“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.”

Fort sighed. Glad you’re having fun at least.

“Oh, always.”

“Everyone just pretend like you’re eating, okay?” Fort told them. “Sierra’s got him listening to… our life stories. Just act casual. Cyrus, where’s the best spot to grab the books?”

“There will only be one hall along his path that will be empty at the time and doesn’t have cameras installed yet,” Cyrus said. “It’s two floors up, just before an elevator. After that, he and the guards go down to a basement level and things get really fuzzy, so I think that’s our only shot at this.”

That was what Fort had been afraid of. “Okay, so the hallway it is. Everyone’s clear on their jobs, right?”

Jia nodded. “I cast Paralyze on Dr. Opps and the guards with him, so that we can remove their protective mind amulets.”

“Then I grab the books and replace them with the fakes,” Fort said. “Sierra will convince them the books I give them are the real books of magic, as well as make them forget we were ever there.”

“That spell on the books won’t last for more than a couple of days, so you better hope they don’t check in on them after that,” Sierra pointed out.

It won’t matter, Fort thought at her. I only need the book of Summoning long enough to open a portal and find my dad. After that, they can throw me in jail for all I care. All that matters is that he comes back safely.

“That’s not all that matters,” Sierra said, but Rachel was talking over her.