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“But, getting through wards?” Jake asked, his forehead wrinkling. “I thought …”
I groaned inwardly. It had completely slipped my mind. After the number of times we’d explained Owen’s returning magical powers in the other world, I should have remembered that it wasn’t widely known in this world, either.
Merlin came to my rescue. “It’s a long story, and I’m sure Owen will explain it to you when he returns.”
Jake didn’t look too upset by the news. He merely nodded and said, “That would explain the books he was having me find on magical infusion. But I bet that’s not why you want me.”
“Actually, we want your musical knowledge,” I said. “We need the ultimate playlist.”
He looked even more taken aback by that than he had been about the idea that Owen had magic again. “A playlist? Why?” he asked.
I gave him a quick recap about the partying elven army. “I think their music contains a spell. If we could switch it, that might break the spell. If they really like the new tunes, then maybe they won’t want to go into battle. We might not convince them to go home, I suppose, but we can worry about that later.”
“So you want music fun enough to stop a war? I think I can handle that.”
“They were really grooving on disco, and remember, these are elves, so melody and harmony are important. They seemed to love the Bee Gees. Come to think of it, with those unearthly voices and tight harmonies, it would explain a lot …”
Jake grinned. “I’m surprised you hadn’t figured that out already.” He pulled an iPod out of his lab coat pocket and started scrolling through the screen. “Fortunately, my musical tastes are really broad. I’ve got a lot of stuff here that should work. Just give me a few minutes. How long a playlist do you need?” His thumbs worked rapidly across the device as he spoke.
“I don’t know. Say about half an hour, maybe?”
He didn’t look up from the screen as he said. “Okay.”
While he worked, I turned back to the others. “I think I can get back into the building and swap out the iPod in the sound system’s dock. All the partiers are blocking the portal, which should help keep anyone else from being whammied and sent to the other world.” I waited for someone to tell me it was too dangerous, but Owen wasn’t there. As annoying as his overprotective instincts could be, I felt a little lost coming up with a potentially dangerous plan without having to overcome any objections. Some of my best ideas came from addressing his concerns, so I hoped I wasn’t missing anything.
“I don’t like you going in there alone,” Granny said. “I’m coming with you.” Her objection wasn’t quite the same as Owen’s, but it did force me to think.
“That would be a bad idea,” I said. “Until I can switch out the music, the spell might affect you. And after having been under the elf whammy, I can tell you it’s not something you want. They can make you forget who you are. I have to go in alone on this one.”
“I’ll need your assistance,” Merlin told Granny. “You’re the one who has the best elf underground contacts.”
“You’re with the elf underground?” I asked her. Resistance seemed to run in the family.
“I met some nice people that night in the park when the Eye of the Moon was drawing them, and Earl introduced me to some others. We meet occasionally. And I didn’t tell you because secret organizations are supposed to be secret.”
“I’m going with you, though,” Rod said, his jaw set stubbornly. “I won’t go into the building until you give me an all-clear, but I’ll be on the roof in case you need me.”
“My guys and I will keep anyone from getting out into our world,” Sam said. “That just leaves neutralizing the real bad guys.”
“Leave that to me,” Merlin said.
“Do you just want dance music, or do you want some ballads?” Jake asked.
“A few ballads would be okay,” I said. “They did a nice sing-along with one slow Bee Gees song.”
“And do you want to replicate the songs they were already hearing or do all new stuff?”
“How about a mix? Start with the stuff they were already hearing so the switch won’t be so obvious. Then mix in new stuff.” I listed the songs I remembered hearing.
“Gotcha. Just a few more minutes. I’ll have to save this list for the next party I have. It’s nothing short of awesome, if I do say so myself.”
Sam flew over to land on the arm of the chair where I was sitting. “You know, doll, you’re not gonna like it, but there’s one good way to get you on that rooftop,” he said softly.
“Yeah, I’d already figured that out. If you can keep the antique zombie gargoyles away, I’ll be okay.” The last time I’d been on a magic carpet, an evil gargoyle attack had nearly killed us. It wasn’t an experience I wanted to repeat.
“I won’t let ’em near you, I promise.”
Jake finished his playlist, then handed me his iPod. “Take good care of her,” he said, his fingers momentarily clutching on the device before he gave in and released it to me. “I want to make sure I can keep that playlist for later.” He reached into his lab coat pocket and pulled out a cable with plugs on either end. “Oh, and you might need this. If it’s a real docking station, you can just dock it, but otherwise you can connect through an auxiliary input jack with this.”
