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“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.”
