with her right now too.
âYou know, if I werenât here, I bet the two of you would just sit around saying, âOoh, weâre so scared, weâre so scared, what will we do if someone finds us?âââ Jordan accused. He tried making his voice a little quieter, but it rose as he went on. âYou think you know so much more than meâwhat good is all that knowledge if it just makes you scared? What are you ever going to do?â
âWeâre going to . . . to . . . ,â Katherine sputtered.
âWeâre going to skip ahead in time to five oâclock today, so we can hear what Gary and Hodgeâs coworkers say when they get back together,â Jonah finished for her.
âCould you do that for us, Elucidators?â Jordan asked mockingly.
He expected the Elucidators to tell him all over again what they couldnât do. But only one word glowed beside Jonahâs hands:
YES.
ELEVEN
Jordanâs anger evaporated.
âOh, wow,â he breathed. âThatâs so cool. Think how time travel could work with schoolâyou could skip the whole boring day . . .â
âPeople would notice you were missing,â Katherine said. âYou wouldnât get away with it.â
But she sounded more amused than annoyed now. Then she ruined it by turning to Jonah.
âRemember how amazed we were the first time we traveled through time?â she asked. âWe made so many mistakes back in the fourteen hundreds . . . Jordan, just wait until the first time you turn invisible. Thatâs really bizarre too!â
âShouldnât we turn invisible before we skip ahead in time?â Jordan asked. He was proud of himself for thinking of this.
And Jonah and Katherine think I donât know anything. . . .
Neither of them looked impressed.
âI guess so, but it probably wonât do any good,â Katherine said. âI bet everyone at Interchronological Rescue has traveled through time. That means theyâd be able to see us anyhow.â
Jordan squinted at her blankly. Had he just then accidentally skipped ahead in time, and missed hearing something about traveling through time and being able to see invisible people?
âKatherine, remember, he doesnât know anything about the rules of time travel,â Jonah said impatiently. He turned toward Jordan, and slowed down his voice like he was talking to a little kid. A really stupid little kid. âSee, Jordan, invisibility only fools time natives. Anyone whoâs ever traveled through time can see invisible people. It looks like theyâre made out of glass or something, but theyâre still visible.â
Jordan was not going to ask what a âtime nativeâ was. He could guess that one. Wouldnât it be someone native to a particular time? Someone who belonged in that moment?
âYouâll see,â Katherine said. âIt really is freaky. Elucidator, make us invisible.â
Nothing changed about Jonah, Katherine, orâJordan looked downâJordan himself. But when Jordan glancedback up, he saw glowing words again near the Elucidators in Jonahâs hands: INVISIBILITY IS NOT A FUNCTION I CAN ACCOMPLISH AT THIS TIME AND IN THIS PLACE.
Jonah winced. âThere is something really weird going on with these Elucidators,â he said. âMaybe we shouldnât use them anymore until we know what it is.â
âWhat, you want to just sit around waiting until five oâclock?â Jordan complained. He had no idea what time it was now, or how far away five oâclock was. Gary and Hodgeâs coworkers had made it sound like it might be hours before they met againâenough time to contact âsourcesâ at the time agency and cover for someoneâs spying. But even if it was just five minutes, Jordan didnât want to wait. He could feel himself getting antsy, like he did during the last