AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’ll be tough to get clearance for that unless she figures it out for herself and starts asking questions. That’s even over Merlin’s head. The Council has to agree.”
“But what if the Council’s compromised?”
“You think someone that high is in on it?”
“I think these people are good at buying what they want.”
He joined me on the sofa. “Are you sure you really heard all that? Or were they talking vaguely and you interpreted it that way because of what you wanted to hear or expected to hear?”
“Are you doubting me?” My voice went a little more shrill than I liked, but it was hard to stay calm when I felt like my worst paranoid fears were playing out.
“No! I just think you’ve been working very hard on all this, and I know you want to protect me, so you’re jumping at any suspicion. But I think that’s blinding you to other possibilities. Are you sure you’re not just jealous of Matilda?”
Up to that point, I could almost believe what I was hearing. It had all been plausible, the kind of thing I might expect him to say, based on what he’d heard. But that was a step too far. It was beyond anything I could imagine Owen Palmer saying. Instead of being angry, I became concerned. “Okay, who are you and what did you do with Owen Palmer?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
“You just accused me of mishearing an entire conversation because I was jealous about you reuniting with someone you didn’t even like when you were in school. That’s not like you.”
“Well, you did sound kind of jealous.”
“Because I accurately reported what I heard our two top suspects discussing in a clandestine meeting?” I reached over and put a hand on his forehead. “Seriously, are you feeling okay?”
What I felt wasn’t a fever. I felt traces of magic, as though someone had done a spell on him. It was just like what I’d felt from the people at the meeting, only much stronger.
“I’m fine. Why?” he said, apparently not noticing my reaction.
“You’re just being a bit weird, is all. Oops, I forgot to check in with Sam after tailing Matilda. Hang on a sec.” I got up and went into the hall, where I called Sam.
“So, what’d you get? I couldn’t hear a thing,” he said when he answered.
“A lot, but that’s not my real problem right now. Get Rod and get over to Owen’s place.”
“Is something wrong?”
“That’s what I need you guys to tell me. Do you have anything that detects whether someone’s been whammied?”
“Ohhhh,” he said, getting it. “Yeah, we’ll be right over.”
Although Owen had acted out of character, I didn’t think he would do anything as unusual as hurting me, but I was still wary about being alone with him if he was compromised. Depending on the spell he was under, it was even possible that our previous conversation might have been relayed to our enemies. I kept my distance, as casually as I could, when I returned to the living room. “Sam read me the riot act for forgetting to check in,” I said with a laugh that sounded way too nervous. “He was worried after he lost me when I went into the subway.”
He leaned back on the sofa, stretching his legs out in front of him. “I guess you’ll have to get used to following procedure now that you’re doing this for real instead of just as a hobby.” Even knowing that this might not have really been Owen talking, that stung.
“Yeah, I guess I was used to going rogue,” I said.
I was surprised by how soon the doorbell rang. Rod must have magically teleported over because there was no other way he could have arrived so quickly unless he’d already been lurking outside.
I started to rush for the door, but barely checked myself when Owen got up and went to the intercom, muttering, “I wonder who that is.”
“Hey!” Rod’s voice came over the intercom. “I thought I’d pop by so we could talk about the bachelor party.”
“Oh, okay, I guess,” Owen said and buzzed him up.
Rod was
still a bit out of breath when Owen opened the front door for him, so either he’d sprinted or he’d used up a lot of energy to get here. He clapped Owen on the shoulder in greeting, but kept a firm grip for longer than was normal.
A soft glow began to spread around Owen, and it gradually solidified into a shining, multicolored web. “You’re right,” Rod said to me, “he’s covered in spells.”
