Owen still sat poring over the book. He seemed to have forgotten I was there. “So, that’s why you need people like me,” I said.
He looked up, blinking. “Oh. Yes, yes, that’s why we need people like you. Thank you. You were brilliant. There’s more to verification than just telling the truth, you know. If you present the truth in the right way, it can be quite effective.”
“I guess it’s showbiz, as much as anything.” I glanced toward the doorway where Wiggram had disappeared. “You’re letting him wander free like that in the building?”
“He’s being monitored. And I have his book already, so he’s going to want his money. Speaking of which, excuse me for a second.” He put his hand on the crystal ball thingy that sat on his desk, but he didn’t speak. After a second or two he withdrew his hand and turned back toward me.
I knew he wanted to look through his new book, but I also wanted some answers. “Thanks again for the books you sent me. They’re really interesting. I do have a question, though.”
He smiled. “Yes, he is.”
I shook my head. “You don’t know what I was going to ask.”
“Yes, I do.”
“How?” I hoped it wasn’t mind reading, not after the mental image I’d had a few minutes ago.
He shrugged. “I just do. Besides, you’re smart enough. I was sure you’d eventually see the connection.”
“Would it have killed you to tell me up front? It can’t be too big a secret, not if you were willing to give me those books that made it so obvious.”
He looked enigmatic, which must have been a real trick for him, given that his emotions were usually so visible on his face. “Let’s just say that it’s not a secret if you’ve got the initiative to do research and the brains to figure it out, but it is a secret if someone has to tell you.”
“So we’re working for the real Merlin, as in Camelot, and all that?”
“Not quite like in Camelot. That was highly fictionalized. But yes, he’s the real thing.”
“Why was he brought here now? It would have to be something pretty big, right?”
“That, I can’t tell you.”
“Because you don’t know, or because I’m not supposed to know?” He continued to look enigmatic. “Okay, I get it. Company secret. Fine. But I want it on record that I’m not happy that you hid the possibility of a crisis from me when you were hiring me.”
“Would it have changed your decision?”
I sighed. “Probably not. You guys did a great sales job.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll find out eventually.”
“Or I’ll figure it out.” I tapped my forehead. “Smart, remember? Now I’d better head back to the pit of despair.” I got out of my chair and headed toward the doorway.
“Thanks again for your help,” he called after me, but before I was out the door he was already buried in his book.
The laboratories were busy, but the hallway leading to the exit was nearly empty. I noticed a man coming toward me, not wearing the white lab coat that seemed de rigueur in these parts. As he approached, I smiled and nodded, but he didn’t respond at all. He acted like he couldn’t see me—or like he thought I couldn’t see him. I didn’t recognize him, but I didn’t know most of the people in this department.
“Hi,” I said to him. His eyes cut my way, then he went back to looking right past me. Either I’d come across the least friendly employee in the whole company or there was something fishy going on here. “Hey!” I called out. He flattened himself against a wall, like he was trying to look invisible. I noticed he had something hidden beneath his jacket. That was definitely not right.
He tried to ease past me, but I got directly in his way. He sidestepped me, and now I was sure he wasn’t supposed to be there and that he thought no one could see him. “You aren’t invisible, you know,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I can see you.”
He looked startled, glancing around to either side like he was looking for an exit or for verification that he was more visible than he thought he was. That proved something was wrong.
“Hey!” I yelled again, this time to anyone within earshot rather than to him. “Security! Intruder! Help!”
The guy looked like he was going to run for it. I grabbed his jacket and held on. He muttered something in Latin and I felt a charge in the air, but nothing happened. That startled him, and I took advantage of the opportunity to reach for his arm. If he was going to get out of here, he was going to have to drag me with him. I tried to dig my heels into the floor, but the tile didn’t give me much traction. All this time I was screaming at the top of my lungs. “Hello! Help! Security! Somebody!” Finally, in desperation, I yelled, “Owen!” He better have meant it when he said to just ask if I needed help.
The intruder then gave up on magic and went for physical force, shoving me roughly away from him. He was bigger than I was, so the force carried me across the hallway to hit the opposite wall. There was an audible thunk as my temple smacked into the wall. I slumped to the ground, dazed.
Why wasn’t anyone coming? I thought I’d shouted loud enough to wake the dead. But then the interloper flew back against the other wall, as though someone had thrown him. He remained pinned there, his feet several inches off the floor. He no longer looked like he thought no one could see him.
I turned to see Owen standing in the corridor, his face flushed and his hair mussed, like he’d run the moment he heard my shout. Good old superhero friend Owen. But he wasn’t the sweet, shy guy I’d come to know in the past week. He looked like someone I wouldn’t want to mess with. If I’d thought the hint of restrained danger he’d shown earlier was sexy, now he was downright hot. I understood why heroines in superhero movies were always swooning into their unitard-wearing heartthrobs’ arms after being rescued. It wasn’t that they were shrinking violets or weak girly-girls. It was just that seeing a man do something so extraordinary and supernatural to save you has a way of making your knees go weak in a very pleasant way. I’d always heard power was an aphrodisiac, but I hadn’t considered the possible implications of that when working for a magical company.
The guy pinned to the wall seemed to try to do something to counter whatever it was Owen had done to him. He muttered something in a foreign language, waved his hands, and even twitched his nose, and I felt the tingle of energy that came with magic use, but it didn’t do him much good. He remained stuck there.
“Who are you?” Owen asked him in a voice that was soft, yet full of power.
The man opened his mouth to speak, as if compelled to do so, but then he struggled to clamp his mouth shut again. Owen held out his hand, and the packet of papers that had been under the guy’s jacket flew to him. The guy continued to struggle. Owen waved his hand casually, and the man slumped to the ground in a daze.
Now I thought I understood what Rod had meant about keeping Owen shy for safety. The intruder was panting and sweating with effort, while Owen didn’t have so much as a bead of moisture on his forehead. I could see where you wouldn’t want someone with that kind of power to have a big ego or a sense that anyone owed him anything. If he got it into his head that he wanted to take over the world, it wouldn’t be easy to stop him.
Wouldn’t you know it, I’d go and develop a thing for a guy who was way out of my league, in so very many ways. A super powerful wizard didn’t really fit into my lifestyle. I could just imagine taking him home to meet my folks. I’d have enough trouble explaining my job to them. What could Owen possibly say about his job that wouldn’t send my dad off to get his shotgun to scare this weirdo away from his daughter? It would be even worse if I’d inherited my magical immunity from my parents. Then the last thing I needed to do was let anyone magical into my nonwork life. Not that Owen would have the slightest interest in going to Texas and meeting my folks. Hadn’t they said during my interview that I came from a very nonmagical place?
The department door opened and Sam flew inside, followed by a crew of large men. “Took you long enough,�
�� Owen said, sounding more like his usual self.
“Aw, I knew you had things under control, boss,” Sam said as he landed in front of the intruder. “Take him away, boys.”
“Hold him in Security. We’ll have someone talk to him later,” Owen directed.
Sam saluted with one wing, then flew off after the security group that was levitating the petrified body down the hallway. Once they were gone, the sense of power and energy that had filled the hallway faded away. I tried to get up, but a hand on my shoulder pushed me back down. I looked up to see Owen leaning over me, his face full of concern. Then he turned around and said, “Everyone, back to work.” I noticed people disappearing into labs up and down the corridor.
“Are you okay?” he asked me softly.
“I’m fine, really.”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t think you are. We need to get someone to take a look at you. And I suspect the boss will want to talk to you.”
“The boss. You mean Merlin?”
“Yes, Merlin.”
The fact that I was talking like I’d had a couple of glasses of champagne on an empty stomach was a pretty good sign I wasn’t okay, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to deal with Merlin in this state, and I was definitely sure I didn’t want to deal with Owen right now. Dealing with Owen without making a total fool of myself required the ability to think straight, something I didn’t have at the moment.
“Okay, I’m not so fine. Just a bit dizzy. There’s a hospital down the street, though.”
He got an arm around me and helped me to my feet. “That’s not necessary. Mr. Mervyn is a healer. He can see to you while we talk about what happened here.”
“I’m not magical, remember? Immune. Magic healing won’t work on me.”
He chuckled as he draped my left arm across his shoulders and circled my waist with his right arm. That felt really nice, a little too nice. When was the last time a man had put his arm around me like that, whether or not it was for romantic reasons? “Not all healing is magical. Mr. Mervyn was a Renaissance man long before the Renaissance.”
“I’m about to find out what’s going on here, why they brought him back, aren’t I?” I asked as we made our way slowly to the turret escalator.
“Yes, I imagine you are.”
Merlin/Mr. Mervyn met us at the top of the stairs. “Is she hurt?” he asked.
“I think so,” Owen responded. “She hit her head.”
“Get her to my office. The suspect’s in custody?”
“Security has him.”
Soon I was deposited on a soft sofa. There were more voices in the room now, but all I noticed was Owen’s hand gripping mine. “I don’t know how he got in, but if Katie hadn’t spotted him . . .”
“What was he trying to steal?” Merlin’s voice came from across the room.
“Our research on the Idris situation.”
“Then he’s definitely worried, or he suspects we are.” This time, Merlin’s voice came from nearby. Something cool touched my forehead. It smelled good, minty and flowery. “Here, rest this against the lump. It should take down the swelling.”
I opened my eyes to see Merlin kneeling beside me. Take away the business suit and put him in robes studded with stars, then grow his beard out to be long and pointy instead of neatly trimmed, and he was right out of a picture book about King Arthur I’d had as a child. “Merlin,” I said. I thought I’d been musing silently, but I must have spoken out loud. “Mind if I call you Merlin?”
“Not at all, dear. Now, tell me what you’re seeing.”
“I see you, and Owen. And your office.”
He held a hand in front of my face. “How many fingers am I holding up?”
I squinted at the wavering image. “Two. I think.”
He exchanged a look with Owen, then the two of them helped me lie down on the sofa. Merlin put a pillow under my head, while Owen took off my shoes and covered me with a light blanket that I didn’t remember being there.
Merlin knelt beside me again. “Katie, I believe you have a mild concussion. You need to rest awhile. I’ll give you a cordial that should prevent a very bad headache, and the poultice will keep you from swelling and bruising too badly.”
He went away for a moment, then came back and lifted my head gently as he put a small glass to my lips. “Now, drink.” I obeyed, and a tangy, sweet liquid flowed down my throat. I sank gratefully back against the pillows.
I didn’t fall asleep, but I let myself drift as the voices in the room began speaking to each other, apparently ignoring my presence. They sounded like they were having an emergency meeting. It had to be a meeting about the intruder, which must have had something to do with whatever was threatening the company enough that they’d brought Merlin out of retirement to deal with it. I tried to listen, even though I kept drifting away.
A voice I didn’t recognize asked, “How did an intruder get in anyway? I thought that area was secured.”
“It is secured,” Owen protested. “All I can think is that the intruder tailed someone else into the building and into the department, using an invisibility spell.” He groaned and added, “I’d just had Wiggram Bookbinder in, selling me a rare codex. The intruder probably followed him. Or, as desperate as Wig seemed to be, it’s entirely possible that the whole thing was a setup to get the spy inside. If Katie hadn’t been there to see past that spell, we’d be in big trouble.”
“Maybe you’d better meet with your shady sources somewhere other than in a highly secured department,” the other voice said, but then he seemed to swallow his argument before he got really wound up.
I soon learned why. “Gentlemen, I believe the real issue at hand is that Mr. Idris has been reduced to espionage,” Merlin said, his voice sounding grim. I could only imagine what his face must have looked like. It would be enough to shut anyone up.
“But why?” one of the other voices asked.
“He wants to know what we’re planning to do about him,” Owen said.
“What are we planning?” another voice asked.
“That’s the problem,” Owen said with a sigh. “We don’t have much to go on. If he’d managed to get his hands on these notes, he would have laughed at how ineffectual we are. All we know is what he was working on when we dismissed him. There’s no way of telling what he’s doing now until we find a copy of a spell. Even then, we don’t have any control over what he does. All we can do is find a way to counter it.”
“It’s a little late to worry about that, isn’t it?” the other voice asked. “We’ve heard he’s already got some spells out there. They’re not mass market, but he’s got customers. Whatever he’s doing has been unleashed on the world, and we don’t know what damage will be done before we can develop a counterspell.”
“Perhaps some of our panic is premature,” Merlin said softly. “We don’t know who might buy or use these spells. All we know is what he wanted to market through us, and that our corporate leadership found his ideas distasteful. There’s a very good chance that the general magical population will find his ideas equally distasteful.”
“But what do we do if people buy and use these spells? Judging by what we saw him doing here, we know his work is dangerous. I can’t begin to imagine his work would be any less dangerous without our constraints.”
“We need more time,” Owen said softly, his voice full of despair. “We’re doing everything we can, but it’s not enough.”
I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. As powerful as he was, it had to be hard to acknowledge that doing everything he could wasn’t good enough. I also didn’t like the idea of a rogue sorcerer selling bootleg spells, or whatever this guy was doing. Unfortunately, I knew next to nothing about magic, so there wasn’t much I could do to help.
Or was there? I did know a thing or two about business, and this seemed to be as much a business problem as it was a magic problem. In fact, although this business seemed like it belonged to another universe, it wasn’t that different from a situati
on I recalled from my days at the feed-and-seed. Our family had been running that business for nearly a century, as long as the town had been around. Not only had we been supplying the current generation of farmers and ranchers, but we’d supplied their fathers and grandfathers. A few years ago a national chain store had opened in a nearby town, offering lower prices. Farming is a low-margin business at the best of times, so those low prices were tempting to our customers. We just had to remind them why they’d been coming to us all those years, and why that new store wasn’t the same.
Holding the poultice pack against my head, I sat up very carefully and waited for the room to steady itself before I said, “It seems to me that your main problem at this point is that you have competition, regardless of what your competition is offering. Make him compete on your level, and you can reduce the impact he might have.”
All the men in the room turned to look at me, and I felt suddenly very self-conscious. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut and continued to play dead, but it was too late for regrets, so I plunged on while they were too stunned to say anything. “I don’t really know the situation, so maybe I’m missing something, but from what y’all have said, it sounds like one of your former employees went into business for himself and now may be offering some less pleasant alternatives to your products.”
“That’s a very acute and concise summation of the situation, Katie,” Merlin said.
“Okay, good. Thanks. Well, anyway, until you’ve got a way to stop the less pleasant effects of what he’s doing, it seems to me that what you need to do is get people to choose your spells over his.”
They all looked at one another and nodded. Merlin and Owen both smiled. “How do we do that?” one of the others asked me.
Enchanted, Inc. Page 13
