Story Thieves Read Online Free

in a blur, mostly because Owen didn’t even bother trying to pay attention. Instead, he went through all his favorite books in his head, trying to pinpoint which one they should go into first.
    Obviously, Harry Potter would be near the top of the list. Not even to Hogwarts, just to Ollivanders for a wand. That’d be perfect. Next, The Lightning Thief . And The Graveyard Book , and a trip to Fablehaven , and—
    And then Owen stopped short, right in the middle of the sidewalk as he walked home from the bus. What was he thinking? What was everyone at school talking about? The seventh Kiel Gnomenfoot book, out next week. And why? Because they all wanted to find out if the Magister had lived, and if not, to see Kiel get revenge on Dr. Verity.
    But what if . . . what if someone saved the Magister from Dr. Verity? What if Bethany brought Owen into the book right at the moment when Dr. Verity attacked, and Owen stopped him?
    He would be a hero. A hero in a book. A hero in a book that everyone read.
    Owen’s mouth dropped open, and pure joy exploded in his chest. This would be huge . Bigger than saving Dumbledore, since Dumbledore came back anyway as a ghost or whatever. The Magister was like everyone’s favorite character after Kiel. It might even change how the books ended!
    That was it. None of the tourist, autograph type stuff. Clearly, Owen had been pulled out of his boring world for exactly this reason. It was meant to be. Fate or something. He’d been chosen, and it was time to save the greatest wizard ever, the Magister.
    And all Owen had to do to make it happen was convince Bethany to take him.

CHAPTER 4
    B ethany stood outside the library’s sliding doors, watching Owen at the front desk. He wasn’t actually doing anything, just staring off into space like he always did in class. Daydreaming.
    When was the last time she’d daydreamed? Bethany couldn’t actually remember. Why imagine a world in your head when you could just go visit another one in a book?
    Of course, to do that, you had to sneak the book into your house to make sure you didn’t get caught by your mother, who absolutely forbade you from ever jumping into another book. And then you’d have to hide it from her at all times, waiting to actually jump into it until there was no chance she’d catch you missing.
    Bethany sighed, smushing her face against the library’s window. Maybe daydreaming was better.
    This was going to be bad, talking to Owen about . . . everything. The how and, even worse, the why. But there was no way to avoid him, not with him working in the library. Without money, the library had always been the only way to get more books. And without new books, she’d never find what she’d been looking for.
    She sighed again. Either she stopped sneaking books and gave up her search, or she disobeyed her mother and felt horrible. At least feeling horrible would eventually go away.
    It had to, didn’t it?
    This was dumb. She’d just tell Owen enough to satisfy his curiosity, then bribe him so he’d leave her alone. She dropped a hand into her pocket to make sure the Everlasting Gobstopper she’d taken from Willy Wonka’s factory was still there. Candy that’d never lose its flavor or get smaller, no matter how long you sucked on it? That seemed like a good trade-off for keeping your mouth shut.
    For just a moment she watched Owen smile at someone as he checked out their books, and she felt a little sick. There hadn’t been many people lined up to be her friend, not since her birthday party all those years ago. After the party her mother hadn’t let her out of the house without watching herclosely, and she’d even pulled Bethany out of school for the next few years. And here was Owen, someone who might be fun to talk to, or even come with her when she searched through books. But instead, she was bribing him to stay away. Great.
    Ugh. Why