Page 58 of The Tree of Spirits
“No, it wasn’t.” Dante was on my other side. He threw an angry look up the line at the three Techno Knights. “They are going to regret touching my sister.” For emphasis, he pounded his fist against his open palm.
I grabbed his hand. “Don’t do anything foolish.”
He snorted. “Says the girl who attacked an armored soldier with a screwdriver.”
“Hey, when I made my move, I didn’t know they could use magic even without the suits. That just doesn’t make any sense.” I frowned. “Why would they need the magic-mimicking suits if they already have magic?”
“Extra firepower?” Dante suggested.
“But the Techno Knight at the Tournament was human under that suit.” I bit my lip. “These guys aren’t.”
“Maybe they’re working together?” Nevada wondered.
“The man under the suit, the man who attacked the Tournament, is a member of the Brotherhood of Earth, an anti-magic organization. He attacked the Knights because they have magic. These people,” I said, glancing at our three kidnappers, “they’re supernaturals. The two groups would never work together.”
“So then why are they wearing identical armor?” Dante asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
“Who are they?” Nevada asked. “And what do they want?”
Bronte turned around and gave us a long, heavy sigh. “Isn’t it obvious? They’re Rebels.”
“No,” I argued. “The Rebels help the citizens of Gaia. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. We all have.”
“Have we?” Bronte countered.
“They help people, Bronte,” I replied. “We saw them in the mall. They made sure everyone was safe. They even gift-wrapped the bad guys for the Watchers!”
“Do we really know what the Rebels were doing when they ‘helped’ people? We have no idea what their true purpose is!”
But I knew what I’d seen. “After doing all that good, why would the Rebels suddenly turn bad? And why would they throw away all their goodwill on something as mundane as a few jewels? Why make such a big show out of robbing a jewelry store? The Rebels have evaded capture for months, so how could they be so stupid as to trip the store’s alarm?” I shook my head. “It doesn’t make any sense at all.”
“What difference does it make who’s under that armor?” Dante said. “What we should be worrying about is how to get away from these guys.”
“I don’t thinkweshould be doing anything.” Bronte gave me a pointed look.
“And bywe, you meanIshouldn’t do anything.”
“Well, you didn’t exactly make things better, Savannah,” she replied.
She wasn’t wrong. If anything, I’d made things worse.
“So what doyousuggest?” Dante demanded. “To just sit here and wait to be rescued? That’s not very heroic.”
“We aren’t heroes,” Bronte said sensibly. “We’re just Apprentices.”
“And Apprentices who always cower in the shadows obviously become the best Knights,” Dante said, rolling his eyes.
“We’re not cowering,” she told him. “We’re simply deciding not to pick fights that we cannot win.”
Dante rolled his eyes. Again. “Speak for yourself. I say we can take them. There are thirty-one of us. And only three of them.”
“They have magic. We do not,” Bronte reminded him with strained patience.
“Savannah can do a bit of magic. And so can Nevada.”
Bronte’s eyes locked with his. “Abitof magic isn’t going to cut it against three supernaturals, two with fully-functional armor. Remember, the villain at the Tournament—who washuman—took on seven Knights with that same armor and very nearly won. Again, we aren’t Knights. The real Knights are outside, and I’m sure they’re working on a plan as we speak. They will rescue us.”
