Mags & Nats 3-Book Box Set

by Stephanie Fazio

  I took great pleasure in thinking about the copper, tobacco-chewing foreman without his magic. We’d see what a tough guy he was when he couldn’t hide behind his Steel strength.

  “Sir Zachary and I will find him,” Charlotte said, tapping her nose. Sir Zachary wagged his tail at the mention of his name.

  Graysen smiled at Charlotte. “That will be really helpful.”

  “I’ve been thinking,” I said. “Kaira and Graysen should stay here—”

  “Oh, no.” Kaira pointed a finger at me. “Not you too.”

  Graysen chuckled.

  “Just saying.” I put my hands in the air. “I’m going to have to fire myself for being the worst Security Chief ever. What if this whole thing goes down in flames?”

  “Then we go down together,” Kaira snapped. “And the next person who tries to exclude or protect me for this mission is getting illusioned into a blobfish.”

  “What’s a blobfish?” Yutika asked, perking up a little.

  In answer, Smith projected an image on the wall. The pink, gelatinous creature looked more like something that belonged inside an animal’s body than outside of it.

  “Ugly little sucker,” Yutika said with a shudder.

  “All animals are pretty,” Charlotte said, crossing her arms.

  “Amen, sister.” A.J. lifted his glass of pomegranate juice at the image on the wall in salute.

  “Crew guys are here,” I said, texting Adam back as I shoved a spoonful of cashew yogurt into my mouth to appease Ma.

  “You all be careful,” Ma said, following us out.

  “We will,” we chorused back.

  Ma pulled Smith aside and gave him one of her bear hugs. She whispered something to him before pulling his face down to kiss his cheek.

  Smith swiped a hand across his eyes before hurrying out the door.

  The weather outside was cold and bleak. The October sky was full of dark clouds heavy with the promise of rain. A frigid wind swept across the lawn, dragging dead leaves off the trees.

  Even though I wasn’t titanium, the cold didn’t bother me. We were going back to the mine, and that meant I was only a few hours away from rescuing Lilly. Anticipation filled my skin with pinpricks of heat.

  My mood took a rapid turn for the worse at the sight of Diego, lounging on a stone bench on our lawn like he didn’t have a care in the world.

  My friends mostly ignored him. They had all been quick to agree that saving Lilly was the priority, and we could deal with Diego and the Magical Reduction Potion after we had my niece safely out of the mine. But that didn’t stop Kaira and Yutika from throwing him dirty looks. Diego either didn’t notice or didn’t care. He was glaring at Adam, who had just gotten out of his truck and was jogging up to me with a huge grin on his face.

  I made sure to greet Adam with an extra-long hug.

  Normally, I was above those kinds of petty games. But Diego brought me to a new, unapologetic low.

  We all congregated on the driveway while Yutika handed out earpieces and mikes to all of us…minus Diego. Kaira reviewed the plan while we geared up.

  Charlotte and Sir Zachary were in charge of finding the Energy Manipulator who was making all the Steels a Level 6. The Nats on the crew team would knock him out, which would leave me as the only working Steel in the entire mine.

  Emory and Michael were going after the foreman. Between Emory’s Memory Reader magic and Michael’s Whispering, the two of them would be able to learn everything about the mine that we didn’t already know, including whether Felix Remwald was really still alive and in charge of the mine.

  I would go with Diego first to get his precious Agent S, and then to free my niece.

  I still had no idea what Diego had meant when he said only he could get to Lilly, but I didn’t want to take any chances. My friends had all agreed that we would play Diego’s game for the sake of getting Lilly back. But as soon as I had my niece, all bets were off.

  The Mag half of the crew team and the rest of the Seven were on rescue detail. They would get all of the slaves out of the mine using both the underground train and the supply shaft on Level 1 that led up to the surface. Then, after everyone was out, we’d destroy the mine.

  Once we were all clear on our roles, Yutika started to create a bus that would be large enough to get our whole group across town.

  While she worked, and my friends discussed last-minute details, I took Sir Zachary over to his favorite pee spot to take care of his business. It was a good excuse to get away from everyone for a few minutes and just collect my thoughts.

  A light breeze surrounded me with a familiar and unwelcome smell. Cinnamon.

  “Stop creeping and show yourself,” I ordered.

  Diego materialized in front of me. He had a large duffel bag slung over his shoulder and was leaning against the trunk of my favorite tree on the property. The towering maple looked like it was on fire with its red, orange, and yellow leaves.

  “I have nothing to say to you,” I told Diego.

  “I get it,” he replied, his usual smirk nowhere in sight. “But I don’t want you to think I’m a monster for no reason.”

  “It makes no difference to me,” I told him coolly. “Once we have what we need from each other, we’ll go back to being enemies.”

  Diego grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him. He recoiled a little at my expression, but he didn’t loosen his hold.

  “So stubborn. Will you just listen to me for a second?” Diego went to touch my face, but stopped when I flinched away from him.

  “Fine,” I grumbled, sitting down at the base of the tree.

  As much as I wished it were otherwise, I wanted to hear what he had to say.

  Diego sat down next to me, leaving plenty of room between us. For several seconds, we watched Sir Zachary dig a hole next to a row of hedges the gardener had just put in.

  “My parents gave their lives to discover the MRP formula.”

  Those words startled me out of my brewing fury. I’d known his parents were dead, but he hadn’t said before how they’d died.

  I looked at Diego.

  “My parents were in MagLab when the Pyrokinetic burned it down.”

  He spoke the words so quickly it took several seconds for my brain to register their meaning. When it finally did, I gasped.

  “The Pyro murdered my parents.” A storm raged in Diego’s eyes. “For the entire last year of their lives, they spent day and night in MagLab. My parents tried to tell Remwald how dangerous Super Mags were, and that they deserved to live normal lives without the burden of their magic. He didn’t listen.” Diego’s fingers dug into the grass. “And then, that Pyro burned MagLab to the ground.” He turned his fierce gaze on me. “That fucking psycho murdered my parents.”

  “Diego.” My voice came out hoarse.

  I bit my lip hard enough to taste blood. I wanted to tell him I was sorry, but the words seemed too inadequate.

  Diego hadn’t had anyone in his life except his parents. If I’d been in his place, I wouldn’t have just injected the Pyro with MRP. I would have ripped him limb from limb.

  “I wanted to kill that Pyro,” Diego said softly, like he could read my thoughts. “But I knew that kid’s magic drove him to do what he did. No Mag can resist using their power, but for Super Mags, it’s just this constant explosive force inside us. There’s just too much magic.”

  I swallowed hard. What could I possibly say to that? All of my earlier arguments felt weak and insensitive in light of this new information. All at once, it struck me that if I had been in Diego’s position, I’d probably feel the exact same way.

  Dizziness swept through me at that troubling revelation.

  “After my parents were killed, their mission became mine.” Diego flexed his forearm, drawing my attention to the Super Mag numbers tattooed on his skin. “I’ll never make the mistake of underestimating what my kind’s capable of.”

  When he put his hand over mine, I didn’t pull away.

 
“Damn you, Diego Agramonte,” I whispered.

  He was making it so hard for me to hate him.

  “This changes nothing between us,” I said, getting to my feet.

  Diego didn’t follow me right away, but the smile playing at the corner of his lips said it all.

  We were still on opposite sides, but we understood each other. And in spite of all my efforts to the contrary, I respected him.

  CHAPTER 38

  Michael drove the bus right up to the ruins of MagLab and the trap door that led down to the high-speed train.

  The crew guys did their best to creep each other out as we climbed down the endless ladder. Their teasing turned to complaining when Diego just flew straight down and let his sardonic I’m waiting…what’s taking so long? echo back up the chamber.

  The doorstop Yutika had made the last time we came was still in place, so we didn’t have to do battle with A.J. to prick Sir Zachary again.

  We all piled onto the waiting train car. The crew guys just about blew my eardrums out with their shrieks as Smith put the vehicle in gear.

  As soon as we reached the other end, our light moods transformed to deadly seriousness. The sheer magnitude of what we were about to do settled on all of us.

  “Okay,” Kaira said. “Anyone have any questions?”

  No one did.

  We put in our earpieces and mikes, exchanged solemn nods, and opened the door to the mine.

  I’d thought it would be easier now that I knew what to expect, but the sight of two little Steels pulling chunks of Agent S out of the wall made me sick to my stomach. I saw the crew guys’ horror as they took in this place for the first time. Charlotte let out a little whimper and cuddled Sir Zachary against her chest, while Emory moved closer to Graysen and Kaira.

  The slaves shrank away from us until they caught sight of Michael.

  Michael crouched down in front of them, and a few seconds later, the kids were hurrying back up the tunnel to collect the other slaves.

  Kaira illusioned all of us so we’d blend in with the other kids as we made our way up the tunnel. Our progress was hampered several times when voices calling Steel for Five! preceded a cart that came zooming down the tunnel.

  I was titanium, so the oppressive underground heat didn’t bother me, but everyone else was huffing and puffing.

  “Good luck, everyone,” Kaira whispered when we reached the end of the tunnel. She squeezed my hand before the rest of our group split off, leaving Diego and me alone.

  Diego’s slave illusion blurred out as he camouflaged himself to be indiscernible from the cement wall.

  “Take my hand,” he said, making me jump a little at his unexpected proximity.

  “No, thank you,” I replied stiffly.

  “I don’t need to expend unnecessary magic because you’re feeling stubborn.” Diego laced our fingers together.

  Rolling my eyes, even though he couldn’t see me, I let Diego lead me from the tunnel. We entered the massive, brightly-lit room where carts and people were moving back and forth to the elevator. Diego and I stood hand-in-hand against the wall and waited.

  My magic was inside me, but it was dull. I knew I had to wait until the others took care of the Energy Manipulator, but I could barely contain my fidgeting.

  I wanted to find Lilly now.

  I scanned the face of every slave who passed us, searching for my hazel eyes in one of the thin, dirty faces.

  “Soon, cariño,” Diego murmured. “Just relax.” His thumb stroked a soothing pattern across my knuckles. I didn’t want his touch to comfort me, but at the moment, it was all I had.

  “Stop,” Michael’s calm, commanding voice said across my earpiece. “Come here.”

  A few seconds of silence passed before Michael spoke directly into his mike. “Emory is taking the foreman’s memories now. We’re going to keep him alive to use as leverage once we find Felix.”

  “Good,” Graysen said. “When you’re done with that, Michael, we could use your help in the third tunnel from the left. I’m not sure these kids are going to come with us willingly.”

  “Will do,” Michael replied.

  “Sir Z and Charlotte just found the Energy Manipulator,” Adam’s voice said across my earpiece. “He hasn’t seen us yet. We’re hiding behind—

  “Oh. Oh shiiitttt.”

  “Adam?” I hissed into my mike. “Adam, what happened?”

  Adam started to answer, but Charlotte’s high-pitched voice interrupted.

  “There’s something seriously wrong with this guy,” she said, her voice a little shaky. “He looks like he has the Plague or something.”

  “I seriously doubt that,” Smith said. “But my dad can heal you if he does have something communicable.”

  “Maybe he has cancer,” Adam suggested. “There’s this tube hanging out the back of his neck. It looks like the one my grandma had in her chest when she was going through chemo.”

  “Chemo ports don’t go in the back of a person’s neck,” Smith said.

  “Well, this one is,” Adam said.

  “He smells funny,” Charlotte observed.

  “Like he’s sick?” Graysen asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Charlotte replied uncertainly. “He’s got too much magic. I’ll have to get closer to know for sure.”

  “Alright,” Graysen said. “Adam, knock him out. Whatever’s going on with him, we’ll figure it out later.”

  “Um.” Adam let out a nervous little laugh. “Sir Z kind of just torched the Energy Manipulator.”

  “Is he dead?” Kaira asked.

  “Oh yeah. Like, really, really dead. Sir Z, you’re a beast.”

  He’d barely finished speaking when magic flooded back into my system.

  I staggered from the force of my power coming back all at once. If Diego hadn’t caught me, I would have been sprawled on the ground.

  Slaves were running every which way, shouting to each other as the message spread that they were getting out.

  “We’ve got a problem,” Yutika’s voice said over my earpiece. “There’s a door blocking all the important parts of Level 1. We’re not going to be able to get to the supply shaft to get the kids out.”

  “I’ll break down the door as soon as I’m done with Diego,” I said.

  “I’m not sure you’re going to be able to,” Yutika said uncertainly. “The door looks really thick.”

  We’d see about that.

  “Oh crap,” Yutika squeaked. “Some of those creepy Mags in cloaks are heading this way.”

  “Don’t panic,” Kaira said firmly. “Come back down to Level 5. We’ll just have to use the train. It’ll take longer, but at least we won’t have to deal with the Californians.”

  That was going to be a problem, since only twenty-or-so people could fit on the train at once. It was going to take way longer to empty the mine than it would have if we could have transported the kids out all at once. And that meant we had to keep a low profile for longer than we’d hoped.

  The Seven were good at a lot of things. Keeping a low profile wasn’t one of them.

  “No sign of Felix Remwald,” one of the crew guys announced. “If the guy actually exists, we’ve seen no sign of him.”

  I chewed on my lip. Right now, the question of who was actually in charge of the mine was at the bottom of my list of concerns. In fact, aside from finding Lilly, I had no concerns at the moment.

  “Kaira and Graysen,” Yutika said. “I’m sending the first batch of slaves your way.”

  “We’re ready,” Graysen replied.

  “I’ve got the train fired up and ready to go,” Smith said. “I think we can fit at least twenty-five of them in here at a time.”

  “Okay?” Diego asked me, his lips brushing my ear.

  “Yeah.” I sucked in a breath. “Let’s go.”

  Diego tugged me onto an elevator that was occupied by a couple of kids with carts full of Agent S crystals. We pressed ourselves against the far handrail and kept silent so we w
ouldn’t be noticed.

  The elevator went up to Level 2, where I’d witnessed a woman be burned alive by Agent S. The kids pushed their carts off the elevator, leaving Diego and me alone.

  Alchemists and slaves were back at work, transforming solid chunks of Agent S into the usable—and deadly—liquid form. At the far end of the room, I caught sight of the titanium vault Diego had described.

  Diego shifted slightly. The rough material of the huge, empty duffel bag on his shoulder brushed against me.

  “How do you want to do this?” I whispered.

  I could break into the vault without a problem, but as soon as I did, no amount of camouflage would hide the fact that there was thievery in progress.

  Diego didn’t say anything. His breathing had gone ragged, and his hand was cold and clammy in mine.

  “You’re going to have to let me get me closer if you want me to actually get the vault open,” I said irritably.

  Diego swore quietly to himself in Spanish. He was holding my hand tightly enough that if I hadn’t been titanium, he’d be crushing my bones.

  “Diego, what?” I demanded.

  Kids with empty carts were heading toward the open elevator. If we didn’t get off now, we’d be stuck going back down with the slaves.

  “I can’t do this,” he said.

  “What can’t you do?” I demanded, having to raise my voice to be heard over the squeal of the elevator cables.

  “I was wrong to use your niece against you to get what I wanted,” Diego said. “I’m sorry, Bri.”

  I opened and closed my mouth, too startled to form a response.

  “Atta boy, Diego,” A.J. said into my ear, even though Diego wouldn’t be able to hear him.

  “That’s a step in the right direction, anyway,” Kaira muttered.

  I asked Diego, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll go back on my word again?”

  I felt his shrug. “I’m going to trust you not to dick me over. Now, let’s go get Lilly.”

  “Thank you,” I managed in a choked voice.

  Diego hit the button on the elevator that would bring us to Level 1. This was the only level I hadn’t been to yet. We passed through a narrow, empty hallway before we came up against a floor-to-ceiling titanium door. The door blocked me from seeing whatever was on the other side.