“There’s a magical item—a stone—that is extremely important. I need it.”
“The heirloom thing?”
“Yes. Right, sorry, you know all about Doc’s research so obviously you know about this.”
“I do, but I don’t know where he’s keeping it, and it’s too dangerous to try to find it.”
“But it could change everything! Seriously, Christa. If there are even fewer elementals than there were before, then I need as much power as I can get to burn through all the arxium protecting this city.” She reached for the glass of juice and added, “That stone will make a difference. You know it will.”
“You’re going to try that stunt again?” Christa asked doubtfully. “It already failed once.”
Ridley took a swig of the juice and shuddered at the sweetness. She swallowed and said, “It’s not a stunt. It’s a revolution. We’re changing the world.”
“Look, I don’t know anything about this ‘revolution’ other than what happened two days ago when there was that huge storm and all the earthquakes and you were brought here, but I don’t think the heirloom stone is going to help you.”
“Christa, it doesn’t matter what you think.” Ridley forced herself to take another few sips of juice before returning the glass to the tray. “There are way bigger things going on than you know about, and I need that stone to be able to do my part.”
“Fine. Fine.” Christa took a deep breath. “Doc’s busy in the basement lab for at least another hour because he expects it’ll be that long before the arxium’s out of your system. So I guess we can take a few minutes to try to find this thing.”
“Great. He said something about it being locked up with all the other important samples. Do you know where that might be?”
“Fortunately this is a small facility, so there’s only one place where samples are stored. I’ll need to get Doc’s spare access card from his office. I’ll find the stone and then return here. If I’m not back in ten minutes, stay hidden until you can use your magic and then get the hell out of here.”
“But I’ll still need to get the—”
“Seriously, Ridley!” Christa hissed furiously. “If I blow my cover for you and you wind up dead, I will be extremely pissed off. So many people have died because of me. I will not let you add yourself to that number. You will get out here alive, so sit back down and don’t do anything stupid.”
Ridley leaned back against the edge of the bed, too surprised to say a word.
“Thank you,” Christa finished. She squeezed around the other side of the bed, almost knocking a few glass beakers off the shelf. She opened the door.
And there stood Doc, his hand outstretched as if he’d been reaching for the handle. He looked up from the commscreen in his other hand. The device slipped from his fingers and hit the floor with a thwack.
“Crap,” Ridley said.
22
Doc stepped backward, grabbing what looked like a two-way radio device from his pocket. “I need backup on the—”
Christa swiped the nearest object—a brown glass jar full of a powdered substance—and hurled it at Doc’s face before he could finish speaking. He cried out as his head jerked backward. The jar hit the floor and shattered as Doc staggered to the side and fell. He groaned and cursed as he slowly found his way onto his hands and knees. Christa kicked him, and Ridley, who couldn’t figure out why Christa wasn’t using magic, pulled shakily at the air. She rolled the wisps of magic into a ball between her palms.
“Christa, get back!” she shouted. Christa gave Doc one more good kick before stumbling out of the way. As Ridley pulled her hands back, magic glowing between them, Doc sat up with another groan. His eyes met hers for an instant. Then she threw the magic. It struck his forehead, knocking him out instantly. She stared at him, breathing heavily.
“Thanks,” Christa gasped. “I can’t pull magic. Had to get an AI2 under my skin before coming to work here. I knew he’d check.” She crouched down, stuck her hand into Doc’s shirt pocket, and removed a slim, silver card with his face on it. Then she patted his remaining pockets. “Just checking he doesn’t have it on him.” She straightened. “Come on, let’s find this stupid stone and get out of here.”
“Sounds like he called security or something before we knocked him out,” Ridley said as they hurried along the corridor.
“Yep. Part of me was hoping I might actually break you out of here without anyone knowing it was me, but that plan’s gone down the drain now.”
“Sorry, but I don’t think that plan was ever likely to work out.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”
They took the stairs back down one floor and stopped in front of a door with a silver panel secured to the wall beside it. Christa slapped Doc’s access card over the panel, and with a beep, the door opened. Ridley peered inside at the rows of fridges, chest freezers, and more shelves. “You stay here,” Christa said, “just inside the doorway. Pull some magic so you’re ready in case someone shows up. I’ll find the stone.”
Ridley leaned her shaky body against the doorframe as her fingers scraped at the air, pulling magic from it. She wished she’d swallowed a little more of that sugary drink. She could do with the energy boost. Once she had her mother’s stone, though, she could draw power from it and—
“It’s not here,” Christa said, startling her.
Ridley pushed away from the doorframe. “Are—are you sure? It’s in—”
“This box?” Christa held the familiar box up. “I know. It’s empty.”
Ridley cursed. “Maybe it’s … um … what lab did you say Doc was in? The basement?”
“Ridley.” Christa dropped the box and shook Ridley’s shoulders. “You can’t currently use your own magic to disappear, and there are people with weapons on their way up here right now. Are you willing to die to get hold of this magical stone? Because that’s what’s going to happen. They will catch you, and after Doc’s finished all his experiments and fun, he will kill you. And since I’ll be dead too, I won’t be able to get rid of any Shadow Society assholes. All of this will be a big waste.”
Ridley shoved Christa’s arms away. “If you don’t stop shaking me I’m going to throw up on you. And how about—”
A loud spraying sound came from somewhere above her head. Ridley’s gaze shot up. Equally spaced along the length of the corridor ceiling were what looked like water sprinkler heads, the type generally attached to a fire alarm system. Except there was no fire, and it wasn’t water that accompanied the spraying sound.
Ridley sucked in a breath and held it as Christa groaned. “That’s what I forgot to grab from the storeroom after Doc found us. A gas mask for you.” She gripped Ridley’s arm and pulled her sideways and around a corner. “We don’t have time for a traditional exit. This place will be flooded with arxium gas within minutes.”
They turned into yet another passageway, and straight ahead was the answer to one of the questions Doc had refused to entertain. Through a window, Ridley could see rows and rows of fruit tress, and beyond that, buildings and skyscrapers. They were at the very edge of the city.