Chapter 14

Summary

• The chapter begins with a confrontation. A gunman inexplicably drops his weapon and seizes up in pain. Willie, Alex and Gabe take action to subdue him and the second kidnapper who's holding Gabe.
• Despite their shock, the neighbor and some other characters react calmly to the situation. They assure one another they won't discuss the incident publicly.
• It becomes clear that the two kidnappers were just following orders from an unknown source, communicated via phone and arranged meetings at a park where the source's face was always concealed.
• Gabe and his friends restrain the kidnappers and interrogate them as they wait for the police to arrive. Once the police arrive, they carry off the criminals, leaving Gabe, Willie, and Alex.
• The three left in the library begin to discuss magic and Gabe's mysterious abilities. They realize that Gabe can manipulate time to dodge danger which has allowed him to survive numerous kidnapping attempts.
• However, this manipulation comes at a cost to Gabe's health as each instance leaves him struggling to breathe and exhausted.
• As they delve deeper into this, Willie theorizes that Gabe's magic may have been a result of a surge in magic that his mother, India, experienced while pregnant with him.
• The chapter ends with the chilling realization that the person behind the attempted kidnappings may be trying to exploit Gabe's unique abilities for study.