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“Oh?” I could feel a ball of dread forming in my throat, cutting off my breathing and making me want to gulp.
“You’ll find out later. It’s a surprise. But for now, we’ve got business to attend to. Come on.”
He led me not to his office, but to the elevators. I hoped we weren’t going to be out long because it would ruin the plans for the attack if he wasn’t in his office. That was, if the attack was still on with Owen missing. If he was still missing. I hated being cut off from outside communication like this.
We seemed to be in the car far longer than usual, and when we stopped, we were at the mansion I recognized as the magical Council headquarters. It had been miraculously rebuilt after being almost totaled in the previous summer’s epic showdown. “The Council?” I asked.
“Oh, you know it? I’m getting to them before my boss can. I’m sure a clever person like yourself has already figured out that I have my own agenda. I’m not waiting on them to act. And if there’s someone they’ve got on their payroll, I’m going to turn them to me. Now, keep your eyes peeled and let me know if they’ve got anything I can’t see.”
We seemed to be expected, for we were waved right in. I didn’t recognize the person who greeted us from my interactions with the Council, and I got the impression she was a staffer for one of the members. She was young, brisk, efficient, and eager, and she melted under the force of Roger’s best smile. “I’m so glad you called,” she said, pushing her hair back behind her ear. “I’m Lynnae Greene, Mr. Burke’s assistant. He’s interested in your proposal, but can’t meet with you about it now. I do have some questions for you, though.”
She ushered us into an office, where the discussion sounded like just about any business meeting between people who were trying to sound each other out without giving away any specifics. I couldn’t quite tell if she knew exactly who she was dealing with or if she was entirely unaware that she was selling her boss to the Collegium. I really missed being around people who said exactly what they meant rather than talking around it in vague terms. Heck, I missed being able to be blunt and direct.
“I am curious to know how you have an influence over hiring at MSI, though,” she said, and I perked up, returning my attention to the immediate present.
“Let’s just say that there are changes in the works. I represent a group of investors who are exerting our influence. The current leadership was something of an experiment, and you know it wasn’t actually planned. It was part of a scheme. I don’t know why we should be tied to that situation when it’s no longer relevant. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great wizard, but is he really the person who can best lead us in the current century?”
Her easy acceptance of the blatant lie about representing investors told me that she didn’t know what was really going on. She was still willing to undermine MSI, but she didn’t know she was selling them out to the Collegium. I took note of who she was and who her boss was so I could warn Merlin.
That was, if I got a chance to. Were the plans still on without Owen? Assuming Owen was still missing.
Roger looked positively gleeful in the car on the way back to the office. “They really aren’t prepared for someone like me, are they?” he asked—rhetorically, I was sure. “Even the Collegium has become stale and corporate. The slightest bit of innovation, and they don’t see you coming.”
I successfully refrained from mentioning that it was hardly innovation to use a century-old playbook, but it was a struggle. I don’t think he would have even heard me, though. He was caught up in his own little world that he ruled, and I wasn’t sure he was aware of my presence. He was in full villain monologue mode.
“I know it’s ironic that the person this man took down was my great-grandfather, and now I’m using his methods against his successors, but that just makes it better,” he said. He gestured, and a glass of champagne appeared in his hand. “Would you like one?” he asked me.
“No, thanks.”
“But I have big plans. Why do we lurk in the shadows? Why are we such a secret? We should be known and feared. We have magic. We should be ruling the world.”
When the car stopped after a fairly long drive, I was surprised when we didn’t emerge in the parking garage. Instead, we were outside a row of old houses in a neighborhood perhaps best described as “questionable.” Except one of the houses seemed to have been lavishly restored so that it looked the way it must have back in the day when this was a nice neighborhood and these were single-family homes instead of being carved up into apartments.
“He’s supposed to live around here…” Roger said, frowning at the row of houses.
“You’re looking for a wizard?” I asked, wondering if I should tell him what I saw.
“Yes. You see something?”
“One of these houses is really nice.”
He grinned. “Of course. He’s got it veiled. You wouldn’t want to advertise that to the neighbors. Lead the way.”
Hoping I wasn’t leading Roger to a new victim, I went up the front steps of the nice house and rang the doorbell. A harried-looking man, his hair sticking out in every direction and his clothes askew, answered it after a few minutes. He tried to slam the door when he saw Roger standing behind me, where he hadn’t been visible through the peephole, but Roger held out a hand, pushing the door open, and shoved past the man into the house. “You’re late,” he said.
“You can’t rush this kind of work,” the man said, sounding less frazzled than he looked.
“I’m not rushing you. I’m asking you to stick to the deadline you agreed upon. My plans hinge on this spell, and my other efforts to get help with it have been somewhat less than fruitful. Now, what do you have?”
“It’s not ready. My last few tests haven’t worked.” He gestured to his hair and clothes. “And this is in controlled laboratory conditions. Worse could happen in the real world.”
I figured that looking that messy would be Roger’s worst nightmare. “What kind of worse?” he asked, eyeing the man’s appearance with distaste.
“This could happen with your skin and organs. I have failsafes to shut it down if it’s not working. If you tried this against a real block and it didn’t work, it could kill you.”
“Oh, is that all
? Would the first one being killed break it down?”
