Lina smiled at me. “You’re a clever one. I can tell. Let’s strike a deal. I won’t tell Magix you’re down here if you’ll just have a seat at the piano and play a few notes.” She crossed to the instrument.
“What?” I said, backing away from her.
“Don’t do it, Mason!” said Avery, who was on her feet again, the large gray jacket hanging loosely across her shoulders. “It’s got to be a trap.”
“No traps,” said Lina Lutzdorf. “I just get so lonely down here. I want to hear a song, a single note . . . anything.” Stooping over the keyboard, she played a chord.
Avery and I had reached the suite’s exit, and we paused next to the doors. I heard the elevator descending, rumbling through the shaft.
“You’re bad to the core, Mason,” said Lina, releasing the chord she’d been sustaining. “I know a criminal when I see one.”
“I’m not,” I said. “Unlike you, I’m actually innocent.”
“Everyone is guilty of something. Nobody’s truly innocent,” said Lina. “Those who say they are just haven’t been caught yet.”
The elevator chimed and a voice from inside shouted, “Ready!” I flinched as the doors rolled open. At least a dozen agents in gray suits and top hats flooded into Lina Lutzdorf’s suite, Frank Lawden at the lead.
“What did you do this time, Lutzdorf?” he bellowed. The woman dropped to her knees on the plush rug, interlocking her fingers behind her head. Avery and I didn’t get the chance to hear her response. Disguised as two small-statured agents, we ducked into the elevator just as the doors were closing.
This time, our elevator rumbled upward, Avery and I riding in silence. It stopped on the first floor, and we emerged into a hallway swarming with people in gray suits. We blended in quite well, walking toward the front door with our heads down.
At the end of the hallway, I saw our way out—a regular-looking heavy door, like the ones that led into my school. Two guards stood watch behind a desk on the side, and I saw the magic blender in front of them.
“Distract the guards,” Avery whispered.
“What?” I said. “How?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Just tell them who you are.”
That seemed like a dangerous idea, but Avery had trusted my plan earlier. Now it was my turn to trust hers.
I stepped up to the desk. “Hi there, fellas,” I said, looking directly at the guards. “I thought I’d stop by and introduce myself.” I hadn’t even mentioned my name, but they must have recognized me anyway, because both of them reached up for their top hats.
At the same moment, Avery pounced over the desk, tipping back the blender and punching in the master combination. Like before, I braced myself for the possibility of twirling death blades, but Avery must have done it correctly because the front door suddenly swung open.
At last . . . the way out of Magix Headquarters. The way to freedom.
Chapter 10
THURSDAY, MAY 14
8:41 A.M.
DIAMOND BAKERY, NEW YORK CITY
The open door didn’t look like it led outside, so I hoped this was really an exit. Avery and I ran for it anyway, the Magix guards leaping after us, pulling boons from their hats.
“Close the door!” Avery screamed as we stumbled over the threshold and into the room beyond. There was a man standing beside the door, holding it open for us with his hand on the knob. Unlike everyone else involved with Magix, he was wearing a navy blue suit, but his tie was that same drab gray. There was no top hat on his head, but I saw a huge diamond ring on the hand holding the door open.
He looked surprised when he saw us, but he promptly responded to Avery’s demand, slamming the door shut and letting go of the knob.
We were standing in a small bakery. Through the window, I could see that we were in the heart of a big city—bigger than any I’d ever been to. Countless pedestrians hustled down the sidewalks, and a line of cars clogged the street, their occasional honks echoing against the tall buildings outside.
As stunned as I was to have just appeared through the front door of a bakery, the three other customers and two employees inside looked even more shocked. The man with the diamond ring turned to us.
“What’s going on?” he asked. “That was the director’s emergency signal. You better have a good reason for tumbling through like that. I didn’t even have time to find a private door.” To prove his point, he gestured around the bakery to the five people still staring at us.
Suddenly, his diamond ring started to sparkle. At first, I thought it might have been the sunlight glinting on the huge gemstone, but I realized that his hand was in the shadows. And the sparkling effect was much too bright.
He glanced down at his hand and moaned. “Magix is going to have quite the morning wiping up these memories,” he said, reaching for the doorknob again.
“Thanks, Doorman!” Avery shouted, diving in front of him to grab the handle first. She yanked open the door and I flinched, expecting it to lead back into Magix Headquarters. Instead, it opened to the busy street I’d seen through the window.
Of course! The door only became a portal into Magix Headquarters when the Doorman touched the knob with his magic diamond ring. To everyone else, it was just an ordinary door.
“Run!” Avery whispered, pushing me through the door.
“Run where?” I asked.
“Doesn’t matter,” she replied, leaving the bakery door ajar and sprinting down the crowded sidewalk. I cast one quick glance at the bewildered Doorman and then headed after her.
By the time we finally stopped running, I thought my lungs were going to explode. Avery had led us into a narrow alleyway between two buildings that towered like mountains. It was a little quieter here, with a puddle at our feet that reflected the line of blue sky that could be seen between the buildings.
“Where are we?” I gasped.
“Looks like New York,” she answered, adjusting her top hat.
“As in, New York City?” I cried. I’d never left Indiana in my entire life. Actually, I couldn’t remember ever being more than an hour’s drive from home.
“Why?” I asked. “How? What are we doing in New York City?”
“Well,” Avery answered, “Magix Headquarters can technically be anywhere in the world. Wherever the Doorman’s ring goes, that’s where Magix will be. He’s been spending a lot of time in New York City lately, which is good for us.”
“How is that good?” I asked, trying to digest all of this. “How do we get back to Indiana?”
“Indiana?” Avery repeated. “You can’t go home yet.”
“I’m not talking about going to my house,” I said. “Now that I’ve escaped magic jail, we can go free my dad.”
“But isn’t he in jail?” she checked.
“Exactly!” I cried. “That’s why we have to free him. I could tell in the video they showed me—he didn’t actually rob that bank. He was set up . . . like me.”
Avery was studying me with one eyebrow raised. Then she sighed. “Sorry, Mason, but there’s nothing we can do for him.”
“But you’ve got a hat full of magic tricks.” I pointed. “There’s got to be a boon in there that would help him escape.”
“We can’t go around freeing criminals,” she started.
“He’s not—”
“You don’t know that,” Avery cut me off. “Your dad’s situation is totally non-magical. If we interfere with that, we could get in big trouble.”
“Bigger trouble than we’re already in for breaking out of Magix Headquarters?” I asked her.
“That’s different,” she said. “This is a magical case. It’s what I’ve been training for. If we can find out what’s really going on . . .”
“Then I can be found innocent and go home with all my memories,” I finished as she trailed off.
Avery nodded. “We have to clear your name. We find evidence that you didn’t actually steal the boons from the church. And if we’re lucky, we find out who rea
lly did.”
“Where do we start?”
“With the note,” said Avery, pulling it from her pocket.
“Right,” I said. In all the excitement of escaping Magix Headquarters, I had almost forgotten about the note.
“The boy is NOT guilty,” Avery read aloud. “You can find proof of his innocence at the High Line. Talk to the bird artist.”
“Okay . . . ,” I began. “What’s the High Line?”
“It’s here in the city,” Avery answered. “It’s like a big park built over an old rail line.”
“This is good,” I said. “We’ve got to go there. Talk to the artist . . .”
Avery tucked the note back into her pocket. “Of course. But whoever this bird artist is, there’s a good chance he’s associated with Magix. Or at least, he probably knows about boons. We need to get our detector set up so nothing takes us by surprise.”
“You’re talking about that little red collar you swiped from the armory?” I asked. “Didn’t the instructions say we had to put it on an animal and it would become a boon detector?”
“Technically, no,” said Avery, pulling the collar from her pocket. “A living creature can’t become a boon.”
“Except for Lina Lutzdorf,” I pointed out.
“No. She . . .” Avery trailed off, flustered. “Lina Lutzdorf is a liar and a criminal. Of course she’s not a boon. She’s just figured out a way to trick everyone into thinking she is.”
“Maybe she was wearing something like a magic collar,” I said, taking the red collar from Avery’s hand. “Could that turn someone into a boon?”
“Not exactly,” she said. “It could give the wearer magical abilities—like how you teleported when you opened the music box—but it doesn’t turn you into a boon. And besides, Lina Lutzdorf isn’t wearing any kind of boon. Magix investigators have done plenty of checks for that.”
“Maybe she has a magical boon under her skin.”
Avery shot me a strange glance. “That’s just creepy. How would that even work?”
I shrugged. “Maybe she found a magical needle and poked it under her skin.”
Avery shuddered.
“Or maybe she ate some magical food,” I said, offering a less morbid hypothesis.
She shook her head. “That’s not possible. As soon as a magical boon enters the body, it loses all of its magical powers. It’s one of the basic rules of magic.”
“So, no magic food?” I said. I’d been having high hopes for a magical slice of pizza that could make me fly.
“There’s no reason a piece of food couldn’t become a boon. You might even be able to access its magical powers if you hold it just right, or shake it, or something. But as soon as it goes inside your mouth, it loses all of its power.” Avery yanked the collar out of my grasp. “Don’t try to figure out Lina Lutzdorf. There’s a reason Magix has her locked away for life. Let’s just make sure you don’t end up the same way.”
“Locked up in Magix’s secret basement?” Maybe that would be better than a complete memory wipe.
“They were never going to lock you up,” Avery said. “I just mean—let’s make sure you’re not found guilty.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “Unless you really are . . .”
“Seriously?” I cried, my voice echoing down the alley. “Don’t you think it’s a little late for you to be questioning that?”
“It’s just . . . after we raided the armory, you . . .” She trailed off. “Oh, never mind.”
“Hold on,” I said. “You can’t start a sentence like that and not finish it.” I folded my arms. “After we raided the armory, I what?”
“There’s just something . . . suspicious about you,” Avery said. “The windows in Magix Headquarters are nearly invincible. Yet you shattered that one on the ninth floor like it was regular glass.”
“It was that wooden banister post,” I explained. “I guessed that it was a boon that gave me extra strength, or something.”
Avery nodded unconvincingly. “Yeah, okay. I suppose that makes sense.”
“Right,” I said, pointing at the collar. “So now we need to find an animal who can wear that thing?”
Avery held the collar in front of her, sizing it up. “Technically, a human is an animal, right? Let’s save ourselves some hassle.”
She reached up and tried to clasp the collar around her neck. It was clearly too small, even when she pulled so tight that it made her cough.
“Okay. Maybe you should try it on,” she said, passing it to me.
I didn’t think my neck looked much skinnier than hers, but I gave it a try.
“This definitely wasn’t made for a human neck,” I said, rubbing at my throat after nearly choking myself. “Maybe it would fit a baby.”
Avery took the collar back. “I think it’ll be easier to find a pet.”
Chapter 11
THURSDAY, MAY 14
11:42 A.M.
THE PETHOUSE PET STORE, NEW YORK CITY
The pet store smelled funny. It was cramped and dim, with animal cages stacked on top of each other.
“Welcome to the Pethouse,” muttered a pimply teenage employee without looking up from his phone. Other than him, Avery and I were the only two humans in the store.
It had taken us hours to find this place—a task that would have been so simple if I’d had my phone. Avery had claimed to know her way around New York City, but this was an area she wasn’t very familiar with. Apparently, she and her parents lived on the Upper East Side.
“Does it matter what animal we choose?” I asked quietly as we moved past a row of chirping and squawking birds.
“It shouldn’t,” she answered. “As long as the collar fits.”
“What about that dog?” I asked, pointing to a little pug who was staring through the bars with big dark eyes.
“Look at the price tag on that guy!”
“We have to buy it?” I asked.
“Unless you plan on stealing,” she replied. “You’re already Magix’s most wanted criminal. Let’s not give the NYPD a reason to arrest you, too.”
“So, we’re looking for a cheap small pet,” I said. “But not too small, because that collar is way too big for a hamster or a rat.”
“And hopefully a pet that’s easy to feed and likes being carried, so it can keep up with us.”
“A lizard?” I asked.
“Yuck,” Avery said. “I hate reptiles.”
“A cat?” I suggested.
She shook her head. “I’m allergic.”
“Well, I’m out of ideas,” I said, studying the fish tank. She gasped behind me.
“Here we go.” Avery dropped to one knee. I came up beside her to inspect the animal she was considering.
“A bunny?” I asked.
“Why not?” Avery opened the cage and reached in. “People already think that bunnies go along with magicians. This way, if she does anything strange when we put the collar on her, people might think it’s just a magic trick.”
“Isn’t that exactly what it’ll be?” I said.
“There’s a difference between a trick and real magic,” said Avery. “Besides, I like her.”
“She has red eyes,” I pointed out. “Makes her look kind of . . . evil. Like a demon bunny.”
“Pinkish-red eyes are common with white rabbits,” replied Avery. “I think she looks friendly.”
“She looks like a fluffball,” I said. The rabbit was little more than a puff of white fur with a face and a set of ears poking out.
“Don’t be shy,” Avery said in a sweet voice, managing to scoop up the bunny even though the animal had retreated to the far corner of her cage. I closed the cage door as Avery carried the trembling bunny to the front desk.
“You have money, right?” Avery whispered, nudging me with her elbow as the employee gave us the total.
“Me?” I said. “I’ve got some.”
“Well?” she urged.
I dug in my pocket and fished out a small wad of cash, fee
ling grateful that I’d remembered to take it from the jeans I’d been wearing when I was arrested.
I handed her the amount we needed and let Avery handle the transaction. A moment later, the two of us were outside again, this time with the fluffy bunny tucked under Avery’s arm. We walked down the busy street until we came to a metal bench.
Avery sat down, depositing the rabbit next to her. I wasn’t comfortable enough to sit. Not with so many strangers walking past. Any one of them could be a Magix agent in disguise, and I needed to be on my feet in case someone jumped out and tried to grab me.
“Can you hold her steady?” Avery asked, struggling to get the red collar around the bunny’s neck.
“I’m not very good with animals,” I warned, reaching down to hold the rabbit. “What do you think we should name her?”
“I think you already did,” Avery said, finally managing to clasp the collar in place. “Fluffball.”
“Fluffball?” a deep voice rumbled. I let go of the bunny, staggering backward and glancing around the street for the person who had spoken.
“Fluffball?” the voice said again. “What kind of a stupid name is Fluffball? It’s insulting. It’s demeaning. It’s downright shallow. There’s so much more to me than my fur. You know that, right?”
The words kept coming, and my eyes grew big as I realized exactly who was speaking.
“Avery!” I whispered, pointing at the animal on the bench beside her. “The . . . the bunny is talking.”
“Bunny?” cried our new pet. “That’s rabbit to you, smelly human.”
Avery reached out and stroked Fluffball’s head. “Sorry about my friend’s terrible manners,” she said. “He isn’t really used to magic.”
The rabbit seemed to purr softly, his red eyes squinting closed. “Oh yeah, sister. That’s the spot.”
“I was wondering if you could help us out?” Avery continued. “What do you see when you look at my top hat?”
Fluffball cracked open one eye and peered at the black hat on the girl’s head. “Boon,” he said in his rumbly voice. “Definitely a nip.”
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