The Magic Misfits - Neil Patrick Harris Page 0,14

each of them could. Ridley felt Top Hat nuzzle into her stomach, as if he were terrified, so she placed her hand on the rabbit’s neck. “Because that’s my answer,” Carter went on. “Leave us alone!”

Carter’s uncle Sly tilted his head back and glared down his nose at the group. “That’s how it’s gonna be?”

“That’s…” Carter’s voice began to tremble. “That’s how it’s going to be.”

Uncle Sly stared at Carter for a few long seconds. Ridley was unable to read what was going through the man’s mind, and it scared her to imagine how good he must be at hiding what was in there. Then, with a sigh, Uncle Sly nodded. He held out his arm to the door. “You’re free to leave. I won’t stop ya.”

“You first, mister,” said Ridley.

“As you wish, kiddos.” And with that, Uncle Sly stepped out the theater’s rear exit. But before he swung the door shut again, he called to Carter. “I’ll be in town for a few days, boy. Just in case ya change your mind or something. Find me at the boardinghouse on June Street. Just around the corner.” He paused, his eyes seeming to water, then added, “I really hope ya do.” Then he turned on his heel and closed the door all the way, leaving the Magic Misfits alone in the dark, with only Ridley’s light to see by.

SEVEN

“Are you okay, Carter?” Leila asked, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him into a hug.

Carter managed to speak through the squeeze. “Actually, I think I am. I’ve been worried ever since the beginning of the summer that Sly would come looking for me. It feels like a weird relief knowing it finally happened.”

“A relief?” Ridley asked. “Even if he came here to hurt you?”

“Hurt him?” said Theo. “Did you not hear what the man said? He wants to bring Carter home with him. He said he has changed.”

“You can’t take the word of a man like that!” Ridley felt her voice rising. “People lie, Theo. They lie. All. The. Time. Especially people who want something from you. You should know that more than the rest of us.” The face of Emily Meridian flashed in Ridley’s memory. Theo’s eyes crinkled to angry slits.

“Okay, okay,” said Leila, releasing her cousin from her grasp. She held her hands out as if to create a loop that would bring the group together again. “We’ve just been thrown a curveball. First the Kalagan stuff. And now the return of Carter’s uncle.” She led them outside, peeking her head into the alley to check for Sly first. “What do we do about it?”

“Continue on as planned,” said Ridley. “We meet tomorrow. We talk to the people who attacked us. Press them for information.”

“I’m confused,” said Izzy.

Olly held his hand to her forehead. “Confused is our middle name, sis.”

Izzy shook him off. “If we’ve decided to not worry about Carter’s uncle Sly coming to Mineral Wells, then I guess we shouldn’t worry that he’s standing at the end of the alleyway, across the street, pretending to not watch us.”

The group turned as one. Izzy was right. Sly was across the street from the alleyway, staring into the window of a candle shop. Clearly, he was using its reflection to spy on them.

Carter shuddered, all of his confidence falling away. “What now?” he asked.

“We escape,” said Leila.

The plan was this: Olly and Izzy, who were the fastest of them, would approach Uncle Sly and distract him with a jazzy tap dance routine, while the others split into pairs and scattered. They’d reconvene at Ridley’s house, which was the closest safe spot.

(Oh, dear reader, have you ever made a plan that went quickly awry? Where your best intentions were thwarted before you even had a chance to find out if they might have worked? Well, I’m sorry to say, this plan went just like that.)

Before the Golden twins made it even halfway across the street, Uncle Sly turned, raising his hands over his head. “Don’t come any closer!” he shouted. Olly and Izzy glanced back at the group. Ridley waved at them to retreat. But before they could, Uncle Sly brought his hands down. Ear-popping sounds exploded at the twins’ feet. He’d thrown several Bang Snaps, the kind Mr. Vernon had once kept in boxes at the magic shop. Olly and Izzy jumped out of the way. This gave Sly enough time to focus on the group and see what they were up to.

“Everyone, go!” Carter yelled. “Now!”

The Misfits divided. Olly