No Quest For The Wicked

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” I said. “It’s way too tacky for me.” I reached to grab her again.

But she was already rushing for the curb to flag down a cab, so she didn’t hear my insult. A cab cut all the way over from the far lane when she beckoned, with much honking of horns and at least one fender bender along the way. Owen and I barely reached her before she got in the cab. She could compel the cabbie to take her away from us, and then we’d lose the brooch. “You don’t want to do that,” I said.

“Why not?”

“Did you see the way this guy drove? You’d be putting your life on the line if you got in his cab.”

“But I’m invincible!”

“To bullets, maybe, but do you want to risk being disfigured in a car accident?”

I’d hit the right button, and she stepped back from the cab, letting it go. We still had the accidents to deal with, and the drivers came out of their cars to argue over fault. One of them got that now-familiar gleam in his eye and left his car in the middle of the street to come toward Mimi.

“What do you want?” she demanded, standing her ground. “That wreck wasn’t my fault. I can’t help it if the cab driver was an idiot. I was hailing a closer cab.”

Meanwhile, the driver of the closer cab was also heading over to yell at the man approaching Mimi. “You’ll pay for this!” he shouted. “You cut in front of me.”

The other man turned to argue, and when Mimi shouted, “Stop it and get away from me,” the cabbie immediately left while the other man returned his attention to Mimi. The look in his eyes was truly frightening, and I didn’t blame her for giving a startled squeak, turning, and then running away.

Not that I was happy about having to run again, but I gathered my resources and forced myself to take off. Owen looked even less enthused. I imagined his leg was killing him by now. He lagged behind as I chased Mimi.

At the next intersection, I ran into Rod and Granny, who’d caught up with us. “After her!” I panted, relieved to hand the baton over to someone else and catch my breath.

Sam glided down to give her a good scare and send her down a side street where there was less traffic, and therefore fewer opportunities for her to cause more mayhem. Unfortunately, that meant she ran a block, then darted straight into traffic crossing Park Avenue. The cars all barely missed her, thanks to the Knot’s protection. Granny raised her cane and brought traffic to a halt so she and Rod could follow. I couldn’t tell if she’d used magic or played the little old lady card. Then again, this was New York. She had to be using magic to stop traffic.

Owen and I had no such magical advantage. The best we could do was follow in their wake and hope that Granny’s spell didn’t wear off before we got across the street. It did. We barely reached the median, then had to wait for the signal to change before it was safe to make it the rest of the way across the avenue.

“This isn’t close to where she lives, is it?” I asked Owen.

“I think it’s a few blocks down from here,” he replied.

“Then she’s not heading home.” As soon as the light changed, we ran across the other side of the avenue and down the side street. I barely caught a glimpse of Mimi, Rod, and Granny rounding a corner and forced myself to put on a burst of speed to give chase.

It was as though the brooch also gave Mimi superstrength and endurance in addition to power and invulnerability, because I didn’t think there was any other way she could keep up this kind of pace while running in three-inch heels, no matter how many spin classes she took.

When we reached Rod and Granny, I started to thank them for giving us a chance to take a break, but my thanks died on my tongue when Granny’s cane shot out and blocked me. “Oh no, dearie, it’s mine,” she said, and the raw hunger in her eyes made my stomach sink.

Before I could say anything, Rod whirled on Granny. “Wait a second, grandma, it’s mine. It’s been my magic keeping her away from the others.”

“Ha! Like you’d know what to do with that thing. I’d use it wisely. You’d just pick up chicks with it.”

While they argued, Mimi was getting away. “Sam, stay on her!” Owen called out. He and I edged our way around the combatants and sprinted after Mimi. We’d lost our magic users, but they were of no use to us now. It was down to us, the nonmagical people who could remain sane around the brooch.

Unfortunately, Mimi had a good head start. “Mimi?” I called out when I lost sight of her. “Are you okay?” I didn’t get an answer, so I shouted, “Sam, have you got her?” He didn’t answer, either.