The Magic Misfits - Neil Patrick Harris Page 0,57

crept up onto the firewood. She examined the faces of the nearest townspeople, but their eyes were still hardened and glassy.

“My secret is…” Carter began with a deep gulp. “I always tell people that I never steal…” He let out a shiver. “But when I lived with my uncle Sly…” He kept his eyes averted from the man standing near the box. “I went to bed hungry all the time. So… sometimes, when we passed a market, I would pocket a piece of fruit to save for later, in case there was no next meal.” Ridley took Carter’s hand, and he glanced down at her with a sad smile.

“That’s enough,” Kalagan shouted.

“My secret?” Leila yelled, as if she just wanted to get this out of the way. “I helped someone very close to me get away from the police.”

“Shut their mouths!”

But the townspeople continued to listen.

Olly went next. “I worry that I’m not actually very funny at all,” he said.

Izzy raised her hand sheepishly. “I also worry that my brother is not very funny,” she said.

A few people in the crowd chuckled, including the man in the suit and the woman in pearls who were still holding the Misfits at the edge of the stage. Ridley looked to the man. “And you, sir? Are you willing to share what you don’t want people to know?” The man glared at her for a moment before releasing a deep breath. He checked the magic box. The firewood was on the verge of becoming engulfed. Once that happened, Ridley knew it would be minutes until the flames ate up her contraption—along with Dante Vernon.

“You’ll be sorry,” Kalagan warned the man.

“No, I won’t,” the man spat back. “This is reprehensible.… My secret is that I owe a large gambling debt!” he shouted to the room. “And I never told my family. I’m so, so sorry. I plan on paying it all back. It’s just that… it’s gotten out of control.”

The audience conferred with one another. Their murmuring grew louder.

Kalagan glared out at them. He stepped to the front of the stage. “I’ve got the tapes. I’ll spread your secrets far and wide. Your lives will never be the same.”

Silence descended. In the quiet, the crackling of the fire echoed through the auditorium. The magic box shuddered as Mr. Vernon pounded from the inside, the chains rattling like grim bells.

Ridley couldn’t take anymore. “Please!” she yelled. She didn’t know what else to say. Her throat felt red and raw.

Leila screamed, tears staining her face. “You’re killing him!” She fell to her knees. Carter dropped down and threw his arms around her.

Whispers came from the first few rows of seats. “How can we allow this?”

“It isn’t right.”

“Vernon’s not escaping!”

“We’ve got to help him!”

A voice called out from the audience. Another secret. “I hit a car in the church parking lot and then drove away!”

And another. “I lied to my mom about my grades!”

And another. “I dropped my baby brother when we were young. He cracked his skull. I never told my parents.”

More voices rose up, overlapping.

“I have another family in another town!”

“I stole money from my boss!”

“I’m in love with my neighbor!”

“I’m not who I say I am!”

Ridley was shocked by these secrets.

But she knew they didn’t matter anymore. What mattered was that the spell was breaking.

The fire grew stronger. Orange embers fell away from the firewood and landed on the stage.

“Listen to me!” Kalagan shrieked. “I will destroy you! I will destroy everything!”

Panicked voices rose up over the others. “Let Vernon out!” the people called.

“Grab the fire extinguisher!”

“Call the fire department!”

Wide-eyed, the man in the suit and the woman in the pearls finally stepped aside. The Misfits rushed toward the burning box.

The guardians broke away from the people with the garden tools. They darted toward Kalagan.

At the front of the stage, Kalagan whirled at the sudden chaos. For the first time, he looked frightened. He knew he was losing. He glanced down into the orchestra pit and considered a leap. His pause was just long enough for Sandra Santos to tackle him to the floor. The other guardians held him down as he thrashed and screamed.

The base of the magic box was smoking, about to ignite.

Ridley shouted, “Help!”

The Other Mr. Vernon snatched away the garden tools from the dazed townspeople. He tossed a shovel to Carter and a pickaxe to Leila, both of whom used the blades to sweep the burning wood away from the bottom of the box. The embers scattered, and Carter and