no, no.
Students and professors got mixed up in the melee. Magic surged as bodies collided.
“Kill Graysen Galder. Kill Graysen Galder. Kill Graysen Galder!”
The UnAllied were here for blood, and they seemed content to cut down everyone blocking them from their target.
We had to stop this.
Gray and I started for the stairs that led off the stage. Pruwist was shouting something at the cops surrounding him, but I couldn’t hear a word he said.
I turned to the side and caught the interim Director’s gaze. I couldn’t hear what he said, but I read the words on Pruwist’s lips.
Your fault.
He gave me a nasty smirk before his security detail ushered him away from the violence.
I flinched as someone leapt in front of us, but it was only Bri.
“Time to go,” she announced, taking my arm in one hand and Gray’s in the other. She pushed us behind her, using her body to block us.
“No,” I said. “We have to do something.”
“We can’t just leave,” Graysen shouted at Bri, who was hauling us away from the screams and mass of colliding bodies.
The rest of the Seven and Gray’s crew team surrounded us.
A shadow crossed overhead. When I looked up, I saw our van sail through the air as though it were a helicopter. A.J. brought it down onto the grass with a graceful flourish of his hand.
Michael cleared the way with a few quiet words, and Bri practically threw the two of us inside the vehicle.
I caught a glimpse of Valencia tangling with a Mag cop. I heard screams. A student with a Get s*** done flyer taped to her shirt collapsed in a spray of blood. And then we were driving away.
CHAPTER 33
Two people were killed before the cops could break up the riot,” Smith said a short time later. “One student and a Nat cop.”
My shoulders bowed under the weight of those two deaths. I hadn’t caused them directly, and yet, they were my burden to bear. I couldn’t help but think that if we hadn’t come to the rally, maybe the UnAllied wouldn’t have either.
A cold block of ice formed around my heart.
Valencia and her senseless hatred were turning our city inside out. She was threatening everything Gray and I stood for.
I wanted to forget about everything else and chase her down. And then kill the bitch.
“Valencia is offering $10,000 for anyone who kills Galder, and $5,000 to anyone who kills Kaira,” Smith added.
“That’s sexist,” Yutika glared at Smith’s laptop, like it was to blame for Valencia’s sexism.
“And no arrests have been made,” Smith continued.
“How is that even possible?” I demanded.
Smith raised a shoulder. “Pruwist was escorted off campus right after us, but he hasn’t bothered to send anyone after the UnAllied.”
“He probably just doesn’t want to lose any of his bodyguards,” Bri said darkly.
The argument cut off abruptly when Michael slammed on the brakes. We were all thrown against our seatbelts. A.J. cradled Sir Zachary before he went flying into the front of the van.
“Watch it!” Smith grumbled, holding protective hands over his laptop.
“Are you taking driving lessons from your girlfriend, or something?” Bri asked, rubbing her chest and loosening her seatbelt.
“What is that?” Yutika demanded. She wasn’t talking about Bri’s insult. She was pointing at a row of flashing lights in front of us.
“It’s the US Federal Security Enforcers,” Michael replied.
We were a few cars back, but there was no mistaking the men and women wearing crisp blue uniforms. Their caps had the Enforcers’ signature red tassels.
Horror gripped my insides as US Federal Security trucks rolled down the street.
“Return to your homes,” a loud voice called through a megaphone. “Return to your homes.”
We were facing Boylston Street near the Boston Public Library. Instead of pedestrians and the usual city congestion, troops were exiting the Federal Security trucks and marching down the street.
There was row after row of them. Each Enforcer wore a bulletproof vest and visored helmet. They carried shields and batons.
“This is surreal,” Bri murmured.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
Ever since the Slaughters, the Alliance had been the sole governing force in Boston. The Alliance monitored the Mag and Nat cops and made sure they abided by our city’s laws for doling out justice. Aside from ensuring the entire country upheld the high laws, the US president hadn’t been involved in our politics in thirty years.
Now, an army of all Nats was parading through our city.
“UnMarked Magics have twenty-four hours to come forward,” the megaphoned voice continued. “We will begin home searches tomorrow at 0900. All Magics will be expected to present themselves for tracking chip inspection.”
I forgot how to breathe.
“Holy bejeezus,” A.J. whispered.
“They can’t do that,” Yutika said, aghast. She turned in her seat to look at Graysen. “Can they?”
“Legally, no.” Gray’s mouth was set in a grim line. “But if the President is using the Military, there isn’t much Pruwist can do. Especially since he’s only the interim Director.”
I noticed I had been rubbing at the scar on my forearm and forced myself to stop.
“If Pruwist had dealt with the UnAllied,” I said, “this wouldn’t be happening.”
The cars in front of us began to U-turn. We all went silent as the Enforcers directing traffic stared into our windows. We were all illusioned, but cold dread slithered down my spine anyway.
We drove in silence until the Federal Security trucks and uniformed Nats were out of sight. It was only once we’d put several streets between ourselves and the Enforcers that any of us began to relax.
“It might be time to talk about leaving the city.” Michael’s voice was so quiet I almost missed it.
I jerked my head around to look at him, moving so fast my neck cracked. Of all of us, Michael was the least likely to say something alarmist.
“Are you joking?” Yutika gave him an incredulous look, but Michael’s gaze was fixed on the road ahead as he drove.
“I told you people we should have built a bomb shelter,” Smith said. “We might still have time—”
Michael cut the wheel. A.J. and Bri yelped as the van hopped onto the curb and came to a screeching halt on the side of the road. I grabbed onto the edge of the seat to keep myself from lurching into Smith’s computer.
Michael turned back to look at us. There was a dark expression on his face I’d never seen before.
“You don’t understand what’s coming,” he said. He looked at me. “The Atlanta Slaughters were nothing compared to what happened in Detroit, and it started with the Federal Security Enforcers there, too.”
Even though we weren’t moving, Michael gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white.
I was at a complete loss for words. The cold fear in Michael’s eyes got to me even more than the sight of the Enforcers.
“Michael,” Yutika said, brushing her fingertips across his s
leeve.
“You can’t imagine. I can’t—” He swallowed and looked out the window. “I don’t want any of you to have to go through something like that.”
This was the most Michael had ever spoken about his past. Yutika reached up to stroke his bearded cheek, but he didn’t even seem to notice. There was a faraway look in his eyes.
I tried to imagine what he’d seen…what he’d been through…that was making him lose his cool. My imagination couldn’t even go there. Every time I tried, I saw my father’s blood sprayed across the wall.
Instinct told me I was better off not knowing what Michael had survived.
“What you’re saying makes sense,” Graysen said in a quiet voice. “But we can’t leave.”
There was an intensity to his expression that I knew well. Once Gray made up his mind about something, he was as unyielding in his decisions as I was.
“The rest of the country is watching to see how our city deals with all of this,” Graysen continued. “The Alliance’s credibility is at stake. Our whole model for peace is on the verge of collapse.”
“Gray’s right,” I said. “This is our city. If we won’t fight for it, no one will.” I paused. “But if any of you want to leave, we’ll understand.”
It wasn’t fair to expect the rest of the Seven to stick around when I couldn’t guarantee their safety. In fact, the only thing I could guarantee was that they wouldn’t be safe if they kept hanging around Gray and me.
“We’re a family,” A.J. said. “We stick together.”
His words struck a deep chord inside me. I felt the same way about all of them. At the same time, the thought that they would continue to put themselves in harm’s way for my sake scared me senseless.
“I won’t abandon you,” Michael said. “If you all want to stay, I will too.”
The unspoken But it’s a bad idea was there in his eyes.
“Okay.” I rubbed my face, trying to make sense of everything that was happening.
In the last twenty-four hours, we’d identified the murderer as an Invisible, Mind Melder Super Mag who was after the Magical Reduction Potion. The UnAllied had somehow discovered where we lived in spite of Ma’s illusion. They’d tried to kill us…multiple times. Valencia had put a price on our heads like we were in the goddamn Wild West. Gray and I were now on the ballot for the Alliance Director position. And the Enforcers were in Boston.
Mags & Nats 3-Book Box Set Page 54
