Story Thieves by James Riley Read Free Book Online Page B

“What can you tell me about all of this?”
    Bethany went absolutely silent, her face bright red. Anything she said now would be seen by every single reader of the book, from now until forever. This was her worst nightmare, worse than forgetting to wear clothes to school or the one where she dreamed that her father was actually Mr. Barberry.
    â€œI . . . ,” she started to say, then froze, her mind blank.
    The Magister smiled gently. “Don’t be afraid. I mean you no harm.” He sniffed the air loudly again. “You smell distant too, though not from as far as your friend. In some ways, you could be from Magisteria. But in other ways, not.” He raised an eyebrow. “You glow with power as well, my dear. Now which would that be? Magic or science?”
    The invisible hands held her tighter, and something electric and cold shot through her spine, giving her the chills.
    â€œNo time for explaining, sorry,” Bethany said quickly, shaking off the odd feeling as she frantically reached for Owen.
    Owen, though, just shook his head, an excited look on his face. “Are you kidding?” he whispered. “We’re not going yet. Kiel is coming. We have to meet him!”
    â€œYou’ll pay for this, Sebastian,” Dr. Verity said, almost spitting with hate. “My infinite armies will attack Magisteria with or without me! I don’t care where you imprison me. I’ll find a way out and will destroy all who profane reality with that blasphemy you call magic. You, that boy of yours, this whole science-forsaken planet of Magisteria—”
    The Magister sighed. “I take no pleasure in doing this, Verity. But you leave me no choice in the matter. You’re fartoo dangerous.” The Magister gestured, and the destroyed spell book on the podium popped back into existence, then flipped pages faster than Bethany could see, finally landing on a page called “Exile from All Reality.”
    Dr. Verity’s eyes widened. “You wouldn’t! Kill me instead!”
    â€œSo your death can trigger further clones of yourself, as it has for centuries?” the Magister asked with his gentle smile. “I think not. In exile, you’ll never age, or hunger, or thirst. Time will stand still, and you’ll find yourself with far more freedom than those you would make war against. Freedom to reflect on the choices that have brought you here.” He patted Dr. Verity on his cheek. “After all, freedom is the right of all beings, is it not?”
    â€œI think Optimus Prime said that,” Owen whispered to Bethany. Bethany elbowed him in the gut, hard.
    The Magister began his spell. Dr. Verity tried to scream, but the sound was lost as the scientist slowly faded away. The chains, having nothing to hold on to, fell to the floor with an enormous clatter.
    â€œUm . . . I thought there was supposed to be a seventh book,” Owen whispered to Bethany. “It’s coming out in a week, and Kiel was supposed to have a big final battle with Dr. Verity. How’s that going to happen now?”
    She shot him a look of pure hatred, but it didn’t even register with Owen. The Magister, however, registered just fine. “A book, you say?” the old man asked. “With Kiel and Dr. Verity? What book would that be, then?”
    This was all far too far. Whatever spell had been holding her had disappeared when the Magister had exiled Dr. Verity, so Bethany leaped right at Owen, her hands spread wide. The boy jumped backward in surprise, but she tackled him around his waist and kicked them both right up out of the book.
    They crashed out of the book’s pages and onto the carpet of Owen’s bedroom, landing hard enough to knock the air out of Owen. Bethany quickly sat up, grabbed Owen’s shirt, and shook him back and forth. “WHAT DID YOU DO?” she screamed.
    â€œBoof !” Owen said, not able to form words