Enchanted Ever After

by Shanna Swendson

  Gradually, she came back to herself. She stopped dancing, then just bobbed her head while we walked, and finally she stopped dead still, resisting my tug on her arm. She turned to me, frowning.

  “Katie, what the heck is going on here?” she asked.

  11

  I didn’t have a good answer for Nita, not one I was allowed to give or that she was likely to believe. After far too long a pause, I said, “I guess you got caught up in the spirit of things. That music really does make you want to dance, doesn’t it?” I tried moving a little with the beat, but I was actually with the music, which meant I wasn’t in step with the dancers.

  “You weren’t dancing, not until I said something,” Nita said, raising an eyebrow. “And I don’t know how to dance, not like this. I might tap my toes, but I was doing fancy stuff, and I don’t know how. All these people may be a flash mob, but I didn’t get the memo. And yet I knew all the steps. How come it’s just our group who seems to be immune to it?”

  I glanced to Rod for backup, hoping he knew how to handle this sort of thing. It was my understanding that we were allowed to tell the truth to someone who figured it out for herself, but I didn’t know what counted as figuring it out. She hadn’t yet said “magic.” She just knew something was weird, so I wasn’t sure if that was enough. I just knew I had no intention of making something up to explain it away, not when I knew she wouldn’t be any kind of threat to the magical world if she knew.

  Rod opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment the spell must have broken because the dancing stopped. The few couples who’d been dancing from the start were still at it, but they adjusted their moves to fit the new song. Everyone else drifted away, heading for the refreshment stands, their faces red and sweat dripping from their foreheads. We were lucky there weren’t any heart attacks from all that unexpected exertion. Strangely, no one seemed to be aware of what they’d been doing. At least, they didn’t seem to find it odd. It was as though they’d been in a trance the whole time. For a moment, I wondered if I’d done the wrong thing by dragging Nita to the safety of the shield. If I’d left her alone, she might have remained as clueless as all the other people, with no memory of dancing.

  Then again, I’d been wishing we could read her in about magic for a long time, so maybe this was a good thing. I just hoped the authorities didn’t think I’d done it on purpose to give me an excuse to tell her.

  Nita glanced around at all the former dancers, now going about their business as though nothing had happened. “Okay, wait, they’re acting like this was no big deal,” she said. “What is going on here?”

  “It’s a long story, and we can’t really talk about it here,” Rod said. “But I promise, we’ll discuss it later.”

  I thought for a moment that she’d get stubborn and insist on talking about it right this minute, but she nodded, scowling. “Okay. Later. But today.”

  “Today,” he promised.

  “I’ll hold you to that.”

  That crisis delayed, I returned my attention to the bigger picture. Had Carmen been the intended audience for the dance spell? If she was magically immune, I doubted that it would have raised the kind of questions it had with Nita. Nita noticed it because she was affected. She knew she couldn’t dance, but had been made to do so. From Carmen’s vantage point, if she was immune to magic (and she must have been, since she’d been unaffected), it would have just looked like a flash mob. It would take more proof to convince her that magic was real, and even more for her to have evidence she could show the world. What would be absolute proof that magic existed?

  For me, it had been a serious lecture from Merlin himself, along with a few demonstrations, all in the MSI headquarters, which looks like a castle that no one else seems to notice. That came after me noticing all kinds of crazy stuff happening in the city, like gargoyles that came and went from churches. What would it take for the general public to really believe and not just think it was special effects or an illusion? When there are TV shows about making the Statue of Liberty appear to vanish, it would take a lot to make people think something even that big really was magic.

  I figured it would help if someone planted the seeds of doubt. “I just saw someone I know,” I said to my friends. “I’ll be right back.”

  I made my way through the crowd toward Carmen, who noticed me before I reached her. “Was that some kind of magic thing, or what?” she asked, gesturing toward the stage as she approached me.

  “I thought it was a flash mob,” I said with a shrug.

  “Yeah, that’s what I figured, publicity for the band, or something. It was a good idea. But I got another one of those news releases promising a public demonstration of magic today, and I thought maybe that was supposed to be it.”

  “Have you considered that someone might be pranking you?”

  She grimaced. “Yeah. Maybe. But then there are those things I keep seeing. It’s a pretty elaborate prank if they’re sending me news releases about magic, then staging huge incidents, just for my benefit.” Her eyes narrowed. “And you always seem to be around when these things happen.”

  “Hey, don’t look at me about this. I was here to listen to them as a possible band to play at my wedding.”

  She grabbed me by the upper arm. “Why don’t you and I go have a chat?” Her grip was tight enough that I didn’t think I could get away without making a scene.

  I glanced across the crowd, looking for my friends. I saw them, but they weren’t looking in my direction, and there wasn’t much I could do to get their attention without Carmen noticing. “I need to get back to my friends,” I said.

  “This won’t take long.” She stopped once we were out of earshot of her cameraman. “So, what gives? Are you the one sending me these press releases? Why are you always there when these things happen?”

  “Bad luck?” I asked with a shrug. “Why do you think I went to that meeting? Weird stuff seems to happen around me. If you followed me around, you’d see all kinds of things.” Too late, I realized she might take that as a challenge, or an invitation, and we certainly didn’t need a reporter who was immune to magic following me around. That would be the best way to make the existence of magic public. “But, really, weird stuff happens all the time in this city, and most people don’t notice it. I notice it because I’m not from around here, and I don’t seem capable of developing the blinders everyone else in this city grows. You’ve been trained to look out for things that are out of the ordinary, and you probably had some natural curiosity that led you into your profession. It’s not so much that we’re around when weird things happen as it is that we notice the weird stuff.”

  “Yeah, but I haven’t had people telling me about magic before.”

  “I have no idea about that. Most people just tell me to mind my own business and stop acting like a tourist.”

  She snickered, and I realized that I’d broken my personal vow not to outright lie. I knew magic was real and was surrounded by people who lived magic. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed people wearing black moving through the crowd. In New York, that wasn’t too odd, since just about everyone wore black, but there was a certain kind of blackness to this black attire that made it stand out. I was fairly certain that representatives of the magical Council were here, investigating public magical activity, and I was glad I’d sent Owen away. “Look, I really need to get back to my friends. We were just about to leave when you saw me.”

  “You don’t know anything about this?”

  “I wish I did,” I said, telling the absolute truth.

  She released my arm. “Okay, then. But if you learn something, you’ll tell me?”

  “Of course.” I hurried away before she could ask me anything else and returned to Rod and the others.

  Nita was still scowling when I returned, looking at everything with a skeptical eye. I glanced at Rod, and he said, “It looks like the set is just about over. Want to go meet the band?”

  Nita’s scowl turned to a grin. “Oh, yea
h! But you’re not off the hook.”

  She got ahead of us on the way to the stage. “What did your reporter friend say?” Rod muttered softly to me.

  “She wasn’t affected by the dancing, so I’m pretty sure she’s immune. And she’s getting really suspicious about me.”

  The band stopped playing, but before they had a chance to disconnect their instruments from the sound system, men in black swarmed the stage, and I didn’t think they were roadies. “Oops, looks like the Council’s already after them,” Rod said.

  “Then we should probably get Nita out of here. Mysterious men in black won’t make that discussion we’re going to have to have with her any easier.”

  “I’m on it.” He caught up to Nita. “Looks like we’ll have to wait for that introduction. They’ve got some promoters talking to them.”

  “Oh, we wouldn’t want to get in the way of that.”

  I tried making meaningful eye contact with Gemma and Marcia because I suspected that we’d have to talk to the Council before this was over, and I didn’t want to have to do that in front of Nita. She knew too much right now, and not enough, all at the same time. “I think I saw a snow cone stand back there,” Gemma said. “Anyone else want to join me?”

  “Ooh, yeah!” Marcia said. “Nita?”

  “Yeah, okay,” Nita said. “Might as well, until we can talk to the band. Katie?”

  “No thanks. Y’all go ahead.”

  When they were gone, Rod and I hurried over to where the men in black were interrogating the band. I recognized Mack as one of the enforcers and relaxed a little—at least, until he spotted us and came over. “Why am I not surprised to see you here,” he said dryly. “What about Owen?”

  I was tempted to lie and claim that Owen hadn’t been here, but it was a lie that would be too easy to prove wrong. “He left awhile ago, while the dance party was still going on. And he had nothing to do with it, in case you’re wondering.”

  “I don’t think he had anything to do with it. That’s not his style. But you know what people are going to think.”

  “We did see at least one former Collegium associate here,” Rod said. “Maybe they’re trying to get revenge after their operation was busted up.”

  “That’s a possibility,” Mack acknowledged.

  “And someone seems to be trying to expose magic to that TV reporter,” I added. “I think she’s an immune, so this could get tricky. Someone’s sending her news releases about magic being revealed, and then things like this happen. We may have to resort to bringing her in on the secret. At least that way we can somewhat control what she knows and get our point of view into it.”

  “Don’t even think about it,” Mack warned.

  “But we tell immunes all the time,” I argued.

  “When we have a purpose for them.”

  “But I’m afraid that if we don’t tell her, she’ll find out some other way that might go badly for us.”

  “Well, you don’t have to worry about that because it’s a decision we’ll make,” Mack said. “And I figure I ought to warn you that while I’m not going to try to talk to Owen today, he’ll probably get a visit at the office Monday from Jabez Jones. He’s just looking for something to blame Owen for.”

  “Why?” I demanded. “Hasn’t he proven himself time and again? He’s put himself on the line so many times. He’s had chances to take over the magical world, and he’s never abused his power. But you people keep suspecting him just because of who his parents were, and he never so much as met them.”

  “I don’t think you understand just how much trouble they caused.”

  “Even so, he’s basically Luke Skywalker, and did they hold Darth Vader against him?”

  “Interesting analogy. I’ll keep it in mind. Now, you said that reporter was getting news releases. Did she say where they came from?”

  “No. I don’t think she knows. Which is kind of odd. You don’t generally get anonymous news releases. People who send news releases usually want you to know who they are. I also don’t know if she’s merely been invited to something that’s been planned or if all this is being staged just for her.” I wondered how much I should share with him about what I’d learned, but then I hadn’t really learned all that much about the various magic watchdog groups.

  “Is there anyone else here you find suspicious?” Mack asked.

  “Half the crowd is magical,” Rod said with a shrug. “As I said, there were some former Collegium people. A lot of people trying to avoid Owen.”

  “My old boss,” I added. “She’s the one who got that brooch last summer. She doesn’t have magic, but it’s possible that she figured out the secret after that experience and now wants to expose it, so she may be working with one of those groups.”

  “Okay, we’ll keep an eye on her,” Mack said with a nod. “Which one is she?”

  I searched the crowd for Mimi, spotted her, and pointed her out. It was a pity I hadn’t gotten to see her dancing. “And be warned, she can be a nasty piece of work, even without magic.”

  As much as I’d have loved to pin something on Mimi, I doubted she was really the one responsible. Even if she was, she’d have to have accomplices. But who was behind it?

  There wasn’t much opportunity for investigating at the festival. I figured the culprit had probably left when the Council people showed up. That meant I could focus on dealing with Nita. “We have to tell her now, don’t we?” I said softly to Rod. “I mean, making excuses for what she experienced would be more morally shaky than just telling her, as far as I’m concerned. It was already silly trying to keep her in the dark.”

  “I think we’re in the clear,” he agreed.

  “So, do you guys want to take care of it? I’m not sure what I should say, and I can’t show her anything.”

  “Why don’t we regroup at Owen’s place? I’ll give him a heads-up, and you go collect the girls. We do have some experience with bringing people in on the secret.”

  I found Marcia, Gemma, and Nita on their way back from the snow cone stand. “Ready to go?” I said.

  “I guess there’s no chance of talking with the band, huh?” Nita said.

  “Probably not today. But I’m sure there will be other opportunities.” Like maybe at my wedding, which Nita could go to now.

  “You’re not off the hook, you know,” she said. “I’m still waiting on an explanation.”

  “You’re going to get one,” I reassured her.

  “Today?” she asked. Her blueberry lips from her snow cone made her look rather sinister.

  “Today.” If I had to tell her myself.

  Rod joined us, giving me a slight nod to indicate that he’d briefed Owen. “I just heard from Owen,” he said. “He had to deal with something for James, so he had to head home. But he invited us all over. We thought we could maybe get a pizza and watch a movie, or something.”

  Nita’s eyes started to crinkle in a skeptical frown, and I hurried to say, “And we’ll talk. Don’t worry, Owen’s probably the best one to explain everything.”

  “He’s involved in this?”

  “Not in what happened today, but he’s something of an expert in the field.”

  “Funny, he doesn’t strike me as much of a dancer.”

  I almost didn’t recognize Owen’s place when we got there. He must have done a magical cleaning spell because all the usual piles of books and papers on the dining table and sofa were gone. I suspected it might be dangerous to open the door of the guest room upstairs. “Hey guys, sorry I had to bail on you,” he said when he met us at the door to usher us inside.

  “Is James okay?” I asked.

  “He’s fine. He just needed me to look something up for him. So, do we want to order pizza now or wait a little?”

  “Talk first, pizza later,” Nita said firmly.

  “Or we could order pizza, then talk while we wait for it,” Marcia suggested.

  “Brilliant idea,” Rod said, kissing her on the cheek.

  We wor
ked out the pizza order, which was probably more complicated than explaining that magic is real, then Owen asked if anyone wanted something to drink or a snack. “No, I just want to know what’s going on,” Nita said, before any of us could respond. That was probably good, because I think we’d have been tempted to keep asking for things to delay the inevitable, like a little kid demanding a glass of water, a story, and a monster check to delay bedtime.

  Owen glanced at Rod, rubbed his hands together, ran his fingers through his hair, then said, “Well, what you experienced today, that was magic.”

  Nita’s head jerked in an involuntary spasm of surprise. “Whoa, that’s not what I expected to hear, I’ve gotta admit. You’re kidding, right?”

  I suspected that somewhere in the complicated guidelines for discussing magic with outsiders, denial was considered grounds for not having to spill the beans. Owen glanced at Rod, then at me. Both of us nodded. He took a deep breath before continuing. “What did you think it was?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. Mind control, maybe?”

  “It was. But it was magical mind control. Someone did a spell that made people dance that particular dance.”

  “And in a kind of trance, so when they snapped out of it, they just felt tired but didn’t remember any of it,” Rod added.

  “Then why didn’t it affect the rest of you? And why do I remember it?” she asked.

  “Because …” Owen began, then braced himself to say, “Rod, Philip, and I are wizards. We have some experience with this sort of thing, so when we recognized what was happening, we created a magical shield to protect us.”

  I chimed in. “Magic doesn’t work on me, so I was able to leave the shielded area without being affected, but when you followed me, you lost the protection and fell under the spell. When I dragged you back to the shield, you were protected again. I guess you remembered it because you didn’t experience the end of the spell that seems to have wiped their memories.”

  She looked around at all of us. “You’ve got to be joking. Is this all some prank on me? Wizards? Like Harry Potter?”