Charmfall
Page 25
“It will work,” Detroit repeated, and I held out my hand. Everyone looked at me.
“It will work,” I said. “I know it will. And I’ll get it inside. You just need to tell me how to do it.”
Her eyes widened. “You believe me?”
“Your word is good enough for me,” I said. After all, if I could trust Sebastian, the least I could do was trust an Adept. That was a no-brainer.
Detroit nodded and handed over the beetle. It was heavier than I thought. It was nice and solid, and that was comforting somehow.
But Jason wasn’t thrilled with my plan. “It’s too dangerous,” he said. “You could get hurt.”
I shook my head. My mind was already made up. “I’m the only one who can go. Detroit’s too valuable to risk—she’s the only one who can actually do something useful right now. Scout’s a spellbinder—she can’t be risked—and Michael’s a pacifist.”
That was only half-true. He probably wasn’t really a pacifist, but he wasn’t a fighter, either.
“And me?” Jason asked.
“You need to stay out here and keep them safe. And if I get pinched, you need to come rescue me.”
I thought that sounded cute, but he didn’t really look swayed. Stubborn werewolf boyfriends.
But since he wasn’t going to suddenly agree this was a good idea, I looked at Detroit. “There’s a main meeting room inside the sanctuary. It’s just at the end of the hall. I’ll pop in, stick the bug on the wall, and be right back out before you know it.”
“She’s right,” Scout said. “She’s the best one for the job.”
It took a minute, but Jason finally nodded. “Fine. But if you get hurt, I’m going to be really irritated with you.”
“I’ll do my best.”
I hoped it would be good enough.
9
It should be a simple operation: climb the steps, open the door, walk down a hallway, and stick the beetle on the wall outside the sanctuary’s main room. I had to press a button on its back to turn it on, and as soon as a light came on that confirmed it was connected to Detroit’s video screen, I was done and could run out again.
It should be simple, but with nerves pumping, it sounded like a lot of steps to me.
We were still stuffed into the opening of the tunnel, while Detroit walked through the steps one more time. But I hardly heard her. My eyes were on Jason, who stared back at me just as hard.
“Could this be a trap?” I asked, my hands shaking with nerves and adrenaline. I squeezed my fingers around the bug to keep from dropping it.
“It’s not a trap,” Detroit said. “It’s an Enclave Two–style mission. You can do this.”
“You can do it,” Scout agreed, putting an arm around my shoulder. “Pop in, pop on, pop out. Get it done right and I’ll let you borrow my messenger bag, skull and all.”
I laughed nervously. “I don’t even like your messenger bag. It creeps me out.”
“Even better.” She slapped me on the butt like I was a quarterback who had to save the game at the last minute. Which I kind of was.
“All right,” Detroit said. “The coast isn’t going to get any clearer. Go.”
I took a step outside the tunnel, bathed in light and totally obvious, and it took me a moment to get my feet moving again.
But then I hauled. I ran to the steps and took them two at a time, then put an ear to the metal door. It was thick, and I couldn’t hear anything through it, so I couldn’t be sure there wasn’t a Reaper on the other side. But no sound was better than the sound of chatty Reapers, so I turned the knob.
Nothing happened. It was locked.
“Crap,” I muttered, and jiggled the handle again.
Nothing at all.
I glanced back at the Adepts, who all shrugged, their faces blank. If the door was locked and we didn’t have a key, this mission was dead on arrival.
One way or the other, I needed to make a decision.
I looked back at the door. It was metal and rusty, and pretty old looking. Maybe it wasn’t locked. . . . Maybe it was just stuck.
I stuffed the beetle into my pocket, put both hands on the doorknob, blew out a breath, and then turned it with every ounce of energy I had. It finally popped open.
I peeked into the sanctuary—the hallway was empty. I stepped inside and edged toward the wall, then crept in the direction of the door to the main room.
There were doors on both sides of the hall. On our last visit, those rooms had been empty except for some rusting equipment. Expecting to see the same thing, I peeked into one. But instead, the room held lab equipment, the kind of stuff we’d seen in the sanctuary Scout had imploded. And in the middle of the room were two ladies in white lab coats. They stood together, soda cans in hand, chatting happily—as if they weren’t part of a team that sucked the wispy souls out of teenagers to survive. Sometimes, I just didn’t understand adults.
I’d been so busy being angry that they were just standing there chatting that I forgot where I was and what I was doing. Both of them suddenly turned toward the door. I immediately ducked down, heart pounding, and squeezed my eyes closed. Had they seen me? Were they calling security?
But after a couple of seconds, no one burst into the hallway. It was still quiet and empty, and I took that as my cue to get on with my job and get back into the tunnels.
I ran to the end of the hall and peeked into the final door to confirm it was the room where Scout had been held. It was. The banner still hung at one end of the room, and the table where Scout had been buckled sat empty in front of it, waiting for a soul to steal. The Reapers had added more decorations now, so the room looked more like a throne room. Scary thought.
“It will work,” I said. “I know it will. And I’ll get it inside. You just need to tell me how to do it.”
Her eyes widened. “You believe me?”
“Your word is good enough for me,” I said. After all, if I could trust Sebastian, the least I could do was trust an Adept. That was a no-brainer.
Detroit nodded and handed over the beetle. It was heavier than I thought. It was nice and solid, and that was comforting somehow.
But Jason wasn’t thrilled with my plan. “It’s too dangerous,” he said. “You could get hurt.”
I shook my head. My mind was already made up. “I’m the only one who can go. Detroit’s too valuable to risk—she’s the only one who can actually do something useful right now. Scout’s a spellbinder—she can’t be risked—and Michael’s a pacifist.”
That was only half-true. He probably wasn’t really a pacifist, but he wasn’t a fighter, either.
“And me?” Jason asked.
“You need to stay out here and keep them safe. And if I get pinched, you need to come rescue me.”
I thought that sounded cute, but he didn’t really look swayed. Stubborn werewolf boyfriends.
But since he wasn’t going to suddenly agree this was a good idea, I looked at Detroit. “There’s a main meeting room inside the sanctuary. It’s just at the end of the hall. I’ll pop in, stick the bug on the wall, and be right back out before you know it.”
“She’s right,” Scout said. “She’s the best one for the job.”
It took a minute, but Jason finally nodded. “Fine. But if you get hurt, I’m going to be really irritated with you.”
“I’ll do my best.”
I hoped it would be good enough.
9
It should be a simple operation: climb the steps, open the door, walk down a hallway, and stick the beetle on the wall outside the sanctuary’s main room. I had to press a button on its back to turn it on, and as soon as a light came on that confirmed it was connected to Detroit’s video screen, I was done and could run out again.
It should be simple, but with nerves pumping, it sounded like a lot of steps to me.
We were still stuffed into the opening of the tunnel, while Detroit walked through the steps one more time. But I hardly heard her. My eyes were on Jason, who stared back at me just as hard.
“Could this be a trap?” I asked, my hands shaking with nerves and adrenaline. I squeezed my fingers around the bug to keep from dropping it.
“It’s not a trap,” Detroit said. “It’s an Enclave Two–style mission. You can do this.”
“You can do it,” Scout agreed, putting an arm around my shoulder. “Pop in, pop on, pop out. Get it done right and I’ll let you borrow my messenger bag, skull and all.”
I laughed nervously. “I don’t even like your messenger bag. It creeps me out.”
“Even better.” She slapped me on the butt like I was a quarterback who had to save the game at the last minute. Which I kind of was.
“All right,” Detroit said. “The coast isn’t going to get any clearer. Go.”
I took a step outside the tunnel, bathed in light and totally obvious, and it took me a moment to get my feet moving again.
But then I hauled. I ran to the steps and took them two at a time, then put an ear to the metal door. It was thick, and I couldn’t hear anything through it, so I couldn’t be sure there wasn’t a Reaper on the other side. But no sound was better than the sound of chatty Reapers, so I turned the knob.
Nothing happened. It was locked.
“Crap,” I muttered, and jiggled the handle again.
Nothing at all.
I glanced back at the Adepts, who all shrugged, their faces blank. If the door was locked and we didn’t have a key, this mission was dead on arrival.
One way or the other, I needed to make a decision.
I looked back at the door. It was metal and rusty, and pretty old looking. Maybe it wasn’t locked. . . . Maybe it was just stuck.
I stuffed the beetle into my pocket, put both hands on the doorknob, blew out a breath, and then turned it with every ounce of energy I had. It finally popped open.
I peeked into the sanctuary—the hallway was empty. I stepped inside and edged toward the wall, then crept in the direction of the door to the main room.
There were doors on both sides of the hall. On our last visit, those rooms had been empty except for some rusting equipment. Expecting to see the same thing, I peeked into one. But instead, the room held lab equipment, the kind of stuff we’d seen in the sanctuary Scout had imploded. And in the middle of the room were two ladies in white lab coats. They stood together, soda cans in hand, chatting happily—as if they weren’t part of a team that sucked the wispy souls out of teenagers to survive. Sometimes, I just didn’t understand adults.
I’d been so busy being angry that they were just standing there chatting that I forgot where I was and what I was doing. Both of them suddenly turned toward the door. I immediately ducked down, heart pounding, and squeezed my eyes closed. Had they seen me? Were they calling security?
But after a couple of seconds, no one burst into the hallway. It was still quiet and empty, and I took that as my cue to get on with my job and get back into the tunnels.
I ran to the end of the hall and peeked into the final door to confirm it was the room where Scout had been held. It was. The banner still hung at one end of the room, and the table where Scout had been buckled sat empty in front of it, waiting for a soul to steal. The Reapers had added more decorations now, so the room looked more like a throne room. Scary thought.
