I stayed behind at the office when they left. It was too bad that the enforcers had come to take Owen before he had a chance to get to the fire station, I thought. I was even more convinced that we needed to know what was in that envelope. At the very least, it might be proof that Owen hadn’t known who he really was. Unfortunately, we needed Owen to get the envelope.
Or did we?
With a burst of inspiration, I ran to Rod’s office, hoping he might still be at work. He was at his desk, looking tired and grim. “I take it you’ve heard about Owen,” he said.
“I was there.”
“I wish there was something I could do.”
“There might be.” I told him about what I’d learned at the fire station and the envelope that the firefighters would give only to Owen. “You’re good at illusions—it’s probably second nature to you, after that one you used to use all the time.” He ducked his head and broke eye contact, and I groaned. “You’re not still using it, are you? You dropped the attraction spell, so I thought maybe you’d decided to go natural.”
“Katie, this isn’t the time,” he said with a wince.
I held up my hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. Anyway, you’re our expert with illusion. I showed them a picture of Owen, so they know what he looks like. As well as you know Owen, you could probably give them a good Owen, just long enough for them to hand over the envelope.”
He shook his head. “It won’t work.”
“You think any of those firefighters are immunes?”
“No, but can you imagine that envelope going unopened all those years or not being mentioned at all to Children’s Services?”
“I’m sure the envelope is enchanted so they wouldn’t give it away to just anyone, but they might be able to give it to someone they
think
is Owen.”
“If it’s as important as you think it is, then she’d have protected it to make sure it didn’t fall into the wrong hands. It’s not just a compulsion on the firefighters that keeps them from giving it to anyone but Owen. If she did the magic the right way, no one but Owen would be able to open the envelope or take it out of that fire station. If I tried to do it, it would only make the firefighters suspicious of you for bringing an imposter there. The spell could even have negative effects if the wrong person tried to take it. Remember, Mina Morgan was known for using dark magic. Owen was right to be cautious.”
My shoulders sagged into a slump as I sighed. “Oh well, it was worth a shot. But what else can I do?”
“Go home. Get some rest. Pray. Think. To be honest, I’m not sure there’s anything that you or I could do other than be there. This is a job for Merlin.”
“Merlin’s talking seriously with Sam about a jailbreak.”
Rod let out a low whistle. “That does
not
sound good.”
*
By the time I dragged myself into my apartment, I was ready for a long bath, a good book, and about a pound of chocolate. I’d thought Wednesday was bad, but this had been one of the longest days of my life. “Oh, there you are,” Gemma said as I headed for the bedroom I shared with Nita. “You’d better hurry and get changed.”
“Changed for what?” The only thing I felt like I might change into was a pumpkin.
“It’s Nita’s night out, remember? And I don’t think you want to go looking like that. Did someone try to drown you?”
“I got caught in the rain.” For a moment, I thought about finding an excuse to bow out, but Nita was currently the only normal thing in my life. It might be nice to spend a whole evening without discussing how to beat the bad guys or wondering whether my boyfriend was really the spawn of evil—or if he’d be convicted of it whether or not he was. It wasn’t as though I’d be doing anything to help Owen if I didn’t go. “I’ll be ready in a few minutes,” I promised.
I was glad I’d taken the time to change when Gemma, Marcia, and I met Nita in the lobby of the hotel where she worked because Nita had gone all-out with the glam. She wore a spangled camisole with dark, low-rise jeans and stiletto heels, and she had on more makeup than I’d ever seen her wear, even back in high school when she did her face in the school bathroom before class and then washed it off before going home. “What do you think?” she asked, giving a catwalk turn.
“Very hot,” I said. I felt like the country cousin in the simple sundress and flat sandals I’d thrown on.
“Yeah, you’ve already caught the fashion vibe,” Gemma said.
“And this is a really nice hotel,” Marcia added. I had to agree. It had the hushed elegance of a classy hotel lobby, with Art Deco furniture and a big chandelier overhead.
“I know! It’s a pretty far cry from the Cobb Motel. They may have been built around the same time, but it’s like they’re in totally different universes.” She jumped up and down and squealed. “I can’t believe I’m actually here! It’s so great!”
The hotel’s cocktail lounge turned out to attract more than just business travelers. It was a popular neighborhood post-work watering hole. “It’s just like on TV,” Nita said as we entered. “There are actual single young people here! And drinks in fancy glasses!”
Her enthusiasm was contagious enough to make me temporarily forget my worries. After we’d found a table and ordered drinks—Nita got a cosmopolitan, of course—Marcia asked, “How did your parents take the news about your move?”
Nita tossed back her hair. “Not well at first. There was some screaming and crying, but then my brother reminded them that I’m an adult, and if they took me home against my will, it would be kidnapping. Once I described the hotel, my dad got excited. Now he’s bursting with pride that his daughter works in such a fancy place. He’s convinced I’ll end up running it. Telling my mom about all the Indian men here worked on her. She thinks I’ll be married soon.” We all drank to parents realizing that their daughters had grown up.
When Nita had her fill of pink drinks and scoping out New York singletons in the bar, we went to a restaurant with a sidewalk café for dinner. After the earlier rainstorm, the evening felt fresh and cool, so it was pleasant outdoors. “This is so awesome!” Nita gushed, staring around the sidewalk. “I feel like a rock star.” Then her jaw dropped as she gasped. “Oh my gosh! I totally forgot to tell you! I saw that guy from that band today. They must be playing in New York.”
“What band?” Gemma asked.
“You mean Katie didn’t tell you? Well, not long before she came back here, this rock band stayed in our motel. They must have been getting away from it all or writing an album, or something, but they caused some problems and my brother threw them out.”
“That band?” I blurted as my heart sped up and got stuck in my throat. When Idris had come to my hometown to teach magic to previously undiscovered wizards, Nita had decided (with some nudging from me because I thought it might explain some of his eccentric wizard behavior) that Idris was a rock star hiding out in a small town. It took all my self-control not to sound demanding as I leaned across the table and asked, “Where did you see him?”
“Not too far from the hotel, when I went out to lunch. I thought about going up to him and saying something, but then I remembered that my brother kicked him out of the motel, and I didn’t think he’d be all that thrilled to see me.”
Marcia got a look of sudden revelation, her mouth opening into an O, but I kicked her under the table before she could say anything. I’d told her about my adventures back home, and I could tell she’d figured out who the rock star really was.
I wanted nothing more than to jump up right then and run to the hotel to search that whole area, but I reminded myself that Nita had seen Idris around noon, and he probably wasn’t still hanging around. Then I remembered that I still had Owen’s cell phone. “I’m going to make a quick trip to the ladies’ room,” I said. “Be back in a sec.”
It was counterintuitive to head inside to talk on the phone, since it was noisier and the signal was weaker indoors, but this wasn’t a conversation I could let Nita overhear. I scrolled through the directory. Surely Owen had Sam on speed dial. Ah, there he was. I placed the call and hoped that Sam had whatever communications technology or magic he used working.
The gargoyle answered on the second ring. “Hey, Katie!” he said.
“How’d you know it was me?”
“You’re calling from Owen’s phone, and he’s not in a place where he can make phone calls at the moment. Who else would it be? So, what’s up, doll?”
“I’ve heard about an Idris sighting earlier today.” I gave him the time and approximate location as Nita had described it. “We need to check it out. If we can capture him and get him to talk, that might help Owen’s case. And I’m sure I could think of some ways to make him talk. I’d certainly enjoy trying.”
“You and me both. I’m on it, sweetheart.”
The evening ended early, since Nita was working mornings, and her eyelids were growing heavy by nine. As we left the restaurant, Marcia grabbed my arm and said, “Want to go do something else?” She didn’t let go until Gemma said she was heading home with Nita to call Philip. When they were gone, Marcia said, “What’s going on? You and Rod have both been acting weird since Wednesday, and I can’t get him to tell me why. You won’t talk in front of Nita. So now that Nita’s gone, spill.”
I gave her the short version, to which she responded with a low whistle and a shake of her head. “No wonder Rod’s been nuts, and I’m amazed you’re as sane as you are. You think this guy Nita saw is Idris?”
“It sounds like it. Or it could be a real New York wannabe rock star who looks like him.”
“Let’s go check it out.”
I wasn’t sure what I’d do if I found Idris, aside from maybe knocking out a few teeth and sitting on him until Sam got there, but I was tired of inaction. Marcia and I headed back to the hotel to canvass the neighborhood, and as we walked, I brought her up to date on all the recent happenings. By the time I was done, she was ready to go after Idris with her bare hands, too.
I took mental note of the businesses in that general area. There might have been a Spellworks store Idris was visiting, but I wouldn’t see it because those stores were mostly illusion, and Marcia wouldn’t see it because the stores were veiled against the nonmagical. However, I didn’t see any cheap-looking, nearly blank storefronts with no signage—the way Spellworks stores looked to me—so I doubted that was what brought Idris to the area. No, he must have been going to one of the hundreds of restaurants and delis, which didn’t mean he frequented the neighborhood. “We’re probably wasting our time,” I said after we’d been walking for an hour.
“It was a thought,” Marcia said with a shrug.
My shoulders sagging from weariness and futility, I turned to head home and ran smack into Idris.
“You!” we both said simultaneously. I hurried to grab his wrist before he could run, and Marcia grabbed his other arm. “I ought to knock your lights out,” I said.
He smirked. “For what? Telling the truth?”
“Truth? What truth? Do you even have any proof, or were you just parroting what Ramsay told you?”
He froze in shock. “How did you know that?”
“How else would you have known about Owen? You would have been a toddler when all that happened, and there aren’t any records about Owen’s identity in the company. Besides, it became pretty obvious when Ramsay announced he was taking over Spellworks.”
“He what?” Idris shrieked.
I couldn’t hold back a laugh. “You mean, you didn’t know? His whole scheme was to get you to stir up trouble, and now he’s swooping in and taking over, probably shoving you to the curb because your name’s as tainted as Owen’s. You’re too associated with the bad spells they’re now selling protection against and you spoke out against Spellworks. I don’t think he’ll welcome you back.”
“Ah, but didn’t you hear? I was falsely accused by MSI. It was all a cover-up by Owen, who was hiding his own evil schemes by blaming me, and they forced me to speak against Spellworks. But now the truth is out, and, you know, if something happens to Merlin, we’ll know who has evil in his blood and probably decided to take out his biggest rival.”
I tightened my grip on Idris’s wrist and dug in my fingernails. Now I really wished I had Sam’s talons. “Oh, really?” I said. “Is that the plan, take out Merlin and blame Owen? Then I suppose Ramsay will deal with Owen and look like a big hero.”
Idris gasped and tried to back away. I got the feeling he wasn’t supposed to have shared that.
“When’s this murder supposed to take place, huh?” I demanded, tightening my grip to the point I was probably drawing blood. “Because Owen was arrested today.”
“You never know what might happen when a desperate criminal tries to escape.”
The burst of panic that shot through me then was so strong I couldn’t come up with a snappy response. Could they possibly know that Merlin was seriously considering helping Owen escape? Where was Sam? Had he sent someone yet? Although Idris couldn’t use magic on me, I didn’t think Marcia and I were physically capable of subduing him and bringing him in on our own, and I was worried what he’d do to Marcia if he bothered to notice her.
“You must really hate Owen if you were willing to give up a salary,” I said, hoping that would distract him from casting a spell on Marcia or from trying to escape.
“What do you mean?”
“As I recall, the deal you made with Merlin when they decided to let you speak means any money you make from Spellworks will just vanish,” I reminded him. “And in case you were wondering, that clause was Ramsay’s idea. Your boss was setting you up. If things went wrong, then you were the one left to look bad, and you don’t even get anything out of it.”
He closed his eyes and groaned. “Oh, damn. I forgot about that.”
“If you come with us, I’m sure we could work something out,” I said. “What’s the point of sticking with the bad guys when you don’t get anything out of it?”
A flash of terror crossed his face. “I can’t. I won’t,” he stammered as he started shaking. He looked like a person trying to fight a compulsion—or else like a bad mime attempting to do the “walking against the wind” routine.
That’s when I realized what had to be going on with him. “He put the whammy on you!” I said. “Ramsay’s got you under a compulsion of some kind, right? He was using one of those attraction or charisma spells—” I barely cut myself off before adding “like Rod used to use” in Marcia’s presence “—on everyone else, so of course he’d have you under a spell. You really couldn’t tell us who you were working for. It wasn’t all just an act.”