Page 85 of Raelia

Enter the command outpost at the top of the garrison

and retrieve the red envelope.

IT IS IN YOUR BEST INTERESTS

TO REMAIN UNSEEN.

When your task is complete, open the envelope for

more instructions and the Bubbledoor to take you to

your next destination.

“At least there’s no riddle,” Jordan commented after she read the instructions out loud.

As one, Alex and her classmates all turned to look at him.

“What?” he asked.

“Did you hear the same words as the rest of us?” Pipsqueak asked, her tone almost hysterical. “We have to break into a military outpost—and the command centre, at that! We’resogoing to prison for this.”

“Yo, check out the wicked-looking weapons they’re holding,” Blink said, pointing to one of the guards walking along the top of the wall carrying some kind of silvery object in his hands.

“Standard-issue military Stabiliser,” Kaiden informed the rest of them. “One shot will knock you unconscious for ten minutes; a second shot in that time will kill you.”

Alex looked at him questioningly but he avoided her gaze, along with everyone else’s. She wondered if advanced weapons knowledge was common in Medora, but for some reason, she doubted that was the case.

“What’s our plan of action?” she asked, taking the clearly unwanted attention off him.

“First off, we need to find the outpost Hunter’s note refers to,” Tom said.

“It’s over there,” Kaiden replied, pointing to a part of the wall that rose higher than the rest, almost like a tower.

While his answer seemed the logical choice, Alex wasn’t sure why he seemed so convinced. Apparently Tom was doubtful as well.

“How do you know?” the apprentice asked.

“I’ve been here before,” Kaiden said.

Alex wasn’t the only one gaping at him, but she was the first to get over her shock.

“That sounds like a good enough reason to me,” she said, moving the attention off him again. “Now we just have to figureout how to get over there and back without being seen. Any ideas?”

“I don’t think we all need to go,” Pipsqueak said. “There’s no point in everyone getting caught.”

“Pip’s right,” Tom agreed. “The more of us who try to sneak in, the less stealthy we’ll be.”

“I’ll go,” Kaiden said. “I already know where to look.”

“I’ll go with you,” Declan said.

“No,I’llgo,” Jordan said. “My gift will get us in and out without being seen.”

When everyone but Alex looked at him in question, he explained how his gift of transcendence could make him and anyone he touched disappear. Their anxious expressions vanished with his words and they were immediately more confident of the mission’s success.

“Did anyone think to bring a ComTCD?” Tom asked.

“I did,” Skyla said as she pulled her sparkly pink Device from her bag and handed it over.

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