Chapter 268: Grace
It didn’t take long to knock the guards out and hide their bodies in my room. We relocked the door from the outside, so even if Adrian or someone else checked, they would be comforted by the lock at least for a little while. The hallways were completely empty and that made my stomach twist uncomfortably.
We passed several rooms that had kids in them that we could see through the glass windows. I couldn’t help but think of what Adrian had said before he had dropped me in my room.
“Everything will change tonight, Grace. You just have to trust me, and everything will be alright.”
It was clear that he had drawn a lot of his forces from this place, and I worried that he had taken kids with him, but that wasn’t my concern. At least, not yet. We had to shut the Pyxis down. Rhys would defend our home. Maizie would get the kids out. And then we would deal with it all, head on. However, I felt increasingly uncomfortable as we passed the glass windows, kids stood up to watch me. I felt a little unsettled as they stared at me. The power inside me pulsated in a way that I had never felt before. For the first time... I felt like it was calling to me. It felt like it was right.
I smiled at some. Waved to others. Made silent promises to protect them to best of my abilities. Maizie and Sawyer might have hit some trouble, but they would figure it out. They would get these kids out.
We were meant to be inconspicuous. I’m sure that some people would have the same feelings as Iris and would tell that we were here at the first chance they got, but maybe they wouldn’t know either. Maybe since some had seen me with Adrian the other day, they would think I’m just trying to get my bearings.
When we got to the hall we needed to go down, I stopped. I couldn’t see any guards, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any there. I didn’t think the room had been guarded before, but I would be surprised if there wasn’t some sort of protection around it. We still didn’t know how to close or destroy the Pyxis, but I was hopeful that it would become clearer, once we got in there and could really explore it.
Adrian had said that they designed it to be powered by the child in the chair. It had made me sick. I didn’t know exactly how that worked, but if we could disrupt the power, we would be able to disrupt the Pyxis.
I took a deep breath and walked through the door. I didn’t need glory, but I didn’t want the child to be afraid of me. Or any of the children to be afraid of me for that matter.
I felt the magic before I saw it. Colors swirled around the far side of the room in a rhythmic pattern. The same little girl from the other day laid strapped to the chair, hooked up to more machines than I knew what to do with. Her little face was so pale, and her red hair was falling slightly into her face. I could see the fear she felt when she saw us enter.
The guys stood near the door, but I walked right over to the little girl, and brushed the hair out of her face.
“Hi sweetie,” I said gently, stroking her hair. “We’re here to help you.”
She shook her head, and tears streamed from her eyes. I felt for her. I knew she knew she had seen me the other day with Adrian, and I knew I wouldn’t trust me either if I was in her shoes. That was okay though. She didn’t need to like me or believe me. We were going to protect her.
“Holy shit, Grace, you could have prepped us by telling us there was a child involved.” Caleb grumbled.
I shrugged and began looking at all the wires, trying to decide where to start. “There hasn’t been a ton of time for debriefing.” I hissed at them.
“You could have told Rhys, who would have told us.”
I chuckled slightly, “I honestly, didn’t think of that.” I answered honestly. “It’s been a little crazy.”
“Did we get lucky that you were in your room?” Leon asked, turning from the door for moment.
“Actually, yea,” I responded, unhooking the tube that seemed to be pulling at the little girl’s magic. “Adrian wanted me to see the whole facility and watch some of their methods. I had to keep saying I was okay with the process, but it was awful. Nobody should have to go through what these kids have been through. We need to bring in some therapists for everyone once this is over and things are settled.”
“That’s a good idea,” Leon commented. “I’ll ask Heather to make arrangements.”
I gave him a small smile as slowly but surely, I began to free the little girl. I figured there was more to destroying the Pyxis than just freeing her, but it was a start. And who knew how much time we would have.
Once she was free, I turned my back to her, and stared at the magic that was still swirling around the back room.
“Thank you for trying,” The little girl whispered. She really couldn’t be older than ten.
“Do you know how to close this?” I asked. “So they can’t hide anymore?”
She shook her head, but I didn’t believe her. She did know, but if she wasn’t going to share, then it didn’t matter. She was just a child, and I refused to be like them.
“I wonder...” I started before the door was thrown open, and I spun around to face the new person.
“Look at little Grace trying to play hero. How sweet.” Kinsley’s familiar voice sneered at me.
I threw my body in front of the little girl, and stared at my sister. She might have bullied me my whole life, but she was NOT going to win this time.