INVISIBLE PRISON (INVISIBLE RECRUITS) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Better to keep all us volunteers in line.
    What surprised me was the number of other people I noticed milling around, some walking with purpose, some waiting with that watching look I associated with caged animals. All women. All with ankle bracelets, though I did notice a few attached with a fibrous material, not metal. Some non-humans reacted poorly to iron or other metal compounds: another tool used since the Industrial Age to keep the numbers of non-humans down.
    So the IR Agency was an equal opportunity employer and was recruiting more than just witches. Either that or something else was up. What had I gotten myself into?
    Fear cat-pawed down my spine as I hustled to keep up with Stone’s long-legged gait. He finally stopped in front of a rectangular brick building.
    “Dorm,” he said, swinging open the metal door.
    One glance told me there was going to be less privacy here than in prison. No warding or protection spells to cast around me in a communal room. Two dozen cots lined up on either side of the long room, a door at the far end, probably the bathroom and shower facilities. Each cot was made up with regulation precision, nothing out of place.
    It wasn’t that I was a slob, but if I’d wanted to join the military I would have, before my murder sentence that was. Looked like I wasn’t being given a choice now.
    “Grab any bed on the right with an open foot locker. Then report to the canteen in ten minutes.”
    No wasting time in this operation. I glanced at Stone. “And the canteen would be where?”
    “The way we came in. Red trim along the doors.”
    Like that was going to help since every brick building I’d noticed so far was red brick. It wasn’t like trim the same color was really going to stand out. “And if I don’t show up?” I asked, getting the lay of the place.
    “Don’t even think it.” His eyes dared, his lips remained a no-nonsense straight line before he turned on his heel and marched out, his last words flung over his shoulder, “Nine minutes and counting.”
    Yeah, this was going to be a lot of fun.
    I snagged a bed close to the bathrooms, but not too close, making sure there was at least one cot empty on either side of me. Then I headed to the canteen.
    Once outside the dorm door I did waste precious seconds breathing in free air. There might be wire surrounding me, unknown non-humans everywhere, and I had no doubt Stone was waiting for me to split, but for the space of two deep breaths I enjoyed freedom. A freedom Been-There would never know.
    That had me straightening my shoulders. No mourning. It wasn’t a Noziak style. Besides it wasn’t going to do a bloody thing to bring Been-There back. Neither was the last gift I’d left for Big Mad Martha.
    Entering prison I’d vowed to limit any spell casting to survival needs. But I’d broken that promise as I’d passed BMM’s cell that last day.
    With a few words, a sprig of sumac I’d found in the Big Yard the day before, and a scratching motion across my arm, I’d cast a rash spell in BMM’s direction. She’d never know what had caused the infernal itching, but she’d know who had caused it, even if she never admitted it.
    “For Been-There,” I’d whispered, as I’d walked away.
    Now I took one more look around the IR set-up and I headed toward a brick building next to a Quonset hut. I might not have the degree of scenting ability of my shifter brothers, but my stomach was empty enough that whatever the canteen was serving up snagged my attention without a problem.
    Two seconds later I stepped into a room that looked utilitarian but smelled divine. No prison grub here. Pot roast was my guess and not the kind with gristly meat and measly vegetables.
    For the first time since I’d signed on the dotted line I thought I might enjoy this place. Then some snarly-faced Latino woman about my age smacked into my back.
    “Hey casino-owner, move it or lose it.”
    I glanced over my shoulder to see who was ragging on me,