Jim Armstrong and the Goblet's Curse

Chapter 17: Don't Destroy Tourist Attractions

My boots crunched on the frozen gravel as I walked behind Cecily, one hand tucked into my pocket, clenched tightly around Lumière. Noah walked beside me and Michelle a little bit behind us. My breath fogged out in front of me in little clouds. You knew winter was coming when those little clouds drifted right ahead of you with each breath out.

It was two days later, November 17th, Michelle and James' birthday. We were trekking through the streets of downtown Toronto, making our way towards Nathan Phillips Square. It was quarter to seven, a safe time to arrive, to make sure that we weren't late. Knowing that James was on the run, we figured that he wouldn't come too early, because of the risk of a Guardian spotting him. By coming early enough, hopefully Michelle would be able to identify him for us.

The plan was that Michelle would stand out in the open first, and Noah, Cecily and I would be hiding a little ways away. This would let Michelle talk to James first, catch up, and then tell him about us. Hopefully he would then agree to talk to us.

Hopefully.

I had been scanning our surroundings, looking for possible threats and James. I generally knew what he looked like from Michelle's picture, but he would definitely look older. I mean, it had been eleven years. Eleven hard years of hiding and surviving. No doubt he'd look a bit older. I was looking around, when I Cecily stopped waling. I slammed into her, stumbling backwards. She shot me a glare, before turning back around.

"I think this is a good place," Cecily said. We were standing near the water that was frozen over for the winter. It was a Saturday evening and people were leisurely skating around the large rink. Since the sky was already dark, the Toronto sign was lit up in different colours, the lights shimmering over the ice.

"So, where are you three going to hide?" Michelle asked.

"Uh, over there looks good," Noah said, pointing to a group of people. The place was not too far away from where we were standing right now, but not too close to be suspicious. It was definitely within earshot, so we could hear the exchange between Michelle and James and listen for our cue.

"Okay, what time is it right now?" I asked. Michelle checked a watch that she wore on her wrist and answered.

"6:55," she said. "You guys should probably go."

"Okay, good luck," Cecily squeezed Michelle's arm and smiled before leading Noah and me to the spot nearby. We stood in the crowd of tourists milling about.

"What if he doesn't help us?" Noah asked abruptly. "We've just been on this roll, thinking that James will help us, but what if he doesn't?"

"Well, we can't think like that," I said simply. "This is our lead, and we have to take it."

"And if we don't get anything out of it, there will be other leads," Cecily continued. "Somewhere, there'll be a lead."

We waited for a little while longer, keeping an eye on Michelle, who was walking in slow circles by the rink. Her eyes were travelling everywhere, no doubt looking for her twin brother she hadn't seen in more than a decade.

I wasn't quite sure what happened after that. I think I felt myself blink, and then suddenly, Michelle wasn't alone anymore. Standing across from her was a young man. He looked almost exactly like the man in Michelle's photo, except he was older (obviously). I assumed he had been Illusioned. Michelle had told us what to look for, so that we would be able to see him. Illusions didn't work for people who knew what they were looking out for.

I alerted Noah and Cecily to the presence of the man and we moved a bit closer to see what the two were saying to each other. Michelle and the man stood there, just looking at each other. Michelle was stuttering, trying to say something.