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“He may bring something in with him. Too bad you don’t have the magical equivalent of metal detectors at the entrances.”
“Unfortunately, it would be nearly impossible to tell the difference between good and bad because it’s the intent that matters, and I doubt we’d ever get this Council to agree to ban all magic from the chamber. How else would they show off? Some of these people don’t know how to function without magic. Rudolph wouldn’t be able to tie his shoes.” He sighed wearily. “I suppose we have done all we can to prepare. We will have to remain on the alert.”
A livid Gloria was the next to arrive, with James in her wake. “What is the meaning of this?” she demanded of Merlin, getting up in his face. “Why won’t they let us see him? They wouldn’t even let us bring him a suit for the hearing.”
“I hadn’t heard anything about that,” Merlin said. “I suppose after he managed to escape from them so easily, they’re worried about security.”
“It wasn’t a nice suit and a visit from his father that allowed him to escape,” she said with a derisive snort.
Merlin promised to look into it, then left to go prepare in the Council offices. Gloria then turned her attention to me. “So, it is true about him, then?”
“Yes, it is.” I’d brought the letter and the key with me, and I handed her the letter.
She and James read it, then she said with a sniff, “I suppose she couldn’t have been all bad if she had a child like that.” Her expression softened ever so slightly. “How did he take it?”
“The last time I saw him, it hadn’t yet had time to really sink in.”
More people began arriving. It was much like the previous hearing, but there were a lot more strangers. I was fairly certain I recognized a number of people from the mob of protesters at the MSI building and a few of the people James and Gloria had scared away from Owen’s house. That left me with no doubt that Ramsay had something in the works. But what?
We took our seats in front, with Rod and Ethan soon joining us. Two minutes before the hearing was set to begin, Ramsay made his grand entrance, with the usual adulation from most of the crowd. His fan club was in for a big surprise, I thought with some satisfaction. He took the front-row seat across the aisle from us, and he knew better than to even pretend to give James and Gloria a friendly acknowledgment. He carried a briefcase, which he set on the floor in front of his feet. Had he brought his own evidence?
The Council members then took their places at the head table, and Rudolph stood and struck his staff on the ground while giving the ritual opening. I felt the wash of magic as the wards took hold. This time, I knew no one would drop the wards for Owen. He was stuck until we proved our case.
Then they brought Owen in, and James, Gloria, and I gasped in unison. He was dressed all in black, like the uniform of the enforcers, and it looked like they’d scavenged whatever they could find for him to wear. The dark, ill-fitting clothing made him look small and pale. The only hint of color on him came from his eyes—and from the ugly bruise under his left eye that spread over his cheekbone. It was a few days old, so it looked like sunset over the Grand Canyon, all reds and purples, with a hint of yellow. James had to grab Gloria’s arm before she instinctively went to him.
The one improvement over the last hearing was that his hands were bound in front of him this time, which had to be more comfortable. Mack being his guard probably had something to do with that. I felt a little better about his situation.
Owen caught my eye as they brought him in. I could see the question on his face and realized that he didn’t even know if what we’d found was useful. I nodded, and his shoulders relaxed ever so slightly.
And then the hearing began. Rudolph read off a list of charges, which included the earlier conspiracy to commit magical crimes plus charges of escape and evasion. He added, “And these crimes are even more alarming when taken in context with the allegation that Owen Palmer is none other than the son of Kane and Mina Morgan, who were so disastrous to the magical community. We know he can’t help the accident of his birth, but we also know he has great power—a power he may have inherited from his alleged parents—and there is also the possibility that the capacity for darkness has been inherited, as well.”
Merlin leaned forward. “As I understand, these were merely allegations made by someone with a personal grudge against Mr. Palmer. Has anyone presented any proof? The person who made the allegations doesn’t appear to be present today, as he is also a fugitive.”
Ramsay then stood. “I took the liberty of asking Mr. Idris to accompany me here today after he approached me to explain how he came by this information.” A man in a hat and jacket stood at the back of the room and made his way down the aisle. He must have come in at the last second, or I would have recognized Idris. I wasn’t sure what Ramsay’s game was, since it was more than likely that Idris learned it from Ramsay.
“This is most unorthodox, Ivor,” Rudolph said. “Mr. Idris has broken numerous magical laws and escaped from legitimate custody. In fact, he’s known to have committed more magical crimes than even Mr. Palmer is accused of. It’s hardly fair to have Mr. Palmer as a prisoner while we do nothing about Mr. Idris. We will listen to your evidence and take your cooperation into consideration, but Mr. Idris, I’m afraid we will have to take you into custody first.” He waved a hand at one of the guards, who moved toward Idris.
“I was framed!” Idris screamed, suddenly breaking into a run and charging toward Owen. “It was him! He did it! It’s all his fault!”
I shouted a warning to Owen, who whirled just in time to see Idris running at him. With his hands bound, Owen was practically helpless. Idris sent a magical attack in his direction and, acting as if on instinct, Owen threw his hands up in a defensive position, and his lips moved silently, like he was doing a spell. He was in the containment circle that kept anyone from using magic, so the spell was useless for defending himself or attacking Idris.
But then Merlin fell out of his chair with a cry of pain, like someone had hit him with a powerful spell.
“See, he’s found a way to breach the circle!” Ramsay shouted. “He’s attacking Merlin, even now! He has to be stopped!”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Owen went a sick gray color and froze. I thought Gloria would come right out of her seat and take on Idris herself, but the guards finally got to him and pulled him away from Owen.
“I didn’t attack Merlin,” Owen said, his voice so faint it wasn’t much above a whisper. “I wouldn’t, ever. I don’t know what happened. I was just defending myself from Idris—and I did that without thinking. It shouldn’t have done any good, since I’m in the circle.”
ok our seats in front, with Rod and Ethan soon joining us. Two minutes before the hearing was set to begin, Ramsay made his grand entrance, with the usual adulation from most of the crowd. His fan club was in for a big surprise, I thought with some satisfaction. He took the front-row seat across the aisle from us, and he knew better than to even pretend to give James and Gloria a friendly acknowledgment. He carried a briefcase, which he set on the floor in front of his feet. Had he brought his own evidence?
The Council members then took their places at the head table, and Rudolph stood and struck his staff on the ground while giving the ritual opening. I felt the wash of magic as the wards took hold. This time, I knew no one would drop the wards for Owen. He was stuck until we proved our case.
Then they brought Owen in, and James, Gloria, and I gasped in unison. He was dressed all in black, like the uniform of the enforcers, and it looked like they’d scavenged whatever they could find for him to wear. The dark, ill-fitting clothing made him look small and pale. The only hint of color on him came from his eyes—and from the ugly bruise under his left eye that spread over his cheekbone. It was a few days old, so it looked like sunset over the Grand Canyon, all reds and purples, with a hint of yellow. James had to grab Gloria’s arm before she instinctively went to him.
The one improvement over the last hearing was that his hands were bound in front of him this time, which had to be more comfortable. Mack being his guard probably had something to do with that. I felt a little better about his situation.
