Free The Stolen Chapters by James Riley Page A

fun of me for it,” Owen said, and nodded at Kiel. The magician, still laughing, mumbled the spell and Owen instantly turned back to his normal self. He pushed himself to his feet, then held out both arms in front of him, frowning. “Does the right one still look longer?”
    â€œDefinitely,” Bethany said, wiping the smile from her face. “Like, by at least a few inches.”
    â€œAre you serious?” Owen said, frantically trying to measure them. “Kiel, turn me back, quick . I need to fix this!”
    â€œSo are you ready?” Kiel asked Bethany, ignoring Owen. “You promised we’d do the spell tonight. We can’t keep putting it off forever.”
    Bethany’s joy faded, and a chill went through her body. “Are you sure you don’t want to jump in another story? We could each pick another one. . . .”
    Kiel grabbed Bethany’s shoulders and turned her around, giving her a comforting smile. “Don’t worry,” he told her quietly. “Your father is fine, wherever he is. I’ll use the location spell, we’ll jump into whichever book he’s in, and that’ll be that. You’ll have your dad back home by morning.”
    â€œIt might even be more than a few inches,” Owen said, squinting at his arms.
    Bethany winced. “ If my father’s okay. And if he even wants to come back.”
    â€œOf course he will,” Kiel told her, giving her a confused look. “How could he ever not want to see his daughter?”
    Bethany swallowed hard, not wanting to think of all the reasons. She’d come up with a long list over the last few days, ever since she’d jumped Kiel back into his series to retrieve his old practice spell book. Owen and Kiel had wanted to use the location spell that same night to find her father, but she’d convinced them that they should all pick one last story, since bringing her father back would definitely put an end to their adventures. It was hard enough to hide what she’d been doing from her mother. Her father showing up would pretty much get her grounded for a few hundred years.
    But that wasn’t the real reason. There were too many bad ways this could go, and now that it was finally here, she half expected the worst. Maybe even three-fourths.
    â€œWe can still wait if you’re truly not ready,” Kiel said, but Bethany could see him practically dancing from foot to foot, anxious to finally get on with it.
    â€œNo, let’s just do it. I’m ready enough.” Kiel seemed to believe her lie, so she turned to Owen, who was trying to shove his arm toward his shoulder. “Can you be serious for a second? We’re doing this.”
    Owen flashed a look at her, then straightened up immediately and nodded. “Totally serious. Not that my arm being longer isn’t serious too, but that can wait. Though really, not for much longer.” Still holding one arm, he led the other two to the center of the library, where Bethany turned to look at Owen and Kiel.
    â€œI’ve used this spell before,” Bethany told them. “When I cast it in the Magister’s tower to find Jonathan Porterhouse, the spell created a little ball of light that floated off to the right book. So just be ready to follow it, okay?”
    Kiel looked hurt. “I have used my magic before, you know.” Bethany glared at him, and he shrugged. “But sure, we’ll do what you say.” He then winked at Owen, who giggled, which managed to make her more irritated.
    Kiel pulled a wand from its sheath and began to speak the words for the location spell, as Bethany’s hands and feet both turned to ice. What if her father wasn’t alive? Or what if he was, but he’d moved on and had a new family? Or what if he’d been trapped this entire time, tortured by some evil villain, all because of her? Her heart beat so quickly she almost couldn’t think