“Oh, lay off,” Aaron said. “You get mean every time you’re nervous.”

Call looked over at Jasper, surprised. Was that true? In Call’s experience, Jasper was unpleasant most of the time, but Call certainly knew what it was like to have a mouth that ran away from you. Call said lots of stuff before he thought better of it.

He didn’t want to think he had anything in common with Jasper, especially something about Jasper he didn’t like.

Constantine Madden was charming, Tamara had said.

The door opened and Master North came in. “The Assembly will see you now,” he said.

Be charming, Call told himself. If you’re Constantine, then make something useful out of it. Be charming.

They all got to their feet and followed Master North down the copper corridor and through an archway into a massive circular room. Call had been there before but hid his start of recognition — he’d been sneaking around the Magisterium when he’d happened upon a mage meeting here. Now probably wasn’t the time to bring up the fact that he’d eavesdropped.

Jewels decorated the cavern’s walls, formed into the shapes of constellations. The center of the room was dominated by a massive circular wooden table with a hollow core. It looked as though it was made from a slice of tree trunk, but the tree would have to have been enormous — bigger than the biggest redwood. Call couldn’t help wanting to run his fingers over the surface of it.

Around one side of it sat Assembly members in their olive green suits, alternating with the mages of the Magisterium in black. They looked like a set of chess pieces.

Master North gestured with his hand, and a section of the table lifted away like a slice of cake being cut out. He gestured for Call and the others to walk through the gap in the circle. After a moment’s hesitation, Alastair went first and the kids followed him. The moment the last of them — Jasper — was inside the circle formed by the table, the section that had been lifted away slammed back into place. Call and his friends were trapped inside the circle of the table, completely surrounded by the Assembly.

Call looked around at the adults’ smug faces. Well, maybe they didn’t all look smug. Master Rufus, Master North, Master Rockmaple, and Master Milagros looked tense, and Tamara’s parents seemed worried. Other than the teachers and the Rajavis, the only Assembly member Call recognized was Alex’s stepmother, Mrs. Tarquin. She sat looking regal as a queen, her silver hair piled on top of her head. No one introduced themselves.

“Where to even begin,” said an elderly man in an Assembly uniform. “Never since Constantine Madden have we had such a disruption, such a blow to the Magisterium and all that it stands for, as we have had this past week.”

“Hurting the Magisterium was never our intention,” said Tamara.

“Really?” The old man leaped on her statement like a cat on a mouse. “Do you know how demoralizing it is to the other apprentices to hear that our Makar has run away from the Magisterium? Did that occur to you, Aaron Stewart?”

“I didn’t run away, Assemblyman Graves,” Aaron said, standing up straight. He was still wearing the outfit he’d gotten from the thrift shop, though it was covered in dirt and blood now. He was a thirteen-year-old kid and his stupid haircut had grown out some, but when he spoke, everyone looked at him. Call could see the expressions of the Assembly members softening. They wanted to listen to Aaron. That was what Constantine had possessed; that was what Tamara meant when she said charming. “This summer, I talked to many members of this Assembly and many mages in the community. All of them stressed to me that I was the only weapon that would stop the Enemy. Well, it seems to me that I owe it to everyone to make sure I don’t hide away in the Magisterium when I’m needed.”

There was a brief silence, and Graves cleared his throat. “Your enthusiasm is admirable, but if you really did think you were needed to take down Alastair Hunt, why did you not deal with him when you caught up to him? Why is he still with you?”

A flame of anger lit in Call’s chest.

“It’s not like that,” Tamara said. “You have to hear the whole story.”

“Tamara Rajavi, we would have thought that after what happened to your sister, you would have better sense,” chided Master North. Tamara’s face crumpled. The flame in Call’s chest burned hotter.

“And you, Callum Hunt,” said Master North. “We allowed you into the Magisterium even though your scores were pitiful, and this is how you repay us? Consider your application to be the Makar’s counterweight dismissed, and count yourself lucky if that’s all that happens to you.”

Master Rufus’s hands were clenched. Call felt as if he were choking down boiling water.

“You don’t have the right to punish any of us,” Jasper said, eyes blazing. “You sent an elemental to kill us!”

“Jasper!” Master Milagros looked horrified. “Do you understand where you are, what this is? Lying is not going to help you.”

“He’s not lying,” Call said. “And we know the Magisterium doesn’t care about the truth. What happened to Master Lemuel? He didn’t really hurt Drew, so why wasn’t he allowed to come back? Why does he have to squat with some animal-experimenting weirdos in the woods?”

Master Rufus sighed. “He chose not to come back, Call.”

Call bit his tongue.

“Lying certainly won’t help your parents’ bid to get back on the Assembly,” Mrs. Rajavi said to Jasper in a low voice, then turned to Alastair. “And where is the Alkahest?” she demanded. “Why don’t I see it on the table?”

“Master Joseph has it,” Alastair said flatly. Call winced. If he wasn’t particularly charming, he knew who to blame for not teaching him better.

“Master Joseph?” Mrs. Tarquin spoke coolly. “The Enemy of Death’s second-in-command? The one who first led him down the path of evil?”

Graves rose to his feet. “You children let this traitor deliver the Alkahest to the Enemy? We should lock up Alastair and lock up all of you with him —”

“The Enemy of Death doesn’t have the Alkahest,” said Call. “He doesn’t have anything. No thanks to all of you.”

Graves narrowed his eyes. “How do you know so much about what the Enemy has and doesn’t have?”

“Callum,” Alastair cautioned.

But Call wasn’t going to stop. He’d prepared for this moment. He reached into his backpack and gripped a handful of hair. Choking back rage and nausea, he pulled Constantine Madden’s severed head out of his backpack.

He slammed the head down on the table in front of Master Graves. There was no blood; the wound in Constantine’s neck looked cauterized where Call had sliced it with Miri. The Enemy’s face was smeared with ash, but it was still very recognizably Constantine Madden.

“Because my dad killed him,” Call said. “He used the Alkahest.”

The Assembly was entirely silent. Mrs. Tarquin made a choked noise and turned her face away. Master Rufus looked uncharacteristically shocked. Assemblyman Graves looked as though he was about to have a heart attack, and the Rajavis were both staring at Tamara as though they’d never seen her before.

Into the silence, Aaron spoke, his voice higher, cracking a little. “You cut off his head?”