Page 34

34. The Box

Kerry

I stared at the gray cube sticking outta the snow.

“Now I know why everyone calls it the Box,” I muttered.

The wind from the sea was sharp and stiff, and the others hung onto each other so they didn’t blow away. I was glad to be walking despite the weather. After nine hours on the cramped icebreaker, I needed the space and movement.

We made it to the entrance pretty quick and I stood aside as Clem’s contact stepped forward and snapped a flash of power into the door itself. A dull clang echoed, metal screamed, and the door opened. I stepped in, my vision instantly adjusting to the overhead fluorescents. The others followed and the door closed behind us.

It was warmer inside, but not by much. Ahead was a big metal door with a sign posted above it and that was about it.

“What’s that say?” I asked.

Ms. Chapman lowered her parka’s hood and glanced up.

“It’s a list of items prohibited in the gulag and general rules for visitors,” she said.

I was glad Clem had sent her. Not only was Ms. Chapman a good teacher and an elder on the Council of Wardens, she treated me like I was any other student. She was also one of few adults I respected. While I didn’t trust easily or often, I knew beyond a doubt she was not our traitor. She wasn’t the kind to get you in the back or use slow poison or create some tangled web of lies and spies.

If Helene Chapman wanted you dead, you’d be looking in her eyes as you breathed your last.

While Travis read out the list, Ms. Chapman and Gigi stomped their feet and began brushing the snow and ice off each other, me, and Travis.

“Seems like normal prison rules and directions on how to enter the gulag proper,” he said. “Looks pretty straightforward to me.”

“Good. I like straightforward. Ms. Chapman, any protocol here we should know about?”

“We go through the door and down a tunnel to the main desk, where we show our credentials to the Guardian and give the name of the prisoner we want to see.” She looked up at me. “We will be logged in and given an escort to an interrogation room, and Mr. Argaud will be brought out to us.”

I pulled open the door and motioned for the others to go first, then followed. We stood for a full minute and looked down the tunnel. It was concrete and probably at least a yard thick. It narrowed to a pinpoint in the distance and the slope of it told me we were going deep underground.

I wanted to get this done ASAP and head back to the States. I’d had to leave her backpack with Rome and that made me antsy. He’d sworn on his life he would keep it safe, and I appreciated that, but I didn’t sleep well without it.

“Well, let’s get going,” I said. “The sooner we talk to him, the sooner we can get out of this coffin.”

“Not an encouraging image, Kerry,” Gigi murmured.

#

The Guardian went over the rules very clearly. Just like Ms. Chapman said, we had to wait in the interrogation room and the prisoner would be brought to us. After we were finished, we were to signal the guard, who would escort us back to the lobby. We were not allowed to use our powers because they would disrupt the wards inside the room.

Ms. Chapman had spent most of the boat ride explaining how the gulag worked. Travis and Gigi had a thousand questions, and she’d answered them all, but I only paid attention when she talked about the wards that were built into the interrogation rooms.

“So it’s impossible to lie, or just really hard to?” I’d tilted my head and looked at her.

“As with anything, one could fight the compulsion, and one’s degree of success would vary in accordance to one’s strength.” She’d raised an eyebrow. “Ms. Carnahan and Mr. Peale, for example, would not be able to lie at all, whereas you might be able to sweat through one or two tiny white lies, but no more. However, I assure you that Reilly Argaud is not a level ten.”

It drives me crazy, the way she talks, I’d thought, but I had understood enough.

Now, I focused on the business at hand as we showed our passports, signed the guest log, and took visitor badges. The Guardian buzzed us through a heavy steel door and we met our escort, who led us down a gray hallway.

The interrogation room was gray, too, and divided by a glass wall. A long table with chairs sat on either side. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gigi take Travis’ hand. They both looked so nervous, I wondered who was comforting who.

Ms. Chapman stayed in the hallway. She agreed to let us handle the interview, but said she was willing to step in if needed. I kinda wondered if that meant she was worried she’d have to stop me from killing this guy and was curious how she thought she was gonna do that.

Then I remembered she was a naturalist - and I was a mile underground on a frozen island in the middle of an ocean.

Yikes .

On the other side of the glass, a door opened and Reilly Argaud came in. His arms and legs were shackled and chained so he had to move in a slow shuffle. His blond hair was a lank wave over his eyes and he looked a little paler than he had at the trial.

A coupla months underground will do that to a person, I guess.

“Well, well, well. Kosta’s lady, my little thrall, and the demon taint.” His grin wasn’t nice, but his words brought my attention back to where it needed to be. “And why would you come see me?”

“Reginald Hubler. He your stepfather?” I got right to the point.

“He is.”

“What does he want with us?”

“Nothing as far as I know.” He shrugged. “Why would he want you three?”

Dummy! I growled at myself. Use direct questions that he can’t dance around .

“Nephs in general.” I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Consuming nephilim blood keeps him from aging,” he said.

“No, it doesn’t.” Travis came closer to the glass. “Our blood does nothing to humans. Why does he think this?”

“You can’t argue with crazy,” Gigi murmured.

“Push up your sleeves and show me your arms.” I lifted my chin.

Given a direct command, he couldn’t fight the power in the room. I could tell he didn’t want to, but he shoved up the sleeves on his jumpsuit so we could see his scarred skin.

“How did that happen, Reilly?” Gigi put her hands over her mouth.

“Consuming nephilim blood keeps him from aging,” he repeated, meeting her eyes.

I leaned down to her ear.

“Consuming means eating, right?”

“Yeah,” she whispered back. “Although Hubler probably either drinks it or has it injected. Like through a needle or IV.”

I thought about it for a moment, then turned back to Argaud.

“How many does he kill each year?”

“He doesn’t kill his blood donors. Well, not intentionally. Why would he cut off a ready supply? Finding, capturing, and suppressing nephilim is no easy task. But yeah, I guess some die.”

“So he must have a prison for them.” I narrowed my eyes in thought. “And a place where he draws and stores their blood. Where is it?”

“Thinking about challenging him?” He snorted. “Better men than you have tried to take him down and failed.”

“I’m not looking to take him down. I just need to know where he keeps his blood donors.”

“He take someone you know?”

He was obviously trying to figure out what was up. I knew my face didn’t give anything away, but Gigi and Travis made little noises.

“Hmm.” Argaud shuffled closer. “I’m gonna guess Gemma, Jax, and Maddy.”

“Yeah.” I gave him that one because he’d already guessed anyway. And the knowledge would neither hurt us nor help him. “Tara, too, and a coupla guys from the college. Where would he take them?”

He didn’t answer, his face set and stony.

“Jax said you changed a few years ago. Said you started going home, which you’d never done before then. Why?”

He clenched and unclenched his fists.

“How’s your mother?” I asked.

His eyes flew wide open.

Gotcha!