The Magic Misfits - Neil Patrick Harris Page 0,46

be shifty and secretive and just as manipulative as he is.”

Leila crunched her brow. “My father is not—”

But Ridley cut her off. “It doesn’t matter what your father is or isn’t, Leila. Kalagan’s plan worked.” She swallowed a nothingness down her dry throat. “It worked on me. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I have doubt. Deep down, I wonder about Mr. Vernon’s real intentions.” The magic box raft began to drift down the pebbly beach, but no one moved to stop it.

“You have doubt,” Leila said, her voice trembling. “But I don’t. And I never will.”

Theo stood. “Okay, okay. We need to keep moving. I do not believe it is a good idea for us to be out on our own. Ridley’s house is closest. Can we go there to dry off?”

“My dads need to know what’s going on,” said Leila. “We should have told them much earlier than now.” She scowled at Ridley.

Ridley tried to let it fall away like water off an oilcloth sack, but it wasn’t working.

(When speaking a hard truth, like Ridley had just done, you must be prepared to have the reaction of others soak through your clothes, then your skin, then get into your bones.)

They left the magic box raft on the shore and made their way up to the line of trees. It was difficult to move through the maze of saplings and knotted-up roots after everything they’d just been through, but eventually, the group spilled out onto the street at the far edge of Ridley’s neighborhood. They headed up the center of the road, fearful that any of Kalagan’s mesmerized hoodlums could come out from around a hedge or a car and catch them. Leila and Theo held Carter’s hands as Ridley followed with Olly and Izzy on either side.

“What I don’t understand is how my uncle could have been in so many places at once,” Carter said. “I mean, yeah, there were a few nights here and there when he wouldn’t come back to the rooms where we boarded. But those were rare. If he really planned out everything we think he did, he wouldn’t have had time to teach me all those magic tricks. Or spend so much time pretending to be a small-time con artist. It feels like what he did is impossible. Unless—” He stopped suddenly. Ridley almost plowed into him. “Unless… magic is real?” he added quietly.

“Oh, Carter,” Leila said. “There’s nothing magical about that man.”

“He was working with someone,” said Ridley. “Obviously.”

“Yeah,” said Olly. “Bosso and Sandra and his frown clown friends.”

“Ooh-ooh!” Izzy raised her hand, as if she were in a classroom and wanted to be called on. “And… Quinn. And my mom’s dance assistant and my singing instructor. They were at the mouth of the cave just after Kalagan showed up. They were trying to help him catch us too.”

Ridley thought of her teacher and wondered how she fit into the mess that was the mesmerist, the mesmerized mafia, and the manipulated.

“When we get to Ridley’s house, we’ll call my dads,” said Leila again.

“Maybe we should hold off on that for just a bit,” said Ridley, still feeling that doubt she’d mentioned a few minutes earlier.

“Really?” Leila looked like she wanted to explode. Carter stayed silent and walked on.

To Ridley’s surprise, Theo stood up for her. “All we need right now is a place to hide. We can figure out the rest once we are safe and sound.”

Safe and sound. The words seemed to hang in the air, all shimmery, before falling like glass to the ground. Ridley hadn’t said anything to her friends when they suggested her house, but with all the work she needed to get done, would Mrs. Larsen even let her friends inside?

As the group came around the corner, and Ridley’s house appeared, Ridley saw that the mint-green Plymouth was not parked in the driveway. That’s right! Ridley remembered. Mom said she had an appointment this afternoon.

Relieved, she opened the door for her friends and waited as they passed into the foyer. But before she could slip inside with them, a voice shouted from behind her. “Ridley, wait!” Footsteps creaked swiftly up the front steps.

Ridley spun her chair to face whoever it was, ready to blast them with water or sound or even electricity. Ms. Parkly saw Ridley’s poised fingers, and then raised her own hands. The world went dizzy. It was Saturday. They didn’t have any lessons scheduled. So then why was Ms. Parkly here?

“I