THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

happened. And the computer we got sucked into was one that had been discarded. All of them in the room looked as if they were useless or old.”
    Stopping in mid-stride, he reached for my arm. “There were more computers?”
    “Sure. Remember Tony said all those names like Mac, Dell, whatever?”
    His mouth tightened at the mention of Tony’s name.
    I made a mental note not to bring up Tony again until after I convinced Callan that none of us were tek-nah-tees. I pushed the conversation back to what had spurred his interest.
    “There were a bunch of computers in one room plus I saw some newer-looking ones in several classrooms.”  I didn’t pay attention to his hand, hoping he’d leave his fingers where they held my arm. I liked the warm feeling of his skin touching mine and picked up a low vibration, as if the energy lying dormant inside me recognized him.
    “I don’t understand,” he said. “Is this a tek-nah-tee school? Or a museum?”
    “I have no idea. Don’t even know how to spell tek-nah-tee.”
    He rattled it off without thinking, his eyes staring into the distance. “You would know if this school was TecKnati owned. They mark all their possessions with the ANASKO triangle emblem.”
    “What’s that look like?”
    “Three circles and an A.”  He released me and started walking again, lost in thought. “This makes no sense, but if you truly came here on your own...”
    With Callan sounding open minded about what I’d told him, I decided to jump on this opportunity to make him an offer. “If you’ll let the three of us–me, Tony and Gabby–leave, we’ll take you and the others back with us. We’ll show you the school and the computers. We’ll get you out of here. Then we’ll figure out how to get you back to your world.”
    He turned to me, hope and excitement flickering in his eyes for a moment, until they dimmed and he shook his head. “You arrived in a different transender than I did. We have to travel back through the same one we came here in. The scouts made it clear that to return any other way would result in death.”
    “Why would you believe them? How can using a different one matter?”
    He smiled as if I’d asked a foolish question. “As MystiKs, we may not have entire cities devoted to science and space exploration, but neither are we ignorant of the laws of transitional travel. If we don’t return to our world through the same path, our molecules would rearrange. We might either die slowly or explode upon arriving.”
    Not good.
    Transitional travel sounded strange, but not wholly unfamiliar. I’d leave all the technical and scientific discussion for Tony. Right now, I wanted to keep Callan talking and find mutual ground for us to work out an agreement. I had to offer him something worth our freedom. “ If we can get back the way we came, then I give you my word I’ll find a way to help you escape this place.”
    “You make it sound possible.” 
    I heard hope in his voice along with disappointment. I understood. I longed to find out who I was and where I belonged, but a sick worry crawled around inside me, warning that I would never get those answers if I didn’t return to the Institute.
    He asked, “How can you help us go home without SEOH’s permission?”
    “I don’t know what this SEOH is.”
    “He’s the leader of the TecKnati. Each City has its own SEOH, but one is superior to all others. He created the Sphere. He sent us here. He’s the one responsible for the deaths of our children.”
    “Sounds inhuman.”
    “He’s human. And he will die.” The brutal chill in Callan’s words told me he would fight for the honor of killing this SEOH himself. He seemed to shake the emotion off and asked, “Something doesn’t make sense. Explain about this school in Albuquerque. Tell me more about where you come from, something that might allow V’ru to fill in what you do not know.” 
    “Who’s V’ru?”
    “He’s an elite member of the records house, revered for his abilities. He has access to all of known history. If there is information on your world and this school, he may have it. But he will need the date the school was opened or something more than just a name.”
    Why hadn’t Callan taken this V’ru to check the transender area? Maybe V’ru wasn’t cut out for fighting croggles.
    Callan wanted information on the school. I dug up what I remembered from my conversation with Hannah on the way to Suarez’s class. That and the green book