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“They practically paid me to take it.”
“And it’s gorgeous,” Nita added, now distracted from the news story—as had been my plan. “No details, but I think you’ll love it.”
“Now we just need to tend to the million and a half other items on the agenda,” I said.
I normally liked having Nita around. She’d been my best friend since elementary school and had moved to New York the previous summer. But I really wanted to discuss the morning’s magical events with Owen and the others, so I couldn’t wait for her to finish her coffee and head to her job at a Manhattan hotel. It would have been so much easier if they’d let me bring her in on the truth, but my requests had been decisively shot down by my superiors at the company. They were that paranoid about keeping magic a secret.
When Nita was gone, I said, “I should look into that woman from the sale.”
“Did you catch her name?” Trix asked. “Maybe they’ll rerun the story in the next half hour and we can see it then.”
“No need,” I said, remembering my encounter with her. “I got her card. At least, I think I still have it.” I went to get my purse.
“Wow, a month on the security team, and you’re already that much on the ball?” Owen teased.
“She was in line behind me at the register, saying pretty much the same stuff she said on TV.” I rummaged in my purse until I found the card. “Ah, here it is. She said she writes for a blog that tracks magical incidents.” I handed the card to Owen. “Does this ring a bell?”
He glanced at it, shrugged, and handed it back to me. “Haven’t heard of it, but that’s not really my department. Is she a magical immune?”
“I don’t think so. She talked about everyone suddenly calming down, but she didn’t mention the gargoyles swooping in, so I’m guessing their veiling spell worked on her. No, she’s just perceptive and has an open mind, so she notices things and is willing to believe her own eyes.”
“That’s a dangerous combination for us,” Isabel said.
“And now that she’s started noticing things, she’s looking for them, which makes her even more likely to see magic,” I added.
“If she starts talking about these things, then other people may begin noticing them, too,” Trix said. “That’s the real problem. If people start believing in magic, then they’ll see it everywhere. They only don’t notice a lot of it because they know it’s not possible.”
“Would that be so bad?” Marcia asked. “Then you wouldn’t have to hide what you are.”
“Easy to say when you don’t have wings,” Trix said with a shudder. “But I can see my people being dissected.”
“She didn’t exactly sound pro magic,” I said. “She thought it was an unfair advantage to be able to break the laws of physics. I could see her as the type to campaign for restrictions on magical people.”
“So I guess you’d better put a stop to this, fast,” Gemma said, “before they start burning your people for witchcraft.”
“They burned heretics,” Owen said. “Witches were more likely to be hanged or suffocated. Unless they were also heretics, I guess. But this isn’t anything to get too excited about.”
“Says the person unlikely to be dissected,” Trix said.
“Believe it or not, this happens all the time,” Owen said. “We try to keep magic under wraps, but it’s impossible to keep it completely hidden, and yet it’s still a secret after all this time. You need a critical mass of people believing in the possibility of magic before anyone talking about magic can get any traction, and there’s much less belief these days.”
“Are you sure about that?” I asked, studying the card. “She talked like her blog has a following, with people sending in reports. Maybe I should cross-reference to see whether or not their reports are valid and look into how credible these people seem. Just in case.”
“Sounds like you’re really taking to this security thing,” Owen said, draping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me against him in a hug.
“Are you surprised?” I asked.
“Not in the least.” He gave me a quick kiss on the temple. “And now there’s a place I thought we might investigate for lunch. We can be on the lookout for any magical activity.”
“Oh, yes, I think we need to do that,” I said. “And then I’m going to need a nap.”
Gemma ran out of the living room and returned with a binder. “While you’re having lunch, don’t forget to go over your timeline and checklist. I think we’re on target, but you’ll want to see what your next action items are.”
As we headed down the stairs, I said, “It’s still not too late to elope.”
“Hey, maybe if this magic exposure thing turns out to be an actual threat, we’ll have the excuse of being too busy to plan a real wedding,” he said.
“We can only hope,” I replied, hefting the binder.
