Damsel Under Stress

While he was captivated by the shiny object, I tried to glance around without looking like I was glancing around. I was fairly certain I had a magical bodyguard or two. The problem was that they wouldn’t know I was chatting with the enemy. They’d see whatever illusion he was using for disguise. We needed to work out a set of signals so I could let them know that there was something magical and freaky going on. It would have been nice if I’d had a way to know that magic was in use so I’d know if others were seeing what I saw. I could usually sense a bit of a tingle when a lot of magic was being used, but even with Idris right next to me, I didn’t feel anything obvious.



I thought I saw Rod Gwaltney across the street, looking in a shop window that reflected the street behind him in its plate glass, and I let myself relax. Rod was director of Personnel at MSI and Owen’s best friend. Although he was stylish enough to be out shopping in SoHo, it was more likely that he was my designated magical guard. With Rod there, I felt like I ought to take advantage of the opportunity to subtly interrogate our chief suspect.



I had to suppress a sigh as I retraced my steps to go back to where Idris had stopped. “That’s not your color,” I said.



He blinked at me like he’d totally forgotten I was there. “Huh?”



“The dress you’re looking at? It would look lousy on you.”



“I was looking at the shopgirl. I think I know her from somewhere.”



“Well, before you get on with your reunion, would you mind telling me what you wanted?”



“Wanted?”



I counted to ten before replying so I wouldn’t yell at him. “I presume you wanted something. We’re not friends, so you usually don’t pop by just to say hi. Weren’t you going to threaten me or intimidate me or give me a message to pass on to Owen, or something like that?”



He got a vacant look, like his brain was rewinding the tape. If Owen hadn’t assured me that this guy was actually competent, and if I hadn’t seen him in action myself when he was focused on something, I’d have felt pretty secure that the world was safe. “Oh, yeah,” he said at last. Then he ducked his head and stared at the toes of his high-top sneakers. “I wanted to see if you could tell me how Ari was doing. I guess I shouldn’t have left her there to take the heat.”



It was my turn to blink and look vacant. If he was asking after Ari, then he didn’t know she was free, and it meant he wasn’t the one to free her.



“Funny you should ask,” I said. Then I trailed off with a sigh as I realized I’d lost Idris again. A trio of model types, looking like they’d just emerged from their coffins after a night of partying, walked past. His head practically snapped as he turned to watch them. He moved as though to follow them, but I caught the belt on his black trench coat and tugged him back to me. “You did want to hear about Ari, didn’t you?” I reminded him.



“Oh yeah, what about her?”



“As I was saying, it’s funny you should ask because she’s no longer in our custody.”



“You let her go?”



“She got away. Someone got her out.”



He grinned widely. “Excellent. I knew she was a sharp one.”



“You really didn’t know? I’d have thought you’d be the one to rescue her.”



“If I could get in there and get into secured areas, do you think I’d have been relying on flighty fairies to do my spying? But you’re saying Ari’s free? Wow.” Before I could respond, he vanished.



As I turned around to head back toward my apartment, Rod ran up to me. “Are you okay?” he asked. “Was that guy bothering you?”



“That guy was Idris.”



“Really? Isn’t that rather bold of him to walk right up to you on Broadway in the middle of the afternoon?”



“That’s what was weird. He didn’t see any reason he shouldn’t be talking to me. He didn’t know Ari escaped.”



“Very strange. But you’re okay?”



“Yeah, I’m okay. He just wanted to know how Ari was doing. He didn’t even make his usual threats.” Then I noticed something different about Rod. It took me a moment to figure out, but then I grinned. “I like your hair,” I said.



Rod wore an illusion that made him appear incredibly handsome. As a magical immune, I saw the real thing, which wasn’t quite as attractive. It wasn’t that he was really ugly, though he did have some unfortunate features. But when you can make almost everyone see you as a dashing heartthrob, you aren’t going to waste much time in front of a mirror in the morning, especially when you can also use magic to make hearts throb.