The waitress chose that moment to stop by and say, “Are you interested in dessert tonight?”
Ethan looked at her, then at the molten chocolate cake on our table, then back at her. “Uh, we’re good. Thanks. This dessert should do it.”
The waitress stared at him for a long moment, frowning, then shrugged, said, “Whatever,” and left.
I turned my head with the pretense of watching the waitress leave so I could see Owen’s and Rod’s reactions. Both of them looked surprised, then Rod rolled his eyes and shook his head. Owen’s eyes narrowed in a challenge. I braced myself.
Ethan reached for his cappuccino, but the cup scooted away from him. He tried again, and it darted sideways. I watched, wondering how he’d rationalize this one. “Boy, it’s slippery,” he said after a while. “I’m glad I stuck to one beer.”
I put a bite of chocolate cake into my mouth—no sense wasting it, and it kept me from having to say anything—and glanced at the guys. Now Owen was grinning smugly while Rod looked frustrated. I got the feeling this was no longer about verifying Ethan’s response to magic. Magical men appeared to be just as competitive as anyone else with a Y chromosome.
It then started snowing gently over our table. White flakes danced and spun in the air, then settled on us and on the table before vanishing without making us cold or damp. It was a truly spectacular sight, and no one else in the restaurant gave it a second look.
Ethan closed his eyes for nearly a full minute, then opened them again to see that it was in fact still snowing indoors. He then looked at me with a desperate plea in his eyes. “Tell me I’m not going crazy.”
“Why would you think you’re going crazy?”
“Either I’m having vivid hallucinations or some very strange things are happening here.”
“Like what?”
“Well, first there were the people with wings. And by the way, they still have wings. It wasn’t a trick of the light. And then my beer turned into a Coke. And then we got dessert worthy of the Ritz, but the waitress doesn’t even notice and asks us if we want dessert. I can’t catch my cup, and now it’s snowing inside a restaurant. Water I could understand from a leaky ceiling, but snow?” He shook his head. “And now you’re going to tell me that none of that happened, and you’re mad at me for telling the waitress we didn’t want dessert.”
I glanced toward Owen and Rod. Owen, who looked just a wee bit smug, gave me a solemn “go ahead” nod. I turned my attention to Ethan and asked, “Do you see things like that often?”
He ran a hand through his hair, making it stand up on end. “Would it sound totally crazy if I said I did?”
“Try me.”
“Okay, then. Yes, I do see things like that every so often, more often lately.”
“How long have you lived in New York?”
“Just since law school.”
“And where did you live before that?”
“A small town upstate.”
“Did you see weird things before you moved to New York?”
He shrugged. “I probably wouldn’t have noticed if I had. I never took my nose out of a book. I’m crazy, right? This is turning out to be a great date.”
I leaned toward him across the table. “Have you ever considered the possibility that you really are seeing people with wings? Or that you’ve really seen elves and gnomes around town, or that gargoyles come and go from churches and buildings? Or that some people seem to be able to flick their wrists and get whatever they need?”
He stared at me like I’d grown wings myself. “How did you know?” he asked in a hoarse whisper.
“Because I see them, too, and I’m pretty sure I’m not crazy. In fact, I know that fairy at the other table. Her name’s Trixie, but she prefers to be called Trix. I work with her.”
His mouth hung open. “Huh?”
“Do you believe in magic?”
“Magic? You mean like pulling rabbits out of a hat and card tricks?”
“No, more like making things appear out of thin air—for real.”
“I’ve read all the Harry Potter books, all the Lord of the Rings books, and the entire Narnia series, among others, but otherwise I haven’t given it much thought.”
It appeared that I’d found a real fantasy nerd. I wasn’t sure if that would make this easier or more difficult. “Well, magic is real. It’s different from the books, and to be honest, I don’t know a lot about it, but a lot of those fantasy creatures you read about are real. There are people who really can do magic.”
“Can you do magic?”
I shook my head. “Nope. I’m as nonmagical as you can get, to the point that magic doesn’t work on me. And you’re the same way. That’s why you see the things you do. Most people have just enough magic in them to be influenced by it. They don’t see weird things because the magical people have ways of masking them so they look normal. But we don’t see the illusions. We see the truth. So we see the wings and the ears and the results of spells.”
He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes again. “Wow.” He shook his head, then pinched his own arm, winced, and blinked. “Wow. Either I’m really and truly nuts or this explains a lot.”
“Believe me, I know how you feel. I didn’t get clued into all of this until very recently.”
“I don’t know what to think. I don’t know whether to believe you or whether I should just start drinking heavily. There’s no such thing as magic.”
“You’d be surprised. Want me to introduce you to Trix?”
He shook his head violently. “I’m not sure I could deal with that right now.”
“I do know some people who’d be better at helping you figure this out than I am. I work for a magical company. They need people like us to help them see through all the illusions. You could be an incredible asset to us. There was already the possibility we might retain you for some legal matters, if we thought you could deal with the truth, but you being an immune, well, that changes things. We’re always looking for people like you.”
“I just . . . I don’t know.”
“What will it hurt to talk? At worst, you’ll get a better sense of whether or not you’re crazy.”
“Just talk?”
“And maybe a little legal advice. We really do need some help in an intellectual property matter.” I decided I might as well come clean, through and through. “To be honest, that’s mostly why I wanted to go out with you. I remembered our conversation, and it was particularly applicable to the situation we found ourselves in. You can understand how in our line of work, we can’t just call the law firm of Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe and hire a lawyer.”
“Yes, I can see where that wouldn’t necessarily work so well.”
“Not that I don’t find you interesting,” I hurried to add. “I just did have an ulterior motive. What’s going on . . . well, it’s big. And important.”
He frowned in thought for a moment. “A new client is always good,” he said after a while. “I have some time free at ten Monday. Would that work?”
I was pretty sure we’d make it work. Besides, Merlin would probably know already, in that weird way he had. “Ten would be fine.”
I didn’t have my own business cards, but I found the one Rod had given me in my purse. “Here’s the address, and there’s a map on the back. Let me write in my direct line for you.” On the back of the card where the map was, I wrote my name and my office phone number. “Just ask for me at the front desk.”
He took the card and studied it. “MSI, Inc., huh? What’s that stand for?”
“Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc.”
“Okay, then, I’ll see you Monday. Do you mind if we call it a night? I’m not sure I’m up to dealing with anything else tonight.”
“Not at all.” I grabbed the check before he could. “I insist. After all, I lured you here under false pretexts for business purposes.” He didn’t put up a fight. He looked too drained to argue.
“At least let me make sure you get home o
kay. You said you live near Union Square?”
“Yeah, off Fourteenth. But I’ll be fine.” In the state he was in, I doubted he’d be much of a bodyguard.
“No, I can’t leave a lady to get home by herself.”
“Believe me, I’m well looked after. But you can walk me to the subway. I live very close to a stop, so I’ll be fine.” We left the restaurant, with Rod and Owen still sitting at the bar, and walked down the sidewalk toward the subway station. I saw Sam still on his perch from earlier in the evening and waved to him. “Hi, Sam!”
“Hey, sweetheart!” He left his perch and glided down to join us on the sidewalk.
I thought poor Ethan would have a stroke. “Okay, that’s a gargoyle, and it’s talking to us,” he said.
“Ethan, I’d like you to meet Sam. Sam, this is Ethan. Ethan will be coming by the office Monday for a talk with the boss.”
“Yeah, I can see why. Good call, doll face.”
“Okay, I am definitely coming to your office,” Ethan said, his face ashen. “If this isn’t real, I need serious professional help.”
I heard a voice singing my name, winced, and said, “Unless you don’t think you’ve maxed out your weirdness quotient for the day, you should probably go now.” He looked like he was about to ask a question, then changed his mind and took off.
Ethan got away just in time, for as soon as he disappeared around one corner, Jeff arrived around another corner, loudly serenading me with his version of “Mandy.” I didn’t want to know how he knew how to find me. There were way too many people following me these days—Idris’s henchmen, my MSI bodyguards, and my lovelorn suitor. On the bright side, the more people who followed me around, the harder it would be for Idris and his people to pull anything funny.
“Hi, Jeff,” I said with a resigned sigh. “Want to make yourself useful?”
“Of course, my lady fair.”
“Walk me home.” He looked like I’d handed him the world on a platter, and extended his elbow to me. I hesitated a second, then took it. He extolled my beauty the entire way home, and by the time we got there, I’d come to the conclusion that I could get used to that. It would have been even better if he hadn’t been under an enchantment that made him say those things, but I consoled myself with the idea that Owen was at least a little bit behind it all. Somehow, I didn’t see him being quite so corny—or so eloquent—but it would be nice if he shared the same basic ideas about me.
I was hoping to sneak home and be in bed before the others got home so I wouldn’t have to answer the ritual postdate interrogation, but my recent luck held, and Gemma and Marcia, with Philip on Gemma’s arm, were just starting to unlock the front door as we approached. I hurried to disengage myself from Jeff’s arm, which took elbowing him in the ribs, so I wouldn’t have to explain why I’d gone out with one guy and come home arm in arm with another. I was about to send him away, but then I took another look at the trio at the door.
Philip and Gemma had that glow of new love. Marcia looked glum. I had a good idea what must have happened. Gemma had set Marcia up with someone so they could double date, and it had gone horribly wrong. I imagined another evening of arguing, as had happened when she’d been set up with Ethan. Then I took a look at Jeff. He was the opposite type from anyone Gemma ever set her up with, but that might be what she needed. He was good-looking, well built, and didn’t seem like he’d give her much of a challenge. She’d like that, at least for a while.
I thought I might not need Owen’s help to break this spell after all. “Come on, I’d like you to meet my friends,” I said to Jeff. Then I shouted, “Hey, hold on a second!” to Marcia before she let the front door close. The three of them paused in the doorway as Jeff and I hurried to catch up.
Gemma and Marcia looked pointedly at Jeff, who was very clearly not Ethan. I gave them my best “I’ll explain later” look and launched into introductions. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet Jeff. He’s a friend I ran into on the way home. Jeff, this is Gemma, Philip, and Marcia.”
Gemma gave him a dazzling smile. Philip gave him a proper handshake and said, “Pleased to make your acquaintance,” then frowned and asked, “Do I know you? You look familiar.” Marcia ate him up with her eyes, then glanced guiltily at me. I gave her a “go ahead” nod.
“Hi, Jeff,” she said, her voice low and husky.
He took one good look at her, blinked, and shivered. Then he lost the silly love-struck expression he’d had since I’d kissed him and got a totally different silly love-struck expression, one that was much more suited to him. “Hey,” he said, not taking his eyes off her face. “I know a great place just around the corner.”
“Okay,” she said, then said to us, “I’ll catch you later,” without taking her eyes off him. They took off down the street.
“And they say there’s no such thing as love at first sight,” Gemma remarked as she started up the stairs with Philip. I had a feeling the spell had been well and truly broken, with no magical help needed. And now both my roommates were dating former frogs. My life was so weird.
I got a brief reprieve from providing a date report since Marcia was out and Philip was around for most of the evening. Then, the next morning as we sat around the table, eating breakfast and sharing sections of the New York Times, the focus was on Marcia and Jeff. Marcia was downright giddy, and she didn’t usually do giddy, so this had to be something special. But I couldn’t avoid the issue forever. Soon enough the topic of conversation turned to my social life. “You didn’t say how your date went last night, Katie,” Marcia said. “Was Ethan as boring as I remembered?”
“It couldn’t have been too great if she came home with someone else,” Gemma quipped.
“It wasn’t bad, actually. He’s a nice guy,” I said. The date had been deeply strange, but he had been nice.
“Did he talk about anything other than work?”
I’d more or less planned it that way, so I couldn’t blame him if he hadn’t. “I found his work interesting, but we did get around to other subjects.” Like my work and the existence of magic.
“Do you like him? Do you think you’ll see him again?” Gemma asked.
“I have a feeling I’ll see him again,” I said in all honesty. “At least, I hope so. And I think I do like him.” He was cute and smart, and he seemed to have a sense of humor. He was also as ordinary as I was. He didn’t hide behind an illusion, and he couldn’t work his will by waving his hand. That set him apart from all the other men in my life these days.
“He was pretty cute, in a nerdy sort of way,” Marcia mused. “It was too bad he had no personality.”
“I thought he had plenty of personality,” I protested. “You just didn’t like not being the smartest one in the room for a change.”
“You may have a point there,” she said. No one could say Marcia wasn’t honest, even with herself. “But still, you’re welcome to him. He’s a better fit for you than he is for me anyway. Just as Jeff was definitely suited to me.”
“Maybe we should swap dates more often.”
By this time I was no longer surprised to find Owen waiting for me on the sidewalk each morning when I left for work. I was surprised neither of my roommates had commented on the gorgeous guy who made a habit of hovering in front of our building. This was Owen, though, who had a talent for making himself seem invisible, whether he used magic or not.
“That was quite a discovery you made this weekend,” he said as we began the walk to the subway station. “You honestly had no idea you were dealing with an immune?”
“Not really, though I suppose there was a clue I missed. But it works out well for us if he is immune and he’s a lawyer who may be able to help us. That’s if he doesn’t just go nuts.”
“It must be difficult, to see things you know shouldn’t be there and not understand why.”
“You two didn’t help with that. Were you trying to outdo each other in weirdness?”
He turned red. “How do you think he’ll respo
nd? Do you think he’ll show up?”
“I certainly hope so. If he does, be gentle with him. He seems to have been on the verge of a breakdown for a while. He’s been under a lot of stress, and that’s why he thought he was losing it.”
“Didn’t we do a good job telling you the news?”
I tried to recall that day when my view of the world had been turned upside down. It seemed so long ago, I couldn’t remember a time when I didn’t know about magic. “I didn’t go insane, and I seem to be functioning okay, so I suppose you didn’t do so bad,” I admitted.
He opened his mouth like he was going to say something else, then shut it abruptly, clenching his jaw like he was making a concerted effort not to say anything more. We didn’t talk much the rest of the way to work. He looked pensive, totally lost in thought, and I let him think. We needed all the brainpower he could muster right now.
I let Sam and the lobby security guard know I was expecting a visitor, then went upstairs to check in with Merlin. “He’s coming at ten this morning,” I said. “I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s wonderful. I can’t believe you found us such a good resource.”
“Let’s not get carried away. He was really freaked, so I’m not sure how willing he’ll be to cooperate. This might have been easier if we hadn’t had to spring the truth about magic on him the way we did.”
“I’m sure he’ll be fine. We’ll meet with him in my office.”
“Okay, I’ll let you know when he gets here.”
It was hard to concentrate on my other work—going over some reports for Merlin—while I waited for ten to arrive. Then it was ten after ten, and I hadn’t heard anything. I tried not to be disappointed. It was a lot to expect someone to deal with. I’m not even sure I would have shown up if I’d known ahead of time what I was facing.
Finally, at fifteen after, Hughes called me from the lobby to say my guest had arrived. I hurried downstairs and found a pale, sweaty Ethan standing there, looking dashing in a dark power suit. “I’m sorry I’m late,” he said. “I almost didn’t come at all. I walked around the block a few times before I made up my mind.”
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