I turned around, bewildered. Apparently, whoever Myrtle had been talking to heard her, because the hallway lights dimmed and a cello began to play.
“Ohmygod,” I said, feeling a little faint. “Is this really happening?”
Gray turned to me, but Myrtle gave him a hard shove in the direction of the petal-strewn aisle.
“Get going,” she hissed. “And remember. No kissing.”
“I beg your pardon?” Graysen raised an eyebrow.
“Well, a peck on the cheek should be tolerable if you must, be you’d really be better off with a nice hand squeeze when you’re officially pronounced husband and wife.”
“You’re joking, right?” Bri asked.
“We took a few unofficial polls,” Myrtle explained in a reasonable tone that made it clear she was humoring us. “The consensus was that a kiss would disgust some of your viewers.”
“Are you serious right now?” Yutika demanded.
“You’d have an easier time telling them not to breathe,” Smith muttered.
Myrtle’s subsequent tirade convinced us all that she was quite serious.
“No kissing,” Gray said, holding up his hands. “Got it.”
“Good.” Myrtle blew a wisp of graying hair out of her face. “Then, places everyone!”
She actually clapped her hands in my face.
“I can have her get really tired all of a sudden,” Michael offered.
I grinned at him. Jokes were such a rarity for Michael that I felt honored to be on the receiving end of one of them.
“Hey Kaira,” Yutika said. She glanced around at all the people. Then, she said, “Take away my illusion.”
At the moment, she appeared to be a tall black woman. She bore enough resemblance to me that everyone would assume she was part of my family.
“What?” I asked, thinking maybe I’d misheard her.
“What you’re doing is so awesome,” she told me and Gray. “I want to be here by your sides, and I want to do it as myself.”
“But if we fail,” I shook my head, “you’ll be vulnerable. You could get arrested along with me.” I couldn’t let that happen.
“We’re the Seven,” Yutika said stubbornly. “I’m not going to hide. Besides, I want to be the literal face of the changes you two are standing for. I believe in you.”
“That was so beautiful.” A.J. whipped out his handkerchief and dabbed at his eyes.
“If Yutika is going as herself, then I am too,” Michael said.
“Me three,” Bri said.
A.J. sighed. “As much as I love my hair in this illusion, I’ll be myself, too.”
The only one left was Smith. Even with his illusion protecting him, he looked close to losing it with all of the people around.
“I’ll keep your illusion,” I told him, not wanting him to feel any pressure.
The fact that he was in public at all, instead of back in the van behind his computer screens, was huge enough for him.
“Nah.” He swallowed. “Take it away.”
“Son, that’s not a good idea,” Older Smith—Oliver—said from his other side.
Smith ignored his dad, giving me a go ahead and get it over with nod.
I gave him another few seconds to change his mind. When he didn’t, I let all of their illusions fall.
There were a few surprised exclamations from the people standing near enough to see what had happened.
“Thank you for being here with us,” I told our friends.
“If it wasn’t for all of you,” Graysen added, “I’d be dead instead of marrying the love of my life. So, I owe you everything.”
We were in the midst of exchanging hugs when Myrtle bustled into the midst of our circle, whisper-shouting something about missing all of our cues.
Gray walked down the short aisle first.
I thought I caught sight of Joseph Galder in the crowd, but when I checked again, he was gone. I’d had to stop myself from looking around to see if Tim Allistair from the Magical Marking Office was here too.
Desiree stayed back with Smith’s dad, while the rest of our family walked down the aisle and stood behind Gray. Our friends were next, their outfits making a rainbow that stood out against the pink-and-white flower backdrop.
Sir Zachary stole the show when he pranced down the aisle like he’d been training for this. He even did a little leap when he got to the end, which earned him uproarious applause that I could hear from the people stuffed into every corner of the building. Huge screens had been set up, which gave everyone within and outside the building a view of the ceremony.
I must have blacked out for a few seconds, because I had no memory of walking down the aisle. My heart was beating fast enough that I felt it thudding against my ribcage. But then Gray wound his fingers through mine, grounding me.
If he was nervous, it didn’t show. All of his attention was fixed on me.
“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” he whispered as the Mag justice of the peace began to drone on about Alliance values.
“Shh,” Myrtle said from somewhere nearby.
As the justice of the peace wrapped up her speech, I forgot that we’d ever had an ulterior agenda with this wedding. We might have failed in luring Subject 6 to us, but we’d inadvertently accomplished something else. Our wedding was a reprieve from the violence and heartache that had gripped our city for the last week. Our wedding was a new beginning.
And I was marrying the man I’d been in love with since I was twelve years old. The man I should have been executed for so much as looking at as more than a friend.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the justice of the peace said. “You may hug the bride.”
I didn’t even have a chance to register the slightly altered wording—courtesy of Myrtle, no doubt. Gray didn’t hesitate. He dipped me over his arm and kissed me.
I barely heard Myrtle’s shriek of dismay amid the whoops of our friends. Then, there was nothing except us. Gray didn’t let me go, even after several seconds had gone by. He deepened the kiss.
When Gray pulled back, it was because we were both completely breathless.
“Oh my Lord,” Grandma Tashi groaned, throwing her head back in dismay.
In Grandma Tashi’s book of inappropriate behaviors, public displays of affection ranked just below swearing, and somewhere above street brawls.
Ma just patted Grandma’s arm and wiped a tear from her eye.
“I’m pretty sure Kaira got pregnant off that kiss,” Bri said, grinning.
Yutika fanned her face. “I’m pretty sure I got pregnant off that kiss.”
Michael’s face went white as a ghost.
“I…I don’t think…I mean,” he stuttered. His cheeks went from white to red.
“Holy shit, Kai.” Gray took my face in his hands and stared at me in wonderment. “We did it. We’re married.”
I laughed, feeling a little drunk.
“Husband and wife,” I said. “Now you really won’t be able to get rid of me.”
“Say it again,” Gray said. “The husband and wife part.”
I opened my mouth, but I didn’t have a chance to speak. An earsplitting crash filled the air. The floor-to-ceiling glass wall behind us shattered.
Whole panes of glass and icicle-like shards flew through the air.
Then, the screams began.
CHAPTER 53
Glass was everywhere. I crouched down, making myself a smaller target and shielding my head from the spray of jagged shards.
Everyone was screaming.
I was shouting Gray’s name, but I couldn’t even hear my own voice. The ground vibrated as hundreds of people raced for the exits.
“Kai, are you okay?”
I scrambled to my feet. Gray’s face was covered in scratches. Blood was seeping through his white dress shirt.
“Nothing serious,” he assured me, scanning me in the same way.
Aside from a few scrapes on my arms, I was unhurt.
I saw then that the entire wall of glass was gone. Warm, salty air blew straight in from the harbor.
I turned, looking for our friends.
Michael was in the process of rolling off Yutika and Cora, both of whom he’d pinned under him. He was covered in shallow cuts like Gray, but he gave me a curt nod before assuring Yutika he was alright. Bri had gone for Ma and Grandma. Sir Zachary let out a little whimper when A.J. released him from his protective hold. Smith and his dad seemed a little shaken but unhurt.
We were all okay.
My relief was short-lived. With the room rapidly clearing, an unsettling quiet filled the air. The hairs on my arms stood up in warning.
“Kaira,” Michael said.
“I feel him, too,” I said in a breathy voice.
A bloodcurdling shout cut through the room. The sound had come from Pruwist.
He fell to the floor and curled in on himself.
“I don’t remember,” he groaned. “I don’t remember. I don’t remember. I don’t remember!”
Gray, Michael, and I moved at the same time.
Gray went for Pruwist, while Michael and I were drawn to what looked like an empty patch of floor.
“His heart’s too strong,” Oliver said. Sweat beaded on his brow. “There’s too much…other in him for me to affect his organs.”
“He’s breaking Pruwist’s mind,” Michael said. “He’s—”
Letting out a pained groan, Michael fell to his knees, clutching at his head.
“Michael!” I shouted.
“Knock Pruwist out before he gets mind-melded,” Graysen ordered Bri.
I winced in sympathy as Bri’s titanium foot connected with the side of Pruwist’s head. Bri had held back, but Pruwist was still in for a nasty headache in the morning.
I wasn’t going to pretend I was completely sorry for it.
I took a step toward Subject 6. White-hot pain seared my skull. I staggered.
“Sir Zachary, sic ’em!” A.J. yelled.
There was a blur of white and black, and then Sir Zachary was between the invisible figure and Michael. His lips curled back, but before so much as a spark emerged, the dog was lifted into the air. Sir Zachary let out a little yelp as his legs flailed.
A.J. cried out.
I lost the battle to stay standing and slumped to my knees. I heard Gray’s voice, but I couldn’t see anything beyond the haze of my pain.
“Get away from my boyfriend!” Yutika shrieked.
My vision cleared as the pain receded.
Yutika had a shard of glass clutched in her bloody hand as she blindly struck out for Subject 6. I was standing close enough that I heard Subject 6’s sharp inhale when Yutika’s shard of glass cut into him. His invisibility fell away, and then the man was standing before us. He clutched his bleeding side with one hand. His other arm was wrapped around Sir Zachary.
“Let our dog go,” A.J. commanded. “Or I’ll pull the ceiling down and crush you.”
It was an idle threat. Not that he couldn’t easily do what he’d promised, but because he’d kill the rest of us along with Subject 6.
“You stop this nonsense right now, you hear?” Grandma Tashi stomped forward until she was right beside me. She glared at Subject 6. “You keep carryin’ on like that, and I ain’t gonna tell you what your daddy said.”
“Liar!” Subject 6 rasped. “My…father…is…dead.” On each word, he drew in a wheezing breath.
Grandma Tashi upgraded her glare to a glower.
“You can start by puttin’ down that dog,” Grandma told Subject 6, utterly fearless.
I was a little gratified to see the way even the Super Mag was cowed by my grandmother. He dropped Sir Zachary. A.J. picked up the dog and began to offer kisses and reassurance.
“The dog is…everything,” Subject 6 said in that same raspy voice, like he was unaccustomed to talking. His red-rimmed eyes glanced over me and fixed on Pruwist. His thin, pale lips pressed into a tight line of disgust. “This Nat knows the way in.”
Subject 6 pressed a hand to his bleeding side, as though the act of speaking was taking more energy than he had to spare.
“What do you mean the dog is everything? The way in where?” I asked, finding my voice.
Subject 6 ignored me. He started for Pruwist.
Bri leapt up from a crouch and hit the back of Subject 6’s head before he could react. He crashed to the ground.
“I want answers,” Bri said, sounding hysterical and a little unhinged. “Tell us about those empty graves. How did the kids really die? What’s their connection to the Board of Peaceful Resolutions? Did they murder my niece?!”
She punctuated each question with a strike to Subject 6’s head. She restrained herself just enough to keep the man on the other end of her fist from falling unconscious.
“That’s enough, sweet girl,” Ma said, wrapping Bri in an embrace and tugging her back.
I was pretty sure that if anyone but Ma had tried to pull Bri away at that moment, Bri would have landed them flat on their asses.
All at once, the suffocating clamp on my magic lifted. With Subject 6 wavering on the edge of unconsciousness, his magic weakened. And that meant I could illusion.
“I can Whisper a little,” Michael said.
“Keep Subject 6 calm,” Graysen told him.
“Kaira,” Bri said, her voice cracking. “We have to find out what he knows. If the cops get him, he’ll either escape or be executed before we find out the truth.”
Bri was right.
I turned my attention on Subject 6, who was on the ground and moaning softly. I could use my magic, but I didn’t know what kind of illusion would get us what we needed.
My gaze darted from Subject 6 to Gray, to the group of our friends and family surrounding us. The sight of Grandma Tashi, whose hands were fisted on her hips as she stared down at the Super Mag, gave me an idea.
I closed my eyes, trying to remember every detail of the image Smith had projected on the wall days ago.
When I opened my eyes, I looked like Subject 6’s mother, and Gray was illusioned into the man’s father.
“Kaira Hansley,” Grandma said. “What have I told you about illusioning yourself to look like the dead? Don’t think that it bein’ your wedding day gives you the right to disrespect the departed.”
Subject 6 looked up. I saw realization dawn on his pale face. His pupils dilated, and his mouth formed into an O of surprise.
Tentatively, he reached out a hand toward me.
I knelt down beside him, taking the hand he offered. His skin felt brittle and paper-thin.
Subject 6 reached up with his other hand to touch my face. It was a little awkward, not least because I was taller than the woman I was illusioned to be, and so his hand stroked my neck instead of my cheek.
A single tear trickled down Subject 6’s face.
All at once, something I’d been grappling with for the last week clarified itself in my mind.
I’d been hung up on the way Subject 6 was using his magic to torture and kill less powerful people. I’d been questioning whether there was more truth to Joseph Galder’s argument about Marking than I’d ever wanted to believe. But now, looking at the awed and soft expression on Subject 6’s face, I understood the truth.
Magic wasn’t good or evil. People were. My illusions were just like any other ability that could be used for or against others.
The realization lifted a tremendous weight from my shoulders that I hadn’t even known I was carrying.
“Are you ready to hear your daddy’s message now?” Grandma Tashi asked Subject 6.
He nodded, but his gaze never strayed from Gray and me.
“He wishes he got to meet you, and he’s sorry he couldn’t protect you.” Grandma Tashi reached out and patted Subject 6’s bristled cheek. “He knows what you’ve been tryin’ to do, child, and he’s proud of you.”
Subject 6 made a muffled choking sound, which he quickly silenced by pressing the back of his hand to his mo
uth.
As I stared down at the emaciated man on the floor, I had trouble envisioning him as the perpetrator behind the crimes he’d committed. He didn’t seem like the kind of person who had that much violence in him.
Michael crouched beside Subject 6 and rested a hand on the Super Mag’s shoulder. My illusions were easier to hold with Michael nearby. It was probably because together, and with Subject 6 weakened, our magic was more powerful than Subject 6’s.
“Why have you been trying to kill us for the last week?” Graysen asked.
Subject 6’s brow furrowed. “Not kill,” he said. “I knew you were after the same truth as me. Had to know…if I could trust you.”
That explained why I’d sensed his presence in the alley, when he’d saved rather than killed Gray and me.
“You seemed pretty intent on murdering us that day in the Public Garden,” A.J. accused. “Poor Sir Zachary is still having nightmares about the ordeal.”
Subject 6’s eyes stayed fixed on Gray and me when he answered. “I needed the dog.” His eyes flicked to A.J. and Sir Zachary. “But getting him was…difficult.”
“I’ll say,” A.J. retorted. “You’ll have to pry this puppy out of my cold, lifeless hands.”
I gave A.J. a warning look.
“Tell us what you’ve been looking for this past week,” Michael said in a soft voice. “And how it’s connected to the Board members.”
Subject 6 licked his lips, and then he began to speak.
“I was one of the first Super Mags in Director Remwald’s Lab. There were ten of us, and after the Alchemists’ experiments, I was the only one to survive into adulthood.” Subject 6 swallowed. “Director Remwald tested my magic by making me look into his mind, but then he’d poison me before I could take control.”
It seemed to be taking all of Subject 6’s strength to get the words out. Sweat beaded across his forehead.
“He poisoned you with the Magical Reduction Potion?” Graysen guessed.
Subject 6 nodded.
“The Magical Reduction Potion was how Director Remwald planned to control all Mags,” Subject 6 said. “His Alchemist brother created the potion years earlier, and Remwald was obsessed with turning it into his personal weapon.”
Mags & Nats 3-Book Box Set Page 68
