“Whoa,” Nate said. “So you broke the dwarf’s leg with the crossbow, and your leg broke! What about when the dwarf jumped into the wall?”

“That didn’t count. He stored up and released the energy himself.”

“Were you born like that?”

“I used to be an enforcer for the mob,” Mr. Dart said. “We’re talking back in the twenties. One time, we leaned on a guy who happened to be a magician. Not just any magician—pretty much the cream of the crop. We had no idea. He got the upper hand and killed the two guys I was working with. I was next. But he held off. He looks at me strangely and says, ‘You’ve never killed a man.’ I say, ‘That’s right.’ He says, ‘You’ve been using your gifts for unworthy purposes.’ I say, ‘Maybe.’ He says, ‘I killed the killers, but I’ll offer you a way out. Not an easy way out, but a chance to live, a new life.’ I ended up agreeing to his terms.”

“What were they?” Nate asked, fascinated.

“He cursed me so that I would suffer whatever physical harm I inflicted on others. The curse slowed down my aging process—I age more gradually than most magicians, even. And the curse sped up how fast my body heals. This leg will be perfectly mended in a couple of days, even though the dwarf will be lame for months. After placing the curse, the spell caster introduced me to a person in charge of policing magicians, and I have done this job ever since.”

“You went from criminal to policeman,” Nate said.

“Something like that. I’m not proud of my unlawful background. True, I never killed a man, but certain memories make me cringe. I may have been raised wrong, but I should have known better. The curse was just. I try to make up for my past errors by doing this job right.”

“Why did you chase us the night we broke into the museum?” Nate asked.

“As far as I knew, you were in league with Belinda. I was just trying to gather information. You’ll notice, I didn’t hurt any of you. I could have.”

Nate stared at him. “I’ll admit, you’re starting to convince me.”

“I’m telling the truth,” Mr. Dart said. “I can tell you more, but you need to meet me halfway. I need to know we’re on the same side. I can’t have the info I share with you leaking back to my enemies.”

“Okay, we’re getting close to the treasure,” Nate said. “A guy named Hanaver Mills left clues.”

“Hanaver is how my organization knows about the treasure,” Mr. Dart said. “We believe he found it, but chose to help keep it hidden. He did not share exactly where it was located, although he told us what it was. Since my organization is run by magicians, we left the treasure alone. To claim it, even to hide it, would have been a conflict of interest. But somehow word finally leaked out. Now I have to plug the leak.”

“You better hurry,” Nate said. “Mrs. White stole the map to the treasure from me last night.”

“You had a map!” Mr. Dart said, losing his composure for the first time. “Do you know the location of the treasure room?”

“The map was supposedly hidden inside a model ship built by Hanaver,” Nate explained. “We stole the ship from the town library, but before we could investigate it, Mrs. White used a wooden Indian to steal the ship from my house.”

Mr. Dart scrawled something in his notebook. “She may already know the position of the treasure. Are other kids still working for her?”

“The four of us who you chased that night at the museum quit working for her and started helping Mr. Stott,” Nate said. “But she recruited three bullies from our school who are now helping her.”

“Who are they?” Mr. Dart asked.

“Denny Clegg, Eric Andrews, and Kyle Knowles.”

“Could you point them out to me?”

“Sure.”

“What about the others working for Stott? How loyal are they?”

Nate glanced over at Summer. “We should bring them in on this. One is trapped as a reflection. The others are in this room, and, like me, they just want all of this to be over. If we help you, we need you to help us get our friend out of the mirror realm.”

“I’ll try my best,” Mr. Dart said. “I had no idea anybody still knew how to access the space where reflections dwell.”

“I’ve been there,” Nate said.

“Well, yes, I’ll do everything in my power to rescue your friend, and I’ll not be claiming the water from the Fountain of Youth, or any of the other treasure. You would be welcome to destroy it. If there is gold, you would be welcome to keep it. I’m just here to stop the magicians from acquiring it.”

“Hold on a second,” Nate said.

He walked to Summer’s desk and waved Pigeon over. “What’s his story?” Summer asked.

Nate took a deep breath. “First off, I have something to confess. I lost the Stargazer. The wooden Indian from the candy shop broke into my house and stole it. I tried to stop him, but he was too strong.”

“Then Mrs. White has the map,” Pigeon said.

“I’m sorry,” Nate said.

“That must have been scary,” Summer said.

“It was the worst,” Nate said. “My dad was watching and didn’t even get what was happening. He thought I was roughhousing with friends. He just wanted me to quiet down.”

“I’m sure you tried your best,” Pigeon said. “I’m just glad the Indian wasn’t in my house.”

“I think this guy is for real,” Nate said, tilting his head toward Mr. Dart. He recapped all the information John Dart had told him. “I know it’s hard, but I don’t see that we have any options except to trust him.”

“Wow,” Summer said. “I’d say we’re lucky he found us. He may be our only hope.”

“That’s what I think,” Nate said. “If it’s a trick, it’s the best one yet. He might actually be able to get us out of this.”

“You really think Mr. Stott is a bad guy?” Pigeon asked.

“Mr. Dart said that Mr. Stott isn’t bad like Mrs. White, but that he could become dangerous if he drinks from the Fountain of Youth. Considering that Mr. Stott didn’t tell us what the treasure was, my guess is he plans to drink it. I think Mr. Dart is our safest bet.”

“I’m in,” Pigeon said. “Let’s talk to him.”