“As far as we all know,” I said, placing my chemical mask over my head and rolling it above my eyes, “he’s not.”
Jace hovered his levibike over to us. “Understood. But it’s still pretty badass that he’s down.” He winked. Then he double checked our supplies.
We were dressed in black and dark brown leather—nondescript outfits that any citizen of Haven Falls would wear. I’d brought extra chemical masks from the lab so our faces would be covered. I felt like we were preparing for a heist. I guess we are.
Our rendezvous spot was an abandoned shack near the bay. That’s where we’d meet up if for some reason we got separated. And that’s where we’d camp out until it was time for the mission.
We pulled up near the back of the shack, and Nick and Jace hid the levibikes in the brush while Lana and I went into the damp building through an open window. It was pitch black inside and smelled like salt air and rotten wood. Lana illuminated the small area, sparking a small dome of Charge in her hand.
In the corner I found a small gas lamp and turned it on its lowest setting, surprised it still worked. The lamp was dim and made the little room seem eerily vacant, haunted. Lana doused her power, and I hunched down near the window. The ocean breeze blew against my face, and I gazed into the sky, watching the fiery sun fall behind the airships. I couldn’t look at them without thinking of Reese.
I’d wanted desperately to find him in hopes that he could give me information so this suicide mission could be avoided. I was suspicious that he was purposely hiding from me. Maybe he knew what the Councils were up to and didn’t want me to find out. But right now, I had to focus on gaining those documents myself and keeping the triplets away from any information that revealed my secret. And in the process, I’d possibly discover the truth about the experiment…and myself.
The floor boards creaked as Jace and Nick entered the shack through the back window. I nodded at them. “I have a surprise for you guys.” I unlatched my belt bag and dug out the weapons Mr. Liam and I had created.
I tossed one of the brass hilts over to Jace. He studied it with knitted eyebrows. “There’s only half a weapon here.”
“Turn the gear on the side,” I advised. “But make sure it’s pointed away from you.”
Jace pointed the top of the device away from him and slowly turned the gear. A beam of blue light shot out. The laser wasn’t very long, about a forearm’s length, but it was powerful. It was my Charge molded into a short sword. And it had one great feature.
I stood up and walked over to Jace. “Point it toward the corner of the room,” I told him. “And crank the dial here.” I pointed to a copper spring on the side of the device.
Jace followed my instructions, and a stream of powerful currents zipped across the room. The weapon fired the equivalent of my Charge.
Jace stared wide-eyed at the sword. “Whoa,” he said. “How the hell did you make this?” He shut the device off and turned it around in his hand, studying it.
“Mr. Liam.” I walked back toward my bag to retrieve the others for Nick and Lana. “We dubbed it a Charge Saber. He’s a very strong Shythe,” I said, flinching. I hoped they never approached him about his power. He was strong, but his Charge wasn’t as strong as mine. He couldn’t have created these weapons on his own. “We infused the crystal at the end of the hilt with his power.” I winced again. I hated lying to them.
Nick tossed his weapon back and forth between his hands. “I can’t wait till my power is strong enough to shoot bolts. But this is pretty cool for right now.” He turned the saber on and slashed it through the air.
Lana tried hers out, then quickly clipped it to her belt. “I’m ready to get this over with,” she muttered. “I hate waiting.”
I was becoming anxious, also. I sat beside the window, allowing the cool breeze to comfort me. All we could do was wait.
Around two in the morning, we left the shack. According to Jace, now that Narcos were attending the Academy, all we had to worry about were the guards on the Council’s ship. Only the guards, I’d mocked. We