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The waitress brought our check, and I was afraid it didn’t bode well for the kind of teamwork we could expect to see on this mission that our group nearly came to blows over it. “We shouldn’t split it evenly,” Earl said. “I only had a salad and some water, while some people”—he glared at Thor— “had beers and a burger. I’m not paying for his meal.”
“I provided the entertainment,” Thor protested. “In decent company, I wouldn’t have to pay for my meal at all after a story like that.”
“Then your people need to get cable if that’s your idea of entertainment,” Earl shot back.
Thor snarled as he reached for his battleaxe, and then both he and Earl cried out in pain and jerked away from the table. Granny glared at them as she leaned back in her chair, holding her cane threateningly. “Now, boys, behave yourselves,” she scolded. “This is no time for that nonsense.”
Rod reached for the check and said, “I’ll take care of it and expense it. We’re on company business.”
“If I’d known that, I would have ordered more,” Earl complained.
“You elves don’t know how to live,” Thor said smugly as he drained the last of his second beer.
Earl started to rise to his bait, then glanced at Granny and instead got out of his chair and headed for the door. “I’ll meet you there if you give me the address. I should limit my time with you, in case the Elf Lord’s people catch up with you. My mission depends on maintaining my cover as his loyal employee.”
He conferred with Rod, and as soon as he was out the door, Thor said, “Or maybe he is working for Sylvester, and he has to check in with his boss.”
Owen and Rod exchanged glances, and then Owen hurried outside to have a quick conversation with Sam. The gargoyle flew after Earl as the rest of us came outside and found two magic carpets waiting for us. Both had little creatures piloting.
Granny took to carpet travel better than I’d expected she would. In fact, she seemed totally unfazed, while I clung to the carpet in a death grip. “Where do you put your groceries?” she asked after a particularly harrowing turn as our driver seemed to be trying to make sure no one followed us.
“We don’t generally use these things for shopping,” Owen explained. “They’re more for rapid transit. They require too much magic for everyday use.”
Granny leaned over the edge to look at the street below, and I fought off a wave of vicarious vertigo. “I can see how cars wouldn’t be much use for getting around quickly here,” she said.
We reached Park Avenue, and the carpets landed in front of an imposing apartment building. “Should we wait for Earl?” Rod asked after we’d disembarked.
“Here I am,” Earl said, rounding the corner. “No other elves are present.” Sam perched on the building’s awning and gave Owen a nod that apparently indicated that the elf had come directly without stopping to report to Sylvester.
“Okay, now to get past the doorman,” Rod said, rubbing his hands together. He gave the doorman a wave as he approached, and I sensed a surge of magic. Normally, people saw whatever Rod wanted them to see, but that didn’t happen this time.
Instead, the doorman moved to confront us. “What is your business here?” he demanded.
Rod took a surprised step backward. Then he recovered and said smoothly, “We’re here to see Mr. Martin.”
“Is he expecting you?”
“We should be on the list.”
The doorman stepped inside, then returned with a clipboard. Rod waved a hand at the clipboard as the doorman read it. “I don’t see any guests listed here for Mr. Martin,” the doorman said.
“There must be some mix-up,” Rod said. He looked perfectly at ease, like this was no big deal, but I could hear the tension in his voice and I felt the magic as he gave it everything he had. Could the doorman be immune to magic?
The doorman then laughed out loud and said, “You think to fool me with your illusions? You MSI people don’t know the first thing about magic.”
Earl then opened his mouth, and the haunting sound of elfsong poured out. The doorman laughed at that, too. “You think that would work twice, elf?” he sneered. “We’ve forgotten more than you’ll ever know about magic.”
Thor unsheathed his battleaxe and stepped forward. “But how much have you forgotten about steel?” he asked, swinging the axe back and forth.
The doorman held out his hand, and Thor froze. Granny stepped up and swung her cane at him, but the cane bounced backward like it had hit something solid before it struck the doorman. Rod and Earl teamed up on a spell, but the doorman was apparently protected from it because he just laughed. Even Sam flying down from above wasn’t able to get past the doorman.
“We do have tranquilizer darts,” I said to Owen.
“I hate to use them when we aren’t even dealing with the Eye. It’s probably going to get much worse.”
“Worse than getting our butts kicked by a doorman?”
He smiled ruefully. “Very likely. But a dragon guarding the gate is a good sign that the Eye is here, so we don’t have much of a choice.” He took the case from his breast pocket, removed one of the darts, then replaced the case. “I doubt throwing it would work. I’ll have to get past his defenses, myself, then jab him directly. I’ll need a diversion.”
