by Allie Burton
Keltie went first and easily climbed into the shaft. I went next. Stone went last and readjusted a couple of crates to make the ladder look even more random. The dark shaft was quiet, and my nose tickled from the dust. I held back a sneeze.
We crawled what seemed miles, however, was only yards. My knees ached, and my palms were raw. It must’ve been much harder on Stone because of his size. His shoulders barely fit. He didn’t complain. He stopped where a darker spot stained the wall.
Facts about Stone started to pile up into an unclear picture. He was a guard helping the majiks and working for a secret organization. He knew his way around the palace. He had contacts because he couldn’t have built and supplied the safe room by himself. Questions about him swirled and this time while we waited, I was going to get answers.
I settled in next to him. “I’m not going to shut up until you tell me who you are and who you’re working with.” And why you kissed me.
The strength to ask the last question disappeared. I’d conquer that aspect of our relationship another time. I had to know who he was and what he stood for.
“Does it matter? Know I’m on your side.” Using a hand tool, he pried off the back covering of a grate. Once the cover was removed it was similar to the other grate we’d peered through. “The less you know at this very dangerous point, the better.”
Meaning if I was captured, I couldn’t squeal. My hands fluttered. “You can kiss me, yet you don’t trust me?”
“Look, Ellery—”
“My fairy godmother calls me Ellery.” It hit me. He knew my real name and he knew about the magic purse because he’d asked me to bring it. I reeled back and the hairs on the back of my neck stiffened. “Gardenia. You work for her and her organization.”
Chapter Twenty
My fairy godmother was high commander of the fairies. Her word was on par with the queen’s. Gardenia must’ve formed a sub-army dedicated to destroying the monarchy. How many other groups were out there working against the crown? Against the regent and prince? Her spies had infiltrated the palace and Stone was one of them.
And he’d rescued me. Of all the captured majiks, he’d found me.
“That’s how you knew who I was.” My blood pressure spiked to a dangerous level. I’d been tricked by Stone and Gardenia. My chest squeezed, humiliation drowning my lungs. She hadn’t trusted me and sent him to save me.
I hung my head. Gardenia hadn’t sent an inexperienced fairy to assassinate the prince. She wanted something else from me. I’d been tricked into the quest for some other reason.
“I’m part of the queen’s elite unit. I report to Gardenia.” His carved cheek had a small tic.
My shoulders dipped, and my body deflated. Had I been led around on purpose? That must be why he’d kissed me—to get my cooperation. “My fairy godmother sent you to watch me.”
“These are dangerous times for you.” His bland explanation didn’t soothe my quiet seething.
He knew everything about me and yet hadn’t shared who he was. He’d thought I’d turn into a besotted fool after one kiss and do what he wanted. Anger pinged at each of his lies, bouncing off a rib and then an organ creating chaos inside. Everyone I became close to lied to me, kept secrets from me, tried to manage me.
With blackmail. With lies. With kisses.
“These are dangerous times for all majiks.” I swiped at my mouth and the memory of his kiss. “Why didn’t you tell me who you were?”
“And if I did, if I’d whispered the truth during your capture, would you have believed me?” The scoff telegraphed his doubt.
I opened my mouth to say of course, but he was right. I never would’ve believed him. I smashed my mouth shut.
His lips lifted in his trademark sexy, flirtatious, and too-smart smile. “Exactly.”
I’d thought he was attracted to me. Now, I realized I was part of his mission. He was tasked by my fairy godmother to protect me. I was a job to him. And if teasing and kissing and flashing his killer smirk helped get me to do what he wanted, he’d use whatever was at his disposal.
“I don’t need a babysitter.” My eyes prickled. I refused to cry proving him and Gardenia right.
He didn’t believe in me. She didn’t trust me.
“Is destroying the auraguillotine part of your mission?” Holding my breath, I repeated to myself, say no, say no, say no.
“That was all your idea.” There was a steel note in his voice. “And a good one.
At least he respected my mind.
“Why did you kiss me?” The urge to slap my hand over my mouth shot through me. I stilled the action.
He blinked several times. “It got you to listen, didn’t it?”
I gritted my teeth trying to control the air rushing in and out of my lungs. Trying to control lashing out. “I’m listening to you because we have the same goals. To destroy the machine. Not because of some kiss that wasn’t very good.”
“Not good?” His expression flickered with what appeared to be hurt, before a bright gleam shined from his emerald orbs. His lips quirked. “I’ll have to do better next time.”
“There won’t be a next time.” My mouth tingled with the memory. “No more kissing. I’ll follow your orders when they make sense.”
“My orders always make sense.” His chauvinistic confidence had returned.
I refused to argue. “Who else is part of the organization? Is Keltie part of the group, too?”
Her eyebrows arched. “What’re you talking about, Elle?” She must’ve heard everything.
I pursed my lips in a tight grin. “Call me Ellery. My real name. You probably knew it all along.”
“Ellery, stop.” Stone grabbed my arm bringing my attention back to him. “I’ve never met Keltie before today. She doesn’t know your fairy godmother, doesn’t work for her.”
He defended the elf. Why?
I sagged like a wilted flower. He’d insisted on coming with me to destroy the machine because of my fairy godmother. Because he was protecting me under her orders. And, Keltie I didn’t know about yet.
Because I didn’t know anything.
“We’ll talk about this later. Right now, we have a task to complete.”
True. My task. Not a quest Gardenia had sent me on. Not one of Stone’s orders.
He shuffled forward on his knees to the next grate and pulled out an old-fashioned hand tool with no cord or battery. As he de-magnetized the grate cover, he whispered, “Those holding cells lead directly to here.” He pointed with the tool. “The majiks wait in line.”
I squinted to see the area he indicated pushing my emotions aside. I’d deal with his betrayal later.
A queue formed on the far side of the machine. A couple of fairies, an elf, and a giant stood docilely staring straight ahead. No fear on their expressions. No gazes darting around seeking escape.
“Why don’t they run?”
“Or fight?” Keltie’s preferred method of dealing with conflict.
“Remember the Compliance Taser that defeats your will to fight?”
The taser had made even Keltie docile.
“Before the majiks are taken out of the holding cell they are given a serum with their last meal.” He sounded as if he was swallowing a disgusting morsel. “The serum makes them loopy and they follow the majik in front of them. They’re sucked into the auraguillotine one by one, where they are processed.”
From above, the shiny metal parts of the machine glinted. Red, orange, purple, and other colored lights flashed on and off resembling an out of whack podship light. Silver tanks aligned around the largest portion of the machine with wires and electrodes sticking out. A black flap sucked in and out where the majiks took the final plunge.
Too clean for a killing machine.
I’d always loved the hi-tech gadgets at home making my life easier. The robo vac, the self-cleaning sink, the dish sanitizer. Arbor had been afraid of anything I’d cooked in the insta-oven, saying it couldn’t be healthy. She believed one neede
d love and care and tradition to make a meal. According to her, magic was the most important ingredient. She didn’t understand humans didn’t have magic, so they’d developed tech.
But at what cost?
The main part of the auraguillotine was round and about the diameter of an adult dragon. It had small windows on the surface where guards could watch the process. Sick. Had technology made humans removed and non-attached to others?
“The majiks are conveyed to the extraction chamber where their powers are stolen. The power ascends those coiled tubes and is collected in the various tanks based on kind.”
The tanks’ colors related to the lights. Red for one kind of majik, say fairies. Orange for another. Purple for a third. And so on.
“What happens to the majiks after their powers are stolen?” Keltie asked.
“In order to steal the power, the majiks are tortured.” His disgust strummed through his vocal cords in an angry clash. “The machine fractures a majiks’ power and sucks their souls.”
Agony tore through me as if my soul was being ripped. Imagining the torment and the helplessness my knees buckled and I wanted to sink to the ground and bury myself. For a half-second I thought about turning around. This wasn’t my struggle. It would be risky, and I could fake being human for the rest of my life.
But I wasn’t human, and I was done pretending. I’d made the decision during the past twelve hours.
“Torture?” I squeaked. Resolute didn’t mean unafraid.
He put an arm around me. “They die, Elle. They’re tortured to access their powers, and they die.”
The arm might’ve brought comfort, and yet his words delivered nothing but fear. I shook his kind of comfort off.
Watching the majiks placidly plodding to their abhorrent deaths, I struggled to take a breath while trying to stay quiet. I had to help them. Had to stop this now. Even if I couldn’t save Arbor, I could save others. A rod spiked through my spine keeping it straight. I’d never again doubt my intentions or even think about pretending to be human again. This was a fight I wanted to be part of, and if we could make a dent on their side by taking one risky step now before the war, I’d take it.
“How do we destroy it?” I turned to Stone for guidance.
Keltie leaned in closer. “Do you have another one of those explosive devices?”
“No.”
I shivered at the memory of the painful effects the device had on me.
“What can you pull out of your bag?” Stone inspected the evening bag hanging around my neck.
“Are we far enough above ground?” The bag hadn’t worked in the tunnels and caverns.
“The majiks need their magic in order for the machine to steal their powers.”
Keltie snapped her fingers. “The reason why the majiks are drugged into compliance.”
I swallowed. “Does the serum make it easier for the majiks during the torture?”
“No. Their minds are drugged.” Stone’s hard tone hit like a hammer. “They can feel everything.”
A hammer that swung down and pounded me into an emotional fury. I wanted to dash into the room and scream at the majiks to run, and for the humans to stop. I knew the action wouldn’t be successful. We had to have a plan.
I snapped open my bag and peered inside at the comb and lip cover. “What device will work best to destroy the machine without harming the surrounding majiks?”
He regarded the bag as if he expected it to grow wings. His contemplative gaze roamed from the bag to study the machine. “The key is destroying the machine. There isn’t another one. It would take weeks to build a second. Then, my unit will have time to rescue the remaining trapped majiks. Can you pull a bomb out of the bag?”
“I can try.” I reached my hand inside. “Explain to me how it looks and what you want it to do.”
Closing my eyes, I listened as he told me what he needed. I pictured the shape of the device, the way the mechanisms clicked and connected, the way it would explode the machine in a terrifying boom.
My hand wrapped around a cylinder device made of metal and plastic. I pulled it out of the bag and held it up. “Got it.”
“Neat trick.” Keltie arched her brows expressing her doubt. “Will it work?”
“It will work.”
Did Stone have confidence in me or Gardenia’s Necessary Bag? Most likely the latter.
He detailed what had become his plan.
I was okay with that. He had more experience and knew how the machine worked. I understood there were going to be losses. Majiks would die by the auraguillotine while we got ourselves and the explosive device in position. Others would die when the explosion occurred. We could die, but it was worth it.
We each had a task based on our abilities and appearances. Poor Keltie had the most challenging part hiding her elfin features. She pulled the broad cap down low and tucked in her pointy ears. She was chosen for her task because of how she looked.
Stone slipped into the grate opening and dropped to the ground on almost-silent feet. Keltie went next, landing next to him like a cat. Shaking out my arms, I squirmed above the opening and stuck my feet through. My legs dangled and I swung my feet, hoping to keep my balance and not fall. I wiggled further down wanting to get as close as possible to the floor.
Strong arms wrapped around my thighs and lifted me down.
“Thanks.”
Nodding, he let go of my legs and stood. He studied my face and then turned to Keltie. “Ready?”
My knees trembled, and my stomach churned. My head felt slightly dizzy and my throat dry. I was terrified. Terrified of being caught. Terrified of dying. Mostly, terrified of not taking a chance at bringing this machine down.
“Keltie, keep your head down and move as if you’re following orders.” He examined me. “Elle follow behind me and when we get to the side of the machine where there are no guards posted. Start climbing.”
I wished I’d paid attention in gym class when we’d done rock climbing. I wished I’d listened to Arbor when she’d wanted to go to the park and climb large boulders. I wished I could wish my way to the top.
Magic tingled in my fingers. Did I dare try and use my untested powers?
Stone marched us into the room with the machine. The excruciating screams hit a raw nerve and I froze. How could I proceed calmly when majiks were being tortured right in front of me? He angled his head. I gave him a confident nod. I could do this. I had to do this.
He slapped a guard on the shoulder. “Guard change.”
The head guard signaled to two other guards and the three of them left leaving around a dozen who could figure out what we were up to. Stone marched around the far side of the machine with me and Keltie following him. I stopped on the side with no guards and crouched out of view.
Stone tapped another guard who stood near the front of the line of majiks. The guard took another position and Keltie took his place. She put a finger to her lips when an elf in line recognized her heritage.
Please stay quiet. I put my foot on the lowest rung of a built-in ladder that led to the top of the auraguillotine. The ladder gave access to mechanics fixing the machine. I was going to blow the machine to smithereens.
Keltie led the first elf toward the back door. This exit led back to the holding cells where all the teen majiks had been housed. It wasn’t saving the majik’s life, at least not yet, but it got the elf out of the assembly line of death.
The majiks didn’t doubt her orders, just as they didn’t doubt the humans’ evil directions.
I placed my foot on the second rung. One step closer to victory.
Stone slipped into a spot by another guard and nodded. He had the best view to warn and protect both me and Keltie. I admired how he fit in so seamlessly.
A sharp scream soared over the suctioning tumult of the machine. The tanks had a unique jangle of their own, filling and emptying and filling some more.
Chills ran down my spine and I sprouted goosebumps across my entire body. I wan
ted to cover my ears. Unfortunately, I couldn’t climb without my hands. With nerves stretched to breaking point, I hoisted my foot onto the next metal step and lifted my body. The sooner I accomplished my goal, the sooner we could save the teen majiks and get out of here. That’s what I focused on.
Using my arms, I pulled myself higher. The machine hissed and hummed beneath me—a sinister song.
I got to the halfway point and spotted Stone. He stood tall with his broad shoulders and large arms. Big by human standards. He pretended to be looking straight ahead, except I saw his gaze dart to me and to Keltie. He was keeping watch.
My nerves soothed a bit.
Keltie took about every other majik in the long line and led them to the back door. I had no idea what the majiks thought. We weren’t saving them all. Not yet.
Adrenaline gave me a boost. I continued my climb and nearly reached the top.
A large horn bellowed drowning out even the majiks’ harrowing screams.
My hand fumbled and I lost my grip. Air whooshed from my lungs and I dangled by my other hand, my white-knuckled fingers curling around a metal handle. My body hit the side of the machine and my knee slammed into the metal. That was going to bruise.
The large bang caught the attention of the nearest guard.
I couldn’t get caught now. I was so close to the top and the most vulnerable spot to place the explosive device.
Stone said something to the attentive guard. He’d been watching my actions, seen my stupid fall.
Flinging my free hand high, I gripped the ledge and pulled myself back into position. I scrambled higher and placed the explosive device near the top. I needed to set the timer and flick a switch and my task would be complete.
The horn rang a second time and the double doors we’d walked through earlier opened. The auraguillotine came to a halt. The hissing stopped, and the screams cut short.
I breathed a sigh.
“Regent Theobald and Prince Zacharye are here to assess the operation,” a royal guard announced.
The machine guards came to attention and put their hands to their foreheads in a salute.
