OKAY, TELL ME WHAT YOU can see,” a familiar girl’s voice said as Fort watched through her eyes, his mind in a dreamy haze.
“Whoa!” said a red-haired boy with closed eyes who stood in front of the girl. He quickly raised his arms and began to flap them. “I’m flying! How are you doing this? I’m really flying! It feels completely real!”
The girl laughed gently. “That’s because it is real, as far as your mind knows. Think about it: Your senses tell your brain what exists outside your body. If I fool your brain with a little magic, how would you know my illusions aren’t real?”
The boy broke into a wide grin as he swung his arms around in place, like he was gliding. “This is amazing,” he said. “Can you see what I’m seeing?”
The girl grinned, and Fort could feel how much fun she was having. “Of course. I’m the one creating the scene in your head. You’re just seeing what I’m imagining, Michael.” She turned to a dark-haired boy off to the side, who was paging through one of the books of magic, ignoring the rest of them. “You want to try next, Damian?”
“No thanks,” he said quietly, not looking up. “I don’t have time to play.”
The girl felt a pang of annoyance at this but wasn’t exactly surprised. Damian avoided the other three whenever he could. She couldn’t tell if he didn’t like them, or just really was that intent on studying his magic, but whichever it was, she was torn between wanting to help him and punching him in the face.
“I wouldn’t exactly call it playing,” said another familiar voice. Fort looked up through the girl’s eyes to find Dr. Opps smiling down at her and Damian. “Think of the uses for something like this. There’d be no need for anesthetic in surgery, not if the patient had no idea they were being operated on. We could send someone to space, and the rest of the world could witness it through their eyes.”
“You could also sneak into places pretty easily,” the girl said, and Michael laughed. Damian threw her a look that she couldn’t read, and for some reason, it made her feel guilty for joking. Ugh. The punching side was winning now.
“That’s not why we’re here, Sierra,” Dr. Opps said, and Fort gasped silently. This was Sierra’s memory he was seeing? “These books are a gift, and we have to use them for the betterment of humanity, not to break into banks.”
“I never specifically said banks,” Sierra said, grinning at Michael. “It’s not like I’d need the money, not if I could trick someone into thinking I’d paid them in their mind.”
“Could you be serious for one minute?” Damian asked her, his look even darker this time. “Dr. Oppenheimer is trying to make a point.”
“Well, how exactly is Destruction magic supposed to help humanity?” Michael asked, creating a sword of fire in one hand and swinging it around the room. “I mean, sure, I can protect people with my powers, I guess, but—”
“Is that what you call what you did to my office, Michael?” Dr. Opps asked, smiling gently. “Protection?”
Michael blushed, and the fire sword disappeared. “That was an accident.”
“And a good lesson for why we train,” Dr. Opps said. “Sierra, I think it’s time we move on to mind reading, shall we?”
Michael’s eyes widened, and he slowly moved toward the door. “I really should go, um, study or something,” he said quietly.
Sierra gave him an innocent look. “What’s wrong, Michael? Got things in your head you don’t want me to see?”
“Well, yes?”
“You won’t be reading their minds, of course,” Dr. Opps said. “As usual, I’ll be thinking of random numbers, and I want you to confirm that you can see them.”
Sierra sighed, hating this lesson. Of all the things she could do with the spell, why did mind reading have to have the most tedious training? Dr. Opps closed his eyes, and she concentrated on him, already feeling bored. There were so many possibilities, and here she was, reading out numbers like a stage magician.
1829228, Dr. Opps thought, holding a finger to his forehead unnecessarily. Sierra threw a glance at Michael, and they both hid their smiles. Damian just rolled his eyes.
“1829228,” she said out loud.
“997 and a lot more numbers,” Sierra said, feeling even more restless.
“Sierra, please,” Dr. Opps said. “This is important. We have to determine the limits of your Telepathy when you use the magic. Now concentrate, and tell me my full thought this time.”
“Yes, Dr. Opps,” she said, and glanced over his mind again. “3980890182121, and then something about how Michael needs to stop picking his nose, because frankly, it’s disgusting.”
“Hey!” Michael shouted. “I didn’t have my finger anywhere near it!”
“Maybe Dr. Opps is reading the future,” Sierra said. “Like those kids in the UK?”
“That will be quite enough,” Dr. Opps said. “Michael, Damian, you’re both dismissed. Try not to burn anything down, Michael. And, Damian, please keep practicing the spell we talked about.”
“Yes, Dr. Opps,” Michael said, while Damian just nodded and left the room right after Michael.
Dr. Opps sat down on the table a few feet from Sierra in his classic lecturing pose, and she sighed internally. This would go a lot faster if she just read his mind instead of waiting for him to yell at her.
This is important work, and I need you to take it seriously, she saw in his mind. Think of the miracles we could accomplish with the power we’ve found. And maybe just as important is the potential for great evil, and that must be avoided at all costs.
“Sierra, this is important work,” Dr. Opps started, but she held up a hand.
“I know, I’ve heard the entire speech already,” she said, then flashed him an apologetic smile. “I get it, I really do. And I want to get better at it, to learn more powerful spells, if just so I can actually stop Michael from all the nose picking.”
Dr. Opps gently smiled at this. “He really does seem to have a problem.”
“Wait till he sets fire to it,” Sierra said, giving him a terrified look. “But I just don’t get why we have to go over the spells I’ve already mastered again and again. Can’t we try something new? Damian’s, like, ten Telepathy spells ahead of me, and he doesn’t have to practice.”
“Damian’s a special case,” Dr. Opps said. “He’s obviously talented, but his usefulness will be in his flexibility, not in his depth. We need you to be our master of mental magic, Sierra.” He patted her shoulder. “If nothing else, I want to see you control Damian’s mind in your next one-on-one challenge. The boy could stand a little humility, I think.”
She snorted. “Done and done.”
“Good,” Dr. Opps said. “Now, since you asked so nicely, let’s change things up a bit. Why don’t you tell me what the boys are up to, along with our resident Healing queen? Don’t think I didn’t notice she didn’t show up today.”
Sierra winced. “I, um, don’t see her right now.” That wasn’t exactly true, but Sierra had promised to cover for her. “But Michael is setting fire to things in the Destruction training room, and Damian . . .” She paused, then gasped.
“What do you see?” Dr. Opps asked her as he jumped to his feet.
Sierra just looked at him. “There’s something in the room with Damian. Something . . . not human.”