Spell Robbers by Matthew J. Kirby Read Free Book Online Page A

Quantum Agents.”
    Peter cocked his head. “What is the Quantum League? What do you do?”
    “Our agency has tasked itself with —”
    “Where is Dr. Hughes?” Ben raised his voice. “This is the third time we’ve asked.” It seemed like there was something this Agent Spear didn’t want to tell them.
    Peter leaned back a bit on the cot, silenced.
    Agent Spear sighed. “Okay. You demand the truth, and I’ll give it to you straight. We don’t know where Dr. Hughes is. The Dread Cloaks abducted her when they made their escape. She could be in any one of their hideouts.”
    “Can you rescue her?” Ben asked.
    Agent Taggart spoke up from the door. “A direct frontal assault against the Dread Cloaks would not be in our strategic interests.”
    “What she means,” Agent Spear said, “is that we don’t have the firepower to take on the whole gang.”
    “Whole gang?” Peter asked. “How many are there?”
    “Current estimates,” Agent Taggart said, “put their membership between three and five hundred.”
    The number shocked Ben, and at first he wasn’t sure he had heard it right. Between three and five hundred ? And how many of those were Actuators? Would they hurt Dr. Hughes? Was she alive? Each question hit Ben’s head like a hammer strike. He felt disoriented, his world all ground up. Just weeks ago he’d learned about actuation, and then the lab was attacked by a gang, and now this skinny guy was calling himself an agent and talking about a war.
    Ben still felt adrift, and the waves were starting to break over his head. “I’d like to call my mom now.”
    “That’s been taken care of,” Agent Spear said. “You needn’t worry.”
    “What does that mean?” Ben asked. “Let me call my mom.”
    Agent Spear closed the folder. He looked over his shoulder at Agent Taggart, who checked something on a small device she pulled from her pocket. She gave him a nod back.
    Agent Spear stood. “Let me show you boys something.”
    “What?” Peter asked.
    Ben stayed seated. “I don’t want to see anything. I’m not going anywhere. I want a phone.”
    Agent Spear looked around. “You see one in here, son?”
    Peter tugged on his sleeve. “Come on, Ben.”
    Ben looked hard at Agent Spear. The man met his gaze with the kind of smile fathers gave their boys in commercials. “Things will make sense again real soon. I promise.” He walked to the door and grasped the handle. “Coming?”
    Ben looked at Peter. His friend bounced a little as he nodded. Ben got to his feet. The two of them crossed the room, and as they approached the door, Agent Spear opened it.
    They entered into a hallway that felt a little like the Castle back at the university. Old. White walls, smoky wood trim.
    “Right this way, gentlemen,” Agent Taggart said.
    She led the way, while Agent Spear came behind them. They followed the hallway, turned a couple of corners, and stopped before another door.
    “This is the training room.” Agent Taggart pressed a button, and a loud buzzer sounded before she opened the door.
    They entered into a huge vaulted room. Areas of the floor had been sectioned off by partial walls of different materials. The nearest one was made of cinder block, and it bore blackened scorch marks and craters across its surface.
    The people inside, some of them as young as Ben and Peter, had stopped whatever they’d been doing and stared as Agent Taggart led them through the room. Some wore protective armor, like they were on a bomb squad. Others wore heavy padding that made them look puffy and stiff. The rest of the people either wore plain workout clothes, or suits like Agent Spear and Agent Taggart. Ben made eye contact with a girl who looked a few years older than him. She had long black hair, shiny and smooth as electrical tape, with a single lock dyed bright blue.
    When they reached the far side of the room, Agent Taggart spun around.
    “What kind of training are they doing?” Peter asked.
    “Watch,” Agent