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“I don’t know. I don’t usually conduct a census. There are always a lot of fairies in the park.”
Even though nothing had happened to us, I felt like a gray pall had fallen on our beautiful day in the park. We turned at the next path intersection, and for a moment, I lost that sense of pursuit. “Maybe they were just going the same way we were for a while,” I said hopefully.
“You can hardly blame us for being paranoid,” Owen said, draping his arm around my shoulders. “Not too long ago, we were kidnapped by elves, and before that, we had just about every magical creature in Manhattan chasing us.”
“Yeah, and then there were all those people working for Ivor Ramsay and Phelan Idris. At lea
st I’m not seeing any of those skeleton creatures or harpies. These seem like ordinary fairies and sprites,” I said.
We reached another intersection in the walking path. To one side, there seemed to be a lot more fairies. To the other, the way was a little less populated with things that looked magical. Without having to consult each other, we turned to the less magical area. I didn’t know exactly what Owen’s reasoning was, but it was easier for me to detect specific sources of magic when there were fewer of them.
Sure enough, that overall tingle that made me aware of magic soon eased. I found myself breathing more easily, and there was less tension in Owen’s arm around me. We were in my favorite part of the park, along the lake and near the picturesque Bow Bridge. This really did feel like the setting for a romantic movie, probably because it had been used in so many of them. “Maybe we should test our reality again,” I said to Owen. “You know, just in case.”
“Hmm, do you hear jazz standards or pop songs in your head?”
“There doesn’t seem to be a soundtrack at all.”
“Then I’m pretty sure we’re not acting out a movie again.” We stopped at the apex of the bridge’s arch and moved closer to the railing so we weren’t blocking the way for others. “But we should probably test it to be sure.” His lips had barely touched mine—with no accompanying background music to emphasize the surging emotion—when I couldn’t help but twitch. “What is it?” he asked.
“I’m feeling it again. Someone’s watching us.”
“We’re making out in the middle of a bridge. That tends to draw attention.”
“No, I feel magic.”
He stood very still for a moment, and then the twinkle in his eyes faded. “You’re right. I feel it, too.” He released his hold on me and took my hand. Together, we hurried off the bridge.
But when we left the bridge, we soon found ourselves in the Ramble. It was easy to get lost in there, though I supposed it was also easy to lose someone in there. I didn’t know if the magical creatures who lived there would still help us when we weren’t carrying an enchanted brooch, but once we were out of public sight, Owen could draw on his power to defend us, if it came to that.
When we rounded a corner and found ourselves face-to-face with a familiar woman, I immediately moved to stand in front of Owen, blocking him from her as well as I could.
“It was my ancestor who frogged Philip Vandermeer, not me, so you can relax,” Sylvia Meredith said. I didn’t think that made things much better. She may have been only the descendant of the person who’d stolen my friend Philip’s family business a century ago after turning him into a frog, but she’d been using that business to fund the bad guys we’d defeated recently.
“You herded us here!” I accused.
“Some friends helped, but you made it awfully easy.”
“What do you want?” Owen asked, stepping out from behind me.
“I need to talk to you.”
“To me in particular, to us, or maybe to the people I work for?”
“Both of you. And MSI in general. And your boss, if you can get him.”
“What do you want to talk about?” I asked.
“Some things you need to know.”
“I’m not sure there’s anything we want to hear from you,” I said.
“You’re going to want to hear this. Have you heard of the Collegium?”
Owen frowned slightly. “I thought it was just a story. Maybe it was real once, but it hasn’t been around in ages.”
“That’s what you think. We’ve been more quiet and subtle in recent years, but that’s about to change.”
“You’re with the Collegium?” Owen said, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
