Read Online Numbers Ignite by Rebecca Rode - Free Book Online

one. They need electricity too much. They use it for everything.”
    “That’s what I figured. Although I’m not a hundred percent sure it works. Since my mom destroys every weapon we come in contact with, I can’t test it effectively. I’m pretty sure it’ll do the job, though. It’s shut down Domingo’s wave shield over there several times.” He pointed to a tall machine standing at the other end of the room. “Makes him so grumpy. I love it.”
    I looked around at the other inventions. Some were covered, but not all. “Are you sure we should be in here? I doubt your inventor friends would be okay with me seeing this stuff.”
    He shrugged. “What are you going to do? Run back and tell NORA we’re trying to block their weapons?”
    “I already told you. I would never do that.”
    He looked me right in the eye, his usual humor gone. “If you’re worried about what people think, why not take out your implant? Find a contribution and present it to the elders. Then they’ll have to accept you. I didn’t bring you here to show off. I just wanted you to see that everyone has something inside them to contribute. You just haven’t found yours yet. Once you do, I think you’ll be really happy here.”
    He shoved his hands into his pockets and clamped his mouth shut as if he’d said too much, and the familiar pink in his cheeks returned.
    If he was fishing for a promise, I couldn’t give it. Removing my implant was the logical thing to do. But it also signaled that I wanted to be a part of all this. I was fascinated with this place and these people, but I wasn’t one of them. My implant was the divider, the reminder that I didn’t belong. The tether that kept me grounded to my goal.
    A series of clicks sounded outside the door, and it opened to admit a guy of eighteen or nineteen. He had a tall, slender build and wavy blond hair that hung past his ears. He grinned when he saw us and leaned casually against the door.
    A girl about ten years old with the same hair color trotted in behind him and gave me a shy smile.
    “You know the security code?” Coltrane exclaimed. “Maxim, you’re going to get in such big trouble.”
    “I have clearance now,” the guy said. “And you don’t see me bringing girls in here for make-out sessions. Who’s the digit?”
    Coltrane’s cheeks burned a bright red. “I was showing her my project, and don’t call her a digit. Amy, this is Maxim and his little sister, Mandie. He developed an intelligence line for his contribution a few years back. He gets news from traders passing by and reports it to my mom.”
    “And Coltrane pretends to work in here,” Maxim said, striding closer. “Are you the girl he found in the desert?”
    “That’s me,” I said, forcing a smile. Mandie stayed by the door, eyeing me curiously.
    “Was it as dramatic as Cole made it sound?” Maxim asked, standing over me. “He said he fought off a brushfire, two dozen rattlesnakes, and an entire NORA unit to get to you.”
    “You are such a liar,” Coltrane said, but he finally broke into a grin. “There were a dozen snakes at most. And for your information, my project is very important. It’ll save lives someday.”
    Mandie must have decided I wasn’t a threat because she stepped into the room and let the door close behind her. “My dad says Coltrane’s invention doesn’t work.”
    Maxim and I burst into laughter as Coltrane threw his hands helplessly into the air. “It does too work. If your dad would get me what I need, I could prove it.”
    “Doesn’t look like that’s happening, man,” Maxim said. “I’m sorry, I really am. But don’t you think you should spend your time on something else? Something you can actually demonstrate in front of the elders? I mean, we have a ton of people working on defenses. But there are needs in other places that need to be met.”
    Mandie moved from one table to the next, touching everything she could. She reached an empty bowl and peered