Breaking Magic

Chapter 25: Adam

Felix takes us right through the densest part of the crowd, elbowing people roughly out of the way as he sprints past, dragging me behind him. People shout angrily after us, and almost every head in the airport turns in our direction.

That's what saves us—Ms. Perry and the others don't dare to start throwing spells in a place so crowded with mundanes. All they can do is start running after us, which they do at once, despite Ms. Perry's angry shouts for them to stop and wait. I take a second to look over my shoulder to see the three magicians running hard, knocking people out of their way, with Ms. Perry not far behind, still shouting for everyone to stop, half at her comrades, half at me.

For a moment doubt flickers in me, and I wonder if maybe we're making a mistake. Maybe Ms. Perry isn't with the MRF at all, maybe it's just coincidence that these three showed up at the same time.

But then I remember what Felix said, about how no one except the MRF could have been able to track me here by this time.

I catch my foot on Felix's heel, stumble, and almost fall. I tear my eyes away from our pursuers and focus on where Felix is leading us. We're headed towards the entrance of the airport. We're closer to the automatic doors than the MRF agents are, but they've spread out, one moving to the left, one to the right, so they can try to cut us off, box us in, before we get there.

Somehow, I shake off my shock and panic and pull myself together. Felix is running as fast as he can, but another glance over my shoulder shows me that the men and the woman are closing the distance between us. My legs are longer than Felix's and I put on a sudden burst of speed, taking the longest strides I can. I pull ahead of him, and in a couple of moments I'm now the one pulling him along.

"Out the front, and to the left," Felix pants.

I don't waste breath in replying, I just make a beeline straight for those doors, focusing on them as if nothing else in the world exists.

We hit them hard, because we're moving faster than the sensors can react. I pound on them a few times, shouting "Open up!" in helpless frustration, before they finally, sluggishly, lurch into life. We squeeze between them the second they're wide enough, out into the cold, autumn night. I look back, just for a second, and see that the few seconds wasted waiting for the automatic doors were enough for the MRF agents to gain another twenty feet on us. They are close enough now that if they dare to try to throw a spell at us out here in the open, there is no way we'll be able to dodge it. We'd have to stand and fight.

"Left, left!" Felix reminds me in a strangled shout, and I bank a hard left, nearly jerking Felix right off his feet. "There!" he points, and I see the line of late-night taxis and a bus waiting at the curb, loading passengers. I head for them, but I don't know how much good it will do. I skid to a stop at the first available taxi. Felix yanks the door open, shoves me in, slides in after me, and slams it shut again. He stuffs his hand into his pocket and pulls out a wad of euros, shoving the entire fistful into the hands of a very surprised looking cabbie.

"Take this, and just drive. Go to... I don't know, head east, towards Paris. Just do it!" And then he reaches across me, pushes open the opposite door, and shoves me back out, so I stand in the street on the other side of the taxi. Felix follows a second after, grabbing me by the collar of my shirt and pulling me down so we're crouching, semi-concealed by the car. "Go!" he snaps at the cabbie through the open window. The cabbie looks down at the pile of notes in his hand, then back at us. Then he shrugs, shakes his head, and pulls away from the curb.

As the car starts to move, Felix reaches out and grabs me by the shoulder. "Invisiliblium."

I can feel his magic wash over me, cool and tingly, like fresh mint. Not like gum, but the sensation you get from chewing on a real mint leaf. A second later, Felix fades from view, and I know that I do the same.