SIERRA’S MENTALLY PROJECTED IMAGE followed Fort down the hall after Colonel Charles, and for some reason Fort felt much better having her along.
Where are you two right now? he asked her in his mind.
“Oh, we’re still trying to get a flight to the UK,” she said, stopping to stare into various rooms. “Wow, this place is old, huh? Glad we got nice rooms in NSA headquarters.”
He grinned. How’s the savior of the world?
She rolled her eyes at him. “Give Damian a break. He feels really bad about what happened. And now he’s doing everything he can to make sure we can fight them, if they ever come back.”
Assuming he’s not the one to let them in again. How do you put up with his attitude all the time?
She laughed. “You’d be surprised. Last night, I actually almost got him to talk about where he came from before Dr. Opps brought him to the school. That would have been a major victory.” She clenched her jaw, giving Fort her most serious look. “But no,” she said, mimicking Damian’s voice. “I couldn’t possibly burden you with my secrets. The enemy could pull them from your mind, and then we’d all be lost.”
Fort groaned out loud, forgetting where he was. Colonel Charles turned to give him a questioning look, and Fort coughed to cover it. “Sorry, something caught in my throat at lunch,” he said, turning red as Sierra moved behind Colonel Charles to make faces at the man.
“We’re here, anyway,” the colonel said, and knocked on a random door in a long line of them in a hallway Fort wasn’t sure he could find again with a map. “Gabriel? Can we come in?”
“Gabriel?” Sierra said, raising her eyebrows. “Who’s that?”
Fort shrugged as the door opened, revealing a boy at least a foot taller than Fort, with long dark hair that fell over his face. He was built like a football player, and could probably give the soldiers guarding the school a fight if it came to that. His eyes had dark rings beneath them, as if he hadn’t slept in a while. He saluted when he saw Colonel Charles, and the colonel saluted back. “Yes, sir?” Gabriel said to the colonel.
“Whoa,” Sierra said, moving within inches of Gabriel’s face to give him a closer look. “Look at the size of him!”
“Gabriel Torrence, I’d like to introduce your new roommate,” Colonel Charles said, turning to gesture to Fort. “This is Forsythe Fitzgerald. He’s been at the school before, but only for about a week, so he’ll be joining you first-years in class.”
“He’ll be what?” Sierra said, grinning widely.
“I’ll be what?” Fort said, much less enthused than Sierra.
Colonel Charles gave him a patronizing smile. “From what you’ve told me, you had all the magic erased from your mind during the fight against that creature, back at the old school. So now you’re starting over from scratch. We wouldn’t want the more experienced students being held back, waiting for you to catch up.” He turned back to Gabriel. “Forsythe will be showing you around and tutoring you in Healing. I’ve arranged for special access to the magic book for you both, in the hopes that you can eventually catch up to the second-years and potentially join their class.”
“Tutoring?” Sierra said, raising an eyebrow. “Doesn’t he know you’re terrible at magic?”
Right? Fort thought in shock. What is going on? I don’t have time to tutor someone. And I can’t be his roommate! What if he finds out about the plan?
Gabriel turned toward Fort, who unconsciously took a step back. His new roommate was big. “Nice to meet you, kid,” Gabriel said, smiling slightly, before turning back to Colonel Charles. “Respectfully, sir, I don’t think I need a tutor or a roommate. He might be better off helping someone else.”
“I don’t think you understand, Gabriel,” Colonel Charles said. “I wasn’t asking. Consider this an order.”
Gabriel blinked, then nodded. “Yes, sir. Then I’ll do my best to learn from him.” With that, he gave Fort a look that almost seemed apologetic.
“That’s all the school can ask,” Colonel Charles said, then nodded. “Dismissed. Forsythe, stay out here with me for a moment.”
Gabriel nodded and closed the door as Colonel Charles led Fort a few feet down the hallway. “Gabriel is a special project of mine,” Colonel Charles said, putting a hand on Fort’s shoulder. “He has… a lot of potential, and I’d like to see what might come of it. For that, I think you’re uniquely qualified to help, Forsythe.”
Fort just stared at the colonel in confusion. “You want me to tutor him? Why? Was he born on Discovery Day?”
For a second Colonel Charles looked like he was going to say something, but he seemed to change his mind.
“No, his birthday is in January,” the colonel said. “However, that shouldn’t limit him any more than it does you.” Behind the colonel, Sierra began making faces at him again. “I’d view this as a personal favor if you’ll take him under your wing, Forsythe. Show him around, eat meals with him, become his friend. But most of all, get him up to speed as quickly as you can on magic. Consider Gabriel your top priority at the school, even over your own studies. Do I make myself clear?”
What? Who was this kid? “Not especially, sir,” Fort said, more confused than ever.
“Then consider it an order,” Colonel Charles said, growing irritated. “And if I find out you’re not following my instructions, then we’ll reassess your usefulness in remaining at the school. Does that help clarify things?”
Fort nodded, glaring back at the colonel.
“Good,” Colonel Charles said. “Now go bond with your new roommate. Classes won’t begin until tomorrow, so you’ll have plenty of time today to get to know each other.”
With that, the colonel turned and walked back down the hall they’d come from, with Fort just watching him go, not even sure what to say to any of this.
“Well,” Sierra said, wincing. “This isn’t going to make stealing the book of Summoning any easier, that’s for sure!”