Page 5 of The Tree of Spirits (Paragons #2)

CONCLUSIONS

C onner’s words hit me like a slammed door in the face.

“The Brothers did all this?” I shook my head, frowning.

“Sure, they’re kind of creepy, but they always try to help people, not hurt them.

And you’re telling me they unleashed Cursed Ones on innocent people?

No way! They hate magic. They’d never use it. ”

“Well, when you’re cuckoo, the ends always justify the means,” he said.

“Wait, you don’t think they were also behind the attack on the Knights at the Tournament, do you? You don’t think they sent that warrior in tech armor?”

“That would fit with their other behavior, but let’s not jump to conclusions.” Conner turned, his gaze sliding over the field between the two fences. “We need to focus on what we do know. For instance, we know the Brothers stole one of the Watchers’ SUVs to drive the Cursed Ones into the Garden.”

“Any idea how that SUV got past the Black Obelisk’s gate?” I asked. “The Watchers check every vehicle that tries to enter their district.”

“No, I don’t know how they got past the gate.” Conner frowned. “Maybe they have a guy on the inside, someone in the Black Obelisk who opened the gate for them.”

“Yeah, someone like Jon Park,” I said. “We already know he’s all kinds of shady. He’s the Techno Knight who attacked the Tournament. I bet he was the one who let the SUV with all those Cursed Ones into the Garden too.”

“That does seem likely,” Conner agreed.

“So, the Brothers are using the Cursed Ones as weapons,” I said. “They sent them after the Chosen.”

“Yes,” said Conner. “And they used them to attack the Apprentices at the Garden, to rob the Government of a whole class of potential new Knights.”

“And now they’re using them to guard their base.” I glared at the field, the ‘moat’ of Cursed Ones inside the fenced-in area. “But why here? What does the Brotherhood want with this place?”

“Well, the Watchers have no eyes in the fallen districts. So that makes this the perfect place to stage a revolution to take over the world.”

“You really think they want to take over the world?” I asked him.

“They certainly didn’t do all of this just to throw a little chaos into the system. They’ve hit targets all over the world. That means they have operatives all over the world. And the attacks were too specific, too coordinated. They’re clearly trying to take out future Knights.”

“I guess we’re easier targets.” My throat was so tight, I could barely get the words out.

“Hey, don’t worry.” Conner set his hands on my shoulders and waited for me to look at him. “Everything will be fine, Red. They might think they’ve selected easy targets, but they’ve seriously miscalculated. They sent the Cursed Ones after someone who can repel them.”

“I’m not their only target,” I reminded him.

“No, you’re not. But they didn’t just miscalculate when they made you a target. They miscalculated when they made your friends a target. I know you will do everything in your power to protect them.”

“I will.” I felt my fists clench. “But the Cursed Ones aren’t the Brothers’ only weapon. They have soldiers too.” I looked at the armed commandos patrolling the compound. “So my weird ability isn’t going to be enough. I need some actual spells.”

“You’re right,” Conner said, so quietly that I nearly missed it. But his next words were louder, and he looked me right in the eye when he said them, “I’ll help you with that. I will teach you spells.”

“You will?”

He nodded.

“What about ‘magic takes time, so don’t rush it’ and all that nonsense?”

“It is, as you say, nonsense. I see that now.” His smile was loaded with guilt. “You were born with magic, Red. Magic isn’t just who you are now; it’s who you’ve always been. You aren’t like the other Apprentices. I need to stop treating you like you are.”

“So that means you’ll teach me big, powerful spells to blow stuff up?” I said, hope bubbling up in my chest.

He chuckled. “Let’s save the blowing stuff up for later. When I’m confident you won’t become collateral damage to your own spell.”

“Hey, I know how not to blow myself up.” I crossed my arms. “I’ve been not blowing myself up for years.”

That made him laugh. Which made me laugh too. When I was done, I gazed across the clearing at the base. If Conner was right, the Brothers were inside. Those cowards were hiding behind two fences, all those weapons, and an army of Cursed Ones.

“Why do you think they took Marlow?” I asked.

Wolf whimpered.

Conner gave her a comforting pat on the head. “This Marlow is a Scavenger?”

“Yes.”

“Your friend is not the only Scavenger the Brothers abducted. They took many more. The Brothers are using them to gather supplies like fuel for their trucks and building materials for their compound. And weapons. Lots and lots of weapons.”

“That sounds like a big job.” I watched two men in black clothing unload a crate from the back of their truck. “Just how many Scavengers did these people abduct?”

“Ten, spread out over the course of the last two months.”

“Ten?” I choked on the word. “How could the Watchers not notice ten people going missing from the Fortress?”

“Because they didn’t go missing from the Fortress.

The Brotherhood nabbed the Scavengers during their salvage missions in the fallen districts.

Scavengers go missing out there all the time.

It’s a dangerous job. Sometimes they’re killed or cursed before they make it back to the city.

And sometimes they desert before they’re killed or cursed. ”

“I guess so…but for ten people to just disappear…” I shook my head. “That’s so many.”

“It is,” he agreed. “But if the Watchers are investigating the missing Scavengers, they aren’t telling anyone.”

“Nothing new there.”

A small smile touched his lips. “More likely, though, the Watchers have been too busy to investigate this at all. It’s been a crazy week.”

He wasn’t wrong about that.

“Well, then I guess it’s up to us to save Marlow and the other Scavengers.” I arched a brow at Conner.

“Yes?” The twinkle was back in his eyes.

“You can turn yourself invisible,” I told him. “You could teach me the spell. Then we could sneak in and rescue the Scavengers.”

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”

“Why?” I frowned. “Did you forget how to turn yourself invisible? Or did you run out of magic?”

“No, I haven’t forgotten how to turn myself invisible.” He laughed. “And there’s no danger of my running out of magic.” A confident smirk twisted his lips.

“Oh, really? Then why aren’t you invisible right now?” I planted my hands on my hips and countered his smirk with one of my own. “Did the invisibility game you were playing with me grow old?”

“It wasn’t a game, Red.” He rolled his eyes at me, like he was annoyed, but the humor on his lips gave him away. “I am trying to keep a low profile.”

“Because the General doesn’t want you investigating what you’re investigating.”

“Definitely not.”

“He probably wouldn’t be too happy that you’re hanging out with me either,” I added glumly. “He thinks I’m a bad influence.”

Conner set a hand on my shoulder. “The General doesn’t know what he’s talking about, Red. You are an excellent influence on everyone around you. You make them actually care about something other than themselves.”

For some reason, his words made me blush.

“But back to the matter at hand,” he said, his gaze shifting toward the compound.

“The problem with your rescue plan is not my lack of invisibility mojo.” To emphasize his point, Conner blinked out of sight, then appeared again on the other side of me, a few seconds later.

“The problem is the Scavengers you want to rescue aren’t inside the base right now. ”

“Then where are they?”

“Out in the Bush.”

“Bush?” I asked. “What bush?”

“That’s what we call the wilderness around here.

” Conner waved roughly in the direction of some wild-looking woods on the other side of the compound.

“The Scavengers are salvaging things that their captors need. You see, our Brotherhood buddies strapped trackers and kill switches to their prisoners. Just to keep them cooperative.”

Anger boiled up in my gut. “That’s terrible.”

So much for the Brothers looking after people. Apparently, they only did that when it served their own interests.

“These aren’t good people, Red.” Conner looked at me, his eyes full of sympathy. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Do what? We don’t even have a plan to save these people.” I slouched over in frustration.

“I said we couldn’t save all of the Scavengers right now.” He set his hand on my shoulder. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t save one of them. Your friend Marlow is still inside the compound.”

I perked up. “He is?”

Wolf whimpered.

I gave her head a comforting pat, then slid Conner a hopeful gaze. “How do you know Marlow is inside?”

“Because I’ve been watching the base while I decide how best to deal with these fiends.

” A hint of rage seeped through his friendly face.

“The Cursed Ones present a problem. If there weren’t so many of them…

” He shook his head, like he was trying to shake free of his anger.

“Right, so the commandos in the compound sent out all of the Scavengers this morning, except for one.”

“How do you know that one is Marlow?” I asked. “Do you know him?”

“No, but I am quite adept at eavesdropping,” he said silkily. “And besides, if your friend were out there—” He pointed in the direction of the Bush again. “—his dog wouldn’t have brought you here.”

“Good point,” I said as Wolf gave Conner’s hand a big, wet lick. “But why didn’t they put Marlow to work with the others?”

“Because he’s injured.” He scratched Wolf behind her ears. “I guess he put up a decent fight when they captured him.”

Wolf barked in approval.

“Ok, so we save Marlow now,” I decided. “And come back for the others later.”

Conner’s gaze swept across the compound. His brow furrowed. “There are too many guards right now. We need to wait until some of them leave.”

“And when will that be?”

He didn’t have an answer to that.

“This place is always going to be well-guarded,” I said. “But Marlow won’t always be alive. You said the Scavengers have kill switches. What if these people use one on Marlow? What if they decide he’s too injured to work and just…whooosh.” I cut my hand across my throat. “Kill him.”

“If he’s too injured to work, he’s probably too injured to survive any rescue attempt,” Conner pointed out.

“Well, aren’t you just a regular Mr. Sunshine.”

His response was a sunny smile that reminded me of sandy beaches and ocean waves.

“Come on, Conner. We can do this.”

“We need a plan.”

“We have a plan. We’ll sneak in undetected and rescue Marlow.”

He shook his head. “That’s not a plan. It’s wishful thinking.”

“You can make yourself invisible. And you can teach me to do the same.”

“It’s not an easy spell.”

“I’m a fast learner,” I said stubbornly.

“I’m sure you are.”

I blushed again.

“But even if we were both invisible ,” he said the word slowly, “that doesn’t make us bulletproof .

Don’t forget that those guys are armed. And the Cursed Ones certainly aren’t just there for decoration.

They have other ways of tracking people besides sight, Red.

Smell. Sound. Instinct. They would hone in on us right away.

And then those armed guards would know they had intruders—and exactly where to shoot. ”

“So you’re just giving up?” I frowned at him. “I thought Knights were supposed to be brave.”

He sighed. “I didn’t say I was giving up. But there is a fine line between bravery and stupidity.”

I considered his words. “We can sneak past the Cursed Ones. They’re scared of me, remember?”

“I haven’t forgotten your gift,” he replied. “But are you positive you’ll be able to control it exactly when we need it?”

Fair point. My gift was unreliable at best. I didn’t even know how it worked. Also, the thought of walking right past the Cursed Ones made me sick to my stomach.

But the thought of the potential kill switch in Marlow’s head was even worse.

“I can control it,” I told Conner. “I can control them .”

“I know you can. I just wanted to make sure you knew it too.” He patted me on the back. “But there is one more thing: we still need to get the guards to open the gate for us.”

A chorus of dog barks bellowed loudly from inside the compound.

I glanced at Wolf. “I have an idea.”