“How did you know where to hit?”
“If I know something’s supposed to be there, I can feel it. Invisibility’s no good once you know someone’s there.”
That was good to know, and it explained how Owen had snagged that intruder, back when all this had started for me. “I don’t see anything else,” I said as I strained my eyes for anything odd. There was more light now, and the sun was halfway above the horizon.
“Something’s in motion, nine o’clock,” Ethan said mildly. He was really getting into this. I forced myself to turn calmly in that direction and noticed a man high up on another ride.
“Got him,” Owen said, just as calm as Ethan. “Let me know if he moves.”
“We should take our positions,” Merlin said. “Katie, watch our backs.”
I didn’t like having to turn away from them, even though I knew there was more security in facing away from one another. I just liked the visual reminder of having three men who were strong in various ways nearby. I wished the sun would get it in gear and finish rising so we could get this over with.
And my wish was granted, sooner than I expected. Four men came striding out of the fog, coming from the ocean end of the pier rather than from the boardwalk. “They’re here,” I said softly. Our whole group turned, and Owen and Merlin stepped forward, leaving Ethan and me behind them.
Our opponents looked like something out of a Matrix movie, all swirling black trench coats. I could practically hear the movie soundtrack swelling with the kind of ominous throbbing bass line that makes your seat vibrate. They moved slowly, relentlessly, toward us, the fog parting around them like it knew they were trouble and wanted to get as far away as possible. The fog had a good idea, as far as I was concerned. I realized that the throbbing bass line in my imaginary movie soundtrack was actually the pulse roaring in my ears. I was a simple farm girl from Texas. What was I doing here?
Then they got closer, and they looked more like what you’d see at a Matrix-focused science fiction convention. I would have laughed out loud if I hadn’t been afraid it would break my side’s concentration. These guys might have the wardrobe, but they needed to work on their intimidation. Then again, in this game, appearances had nothing to do with it. Owen wasn’t exactly the sort of person you’d guess was a powerful wizard if you saw him on the street.
Not that I had the slightest idea what kind of person I might see on the street and assume was a powerful wizard. But these guys definitely weren’t it. If we’d been in Silicon Valley, I would have pegged these guys for the founders of a software start-up. I supposed, in a way, that’s what they were.
I assumed that the one in front was Idris. He was about Owen’s age, but much taller, even taller than Ethan. He had a lanky beanpole build, all arms and legs and not enough grace to make use of his height on the basketball court. His trench coat sleeves struck him just above his wrists, and even though he was facing away from the sun, he wore dark shades.
His three sidekicks were even less impressive. One wore surplus military fatigues that didn’t fit him well. Another was short and squat, with a belly hanging out from under his black T-shirt. The fourth actually looked physically intimidating, but his face had the blankness of a mindless thug. I wasn’t sure how he was going to play a role in a magical battle.
With their side in jeans and fatigues, and the MSI team all in suits, this looked for all the world like a classic renegades versus establishment battle, but I knew Idris and his people weren’t fighting for creativity or freedom, only greed and power. For once, the ones in the suits were the good guys.
The tall guy stepped forward. “So, Owen, here we are again.”
“Hello, Phelan,” Owen said mildly, like they’d just bumped into each other in line at Starbucks. I was right about which one was Idris.
“You had to dig up Grandpa here on my account? What a laugh. I thought you were supposed to be hot stuff.”
“Try me.” Owen’s voice was full of ice and steel.
“I’m only here to advise on strategy,” Merlin said. “My advice was to get you out of the way.”
“What’s wrong, can’t handle a little competition?”
“Competition is fine. Misuse of power is an entirely different story,” Merlin replied. “We don’t use our abilities for personal gain, especially not at anyone else’s expense. That’s part of the code.”
“I never signed on to that code.”
“Obviously,” Owen said dryly. “And the sun is now up. I have an appointment this afternoon. Can we please get this over with?”
Idris opened his mouth to reply, but he was already sailing backward to land against the nearest lamppost. His cohorts likewise went flying. My hair felt like it was standing on end from all the power in the air. Ethan and I both stepped aside to get out of the way, even though we were supposed to be immune to the spells flying around.
The magical battle wasn’t anywhere near as spectacular as you’d think from the movies. It wouldn’t take much in the way of special effects to depict it. It was more of a silent battle of wills. I waited for someone to conjure up a dragon or at least a snake, but it didn’t seem to work that way. They weren’t even using wands that had sparks flying from the ends. Once Idris and his cronies righted themselves, the fight seemed to be all about them throwing spells and Merlin and Owen deflecting them. The strategy was apparently to just let the bad guys wear themselves out against Owen’s presumably greater resources. I wondered if Merlin had similar strengths. He was, after all, Merlin.
I felt a tingle, then caught movement out of the corner of my eye. One of the guys who’d been hiding was making his move. “Owen, look out,” I called. He turned just in time to deflect the surge of energy the guy threw at him, then he immobilized that guy the way he’d done the one up in the roller coaster.
“Cheating, Phelan? Doesn’t that indicate a lack of confidence?” Owen said to his opponent.
“Or lack of morals.” Idris sounded out of breath. Then he suddenly whirled like he was defending himself against an attack, leaving his back open for Merlin to hit him with something that temporarily paralyzed him. I hadn’t seen anything attacking him, and I realized that the attacker must have been one of Owen’s sleight-of-hand tricks. Idris brought extra people and used magic to hide them, while Owen was conjuring up imaginary attackers to distract Idris.
The henchmen gave up trying to fight directly with magic, and soon just about everything that wasn’t nailed down—and a few smaller things that were—was flying through the air at Owen and Merlin. I ducked beneath a bench but still tried to keep my eyes open for even more treachery. A trash can flew through the air toward Merlin, but Ethan jumped in to pull him to safety. It did hit Owen, striking a glancing blow that sent him to the ground before he waved a hand and flung it toward Idris.
I didn’t know enough about magic to have a sense of how the battle was going. Owen looked a little battered from the barrage, but was otherwise unruffled. Merlin looked like he was out for an afternoon stroll. Meanwhile, the other guys gasped for breath, all red-faced and sweaty.
Merlin pointed in the direction of one of the henchmen, and the man froze in his tracks. He sweated and strained, but apparently no longer had the strength to free himself. That was one out of the way. Owen similarly pinned another one. Now we were down to a more fair two-on-two fight—if we counted the official combatants. I suspected the bad guys had a few more tricks in reserve, and Ethan and I were still there. If it came down to it, I supposed I could contribute a few catfighting skills. I’d grown up with older brothers, so I could hold my own in a dirty brawl for a little while.
But for now it seemed that Merlin and Owen had the situation more or less under control. The air crackled with power that gave me goose bumps. I felt like I was caught in the middle of an electrical storm. A visibly weary Merlin finally disabled the remaining sidekick, while Idris and Owen were locked in a standoff. They stood about six feet apart, Idris with his arms stretched out in fron
t of him, Owen with his hands at his sides. I was sure I could see the power glowing between them. Now Owen was beginning to fray around the edges, but he still looked better than Idris did. Idris resembled those people they show on the news crossing the finish line after a marathon and promptly collapsing.
It seemed like it was just a matter of how long either of them could hold out. The last one to collapse would win the fight, and I’d put my money on Owen. I’d never before seen a full demonstration of what he could do, but now I could tell for sure that he was more than just a pretty face.
He seemed to have it more or less in the bag. Idris was wilting, backing away. But he was also smiling, which was not right for the situation. Now I got nervous. I looked around for a looming threat and saw nothing.
Then I looked again, and something was coming out of the east, flying through the sky, zooming toward Owen so rapidly that it became clearer to me in a fraction of a second. At first I thought it was a gargoyle like Sam, but it was some other kind of winged creature. I would have to find some mythology books if I was going to stay in this line of work.
“Owen, look out!” I shouted.
As it got even closer, I could see that the flying thing looked like a cross between a pterodactyl and a really, really ugly woman. Was this a harpy? It didn’t matter all that much at the moment because it was right on top of Owen, and I hadn’t managed to yell in time to give him a chance to react while he was still fighting off Idris. Neither he nor Merlin seemed to see it. The thing grabbed his shoulder with its claws, and that gave Idris a chance to catch his breath. Merlin jumped in to keep Idris occupied, but the thing still had a hold on Owen.
Whatever it was must have remained veiled, for Merlin couldn’t seem to figure out what to do about it. He waved a hand in its general direction, but it did no good because it squirmed around so much, dodging whatever Merlin sent its way. That couldn’t have been good for Owen’s shoulder. Then Merlin had to turn his attention back to Idris to keep him from launching a magical attack on Owen. Owen struggled, and the bird thing jerked about like something was hitting it, but it didn’t let go. I was sure the thing was going to eat Owen alive at the rate it was going.
It looked like it was up to me to save him. I didn’t have magical powers, an MBA, or a boyfriend, but I did have the ability to see what was really in front of me, which gave me an advantage here. I also had a pretty good right arm. I scrambled on the ground for something to throw and found a small, softball-sized chunk of cement that had been broken off of something larger during the fight. I picked it up and threw for all I was worth, mentally blessing the brother who’d insisted on teaching me to throw a baseball. He would have been proud of me. I hit the thing square between the eyes, making it release Owen.
Owen fell to the ground, clutching his injured shoulder. Blood flowed from between his fingers. Merlin immobilized the creature, which must have lost its veil when I stunned it. Owen got to his feet shakily, then let go of his shoulder and pointed a bloody hand toward Idris. Now he looked mad, really and truly angry, and I understood at last why he was held in awe. He was the nicest guy in the world, but you did not want him as your enemy. The air around Idris glowed, trapping him in a magical field. He struggled, then finally collapsed, and the field dropped. He raised his hand like he was going to try another spell, but I didn’t feel any surge of power along with it.
Then he took off running along the pier. Owen moved as though to chase him, but then swayed. Ethan leapt into action, giving chase. Before long he brought Idris down with a flying tackle that would have made any football coach proud.
It appeared to be over.
Merlin, Owen, and I made our way over to where Ethan had Idris pinned. Merlin looked exhausted, but he managed an impish grin as he said, “Mr. Idris, have you met our attorney? Now, Mr. Wainwright, if you’re through sitting on Mr. Idris, I’ll need you to draw up some documents. Miss Chandler, please see to Mr. Palmer.”
We made an odd procession on our way back to Ethan’s Mercedes, with Ethan frog-marching Idris, a very smug-looking Merlin alongside them. Owen, increasingly pale and shaky, followed, me supporting him. His left sleeve was now soaked in blood, and it appeared that he’d used up all his power resources and had tapped into his physical strength as well.
Ethan spread his legal documents out on the trunk of his car, while I made Owen sit on the backseat. I listened to all the legal mumbo jumbo while I peeled the bloody layers of coat, suit coat, shirt, and undershirt away from his injured shoulder. “You’re lucky you went with the power suit today,” I told him. “Otherwise, this would have gone a lot deeper.” The claw marks weren’t deep enough to cause serious damage, just enough to be painful and draw blood.
“It was one of my favorite suits,” he said plaintively. I tried to ignore the fact that the suit covered a very nice build. He hadn’t been lying about his gym habit.
From the back of the car I heard Ethan’s voice in lawyer mode. “So, what you’re agreeing to is that you will cease marketing any products based on your work done as an employee of Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Incorporated. That removes any products you have already released from the market, as well as affecting any future products you may produce. Now, if you’ll just sign here and initial here.”
“Use this pen,” Merlin said. “It makes the contract binding in more than a legal sense.”
“You’re kidding,” Ethan said. “Could I get a set of those for my practice?”
Owen winced as I dabbed the claw marks with disinfectant from the first-aid kit Ethan had in his trunk. “Sorry about that,” I said. “But you have no idea where those claws have been, and you don’t want an infection.”
“No, I don’t. Go on, do what you have to.”
He gritted his teeth as I finished cleaning the wounds, then bandaged them and pulled his bloody clothes back up over his shoulder. I took off my own overcoat and wrapped it around his legs. He looked a little shocky, and I didn’t want to leave him exposed.
“Now, if you’re quite through humiliating me, could you release my people?” Idris asked.
“It’s worn off by now,” Owen told him.
“This isn’t over, you know, Palmer. I’m perfectly capable of creating my own spells.”
Owen didn’t rise to his bait. “I’m sure you are.”
“You’re just lucky your girlfriend here has a good arm.”
Owen turned pink in spite of his ashy pallor, but his voice remained even. “She also has a good eye.”
“And a nice ass, but you’re going to need a lot more than that next time. I have things up my sleeve you haven’t begun to imagine.” He gave us a mocking bow and salute. “Until next time.” Then he turned and stalked away, back to the boardwalk.
“What an asshole,” I said before I realized I’d said it out loud.
“That’s putting it mildly,” Ethan chimed in. “He’s even worse than some of the lawyers I know, and that’s really saying something.”
“Do you really think he’ll come up with something else?” I asked nervously.
“I’m sure of it,” Merlin said. “That type doesn’t give up easily. And worst of all, I believe he’s out more for a sense of power than for material riches. He’d thoroughly enjoy being the one to trigger a magical war.”
“Then we’ll have to find a way to stop him.”
“It’ll take him a while to develop something on his own,” Owen said. “He was never the most original thinker. That should buy us some time to prepare.”
“We’ll have to rally our people once more. We’ve grown complacent, from what I can tell,” Merlin said. “The last challenge of this magnitude was about thirty years ago, according to the archives I’ve seen. I’ll have to study how, exactly, that challenge was met.”
“So this sort of thing happens often?” I asked.
“About once a generation seems standard. There’s always someone willing to try to cause widespread trouble, and then the good people have to find the w
ill to fight it.”
“Things seem to work that way in the real world, too,” Ethan remarked. “Shall we hit the road?”
“Do you have a towel or something?” I asked. “He’s going to bleed all over your leather seats.”
In addition to the first-aid kit, Ethan did have a towel, along with a spare blanket. My mother would love him. She never left the house without being prepared for a weeklong expedition into the wilderness. We got Owen settled in the backseat with a towel under his wounded shoulder and a blanket draped around him. “We’ll get you to the healer as soon as we get back to the office,” Merlin assured him with a gentle pat on his good shoulder. “It’s a pity I didn’t bring any of my potions with me. I wasn’t anticipating physical injuries.”
“I knew he’d cheat, but he took it further than I expected,” Owen said with a weak smile.
I passed around more coffee and cinnamon rolls, then we headed off, back to the city. I couldn’t wait to get back, or at least get out of that ghost town. I was sure it was a cheery place in the summertime, but now it was full of empty motels and skeletons of plastic palm tree trunks, their artificial fronds in storage for the winter. Before we were out of town, Owen was already asleep. I tucked the blanket more securely around him, then settled back in my seat for the ride to New York.
I don’t think I’d ever been so glad to see that skyline looming ahead of me. We went into the depths of the Holland Tunnel, then emerged on Canal Street in the refreshing combination of weirdness and normality that was Manhattan. It was good to be home. Then I realized that was the first time I’d truly thought of New York as home.
Ethan took us straight to the office and said he’d be back in a little while, after he got the car parked. By this time it took both Merlin and me to get Owen up to Merlin’s office. The initial shock had worn off enough that he was really feeling the pain now, and that, combined with the morning’s exertions, had left him weak and shaky. We got him onto Merlin’s couch, then I had Trix call for the company healer while Merlin got a painkilling potion into him.
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