Splinter (The Machinists Book 2) (14 page)

“What are you thinking?” Kendyl asked. “She’s in the military or government?”

“That would explain how he got your birth certificate,” Liam said.

“If
she’s
afraid,” Kendyl asked slowly, “then shouldn’t we be terrified?”

The conversation stopped, and a silent dread filled the air.

“I don’t see how it makes much of a difference,” Allyn said. “We’re already being pursued.”

“By the people Niall is afraid of?”

“If not now, we will be eventually,” Allyn said. “And there’s only one way to find out.”

“Do you want me to write back?” Liam asked.

“Yeah,” Allyn said, thinking. “Tell him we found the computer.”

Liam typed the message, and again, the response came back within seconds, almost as if they were communicating through an instant messenger.

What did you think?

“I think you’re searching for something.” The steady rhythm of tapping keys accompanied Allyn’s voice as Liam transcribed.

Have I found it?

“What do you think?”

The response came slower this time—Allyn could almost see the person sitting in front of the computer, thinking.

I think so. Your coyness nearly confirms it.

“He knows,” Allyn said. “Ask if he’s found any others.”

Only rumors
.
Until recently, I hadn’t had the opportunity to investigate as deeply as I would like.

“What’s changed?”

We’re venturing too closely to exposing too much in a public forum.

“He wants to meet,” Allyn said. He took a deep breath, looking to Kendyl and Liam for advice. They watched him, expecting him to make the decision.

“Are you local?”

That depends where you’re hiding, doesn’t it?

Allyn cursed. Niall was fishing for information. Exposing too much about himself and his whereabouts wouldn’t endanger only him, but also the entire McCollum Family and its recent refugees. “I can be local.”

Then so can I.

Allyn mulled over the words. He was reluctant to go much further without consulting Jaxon, who didn’t even know they were in communication with the video’s creator. He sighed. “And now we’re venturing into an area where
I’m
concerned about exposing too much.”

I can understand that. Think on it, and when you have an answer, contact me again. In the meantime, know that I’m happy to have found you. Just knowing you exist answers many of the questions I’ve struggled with for years.

Allyn remained silent for a time, watching the monitor, almost expecting another post to appear. One never did, and eventually, Liam turned to him.

“What now?” Liam asked.

“Now,” Allyn said, “we find Jaxon.”

Chapter 15

“W
here’s Jaxon?” Allyn asked.

Leira sat in front of the fireplace, resting against the red brick. Her legs were pulled tight to her chest. Her arms were draped over her knees, and without looking away from the book she held, she answered, “He’ll return soon.”

“We need to see him,” Allyn said.

“Obviously,” Leira said sarcastically, brushing a strand of black hair behind her ear. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be looking for him.”

Allyn looked to Liam for support. He’d never known Leira to be sarcastic—she was usually quiet and direct, similar to her father. Liam was the sarcastic one.

Liam shook his head, seeming just as confused as Allyn was.

“Leira—”

“Allyn.”

“It’s important.”

She looked up from her book, noticing for the first time that her younger brother and Kendyl accompanied Allyn. “I don’t know where he is. He does this every day for an hour or two.”

“Does what?”

“Something to clear his head,” Leira said.

“And you have no idea where he goes?”

“Outside somewhere,” Leira said. “He always tracks snow through the cabin when he returns.”

Allyn turned to Liam and Kendyl. “He wouldn’t have gone too far—he wouldn’t risk leaving the property.”

Leira grabbed her bookmark off the mantle and stuck it inside the book. “What are you going to do?”

“We’re going to find him.”

Leira sighed and rose to her feet. She was an inch or two taller than Liam was—though Allyn didn’t know how much longer that was going to last—with a firm frame that she held with confidence. “He won’t like that. He’s entitled to his privacy.”

“This is important,” Allyn said.

“Can it wait an hour?” Kendyl asked.

“No,” Allyn said. “I’m tired of waiting. Tired of dreading that door crashing down. Every hour we remain here is another hour the FBI has to find us.”

Kendyl didn’t argue—Allyn already knew she wasn’t as concerned about the police as he was.

“Come on,” Allyn said, turning and striding through the cabin. He stopped on the front porch, suddenly feeling very stupid. The cabin backed up to thousands of acres of dense forest that covered the hillsides to the north and south. Out front, the lonely, two-lane mountain road ran perpendicular to the cabin, over one hundred feet away and hidden behind a thicket of pine trees. If Jaxon wanted to hide, truly hide, he wouldn’t have a problem doing so.

Allyn stepped off the porch onto the snow-packed gravel driveway. He stopped, waiting silently. Keeping still, he strained his ears for anything beyond the muffled murmur of activity inside the cabin. The others mimicked his stillness, peering into the tangle of branches around them as if expecting to see Jaxon’s dark figure among the frosty landscape.

There was something different about mountain calm. Everything was quieter. The gentle wind, ever constant, brushed up against trees, unable to sway the heavy, snow-laden branches. And in the vast open space, the wind didn’t howl, either. An occasional car passed, and it was quieter, too, as if the car were moving slowly, the sound of its tires muffled on the packed snow. People even seemed to talk quieter, perhaps uneasy about disturbing the odd tranquility. So when Allyn heard the peculiar
crack
, even as faint as it was, he immediately knew it had to be Jaxon.

“Did you hear that?” Allyn turned toward the distant sound. It wasn’t the sound of a branch splitting and falling or of a boulder tumbling down the hillside. It was short. Sharp. Violent. He heard it again. He couldn’t place it, but he knew he’d heard it before, and it made him uneasy.

The sound led him to a trail into the forest—the same trail Mason and Ren had led him through to his Branding. With each step, the noises grew louder, and the uneasiness in Allyn’s chest grew with it. Nearly panicking, Allyn crested the hillside then darted off the trail, following a set of tracks.

Jaxon stood alone in a small clearing, his chest bare and his body slick with sweat. The bottoms of his loose-fitting trousers were caked in snow, and they rippled in the wind as his bare feet moved with a careful, almost choreographed rhythm. Allyn watched, mouth agape.

Jaxon’s knees were bent, and he moved gracefully on the balls of his feet. He struck at the air in short, sharp movements, his arms coiled with muscle and sinew. Then he turned and kicked. It was some kind of kata, but it was unlike any Allyn had ever seen.

“What
is
that?” Allyn whispered, sliding behind a tree to hide from Jaxon’s view.

“The
Mahari
,” Leira said almost reverently. Allyn hadn’t even known Leira had followed them into the forest.

Jaxon’s kata built in intensity. He kicked, punched, jabbed, hooked, spun, and jumped in a complex series of moves as if he were battling foes from all sides. Then, with a final powerful strike, Jaxon returned to a resting stance, bowing his head and breathing heavily.

Afraid to interrupt, Allyn lingered, waiting for Jaxon to move. Leira laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, holding him in place. Then, like a snake snapping at its prey, Jaxon sprang into motion again, this time hurling a blast of ice toward a dead tree. The hollow limbs exploded, and a chunk of the decaying trunk sheared off. The wood cracked as the tree swayed ominously. Allyn waited for it to fall, but Jaxon was already spinning, forming another ice blast in his hands. He flung it at the tree, and it struck to the side of the initial blast. Teetering for only a moment, the tree groaned, seemingly falling slowly, then crashed into the earth.

Jaxon danced between the branches, three balls of ice already in his hands. He threw them straight into the air then wielded again, and before Allyn could blink, three baseball-sized fireballs sailed through the air. The fireballs struck, and the ice blasts exploded in a shower of mist. Jaxon hadn’t missed a single one.

Spinning in the opposite direction, Jaxon launched another blast of ice. He ran, jumped off the fallen tree, and cast another, smaller ice blast. As it left his fingers, the air warped, popping as Jaxon hit the smaller blast with a concussion of air. It flashed through the forest, striking and shattering the larger blast. Bits of icy shrapnel struck the nearby trees, clipping off branches and imbedding into trunks.

Jaxon leaped onto the fallen tree, gained his balance quickly, and threw an ice blast. He spun then threw another in the opposite direction. Fire in his hands, he twisted, striking the first ice blast, and turned back to destroy the second. He repeated the moves, moving like a gymnast on a balance beam, spinning but never teetering.

The Mahari culminated in a crescendo of activity. Jaxon planted his feet firmly on the trunk then launched his volleys straight into the air, alternating between hands: ice, fire, ice, fire. He was so fast that Allyn could barely keep up. More ice. More fire. Every blast connecting. Every blast exploding.

Ice rained down like sleet, dusting Jaxon’s exposed shoulders with white. The air was alive. Warping. Popping. Shimmering. Transparent blue ice and orange fireballs zipped into the sky, colliding below the canopy of branches. Then, bellowing a final roar as the last few blasts left his hands, Jaxon finished the display and stood alone, the hollow trunk cradling his bare feet. He breathed heavily as steam rose from his body. He lowered his head and whispered something then turned to the nearby tree, where his compression top hung from a low branch.

Jaxon started back toward the path, pulling his shirt over his head. He froze when he saw Allyn, his eyes growing wide with concern.

“What’s wrong?” Jaxon asked, firm. Not angry, but alarmed.

Allyn wondered how they must look, four magi spying behind thick trees, and his face grew hot with embarrassment.

“It’s okay,” Leira said calmly. She walked toward Jaxon. “They said they have urgent news.”

Jaxon pushed his arms through the sleeves and turned his gaze from Leira to the rest of them.

Allyn approached, feeling the weight of Jaxon’s eyes. They had intruded on Jaxon’s peace, overstepping a sacred boundary and violating his trust.

“I… we…” Allyn said. “Jaxon, I’m sorry, but that was
incredible
. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Jaxon sniffed and rubbed the sweat from his brow. “What’s so urgent, Allyn?”

Allyn sucked in a deep breath—the cold air burned his lungs. “We’ve been in contact with Niall.”

Jaxon blinked. “When?”

“Twenty minutes ago.”

“How?”

“Through his YouTube profile,” Allyn said. “It’s all there if you want to read it, but there’s nothing incriminating. Just a lot of implied information.”

“Such as?”

“Such as,” Allyn repeated, “he’s a magi. Someone who came into his power outside the Families.”

Jaxon’s lips parted. He appeared genuinely surprised. “What do they want?”

“To meet.”

Jaxon grimaced. He rubbed his forehead with his thumb and forefingers, smearing the beading sweat across his dark face.

“He’s searching for us, Jaxon,” Allyn said. “He’s searching for answers. Imagine how terrifying it would be to develop magi abilities without the proper guidance.”

“It’s a bad time,” Jaxon said.

“A bad time?” Allyn asked. “There couldn’t be a better time! Don’t you understand what we have? It’s a list of other magi. And based on the information we have, it could be a list of potential machinists. We need this, Jaxon.”

“I don’t disagree that it’s important.”

“Then what’s with the hesitance?” Allyn asked, incredulous. It offered them a way to rebuild their Family through a fresh mix of new blood and new abilities. Jaxon wanted the McCollum Family to become the first machinist Family, and this gave that dream potential. More than that, it provided them with a way to integrate back into the Forum.

Lukas had believed that by finding magi who could wield, even ones who’d grown up outside the magi community, he could unite the Families and strengthen them through common purpose. The same opportunity had been bestowed upon Jaxon. They could prove that Allyn wasn’t a fluke. He wasn’t the exception. Magi lived, existed, and grew into power outside the magical community—and they had done so since the Fracture. But still, Jaxon was reticent.

“The manor’s been locked down since we left,” Jaxon said. “An order handed down by the FBI agent in charge, Special Agent Richard Maddox.”

“How do you know all of this?” Kendyl asked.

“Liam’s not the only one who knows how to use a computer.”

It was official then—they weren’t dealing with local PD anymore. They were running from federal agents.

“What do we know about him?” Allyn asked.

“He’s one of the best.” Jaxon said, leaning against a nearby tree. “He’s a thirteen-year veteran of the bureau, with a ruthless reputation. He’s received the FBI’s Medal of Valor, Meritorious Achievement, and Shield of Bravery. He’s a legend.”

Allyn cursed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. He wanted to be sick. “And he was called in to find me.”

“Actually,” Jaxon said, “that appears to have been a stroke of bad luck. Agent Maddox transferred to the Portland field office two years ago.”

“Why?” Liam asked. “What happened?”

“His second divorce.”

Allyn shook his head. It was too much. Their involvement should have been avoided. If he’d just gone to the police the moment his sister had disappeared, he never would have incriminated himself. Or if he’d taken her in as soon as she’d been found, they could have ended the police pursuit. Now it was a tangled mess that Allyn had no idea how to unravel.

“What about his partner?” Allyn asked.

“I don’t know much about him,” Jaxon said. “Special Agent Gary Nolan is a first-year agent, but he graduated near the top of his class at Quantico. Most of these men are cut from the same cloth, so it’s unlikely he’s too much different from Maddox. He just lacks experience.”

Allyn cursed.

“What were you hoping for?” Kendyl asked.

“Something we could exploit,” Allyn said.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know.”

“This is why it’s bad timing,” Jaxon said. “We have the best of the FBI on our tails, and we have no way of shaking them.”

“We need to run,” Allyn said.

“And go where?” Liam asked.

“Anywhere,” Allyn said, unable to think of somewhere specific. “It’s only a matter of time until they find us here.”

“They’ve already been to the cabin,” Kendyl said. “Remember the tire tracks or the boot prints?”

“Those could have been from anyone,” Allyn said. “You were up here with a realtor a few weeks ago. They could have been from you.”

“Me? A size-twelve boot?” Kendyl laughed. “No. And we weren’t the ones that smeared the windows like we were trying to look inside, either. The tire marks and the footsteps were fresh. I’m telling you, they’ve already been here, and they didn’t find anything. They won’t be back.”

“Even if it was them,” Allyn said, “and the police have been here, the moment their investigation hits a dead end, they’re going to retrace their steps. They’ll come looking again, I guarantee it.”

“How do you know?” Liam asked

“Because that’s what I would do.” Allyn turned to Jaxon. “Have we heard from any of the other Families?”

“No,” Jaxon said.

“Then we have nowhere to run and no one to help.” Allyn rubbed the scruff on his chin. His throat grew tight in preparation for what he was about to say. “Just say the words, Jaxon, and I’ll leave. I’ll take the heat off you.”

“No,” Jaxon said.

“It’s me they’re after.”

“We’ll find a way,” Jaxon said. “I’m not going to splinter this Family further.”

Allyn exhaled. His arms and legs felt light.

“It’s too bad we can’t get to someone inside the FBI,” Liam said.

Jaxon raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“If we could get access to the FBI database,” Liam said, “we could erase the files pertaining to Allyn and Kendyl—or at least fill it with bad information. It wouldn’t destroy the evidence, but it would cut their legs out from under them.”

“Would that work?” Jaxon asked, turning to Allyn.

“Maybe,” Allyn said. “But it wouldn’t be that easy. The FBI has too much information to store on one system. They probably have hundreds of databases, each with their own usernames and passwords. If someone was going to remove us from the system, they’d have to do it from each one.”

“But it’s possible,” Jaxon said.

“Sure,” Allyn said. “As long as that person knew what he was doing.”

“Why would we need to get someone inside?” Kendyl asked. “Agents need access to those databases around the clock. There has to be some kind of remote access.”

“We would still need someone who has access to those databases,” Allyn said.

“We do,” Kendyl said. “We have Liam.”

“You’re talking about hacking into the FBI’s computer database,” Allyn said. “One of the world’s most encrypted, well-protected sites in the world.”