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“Katie, it’ll be okay, right?” Marcia said when I got off the phone. I couldn’t tell if she was looking for reassurance or offering it.
“I don’t know. Everything’s out of control, and I have no idea what we can do.”
Chapter Nineteen
I took the train to James and Gloria’s town on Sunday afternoon, and James met me at the station. When I got to their house, I saw that there were new family photos on the fireplace mantle and bookshelves in the living room. On my first visit, I’d thought it odd that there were no pictures of Owen growing up, but they seemed to have decided that showing pride in their foster son could no longer be held against them, and they’d gone all-out. Gloria left me in there to get settled while she made tea, so I took the chance to study the pictures.
As Rod said, Owen had been a small, skinny kid with thick glasses. Until his late teens, he’d shown only hints of the good looks he’d grow into. The family portraits had a distinct sense of distance to them, as though he felt he didn’t really belong in them. He didn’t smile in many of the pictures, only in a candid shot where he was playing with a large German shepherd and seemed unaware of the camera and in one that must have been taken at Halloween with an older boy I recognized as Rod, with both of them wearing costumes. Owen was dressed as Robin Hood, while Rod wore a tux and carried a toy gun, so I assumed he was James Bond.
“They cannot tell me I’m not allowed to feel like a mother anymore,” Gloria’s voice said behind me, and I turned to see her standing straight and upright, a tea tray in her hands and her chin raised defiantly. I knew I wouldn’t want to be the Council member making accusations against her boy. Her expression softened a little as she added, “I heard what you said to him at his house the other day. Thank you. I hadn’t thought of it that way before, but you were right.”
“Well, he is a special guy, and I think you had a lot to do with that.”
It was a more comfortable visit than my first one, but it was still awkward staying in the Eatons’ home without Owen there, especially given the reason that Owen wasn’t there. I’d hoped that they might know something about whatever Merlin had planned, but they didn’t know any more than I did. I had a feeling none of us got much sleep that night.
The next morning, they made me drive their ancient but perfectly maintained Volvo, since James said his eyesight wasn’t up for driving outside their village. I had to move the seat forward and then adjust to driving something other than an old pickup truck with a stick shift. Having Gloria in the front seat watching everything I did didn’t help matters.
The Council’s headquarters was farther up the river in one of those mansions built by nineteenth-century robber barons—at least, that’s what it looked like, but the building seemed so ancient that it could have been transplanted directly from Europe. It looked like a spooky old-world abbey, and the entire place reeked of magic. My skin hummed from the power, and I wondered what it felt like to magical people.
The entrance was innocuous enough, with a butler meeting us in a foyer that wouldn’t have been out of place in any old mansion, but then he led us deeper into the house to a great hall, and I knew this wouldn’t be a pleasant social occasion.
The room was beyond imposing. The ceiling went higher than I would have thought possible in the building I’d seen from the outside, and it was braced with heavy beams the size of giant trees. The floor was made of flagstones worn smooth with time, and the walls down one side were paneled in dark, intricately carved wood, while the other side held stained-glass windows depicting the history of magic.
At the head of the hall stood a massive rectangular table set on a stage so that it loomed over everything. The chairs behind that table were equally massive, the backs going well above the height of even the tallest man, and they had magical symbols carved into them. I noticed that the floor also contained those symbols, formed out of a darker stone, but they were difficult to see unless you were standing back and got a broad view. In the middle of the pattern, directly in front of the high table and reaching almost to the front row of wooden spectator benches, was a circle formed out of the darker stone. I wondered what those symbols did—maybe they were wards or one of those magic-dampening fields?
Gloria turned to James and said, “Go help him get ready.” James nodded and left, carrying a garment bag. “They had best let him prepare to face this,” she said, her tone making it clear they would answer to her if they didn’t. She led me to the front of the room, where we took seats on the front row of benches. She sat with her back perfectly straight, her hands braced on her knees.
James joined us a few minutes later, sitting on Gloria’s other side. “He said he was thankful for the suit, but he was perfectly capable of dressing himself,” he reported.
Gloria took his hand and asked, “How is he?”
“Calm. He doesn’t look like he’s slept much, though. He did have all his limbs and fingers, and I didn’t see any bruises, so I don’t think they’ve mistreated him.”
“They wouldn’t dare.” She checked her watch. “I cannot wait to get this farce over with.”
More people trickled in. I recognized some of the Eatons’ neighbors, along with many of my friends from MSI. Rod sat by me, and then Ethan sat by him. Ethan leaned across Rod to say, “I offered to provide representation, but they assured me my law degree wouldn’t be of much use here.”
“I’m sure he appreciates the gesture,” I said with a weak smile.
“The situation is insane, anyway,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t get it.”
“That’s because it’s entirely trumped up,” Rod muttered. He glanced over his shoulder and said, “Uh oh, my parents are here.” I felt a faint burst of magic, and I assumed that meant he’d dropped his handsome illusion, or at least adjusted it so it didn’t affect his parents. I could see why, since he looked just like his father, and it wasn’t exactly a compliment to change his appearance so drastically.
I managed not to respond too strongly when Owen’s boss entered. I knew that meant things were quite dire, since Mr. Lansing rarely left his office, thanks to a magical industrial accident that had turned him into a giant frog. He had an illusion that made him look human to most people, but it took a lot of effort, so he usually sent Owen out on his behalf. I saw the frog, since illusions don’t work on me, and seeing a giant frog walking around is more than a bit disconcerting.
Jake came in and sat near the back. He wore a conventional suit and had his hair neatly combed, so it took me a moment to recognize him. Isabel sat next to him, and Trix was with her. Sam and a few other gargoyles perched in the rafters. The whole gang was there.
But it wasn’t just familiar faces filling the hall. The place was packed, and I didn’t recognize most of those people. Many of them craned their necks, looking like sightseers, and I wondered if this was the magical trial of the century, something people attended out of curiosity.
“Do you think Ramsay or Idris will show?” I whispered to Rod.
“Idris, no. He was in legitimate custody and escaped. Ramsay, I don’t know. He lost his seat on the Council when he handed the company over to Merlin, so he has no official standing here anymore, though he certainly has kept his hand in the game.”
“Speak of the devil,” I muttered as a stirring in the crowd heralded Ramsay’s arrival. It was like a cross between the pope and a popular politician as he made his way down the aisle. The people he didn’t shake hands with reached out to touch him, like they thought some of his magic might rub off on them. That charisma spell of his must have been a doozy, I thought. He nodded cordially to us as he took a seat on the front row on the other side of the aisle. I reminded myself that the way he’d arranged things, I’d only make myself look like a villain if I launched myself at him and knocked his lights out. That didn’t stop me from forming fists and fantasizing about doing so.
Gloria elbowed me sharply in the ribs as a hush settled over the room. I turned to see that the Council members were filing in to take their seats.
e head of the hall stood a massive rectangular table set on a stage so that it loomed over everything. The chairs behind that table were equally massive, the backs going well above the height of even the tallest man, and they had magical symbols carved into them. I noticed that the floor also contained those symbols, formed out of a darker stone, but they were difficult to see unless you were standing back and got a broad view. In the middle of the pattern, directly in front of the high table and reaching almost to the front row of wooden spectator benches, was a circle formed out of the darker stone. I wondered what those symbols did—maybe they were wards or one of those magic-dampening fields?
