Page 126 of Storm Caller

“So . . . what did you find?” Danica asks from where she stands, her muscular arms crossed and her feet spread.

The room falls silent as Edward gathers himself. I feel myself leaning forward in my seat as he opens his mouth.

“Poet wanted me to look for more information about Keepers,” he says, his voice dropping. “I understood the danger of such a request, but I could tell she was desperate. I suspected what she was in that moment, but then Trinity outed her in front of everyone.” He peers at me, blinking. “I’m sorry she did that.”

I shake my head. “I know you are.”

He runs a hand through his dark hair. It’s grown a bit, hanging in his eyes, making him look a little dangerous. “The Shield has a facility,” he says. “I couldn’t quite figure out its entire purpose, but what I read suggests they’re working on a cure for the infection. But there was more. Several things I didn’t really understand.”

“What do you mean?” Ada asks.

“Something about a network,” he says. “There were a bunch of terms I’d never heard before, but it sounded like some kind of power source.”

“What kind of network?” Henry asks as Edward shakes his head.

“I’m not sure. I ran out of time.”

“Where is this facility?” Ada asks, gripping the armrests of her seat so tightly that I hear the wood creak. I can tell she’s eager to press him further. A hopeful light shines in her eyes, but she’s giving Edward space to reveal everything in his own time.

“I don’t know. I didn’t get that far.”

Everyone falls silent, not sure what to do with this information.

“There was someone mentioned, though,” Edward says. “It sounded like a scientist or a doctor or something. I think. Someone named . . .” He scrunches his eyes, trying to dig through his memory. “Mari? Morrie?” A moment later, he snaps his fingers. “Dr. Mowry!”

More looks circle around the room.

“Do you know who that is?” Henry asks Ada.

“I have no idea,” she answers.

I chew the inside of my cheek. I’ve heard that name before, but where?

“General Sol,” Rook says a moment later. “That was her partner, right? The one she stole the research from?”

I’m nodding. “Yes, I think that was his name.”

Ada turns to face us. “You’re sure?”

“Yes,” Rook says. “That’s definitely what she called him. Philip Mowry.”

“But what would he be doing here?” Henry wonders.

Ada stands up and starts muttering to herself.

“Who’s Dr. Mowry?” Edward asks. “What’s going on?”

While Ada paces and the others all confer, we quickly fill Edward in on what we learned about General Sol’s past.

“Do you think he’s helping the chancellors?” Edward asks.

“That’s what we might need to figure out,” Ada says, overhearing his question. “If this facility is where they’re keeping the research for a cure, then we have to find it.”

“What about this network?” Rook asks, but Ada waves him off.

“All in due time. The cure is our priority, and finding this doctor.”

“How?” Henry asks. “Even if we knew where the facility was, they’d kill everyone in this room simply for knowing it exists at all.”