"I think it's the real deal," I said to Owen softly, so I didn't interrupt his inspection.
"It's obviously old, the cover is leather, and the pages are handwritten on uneven paper. I don't know if it's what you're looking for, but it's not a Tom Clancy novel."
He nodded in acknowledgment, then said, "I'll pay your asking price, minus a thousand for trying to cheat me."
Wig nodded enthusiastically. "Y-Yes, sir, very good, sir, thank you. And please keep the novel as a gift. It's a very good book."
"My dad liked it," I put in.
Owen nodded, not taking his eyes off his new toy. "Go down to Accounting. They'll cut you a check. And, no, we won't pay you in cash. For a transaction this large, we need a paper trail."
"Of course, sir, thank you." Wiggram stood, collected his bag, then bowed to me and handed me a card. "Please keep me in mind for your rare book needs. I've also got a wide selection of nonmagical books." I took the card, even though I doubted he'd have copies of any of the out-of-print romance novels I was looking for. He hurried out of the office like someone had set his coat on fire.
Owen still sat poring over the book. He seemed to have forgotten I was there. "So, that's why you need people like me," I said.
He looked up, blinking. "Oh. Yes, yes, that's why we need people like you. Thank you. You were brilliant. There's more to verification than just telling the truth, you know. If you present the truth in the right way, it can be quite effective."
"I guess it's showbiz, as much as anything." I glanced toward the doorway where Wiggram had disappeared. "You're letting him wander free like that in the building?"
"He's being monitored. And I have his book already, so he's going to want his money. Speaking of which, excuse me for a second." He put his hand on the crystal ball thingy that sat on his desk, but he didn't speak. After a second or two he withdrew his hand and turned back toward me.I knew he wanted to look through his new book, but I also wanted some answers.
"Thanks again for the books you sent me. They're really interesting. I do have a question, though."
He smiled. "Yes, he is."
I shook my head. "You don't know what I was going to ask."
"Yes, I do."
"How?" I hoped it wasn't mind reading, not after the mental image I'd had a few minutes ago.
He shrugged. "I just do. Besides, you're smart enough. I was sure you'd eventually see the connection."
"Would it have killed you to tell me up front? It can't be too big a secret, not if you were willing to give me those books that made it so obvious."
He looked enigmatic, which must have been a real trick for him, given that his emotions were usually so visible on his face. "Let's just say that it's not a secret if you've got the initiative to do research and the brains to figure it out, but it is a secret if someone has to tell you."
"So we're working for the real Merlin, as in Camelot, and all that?"
"Not quite like in Camelot. That was highly fictionalized. But yes, he's the real thing."
"Why was he brought here now? It would have to be something pretty big, right?"
"That, I can't tell you."
"Because you don't know, or because I'm not supposed to know?" He continued to look enigmatic. "Okay, I get it. Company secret. Fine. But I want it on record that I'm not happy that you hid the possibility of a crisis from me when you were hiring me."
"Would it have changed your decision?"
I sighed. "Probably not. You guys did a great sales job."
"Don't worry. You'll find out eventually."
"Or I'll figure it out." I tapped my forehead. "Smart, remember? Now I'd better head back to the pit of despair." I got out of my chair and headed toward the doorway.
"Thanks again for your help," he called after me, but before I was out the door he was already buried in his book.
The laboratories were busy, but the hallway leading to the exit was nearly empty. I noticed a man coming toward me, not wearing the white lab coat that seemed de rigueur in these parts. As he approached, I smiled and nodded, but he didn't respond at all. He acted like he couldn't see me—or like he thought I couldn't see him. I didn't recognize him, but I didn't know most of the people in this department.
"Hi," I said to him. His eyes cut my way, then he went back to looking right past me.
Either I'd come across the least friendly employee in the whole company or there was something fishy going on here. "Hey!" I called out. He flattened himself against a wall, like he was trying to look invisible. I noticed he had something hidden beneath his jacket. That was definitely not right.
He tried to ease past me, but I got directly in his way. He sidestepped me, and now I was sure he wasn't supposed to be there and that he thought no one could see him.
"You aren't invisible, you know," I said, rolling my eyes. "I can see you."
He looked startled, glancing around to either side like he was looking for an exit or for verification that he was more visible than he thought he was. That proved something was wrong.
"Hey!" I yelled again, this time to anyone within earshot rather than to him.
"Security! Intruder! Help!"
nine
The guy looked like he was going to run for it. I grabbed his jacket and held on. He muttered something in Latin and I felt a charge in the air, but nothing happened. That startled him, and I took advantage of the opportunity to reach for his arm. If he was going to get out of here, he was going to have to drag me with him. I tried to dig my heels into the floor, but the tile didn't give me much traction. All this time I was screaming at the top of my lungs. "Hello! Help! Security! Somebody!" Finally, in desperation, I yelled, "Owen!" He better have meant it when he said to just ask if I needed help.
The intruder then gave up on magic and went for physical force, shoving me roughly away from him. He was bigger than I was, so the force carried me across the hallway to hit the opposite wall. There was an audible thunk as my temple smacked into the wall. I slumped to the ground, dazed.
Why wasn't anyone coming? I thought I'd shouted loud enough to wake the dead.
But then the interloper flew back against the other wall, as though someone had thrown him. He remained pinned there, his feet several inches off the floor. He no longer looked like he thought no one could see him.
I turned to see Owen standing in the corridor, his face flushed and his hair mussed, like he'd run the moment he heard my shout. Good old superhero friend Owen. But he wasn't the sweet, shy guy I'd come to know in the past week. He looked like someone I wouldn't want to mess with. If I'd thought the hint of restrained danger he'd shown earlier was sexy, now he was downright hot. I understood why heroines in superhero movies were always swooning into their unitard-wearing heartthrobs'
arms after being rescued. It wasn't that they were shrinking violets or weak girly-girls.
It was just that seeing a man do something so extraordinary and supernatural to save you has a way of making your knees go weak in a very pleasant way. I'd always heard power was an aphrodisiac, but I hadn't considered the possible implications of that when working for a magical company.
The guy pinned to the wall seemed to try to do something to counter whatever it was Owen had done to him. He muttered something in a foreign language, waved his hands, and even twitched his nose, and I felt the tingle of energy that came with magic use, but it didn't do him much good. He remained stuck there.
"Who are you?" Owen asked him in a voice that was soft, yet full of power.
The man opened his mouth to speak, as if compelled to do so, but then he struggled to clamp his mouth shut again. Owen held out his hand, and the packet of papers that had been under the guy's jacket flew to him. The guy continued to struggle.
Owen waved his hand casually, and the man slumped to the ground in a daze.
Now I thought I understood what Rod had meant about keeping Owen shy for safety. The intruder was panting and sweating with effort, while Owen didn't have so much as a bead of moisture on his forehead. I could see where you wouldn't want someone with that kind of power to have a big ego or a sense that anyone owed him anything. If he got it into his head that he wanted to take over the world, it wouldn't be easy to stop him.