Betrayed by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #5)(40)

“You know the Mages Guild doesn’t care about any of that,” Rylan said. “The safety of the Federation comes before scientific inquiry.”

“You mean the safety of the mages,” Noria said, a tinge of bitterness seeping into her tone. But she seemed more resigned than anything else.

“Can you get a summary from her about the project she’s working on?” I asked Rylan. “We need to know if there are any factors we’re not aware of.”

“Noria, what exactly have you been doing here?” Rylan asked. “When they sent you to this place, were you aware that this lab is developing a weapon to spread targeted diseases?”

Noria shook her head. “I’d heard vague rumors about secret weapons, but I thought it was just a lie spread by our enemies,” she explained. “When I first arrived here, the director told me I was to invent a small flying mechanism that could spray sleeping gas on people, so they could be more easily captured while avoiding Resistance casualties. It sounded reasonable enough to me, and an interesting challenge, so I got to work.”

“I’m guessing you changed your mind at some point,” Rylan said, “judging by how unhappy you seem to be here.”

“Well, a couple of days after I arrived, I found out the truth.” Noria pressed her lips together as she momentarily came to a halt, her dark eyes growing bleak. “A chemist was flirting with me in the cafeteria, trying to impress me with his scientific achievements.” She let out a humorless laugh. “He was balding and fat, and a good fifteen years older, so I don’t know why he thought he stood a chance. Anyway, he got so caught up in his bragging, he let slip that my invention was going to be used for spreading deadly poisons and viruses across the nation.” Noria’s face twisted in disgust. “Mass murder, in other words, and not just of our enemies. Women, children, and even animals would be killed off too.”

“Shit,” Rylan hissed, echoing my sentiments exactly.

“I immediately went to the director’s office and demanded to know if what I had learned was true. I made it clear I couldn’t keep working on this project if even half of what that chemist said to me was fact. He told me to mind my own business, and continue to work on my assigned project, if I valued my life.”

“Damn,” Rylan cursed. “So they threatened you. I’m guessing you did continue on the project, then?”

“I tried my damnedest not to,” Noria insisted. She twisted the fabric of her nightgown nervously, and the guilt in her voice was clear. “In addition to what the chemist told me, I also found out they’ve been keeping shifter children in the labs to use for experiments. They used to have mage children too, but I think those were too difficult to kidnap.”

“That explains why we haven’t seen any shifter guards around,” I said to Rylan.

“Either way, I decided that the lives of children and animals were worth more than my own, so I built a flaw into the prototype to try and sabotage the project.”

“Oh, so what they have doesn’t work?” Rylan asked, sounding relieved.

“Well, no.” Noria’s shoulders slumped. “They found me out pretty quick. The director came to inspect my work personally, and he’s got a sharp eye. Not long after that, Annia was captured.” Noria’s voice hitched. “When they first brought her in, I didn’t know it was her. She was disguised as a Resistance soldier I’d seen around at the other camp, but when she was strip-searched, they removed some kind of bracelet, and the disguise failed. Has she been following me the whole time, or did she just impersonate that soldier?”

“She’s been following you the whole time,” Rylan said quietly. “Your sister loves you.”

“I know.” Tears filled Noria’s eyes, and she blinked them away rapidly. “The director noticed the family resemblance between us right away, and is using her as leverage against me. If I don’t complete the prototype, they’ll torture and kill Annia.” Noria’s lower lip trembled a little, and she braced herself against the bed. “The one time I was allowed to see her, Annia told me not to listen to them, that her life wasn’t as important as keeping the Federation safe. But I’m not willing to sacrifice my only sister.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you won’t have to.” Rylan came over to Noria and slid an arm around her shoulder. “We’ll get your sister out, kid, safe and sound. And we’ll get those shifter kids out too.” He hugged her tight against him, and my chest ached. I wanted to be there for Noria, to put my arms around her, hug her, and tell her everything was going to be okay. But I couldn’t, and I was grateful that Rylan was doing it in my stead.

“I don’t see how,” Noria said, wiping her tears. “They’re all locked up in the lower level, and heavily guarded. The doors and elevators can only be accessed with a special key.”

“Yeah, but I’m the night watch captain, remember?” Rylan told her, and I could hear the grin in his voice. “If the keys aren’t on this fat ring I carry, I’m sure they’re in my office.”

“Sunaya,” Iannis said, breaking my focus, and then he spoke a Word. My surroundings vanished, replaced by the campsite. Darkness had settled over the woods, the only light source the moonbeams filtering through the canopy of trees. Iannis sat next to me, his hand on my shoulder, while Fenris and Elnos sat on the two logs across from the fire pit, watching me intently.