town along I-69. I could be there in less than two hours. He could’ve texted it to me, but then I would have proof it came from him.
Hold on, Alessandro. I’m coming. I would get him and Halle out of there, if they were alive.
“Thank you.” I took a picture of the page with my phone and sent it to Bern. “You may want to write this down. Bradley Lynton, 12703 Mistie Valle Drive, Houston, Texas 77066.”
Augustine wrote it down. “And why is this important?”
“Because Bradley Lynton is his new name. He was previously known as Melvin Rider.”
All the color bled from Augustine’s face. The illusion fractured for a moment and I saw his real eyes, shocked and triumphant. His face snapped back into perfection. “Thank you, Ms. Baylor. I look forward to our cooperation in the future. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have someplace to be.”
So did I. I rose. “Good luck.”
“You too. You’re going to need it.”
Arabella shook me. “We’re here.”
I opened my eyes. The inside of Brick was surprisingly comfortable and the narrow side windows let in just enough light to make it cozy. Across from me, Runa grinned from the bench. Arabella slid back into her seat to her right.
Next to me, Leon was checking two P320-M17 Sig Sauers. Same model as the official sidearm of the US Army, they were his favorites. Each came with a seventeen-round magazine, which meant he could fire thirty-four 9mm rounds before he had to reload. He rarely had to reload. Leon was a one-shot, one-kill shooter.
In the front passenger seat Mom patted the rifle case resting against her shoulder. Her Barrett sniper rifle was inside. She’d also taken her favorite.
Grandma Frida brought Brick to a stop. I peered through the windshield. We had left the road behind and parked on top of a low hill. Below, sheltered by a concrete wall topped by razor wire, sat a fourteen-story tower. Unlike most modern buildings of glass and steel, this structure looked older, made of rings of concrete interrupted by rows of narrow, dark windows.
I unbuckled my harness and opened the back hatch. We filed out. I checked my face in the side mirror.
If I’d had an extra day, I would have spent it in a charging circle trying to regain my magic. But I had no time, and you couldn’t draw a circle on the floor of Brick. There wasn’t enough space. So, instead, I drew the glyphs on myself. My face, my neck and most of my body where I could reach it were covered with arcane patterns in henna. I’d turned myself into a walking arcane circle absorbing magic at an accelerated rate. It would give me back my power, but in another hour, maybe two, I would collapse.
Had anybody in my family known how dangerous this was, they would have never let me do it. I was lucky Nevada was in Spain.
The lab building rose, so close. Somewhere in that tower Alessandro and Halle waited, hopefully still alive. I checked the Beretta on my hip and the gladius in its sheath on the other hip.
“Are you sure about this?” Mom asked.
“Yes.”
“You will have to tell Duncan,” she said.
I took out my phone.
Linus picked up on the second ring.
When in trouble, go for the good news first. “I have learned the location of Cristal’s lab,” I said.
“Delightful.” He did not sound delighted. “Where are you right now?”
“May I have authorization to assault the lab?”
“Are you at the lab?”
“Technically, no. But I’m looking at it.”
The steady rumble of a helicopter echoed from above. A large chopper passed overhead, carrying a container on steel cables. The cables snapped free, and the container plummeted to the ground and landed in the field with a loud thud.
“Oh,” Grandma Frida said. “A present.”
The sides of the container collapsed outward, revealing a strange-looking block of metal parts. With a loud metal clang, the block rose, unfolding into a nine-foot-tall exosuit on two sturdy legs. Massive turrets protruded from its arms. Its shoulders bristled with weapons.
Great.
The exosuit turned, zeroed in on us, and stomped in our direction. Runa raised her hand, aiming for it.
“No,” I told her.
The exosuit treaded over, each step of the heavy metal legs like a blow of a giant hammer, and towered over me. Its facial shield turned clear, and Linus stared down at me from the inside.
Perfect. Just perfect.
Linus’ voice spilled out of the loudspeaker. “When this is over, you and I are going to have a long conversation