loser.”
“Will you show me your science fair project now?” Vincent said.
“Hell, no!” Barnaby said. “I just wanted to see if you’d actually do it.”
The shock on Vincent’s face was so delightful to Barnaby that he burst out laughing. Vincent swung a fist at the bully, but Boots grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back.
“I’ve got him,” the bodyguard said, and Vincent looked up to see Bruno approaching with a teacher. “This is the guy who beat up Thomas.”
“Looks like somebody’s in trouble,” Barnaby said, and he laughed again.
• • •
Vincent sat on the bench outside the office, waiting for judgment. He might get a week’s detention, if he was lucky. If he was unlucky, the principal would make an example of him and have him suspended.
But that wouldn’t be the worst of it. His parents would be called, and he’d probably spend the rest of his natural life in the Chapel. Which, if what the pixies had said was true, wouldn’t be that much longer.
“Boy, am I going to get it,” Vincent said.
“You’re not wrong there,” a familiar voice replied.
Vincent was getting used to voices from behind catching him off guard. He looked up, and saw the pixie Nod hovering above him.
Now what? he thought.
“That couldn’t have been pleasant, being ordered to hurt your friend,” Nod said, landing on the bench beside him.
“How do you know about that?” Vincent asked.
“I’ve been following you,” Nod said. “We always follow people who have an obyon in them, in case they’re ordered to fight us. You didn’t tell the elf about our meeting, did you?”
“Nope,” Vincent said. “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt me.”
“Or us,” said Nod. “So why did he order you to attack that boy?”
Vincent quickly told the pixie about Barnaby and his project, and his failed attempt to win his trust.
“I don’t think it’s your government,” Nod said when Vincent had finished. “Even if they knew about the Portals, and wanted to hide them, they’d only be able to hide the Portals in this country. But a large corporation, one with offices worldwide, they might have the resources to cover all the Portal Sites up.”
“A big company … ” Vincent said. “You know, Barnaby’s dad works for a really big company called Alphega Corp. Their corporate headquarters are out in Brampton. Could they be hiding the Portal Site?”
“That depends,” Nod said. “How big is their headquarters?”
“Big,” Vincent said. “Really big.” He remembered the two times his family had driven past the towering structure on their way to the Titanic movie theater. They did a lot of protests at the Titanic .
“Then we should check it out,” Nod said, taking to the air. “Let’s go.”
Nod flew off toward the nearest exit. Vincent stood up to follow, then hesitated. He was in enough trouble as it was. If he left the school now …
“Priorities,” Vincent told himself. “The world is ending, after all.”
Satisfied, he hurried after Nod.
The Alphega Corporate Headquarters was a large, imposing building, located in the Toronto suburb of Brampton. It towered over the surrounding industrial buildings, and was three times as wide as the nearest warehouse.
“It’s a good bet,” Nod said, “the portal’s in there. They probably built this building around it.”
Vincent nodded but said nothing. His attention was on the main entrance, where two armed guards paced back and forth. Vincent crouched beside a car in the parking lot, which covered even more space than the building itself. It had taken them two hours on several buses to get to the lot’s perimeter, and another half an hour to cross it on foot. And it was only when they arrived that they saw a bus dropping people off at the main entrance.
“How was I to know?” Nod had said when confronted with Vincent’s foul temper. “I never take the bus.”
“We have to find another way in,” Vincent said, watching as an
“Will you show me your science fair project now?” Vincent said.
“Hell, no!” Barnaby said. “I just wanted to see if you’d actually do it.”
The shock on Vincent’s face was so delightful to Barnaby that he burst out laughing. Vincent swung a fist at the bully, but Boots grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back.
“I’ve got him,” the bodyguard said, and Vincent looked up to see Bruno approaching with a teacher. “This is the guy who beat up Thomas.”
“Looks like somebody’s in trouble,” Barnaby said, and he laughed again.
• • •
Vincent sat on the bench outside the office, waiting for judgment. He might get a week’s detention, if he was lucky. If he was unlucky, the principal would make an example of him and have him suspended.
But that wouldn’t be the worst of it. His parents would be called, and he’d probably spend the rest of his natural life in the Chapel. Which, if what the pixies had said was true, wouldn’t be that much longer.
“Boy, am I going to get it,” Vincent said.
“You’re not wrong there,” a familiar voice replied.
Vincent was getting used to voices from behind catching him off guard. He looked up, and saw the pixie Nod hovering above him.
Now what? he thought.
“That couldn’t have been pleasant, being ordered to hurt your friend,” Nod said, landing on the bench beside him.
“How do you know about that?” Vincent asked.
“I’ve been following you,” Nod said. “We always follow people who have an obyon in them, in case they’re ordered to fight us. You didn’t tell the elf about our meeting, did you?”
“Nope,” Vincent said. “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt me.”
“Or us,” said Nod. “So why did he order you to attack that boy?”
Vincent quickly told the pixie about Barnaby and his project, and his failed attempt to win his trust.
“I don’t think it’s your government,” Nod said when Vincent had finished. “Even if they knew about the Portals, and wanted to hide them, they’d only be able to hide the Portals in this country. But a large corporation, one with offices worldwide, they might have the resources to cover all the Portal Sites up.”
“A big company … ” Vincent said. “You know, Barnaby’s dad works for a really big company called Alphega Corp. Their corporate headquarters are out in Brampton. Could they be hiding the Portal Site?”
“That depends,” Nod said. “How big is their headquarters?”
“Big,” Vincent said. “Really big.” He remembered the two times his family had driven past the towering structure on their way to the Titanic movie theater. They did a lot of protests at the Titanic .
“Then we should check it out,” Nod said, taking to the air. “Let’s go.”
Nod flew off toward the nearest exit. Vincent stood up to follow, then hesitated. He was in enough trouble as it was. If he left the school now …
“Priorities,” Vincent told himself. “The world is ending, after all.”
Satisfied, he hurried after Nod.
The Alphega Corporate Headquarters was a large, imposing building, located in the Toronto suburb of Brampton. It towered over the surrounding industrial buildings, and was three times as wide as the nearest warehouse.
“It’s a good bet,” Nod said, “the portal’s in there. They probably built this building around it.”
Vincent nodded but said nothing. His attention was on the main entrance, where two armed guards paced back and forth. Vincent crouched beside a car in the parking lot, which covered even more space than the building itself. It had taken them two hours on several buses to get to the lot’s perimeter, and another half an hour to cross it on foot. And it was only when they arrived that they saw a bus dropping people off at the main entrance.
“How was I to know?” Nod had said when confronted with Vincent’s foul temper. “I never take the bus.”
“We have to find another way in,” Vincent said, watching as an
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