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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."
