Breaking Magic

Chapter 12: Felix

Eleanor Fuentes wrenches the door open so suddenly, I almost hit her right in the face as my fist comes down mid-knock. I can see Adam Wolfe standing behind her in the middle of the room, looking ready to take a tackle. I raise an eyebrow and let my hand fall to my side, stuffing it, and my other one, into my pockets, so that I look as unimpressed as possible.

In truth, I'm more than a little worried about how I'll be received.

"Good," I say. "You've come to your senses sooner than I'd expected. Are you going to invite me in, or just keep standing there staring at me as if I've sprouted feathers?"

Eleanor and Adam exchange a look with each other. I can only see Adam's half of it, since Eleanor needs to look over her shoulder at him, but it's not promising.

"I'm alone," I assure them, "and my wand's in my pocket. I won't draw it while I'm here, if that makes you two feel better."

Adam gives an almost imperceptible nod, and Eleanor stands to the side to let me walk past her into the house. She slams the door closed behind me, and it feels a little like the closing of tomb doors.

"Into the kitchen," she says, glancing at a closed door at the far end of the room. I wonder if we're alone, or if her family is here. That could make things trickier, if I have panicked, mistrustful parents butting in.

I follow Eleanor and Adam through another door into a bright and comfortable kitchen. They don't take seats at the dining table so neither do I. The result is that they stand shoulder to shoulder, their arms crossed identically over their chests as they glare at me in unison.

Seeing tiny, dark complexioned Eleanor and tall, fair Adam like that almost makes me laugh. They could be the stars in a buddy cop film about two officers who are just oh-so-different but manage to work together while getting into bumbling shenanigans.

Instead of laughing, I look around the kitchen to break the tension. "Nice place," I say, but I immediately get the sense that Eleanor takes that as some kind of sarcastic insult.

"What do you want, Felix?" she demands, hackles raised.

"I just want to talk," I say, raising my hands defensively.

"About what?" asks Adam, and he looks even more hostile than Eleanor.

"About what happened on Monday. About you. About what's going to happen."

"What's going to happen?" Adam asks quickly.

Eleanor narrows her eyes. "Do you know something?"

"I know a lot of things, actually," and this time the better-than-you tone is intentional. I wasn't exactly expecting a warm welcome, but they were acting as if I were an enemy soldier come to search the house for hidden rebels. "And if you want to hear any of them, I suggest you stop treating me like the villain of your own personal little drama."

Eleanor opens her mouth, probably to say something nasty judging by the expression on her face, but Adam places a restraining hand on her shoulder.

"Let's just hear what he has to say. The sooner he does, the sooner he's gone."

"You're beginning to make me wish I hadn't even bothered to come by," I snap. "I'm trying to do you a favor, Adam. At least be fucking grateful."

"What's this so-called favor of yours then? What did you come here to tell me?"

"What happened on Monday? When you burned the school down, what happened, exactly?"

"That's not telling me anything! That's me telling you something, and I have zero interest in talking to you about what happened. If you just came here to rub what happened in my face, you can get the hell-"