The Copper Gauntlet (Magisterium #2)(69)

The backpack. Call grabbed for it, and realized his dad was carrying that, too, slung over one shoulder. He breathed a sigh of relief.

“Do you want me to put you down?” asked Alastair in a low voice.

Call didn’t say anything. Part of him wanted to be set down on his own imperfect feet. Another part thought this was probably the last time his dad would ever carry him.

The stones had given way to a grassy patch beside the Magisterium. They were in front of two doors that had been hammered out of copper. The hammering had been done in a way that left swirls and coils in the metal that looked like flames.

Above the door were the words: HE WHO LOVES NOTHING UNDERSTANDS NOTHING.

Call took a deep breath. “Yeah,” he said.

His dad set him down on his feet and the usual pain shot up his leg. Alastair handed him his backpack and Call slung it over one shoulder.

“I’ve never seen this door before,” Tamara said.

“This is the Assembly entrance to the Magisterium,” said Master Rufus. “It never crossed my mind that any of you would have occasion to use it.”

Over the time he’d been at the Magisterium, Call had cycled through many feelings about it. He’d started out being afraid, then it had come to seem like home, then it had been a refuge from his father, and now, again, it was a place he wasn’t sure he could trust.

Maybe Alastair had been right after all. Right about everything.

Master Rufus tapped his wristband against the doors, and they opened. The corridor inside didn’t look like any of the other Magisterium corridors, with the usual rock walls and packed dirt floors. This corridor was made of polished copper, and each few steps along the way took Call past a symbol for an element — air and metal, fire and water, earth and chaos — with words in Latin running underneath.

Rufus reached a point on the wall that looked exactly like every other point along the wall. He tapped his bracelet again, and this time a door-size piece of metal slid back to expose a room beyond. It was a bare room made of rock, with a long stone bench that ran around the walls.

“You’ll wait in here,” he said. “Master North and Master Rockmaple will return shortly to escort you to the meeting room. The Assembly is gathering now to determine what to do with you.”

Tamara gulped. Her parents were Assembly members. Jasper looked terrified, and even Aaron seemed uneasy.

“I’ll take Havoc,” said Rufus, and held up a hand before Call could protest. “He’ll be perfectly safe in your rooms, which is more than I can say if he’s brought with us. The Assembly is not overfond of Chaos-ridden animals.”

He snapped his fingers and Havoc trotted over to his side. Call gave Havoc a dark look of betrayal.

“Alastair,” said Rufus. “Come here for a moment.”

Alastair appeared surprised, then approached Rufus. The two men looked at each other. Rufus’s change in expression was subtle, but Call thought he could note in the Master’s face that the Alastair he saw was very different from the man Call saw when he looked at his dad. It seemed like he was seeing a boy, maybe Call’s age, with dark hair and mischief in his eyes.

“Welcome back to the Magisterium, Alastair Hunt,” Rufus said. “This place has missed you.”

When Alastair looked back at Master Rufus, there was no anger in his expression. He only looked drained, which made Call’s stomach clench. “I haven’t missed it,” he said. “Look, this whole situation is my fault. Let the kids go back to their rooms and bring me in front of the Assembly. I don’t care what they do.”

“Good plan,” said Jasper, rising to his feet.

“Sit down, deWinter,” said Master Rufus. “You’re lucky Master Milagros isn’t here. She was thinking about having you all dangled over the Bottomless Pit.”

“The what?” asked Call. Jasper sat down hastily, as Master Rufus leaned forward to say something to Alastair, something Call couldn’t hear. Master Rufus backed away with Havoc and tapped his wristband once more against the wall. The door slid shut, sealing them into the room.

Call took a deep breath. He was glad he was going to speak in front of the Assembly. He needed to stay; he needed to explain before someone else explained on his behalf. He needed to show them what they wouldn’t otherwise believe.

Looking over at Jasper, Call tried to guess what he might say to the Assembly. He would definitely bring up the kidnapping — so Call had to just talk first, to get out what he needed to before guards dragged him away. Jasper looked back at him with thoughtful dark eyes.

“What are we going to say?” he said. “I mean, what’s your plan, about telling the Assembly?”

“We tell them the truth,” said Call. “We tell them everything.”

“Everything?” Aaron looked startled. Call felt his stomach tighten further. Had Aaron been prepared to lie for him?

“Call’s right,” said Alastair. “Think about it practically. The worst thing we could do in there is contradict one another. Only if we tell the exact truth will we all be telling the same story.”

“I don’t know why we’re listening to the advice of a wanted criminal,” Jasper muttered.

“We’re all wanted criminals, Jasper,” Tamara snapped, and patted Call’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay,” she said.