“I asked the same question thefirst time I saw one. That leprechaun still sends me hate mail.”I laugh but then quickly turn away from him. Maybe that’s rude, but Iwon’t forget what he said to me in front of his dad.“Don’t be like that,” says Dylan. “Who do you think vouched for youwith my father? I told him how Lara and her dumb friends were teasingyou.”Dylan is the witness Director Van Helsing was talking about? He’s thereason I wasn’t punished for my fire illusion? I turn back to face him. “Thisisn’t a joke to me, okay? You can’t be mean to me one second and then nicethe next. I don’t know if I can trust you. Or anything you told me.”Dylan goes quiet and I turn back to Agent Fiona.“In a moment I’m gonna show ye five faces,” she says to the leprechaun.“Point out the one who took your pot of gold.”He nods. “Gotcha.”Agent Fiona gives the far wall a knock and it shifts into clear glass,revealing a strange group of people. Things? Creatures?First is an actual bear. Beside it is what looks like a man in a cheapChewbacca costume. Next to him is Bigfoot from the hallway. Then anotherbigfoot, only its fur is gray, and it’s dressed in a fancy red suit and sipping acup of tea. At the end of the row is a personsized ant in a trench coat.An actual ant that’s taller than I am.How did I never have any idea that all of these things exist?“That’s him!” shouts the leprechaun. “Right there in the Tshirt andjeans!”Agent Fiona gives the transparent wall three knocks and Bigfoot is ledaway grumbling. The other bigfoot, the gray one wearing the suit, just rollshis eyes and adjusts his monocle.Agent Fiona is about to tell us something when the gray bigfoot stepsinto the room.“Melanie, darling,” he exclaims. “When they told me it was you out hereI simply had to come say hello.”“Sorry to keep draggin’ ye down here every time your cousin gets out ofline,” says Agent Fiona. “I know it’s a hassle.”“Nonsense,” says the gray bigfoot with a wave of his hand. “Gives me achance to try to talk some sense into him. Crime doesn’t pay and all that.Falls on deaf ears but, as they say, you can never give up on family—” Hegasps as his eyes land on me. “As I live and breathe. Is that the AmariPeters?”I wince as Agent Fiona says, “That’s her, all right.”The gray bigfoot sweeps into an elaborate bow. “Allow me to introducemyself. I am Sir Francis Sasquatch III of the Yellowstone National ParkSasquatches. Formally knighted in both Faerie Courts. An absolute pleasureto meet you. Sweetheart, you’re all anyone’s talking about.”“Really?” I say.“A magician at the Bureau? The gossip practically spills itself!”What kind of gossip, I wonder.“Well, I simply must be going, but if you’re ever in the market for a goodcave hideout with reliable escape routes, or maybe even a nice undergroundlair off the beaten path, I’m the woodland realestate agent to the stars,honey. Think of me when you’re done playing at this Junior Agent businessand looking to start your criminal empire in style. Good or evil, when itcomes to clients I don’t pick sides. Here’s my card. Toodles.”I take his notebooksized business card and frown. A hideout? Anunderground lair? Is that what people think of me? That I’m destined to bethe supernatural world’s next supervillain?Agent Fiona leads us back into the main hallway. We follow it past theBriefing Auditorium to the tall wooden door protecting the Great Vault thatAgent Fiona says is impenetrable. We end up at an area that’s glassed off, with people passing in and out of glass doors. “This is the Operations Bay,”says Agent Fiona. “The central hub where the Director and AssistantDirector oversee the missions carried out by our agents around the globe.We have outposts on every continent.”“Even Antarctica?” I ask.“Especially Antarctica,” answers Agent Fiona. “One of the seven greatbeasts, the abominable snowman, has been hibernating there for nearlythree centuries, and sedatives must be given on a monthly basis to ensure hecontinues his slumber. He ain’t called abominable for nothin’. Tell ye what,I’ll give ye all a hint. Know your great beasts by heart. It’s a question thatgets asked every year in the finale.”Most of our group presses their faces against the glass to gaze into thehuge space full of men and women sitting at long tables topped withcomputers. Massive screens cover the other three walls, making theOperations Bay look like a NASA control room. One screen has the wordsHelmet Cam written at the top and shows agents in gray suits raiding ahaunted house. Zombies pour out of doorways and the agents keep slicingthem to dust with burning swords. Another screen shows a smirking elderlyman in a dusty rocking chair. This one is labeled Moreau Interrogation.That must be Moreau, the magician.Like me.“Is that really him?” Billy asks with a shudder. “Is it really Moreau?”“It’s gotta be!” says Brian Li. “Who else is that creepy?”“I just hope wherever he is,” comes another voice, “it’s far away fromhere.”“Far?” says Dylan. “Heck, he’s right here in this building.”Nearly the whole group gasps.Agent Fiona puts both hands on her hips and presses her lips tight.“That’s not for ye to go around repeating.”Dylan nudges me with his elbow and says, “Well, maybe if the Bureauwere better at catching his apprentices, my sister wouldn’t still be missing.”I watch for Agent Fiona’s reaction.She sets her jaw. “One more word from ye, little Van Helsing, and I’llthrow ye right outta these tryouts. I don’t care who your father is.Understood?”Dylan folds his arms but stays silent. Agent Fiona might be upset, but she didn’t deny Dylan’s claim. Maybehe was telling the truth about the Bureau knowing who took my brother—Moreau’s apprentice.Which means this is my chance to get some answers. But I can’t let herknow what Dylan told me. That stuff is supposed to be classified. So I clearmy throat and say, “Has Moreau said anything at all about Quinton andMaria’s disappearance?”Agent Fiona sighs and shakes her head. “These talks are nothin’ morethan a formality. We question him once a week and he refuses to answer asingle question—says the Bureau is the enemy of all magicians.”No wonder he won’t answer their questions. They’ve been sendingagents to interrogate him—but agents are the reason he’s locked away. Anidea pops into my head. There might be an upside to my being a magician.“Could I talk to him?” I ask. The rest of my tour group gawks at me but Ifocus on Agent Fiona. “Maybe he’d be willing since I’m also a magician?”If the whole supernatural world thinks I’m destined to be a villain anyway,maybe Moreau will too, and say something that could help us find Quintonand Maria.Agent Fiona raises an eyebrow. “Not a chance, Peters. You’re on shakyground as it is. There’s no way the higherups are gonna risk ye beingcorrupted by the single most dangerous being on the planet.”“Who says I’d be—”I stop short as the hallway darkens and red lights begin to flash above us.What’s going on? A siren blares, making me jump.“Agent Fiona!” shouts a Junior Agent running up the hall.“Tristan,” says Agent Fiona. “What’s happened?”“There’s been an attack on one of our outposts,” he replies. “Thirtyhybrids have overrun the place.”“Thirty?” Agent Fiona’s face blanches. “How’s that possible?”He shrugs. “The Director wants all Senior and Special Agents to report tothe Operations Bay immediately.”The rest of the tour is canceled. Instead, we’re taken into a large computerroom. But my mind is still back at that red alert.If the Bureau refuses the trade, no one is safe. That’s what the letter said,according to Dylan. The way Agent Fiona fussed at him, he had to betelling the truth. Just who is this apprentice that has my brother and Maria?And what’s going to happen if we don’t find them soon?An agent sits at a desk at the front of the room, speaking in the mostboring monotone I’ve ever heard. “I’m sure the red alert you allexperienced must have been very disconcerting. Rest assured that we’ve gotthe very best people looking into it. Rather than have you kids idle, we’vemoved up tomorrow’s Supernatural Knowledge examination to today. Doremember this is merely a diagnostic, meaning no studying was required. Itwill merely serve to inform us where you currently stand.”As much as I try to tell myself this exam doesn’t count, I get morediscouraged with each question. How am I supposed to know which twogreat beasts reside in the Atlantic Ocean? Or how old Merlin is? Or evenwhat date the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs was founded?Not to mention I keep getting distracted by the fact that Moreau isliterally in the same place as I am. There’s got to be a way for me to findout what he knows.When the exam is over, we’re called into the office at the back of theclassroom to meet with the instructor. Lara is first up and returns a fewminutes later redfaced. “A measly eightythree,” she tells Dylan. “I told thatridiculous tutor we were focusing on the wrong things. When I see Daddy,I’m demanding a new one.”If not even Lara could ace this test, I’m not looking forward to my ownscore. Unfortunately, I’m called in next.“Take a seat, dear.”I do. As the instructor taps away at her computer, I brace myself for theworst. “I know I probably didn’t do all that well . . .”The instructor nods. “You’d be correct. You scored a four out of onehundred. And that’s probably due to a few good guesses, am I right?”I nod. A four?!The instructor keeps typing away, not a trace of sympathy in her voice.“Just means you’ll need to devote a good bit of your time to studying inorder to perform well during the exam section of the finale. I won’tsugarcoat it, dear, you’ve got quite the uphill battle ahead. Especially givenyour supernatural ability situation. I’ll write you up a list of books to checkout at the library. I suggest you begin your studies as soon as possible.”The list she gives me is the length of my arm. I’m supposed to read all ofthese? When will I have time to search for Quinton?I leave the office in a daze.My phone buzzes inside my pocket. It’s another message from themystery girl.New Message from magiciangirl18:Bummer on failing the test. Wouldn’t you rather belearning the truth about magicians?About Moreau?I spin around, searching the classroom. I look to Lara, then Dylan, thentheir circle of friends. Not a single person is on their phone right now. I typeup a quick response.From: Amari_PetersHow do you know that? Are you here too?And what do you know about Moreau?The response is nearly instant as I scan the other trainees to see if anyonepicks up their phone. No one does. I glance down at the message.New Message from magiciangirl18:First, you have to prove you can keep a secret.Don’t tell anyone about my offer and I’ll contact you when thetime is right.