“Sarah Beth, why don’t you work with Corbin on this,” Paster Dee said, stating the obvious but in a way that came across like she cared, which Sarah Beth knew she did.

“Yeah, of course,” Sarah Beth said. “That would be great.”

“C’mon, Sarah Beth. Let’s head back to the Sanctuary.” Corbin smiled at her own Keeper and started for the door.

Sarah Beth trotted after her and realized something about Watchers and Keepers that hadn’t really occurred to her until she saw how the upperclassmen handled themselves. So long as they were on campus, the experienced Watchers didn’t really need their Keepers—or at least they acted like they didn’t. Inside the safety of these walls, the adults were pretty much like glorified hall monitors. They couldn’t do the work that needed to be done. The kids were the stars of the show, and the upperclassmen knew it.

“Aren’t we going to work here, in the Center?” Sarah Beth asked as they walked behind the dimly lit but frenetic Bullpen.

“No way,” Corbin said, shooting an incredulous look over her shoulder. “Do you want to?”

“I don’t know,” she said, looking at the giant monitor wall. “It’s kind of exciting down here.”

“I hate TOCs. If I can work from the Sanctuary, that’s always my first choice,” Corbin said.

“I trust you,” Sarah Beth said, watching the two boys slip into a pair of cool-looking recliners with TV screens on movable mounts attached to the armrests.

They took the White Room elevator back up to the Sanctuary and once again, as soon as Sarah Beth stepped out, she felt her anxiousness begin to fade and her heart rate slow. The calming effect of the space was undeniable.

“You’re right; this is better,” she said, following Corbin back to the same two chairs they’d been using before they got summoned to the Center.

“Sooo much better,” Corbin said, settling into her chair.

“It’s so weird—like, a few minutes ago we were going to try to locate Taylor Swift for fun and now we have to find a Dark One who wants to use the Death Star on us,” Sarah Beth said, plopping down into her chair, the seat cushion deflating loudly beneath her butt as she did.

“Hold on a second. The Shepherds didn’t say the Dark Ones were targeting Watchers with the weapon,” Corbin said, turning to Sarah Beth.

“Who else are they going to use it on? I mean, they hate us. Victor is always trying to kidnap or kill us, so it’s just logical. Which makes me wonder something.”

“What?”

“Well, if the Shepherds have known about this weapon for a while, why haven’t any Watchers picked something up on this?” Sarah Beth said. “Do you think they’re trying to block us?”

“It’s certainly possible,” Corbin said.

“How?”