Each assumed their position, then Cait turned right and started down the basement hallway to the control room. The floor was lined with linoleum tiles; the walls appeared to be drywall, painted white. The ceiling was unfinished, with exposed pipes, conduits, and wires. At the end of the hallway was a door with a large glass window.

  Cait opened it and rushed inside.

  They heard a cry of alarm, then a whimpering shriek.

  The rest of them entered the room to find Cait standing over a cowering man in a filthy lab coat. He looked up as the group entered.

  “I didn’t do it. I’m just an electrical engineer. I swear I didn’t know what they planned to do.” The man kept repeating himself over and over, looking to them all and pleading his case.

  “I don’t care about you,” Winnie said, stepping toward him. “Where’s the machine? Where’s Project X?”

  “Upstairs. You have to believe me, I didn’t know what they wanted me to do or I would’ve said no. Now it’s too late. They’re already using it against the detainees.” The man buried his face in his hands.

  “There are people being held here?” Winnie looked around at her friends before turning back to the man. She lowered his hands from his eyes. “Where? Tell me now.”

  “Down the hallway. The way you came. Go to the stairs and turn left. They’ve created cages of a sort in the old basement storage room.”

  Cait grabbed him by the arm. “How about guards? How many guards on the detainees?”

  “Usually two or three, but they’re taking groups upstairs for processing now, so there’s probably only one staying down here with two escorting a group up … to the … ”

  Again, the man broke down.

  Winnie turned to her friends. “We have to hurry. They’re obviously using the machine on the chanters they’ve arrested. People are dying up there. Joey, you, Cait, and Tris need to free the people down the hallway, then get upstairs to find me and Danny.”

  “What if you run into guards?” Cait shook her head. “No way, I’m coming with you. Danny and Joey can handle the detention area guard.” She looked at the guy on the floor then to Joey. “This guy’s about your size. Put on his lab coat. You and Danny try to get close to the guard using his coat as a disguise. Then jump him. Can you do that?”

  Danny looked at Winnie — he clearly didn’t want to leave her side. He said, “Joey and I can do that. Tris should go with you two. You’ll need her tech knowledge to disable the machine, right?”

  Winnie nodded.

  Danny continued. “Great. So, we’ll get people down here out of the cages or cells or whatever, then send them on their way back through the sewers until they can get out. Once they’re all free, we’ll come upstairs and help you three.”

  They had a plan. The man on the floor had already doffed his lab coat. He handed it to Joey. “Are you going to kill me?”

  “No, but we can’t have you sounding the alarm.” Winnie closed her eyes and drew her magic, feeling the familiar thrill of the Sable magic as she reached out to use an unfamiliar flow. She sent a stab of force into the man then opened her eyes, the exhilaration of forbidden magic coursing through her.

  The man’s eyes rolled back in his head as he slumped backward and sprawled on the floor.

  “Winnie, what did you do?” Tris asked. “That’s forbidden, even for Sable users.”

  “It had to be done. We’re running out of time. I’m fine. Now let’s go.”

  Winnie led the group out of the room and back down the hallway until they reached a set of stairs. They stopped, then Danny and Joey split off to the left down another hallway. Joey led the way. Winnie watched them leave before turning her attention to the stairs.

  The machine was even louder now. She could hear its heartbeat pounding. And she heard something else over the noise. It took her a while to realize what it was.

  Winnie looked at Tris and Cait. They heard it, too.

  The trio started up the stairs, climbing toward the screaming above them.

  Chapter 46

  The stairs ended at a door with a small window.

  That was the first they saw of the Project X machine.

  They were careful not to be seen, but it was difficult not to burst through the door and end whatever was happening on the other side. Winnie tried to understand what kind of mind was capable of conjuring such a device.

  Eight chanters were strapped into chairs. When Winnie enabled her magical sight, she saw the thick ropes of magical flows pluming from their heads, captured by the shallow dishes above. Six of them seemed catatonic, showing no signs of a struggle. Two others were fighting hard — their flows were thinning, drawing back as they screamed in agony, violently shaking their heads while trying to flee the machine stealing magic and life from their body and soul.

  Winnie fell back with a gasp, looking up toward the catwalk, above the machine and its victims to Director Kane and Constable Holmes. But it was the person beside them, clinging to the constable, whose presence caused Winnie to cry out in pain and betrayal: Morgan, in Red Legs’ clothing.

  Cait looked over in alarm and stood to peer through the window. She must’ve seen Morgan, too. “That bitch.”

  “What?” Tris was last on the stairs and had yet to get a good look through the window.

  “It’s Morgan. She’s standing in there watching people die like she bought a ticket.” Cait pounded a clenched fist against her leg. “I’m going to kill her.”

  Winnie growled, “Not if I kill her first.” Then, “Before we take care of her, we have to stop that machine and destroy it.”

  “Let me up to the landing so I can see it better.” Tris muttered a viewing spell as she squeezed past the two of them, then stood to one side so she could look through the window without anyone seeing her from the other side. After a moment, she crouched down with the other two. “I think the control panel is key. If I can direct an electrical charge into the interface, I might be able to overload the internal computer circuits and initiate a shut down.”

  “How certain are you that it will work?” asked Winnie.

  “Depends on how long I can work without interruption. It’s an electrical device. Send enough charge into it for long enough, it will overload and shut down.” Tris looked at Cait. “I saw two guards and a few technicians. Can you neutralize them and keep any reinforcements off my back long enough for me to get it done?”

  Cait nodded.

  Winnie continued. “I’ll deal with Kane, Morgan, and the constable. If I can distract them, that should buy you the time you need.”

  “Alright,” Cait agreed. “I’ll go first. Stay behind me so you don’t get caught in my offensive spells. I’m going to take out the guards and techs as quickly as I can, but you don’t want to get ahead of me. It’s time I put that army chanter training to good use.”

  “I’ll go after you, then. Tris, you wait ten or fifteen seconds, then come out once they’re distracted or otherwise dealt with. That should help you get to the control panel unnoticed by anyone else who might be watching.”

  Tris nodded. Cait gave her a feral grin, then turned to the door. She was gone almost faster than Winnie could see, probably having enabled some sort of speed charm to improve her odds of surprise.

  Winnie jumped to her feet and followed before the door swung closed, focused on the three figures on the catwalk. Two guards were flung backward and crashed against the wall. Cait’s blurry figure turned and barreled into a group of lab coats. The technicians went down like bowling pins.

  Winnie ran toward the catwalk stairs, screaming her sister’s name. “Morgan!”

  She ran up the stairs, two at a time, keeping her eyes on the trio. Morgan seemed shocked — she looked like she’d been crying before their arrival. Winnie didn’t care. She watched her sister hiding behind the constable. Victor squared himself, offering cover for Morgan as he drew his Taser and leveled it in Winnie’s direction.

  She topped the stairs and ran down the catwalk, opening herself to the euphoric flow of Sable magic, feeling the pure rapture as it filled her with power. Newly energized, even after her sprint up the stairs, Winnie reached out with one hand and flicked it in the air, toward the weapon. Victor grunted as the Taser was yanked from his hand and sent flying over the railing, where it smashed into tiny pieces on the floor below.

  From the corner of her eye, Winnie saw Tris enter the room, then cross the floor to the control panel. Constable Holmes turned to look — she couldn’t afford for him to see what her friend was trying to do.

  “Hey, Red Leg. Step away from my sister. We need to talk.”

  That did the trick. Holmes growled and started towards Winnie, drawing a collapsible baton and extending it with a flick of his wrist.

  Vibrant energy coursed through her. Winnie felt like a god.

  Holding out her hand, she built a wall of force between her and the charging constable. He slammed into it at a dead run, not seeing the slight shimmer before him.

  Victor’s head bounced off the unseen barrier like a child’s rubber ball against a brick wall. His legs folded, his eyes rolled up in his head, and he collapsed to the catwalk’s cold metal grate.

  Winnie smiled and stepped over the officer, approaching her sister.

  Morgan backed away until she bumped into Director Kane, unyielding behind her. “Winnie, please. I didn’t know they were doing this. I only wanted you to stop breaking the law. To stop being so perfect all the time.”

  “It’s too late for those excuses, Morgan. Look at those people down there. You’re as responsible for what’s happening to them as he is.” She gestured to Nils Kane behind her.

  He grinned but said nothing, watching the conflict between the sisters as if he were watching a TV drama.

  “So you spied on me? You became one of them? I have no use for you anymore, Morgan. Now you’re going to know what it feels like to have your life drained.”

  Winnie had never felt stronger. Her body was alive. And though she knew it was wrong, she wanted to feel the raw power that would come with hurting her sister.

  And it was so deserved.

  She raised her hands, lashing out at Morgan, her flows landing tiny cuts all over her sister’s body, gradually increasing the severity of her attack. Each time Winnie drew blood, she inhaled Morgan’s life force, further fueling her euphoria and craving for more.

  Morgan wept and fell to her knees, crying out, begging for Winnie to stop.

  Kane looked down at the cadet like a pile of human refuse at his feet, then up at Winnie. His sadistic grin somehow grew more fiendish. He waved a hand in the air. “Enough.”

  Winnie felt her energy flow go from all the power in the world to a memory of nothing in the space of an echo. Then she fell to her knees on the catwalk.

  She had been drinking from a fire hose and was now dying of thirst in the desert.

  What had he done to her?

  Then she remembered: Nils Kane was a chanter, too.

  “You’re a powerful young woman, Winnie. It will be such a waste to siphon your energy.” The Director of Magical Containment stood over Winnie on the metal grating. “I don’t suppose you’d consider joining me and becoming a member of the Assembly’s protégées? Room could be made. All you have to do is ask.” Kane smiled.

  “You’re a murderer,” Winnie said, looking up to meet the Director’s eyes. “You betray the magic within you by hiding your true identity. You’re a chanter, and I’ll never surrender to you.”

  Winnie had to buy more time for Tris and Cait to finish shutting down the machine. She looked down to the room’s floor, hoping to gauge their progress.

  Her heart sunk. Cait was sprawled on the floor, getting pummeled by Red Legs. They were repeatedly striking her with their clubs. She was bloody and bruised, unconscious or inches away. Tris was on her knees, hands cuffed behind her back.

  Kane looked down, following Winnie’s gaze. He laughed. “My dear, dear Winnie. Did you think I was unaware of your plan to come here? I have all the Assembly’s resources at my disposal, along with my own ample abilities. We were prepared for such an effort.”

  “Why let us get so close to succeeding?” Winnie asked, refusing to believe the monster before her.

  “I wanted to see if Artos was right, if you were the manifest of his beloved prophecy. The one who will restore magic and balance to the world.” He laughed again, mocking her confusion. “He never told you, did he? Just like him. He’s a purist, you know, believes it will all happen without intervention. But I’ve proven the old man wrong. You’re powerful, that’s true, but an untrained child compared to someone like us. Now I’ll prove Artos wrong once and for all. Soon I’ll control all the magic. You see, that’s the only way to save the world. What’s a few thousand people to save the world? Don’t you see the worth of such a sacrifice?”

  “So you’d kill us all to have our magic for yourself?”

  His smile widened. “Why, of course I would, my dear.” The Director looked behind her and nodded.

  Winnie turned just in time to see Victor’s baton.

  There was a blinding flash of pain, then blackness and nothing.

  Chapter 47

  Winnie woke, confused and unable to move.

  She was in a semi-reclined position and, in an instant of pure terror, realized she was strapped to one of the Harvester’s chairs.

  She looked to one side and saw a pile of bodies. They hadn’t even bothered to cover them, throwing them all in a heap like a mountain of rotting autumn leaves.

  Winnie looked the other way, toward Cait and Tris, who were strapped in similar chairs. Tris was sobbing, tears streaming down her face. Cait was so limp, it took a moment for Winnie to be sure she was breathing. Her face was a mess of cuts and bruises from her beating by the Red Legs.

  “Good, you’re awake.” Director Kane stepped into view. “I wouldn’t want you to sleep through this. I understand from the screams that it’s quite excruciating. It seems that the more you fight, the more painful the process becomes. Between you and me, I hope you fight. I’m going to make sure your young friend, Mr. Barber, watches the show to learn the error of his ways.”

  Kane gave her a wicked grin and gestured to the side. Winnie twisted in her restraints and saw Constable Holmes holding a thrashing Danny. His hands were cuffed behind his back but still he tried to escape. His eyes were on Winnie, filled with worry and pain.

  The Director turned and pointed to someone else. Winnie followed his finger to a pair of large Red Legs holding Joey between them.

  “We don’t need him any longer. A failed experiment who no longer serves our purposes.” He waved to the guards.

  Winnie cried out as a third guard came up behind Joey and slipped a thin line around his neck, pulling backward to tighten his grip. He placed a knee against the boy’s back for leverage, choking the life out of Joey as his comrades restrained him.

  Joey slumped to the floor, lifeless. Director Kane chuckled and motioned to someone she couldn’t see. The machine hummed to life. Again, she struggled, pulling on the straps at her arms and legs.

  He saw this and smiled. “I’ll stand over there, watching you die, my dear.” Kane pointed to where Danny was held by the constable. He leaned down and whispered, “I don’t think I want to be too close when this thing is operating, for reasons we both understand.”

  He walked away. Winnie looked left and right, searching for a way out. She thought about using magic, but the second she embraced the flows, they were leeched away from her, drawn upward into the inverted dish aimed at her head.

  Winnie felt a stabbing inside her mind and gasped at its force. Trying to pull her magic back from the machine only made everything worse. She cried out, hearing similar yelps from Tris, two chairs away. Thankfully, Cait was unconscious. She’d be fighting the hardest if she was awake.

  Intense pain forced her to vent a long, keening wail as she struggled for life.

  A pain in her gut caused Winnie to stop. She called out, “My baby!” as she felt her unborn child’s life force wink out like a candle unable to stay lit in a storm.

  Her child was dead and she would soon follow.

  Morgan called out to Constable Holmes. “Stop it, Victor! She’s pregnant. You’re killing her and the baby!”

  Morgan pulled at the constable’s strong arms, pleading with him.

  Danny resumed his fight. The Red Leg struggled to hold them both at bay. Winnie didn’t have the strength to tell them it was too late. Too late for her and too late for the baby.

  She began to surrender. She couldn’t fight the awful machine. Winnie had to welcome the end; that was the only way to dim the impossible agony.

  But then something occurred to her. Winnie looked up, willing herself to stop screaming long enough to mutter the words that would enable her magical sight.

  Now she could see the flows diving into the dish above her.

  Instead of resisting, Winnie pushed at the machine, using her ability to twist and invert the flows until they flipped inside out.

  On a normal charm, this would cause the magic to be nearly invisible. The hum increased in pitch. She doubled her efforts, drawing in magic, twisting and melding the flows, forcing them into the receiver dish above. The more she pushed, the higher the pitch. It still hurt like nothing Winnie had ever experienced.

  She pushed on, finding reserves she didn’t know she had.

  The Harvester’s hum turned to a high-pitched whine.

  Director Kane’s voice, coming from somewhere: “What’s wrong? You there, you’re the lead scientist. What’s happening?”

  “I don’t know, sir. Something is overloading the machine. We’re trying to shut it down. We cut the power, but it’s running on its own without a power source.”

  Winnie focused harder, pouring every ounce of energy and magic into a final push of thick, ropy flows, twisted in on themselves, forced into the receiver.

  There was a horrible popping sound, then the acrid stench of smoke filled the room.

  Winnie might die here, but at least she might have found a way to destroy the machine on her way out of the world.