Page 39 of The Princess of Portals

“I told you that Conner and I get along better with you here.”

Conner looked at Kato in surprise. “You told her that?” The surprise faded from his face, and he nodded. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

“Ok,” I said, smiling. “Let’s find the Templar.”

I tugged back on the bowstring of our combined magic, preparing to launch a spell into the Fortress.

“If he is still here, we will find him,” I said.

A phone rang. Kato’s hand disengaged from mine. I opened my eyes. He tapped his finger to his arm, releasing his ringing phone from the armor.

“Yes?”

Eris’s voice came out of the phone speaker. “There’s a battle in the Emporium, Kato. It’s between two fighters: the Templar you’ve been looking for and a masked man in a cloak.”

“I’ll be right there,” Kato told her, then reattached his phone to his armor. Magic rippled across the metal plates on his arm, and they absorbed the phone.

I followed him to the door.

Kato watched me. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“With you.”

“You can’t come with me, Seven. That’s exactly what the Templar wants. Why do you think he allowed himself to be seen? He’s trying to lure you to him, so he can finish what he started.”

“He knows where the kidnapped Apprentices are, Kato. You can’t expect me to sit this one out.”

“That’s exactly what I expect. You need to stay here in the Castle where it’s safe. The Knights will take care of the Templar.”

“But—”

“We’ll defeat him, capture him, and make him lead us to the missing Apprentices.”

“He’s very powerful, Kato,” I warned him.

A dark, ominous shadow fell over his face. “So am I.”

Conner slipped past me, joining Kato at the door. “I’ll come with you.”

“Are you sure?”

Conner gave him a flat look. “The missing Apprentices are my friends too, Kato. I am not sitting this one out.”

“If you’re seen, you will be arrested.”

“Then I’d better make sure that I’m not seen.” Conner turned invisible. “Come on. There’s no time to waste.”

But before Kato left, he turned to me. “Promise me you will stay here.”

I crossed my arms roughly over my chest and frowned at him, just in case he didn’t realize how much I hated this plan. “Fine.”

Kato nodded sharply, then walked away. I stood there, listening to his footsteps going down the hall until I couldn’t hear them anymore. Then I went over to the window, sat down, and drank some more of Killjoy’s tonic.

I sat there, waiting and worrying. Time stood still. Five minutes felt like five hours. I turned on the TV to check the news, but the only news was there was still a lot of fighting in the Magic Emporium. Fire and smoke and destruction, but the culprit was still at large.

Minutes or maybe hours later, Nevada came into the rec room.

I jumped to my feet. “Any news?”