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  “Is this really him or an illusion?” I asked Kaira.

  “It’s him,” she confirmed. “I can sense his magic, and I can’t make any of my own illusions.

  “I have to say, it’s unsettling to be in the presence of an Illusionist as powerful as myself,” Remwald told Kaira in a conspiratorial kind of way.

  I gripped the sides of my chair to keep my emotions from getting the best of me.

  “I can imagine how unsettling it must be for you, after all these years of parading around like a Nat,” Kaira said. “Just out of curiosity, how have you managed to keep everyone from noticing you were a Mag all this time?”

  Remwald smiled without humor. “My brother was a gifted Alchemist. He developed a potion to temporarily suppress magical abilities. If enough of the potion is taken, the Magic effectively becomes a Nat.”

  I didn’t miss the look of distaste that crossed Remwald’s face at the mention of Nats.

  “The Alchemists on my payroll are working on a new formula that will permanently suppress magical abilities, which will be a useful weapon against any Mags who don’t conform,” Remwald added.

  I wanted to know more about this potion, but I forced myself to stay on point. I didn’t know how long we had, and I couldn’t afford to waste time on questions that weren’t essential.

  “Do you want proof that we brought the pictures?” I asked.

  Remwald lifted a shoulder. “What guarantees are you going to give me that there aren’t a thousand copies on one of your Techie’s computers?”

  “None,” I replied. “But if you do what we ask, then you have our word no one else will ever see them.”

  Michael pulled the pictures out from his back pocket, holding them in a way that they’d appear in the frame of my camera along with the unmurdered Remwald sitting across from us.

  Remwald barely glanced at the crumpled photos as Michael slid them across the desk.

  “And how much is the word of a runaway convict worth?” Remwald asked.

  It took me a few seconds to rein in my temper. “I don’t intend to be a convict for much longer, Remwald,” I said, keeping my voice even.

  “So, what do you want? A pardon?”

  I shook my head. “I want you to step down as Director of the Alliance.”

  “Very well.” Remwald’s eyes twinkled in amusement.

  I exchanged a quick glance with Kaira. This was entirely too simple. The prickling sense of unease was becoming a roar in the back of my mind.

  “Do it,” I told Michael.

  Michael sat forward, leaning on the desk and holding the other man with his gaze.

  “I need you to tell us the truth about all of the murders from the past week,” he said.

  I leaned back in my seat, making sure my camera would capture Remwald’s profile.

  “I illusioned myself as Graysen Galder so I could lure Penelope Heppurn to his dorm room and murder her.”

  I gripped the arms of my chair. Kaira made a furious sound.

  “You illusioned yourself to look like me.”

  Remwald didn’t say anything.

  “Answer him,” Michael commanded.

  “I did,” came Remwald’s quick response. “And after speaking with you at the Dean’s house, I knew the sound of your voice well enough to deceive Penelope.”

  The Director of the Alliance, the man who’d been my hero and inspiration, had killed Penelope and framed me for the crime.

  “Why?” I demanded, no longer able to keep my voice dispassionate.

  “Penelope was the darling of the Mag community. Her death would cause the greatest stir. It was strategic, not personal.”

  “Why Graysen?” Kaira asked. “You could have illusioned yourself to look like anyone.”

  Again, Michael had to repeat Kaira’s question before Remwald replied.

  “Graysen Galder was the BSMU’s golden boy, and when he became the chief suspect for a magically-motivated murder, it threw the BSMU and Alliance under scrutiny. It paved the way for the other murders and resulted in more Mags joining the UnAllied.”

  Remwald continued, “I paid Valencia Stark from Alliance funds to carry out three other murders city-wide over the last week.” His voice was inflectionless, and his gaze was a little unfocused, but his words were clear.

  According to Alliance law, this recording wouldn’t be admissible in court since it was a confession made under compulsion, but once this video got out, it wouldn’t matter. Remwald would never be able to recover his reputation, and no judge would be able to convict me.

  “What were you hoping to accomplish with these murders?” Michael asked.

  “The final nail in the Alliance’s coffin will come on Tuesday, right before the vote, when the Alliance Director everyone knows and loves will be brutally murdered.” Remwald tapped a finger on one of the photos of his slain body. “Mags will be terrified of the repercussions from the Nat community. The vote will be unanimous, and then all the Alliance laws will become unenforceable.”

  “And how exactly are you going to convince the world you’re dead?” I asked. “No matter how fast Valencia’s dirty cops get rid of the body, someone’s bound to notice it still has a pulse.”

  “Oh, the body will be dead. It just won’t be my body.” Remwald said, confirming Smith’s theory. “There’s another would-be whistleblower in my organization who needs to disappear.”

  “You mean like Jonas Meddlesworth and Bobby Axelrod?” I asked.

  “Precisely,” Remwald said, although the word came out in a way that made me think the Director was gritting his teeth.

  “And then you’ll live the rest of your life wearing that old man illusion?” I asked.

  “Or any other face I choose.” Remwald shrugged. “Contrary to what you may believe, I don’t care about fame or notoriety. That’s Valencia’s domain. Even if no one knows it, I’ll be the one pulling all the strings.”

  Remwald continued, “By the time the month is out, Boston will be worse than Detroit.”

  “You want Boston to become like Detroit?!” Michael demanded.

  I had never seen the big guy show so much emotion. His face was twisted in rage as he jumped to his feet. He leaned over the desk and grabbed the front of Remwald’s shirt. The two Combat Mags moved forward.

  “Michael,” Kaira said, putting a hand on his arm.

  Michael took a deep, shuddering breath and sat back down. “Sorry,” he muttered.

  “My Techie tells me your whole family was killed in Detroit,” Remwald said to Michael. “That’s where my brother was killed, as well.”

  There was a look of pure hatred on Michael’s face that I had never seen before. I felt a flood of anger on my friend’s behalf, but I forced the emotions back. Now wasn’t the time for righteous anger. We still needed answers.

  “We need his motive,” I told Michael.

  “Tell us why you want Boston to become like Detroit,” Michael said in a growl.

  “The failure of the Alliance will lead to the outbreak of a war between Mags and Nats. With Valencia as the face of the Mag army, and with me as the brains behind the operation, the war will spread. Without the Alliance, there won’t be anyone to stop Mags from wresting control from the Nats. Nats will become slaves to our will. The laws about Marking will be a thing of the past, and we can rule this city—this country—as we were meant to.” Remwald let out a self-satisfied sigh. “Nats will either need to flee or submit to our rule.”

  “That’ll never work,” I told Remwald. “The US military will kill any Mag who tries to start a war.”

  A lazy smile crossed Remwald’s face. “They’ll certainly try. But I have a weapon that will outmatch the Nat Armed Forces a hundred times over.”

  The Director’s unfocused gaze moved from Kaira to Michael. “The two of you are unMarked, which tells me you’re fighting for the same cause as I am.”

  I saw a look of horror cross Kaira’s face. “We might not agree with Marking, but we don’t want a m
assacre.”

  “The war is necessary,” Remwald said, folding his arms across his chest. “The old systems need to be razed to the ground. Through the chaos, our chance to take control of the Nats will emerge.”

  “We have what we need,” I said, full of disgust.

  I carefully pulled the camera out from the button of my shirt and held it up between my thumb and forefinger for Remwald to see.

  “Your whole confession has already been uploaded onto three different servers and can reach every major news outlet in the country with the click of a button,” I told Remwald. “Actually, our Techie probably could do it without even touching a button, but that’s beside the point. The point is, either you step down as Director and disappear from the public eye—without faking your own murder—or we’re going to publicize everything on this recording.”

  I allowed myself a moment of smugness.

  Once this tape got out, Remwald, Valencia, and the rest of the UnAllied who had helped with the murders would be arrested. The vote to destroy the Alliance would never even be held. A new Director would be assigned, and this whole nightmarish week would come to an end.

  I gestured at the pictures on the desk. “I don’t think you’ll be needing to fake your own death anymore, so I hope you didn’t waste too much energy on this illusion. Your actual death will be far less dramatic.”

  Kaira was already heading for the door. I got up.

  Remwald stayed seated. As soon as Michael stood, Remwald shook himself, and the glaze-over expression left his eyes.

  “Speaking of pictures,” Remwald said, “I have some that might interest you.”

  I turned back as Remwald pulled a stuffed manila envelope out of a drawer and overturned it on his desk. Michael’s body was blocking my view of the envelope’s contents, but I saw him look down at the desk. The Whisper’s eyes widened, his face turned redder than it had when he told us he and Yutika would be sharing a bedroom, and then he quickly looked away.

  I barely registered Michael’s look of apology as he stepped away from the desk. As soon as Michael was out of the way, I had a clear view of the photos littered across the desk’s glass surface. All of the air went out of my lungs.

  CHAPTER 38

  Ihad to grip the back of one of the chairs to keep myself steady.

  I felt Kaira come up beside me. I heard her gasp.

  I was staring down at dozens of photos of Kaira and me. They were all three or four years old, and captured us in the only place we’d ever felt safe—Kaira’s Back Bay house.

  I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the photos. Some part of me was aware that the camera I’d put back in my buttonhole was recording all of this, and that everyone in the van could see what I was seeing. But I was too overcome with the horror of what was before me to worry about that.

  None of them were explicit, per say. But given the number of pictures, I didn’t doubt Remwald had some of those pictures, too.

  Still, there was an intimacy in every one of these photos that went far beyond the physical. Every one captured our love, leaving no room for doubt about the nature of our relationship.

  There was one picture of us that had been taken after one of Kaira’s ballet performances. She was still in her costume with her hair in an elegant knot. I held a bunch of flowers in my hand, which I had been about to give her before she raced up the stairs to our bedroom and threw herself in my arms. The photo had captured us laughing as we kissed.

  In another, I had just gotten out of the shower. I had a towel around my waist and my hair was wet. Kai’s hands were on the towel, like she was about to pull it off.

  There was one picture that was especially disturbing because we were asleep. We were stretched out on top of the blanket, our laptops and school books scattered around us. Kai’s head was resting on my chest, and my hand was buried beneath her hair. Kai’s face was turned up toward the camera, displaying a soft smile that hadn’t faded in her sleep.

  I was staring down at the best, most private moments in my life. And here they were, splayed out over Remwald’s desk like crime scene photos.

  I thought I might be sick.

  I felt violated in a way I didn’t know it was possible to feel. What made it worse was that Remwald had violated Kaira, too.

  We had taken every precaution, been downright paranoid at times. We had gotten blackout curtains for all the windows in the house and never opened them. We made sure we never arrived at the house at the same time and didn’t so much as glance at each other until we were inside with the door locked.

  Even if someone had found out our secret, they wouldn’t have been able to get any evidence. We were that careful.

  But we hadn’t anticipated a drone spying on us through the skylight of our bedroom. From the angle of the camera, and the fact that every one of these pictures showed us in the bedroom, it was obvious that’s how they’d been taken.

  I couldn’t speak. I looked at the pictures, moments that should have belonged to Kai and me alone. It felt like the bottom had fallen out of my stomach. I could barely breathe.

  “You used a drone to spy on two kids?” Kaira, who got her voice back first, demanded.

  “I’m the Alliance Director,” Remwald replied. “My resources are extensive.”

  “You sick bastard!”

  Kaira crumpled a handful of the pictures in her fist and threw them at Remwald’s face.

  “You, Kaira Hansley, are a disgrace to all Magics,” Remwald said, his voice slicing through the air like a knife.

  “And you’re a pedophile,” she shot back.

  “Hardly.” Remwald’s face twisted in disgust. “I gained an interest in you when I heard rumors you were the most powerful Illusionist ever recorded. I was planning to recruit you and was in the process of learning more about you before extending an offer. That’s when my people discovered how you were spending your free time.”

  I forced my gaze away from the photos so I could meet Remwald’s stare.

  The Director continued, “Where others would have seen nothing but two baby killers, I saw opportunity. I knew having these pictures would serve my interests eventually.”

  Kaira made a choked sound. “You can’t get away with spying on people in their own home. This is…it’s illegal. We’re under eighteen in some of those. This is child pornography. Right, Gray?”

  I felt my head move back and forth, even though I couldn’t form the words.

  “It’s perfectly legal and admissible in court,” Remwald said. “Alliance law states that surveillance equipment can be used by Alliance authorities when a citizen is suspected of breaking a high law.”

  I felt Kaira’s eyes on me. “It’s true.” I forced out the words.

  “You think we’re going to let you get away with this?” Kaira demanded.

  I was grateful for her fury. At least it was more useful than my paralysis.

  “You won’t have much choice,” Remwald replied, as steady as I was unhinged.

  “Michael,” Kaira said.

  The Whisper, who had been standing near the door with his back to us, turned around. He gave Kaira a short nod and strode back to the desk.

  “You will destroy these photos and never tell anyone about them. Do you understand?”

  Director Remwald’s eyes glazed over. He nodded and began to gather up the pictures.

  “He probably has copies,” I said, my voice coming out hoarse.

  “You will destroy every copy of every one of these photos,” Michael continued, annunciating every word.

  “I can’t,” Remwald replied, his unblinking stare fixed on Michael. “I anticipated you being here. There are two more sets in sealed envelopes with people I trust. They don’t know what’s inside the envelopes, but if anyone tries to steal the photos or I come asking for them under duress, they’ll deliver them to the Magical Law branch.”

  Michael gave Kaira and me a helpless look. “What do you want me to do?”

  Even when I wasn’t looking
at the pictures, they were all I could see. I saw our carefully-laid plans crumbling to dust. I saw Kaira in a jail cell, waiting for her turn in a courtroom where lawyers would show these pictures to a roomful of people. I heard the shouts of baby killer, heard her guilty sentence, saw her being taken out in handcuffs….

  I looked at Remwald. “What will it take to make these pictures disappear?”

  “First, you will destroy all records of our conversation. Second, you will come work for me.”

  “Work for you…how?” I asked.

  A knowing smile spread across Remwald’s face. “You’re someone people listen to. I want you to be the first Nat to submit to Mag authority. You can consider yourself a liaison of sorts. You’ll help smooth over the transition from Nat leadership to Mag.” He gave me a benevolent smile. “If you wish, you can tell yourself you’ll be saving Nat lives, since anyone who doesn’t submit to our rule will be killed.”

  “Graysen would never do that,” Kaira cut in.

  Remwald shrugged. “Then, I’ll hand over these pictures.” Remwald gave me a hard look. “You’ll both be executed.”

  I forced myself to keep my breathing steady. I just needed to keep my panic at bay long enough to find some way out of this nightmare.

  “Even if I agreed to your terms, no one would listen to me anymore,” I said, grasping at straws. “You made me a fugitive, remember?”

  Remwald waved a hand. “We’ll blame someone else for Penelope’s murder. I’ll have you exonerated by the end of the week.”

  I exchanged a panicked look with Kaira as my mind continued to reel.

  “Let me be clear,” Remwald said, as though he could read my mind. “I will personally make sure Kaira doesn’t illusion herself and disappear. Her trial will be fast—even faster than yours—and I’ll be present so there won’t be any chance of another jail break.”

  “You can’t do this,” Kaira said, pounding her fist on the desk.

  “If you try to run or do anything foolish, these pictures will be all over the Internet. Anyone associated with you—your families, friends, and their families—will be implicated and arrested. You may be unMarked, Kaira Hansley, but the rest of your family is not. You can illusion them all you want, but it won’t stop us from tracking them down.”