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When we were behind and just to the right of Mordred’s throne, I stepped forward through the gap between two of the knights, cleared my throat, and said, “Excuse me. I hate to interrupt, but there’s something you should know.”
Every eye in the room—except for the frozen knights—turned to stare at me. “What is it, Miss Chandler?” Merlin asked before Mordred had a chance to.
“I just thought you’d be interested in knowing that the protective magic on this room isn’t working anymore.” I gestured at Evelyn, who’d come to stand beside me. She held up her magical gizmo. “You’re going to age like everyone else. It might even be accelerated, come to think of it. I don’t believe that wrinkle was there before, and was your hairline like that ten minutes ago?” That was a lie, but I needed to sell this if it was going to work.
Mordred came off his throne and spun to face us. “What?” he asked, his voice shrill with panic.
“It might not be permanent,” Evelyn said. “I can restore it if you cooperate.”
I was surprised when Mordred recognized her. “Don’t you work for me?” he asked. “Why are you doing this? Do you know what I do to traitors?”
“It’s no worse than what you do to people who think they’re your friends,” she said with some bitterness. “You only thought I was working for you. I’ve really been working for myself all along. And if you don’t want to die, old man, you’ll do what she says.”
“All you have to do is let us go from here,” I said.
I could see the dilemma in Mordred’s eyes. Should he give up some power now or take the risk of dying like a normal person? He let his breath out, his body sagging slightly, so that he looked years older, then he gestured. I felt the magical barrier drop, and the knights moved back to their places by the wall. “You may leave,” he said. “Now restore my magic.”
“Not until we’re sure that when we leave, we end up where we want to go,” Evelyn said.
Merlin rose from his seat. “Everyone gather ’round, now.”
The others all clustered around him, but Kenneth cried out, “You’re going to just let him go?” He looked stronger than he had before, and he was no longer cradling an injured arm—apparently the room’s magic had worked on him, as well as Mordred.
He and Philip both shot magic at Mordred, who disappeared. A frog appeared on the floor where he’d been. It tried to hop away, but I’d had a fair amount of practice in catching frogs already that day, so I was able to scoop him up and hand him to Merlin, who dropped him into his pocket.
Evelyn stared open-mouthed at Kenneth. “Granddad? Well, Great-great-granddad? Kenneth Vandermeer? I’ve seen pictures of you, and you look just like that.”
“Great-great-granddad?” Kenneth asked, his eyes growing wide.
Philip clapped him on the shoulder. “A long time has passed. You have a lot to catch up on.”
“I didn’t even know I was a father,” Kenneth said, sounding stunned.
Evelyn gasped. “And you’re my great-great-uncle Philip.”
“We can have the family reunion later,” I said. “For now, we’ve got a company to warn and save.”
The magical folks did the spell, and I was relieved when it took me along with them. We found ourselves back in Roger’s office, but there was no sign of the trussed-up Roger. A couple of frogs hopped along the floor, and Trish lay in the corner, her wrists bound with a printer cable and packing tape over her mouth.
While the others set about restoring the frogs to their human selves, I removed the tape from Trish’s mouth and unwrapped the cable from her wrists. “What happened?” I asked.
“The security forces got in, and they were just too much. Roger said something about an appointment to keep.”
“He’s attacking MSI,” I said.
“Your old place? I guess you still work for them, huh?”
“I have been all along. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Just spitting mad.”
“Then let’s go deal with them.” I stood and helped her to her feet, then turned to Owen. “Surely you didn’t leave Roger’s beacon in Merlin’s office.”
“No, I brought it to my lab to study it,” he said, then he went pale. “Oh no, that’s where he’d arrive if he gets through. We’ve got to get back there, or get it away, or something.”
“Then let’s get back,” Rod said. “We can retrace our own spell. The MSI people can get through our shields, but the rest of you will have to take the long way.”
“I’ll take care of getting them out,” I said. When the MSI gang had vanished in a blink, I gave a “follow me” gesture to the frog people, Trish, and Evelyn. “This way.” I hoped they hadn’t shut down the portals so that we were stuck in London because that would be a long trip back, and I didn’t have a passport.
