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all from ever opening the Vault of Containment hidden beneath Quanterium and unleashing the greatest power known to all of mankind: the Source of Magic.
    Kiel would have to know!
    Over the hills of Magisteria, through the Forbidden Space separating Quanterium from the magic planet, and into the Cities of Science traveled a new spell, searching for Kiel. The spell passed beyond Quanterium’s atmosphere, back into the nothingness of space, then beyond even that, to true nothingness, to the end of space itself, to Charm’s ship, the Scientific Method , and then past, to whatever lay beyond everything, and into Kiel’s mind.
    â€œI hope I’m not disturbing you,” the Magister said through the magic, directly into Kiel’s thoughts, “but I found a clue to the Seventh Key’s location. Youmust locate the Original Computer on Quanterium.”
    â€œThe original what?” Kiel thought back. “Sorry, I’m having a bit of trouble thinking, since I’m beyond the edge of existence. I’m not even really sure that I’m existing myself right now.”
    The Magister smiled to himself. “You are thinking, therefore you are existing,” he said. “Do what you need to, but you must find the very first computer ever created. Listen closely, as this information is of the utmost importance!”
    Owen reached over and grabbed the book from her hand before she could turn the page. “See?” he said. “It’s the perfect time to sneak in. He’ll never even know, because he’s doing all kinds of magic and talking to Kiel. In and out, five minutes. Ready?”
    â€œReady,” Bethany said, inwardly terrified. This was such a bad idea.
    But maybe . . . maybe things would go better than she expected. Maybe it’d even be fun to do a little magic, and they’d laugh and have a good time, and maybe—probably not, butmaybe—she’d find that Owen really could be trusted, might even be a friend. That’d be nice, wouldn’t it? To have someone to hang out with in books? To talk about things? Maybe even help her look for her father?
    She smiled, strangely optimistic. Could this be the first time in her life where things actually went well?

CHAPTER 7
    B ethany took the book from Owen at the marked page, then began to push in with one hand, holding the other out to him.
    Owen took her hand, and then as soon as her head went inside, grabbed the baseball bat he’d left on his bedroom floor. There was no way he was going to face down Dr. Verity without some kind of weapon. The guy had beaten Kiel Gnomenfoot like five times already, and had all the powers of science on his side. The least Owen needed was a bat. A metal bat. It was perfect.
    Now armed, Owen took a deep breath and followed Bethany in. This time they went slower into the book, and he could feel his fingers, then his arm, melting into words, then those words pouring out over the page like brownie batter. When his head went through, though, it was more like stepping through abubble. First he was in his bedroom, then a tingling, and there he was, standing in the upside-down tower of the Magister.
    The Magister’s study could have stepped right out of Owen’s imagination, if rooms could step. Every wall had bookcases, and every bookcase overflowed with books, almost all of which held spells or potion recipes or a million other things that Owen would have given almost anything to read. Potions bubbled over small flames in various places, and dark shadows snapped and bit at the metal bars of their cages. Kiel’s winged cat, Alphonse, sat cleaning himself on a table, ignoring them. And the Magister himself stood staring into nothing, his mind communicating by magic with his apprentice beyond the end of the universe.
    Owen knew that above them, where the upside-down tower met the underside of a cliff, thousands of magical traps awaited any unauthorized visitor. He