“It’s Talulah. New Millennium is on lockdown. Have you seen the news?”

“Not yet.” I looked around the table. Nicola was a statue, sitting with deliberate stillness as she listened. Vaughn’s face had gone red, and he was swearing under his breath.

“They’re reporting multiple attacks by inhuman terrorists.”

“How many, and where?” I asked.

“At least four.” Talulah hesitated. “Including one in Lansing. Michigan’s governor is in critical condition. Similar attacks were launched simultaneously in California, Oklahoma, and New York.”

I felt like I’d swallowed a twenty-ounce bottle of battery acid. I stood and grabbed Smudge’s cage, clipping it to my belt with an aluminum carabineer.

Nicola covered her phone. “Go. Help the wounded, and assist the police.”

“Isaac,” said Vaughn. “Make yourself visible.”

I grimaced. In other words, play nice for the cameras and put on a good public relations face for the Porters. I hated this part of my job, but he was right. Especially if these attacks had been carried out by nonhumans.

“How long will it take you to get to Michigan?” asked Nicola.

“Five minutes.” I donned my jacket and hurried toward the door, Lena and Nidhi close behind.

No matter how quickly we arrived, no matter how much we helped, part of me was starting to believe it would never be enough.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Subject: Catalog Reservations

Hello Isaac,

This is an automated reminder from the Porter Databots.

We noticed you have an unusually large number of titles reserved in the Porter catalog. While we appreciate your diligence in helping to minimize overuse and magical charring, we wonder if maybe you’ve forgotten to release some of those 184 books back into circulation for use by other Porter researchers and field agents.

The ten books that have been reserved the longest are listed below. Please log into the Porter catalog to see the full list and release any books you’re no longer using.

If you have a legitimate ongoing need for these books, please contact Porter librarian Zsuzsanna Varga.

Thanks!

Titles Checked out by Isaac Vainio, User #M3714:

1. Lewis, C. S. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.

2. L’Engle, Madeline. A Wrinkle in Time.

3. Pierce, Tamora. In the Hand of the Goddess.

4. Carroll, Lewis. Through the Looking Glass.

5. Goodkind, Terry. Debt of Bones.

6. Gabaldon, Diana. Outlander.

7. Homer. The Odyssey.

8. Gaiman, Neil. Neverwhere.

9. Donaldson, Stephen. The Mirror of Her Dreams.

10. Valente, Catherynne. Palimpsest.

Click here to log into our catalog and review the full list

Chapter 2

“I thought you’d made plans for all this.”

“There have always been contingency plans for the revelation of magic, as well as for my own death.”

“What happened? Did you forget to share those plans with anyone else?”