by James Riley
- FIVE -
FORT SLOWLY OPENED THE DOOR to his new room, silently taking it all in as Gabriel didn’t bother looking up from his book. Two beds were pushed up against one wall with a nightstand in between, and a dresser sat against the opposite wall with room enough for all their clothes. The walls were bare and painted the same ugly green as everything else.
Another door opposite the one Fort stood in led to what looked like a bathroom, which was the first good news he’d seen all day. Having to use the bathroom way down the hall in the middle of the night was never fun, especially if the soldier guards caught you out there. That automatically made this room better than the dormitory.
Except here he wouldn’t be sleeping above his best friend anymore. He wouldn’t have Cyrus around to talk to whenever he wanted, to go over the plan, or just to chat. Instead, his new roommate was a huge, intense boy that he knew nothing about but seemed to be important enough to get his own room and be given a permanent tutor.
Fort closed the door behind him, then dropped his uniforms on the dresser and opened the drawers to find an empty one. Gabriel had taken the ones on the left, so Fort stuffed his spare clothes into the top drawer on the right, though he left the Gettysburg Address brochure in his pocket. Then he moved over to the free bed and sat down, not saying anything in spite of the dozens of questions going through his head.
Sierra passed right through the closed door like a ghost, and Fort had to remind himself that she wasn’t actually here but was just projecting her image into his mind, so of course she’d follow him in. She looked between Gabriel and Fort, slowly shaking her head. “It already smells like boy in here. How do you people do that?”
How would you know what it smells like? he asked her silently.
“ ’Cause you can smell it, smart guy,” she said, tapping her nose. “Now watch out, I think the big one’s moving.”
Fort turned to find Gabriel putting down his book and sitting up. “Listen,” he said, giving Fort a look that could have been either apologetic or angry, it was hard to tell which. “It wasn’t my idea to come here, and there’s nothing I’d rather do less than learn magic, okay? So don’t worry about whatever Colonel Charles ordered you to do. He thinks he’s big-time here because he’s in charge, but he’s just a little man who let a small amount of power go to his head. You let me deal with him, and just do your thing. Sound good?”
Fort bit his lip, not sure how to respond to that. “That’d be great, except Colonel Charles said I’d be expelled if I didn’t do what he said. I haven’t known him that long, but I do know he’s not big on being disobeyed.”
Gabriel snorted. “Like I said, leave it to me. You seem like a good kid, and I’m sorry you’re getting mixed up in all of this. If the colonel gives you any trouble, just blame it on me. It’s not like you could carry me to class.”
“See?” Sierra said. “Everything’s going to be fine! He doesn’t even want your help, so you’re free to go talk to Jia and… the others whose names I can never remember.” She took several baby steps toward the door, like she was trying to encourage him to go.
“Fair enough,” Fort said, and followed Sierra to the exit. “I’ll be around if you have any questions or anything.”
“Thanks,” Gabriel said, barely listening as he picked his book back up and lay down on the bed.
Fort nodded and opened the door.
A soldier stared back at him. “Sorry, kid,” the guard said. “No one’s leaving until dinner. Colonel Charles’s orders.”
“Are you serious?” Gabriel shouted, leaping up from the bed. For such a big guy, he moved surprisingly fast. Fort quickly got out of his way as Gabriel confronted the soldier. “You can’t keep us here. Let us out. Do I have to go over your head?”
The soldier shook his head but looked much more nervous than he had when just talking to Fort. “Sorry, uh, sir, but I have to follow the orders I was given. No one can exit this room until dinner.”
“Sir”? Fort thought at Sierra, who looked confused too.
Gabriel growled at the soldier, then seemed to deflate. “I get it. You’re just doing your job,” he said, and tossed off a salute to the soldier, then fell heavily back to the bed as the soldier closed the door again. “Sorry, kid. I guess the colonel is going to be a huge pain in the behind about this.”
Who is this guy? Fort asked Sierra.
“Let me check. Hold on.” She closed her eyes, and her hands glowed brighter for a moment. But the light quickly disappeared, and she frowned. “Whoa. He’s wearing one of my amulets, Fort. The ones I made for Dr. Opps back at the NSA, to protect the wearer against mind magic. Why would they give him that?”
Fort snuck a look at Gabriel and saw that she was right. He’d mistaken it for just a chain around Gabriel’s neck at first, but now he could make out the shape of a silver ball beneath the boy’s shirt. Why would a first year student have protection against his mind being read? That didn’t make any sense. None of the other students had an amulet; only the teachers and high-ranking military had them, since there weren’t enough to go around.
“Oh shoot, I have to go,” Sierra said, looking annoyed. “Damian thinks he’s got a way onto a plane. You wouldn’t believe how many people’s brains we’ve had to magic already and still can’t even get a ticket. The TSA does not mess around.”
Wait, you’re still going to be around tonight, right? Fort asked, knowing she could feel his worry but not able to hold it back. We can’t pull this off without you.
“Oh, I know,” Sierra said, wiggling her eyebrows at him. “Don’t worry. I won’t stand you up like that girl Denise did when you were six, when you two were going to put on that little dance show for your parents.”
Fort’s eyes widened, and he felt his entire face light on fire. You said you’d stop looking at my memories!
“Oh, I say a lot of things,” Sierra said, grinning evilly, then disappeared.
Fort smiled in spite of himself as he sat down on his bed. Gabriel had gone back to reading, so at least he had some quiet to think, and his mind soon turned back to the book of magic they were stealing tonight. Nothing was going right so far. He didn’t have time to be sitting in his room, trapped by the guard, not when he should be going over the plan with Jia, Rachel, and Cyrus again. At least he’d be allowed out at dinner and could meet up with them then, but that was cutting it close.
Because tonight was their only night to steal the book of Summoning. And it all came down to Dr. Opps.
It was the doctor’s own fault, too. He was the one who wondered if Fort’s father might still be alive, given that the unthinking monster that had stolen his dad was controlled by an Old One. And why would the Old One kidnap someone unless it intended to keep that someone alive?
Of course, other reasons tried to pop into Fort’s head, just as they always did, but he forced himself to ignore them. He had to believe his father was okay out there. Even his subconscious seemed to think it, if his dreams were any indication.
Assuming they were just dreams.
Unfortunately, there was only one way to go after his father, and that was by opening a portal to the monsters’ dimension using Summoning magic. And only one person on earth knew how to do it.
Sierra had run it by Damian, of course, but he’d immediately refused, saying that the Old Ones were waiting for him to use his Summoning magic again, so they could use it to return to this dimension. It annoyed Fort to no end that the boy was probably right, so he couldn’t exactly argue.
Plan B had been asking Sierra if she’d copy the spell he needed from Damian’s head, just like she’d done by accident with some of Jia’s spells, back when she’d been in a coma at the old school. But even the suggestion had offended her.
“I am not going to just steal a spell from somebody’s mind!” she’d yelled at him, and the intensity of her repulsion that traveled through their telepathic connection overpowered him to the point he’d never asked again.
But th
at meant he had no other choice, if he wanted to rescue his father. He’d need the book of Summoning, one of two books of magic that Dr. Opps had kept secret and hidden beneath the old Oppenheimer School. Cyrus had reported that the books had been brought to their new school at some point in the last ten days but were being kept under close watch by Colonel Charles.
But tonight they’d be on the move again, probably to be taken to some special room and locked up. It was hard to say exactly, as Cyrus had trouble with his future visions around the books themselves; they always seemed to create a blind spot for him. But if that happened, Fort might lose access to Summoning magic forever, meaning his father would stay lost.
Fortunately, they’d had plenty of time to come up with a plan to steal the books while waiting for them to emerge again. But Fort needed each of his friends to do their part if the plan was going to work. And that meant making sure everybody was in the right place at the right time.
What he didn’t need was Gabriel, a total stranger, finding out what they intended to do. Who knew what he’d do? The worst thing was, telling Colonel Charles about it wasn’t even the most terrible thing that could happen. For all Fort knew, Gabriel would take the book of Summoning himself and accidentally bring the Old Ones back.
Fort glanced over at the boy, who was still reading, and wondered who he could be to get such treatment here. Someone like Sebastian, the son of a congresswoman who controlled the school’s budget? Someone like Damian, who they’d identified early as having a real gift for magic? Or something entirely new?
The third option scared Fort the most, because the last thing he needed right now was unknowns. But if they could get through tonight, then the mystery of Gabriel wouldn’t really matter. As soon as Fort had his hands on the book of Summoning, he was going to use the magic to rescue his father then and there. There was no way he was going to take the chance that someone would catch him first, so he couldn’t wait.
He knew that if he made it back safely with his dad, the school would immediately expel him, and that was fine. All he wanted was his father back. He’d miss his friends, yes, but there was no comparison. And so all of this with Gabriel would disappear, as long as he could get to the book as planned.
Still, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to befriend the other boy, just in case?
“Good book?” Fort asked.
“The colonel ordered you to be friends with me, didn’t he,” Gabriel said, not looking up. “Let’s not give him the satisfaction.”
… Right. Okay. Fair enough.
Fort lay back on the bed, covering his face with his hands. He’d be able to see his real friends at dinner and not have to worry about this new roommate situation for one meal, at least.
- SIX -
MEET GABRIEL,” FORT SAID, SIGHING deeply as he gestured to the taller boy next to him. Two soldiers waited just behind them for Fort and Gabriel to sit down together, something that wasn’t voluntary, according to their orders. “Gabriel, this is Jia, Rachel, and Cyrus. Gabriel’s my new roommate, and he’s going to be sitting with us for… well, until we’re told otherwise.”
Jia’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, and Rachel looked suspicious, but Cyrus stood up solemnly and offered his hand. “Nice to finally meet you, Gabriel,” he said, more serious than Fort had ever known him to be. “I’ve seen a lot of you in the future.”
Gabriel frowned as the soldiers finally gave them some room. “You mean, you’ll be seeing a lot of me in the future?”
“Not exactly,” Fort told him as they both set their trays down. “I’ll explain later.” He turned to Jia and Rachel, who were both giving him questioning looks with varying levels of annoyance. “Colonel Charles assigned me to Gabriel, since he’s new. Not only are we roommates, but we’re going to be hanging out pretty much all the time, including at meals.” He let his long stare illustrate exactly what he thought about that. “And I’m going to be tutoring him too. You know, just like how all new students are given tutors?”
“None of this was my idea,” Gabriel said, starting in on his meal. “Including those soldiers making me sit with you all, so I’m sorry about that. Just pretend I’m not here.”
Rachel gave Fort a pointed look that said everything he was already thinking, but Jia tried to change the subject. “If you remember, Fort, you got some tutoring when you first came to the Oppenheimer School,” she said. “Not that you needed it, since you had your… friend.”
“Let’s not bring her up again,” Fort said, hoping Jia picked up on the fact that Sierra as a topic was way off limits. “I got enough of her at the other school.”
“Did you?” Sierra said, sitting down in an empty spot at the table. At Fort’s surprised look, she gave him one back. “What? It’s a long ride to the airport, and I’m not even sure we’ll get on this flight, so I told Damian to wake me when we’re there. I want to make sure I know everything that’s happening too.”
“Anyway, I know we all had plans for tonight,” Fort said. “But I wouldn’t want to abandon my new roommate, so let’s maybe talk about those later.”
“Later?” Cyrus said. “But tonight’s the only—”
“The only night we won’t be tired from classes,” Jia quickly interrupted.
“No, that’s not what I was going to say.” Cyrus looked confused. “Are we really not going through with the plan? Because I still see us—”
“Having fun anyway?” Fort said. “I’m sure we will! Let’s all talk to Gabriel now, so he doesn’t feel left out.”
Gabriel, though, hadn’t looked up from his food since he’d sat down. “Eh,” he said, shrugging slightly. “I say go through with this plan of yours. Like I said, don’t worry about me. Sounds like you’re breaking rules, and I’m all for it.”
“Oh, we are,” Cyrus said. “Almost all of them.”
Jia snorted water out of her nose, and Rachel quickly jumped in. “He’s kidding,” she said, handing Jia her napkin. “He thinks it’s funny to make things up like that, don’t you, Cyrus?”
“Do I?” Cyrus asked, looking even more confused now. “I’m not sure I know what’s going on here.”
“I do,” Gabriel said, looking up from his burger. “You all had something planned for tonight, but you don’t know me, so you can’t talk about it in front of me. Like I said, don’t worry about me. I’m not going to snitch to anyone.”
“We’re not doing anything that’s actually wrong,” Jia said. “Besides, some rules were meant to be broken.”
Rachel sighed. “Don’t listen to her. She’s looking for her next thrill after trying to take down an Old One.”
“Um, succeeding in taking one down, thank you,” Jia said.
“It was just going to be one last night hanging out before classes start,” Fort said, not sure how much worse this could get.
“Just the four of us,” Rachel said quickly. “It’s like we’re a club or something. No new members until school officially starts.”
Sierra dropped her head into her hands. “You guys are so bad at this, Fort. Do you want me to just wipe his memory of this whole meal?”
Maybe? he thought at her, clueless about how to bring this back under control. And more importantly, they really did need to go over the plan, just in case this was their last chance before Dr. Opps brought the book of Summoning out of hiding. Can you just make him hear a fake conversation for a minute or two?
Sierra frowned. “I was kidding. You really want me to do this? I’m not entirely —”
I don’t want you to, I need you to! We have to have that book if we’re going to get my dad back. Nothing else matters, okay?
“… Okay, Fort,” Sierra said, and he could feel the worry coming off of her, but he couldn’t let that bother him now. “But he’s still wearing that amulet, so you’re going to need to remove it first.”
Ugh, right, the amulet. Fort winced, then turned to Gabriel. “Hey, what’s that chain thing you’re wearing? Can I see it?”
Sierra groaned lou
dly as Gabriel slowly turned to stare at Fort. “Excuse me?” he asked.
“It just looks like one of the protective ones that Colonel Charles wears,” Fort said, which was true, since the colonel always wore his, probably ever since he heard that Sierra wiped his memory. “I’ve always wanted to see one.”
Gabriel snorted. “That’s what he said. I kinda doubt it does anything. Take it if you want it.” He yanked it over his head and tossed it to Fort, who missed it, letting it hit the table loudly. He quickly grabbed it as the guards turned to stare, and he nodded at Sierra.
“I really don’t feel good about this,” she said. “It’s the thing with Cyrus all over again, and I still don’t like that we did that.”
You’re going to be doing it to Dr. Opps later!
“Yeah, but he deserves it,” she said. “This kid hasn’t pushed anyone into experimenting with magic to the point they get possessed by ancient evils. Well, that I know of, I guess.”
He gave her a long look, and she rolled her eyes. “Fine!” Her image wavered for a moment as she cast the spell, only to solidify a moment later. “Happy? Now all he’s hearing is a fascinating monologue from you about your most embarrassing memories. I made sure to give him the greatest hits.”
“Great,” Fort whispered to himself, then turned to Gabriel, needing to test things. “Gabriel? Hey, Gabriel? Can you hear me?”
But the other boy just continued eating, completely oblivious.
“Okay, Sierra’s fixed things so we can talk for a moment,” Fort told the others. “Cyrus, what time is Dr. Opps bringing the books out?”
“Just after curfew,” Cyrus said, looking at Gabriel with some confusion.
“What does he think we’re talking about?” Rachel asked, waving a hand in front of Gabriel’s face. The other boy immediately looked up and stared at her curiously.
“He can still see you,” Fort hissed at her.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got this,” Sierra said, looking even more annoyed. “I had Rachel tell him that she wanted to share embarrassing things too.”