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Winter). His students have secretly called him Old Man Winter since one December afternoon when he spent a half hour trying to start up a snow-covered bush with his car keys.
    â€œThe ceremony?” Alysha said. “Simon’s joining the Council?”
    â€œThey haven’t changed their minds about letting him in have they?” Owen asked.
    â€œOh, that!” Ralfagon said. “Of course, of course. Not, that is. As in no, they haven’t changed their minds.” He chuckled. “Okay . . . hoods up and follow me.”
    The three friends walked behind Ralfagon and were almost instantly surrounded by sheets of rain. The raincoats were Union-made especially for this; the hoods let Simon and his friends see fine through the vertical flood.
    Simon sloshed through the growing puddles as he went, marveling at how the coat somehow kept his ordinary, store-bought sneakers from getting wet. He felt a little cold and damp from the moisture in the air, but that was a lot better than getting drenched.
    As they arrived at the Gateway, Simon realized this was his first time so close to one. He was astonished to notice it was almost two-dimensional . . . maybe as thick as a piece of paper. He was tempted to touch its side but feared it would give him a paper cut or, to be more accurate, a Gateway-cut.
    Ralfagon’s front leg moved forward, crossing the surface of the Gateway. Simon and his friends gasped: his leg appeared to have been cut off. Simon looked around the other side of the Gateway and saw no sign of the leg on the other side.
    â€œWait!” Simon shouted. Ralfagon paused in midstride, one leg planted firmly on the rain-coated street and the other . . . gone. “How do we use this?”
    â€œIt’s as easy as it looks,” he said. “Step through, and you’ll be at our destination.”
    Simon glanced over at Alysha and Owen; Alysha’s eyes were wide, but she was poised, ready to follow Ralfagon. Owen, on the other hand, was frowning. Now that he was so close to the Gateway, he probably wanted something more secure than a seat belt. A full-body air bag, at least.
    â€œWhere is your leg now?” Simon asked.
    Ralfagon pointed to the leg on the street. “It’s right here. Oh, this leg?” By the movement of his thigh, it was clear that he was shaking that other leg. Wherever it was. “At our destination. Outside the Board of Administration’s headquarters.”
    â€œYou mean you’re here,” Owen asked, “but one leg is miles and miles away?”
    Ralfagon pulled that leg out and shook it in the air for them. “See? It’s fine.”
    â€œWhat if the Gateway shuts off while we were still going through it?” Owen asked.
    â€œHmm. Interesting question,” Ralfagon said. “Let’s not find out. Come along, now, the Board likes to keep things on schedule.” And with that, he stepped through completely, causing not even a ripple in the blueness.
    Alysha and Simon looked at each other. “Me first, or you?” Alysha asked.
    Simon noticed how Owen was eyeing the Gateway. “Better idea—all three at once.” He took one of Owen’s arms and tilted his head to Alysha.
    She nodded and took the other arm. Working together, they heaved Owen forward as they passed through the blue wall. Linked as I was to their thoughts, I was able to experience the exact sensation of traveling by Gateway. Words fail to describe it.
    That’s not to say that the journey went beyond my abilities to narrate; there simply wasn’t anything to tell. Their Gateway travel from rain-stricken Van Silas Way was effortless, like stepping out from under a waterfall.
    â€œOkay, that was a letdown,” Alysha said.
    Simon and his friends were now in a large field of finely ground gravel, facing a group of men and women: the Council of Sciences. The Keepers of some of the most powerful Books in existence. The respected