“What happened? Are you okay?” I asked, keeping well away from Roger. I’d never seen him look that outraged before. His evil had always been so cold and casual, but right now, he looked like he wanted to hit someone, and I had no desire for that someone to be me.
He got himself under control very quickly. “That spell should have taken me there. I left the beacon. I did everything right. Are you sure you transcribed it correctly?
Fortunately, that was one of the spells I’d given him before I got the idea to alter or hide them. “It worked for you before, didn’t it?”
He calmed down even more, pausing to think. “You’re right. it did.”
“It is a hundred-year-old spell,” I reminded him. “And MSI does like to stay on the cutting edge of magic while also researching old stuff. They’re bound to have updated their security wards, or it’s possible that Owen found the spell in the same source that writer did and incorporated it into the security measures.”
Roger waved his hand, obliterating the glowing circle around himself. “I’ll find another way in,” he said with a shrug. “Or I’ll catch Merlin some other time.”
“My, but you’ve been busy,” a deep male voice behind me said. I turned to see a hefty silver-haired man in a silvery gray suit. This man oozed power—both magical and personal. I thought I recognized him from the company meeting. He hadn’t been at the central table, but he’d been on the first tier. I glanced back at Roger, expecting him to show deference to a man who was obviously higher on the food chain, but he hadn’t changed his bearing at all. You’d never guess he’d been caught doing anything.
“I’m always busy,” he said. “That’s why I’m effective.”
The visitor entered the office and seated himself in front of Roger’s desk, crossing his legs and leaning back in the chair like he was planning to stay for a while. Roger hesitated only a fraction of a second before strolling casually over to his throne-like desk chair and taking a seat. I remained perfectly still, imagining myself to be a fly on the wall, in hopes that they’d both forget I was there.
“Funny thing is, Roger, I’m not seeing any results,” the superior said. Everything about him radiated “expensive” to me, from his hand-tailored suit to a haircut so sharp that I suspected he got a trim every day. I got the sense of the kind of person who enjoyed fine food, fine wine, and fine art, and who had no taste for messes of any kind. “As busy as you seem to be, I’d expect to see big things from you. You’re not freelancing, are you?”
“Let’s just say that I’m in a research phase. I’ve recently come into some valuable information that I can use to our advantage, but deciphering it is taking some time. That’s what I’m working with my assistant on.” He gestured toward me, and the boss turned to notice me. I gave a meek wave. “She’s a magical immune, so she can safely touch and transcribe a heavily warded document. Once I’m done, we’ll have avenues into the rest of the magical world.”
“Or you could do it the way we’ve handled things for centuries: Get our people on the inside and slowly take over without anyone noticing.”
“That hasn’t been particularly successful lately, has it?” Roger asked, his eyes taking on that predatory gleam that sent chills down my spine. “How many of the key companies have we lost in the past year or so? We lost Vandermeer, and we took a huge gamble on MSI that didn’t pay off.” I was glad neither of them was looking at me now because I wasn’t sure I was able to keep all expression off my face. What would they have thought if they knew that the person who had a lot to do with both of those losses was in the same room with them? I had to wonder if Roger really knew all about my role at MSI. I’d thought I’d become famous among magical people, but maybe not so much.
And then I realized that Roger hadn’t given himself credit for getting Vandermeer back. He was definitely working behind the back of the Collegium. If he’d wanted to move up, that would have been the first thing to mention.
“We’ll get MSI,” the boss said. “It’s only a matter of time. Merlin is a problem, given who he is, but we’ll get to him.”
“I don’t think Merlin’s your real problem there,” Roger said, his smile smug. “He’s a figurehead.”
“Exactly. We simply need a new figurehead, one who belongs to us, but whom they’ll all trust. They’ll never know they’re working for us.”
“And who has that kind of credibility?” Roger asked.
“You do remember that we have people on the Council. But it’s not your concern. You’re young, ambitious, and bright, but you’re not ready yet. What I need you to do is make money for us. Stop messing around with old spells. You just about tore the connective fabric of our operation apart. You don’t know how close you were to needing to buy an airplane ticket to get home tonight. If you’re making money, we need to start seeing it.” He stood, straightened his suit coat, and left, with a slight nod at me.
If I’d expected Roger to act in any way like a kid called onto the carpet, I’d have been disappointed. He didn’t quite roll his eyes, but he didn’t seem at all cowed, either. “Thank you for keeping your mouth shut,” he said to me. “I never told you that you weren’t to talk about what we’re doing here, but you seem to have picked up on the message. That’s good. You’re smart.”
I shrugged. “I figured that if you wanted to tell him you’d taken Vandermeer back, you would have told him yourself. It wasn’t my place to do so.”
His face grew uncharacteristically somber. “Do you think this was that critical decision the seer spoke of? Something pivotal was going to happen today. I just wish I knew I’d done it or not done it. I don’t feel like I changed my fate today.”
“I don’t think you’re ever aware of that sort of thing until well after the fact. I’ve found that it’s usually the little things that end up having the biggest impact.” Like deciding to take the subway to work instead of walking one morning. Would I have met Owen and learned about magic, or would they have found me, anyhow?
“Maybe it was learning that I need to get some work done to get inside. I have to bring in MSI before I go charging upstairs to make my move.” His eyes were distant, and I got the feeling he was talking to himself more than he was talking to me. In fact, it seemed like he’d forgotten I was still there.
He blinked, returning to the present, and said, “I kept you away from home all night last night, so why don’t you go home now? You deserve a break.”
“Thank you,” I said. I wondered if I should leave the beacon in his office while I had the chance. Would the MSI gang want to beam directly there, or would it be better if they entered somewhere else and then charged? I was afraid to leave it in my office; if it was found, I’d be in big trouble. That settled it—Roger’s office, it was.
I made sure he was looking down at something, and on my way out, I slipped my hand into my pocket, found the beacon, and brushed against the ficus tree near the door, dropping the beacon onto the soil, where it blended in with the ornamental rocks around the tree trunk.
Now I was dying to know what Owen and the others had planned with that beacon, and I had news for them. As soon as I was home, I rushed out again, calling Marcia once I was back on the street. “I need a meeting with Owen, as soon as possible, and I’m feeling extra paranoid.”
“More so than usual?”
“I met one of the higher-ups today. I don’t know how much attention he paid to me, but he’s definitely suspicious of Roger. If I were him, I’d be watching me.”
“Okay, I’ll get back to you.”
For lack of anything better to do, I went shopping. There wasn’t anything I particularly needed or wanted, but I wanted to be out of Collegium control—out of my home and around more or less normal people. For about an hour, I tried on clothes and ended up buying a few brightly colored things. I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to wear black again.
My phone rang, and when I answered it, Marcia said, “Go to Grand Central. I think you know what to do from there.”
I was only a block or so from the subway, so I headed that way. That was when I got the impression I was being followed. I might not have magical powers, but I still felt it when someone was staring at me. Maybe it was simple situational awareness, and maybe it had nothing to do with the Collegium, but I wasn’t taking any chances.
Unfortunately, since I was already at the subway entrance, I was committed. Turning back now and changing course would only show that I’d spotted them, and that would prove that I’d been looking for them in the first place.
After going through the turnstiles, I went to the middle of the platform. It was rush hour, so the station was packed. That made it a little easier for me to turn and spot my follower and then keep an eye on him without being too obvious about it. I could hide behind other people and still stare at him without him seeing me stare at him. If I hadn’t been so paranoid, I might not have paid him any attention. He didn’t wear all black or a trenchcoat and fedora, or anything else that made him look like someone who’d be following a person. He just looked like an average guy—an average guy who’d been maintaining a perfect distance of about twenty feet away from me since I first noticed him.
He didn’t act like he thought I’d spotted him. I knew they knew I was immune to magic, so I didn’t think he believed he was invisible to me. He just seemed to think I wouldn’t suspect I was being tailed.
He got on the same car I did, at the opposite end. Even if he’d wanted to reach me, he wouldn’t have been able to fight his way through the sardine can to get to me. I wondered if I should get off at my planned destination. I didn’t want to lead him to Owen, but if I was right about what Owen had planned, that wouldn’t be a problem. It would probably be easier to “accidentally” lose someone in Grand Central than at any other station along the way. If I couldn’t shake the guy, I could always jump on the S train to Times Square.
I wasn’t being strategic when I waited until the last second before getting off the train. It was just so crowded that it took me that long to find an open path to the door. I slipped out sideways while the recorded voice said to stand clear of the closing doors. I wasn’t sure if my follower made it off the train, too, and I forced myself not to look back over my shoulder. Instead, I forged ahead, weaving through the throngs of people and making my way straight for the exit.
I headed to the mall-like area, pausing to browse in the shop windows. In the reflection, I could see that my follower was still there. He didn’t look too concerned. Maybe they were just curious about me or possibly thought that I was on a mission for Roger. Being sent home right after the boss’s visit with Roger must have raised suspicions. Little did they know, I’d come home to carry out my own mission, not Roger’s.
I spent some time browsing in the bookstore—the sort of thing guaranteed to drive a follower crazy with boredom unless he also liked bookstore browsing. He stayed near the front, where I wouldn’t be able to leave without passing him, rather than following me into the shelves.
When I reached the back corner of the store, someone grabbed me by the arm and pulled me behind the shelves. I did a double take when I found myself looking at a near twin of myself.
A longer glance revealed that it was Marcia, her blond hair covered by a brown wig. She wore jeans and sneakers like mine. “Good, you’re dressed the way I guessed, and Owen was right about you hitting the bookstore,” she said.
“This is part of the plan?”
“You said you were worried about being followed.”
“And I was right.”
“The guy by the sale books?”
“Yeah, he’s been there at least since outside the Astor Place station.”
“Okay, you wait here. I’ll lead him out.”
I eyed her up and down. The hair was close to the right color, and she was about my height, but my follower would have to be really unobservant to mistake her for me.
“Don’t worry, there’s a spell on me,” she said, noting my skeptical expression. “To him, I’ll look like you. But we need to fix you, just in case. First, let’s trade coats.” Mine was khaki and hers was black, so that alone changed our appearance. She pulled a floppy knitted cap out of her bag and shoved it onto my head, then added a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. “There. You no longer look like the person he’s been tailing. I suspect you know where to meet Owen.”
“I have a good idea.” I handed her my shopping bags, and she handed me her bag. “Okay, let’s see if this works.”
I lurked behind the bookcases, watching as Marcia walked right past the follower to the store exit. He let her get out the door before going after her. I looked around for any other follower I might not have noticed, but only the one guy had moved. I let them get out of sight before leaving the store and going down to the train platforms.
It was a little riskier getting to the secret passages at this time of day because there were so many people. On the other hand, that made it easier to disappear into a crowd. When I felt someone take my arm and turned to see Owen, I suspected we were going to literally disappear.
As soon as the train at the platform departed, we jumped down, ran into the tunnel, and crawled through a space in the wall. “Aren’t there dragons here?” I asked. The smell of sulfur was pretty strong.
“I got them all to better homes.”
“Yeah, and that’s what you said the last time.”
“Really, I went back and took care of it.”
“No others have gotten in since then?”
“I can’t entirely guarantee that, but you know I know how to deal with them.”
I couldn’t believe that we were wasting our precious time together bickering about dragons, but both of us were on edge. “I got your beacon. At least, that’s what I think it was,” I said.
“Good. I figured you’d know to play along. I take it you didn’t set off any alarms.”
“Not that I know of. Unless it was a silent alarm and that’s why I’m being followed.”
“Where did you leave it?”
“In a potted plant in Roger’s office. I couldn’t think of what else to do with it.”
“That’s perfect.”
“You’re not going to do something stupid like beam yourself straight into his office, are you?”
If the light in there had been better, I was sure I’d see him turning red. As it was, I imagined I could feel a little burst of heat off his face. “The combination of that and the spell for getting to the top office could let us get in and take them all down.”
“You don’t think he’s warded against his own spell?”
“You said he was arrogant. Do you think he even suspects that we know about his spell?”
“Actually, he tried to beam himself over to MSI this afternoon, and it failed because he ran up against your wards, so he at least knows that you know enough to ward against it. I’m not sure he suspects a counterattack, but is a commando raid really the best way to handle things?”
“What else did you have in mind? Remember, we’re not the FBI taking down the mob, where we have to find grounds for charges that will stand up in court. We just need to stop them.”
“But we need to stop them for good. You haven’t seen the size of this organization. If you take out the top, someone else will rise to fill the gap.”
“Not if we also take out the ways they have power over others.”
I sighed. “Maybe you’re right, and I guess whatever plan you can carry out soon is your best bet, because the boss was talking about going after MSI. They want to get rid of Merlin, and they’ve got someone on the Council they think they can install to make MSI their company again.”
“Someone on the Council? I wonder which one. I’ll have to talk to James and Gloria.” Owen’s foster parents had once been on the magical Council and retained ties to the bigwigs.
“Meanwhile, Roger wants to get there before anyone above him does, so that when he takes over, he’ll already have the power base in place. I’m not entirely sure what his plan is. I get the feeling that while the Collegium has been mostly secret so far, he wants to go for more obvious world domination.”
“Minerva said we have to stop him. She saw some frightening things if he succeeds. Fortunately, so far he seems to be making all the right choices—for us, not for him. That’s why we need to act soon. We have to stop him before he goes further, and then we’ll stop the Collegium.”
“You know, it might undermine them if they couldn’t operate in secrecy anymore. We could bring them down by sharing evidence of what they’ve done. They have a massive library, but I’ve only been there once, so I don’t know what’s in there, just that it goes way back in time. I’d need you to translate most of it, but I’m sure there’s something we could use in there.”
“I think we’d need something current. What about concentrating on the people in charge? What do you know about them?”
“Today was the first time I saw one of the bosses up close. I got the feeling Roger’s been hiding me. He didn’t even introduce me other than as his assistant. And I can’t use that spell of yours to get to the top, thanks to the magical immunity.”
“But we do already have magical people inside.”
“I thought I was the first one to infiltrate them.” And then it dawned on me. “Yeah, we’ve got a whole frog pond full of people who aren’t happy with the Collegium.”
“You know what to do about that.”
I shuddered at the thought. “I don’t seem to have to go through any kind of security screening to go down to the frog pond, so I might be able to reach them and kiss a frog or two. I’d need to transcribe a copy of the spell to get to the top for them to use.”
“We should coordinate. Do you think Roger’s likely to be in his office tomorrow afternoon?”
“I have no idea. He doesn’t keep to a strict schedule. For all I know, he’ll be off meeting with harpies or threatening little old ladies who run magical bakeries.”
“I just wish there were a way you could signal us from in there.”
“I have some access to the outside world now, but I suspect it’s still pretty restricted. I might be able to reach Minerva if I need to get a message to you.” I shook my head. “I still don’t like it. You know how dangerous these people are.”
“That’s why we’re trying to stop them. And how do you think I’ve been feeling all this time while you’ve been working with them?”
I slid my arms around his waist and snuggled up against him. “Aww, you care.”
He returned my embrace. “Of course I care. It’s been awful, knowing you’re spending your days with that psycho—especially now that I’ve met him.”
“That’s probably the worst I’ve seen him. Well, other than when he flipped out when he couldn’t just pop into MSI. Most of the time, he’s actually kind of nice. He’d be a great boss if you didn’t know about the world domination and frog stuff.”
“You aren’t going to have a problem taking him down, are you?”
“Heck, no. I know about the world domination and frog stuff.”
“So, how’s this for a plan? We pop in, take down Roger, then you and maybe some others go down and save the frogs, and we all use the spell to get to the top and take them down.”
“You make it sound so easy. It can’t possibly be that smooth.”
“There might be a few complications.”
“Does the beacon let you know where the building actually is? Can’t you just storm the castle that way?”
“Believe it or not, the office building is really just a parking garage and one level here in Manhattan. We tracked it, and that’s all we found. Everything else is distributed around the world through various portals. Your office—assuming that’s where you went when you went back to the office—is in London. That makes it really hard to get to them through conventional means. Raiding the entrance here in the city does no good. If we found a location we could raid, they could run to another one before we got to them. That’s why we needed that beacon, to be able to jump straight to them.”
“We’re only going to have one shot at this, you know.”
“That’s why we’re taking it. If anything goes wrong, get out of there, immediately. Get to the parking garage as soon as you can, and from there someone can get you to safety. We’ve got gargoyles watching it now.”
I nodded. This was starting to sound serious.
He caught my chin and tilted my head up. “Hey, it’s gonna be okay. Have you ever seen me lose a fight?”
“Not a magical one, no.”
“We’re prepared. We have a counterspell for any spell he might possibly use. I’m more worried about you getting caught in the crossfire.”
He gave me a gentle kiss that lingered. “And now we’d better get out of here. Before long, they’ll realize they’re following the wrong person. You need to meet up with Marcia in the ladies room in the dining concourse.”
We indulged in one last kiss before sneaking out of the hiding place. We had to wait for a train to leave, and then we returned to the platform. He blended into the crowd of people getting off the adjacent train, and I headed for the bathroom. I spotted the tail lurking nearby, watching the doorway, so I guessed Marcia was inside. He didn’t give me a second glance when I passed him on my way in.
I didn’t see Marcia right away, but when I called out her name, she popped out of a stall. “Is he still out there?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Then it looks like it worked.” We traded coats again, and I gave her the hat and glasses. She gave me my shopping bags. “Did you get what you needed?”
“Yeah.”
“You don’t sound very enthusiastic.”
“He’s got a crazy plan, and my warnings only made it worse.”
“If he wasn’t coming up with crazy plans, he wouldn’t be the guy you fell in love with. Now, fix your hair. You’ve got hat hair.”
She took off her wig and smoothed her hair before heading out, and I checked myself in the mirror. She was right. I did look rather frightful. I fixed my hair as well as I could and touched up my lipstick, then took a few breaths before leaving the bathroom. The shopping bags felt heavier than they had before, and I noticed that there were a couple of new ones. She’d really done her job in covering for me. I figured that was enough shopping to have validated my visit to Grand Central, so I headed for the subway, feeling my tail fall in behind me.
I changed trains at Union Square to go across town and walked the rest of the way home. I noticed my follower reflected in the glass of the front door as I unlocked it, and I wondered how long he’d wait out there before he realized I wasn’t going anywhere.
With the big MSI operation planned for the next day, I didn’t dare do anything that might make the Collegium suspicious while they were watching me, even if they were just keeping an eye on me because they thought Roger was up to something. What were they even looking for, anyway? Clandestine meetings with his secret army?
My personal phone rang, and I saw on the caller ID that it was Marcia. “Hey, just checking to see if you made it home okay.”
“Yeah, I’m home. But the subway was super crowded, and there were more people than I’m used to on the sidewalk on the way home.” I hoped she got my meaning. I went to the French doors, hiding behind the curtains to watch the guy still standing across the street. Him lurking out there was obvious enough that I thought I’d look pretty dense if I didn’t notice it, so I added, “I think I’m being stalked.”
“Ooh, creepy,” she said. “Are you sure?”
“It’s hard to tell. But there’s a guy who’s been lurking on my street for long enough that I’m starting to think I should bring him some cocoa.”
“Maybe you should call the police.”
“Maybe I should, just to report the lurking. I don’t know if he’s actually following me.” If he’d suddenly moved out of sight, I’d have known for sure that they were listening to me, but he stayed where he was.
“Can you hang on a sec? I’ve got a call coming through on my other line.”
While she was away, I stood watching the lurker. In a way, it was nice to have my paranoia validated. It would have been a total waste if I’d taken all those precautions all this time and nobody had been watching me at all.
“You still there?” Marcia asked, and there was something different about her voice.
“Yeah. Is something wrong?”
“Did your friend you ran into this evening say anything about his plans for the rest of the day?”
“No, nothing in particular. Why?”
“I just heard from Rod, and he hasn’t been able to get in touch with him.”
My whole body seemed to turn to ice. “What?”