The Key (The Magnificent 12 3)

They ran away.

It’s not that every bully is a coward; that would be overstating the case. It’s just that they were much, much better at being tough to people who couldn’t fight back. A nine-foot-tall killing machine was not really their specialty.

“Cowards!” Camaro roared at them.

She stood helpless, arms at her sides, muscles flexed, as the golem marched back to the school and stabbed his terrible lobster hands straight through the bricks of the science lab and emitted a heart-stopping bellow of rage and violence.

“Rrrraawwwrrrr!”

IN PARIS …

Risky aimed carefully this time. She came in slow, flaring her wings to keep her speed down.

“Fry, Magnifica, fry!” she said.

Flame—a wall of it—blew toward the Magnificent Seven (plus Stefan).

And just then, the Eiffel Tower tore free of the earth.

It was like a very badly maintained elevator. It shot up with such sudden acceleration that a dozen iron struts snapped and whirled like deadly whips in the air.

The flame went shooting past, beneath the airborne legs of the tower, which now rose, rose, slowing but still going up.

Some of the Parisians below allowed themselves a small sniff of surprise, and some even said, “Mais c’est bizarre, ça.” Which means, “That’s a little odd.”

Mack and his friends felt the sudden jolt of the freed tower in their legs. Their knees buckled, but they still held hands, they still kept alive the flow of enlightened puissance.

One way or the other, they had accomplished their goal of warning the world. Because one way or the other, they would be relocating the Eiffel Tower in a way that would be absolutely impossible to deny.

Ever.

By anyone.

And then all of it would become clear to the whole world. The Magnificent Twelve would be supported wherever they went.

If they lived that long.

The tower rose. It was impossible of course. The Eiffel Tower weighs 10,000 tons. A large car weighs less than two tons. So that’s about 5,000 SUVs’ worth of tower.

And yet … it rose!

Risky came around again, and this time she did not try a flying approach. She landed, head downward, on the upper third of the tower. Her talons grabbed the steels beams easily. The impact of her weight sent a shudder down to the feet of the Magnifica.

“This time I won’t miss!” Risky said.

Foot over hand, she came down, closer and closer, as the tower rose higher. The Magnificent Seven held hands and kept their focus but now they were seconds from death and if they died the spell would break and the tower would fall. That would certainly make their point: that all of this was real, terribly real.

But it would also mean dropping more than a hundred stories of steel onto major thoroughfares, hotels and offices and apartments. The death toll would be disastrous.

“What do we do?” Rodrigo cried. His hand was firm, but the tall, aristocratic boy was sweating.

“Excellent question,” Charlie said, snarky, but not running away, either.

So far, Mack was pleased with these two. He wouldn’t mind getting to know them better.

Pity they all would be eight overcooked marshmallows at any moment.

Mack looked up and saw Risky, huge, glowering, liquid fire dribbling from her cruel reptilian mouth.