If there’s no weapon in these books, we’re going to have to get serious, Aaron said. I know you don’t want to look at the memories, but they might be our best hope of defeating Alex.

It won’t help anyone if I go full E-o-D, Call thought back. He missed the days when he believed that cheating on a test or taking the last slice of pizza was enough to make him into a bad guy. The memories were dangerous and dangerously tempting. What if he could save the world but it meant losing himself?

But if he became Constantine, would he even want to defeat Alex?

Call went back to the books, but with every page he flipped, he felt his options shrinking.

By the time they got through all the books, the lichen cakes were a distant memory. They were frustrated and hungry. Finally, Gwenda stood up and stretched her arms over her head.

“Okay,” she said. “We need a break.”

“Do you think Alex is taking a break?” Jasper demanded. “Evil never takes a break.”

“Well, Gwenda’s right. We need one,” said Tamara. “Let’s go down to the Gallery and go for a swim. We need to let our minds rest and see if we get any new ideas.”

“Sugar might help,” Call agreed. “Sugar and caffeine.”

“Fine,” said Jasper, realizing they were all against him. “But we are still not hanging that picture of Call on the wall.”

“That’s right,” Tamara agreed. “We’re hanging it on the fridge.”

And she did.

The Gallery was surprisingly full of students. Call would have thought that after the traumatic events of the past day, especially the death of Master Rockmaple, it would have been a dark and subdued place. But it was stuffed full of people, raucously yelling and having a good time.

Tamara shrugged. “Denial,” she said as he glanced around, taking in the kids jumping in and out of the hot and cold pools in the rocks. They’d put in a bunch of squishy gold velvet sofas, and a ton of students were sprawled on them, sipping drinks in bright colors: blue, green, orange, and pink. “People need to be distracted. It’s normal.”

Gwenda and Jasper were already over at the long stone snack bar, filling plates with candy and crunchy dried lichen flavored like nacho cheese. Call grabbed a frozen sugary tea and Tamara a glass of something with raspberries and huge lychees.

They all headed over to the squishy couches, when Call suddenly stopped short. Celia was sitting there with Charlie and Kai, wearing a flowered yellow shirt and laughing. She looked pretty and lighthearted — at least until she turned to see him, and her face went still.

“Maybe we should go somewhere else,” muttered Call.

“Well, would you look who’s got the nerve to show himself in here,” someone said. It wasn’t Celia. It was a boy in a denim shirt and swim shorts, with red hair and long skinny legs. Call thought he recognized him, but he wasn’t sure.

That’s Colton McCarmack, said Aaron’s voice in his head. He was friends with Jennifer Matsui, before she died.

Call felt a cold lump in his stomach. He had brought Jen Matsui back to life as a Chaos-ridden. It hadn’t been his choice to do it, but it had still been horrible.

“Look, we don’t want any trouble,” Call said, holding up a hand. “We’ll go sit somewhere else.”

“As long as you’re in the Magisterium, you’re trouble,” said a girl sitting next to Colton. She had short black hair with bright dyed blue bangs.

Yen Ly, said Aaron. Colton’s girlfriend.

Did you know EVERYONE in the Magisterium? Call thought with exasperation.

Just trying to help. Aaron sounded annoyed.

“You were close to Alex,” said Colton, leaning forward. “Weren’t you?”

“What’s this about, Colton?” Tamara demanded, her hands on her hips. “Alex faked being our friend. He killed Aaron, who was Call’s counterweight. Surely you’re not going to suggest we’re big fans of his.”

“Leave Call alone.” It was Kai, looking a little embarrassed. He cleared his throat. “We all saw him save those kids this afternoon. And destroy Alex Strike’s chaos magic. He’s obviously on our side.”

“Too obviously,” said Colton. “Alex had already gotten what he wanted. I figure it was all staged to make it look like Call was fighting off the Devoured, when really he’s in league with him.”

“‘In league with him’?” echoed Jasper. “Who talks like that?”

“And you.” Colton turned on Jasper. “Didn’t your father join Master Joseph? You talk as though we have any reason to believe you’re loyal to the mages, but somehow when Call was broken out of prison, you and Tamara were there. Tamara, whose sister Kimiya is Alex’s girlfriend. Everyone knows you’re both as corrupt as he is.”

At the mention of his father, Jasper seemed to shrink.

Rage sprang up in Call. “Back off,” he said sharply. “No one is in league with Alex. Jasper doesn’t even like me that much, and we’re about to risk our lives again to save you, so unless you’d like to take my place fighting the Devoured, maybe you should leave us alone.”

“Celia’s right about you,” Colton says. “You’re not to be trusted, and anyone who can stand being around you can’t be trusted either.” With that, he walked off, his girlfriend and friends following.

Call and the others walked back to their rooms with heavy hearts. Gwenda, who hadn’t spoken to Colton and hadn’t been accused of being evil either, was probably weighing the potential benefits and drawbacks of being their friend. Call was pretty sure the math wasn’t on his side.

WHEN HE OPENED the door with a wave of his wristband, Call saw that the wall of stone was on fire. For a moment he just blinked at it, until he saw that the fire was spelling words.

MEET IN THE PLACE AT THE HOUR OF YOUR AGE.

The letters turned to ash and then vanished, leaving nothing behind.

“More weird stuff,” said Gwenda glumly.

“It’s a message from Ravan,” said Tamara. “She communicates with fire. It’s her language. And her handwriting.”

“Okay,” said Jasper. “But how are we supposed to know what she means?”

“‘The place’ is probably the place I met her last year,” Tamara said. “On the grounds of the Magisterium.”

“Outside?” asked Gwenda.

Tamara nodded. “But ‘the hour of your age’? Does she mean my birthday?”

“Or the time you were born?” Jasper put in. “How would you know that? Unless you call your mom or something.”

Sixteen-hundred hours, Aaron said. Military time.

Call opened his mouth to say that Aaron had figured it out when he remembered that would be a mistake. “Four in the afternoon,” he said instead. “Because she’s sixteen.”

“That only gives us twenty minutes!” said Gwenda, and they charged back out.

Call brought Havoc. Havoc might not be Chaos-ridden anymore, but you never knew when you might need a loyal wolf.

They raced through the corridors of the Magisterium, heading for the Mission Gate. As they left the Magisterium, Call couldn’t help thinking of Alex’s arrival with the dragon, especially because in the distance, his stupid tower was being built. Mages flew through the air, lifting blocks of stone with their magic, each resting on top of another as the edifice grew. It might be ridiculous, but it was being made and Call was running out of time.