“We don’t know that yet,” Charlie said. “But what we can figure out is how long you can hold it for.”
“Let’s try again,” Kallie suggested. “Marcus, go back into the hallway. I want to see if you have to be close to me to be affected, or if time will stop for all demigods anywhere.”
He wandered back out again. Oberi hopped out of the pool and changed into a husky, picking up Rishi by the scruff so he didn’t try to chase Alette again. Kallie stopped time, and we followed her as she maneuvered through the Arboretum.
A couple of students in the hallway were completely frozen, mouths open, still in the middle of conversation. Kallie wandered throughout the hall and experimented, shifting paintings from one wall to another. Nothing was trulystuck—she could grab and move objects just as she could in real time. We spotted Marcus up ahead with his back to us, bouncing on his toes and waiting for us to find him.
Kallie snuck up behind Marcus and grabbed his waistband to yank it down and pants him. Marcus gave a yelp when he felt her hands around his hips.
“Hey!” Marcus shouted, scrambling to hold up his pants.
Kallie snickered, and time resumed again. The students who had paused with the halt of time resumed their walk, acting as if nothing had happened.
“It looks like you can influence things while time is frozen,” I remarked quietly. “But demigods anywhere experience the time anomaly, too.”
Marcus bit his lower lip. “This could be dangerous. If there are other demigods out there, they’ll realize someone else is manipulating time. We have to be careful. We don’t know if other demigods will be allies or enemies.”
Kallie nodded. “I’ll be careful. I’ll only use it when necessary.”
Charlie wore a puzzled look, like he was thinking hard. The expression was endearing to me, and I found it painful to witness, so I forced myself to look down.
“We could use this,” Charlie said. “What if Kallie can freeze time long enough for us to break into the Warden’s office?”
“I can only hold it for ten seconds,” Kallie said. “That’s not enough time for us to search.”
“There’s also a ward on his office, which won’t be easy to get around,” Marcus said. “Stopping time won’t be enough.”
“The Warden thinks other demigods are here. Why don’t we use Kallie’s powers to find out for ourselves?” Charlie asked.
“How?” Kallie asked.
“It’s close to dinner. Most of the inmates are going to be in the cafeteria,” Charlie said. “If we freeze time there, and someone’s not affected, we know they have demigod blood.”
“But that’s risky. Someone could be a demigod that’s our enemy, and they could tell the Warden once they realize Kallie has stopped time,” I said. “Plus, we just agreed Kallie would only use her power when necessary.”
“This is necessary,” Charlie said harshly. “We have to take risks. We can’t keep sitting back hoping things will pan out on their own, because that’s never worked before. Let’s see if we can find any demigods before they figure out what’s happening.”
Before I could argue further, Kallie said, “I think we should do it. Let’s go.”
The cafeteria was full when we got there. I was a jumble of nerves when we snuck in, but the moment Kallie stopped time, everyone in the cafeteria froze in place. It was strange, seeing so many familiar faces frozen like statues. Marcus, Kallie and I scanned the area quickly, but no one moved except us.
I spotted our friends at a table nearby. Opal’s features froze in admiration as she stared across the table at Ez. Chancey’s hand lay on Ivy’s leg underneath the table. He obviously thought he was being discreet about it. I spotted Eddie in the lunch line, eyeing a short warlock with a cane, who must’ve been new here. None of our friends moved.
I quickly scanned the cafeteria for enemies, like Deuce and Naya, but it was so crowded that I didn’t spot them before activity resumed in the cafeteria again. Everyone went back to eating and chatting. Kallie swayed on her feet. Marcus immediately moved close and put his arm around Kallie’s hip to hold her up.
“I have to stop,” Kallie mumbled. “I think I’m going to pass out.”
“That’s fine. We should quit for the day,” Charlie said.
“Who made you boss?” I mumbled under my breath.
“Um, everyone, since you guys voted me Captain,” he replied.
“The Darke Games are over, jackass. We don’t have to listen to you anymore,” I bit back.
“You didn’t listen to me then, either, so I don’t know what the hell’s the difference,” he said, his voice on the verge of a yell.
“Guys,” Marcus said, and he gestured to Kallie. Her eyes were lolling.
