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iped sweat off his brow with a shaking hand and said, “I’m good, I’m good. But I think I’ll go stand over there.”
When we returned our attention to Earl, the madness was on him again, and he rushed at us. “Rod, now would be a good time to help us,” I said desperately. “You know, a little protective magic? That is, if you can draw your attention away from the brooch.”
Before Earl reached me, he jerked and flinched as Granny’s cane connected with his back. “Snap out of it, son,” she said. “Honestly, I’ve never seen such a weak-minded group of people in my life, and that includes the biddies at the beauty shop back home who believe everything they see on the Internet and then forward it to everyone.”
Earl hung his head and said sheepishly, “Sorry, Granny.” Then he slunk back into the crowd, keeping his distance from the stone.
All the while, the fairies and elves kept singing as they danced in circles around us, which added an odd contrast to the events. I waited for Lyle and the others to go on the attack, but instead they, too, joined the chorus. “Let’s get out of here,” I muttered to Owen, who resumed his protective position on my right side as we headed toward Fifth Avenue.
I worried that the procession of singers and dancers following me would attract even more unwanted attention. This was about as far as I could get from stealthily sneaking through the park. I felt like I was in an old musical, where suddenly everyone in town joins in the song-and-dance routine, knowing the words and the dance steps, even though they’re total strangers. Only, I didn’t feel like dancing, and I didn’t have the energy to sing.
I turned out to be right about drawing attention, but it wasn’t the kind of attention I’d expected. The park’s true wildlife was emerging from its hiding places. Birds flew overhead, and small furry things came out of the bushes and hedges. I didn’t want to think about what kinds of things lived in the city park, but I doubted they were all cute and cuddly.
“I feel like I’m in some demented Disney movie,” I said to Owen. “If they start making little outfits and singing to me, I may join Sylvester in la-la land.”
“They must sense the raw power of the Eye and be drawn to it instinctively,” he said.
“Then we have definitely got to destroy this thing. If it’s doing this on its own, without anyone directing it, then what could it do if someone actually tried to use it to gain power?”
“Merlin said it started wars.”
“That is not reassuring. I never imagined myself as a Helen of Troy type who could be the cause of a war.”
“It wouldn’t be about you. It’s all the stone. You just happen to be holding it at the moment.”
“That ‘at the moment’ disclaimer isn’t reassuring, either.”
A loud “ribbit” stopped me just before I put a foot down on a frog. Then I saw that there were several sitting expectantly at my feet. “I’d bet you’ve found the enchanted frogs,” Rod observed. “They must be transformed wizards who sense the power.”
I sidestepped the frogs and hurried away, trying to move quickly enough that they couldn’t keep up with me. “Uh uh,” I said, shaking my head. “Been there, done that, and I’m not doing it again. I know too much about what that can lead to. Besides, I’ve already got my prince.” I favored Owen with a smile, which he returned.
“Seems cruel to leave them like this, though,” Granny said. “I suppose I could help them out.” She bent to pick up one of the frogs, but it let out a horrified croak, and then all the frogs fled. “Suit yourself,” she called after them. “It’s your choice.” She snorted, then added, “You’re probably older than I am.”
That was funny enough to make me laugh in spite of the dire circumstances. “You know, in the morning, I’m going to wonder if I dreamed this whole thing,” I said. “This is the kind of nightmare I have where it’s so vivid that when I wake up, I think it really did happen until I remind myself of all the absurd, impossible details. Only this time, the absurd, impossible details are real.”
“You’ll have enough bruises to prove it was real,” Owen said.
“Oh, yeah, that one on my hip will be especially vivid. Can a bruise leave a scar?”
A cry of pain nearby told me that Rod had tried to creep up on me again, and Owen had knocked him aside. “He’ll have a few bruises, too,” Owen remarked.
“Sorry!” Rod called out.
“Distract yourself,” Owen suggested. “Think about baseball statistics or sing commercial jingles to yourself.”
“I’ll give it a shot.” He combined the solutions and sang “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” at the top of his lungs. If the singing elves and fairies hadn’t drawn attention, then that was sure to.
“Do the police not patrol the park at night?” I asked, glancing around. “I’d think they’d be drawn to this thing along with everyone else, and they’ve got guns.”
“There’s at least one patrolman in your entourage, but he’s currently dancing with a fairy,” Owen said. Then he suddenly spun me around into a dance hold and waltzed a few steps. “Why let them have all the fun?” he said. “Enjoy your moment to be queen.”
“Well, no one is currently trying to kill me,” I admitted. So far, the fairies and elves were willing to merely bask in my glory—well, the glory of the Eye—and their presence seemed to be keeping the power lusts of others somewhat at bay. Earl and the other elves from Sylvester’s crew were following me instead of chasing me, and even Rod seemed to relax once he got into the spirit of things.
I wasn’t a great dancer, but Owen, who had been brought up by the kind of old-fashioned people who would have made sure he knew what to do at a formal ball, was a good leader, and soon I was almost able to forget the imminent danger long enough to enjoy the fact that I, Katie Chandler, a woman who was so ordinary that it came back around to extraordinary, was waltzing through Central Park at night with a handsome man while a horde of adoring followers serenaded me, pledging their undying devotion.
It was too magical to last. So, of course, it didn’t.
Earl emerged from the crowd, his eyes showing the same kind of madness that Sylvester had. Instead of being lulled or distracted by the singing, he seemed to have decided that he wanted these people to follow him the way they followed me. “Listen to me!” he called out, raising his voice above the song. “You’re following a mortal woman, a woman with no magic! It’s the Eye of the Moon you follow, not the woman.”
