Restart Again: Volume 2 by Adam Scott (best adventure books to read .TXT) 📗

I snorted. “Sure. It’s that easy.”

He shrugged and eyed me with an amused grin. “No tricks. You can either take the Warp, or leave it for someone else to find. Your choice.”

Silence stretched out between us as I struggled to pin down his motives. Why would he just give it to me? He wants me to take it, but to what end? I take it and turn it in as evidence of his crimes here, and he gets it back when Virram inevitably lets him go? Does he think I’ll use it? Maybe he thought far enough ahead for this eventuality and poisoned the supply? I shook my head and turned away from him. “We’ll see.”

“I had a wonderful time speaking with you. It’s been so very enlightening,” he called out as I left.

A small chill ran down my spine as I paused at the base of the stairs. The Strategist’s voice was unsettling on a deep, subconscious level; something about the mixture of confidence and contempt he exuded, even while bound and imprisoned, gave the impression that he knew what I was thinking before I did. Turning sharply on my heel, I strode back across the room towards him.

His lips curled into a coy grin as he watched me approach. “Oh? Did you think of something else you’d like to ask me?”

Without a word, I yanked up on his gag and secured it back into his mouth, making sure to tighten the knot at the back of his head. Satisfied with my handiwork, I looked him over and gave him a small nod, then returned to the council table. Stepping lightly around Solette’s body once again, I moved to where the Strategist had been sitting when we first entered the room and pulled out the chair. To my surprise, there was a lockbox hidden in the shadow of one of the table legs. It was difficult to spot, and would most likely have been passed over had I not known where to look.

I slid the lockbox out and popped the latch. The interior of the box was about the size of a loaf of bread, and was packed completely full with identical white silk pouches; brushing my fingers over the tops of the bags, I counted at least sixty in total. Enough for an entire vanguard of enhanced soldiers. I withdrew one of the pouches and pulled open the drawstrings, then upended the contents into a cupped hand. A dozen wine-colored crystals poured out and filled my palm, flickering like bloody diamonds in the torchlight.

“What’s that?” Lia asked, resting her head on my shoulder.

The sudden contact made me jump, and a few of the Warp crystals spilled onto the floor as I spun to see who had snuck up on me. “Oh, it’s you. Sorry, I was...preoccupied,” I apologized. Taking extra care to find every lost crystal, I returned them to the small silk bag and drew the strings. “This is the Warp that Solette modified. Apparently, it’s the entire supply.”

She looked over the contents of the box briefly, then back up to me. “Are you feeling okay, Lux?”

I rolled the pouch around my palm absentmindedly. “I’m...yeah, I’m alright. Just a bit distracted, I guess.” I glanced over at the Strategist and lowered my voice. “He just...told me where it was. Why would he do that, if not for some scheme to trick me into doing something for him?”

Lia pondered the question for a moment. “Well, what do you want to do?”

“I want to find out what this stuff really is,” I answered honestly. “I want to know why it made those men look like Thralls.”

“Okay then. Let’s do that,” she said with an encouraging smile. “It doesn’t matter if he’s planning something or not. Just do what you want to do.”

While I knew she was right, it didn’t help to assuage my worries at all. I took a deep breath, then stood and flipped the lid of the chest closed with my foot. “Thanks, Lia. You’re right.”

“Of course I’m right!” she proclaimed, puffing out her chest. I laughed at the emphatic display, and a small grin crept across her face. “Now, it’s almost time for us to leave. It’ll be dawn soon.” She nodded towards the stained-glass windows at the back of the room, which had begun to glow with dim, pre-dawn light. “Are you feeling up to it?”

“I didn’t come this far just to quit now,” I said, testing my balance and range of motion with a few quick stretches. “Let’s put an end to this, once and for all.” I slipped the silk pouch into my pocket and picked up the chest of the remaining Warp, then followed Lia down to where the Strategist was being pulled roughly to his feet by Val.

She turned to us as we approached, and her eyes lingered on the unexplained lockbox in my hands. “It is time,” she said eventually, looking over the two of us.

I waited quietly, expecting some inspiring words about the importance of our mission or how we should feel pride in our work so far. As the silence between us lengthened awkwardly, I realized she had no intentions of speaking, so I cleared my throat. “I’ll be glad to be rid of this place. And this guy,” I said with a dark chuckle, looking to the Strategist. “I hope you understand that what you say in the next few minutes will determine whether you make it out of the city alive. If your men make any attempt to free you, you’ll be dead long before they reach you.”

“Yes, the Commander has made that quite clear herself over the course of the evening,” he replied coolly. “My men listen to me absolutely. Should the need arise, they will quell any unrest among the Unbound.”

“Let’s hope your faith in them is better placed than your faith in the General,” I remarked offhandedly. The thought gave me pause, and I looked back to