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“What enchanted shoes?” Ethan asked. “Did we miss something? What’s going on?”
“There’s no spell on these shoes,” one of the bystanders I’d tossed my shoes to shouted.
Ari whirled in surprise. “Yes, there was!” she blurted.
I grabbed her wing again. “And how would you know?”
“They were enchanted,” Owen said. “They were affected by a rather powerful, layered spell that not only altered the perceptions of people around Katie, but also gave the caster some degree of control over her and served as a way of transmitting other spells to her and others around her. I broke it, of course. I can provide the documentation, but I will say that Ari’s fingerprints were all over it.”
The shoes were passed forward through the crowd. Owen took them and handed them to me. I put them back on, and this time they didn’t have to be enchanted to make me feel confident and powerful. I faced her and said, “You were my friend. How could you?”
“Like I’d ever really be friends with you,” she said with a haughty sniff. “It was all an act, and you bought it.”
“Yeah, stupid, nonmagical me. But why is it that if I’m such a weakling, you had to resort to magic and removing my abilities in order to come even close to getting in my way?”
I realized as I said it how true it was. I had my own power, and it was maybe even more powerful than magic. I held myself taller and continued, “You may think I’m a pushover because I’m nice, but being nice means people like me, and they’re willing to trust me even when I’ve been afraid to trust them.” I couldn’t help but glance at Owen when I said that. “They’re willing to talk to me and listen to me, and they stay at my side no matter what. You have no idea how much power my friends give me.” Owen’s smile at that moment reinforced what I’d just said, and I felt a surge of strength.
“You probably wouldn’t think much of my father. He’s a simple Texas farmer, totally unmagical, but he taught me how to read a person’s eyes to look into her heart. I don’t need to be able to see past illusion to see the truth. I’ve had that skill all along. In fact, I had you nailed as our traitor even when I’d totally lost my immunity, while you were drugging me and putting the whammy on me. Something about you didn’t add up, and in my gut I knew the truth. I just didn’t have the evidence to pin it on you. But now, thanks to you, I do.”
I turned to Merlin. “Wouldn’t you consider much of what she’s said here a confession?”
“She does seem to know too much for someone who wasn’t involved,” he agreed. “Security, please take Miss Ariel into custody.”
Sam and some of his colleagues flew in and grabbed Ari. “Are you going to let them do this to me?” she shouted at Idris as they dragged her away.
We all turned, prepared for a fight. I noticed Owen flexing his wrists. But Idris simply shrugged. “Hey, all that was her deal. I was just her date. I thought it was only a little prank. And I think I’ll be leaving now.” He put his hands in his pockets and sauntered away.
I turned to Merlin. “You’re not going to let him get away, are you?”
“He’s right. He’s done nothing.”
“And he was very careful to keep his fingerprints off Ari’s work,” Owen added. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the one who devised that particular variant on the Cinderella spell, mostly because that kind of work is beyond her abilities, but she was certainly the one who cast it.”
“So we’re letting him go?” I couldn’t believe this.
“This time,” Merlin said. “We have no reason to hold him. If we did, we’d be guilty of the kind of chaotic inattention to the law that he usually practices, and we might even aid in his cause to draw others away from order. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a speech to finish.”
He climbed back to the top of the stairs. “As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted,” he began, and the employees gave an answering murmur of laughter. “We have much to celebrate this year, but much work ahead of us. For tonight, let us enjoy ourselves. Greet your fellow workers and know that you’re not merely employees of Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Incorporated, you’re also the vanguard in the effort to maintain the ancient standards and purity of magical use. Let us all continue to find ways to use our power to serve not only our community, but also the greater good of all humankind. And by the way, we met our targets, so you will all be receiving bonuses.”
The employees burst into applause and cheers, and I joined in, truly feeling like part of the group. I felt an arm around my shoulders and turned to see Owen smiling down at me. “Good work,” he said. “I didn’t anticipate her trying to frame you, but you handled it well.”
“Like I said, I’ve got my own powers.”
“You really do. And it looks like we got rid of at least one headache by exposing our spy.”
I shook my head. “No, it means we could have an even bigger headache. Idris may be in it for the chaos, but Ari’s a lot more focused, and with her it’s personal now. Plus, she has an attention span that lasts longer than your average commercial break.”
He frowned. “So the two of them really are working together…”
“Fasten your seat belt,” I said with a nod.
“Fortunately, she’ll be in custody for a while.”
“Let’s hope so, or we’re in trouble. You don’t want to give her a chance to pull his strings.”
Merlin waved his hand for attention once more. “I believe we have one additional portion of our celebration to carry out. This season we’ve attempted to pull together as a company by doing kind things for each other. Tonight, we’ll all learn the identities of our benefactors. Each of you was instructed to bring a gift tonight to present in person. Please take your gifts from beneath the tree and reveal your identities to your friends.”
“I guess I’ll be coming up short tonight,” I muttered as everyone swarmed to the tree. “Not that I’d want anything she gave me.” I shuddered, trying to imagine what it might have been.
