George felt the familiar tingle of teleportation magic, but it was powerfully intense. The tingling was so strong it was like the tingle of blood returning to a limb that had fallen asleep, but all over his body. Yörg was so powerful that George could feel it when exposed to Yörg’s magic, even for a quick teleport. He recalled the talking staff’s comment about being able to find George anywhere in the multiverse–the multiverse! He had called himself the Staff of Xee. George thought that might sound familiar from his studies in Sutter’s Village. If he remembered correctly, Xee was on a list of powerful mages who had lived pre-Society before its founding as government rule by the Sorcerers Born. The history books and lessons at the school in Sutter’ Village didn’t focus too much on pre-Society history. That time period was given only a short description and not very detailed. Who was this Xee? The group of first-time spies materialized somewhere in sub-basement 5 ostensibly, if Yörg had

Tentacles slapped the floor, wet and fast.George struggled in the grip of the orange octopus-thing wrapped around his chest and face. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t see. And most significantly, he couldn’t call out for Yörg.He heard Jellyfish shriek as a green octopus with glistening skin slapped her learning pad out of her hands. “No, no, no, no, no!” She dove after it, grabbed it mid-slide, and rolled under a lab table just as another beast lunged.“Don’t hurt it!” she barked as if the genetically mutated cephalopod would listen to her. “That pad has all the Kraken Cult's genetic research and—ahhh!”A tentacle smashed down on the table above her, spraying shards. Jellyfish gritted her teeth, looked at the pad in her hands… then looked up at the mass of suckered flesh squeezing through the gap after her.“…Mage farts!”She screamed in frustration and whacked the creature with the learning pad. It cracked in two. Data loss warning lights blinked red and died. The octopus shrieked a

George walked through Nereia’s garden confused. He wasn’t sure how he’d gotten there. The last thing he remembered was going to bed after the servants had found beds for the other members of Team Maverick. He heard two male voices ahead, coming from the gazebo. One was very familiar. He hurried along the path to the gazebo.“Father, how are you here?” “Because you’re dreaming, George. I’m really back at our house in Sutter’s Village. But Barolias here invited me to visit you here in this dream.” The second man, seated next to George’s father, was indeed Barolias, but the human form of him, not the elven one. The beard was the same in both forms, though. And this human form did indeed have something of a belly on him. Barolias never spoke, but his eyes gleamed as if he could communicate volumes through them just by looking at you. Right now, George felt curiosity coming from them. “George, you have enemies now,” his father said. “Congratulations! Having enemies such as you have mea

“Maverick looks great today,” Anemone said as she held George’s hand next to him in the Team Maverick area of the seating at the continuation of the robot combat tournament. George was pretty sure that Maverick looked exactly the same as the last time she’d seen him. But, he felt touched that she wanted to compliment him, to make him feel good, regardless of whether it was a little exaggerated or not. He remembered what his father had said in his dream last night, that Anemone came from a strong, supportive family that took good care of her. Hopefully, they’d take good care of her when he left Wonderdome. But, George wondered if he could ask her to come with him. He’d had to break up with Melindra when he’d left Sutter’s Village. Melindra couldn’t have come with him, couldn’t go through the kind of magic-less life he had. What about Anemone? Could Anemone adjust to life in the surface world? Or would she be miserable and always feel homesick for Wonderdome? Did he dare ask her to co

It began alternating which of its ten remaining legs had contact with the ground at any given moment, to deny Maverick the chance to tangle any more than he already had. Instead of striking with its legs like spears, the spider lunged its head at Maverick, trying to catch him in its powerful mandibles.With a leap as amazingly far and as high as any he’d performed to get himself and George out of the robot combat arena, Maverick leaped forward and up, clearing the mechanical arachnid’s head and landing on its thorax, still holding the end of his long grappling line that, on its other end, was entangling the spider’s two front legs.“Nice move! Your adaptation of the plan to compensate for enemy tactics is terrific.”“Thank you,” George heard inside his helmet as Maverick ran the length of the spider’s thorax and back and then jumped to the ground, holding the grapple line taught. The spider’s two front legs were not helplessly forced up in the air over its head. The spider tried to pi