But then I saw another gray guy ahead of us, not quite at the end of the block. “Owen,” I moaned under my breath.
“I see him. Don’t change the way you’re walking. Act normal—the old version. We’ll go up that next set of stairs.”
“Is it an empty building?”
“I have no idea. I didn’t case this street.”
The gray guy was moving toward us, but I couldn’t tell if he was heading for us or just walking down the street. I had to fight not to allow my eyes to focus on him. It seemed like the longest twenty feet I’d ever walked before we reached the next set of steps. To maintain our illusion, we had to go up them slowly, one step at a time. All the while, I felt the guard drawing nearer.
I stood so that passers-by couldn’t see that Owen was unlocking the front door without a key, and just as he opened the door, the gray guy reached the steps. He started to walk past as we entered the building, but as the door closed behind us, I heard his footsteps stop.
The inside of this stairwell was blank, just a structural shell, so apparently no prisoners lived here. That must have given us away. We didn’t have time to worry about that, though. Forgetting about looking old, we ran through the featureless space as quickly as possible while still hitting the floor beams. The gray guy hadn’t come inside yet, but I feared it was only a matter of time. I estimated we’d run to the next building when we reached a doorway. Owen flung it open and we ran out into a finished stairwell.
“Out?” I panted.
“Up,” he replied.
Owen tried the door on the next landing, but it was locked—probably the home of a prisoner. We ran up to the next level, where the door opened and we were able to enter another empty space. We put at least two more buildings behind us before we slowed down and took refuge against an exterior wall, between two windows.
“He didn’t follow us, did he?” I asked when I caught my breath.
“I don’t think so.”
“Did he see past our illusion?”
“It’s hard to tell. Maybe he detected the difference between wizard magic and elf magic. Or maybe he knows the illusions that are supposed to be in that area and we didn’t fit.”
“If he can see us, how do we get out of here?”
“Let’s wait a while. Maybe he’ll go away.”
We waited half an hour before we dared peek out the window. There were two of the gray guys on the street below. They seemed to be looking for something, and it was easy—and probably safest—to assume it was us.
We kept going until we reached the end of the block, where we could see out of two sides of the building. The corner building wasn’t a brownstone. It was a regular apartment building with shops on the ground level. “I think we might be over Perdita’s café,” I said when I had my bearings from the view. “All we need to do is find a way out of here without getting caught.”
There was a door that opened onto an interior hallway. The nearest “exit” sign indicated a stairwell that went all the way down. The bottom level was empty, and Owen had to use magic to light our way. We found a door that came out into the basement supply room of a restaurant. “Is this the right place?” Owen whispered.
“How am I supposed to know?” I replied. “I eat here. I don’t lurk in the basement.” I was about to say something else, but then I thought I heard a sound from the other side of the room. I gestured to Owen, and both of us ducked behind shelves as Owen doused his magical light.
There was definitely someone else in the basement, but he seemed to be trying to stay as hidden as we were. A restaurant employee would have called out to ask who was there. Instead, it was as though the other person was holding his breath and staying as still as possible.
I glanced back at the door where we’d entered and was just about to tug Owen toward it when a voice from the darkness on the other side of the basement said, “Katie, Owen, is that you?”
“Earl?” I whispered.
“Yeah,” came the response. “So it is you?”
We met in the middle of the room. “What are you doing here?” I asked. “We were worried when you didn’t show up.” I didn’t ask the obvious question. If he was under the spell, he wouldn’t be hiding in a basement.
“I was pretty sure I had a tail, and I didn’t want to lead them anywhere near you. I decided it would be safer to lose them and hide out for a while, and I was close enough for Perdita to help me.”
“Is she okay?” I asked.