Mags & Nats 3-Book Box Set

by Stephanie Fazio

  A.J. pointed an accusing finger at me. “If you think I’m going to wear one of those rent-a-tux monstrosities, you’ve got another think coming.”

  “We haven’t agreed to this yet,” Graysen told A.J. before turning to me.

  “Babe.” Gray took both of my hands in his. “We can’t turn our wedding into some circus event to lure our enemies to us.”

  “We can have a private wedding with just us later,” I told him. “But if we play this right, we can take down the UnAllied and Subject 6 in one fell swoop.”

  Gray looked into my eyes. “Are you sure about this?”

  I lifted our joined hands and kissed his knuckles. “Didn’t you once tell me you wanted to marry me in front of everyone we knew?”

  “Yeah.” He let out a low chuckle. “I was thinking a guest list in the hundreds, not thousands.”

  “The more the merrier,” A.J. chirped.

  “Not when half of them are trying to kill the happy couple,” Smith groused. “Do you people have any idea what a nightmare security will be?”

  “We’ll have to figure that part out,” I acknowledged.

  “Oh Kaira,” Yutika said, already opening up her sketchbook. “Can I design your wedding dress?”

  She whooped when I nodded at her and immediately began to draw.

  I turned back to Gray. “If this works, we’ll save our city from Subject 6 and the UnAllied. It’ll buy us time from having to run away, since the courts will be full of more important criminals.”

  “It’ll be great for your poll numbers,” A.J. added. “Which, by the by, aren’t doing so hot at the moment.”

  “Can we get back on point?” Smith asked with a scowl.

  “Party pooper,” A.J. retorted.

  “So, how are we going to do this?” Michael asked.

  That was the question. Admittedly, there were a few details I hadn’t yet worked out.

  “Simple, really,” Smith said. His sarcasm was unmistakable. “We just have to find a way to arrest Valencia and all her insane followers before they kill us. Then, we need to capture a Super Mag who has thwarted us at every turn.

  “And we have about thirty-six hours to figure it all out.”

  “We’re the Seven,” Bri said. “This is what we do.”

  “7.5,” A.J. corrected.

  We all turned to our little dog, who was wrestling with a bone that had gotten stuck between the couch cushions.

  Sir Zachary looked at us looking at him. And then he thumped his tail.

  “I’ll take that as approval,” I said. “Let’s get to work.”

  CHAPTER 49

  The evidence of our planning lay strewn all over the living room. There were empty coffee mugs, plates with nothing except crumbs, and even a few muddy pawprints.

  I added Clean Older Smith’s house to my mental to-do list.

  “The part I keep getting hung up on,” Yutika said, tapping her pen against her sketchbook, “is how to make sure everyone shows up at the right time. If we call up the news networks and make a big announcement, it’ll seem suspicious. We need everyone to think this wedding is some big secret that they stumbled on.”

  “We could just handle it ourselves,” Smith said. “I could hack into the news networks and leak some conversations about the wedding, or something.”

  “No, no, no.” A.J. stomped his foot. “We’re doing this by the books. Kaira and Graysen will never get elected if they break every law they’re supposed to uphold.”

  This whole law-abiding thing was quickly becoming the biggest barrier in all our planning.

  “I’ll take care of it,” Graysen said. “I just need to make a call.”

  He got to his feet and caught the encrypted-to-within-an-inch-of-its-life phone Yutika tossed him. He said to Smith, “Can you find me Rebecca Greenthorn’s number?”

  I started.

  “Gray, are you sure?”

  He gave me a little shrug. “I figure it can be her wedding present to us.”

  “You’re just going to call Rebecca Greenthorn?” Yutika spluttered, setting her mug down so fast coffee sloshed over the rim. “I mean, not that I’m impressed. I’m definitely not impressed.” She shook her head, like she was trying to convince herself.

  “I’ve got her personal and work number,” Smith asked, as unphased as ever.

  Graysen took his phone into the other room to make the call.

  “Anyway,” I said, wanting to save Gray from anyone overhearing what was bound to be an uncomfortable conversation. As far as I knew, Gray had only connected with his mom once, and that had been back in middle school. “How are we doing with everything else?”

  “Good on my end,” Smith said. “But I seriously can’t believe this plan hinges on a dog.”

  “Not just any dog,” A.J. said. “Compared to barking fire, this should be small potatoes for Sir Zachary.”

  “Yeah, still curious about that one,” Smith said, narrowing his gaze in thought. “I’d like to get some more answers about what exactly Remwald did to him.”

  No sooner had he finished speaking, there was a scratching at the back door. When Bri opened it, Sir Zachary trotted inside and deposited the piece of paper he’d been carrying in his mouth at my feet.

  “Told you he’d come through,” A.J. gloated. “My little precious.”

  “Well?” Yutika asked me.

  “It’s a go. The Super Mags will meet us at the park in two hours.”

  I looked up as Gray came back into the room.

  “Everything’s all set,” he announced.

  “I’m almost done with the IDs,” Yutika said, going back to her drawings. “I’m throwing in a few other things to sweeten the deal, too.”

  I nodded. “Michael, I want you to be on stand-by in case things go downhill, but if at all possible, I want this done without manipulation.”

  Ma’s wind-up timer dinged in the kitchen. A few seconds later, the smell of shortbread wafted over.

  “Last batch is going in the oven now,” Ma called out.

  I blew out a breath. Everything was coming together. Now, we just had to implement our plan without dying.

  Easier said than done.

  “What are we going to do about Subject 6?” Michael asked. “It’s not going to be enough to attract his attention. We need a way to take him down without getting all of us killed.”

  That was the part I hadn’t figured out.

  “We have to weaken him enough that Michael can Whisper,” Yutika said. “After that, it’ll be smooth sailing.”

  “I can slow his heart rate until he’s barely conscious,” Older Smith offered in a gruff voice.

  I started a little. Older Smith had been sitting in one of the leather chairs and seemed to be asleep.

  “Thank you,” Gray said, recovering first. “That would be…really helpful.”

  Older Smith humphed.

  “We’ll still need a distraction,” Michael said. “We can’t have Smith’s dad getting mind-melded before he can slow Subject 6’s heart.”

  “I would greatly appreciate that,” Older Smith said with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

  “Did you just say somethin’ about Subject 6?” Grandma Tashi was coming down the stairs, holding a lantern in one hand and a satin hair bonnet in the other.

  “Yes, why?” I asked.

  Grandma shrugged. “I had a young couple visit me last night. They were talkin’ all about him.”

  “And by visit,” Gray said, “do you mean they were dead?”

  “What else would I mean?” Grandma snapped.

  Gray wisely kept his mouth shut.

  “Seems odd a murderer would come out of two such nice folks,” Grandma said pensively.

  Yutika spewed out a sip of coffee. A.J. clutched his chest.

  “Grandma,” I said calmly, so she wouldn’t get offended and refuse to say anything at all. “Please tell us exactly what they said.”

  ✽✽✽

  Given the destruction that seemed to f
ollow in our wake, we’d asked the Super Mags to meet us outside the city in a quiet park. We got there early, so we’d be ready when the kids showed up.

  I felt a moment of trepidation as all of the Super Mags appeared. There were fifty of them, and while they didn’t look like much, I knew they could kill us with little more than a thought.

  Gray must have been sharing my feelings, because he tightened his grip on my hand until it was almost painful. I nudged him, and he relaxed a fraction.

  The Super Mags approached warily. Most of them were dressed in a mish-mosh of stolen and dirty clothes, and I had to remind myself that they weren’t just the most powerful Magics ever born. They were kids.

  “Doggy!”

  The Animalist girl ran over to Sir Zachary and gathered him in her arms.

  “You better have a good reason for dragging us all the way down here,” one of the kids grumbled. I recognized him as the Pyrokinetic who seemed to be their leader.

  “We want to give you something,” I told the kids.

  I nodded to Yutika, who stepped forward.

  “What are these?” the Pyro asked, looking skeptically at the ID cards she held out.

  “Nothing, yet,” I said as Yutika doled out the IDs. “But Graysen and I are running for the position of Alliance Director, and if we win, we’re going to take away the second high law.” I motioned to the IDs. “Super Mags, Mags, and Nats will all have the same citizenship status, and there won’t be any differentiation between us. No one will ever be able to lock you up again; you’ll be treated just like everyone else.”

  “What’s the catch?” the Pyro asked.

  “No catch,” I replied. “This issue matters to Graysen and me.”

  “Because your babies will be like us?”

  That came from the Memory Reader, who seemed less afraid and suspicious than the other kids.

  I swallowed. “Yes.”

  “Maybe we could interest some of you in babysitting,” Graysen said, giving the kids an easy smile.

  “Ooh, I could do that,” one of the girls said. “I’m a Dream Maker, so I could make sure they don’t have nightmares.”

  “That would be amazing,” Graysen told her.

  I felt everyone’s tension recede a fraction.

  “If Graysen and I win the election,” I said, “we’ll also make a Super Mag Relations group in the Alliance that you would be in charge of. You would get salaries, so you could buy what you need rather than steal, and you would have a way to speak up for yourselves in a place where you’ll be heard.”

  “No one gives something for nothing,” the Pyro said, flicking his ID onto the ground.

  “We do have a request,” I said, holding up my hand when the cynical snorts and I knew its began. “But if you say no, we’ll still give you everything we promised. But to change the law and protect the city the way we want to, we’re going to need some help.”

  The kids exchanged a look. I got the sense that some kind of telepathic conversation was going on.

  “Give them the cookies,” Yutika said out of the corner of her mouth.

  Michael passed over the enormous trays.

  “My Ma made these for you,” I said, uncovering the top tray.

  Unlike with the IDs, the kids didn’t hesitate. They ravaged the cookies.

  “If you ever want a homecooked meal,” I told them as they polished off the crumbs, “you’d make my Ma the happiest person in the world.”

  When the kids refocused from the empty trays back to me, their gazes were a little less hostile.

  “Okay,” the Pyro said. “We’re listening.”

  CHAPTER 50

  Ilooked at myself in the floor-length mirror Yutika had created for the big reveal.

  “Wow,” I whispered. “Yutika, you’re unbelievable.”

  Yutika grinned. “I mean, yes, but it was easy to design a dress that would look amazing on you.”

  The gown was fit for a princess. Delicate lace overlaid ivory satin that molded to my body. The sweetheart strapless top was somehow both elegant and playful. The skirt clung to my hips and then gently flared out at the bottom. A train of pure lace fanned out behind me.

  Ma covered her face with her hands and let out a muffled sob.

  “Oh, Ma.” I went to her, hugging her as Bri and Cora dabbed at her running mascara.

  “I’m so happy,” Ma cried, taking the box of tissues Grandma Tashi handed her. “You and G were in so much pain for so long, and now you’re getting your happily ever after. I’m…just…so…happy.”

  Every word was interrupted by a sniffle.

  I felt my own throat tighten at her words. I’d been so distracted by all of our planning that the wedding part had been feeling like just one more cog in the machine. But now that I was wearing the dress and had a second to think about it, the sheer impossibility of what we were about to do hit me with full force.

  Not just the fact that we were going to try to take down the UnAllied, the Enforcers, and Subject 6 in one fell swoop. Gray and I were getting the one thing we’d both dreamed of…something we never thought we’d have.

  Each other.

  “I almost forgot,” Ma said, tucking spare tissues into the bodice of her purple dress. She pulled out a small box from her purse and handed it to me.

  Inside was a pair of sapphire stud earrings.

  “Ma,” I breathed.

  “Kaira’s dad gave them to me on our first wedding anniversary,” she explained to Bri and Yutika. To me, she said, “I want you to have them. Besides, now you can tell A.J. you have something blue.”

  Until that moment, I hadn’t shed a tear. But as I put in the earrings, I felt myself starting to fall apart.

  “I better not hear crying in there,” A.J. yelled from the other side of the door. “You’ll streak your makeup, and we do not have time for that!”

  Laughing and sniffling, we all exchanged more hugs before opening the door.

  Michael and Smith were pacing up and down the hallway. I caught the way Michael and Yutika looked at each other, and my mushy heart turned into a puddle.

  “You look really pretty,” Michael told Yutika.

  He’d shaved his scruffy cheeks, which only made his blush more obvious.

  “And you look like sex on a stick,” Yutika replied.

  Grandma Tashi gasped. Cora and Bri laughed. Michael’s blush reached the tips of his ears.

  “You boys are so handsome,” Ma said. She pulled Smith and Michael into a suffocating hug, which they hesitantly returned.

  “Oliver, why aren’t you dressed?” Ma demanded, letting go of Smith and looking at his father, who was standing in the doorway to his bedroom.

  Oliver? I mouthed to Smith.

  He just scowled at the floor.

  “Holy shit,” Bri squealed. “Ma found out Older Smith’s name!”

  While Ma badgered Older Smith—Oliver—into putting on a tuxedo and leaving his house, A.J. and Sir Zachary came out of one of the other bedrooms.

  A.J.’s tux was daffodil yellow. In typical A.J. style, he somehow made the outfit look refined rather than tacky. Sir Zachary was wearing a bow tie and a white tutu, since apparently he didn’t abide by gender norms either. He also wore a collar with a blue ribbon, which we’d use to tie our wedding bands onto. I was less than enthusiastic about the idea of giving our rings to a dog—even one as talented as Sir Zachary—but I knew better than to challenge A.J. on anything animal-related.

  “Where’s G-Baby?” Ma asked, echoing the only question I had at the moment. “We’re gonna be late.”

  On cue, Graysen stepped out of the bedroom. Everything else faded from my view.

  His tuxedo fit him perfectly. His wavy hair was slightly damp and had been combed back. His turquoise eyes shone as they held mine.

  I didn’t even remember moving, but then we were standing in front of each other.

  “Kai.” He swallowed. “This is…you are….”

  “I know,” I managed. “I feel the s
ame way about you.”

  Our lips had barely touched before our friends were separating us, talking about minutia like not being late to our own wedding.

  Everything around us was chaos, but I felt completely serene. I was about to marry the love of my life. No matter what came after, no one could take that away from us.

  The ride to the courthouse was a blur. A.J. spent most of it on the phone with a woman named Myrtle, who was apparently the event coordinator at the courthouse.

  We’d chosen the courthouse as our wedding venue, because it already had increased security measures in place after the last attack. Gray had liked its political significance, since it was the building where the Alliance had first come into being. It was also just plain beautiful, with the wall of glass windows overlooking the harbor and city skyline.

  All the damage that had been done from the last attack had been repaired, and it was like nothing had ever happened.

  “Looks like your mom came through,” Bri told Graysen, staring out the limo’s tinted window at the camera crew gathered outside the courthouse.

  “Oh my,” Grandma Tashi said. “So much fuss over a little wedding.”

  “Oh hush,” Ma told her.

  I felt a sharp sting at the realization that one of our group was missing. Desiree hadn’t returned any of our calls since she disappeared to stay with the UnAllied, even though Cora, Ma, and I had tried incessantly.

  The limo ground to a halt, and I was forced to refocus.

  “You ready for this?” Graysen asked.

  The question was for all of us.

  “Let’s do this,” Yutika said, adjusting the bodice of her dress.

  “You all look so amazing,” I told my friends. “I hate to illusion you.”

  We’d managed to keep their identities secret thus far. No matter what else happened, I wanted them to have the ability to walk away if Gray and I made a complete mess of our election.

  Assuming all of us lived that long.

  “Make me even handsomer than usual,” A.J. ordered.

  “That wouldn’t be possible,” Ma told A.J., which had him reaching for the handkerchief in his pocket.