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“So, what was it you wanted to discuss with us, Mr.… ah, you appear to have us at a disadvantage,” Merlin said.
“You can call me Roger.”
I found myself shivering at the degree of chill in the room. None of the three men were going to let on that they felt the slightest hint of discomfort at the situation. I hadn’t had a good demonstration of Roger’s magical abilities, but Merlin and Owen were two of the most powerful wizards ever, and Sam was lurking silently nearby. If it came to a fight, I’d bet on the good guys winning.
But I suspected Roger was well aware of that. Direct confrontation wasn’t really his style. He was here to feel out their weaknesses, I was sure, as well as probably to drop off a beacon he could use to come back magically when he thought they wouldn’t be expecting him. That was, after all, the next step in his plan for taking over. Was this the pivotal incident Minerva had seen?
“What did you want to discuss, Roger?” Merlin asked, still conveying an air of geniality even while radiating dislike.
“I know there were some, shall we say, issues with your predecessor,” Roger began.
“Do you mean his plot to bring me back so he could defeat me?” Merlin said with a smile that I found just a little bit frightening.
“Yes, that. But do you know that he maintained certain business relationships that were mutually beneficial? I’d like to restore those relationships.”
“Ah, I believe you’re speaking of the Collegium. I’m not sure why we would want anything to do with such an organization. I founded the group that grew to become Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Incorporated, to counter the earliest phase of the Collegium, though we called it something different back then.”
“I can understand if your knowledge of our organization is a bit archaic, given your circumstances,” Roger said. “I know the early years tended to focus on dark magic and trying to manipulate rulers. Now, we’re more of a business conglomerate with interests in a variety of industries. That’s where we can benefit you.”
“In what way?”
“We could bring you new clients. We can insure that you don’t face competition.”
“We already have very little competition.”
“We can make sure you don’t face any more crises like what you went through last year.”
“If I’m not mistaken, those crises were largely of your making. Ivor Ramsay was your creature, and he was behind Phelan Idris. So I’m not sure how getting you involved again would be of any help to us. Now, if you need custom spell development or a discount on bulk licenses of retail spells, I’m sure we could work out a suitable arrangement. But this company will stand against the Collegium.” Merlin rose, sending the signal that the meeting was coming to an end. “Was there anything else you wanted to discuss?”
Roger made no move to get up and leave. “You’re making a mistake, and I don’t think you understand how big a mistake you’re making. We already have people positioned within your ranks. If something should happen to you, we’d have this company back under our control in a heartbeat.”
“Would you?” Owen asked softly, raising an eyebrow. There was nothing that should have appeared threatening about what he’d said or how he’d said it, unless you knew him as well as I did. I wanted to dive for cover, and even Merlin began edging away. “I suspect you’d face more opposition than you expect, and I suspect your people aren’t as well-placed as you think.”
Roger didn’t seem to read the danger, or else he was so arrogant he wasn’t even looking for it. He stood and straightened his suit coat. “If that’s how you feel, I won’t be making that offer again. We could have worked well together, but if you’re not willing to cooperate, I’ll have to find other ways of getting what I need from you.”
He turned and left without another word, and I jumped to my feet to hurry after him. Sam followed us, then flew ahead. As we passed under the awning on our way out of the building, I felt something fall into my hair. I glanced up and caught Sam winking at me. Acting as though I was sweeping my hair out of my coat collar, I caught the thing—a small stone, it looked like—and slid it into my pocket. My heart began racing. Had they found a way to track the car? Or was this a beacon?
I expected Roger to be in a foul mood on the way back to the office, but you’d have thought nothing was amiss, that everything had gone just the way he planned. “What did you think of that, Katie?” he asked.
“They weren’t very cooperative, I guess. They can be rather stubborn. If they like the way something is, they’re not too open to change.”
“Owen Palmer, he’s your ex, isn’t he?”
I nodded.
“Is he as powerful as they say?”
“He seems to be. I’ve seen him win a lot of magical fights. And he knows a lot of obscure magic.”
He smiled smugly. “Well, I have my own arsenal of obscure magic that he’s probably never seen before.”
I had to fight really hard not to smile at that, and I hoped I wasn’t turning red. “He does a lot of research,” was all I said. “That’s what he does for fun. That’s part of the reason we broke up. He wouldn’t even take his nose out of an old book long enough to plan a wedding.”
“He’s never been up against me before.”
When we returned to our headquarters, I held my breath as I entered the building from the parking garage. No alarms went off, and I forced myself not to reach into my pocket to touch the beacon. I figured the next barrier would be when we stepped off the elevator, but nothing happened. The final threshold would be when we entered the office suite, and my heart raced as I stepped through the doorway into our corridor. There were no alarms, no barrier sprang up, and no armed security men rushed toward me. Weak with relief, I started to turn off into my office, but Roger said, “Come with me. I want to pick your brain about MSI.”
Here was the part I’d been dreading: having to actually betray my company. Or pretend to. I’d have to lie, and do so carefully. I wiped sweaty palms on my skirt as I took a seat across from Roger’s desk. “What do you want to know?” I asked.
