She laughed and touched my throat near the jawbone. “Your lips aren’t moving, but this is. Do you have a phone in your mouth?”

I hung up and laughed. “You’re too clever for me. My team built it. They had to combine magical tech from three different books into a practical communicator with the ability to tap into existing wireless and satellite, at which point I pulled the essence of those technologies—” I could see her eyes glazing over. “Yes, it’s a magic phone in my mouth. I’m going to leave the number with you and your parents. You can call me any time you need. If anything happens, this is the quickest way to get in touch, and it’s completely secure.”

I emphasized that last sentence, and Toby nodded slightly in response.

“Can I be a libriomancer when I grow up?” asked Lex.

Hoo boy. “I don’t know. We don’t really understand why some people can do magic and others can’t.”

Her shoulders sagged.

“But if that’s what you want, the best thing you can do is read. Libriomancy is all about reading and loving books. Find the stories you love, and don’t ever let anyone tell you you’re wrong for loving them. If you want, I can send you some of my favorites to read. As long as it’s all right with your parents.”

She nodded solemnly. “I promise I’ll read them all.”

I made a face. “Don’t do that unless you love them all. There are too many books in the world to waste time slogging through the ones you hate.” I waited while she eased herself back into her chair, then grabbed Smudge’s cage. “I should get out of the way and let Dr. Simpkin finish up. Thanks for letting me interrupt. It’s great to see you again, Lex. Maybe when you’re a little stronger, I could introduce you to Kerling and the rest of the animals over at research.”

She nodded again, beaming.

Toby followed me into the hall. “Should I be worried?”

“I’m going to review all of Lex’s paperwork and double-check who selected her, but I don’t think so. I’m probably overthinking things. New Millennium has good security, magical and mundane. Much better than the capitol in Lansing.”

“No kidding. The woman in charge of security—what’s her name? Palmer? She spent most of our first day reviewing security procedures with us. This place is locked down tighter than the White House.”

“Babs Palmer, yah.”

He paused. “You don’t like her.”

“She and I butted heads a few times. She ended up trying to kill a friend of mine. I mean, that friend was trying to kill her too, but still . . . Then I had to stop Babs from creating an army and seizing control of the Porters. So no, she’s not on my Nice List.”