Finally, the professor and his husband break apart, but stay linked by the hands as we all head back inside. The professor looks around the front room, studying each photo as if seeing it for the first time, then turns to us.
“Thank you for what you did back there. It’s a shame we’ve had so little time together, but I’m sure you’ll want to be moving on after all that.”
I look to Remi to let them make the call about traveling, and they nod.
“Yeah. We don’t want to bring anything else down on you, and after what we’ve learned, I think we have some work to do. Right?” they say, looking around at the rest of us.
“Right. We have to do something about this,” I say, as solid and confident as I can. “We’ll never be able to live our lives otherwise. They’ll always be after us. We could never go home.”
“And they’re still hurting the planet, too,” Ania says. “How many people are hurt, or killed, or have their lives ruined by these constant disasters? We need to get into MMC and stop their drilling operation. If they don’t screw up and cause another spellplague, then it’ll be the earthquakes that kill us all, or the hurricanes, or the volcanoes. This world will tear itself apart.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Wow. You aren’t normally the one for going in with guns blazing. Not that I disagree at all—just surprised. In a good way.”
She shrugs primly. “Well, there’s finally more at stake than just our pocketbooks and the chance to have some fun with my ware. Remember who my parents are? When people need help, all-out guns blazing is what we do.”
I laugh, and it sounds harsh and strange after all that’s happened. After everything that’s gone down among us all.
Ania continues. “Besides, there might be a cure for the spellplague out there. If there’s even a chance, we should take it. Let the world know and see what happens. You know I’m in. Jaesin?”
Jaesin’s brow furrows as he looks us over, concerned-dad face on, but he nods. “I’m in. We have to do something, right? Otherwise we just go into hiding forever.”
“And that sounds so boring,” Remi says, then smiles grimly. “I think you’re gonna need someone who’s already spellsick down there to do some dirty work right at the source of the plague. Plus, I love you, Ania, but I think this is gonna take some on-the-fly weaving under pressure.”
Ania holds up her hands. “Hey, I know my limits. I’m the math, you’re the poetry.”
“Wow, that’s kinda beautiful,” I say, drawing faint grins from all the others.
Our eyes meet, the four of us, and for the first time in days—maybe weeks—it feels like we’re on the same page.
The professor frowns, but nods. “Please be careful. Getting into one of MMC’s most heavily guarded facilities won’t be easy. The drill site is deep underground, and only the executive board has the codes to unlock the drill’s controls. I’ll bet anything it’s heavily guarded. Just . . . take care of yourselves. You know now how vicious MMC can be.”
My gaze drifts to the chat icon in the far corner of my vision. I bite my lip, an idea forming despite the wave of fierce protectiveness trying to kill it. I don’t want to involve Davon in this any more than I already have. This isn’t his mess. He’s already risked his neck enough for me.
But this is fate-of-the-world-level stuff here. There’s really no choice at all. Besides, he’d want to be asked. I owe him the chance to help.
I blow out a slow breath and resign myself to the inevitable.
“We have someone on the inside who can help us, actually,” I say.
Jaesin’s eyes narrow. “Are you sure? Will Davon really help us go against his employer?”
I pause, letting scenarios play out in my head. Will he? He loves his job, and he’s dedicated to doing his best work for them. He recently got promoted, and it meant a lot to him.
But he went down into the tunnels with me. He wanted the truth almost as badly as I did. And he cares about me. He’s the only family I have left. If it came down to me versus MMC, he’d choose me every time, hands down.
I nod decisively.
“Yes, absolutely. Once I tell him what they’ve been doing and what we want to do about it, he’ll be on board. He always has my back when it matters. He’ll be horrified once he learns what MMC has been doing.”
“Okay. That gives us a starting place, at least.” Jaesin zones into his lenses for a moment, then reports back. “There’s a train back to Kyrkarta leaving in two hours. If we hurry, we should be able to catch it.”
The professor calls a tangle of maz to hand and spins it quickly into four concealment spells, one for each of us. He passes them out, then summons more maz to refill Ania’s ware and the emergency stash in Remi’s necklace. He even disables his traps in the wasteland. How generous. Jerk. I’m still mad about the unicorn.
Once we’ve collected our things and are ready to go, the professor lays his hands on Remi’s shoulders.
“I watched you cross the wasteland, you know. You’re incredibly talented. I truly would be honored to work with you, if we all come through this alive.” The professor zones into his lenses for a minute, then gestures to send something from his deck to Remi’s. “Here’s my info so you can contact me anytime. I do hope you will.”
“But what about you two?” Remi asks. “They know where you live now. They know you helped us.”
The professor looks to John and takes his hand.
“Oh, they’ve always known where we lived, I think. They just didn’t care so long as we kept quiet. We weren’t worth the bother. It’s okay, though,” he says, meeting John’s gaze with a grin. “We’ve always had backup plans in case of something like this. We’ll destroy this house and lay low for a while.”
“Destroy it?” Ania says, stricken. “But it’s your home! And it’s so . . .”
I have no idea how she planned to finish that sentence, but this place could not be more different from her parents’ catalog-worthy, polished style. It’s more my kind of place: bits of tech strewn over every available surface, mismatched dishes, pillows on the couches that could have come from four different sets, digital frames with photos of friends on every wall. Cobbled together, lived in. Beautiful. John gives a sad smile.
“I know. But it’s all just stuff. Home is right here,” he says, tightening his arm around the professor’s waist and pressing a kiss to his temple. “And we still have duplicates of all the best stuff from up here underground, copies of all the photos and such. It won’t be permanent. We’ve always had a more long-term getaway plan, just in case. Call it a second retirement. It’ll actually be quite nice, I think.”
Professor Silva smiles, though it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yes. Our next adventure. Leaving my lab behind will be hard, but we’ll be fine. Don’t worry yourselves about it.”
And with that, we head back outside for one last look at the house. The professor turns and summons maz between his hands, spinning together a spell with incredible speed and dexterity. It glows red in his hands, larger and larger, the weave gaining complexity until it’s nearly the size of his head. Then, with a final nod from John for confirmation, he hurls the maz at their house.