THIRTY-FOUR

“Of all the sneaky, low down, dirty magician tricks! Spinach! In my pants! It’s a bloody miracle I wasn’t sitting down!” Professor Reilly’s face was red and flustered. He held the bag of spinach in the air, his eyes wide and wild-looking.

The reaction was even better than Thomas could have imagined. He tried to keep a straight face, but the giggles came on strong. He squawked, a choked gurgling sound, and covered his mouth, trying to hold back the tide. The professor’s expression fluctuated between fury and disbelief. Thomas broke into full-fledged laughter.

“Funny, is it? Messing with an old man’s britches?”

Thomas nodded, his arms and legs pumping with glee. He tumbled from his chair and rolled on the floor in hysterics. The laughter came so hard Thomas could barely breathe. Professor Reilly stared at him. His mouth opened, closed, opened again. Like a fish. A big bearded fish. Thomas laughed harder. He fell back to the ground, his arms and legs jiggly.

“Did I hear correctly? Spinach in the pants?” Huxley walked into the room and looked down. “Thomas, what on earth are you doing on the floor?”

“He’s having a poke at an old man whose only fault is trying to teach him a bit of magic,” said Professor Reilly. He mock-scowled at Thomas, one eyebrow raised. “I suppose I should be grateful that the stuff was in a plastic bag, but on the whole, it wasn’t a particularly nice gesture.”

“Not nice at all.” Huxley’s lips turned up at the corners, just a touch. “We’re going to have to keep a close eye on you, Master Wildus. That much is for certain.”

Professor Reilly’s eyes settled on the table. They widened, and he stared at Thomas once more. “Is that my sandwich? The one with avocado and bacon? I’ve been looking forward to that all day.”

Thomas’s laughter redoubled, and this time even Huxley joined in.

• • •

The afternoon sun descended toward the peaks of the distant mountains, bathing the sky in bright blue as Thomas finished his Ba Gua form. He’d only done a few minutes of work, but as usual, the practice left him feeling better than when he started. He sat down on the wooden bench at the edge of the garden and picked up the book Professor Reilly had given him. Quantum Physics and the Quest for Infinity. Not exactly light reading, but an interesting way to fill the time between practice sessions.

“Thomas! How are you?”

Thomas looked up. “Adelia. Hey! I’m doing great. How about you?”

“I’m doing wonderfully, thanks.” Adelia smiled, her brown eyes twinkling. “I hear your training is coming along quite nicely.”

“Thanks,” said Thomas, suddenly aware that Adelia hadn’t been around for any of the instruction. When was the last time I saw her? Two days ago? Longer? “We sent Earl back to the zoo today. Huxley had a friend text pictures. It looks like we got him to the right spot.”

“Earl?”

“A statue from the San Diego Zoo,” said Thomas. “A hippo. I summoned him a couple days ago and was finally able to send him back.”

“Oh, right. Yes, Huxley told me about that,” said Adelia. “Very nicely done. It’s hard to imagine all that many reasons to summon something larger than a hippo. You’ve made even faster progress than we hoped.”

“What have you been up to?” asked Thomas. “It feels like I haven’t seen you since the training started.”

“That’s because you haven’t.” Adelia’s smile had a playful quality to it. “How do you feel about surprises?”

“Depends on the surprise, I guess,” said Thomas. “What is it?”

“Something I’ve been working on. I think you’ll like it. Come on, let me show you.” Adelia took Thomas by the hand and pulled him to his feet.

“Where are we headed?” Thomas asked, thoroughly intrigued.

“This way.” Adelia led him into the house, through the dining room, around a corner, and into a familiar hallway. She finally stopped outside of the office where Thomas had come out of hiding. He still hadn’t met Mr. Garibaldi. Maybe that was the surprise, finally getting to talk to the mysterious surveillance expert.

Adelia grabbed the doorknob and flashed a smile so bright it literally seemed to glow. The door opened, and a familiar figure sped at him like a torpedo. Before he had a chance to react, he was being lifted off his feet and squeezed by a pair of wiry arms.

“Enrique! What are you doing here?”