Page 36 (1/2)

They began to walk

This was pretty much exactly what his father had warned him about

"You knohat Itheir way past concretions that looked like tattered tapestries "It’s going to sound super laer and aout in the backyard in the grass," Call said "And video ga tiive uys grew up in"

Aaron snorted "Not like where I grew up"

"Iblue globe of water, "I grew up in a town full of people eren’t es es for one another, but other than that, it was noro online," Call said It was such a regular, non-fancy way to waste ti fun, he ih he wasn’t exactly sure what that was or hoas different froular pony

Tamara smiled at him "Well, they didn’t exactly let me…"

Call wanted to know more about that, but as he opened his ht of the remarkable room that had just appeared in front of hie, the ceiling carved to be vaulted like the ceiling of a cathedral There were five tall archways, each flanked by marble pillars, each inlaid with a different old The walls were marble, indented with thousands of human handprints, a nairl with long, hipped hair was in the center of the room Her face was upturned The plaque beneath her read: Verity Torres

"What is this place?" Aaron asked

"It’s the Hall of Graduates," said Ta around, her expression awed "When apprentices becoes, they come here and press their handprints into the stone Everyone who’s ever graduated froisteriuh the roo for their nah up the wall, too high for Call to reach His father et his hand there A sined his father, this very young version of his father, flying just to show he could

He was surprised that his mother’s handprint wasn’t next to his father’s, since he assumed they’d been in love even as students -- but maybe the handprints didn’t work that way It took a few minutes more, but finally he found it, over on a far wall -- Sarah Novak, pressed into the base of a stalagmite, the name scrawled in a fine point, like it had been done with a weapon Call crouched down and rested his hand inside the place his ers fit neatly inside the phanto as hers had been at seventeen

He wanted to feel so, with his hand pressed inside hisat all

"Call," Talanced back at his two friends Both of them had the same concerned looks on their faces He knehat they were thinking, knew they were feeling sorry for hi off Ta his throat

"Look at this" Aaron was standing in the e archwaywhite stone Carved across the front were the words Pri out the other side with a curious look "It’s an archway to nowhere"

"Prima materia," Tamara murmured, and her eyes widened "It’s the First Gate! At the end of every year at the Magisteriuate It’s for when you’ve learned to control your et your Copper Year arate early? Aed at him "I don’t think so It doesn’t seem like it’s activated" They all squinted at it It stood there, being a stone archway in a dark rooree that it didn’t see like that on the map?" Call asked

Aaron shook his head "I don’t reh we found a landmark, we’re just as lost as before?" Tae, lizardy thing with shining eyes and flames all down its back and … eyebrows