Much Ado About Magic

by Shanna Swendson

  “To us,” James said firmly, standing by her side. “You will leave our boy alone.”

  One person wandered off with a shrug. Two more joined him. One man moved to block the stairs to Owen’s front door, but buckled under the combined glares from James and Gloria. I knew then that I’d made the right call in bringing them here. Owen needed allies like this, whether or not he wanted them.

  Since I had guests with me, I went through the formality of ringing the bell and waiting for a response that wouldn’t come, then unlocked the front door and led James and Gloria upstairs. “He’s got his door warded,” I warned them, “so I may have to talk him into letting you in.”

  “And who do you think taught him to set wards?” Gloria asked. “I’m sure we can find our way past them.”

  I forced myself to face Gloria and meet her eyes without wavering. “And I’m sure you shouldn’t,” I said as firmly as I could manage. “He’s being this way because he doesn’t trust himself. You’re not going to help that by going against his wishes and acting like you don’t trust him. You’ll either go through that door because he lets you, or you’ll shout through it.”

  She held my gaze long enough for it to become a staring contest, then she nodded curtly. “Yes, you do have a point. Very well, then, go and talk him into letting us in. We will wait.”

  I unlocked the door and passed through the wards, calling out, “Owen?”

  He was standing by his desk, looking out the front window. “Why did you bring them here?” he asked without turning around.

  “Because your parents want to talk to you.”

  “They’re not my parents.”

  “Yes, they are. Whether or not the Morgans were your birth parents, James and Gloria are your real parents. They’re the ones who took you in and brought you up. They’re the ones who taught you right from wrong and how to use your power responsibly. They’re the reason that in spite of you having just about every possible strike against you, you didn’t turn out to be a monster. They care about you. They’re the reason you’re the man I love.” I realized a second after I said it that this might not have been the best time to use the L-word for the first time, but it was done, I meant it, and I might as well go on. “And you’re going to hear them out if they have to shout through the door.”

  I felt the surge of magic that sometimes came when he was angry or frustrated and in danger of losing control. “They may not have known who I really was, but that makes the way they treated me even worse.”

  “Maybe you should talk to them about why they were that way. And maybe you should get over being afraid of things that have already happened and start worrying about the future. If you want to be public enemy number one, you’re making a really good start. Now, if you need me, you know where to find me, but you’ll have to be the one to come looking because I’m done trying to talk sense into you.”

  He didn’t say anything, so I turned and left, but as I went through the doorway, I felt the wards shift. “We’ll take it from here,” James said, bending to kiss my cheek before the two of them headed into Owen’s house and shut the door behind them.

  *

  I didn’t want to go home, and I couldn’t face the office, so I went to my favorite place for grounding myself, the greenmarket in Union Square. It was my taste of country in the city, and looking at all the fresh fruits and vegetables cheered me up a little. As frustrated as I was with Owen about his reluctance to research his past, I could kind of understand his fears.

  While I was still in the market, a few drops of rain began to fall, then it quickly turned into a real downpour. Of course, I didn’t have an umbrella with me, though I probably should have known to expect rain, since Gloria had brought hers. I headed for home, jogging so I could get out of the rain sooner.

  By the time I neared my building, I’d given up jogging, since I was already utterly drenched and getting there a few seconds faster wouldn’t make me less wet. As I drew closer to my front door, I noticed someone leaning against a lamppost, near where Owen usually waited for me in the mornings. I had to wipe the water and wet hair away from my eyes to see clearly. He was as wet as I was—or worse—and wore a baseball cap pulled down over his eyes, but I still would have recognized Owen Palmer anywhere.

  He shoved away from the post as I approached and took a hesitant step toward me. I couldn’t read his eyes under the cap’s brim, but he gave me a hesitant smile before saying, “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” I said.

  Then he stepped into my arms and buried his face against my neck. I hugged him, rubbing his back while he clung to me. “I’ve been such a jerk,” he whispered into my ear. “I have no excuse for treating someone I love that way, and I want you to know that I do love you.”

  He took a few deep breaths, then pulled away just enough to look me in the eye. “You’re right, you know. I have to deal with this, and I can’t hide forever. So, do you want to come to the fire station with me?”

  “Sure,” I said, grinning in a way that must have looked foolish.

  He reached out and took my hand. “Okay, then, let’s do this. You know where to go, so lead the way.”

  Just as we turned to head for the subway, there was an odd magical popping sound, and Mack, the black-clad magical enforcer, appeared. His face was set into grim, cold lines, his lips narrowed to a slit in his face, and his eyes were hard. There was another man with him, also wearing black.

  Mack stepped up to Owen. “Owen Morgan, also known as Owen Palmer, you are hereby taken into custody for examination on charges of conspiracy to commit magical crimes.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  At the same time, Owen and I shouted, “What?”

  The men moved to hold Owen’s arms, and he wormed out of their grasp. I clutched Mack’s arm and demanded, “On what grounds?”

  “That is for the Council to discuss,” Mack said as he grabbed Owen again, and this time the two men didn’t give him a chance to struggle as they conjured a silver cord to bind his wrists.

  “But there isn’t any proof of anything,” Owen protested. “If this is about that jewelry store incident, you were there! You know what happened.”

  “A complaint has been made, and it must be answered,” Mack said stiffly, as if reciting something he didn’t entirely believe.

  “Come on, this is ridiculous,” I said, grabbing Mack’s sleeve. “You can’t do this.” The other man raised a hand at me, and I smirked when his magic had no effect. “Sorry, doesn’t work,” I said. “Now how are you going to stop me?”

  “Katie, don’t,” Owen shouted, his voice tight with desperation. “Get James and Gloria, now.”

  I reluctantly released Mack’s sleeve, and I’d barely stepped away before all three of them vanished. Then I spun and took off as fast as I could run for Owen’s house, my heart pounding in time with my racing feet. I didn’t bother ringing the bell before I let myself in the front door with Rod’s key, then knocked briefly on Owen’s door before letting myself in and rushing inside.

  “Gloria? James?” I called out as I stood dripping in the front hall and gasping for breath.

  Gloria came running from the direction of the kitchen, while James emerged from the living room. “You’re soaking wet,” Gloria said, managing to sound stern and concerned at the same time.

  “They took Owen,” I blurted between gasps. “The men from the Council, the ones in black. One of them was named Mack. He said he knew you. They said Owen had to answer to the Council for a complaint filed against him, something like conspiracy to commit magical crimes.”

  Gloria’s anger was so fierce that I shrank away from her. Her nostrils flared and her eyes blazed with fury. “How dare they!” she said in a whisper that somehow seemed louder and more piercing than a shout. “James, we must stop this.”

  James had gone so pale that he was almost blue. “We should talk to Merlin,” he said. “He surely will not allow this to happen.”

  “Let me get my umbrella,�
�� Gloria said.

  It was theoretically impossible to hail a cab in New York when it was raining, but apparently no one had told Gloria. We walked to the end of the block to a major street, and then within seconds of her raising her umbrella, a cab had pulled over. I wasn’t entirely sure it was voluntary, but the cab didn’t have passengers in it, so I didn’t quibble.

  We made it downtown in near-record time, which I suspected had something to do with Gloria’s influence. I wasn’t sure if it was magic or just the fact that she was the kind of person around whom the universe rearranged itself. Sam popped to attention as James and Gloria approached, then came inside with us. “The boss had a feeling you’d be comin’,” he said.

  “He knows, then?” Gloria said.

  “Yeah, and talk about steamin’ mad. I thought he was gonna set the building on fire just by glarin’ at it.”

  Kim glanced up at us through her office doorway as we entered the executive suite, but even she knew better than to take on an angry Gloria, no matter how much it threw off Merlin’s schedule, and wisely stayed at her desk. Gloria marched into Merlin’s office and snapped, “How could you have let this happen?”

  Merlin looked nearly as angry as Gloria did. His eyes were hard and stern, and his breathing was heavy. “It was done without my approval, and I was notified after it was done.”

  “But why?” Gloria’s voice became almost plaintive. “There are no grounds. There’s no proof of who he might be, so how can he be blamed for that? And surely no one believes he’s been behind the magical crimes.” She sank onto Merlin’s sofa as though suddenly overcome with weariness. Her hands clutched her purse on her lap so hard that her arthritis-swollen joints whitened.

  “I can only assume the chairman was unduly influenced in some way,” Merlin said. “Ivor Ramsay must hope to create an enemy to take the blame for his own actions, while eliminating a potential threat to his position.”

  “But what can we do about it?” I asked.

  “I’m afraid there must be a hearing,” Merlin said with a nervous sidelong glance at Gloria. “Even to drop the charges entirely, the Council has to convene once the complaint has been made.”

  “When will the Council convene?” James asked as he sat in one of the wooden chairs facing the sofa.

  “No earlier than Monday, I’m afraid.”

  I tried not to groan out loud. Why had they taken Owen on a Friday afternoon, when nothing could be done until Monday?

  “Monday?” Gloria asked, raising an eyebrow. If I’d been Merlin, I’d have scrambled to do anything I could to change that before she turned me into a toad, but he showed no fear.

  “The Council does no business on weekends, I’m afraid,” he said.

  “And he must remain in custody the entire time?”

  “I am afraid so, but they assured me he is not being mistreated.”

  She gave a disdainful sniff, as though she was sure her definition of “mistreated” varied greatly from the Council’s.

  “Can we see him?” James asked.

  “Not until the morning of the hearing.”

  “We need to work on our case, then,” I said, pacing nervously around Merlin’s office. “We might as well take advantage of that extra time. I don’t know how to prove that Owen didn’t create the bad spells or use them. On the other hand, I’m not sure how they could prove their case. The charges are bogus, which makes me wonder if there’s a chance of a fair hearing. The whole thing is probably rigged.”

  “That is my fear,” Merlin said. “If Ramsay had the influence to get the chair to accept the complaint, I am worried that he might have influence in the hearing.”

  “Then what do we do?” I asked.

  “We prepare as though it’s a legitimate hearing,” Merlin said. “We have numerous character witnesses. People from throughout the company would be willing to speak on his behalf. Miss Chandler, you will need to be there, as well.”

  “I am rather biased,” I said, sure I was blushing.

  “As are we all, but that cannot be avoided in these circumstances. After all, one would hardly be a character witness if one were entirely neutral on the subject. You have seen him work magic on behalf of others and at risk to himself time and time again.”

  I’d also seen the rare moments when he lost control or did something too freaky for Merlin’s comfort, and then there was the time he went against orders and went to Texas to help me. I hoped that wouldn’t come up in the hearing.

  Sam flew into the office and perched on the back of the sofa. “Me and the boys have been talkin’, and we think we could probably pull off a jailbreak. I got it all planned how we could get in, but I’m still workin’ on how to get him out.”

  I didn’t think Sam was joking, but I expected Merlin to take it as a joke. Instead, he said quite seriously, “I would be interested in hearing your thoughts. I have some ideas on managing the escape.” That response didn’t instill me with confidence.

  Gloria stood. “Very well, we will return home to prepare as well as we can from our end. Katie, you will come stay with us Sunday night so that you will be there for the hearing.” It didn’t sound like I had much choice in the matter.

  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.”

  *r />
  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!”