by Brandon Mull
Nate considered the insultingly frank response. Jonas White’s open attitude made Nate hungry for information. He felt tempted to ask about Mozag and John Dart, but worried it would push the magician too far. If he worked for Jonas, he would sooner or later end up in a position to learn about his captured friends. “All right. I’ll be a Jet.”
“Just like West Side Story!” Jonas gushed. “Hand over the stamp and hold out your hand.”
Nate obeyed. Jonas pressed the stamp against the inkpad, then stamped the back of Nate’s hand. Tingles rushed up his arm and spread across his body.
“Welcome to the team.” Jonas grinned.
Nate looked at the simple jet insignia on his hand. Something had changed, but he couldn’t quite recognize the difference.
“Try to fly,” Jonas prompted.
Nate stood, and his feet rose off the floor. He levitated a few feet into the air. He hovered, looking down at Jonas in surprise. It felt as natural as walking. He swerved to the left, then back to the right. Deciding where to go felt as simple as commanding his arms to move or his fingers to grasp. The force suspending him in the air existed throughout his body but seemed centered in his chest. Nate slowly dropped back to the ground.
“Ever experience anything like it?” Jonas asked.
“No,” Nate replied.
“I can’t tell you I’m surprised,” Jonas chuckled. “I’m a perfectionist. Are you a perfectionist, Nate?”
“I try to do good work,” Nate said. “I like to win.”
“I didn’t think so,” Jonas said smugly. “Most people refer to perfectionism much too casually. Being a perfectionist has advantages and drawbacks. My enhancers are not exceptionally diverse. Lesser magicians have broader catalogs. But my creations work unusually well for an uncommon amount of time. For example, real flight is a very difficult enhancement to produce. As a Jet, you will benefit from my thoroughness.”
“It feels amazing,” Nate said, impressed by the new ability. “I’ve had dreams about flying. Sometimes it’s like swimming clumsily through the air. Other times I can zoom around however I want. This feels like my best dreams.”
“Wait until you try it outside,” Jonas said. “I can imagine nothing more exhilarating. Makes me wish I were young enough to use it. A word of caution: You have the ability to fly, but your body is no stronger than usual. In a car, you have a metal shell to protect you in a crash. A motorcyclist has much less protection. Think of yourself as a flying motorcyclist.”
“I could really get hurt,” Nate realized.
“There are limits to how fast you can fly,” Jonas said. “But you can go plenty fast enough to get killed.”
“I’ll try to keep that in mind,” Nate replied.
“Take care not to use any other magic while the stamp is in effect,” Jonas cautioned. “The magic involved with flight is delicate. Attempting to mix in other magic could prove disastrous.”
“Good to know.”
“You’re not new to magical enhancers,” Jonas said. “That could work either for or against you. Don’t take any of this lightly. To seal our agreement, the day after tomorrow you must bring me an inanimate object to which you feel a strong attachment.”
“Like what?”
“A stuffed animal. A book. A trophy. A photograph. I have the ability to measure your attachment to the item. If you comply, I will restamp you every other day. If the connection between you and the object isn’t strong enough, you will not get restamped.”
“Will you keep the object?”
“For as long as our association lasts.”
“Do I need to bring something every time I get stamped?”
“Just next time,” Jonas said. “Are you ready to meet your fellow Jets? Together you are the first complete group of four.”
“Sure,” Nate said, knowing that he had met all of them already.
Jonas rose and crossed to the far door. He moved slowly, as if ill or arthritic. When he opened the door, three kids came through—Chris, Risa, and Lindy.
Nate gaped in surprise at his friend. “Lindy?” His gaze darted to Jonas and back to Lindy. She might appear young, but surely Jonas had recognized his sister! What had transpired between them? What had he told her?
Lindy smiled sheepishly. “I hoped it would be one of you guys. I was worried Roman would beat you.”
“Thanks a lot, Nate,” Chris grunted, shaking his head.
Glaring, Risa took an angry step toward Nate. “Did you shut out Roman on purpose? He’s been working so hard for this! He even helped you! He thought you’d make a good teammate.”
“Lindy was never part of the plan,” Nate explained hastily, hoping they would believe him. “She acted alone. She wasn’t even supposed to come to the arcade! Todd wouldn’t reveal who had the third stamp. I assumed it was Roman. I didn’t even know that Lindy was trying for a stamp.”
“I don’t really care how it happened,” Chris said. “Together, you two stole his stamp.”
“Now, now,” Jonas chided. “This is a competition. Nobody has a claim on any stamp until they earn the tickets and trade for one. Chris, your friend Roman came close, but these two finished ahead of him. There are other stamps he can choose from.”
“How’d she earn the tickets?” Risa grumbled. “I’ve never seen her playing at Arcadeland.”
“She won’t talk about it,” Chris said.
“Perhaps she accomplished the task more cleverly than you,” Jonas replied serenely. “Do you imagine that I owe you an explanation? Some days I wish that children had no tongues. Life would be less wearisome if the power of speech were withheld for the first forty years. How Lindy succeeded is not your concern. With four members, your club is complete. If you wish to remain Jets, learn to get along. If not, feel free to join the rest of humanity in their mediocrity.”
“I didn’t mean to offend you,” Chris backpedaled.
“Which makes it so much more offensive,” Jonas yawned. “The four clubs will soon compete against each other. The winners will keep their stamps. The losers won’t. Before you know it, Roman and others will try to take your stamps away. I’ll be interested to see how your foursome measures up.”
Chris folded his arms and stared at the ground. Risa glowered. But they kept quiet.
Nate glanced at Lindy. She and Jonas were not acknowledging each other as more than new acquaintances. Either she didn’t know they were siblings or she was doing a good job covering it up. Surely he knew? And if he knew, he probably would have told her, right? But Nate couldn’t ask about it in front of her, in case she didn’t know. And he supposed there was a small chance that Jonas didn’t know either. Maybe they hadn’t been together much as children.
Jonas pointed at Nate. “He just received his stamp. Lindy got hers last night, when I refreshed Chris and Risa. I’ll restamp you all again the morning after next. Come at nine. Until then, I suggest you train together. You have the ability to fly, but practice will be required to fly well and to work as a team. Any questions?”
Nate couldn’t think of any questions not involving Mozag or John Dart.
“A friendly reminder,” Jonas continued. “If you tell any prospective candidates about what the stamps can do, you will lose all privileges and your slot will be filled by another. You have no right to let magical secrets spill into the nonmagical world. Don’t test me. I’ll know. I have many ways of gathering information. Keep your abilities private. That is all.”
Jonas shuffled over to his chair and sat.
“Come on,” Chris said. “I’ll show you where we practice.”
“One more thing, Nate,” Jonas said. “You’ll want to avoid my nacho cheese. It has a numbing effect on the ability to use and perceive magic. Old family recipe. The people at my concession counter know to keep it away from my candidates. They’ll use other cheese for you. But don’t try any if a family member brings some home.”
“Family member?” Nate asked.
“You should encourage
your family to sample it,” Jonas said. “The cheese will simplify things for you, free you up to pursue your new opportunities.” He waved a casual hand. “Dismissed.”
Nate followed the others out of the room. They passed through a break room with a few vending machines, a sink, a microwave, some cupboards, and a few tables. One employee sat reading a hiking magazine. Another nibbled at a burrito.
Beyond the room they passed into a hall. Nate walked beside Lindy. “Are you all right?” he muttered.
“I’m fine,” Lindy said.
“Your dad has been worried,” Nate told her.
She winced a little. “I slept in one of the little tunnels at the Monument Park playground. It wasn’t comfortable. I’ll go home tonight. Not much he can do now.”
“Except ground you forever,” Nate pointed out.
“It’s hard to ground somebody who can fly,” Lindy said.
They reached a door that led directly outside. The far side of the door held an EMPLOYEES ONLY sign. Across the patio, a group of teenagers were putting at a hole designed to look like Stonehenge.
“You ran away from home?” Risa asked Lindy.
“Maybe,” Lindy said.
“Lindy hasn’t been very talkative,” Chris told Nate.
“She’s probably not sure whether she can trust you,” Nate replied. “Which is probably smart.”
Chris shrugged. “Like I care. Instead of one team of four, maybe we can be two teams of two.”
“Fine with me,” Lindy said.
“You heard Mr. White,” Risa said. “If we don’t work together, the other teams will beat us and we’ll lose our stamps. We need to make the best of this.”
“Then let’s go,” Chris said.
“Wait,” Nate said. “My friends know I just received my stamp.”
“So?” Risa asked.
“We watch out for each other,” Nate said. “If I don’t come back, they might freak out. Let me go tell them that I’m okay, then I’ll catch up.”
“We’ll catch up,” Lindy added. “You guys can go ahead. I’ll show him the way.”
“Fine, but don’t slip up and spill any secrets,” Chris said. “Mr. White is serious about keeping this quiet.”
“Believe me, I get it,” Nate replied. “See you soon.”
Chris and Risa walked away. Nate and Lindy started looping around Arcadeland toward one of the regular entrances. Before they reached the doors, Nate checked that Chris and Risa were out of sight, then pulled Lindy to a halt.
“So what happened?” he asked.
Lindy glanced around. “Nobody included me, so I included myself.”
“How did you win 50,000 tickets so quickly?”
“Who says I won them?”
Nate hit his forehead with the heel of his hand. “Katie Sung asked me about stolen tickets.”
“You talked to her too?”
“She let you get away with it?”
Lindy leaned against the wall. “She was mad. After I traded for the stamp, they brought me to her. She told me how their cameras never showed me winning a single ticket. She told me seven rolls of 8,000 tickets had been stolen the night before.”
“You stole them?”
“I didn’t admit it. Not to her. I told her maybe I was wearing a disguise when I was here playing. I told her I was tricky.”
“But you stole them.”
Lindy looked Nate in the eye. “You know I see differently from most people.”
“Right.”
“I can usually see through walls and floors, at least for a ways. But a lot of Arcadeland is shielded from my sight. I don’t know if they used magic or special materials, but I can’t see underground here, and I can’t see certain areas of the building.”
“Okay,” Nate said.
“It made me curious. After Pigeon told me about Arcadeland, I came and checked it out.”
“Pigeon told you?” Nate cried.
She nodded. “I didn’t try to enter the arcade. I just roamed the outside of the building. I noticed that the storage room where they keep their prize tickets wasn’t shielded from my sight. I thought it meant that whatever was behind the shielded walls and floors must be pretty important.”
“Because you would think they would protect their prize tickets,” Nate said. “Makes sense. Maybe John Dart or Mozag are behind some of those walls.”
“The thought had occurred to me. Anyhow, after talking to Pigeon, I realized that those tickets were the key to getting a stamp, and the stamps were the key to gathering information.”
“He told you that?” Nate exclaimed.
“Keep it down,” Lindy scolded, glancing around. “Yes, he told me after I guilted him by explaining how left out I was feeling.”
“You took advantage of him.”
“Just his kindness. I really do like him, largely because of his kindness.”
“Go on.”
“I know where Dad keeps the Mirror Mints that Mrs. White left behind. He guards them pretty carefully because he hasn’t figured out how to produce more, even though he has her notes on the subject. Anyhow, the storeroom with the tickets had a full-length mirror. I went through a mirror near Arcadeland. When I came out into the storeroom, I heard an alarm go off. Somehow they had detected me. I worked quickly. Getting the tickets out was simple. I brought them in through one mirror and took them out through the other.”
“Smooth,” Nate complimented. “Fifty-six thousand tickets.”
“They were heavy. I unwound them and ripped them apart so it would look like I’d won them at lots of different games. But they knew I hadn’t because I never showed up on their cameras. The security at Arcadeland isn’t just for show. They pay attention.”
“Not well enough.”
Lindy giggled. “Katie was upset. I think she was embarrassed that a kid stole tickets that she should have protected. Thankfully, Mr. White intervened.”
“What did he do?” Nate asked, still wondering whether Jonas had revealed her true identity.
“He interviewed me. He told me he didn’t mind that I stole the tickets. He just wanted to know how. I told him about the Mirror Mints. He thought I was resourceful. He told me that in his opinion I had earned the tickets because getting them was difficult and I got away clean. Of course, he mentioned that he would be removing all mirrors from the more private portions of his arcade. But he let me keep the stamp!”
“I’m impressed,” Nate said honestly.
“You guys should have involved me from the start. I thought we Blue Falcons were supposed to stick together.”
“True,” Nate said. “But we didn’t want to disrespect Mr. Stott.”
“I know. I didn’t want to either. But with John and Mozag in trouble, I felt like I needed to help. I knew I could contribute.”
“What do you think about Jonas White?” Nate asked, trying not to give the question special significance.
“I wondered if he might be related to Mrs. White who owned the candy shop,” Lindy said. “I mean, they’re both magicians, and he set up his arcade so close to where she set up her shop. I didn’t ask, though. I was worried it might seem suspicious.”
“He’s her brother,” Nate said, figuring she would find out eventually. “He knows I was around when Mrs. White went missing. He mentioned it. But he didn’t make a big deal about it. I guess he wasn’t very close to her.”
“He gave me the benefit of the doubt too,” Lindy said. “He knew about Mr. Stott. Jonas connected me to him after I mentioned the Mirror Mints. But Jonas didn’t seem overly concerned that I live with him.”
“He must be pretty confident about his plan,” Nate speculated.
“Or his security,” Lindy said.
“Well, Lindy, I feel a little bad about shutting out Roman, but I’m glad there’s at least one Jet I can trust.”
She smiled. “I’m glad you got the stamp ahead of him. Spying is bad enough without also feeling lonely.”
Nate nodded toward the
doors. “Should we go talk to the others?”
“Sure.”
They walked together through the doors and quickly found Trevor loitering, his eyes on an EMPLOYEES ONLY door. Trevor signaled Pigeon, who hurried over.
“Lindy!” Pigeon cried. “Where have you been? Mr. Stott is so worried.”
“I’m sorry, Pidge. I couldn’t handle being ordered to keep out of this. I’m a Jet now.”
“What?” he exclaimed.
“She got the third stamp, I got the fourth,” Nate explained. “Long story, and we can’t talk long. Is Summer already in there?”
“You just missed her,” Trevor said.
“She’s going to meet the owner of Arcadeland, Jonas White. He’s Mrs. White’s brother.”
Pigeon gasped. “Is he here for revenge?”
Nate forced himself not to look at Lindy. “Doesn’t seem that way. He wasn’t very friendly with his sister. But he’s here for a purpose. I can’t say too much. We’re supposed to go practice with Chris and Risa.”
“Practice what?” Trevor pressed.
“I’m not allowed to explain,” Nate said. “You’ll find out soon. Earn the stamps, then you’ll see.”
“You really won’t say?” Trevor asked, looking a little wounded.
“Just to be safe,” Nate continued in a loud whisper. “Jonas set some firm rules about what we can tell others. I’m in no hurry to break them—not yet, and especially not here. Let me see. What can I say? Summer and I won’t be much help with tickets tomorrow.”
Trevor looked even more perplexed. “You can’t come?”
Nate leaned closer. Pigeon leaned in too. Nate lowered his voice more. “I can’t risk mixing magic. Remember how we suspected the stamps would lead to candy? The stamps are the candy. They last about two days.”
Pigeon and Trevor looked sober as they digested the information.
“Summer will be taking off to practice too?” Pigeon asked.
“I guess,” Nate said. “Still, can’t hurt to keep an eye on her. Hey, I’ve got to go. The others are waiting for us. I don’t want to make them suspicious.”