ground, trying to yank their shoes off.
Ridley pulled a lever, which released a small plank at the rear of her magic box. She backed herself up and perched on the platform, snapping two metal clasps across her tires, locking her wheels in place.
Theo had dashed to the other side of the cave’s mouth and was close to the gravel path that led up the slope to the resort. He turned and saw Kalagan spread his cloak out as he descended on Carter. Theo brought his bow across the strings of his violin, releasing a shriek that bounced off the rocks and rattled everyone’s ears. It was enough to make Kalagan miss his mark; his arms closed upon nothing as Carter ducked. But before he could dash to safety, Carter tripped, landing on his back and looking up at the man in the top hat.
“Oh no!” Leila cried, about to hop out of the cart to help him.
“Wait, Leila!” Theo shouted. He made his violin and bow disappear into his jacket and then leapt from boulder to boulder until he was close enough to barrel into Kalagan’s side. The man stumbled as Theo grabbed Carter’s hand and yanked him to his feet. Carter threw down a small pellet that burst into a cloud of thick black smoke, and the two boys raced toward the magic box cart.
Kalagan was nowhere to be seen.
“What is this thing?” Theo asked, out of breath, hopping into the box. There was just enough space left over for Carter to follow.
“Our escape,” said Ridley, reaching down and pushing a lever near the rails. The box shuddered and began to roll farther into the cave.
“Where are we going?” Leila yelped.
“Mr. Vernon says a good magician always plans for an out,” Ridley answered. “And this is ours!” The box began to pick up speed, and the blot of daylight at the mouth of the cave started to shrink.
“Where’s Kalagan?” Carter asked. Ridley looked around, but the smoke that Carter had released was obscuring the shadows.
Just then, voices called out to them from up the hill. Glancing into the sunlight, Ridley could see four figures approaching quickly. They were running down the path, as if to try to catch the Misfits before they could get away. Ridley recognized a couple of them. There was Quinn, the concierge from the lobby of the Grand Oak. Her blond ponytail bobbed behind her as she jogged. She was followed by a man and a woman dressed in hotel uniforms, the people who had been speaking with the twins the other night—Mrs. Golden’s dance assistant and Izzy’s singing teacher. On their heels was an elderly woman that Ridley had never seen before. Her head spun as the cart moved faster into the cave. Kalagan’s mesmerism victims were everywhere! How many people were under his spell?
A shape leapt out of the shadows at the back of the cart. White gloved hands grabbed Ridley’s footrests. She screamed. Kalagan had recovered. His goons appeared out of the smoke beside him. Kalagan’s top hat bounced as he struggled to keep up. The goons ran quickly too, grappling with the sides of the cart. They groaned as they dug their heels into the dirt and threw their weight backward. The cart slowed dramatically, and the Misfits all yelped.
(Oh, dear reader! Now you know why I felt so anxious at the beginning of this adventure! Are our Misfits goners??)
But Ridley had one trick left up her sleeve.
She reached her hand backward and slammed her palm against a big red button on the bottom of what had once been her magic box, releasing a spring-loaded gear that she had originally designed for the inventors’ fair last weekend.
There was a squealing sound as the cart’s wheels spun rapidly against the rails. The goons lost their grip, and Kalagan was forced to let go of Ridley’s footrests, as the Misfits were carried at full tilt into the depths of the ice cave.
TWENTY
Darkness enveloped them. Ridley felt the tracks slant, and the cart sped up even more. Wind caught her curls, whipping them in front of her face. Clacking noises echoed as the wheels met rust and decay along the rails. Ridley sucked her teeth every time the vehicle jerked, praying that both the tracks and the wheels would hold.
Her friends were shouting. The track dipped and they shot down like a rocket, before gravity pulled at them and they swung back up a slight hill.
“Where are we going?” Theo yelled.
“I can’t see anything!”