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I’d seen some big magical battles in the past, but this was a clash of the titans. Even though Merlin wasn’t wearing his mystical robe, I felt like I could see the aura of it around him. He and Ramsay were more evenly matched than I would have thought. Ramsay held his own and showed no sign of tiring as they flung spell after spell at each other. Fights against Merlin usually didn’t last very long, but this one kept going.
Idris moved to join his boss, which surprised me. He was the type to switch to the winning side, especially after learning that Ramsay was using him. It had to be that compulsion spell. He didn’t have a choice but to fight—probably even to the death—alongside his master. I told myself that meant I was actually doing him a favor when I grabbed the ceremonial gavel from the high table and whacked Idris on the back of the head. He crumpled, and I dragged him under a bench, out of the way of the fight. I looked around for one of the enforcers to watch or bind Idris, but they had their hands full.
Apparently, there were some true Ramsay loyalists even without the charms and amulets—or else he had some people under more direct compulsion spells, like Idris—since there were still people trying to get to the front of the room, either to help Ramsay against Merlin or to attack Owen.
Since I wasn’t much use in a magical battle and wasn’t affected by all the magic flying around me, I focused on figuring out how Ramsay had rigged the circle to make magic deflect onto Merlin. If the spell wasn’t there before the hearing, then he must have brought it in after our search. His briefcase, I realized. That had to be it.
I wove my way around combatants to get back to the front of the seating area, and there I saw the briefcase, which rested right on the edge of that tile circle. I kicked it to move it out of the way, but the only thing that happened was my foot going numb from the direct contact with powerful magic. If I’d been wearing my magic-detecting necklace, I’d have probably passed out. The case didn’t move even a fraction of an inch.
Owen had dropped to the ground to get below the worst of the magical attacks, and he crawled over to the perimeter of the circle where I was. “What is it?” he asked.
I pointed to the briefcase. “Ramsay brought this in. See how it’s sitting right there on the edge of the circle? And it won’t budge—I tried. My guess is this has something to do with that redirect spell.”
Frowning, he tried to move it, and I had to jump into the circle to grab him when he nearly collapsed just from touching it. He blinked rapidly and shook his head to clear it. “Whoa,” he said. “That’s not just redirecting power. It’s also working something like an amplifier. The circle is part of this room’s defensive and protective systems, and whatever’s in that case is tapped into the whole system. He’s drawing power from the building itself, and from all power being used in the building.”
“So it’s not just about making you look bad?”
There was a rumble overhead. The heavy wooden roof beams were shifting. Bits of plaster showered down. “It’s about giving him an advantage over Merlin,” Owen said.
A chunk of plaster fell not too far from us, and I turned at a loud popping sound to see a crack appear in one wall. “And I think it’s about bringing the building down around us.”
“Well, he is desperate,” Owen said.
“We should get Rudolph to drop the wards. Maybe that will stop it, or at least let people escape.”
“Do we want to give either Ramsay or Idris a chance to escape?”
I looked at him in horror. “So, it’s a magical cage match—only the victor leaves alive? But Ramsay is cheating, and he’s going to kill us all.”
We both turned to check on the battle. Merlin was still holding his own, deflecting every burst of power Ramsay sent his way while shooting plenty of sparks and lightning bolts at Ramsay. He was tiring, but he was more clever than Ramsay, and he was still clear-headed, while Ramsay was desperate and panicky. “If only I could get out of here and help,” Owen said wistfully.
“Let me guess, only Rudolph can let you out.”
“I’m not sure even he could while this spell is tied into the wards.”
One of the beams came loose and crashed to the ground. A split second before it fell, Owen grabbed me and threw me down, shielding me with his body. We came up, coughing from the plaster dust, to see the beam not far above our heads, resting across the benches on either side of the aisle. Chunks of rubble were all over the floor. Owen gasped, and I turned to see James kneeling next to a fallen figure that I assumed was Gloria.
On the other side of us, at the front of the room, Ramsay cackled madly. “Are you willing to let all these people die, just to defeat me, Merlin?” he spat.
“I am trying to prevent the many more deaths that will occur should I let you win,” Merlin said, a little out of breath, but still calm. “I am merely serving my purpose—preventing evil wizards from seizing power.”
Owen’s jaw took on a stubborn set that I recognized all too well. “That does it, we have to stop this, now,” he said. He glanced around. “Get me one of those amulets.”
I crawled out of the circle, passing where Gloria was sitting up shakily. The ceiling swayed overhead, which I figured wasn’t a good sign. I found an amulet and crawled back to Owen. “Gloria’s okay,” I reported as I handed him the amulet.
“Good.” Then he caught my chin in his hand and kissed me. “Now, go.”
“Go?”
“The wards won’t stop you. You can get out of here before the building falls around us all. Go get help.”
“What help? What would anyone from the outside be able to do?”
“Just go, Katie.”
I shook my head. “No. I’m not leaving you trapped here. You may need my help. You can barely touch that case without passing out.”
He clearly didn’t like it, but he accepted it with a curt nod. “Okay, then, see if you can open it.”
