The Magic Misfits - Neil Patrick Harris Page 0,15

and Izzy ran directly up the center of the street toward the town hall. Leila and Theo took off in the opposite direction. This left Carter and Ridley to stare down his uncle at the mouth of the theater’s alley.

“Climb on,” Ridley whispered to Carter as she flicked a switch near her headrest. At the back of the chair, just behind the wheels, two footrests fell down and locked into place.

Carter let out a grunt as he leapt onto the back of the chair. Ridley pushed another button near her lower back, and her wheels spun a moment before catching the ground and shooting the friends up the sidewalk.

“He’s coming,” Carter said into her ear. Ridley grabbed at her right wheel, spinning the chair so that it turned into the next alleyway. They flew down it, headed for the open end where they would burst out onto the street parallel to the one they’d entered on.

“He’s still on our heels,” Carter yelled.

“Isn’t there something you can do to slow him down?”

Carter yelped as he realized that he did, indeed, have something. “My cards!”

Ridley heard a soft zzzzzppp as Carter bent both decks and then let the playing cards whizz back down the alley. Behind them, Uncle Sly yipped. There came the sound of stumbling and bumbling and tripping and falling (which, in case you were wondering, is a pretty satisfying sound when it happens to someone this rotten). As Ridley’s chair skidded out onto the sidewalk, she grabbed her left wheel so hard that she spun entirely around. Carter’s cards had formed a slick surface on which the soles of Uncle Sly’s shiny shoes could not stay put.

“Carter! Wait!” he cried out.

The electric motor whined, and the chair trembled as Ridley released her right wheel and then continued onward. She felt Carter’s warmth and weight at her back. “We need a place to hide out,” Ridley said over her shoulder.

“There!” Carter pointed to a shop’s sign hanging over a doorway a dozen yards ahead.

TOYS.

“Perfect.”

Carter hopped off the back of the chair and opened the door. Ridley shoved inside. “We need to get away from the front window in case your uncle’s back on his feet.”

“Can I help you with something?” asked the saleswoman. The pink walls of the toy shop were lined with glossy white shelves, and the shelves were filled with erector sets, construction kits, boxes with science experiments, jigsaw puzzles, and fashion dolls.

“Just looking!” Ridley practically shouted, flipping the switch that turned off her chair’s electric motor.

“We have a private birthday party happening at the rear of the store,” said the woman, “so if you could steer clear of—”

“Got it!” Ridley said, aiming her chair exactly toward the spot the woman was warning her about. A crowd of children was gathered around a table loaded with purple frosted cupcakes.

“She told us not to head back there!” Carter whispered worriedly as he followed behind.

“Too bad. I’m saving our hides.” Ridley navigated around the children, their faces marked with the violet guts of their party treats.

A few grown-ups glared at her, but a little girl dressed in overalls and a tiara held out a cupcake, proclaiming, “It’s my birthday!” Noticing Top Hat nuzzled in Ridley’s lap, the girl squealed, “Can I hold the bunny?”

“Maybe later,” Ridley murmured, examining the room. The shelves surrounding the party were lined with stuffed animals. Lions. Giraffes. Hippos. Dogs. Cats. Raccoons. Frogs. Penguins. And a few octopuses. Ridley waved at Carter to come closer. “Quick,” she said, reaching into a panel at the side of her chair. “Take this. And follow my lead.”

After prepping the area, Ridley and Carter moved toward the farthest wall at the back of the shop and waited. The party went on. The two watched the front door. People outside passed by the shop. Each new face that appeared gave Ridley’s stomach a jolt.

“Is it safe to head out yet?” Carter asked.

“He’s waiting for us,” Ridley answered. “Give it a few more minutes.”

Less than thirty seconds later, Carter’s uncle appeared in the doorway. Sly glanced past the saleswoman as she greeted him, “Can I help—”

“You see two kids come in here?” he asked.

Ridley watched the saleswoman’s face as she startled at his gruffness. Don’t do it, she thought. Don’t—But then the woman looked toward the back of the store, right at Carter and Ridley. Sly’s eyes followed.

“Oh no, oh no, oh no,” Carter murmured.

Ridley shushed him as Uncle Sly pushed past the saleswoman. “Hey, kids!” Ridley called out. The young ones