He greeted me as soon as I stepped through the doors. "Katie! How are you?" He brushed my hair away from my face and studied my bruise. "That's ugly, but it's already on the mend. Please, have a seat. I was just making some tea. Would you care for some?"

"Yes, please," I said as I took a seat on the sofa and waited for the cup to appear in my hands. Then I noticed him standing over by a counter tucked into a comer of the office, fussing with an electric teakettle. He was really making tea.

As he worked he talked. "Tea is quite a remarkable beverage. We had nothing like it in my day, as the British had barely journeyed beyond our own kingdom at the time.

We had to settle for herbal infusions. Every day I seem to discover something new."

"I imagine you do." I felt almost overwhelmed when I considered what he must be going through. His intellectual curiosity was probably what kept him sane.

"Milk or lemon?"

"Milk, please."

He brought two cups and a sugar bowl over on a tray. "There, now we can talk."

I handed him the revised packaging design. "What do you think?"

He studied it carefully, then handed it back to me with a sad smile. "It does seem to say what we want it to, but I must confess I don't know enough to know if this is good or not."

"It's good, really."

"Then by all means, please carry out your plan."

"I'll let Ralph know, and then apparently everything will be changed automatically.

The sales department is also gearing up to make a big splash with their next release, which is scheduled this week."

"Good, good." Then he looked grave. "Do you think this will save us?"

I looked down at the mock-up packaging I held. "I don't know. I don't think it can hurt. The object does seem to be to shrink the impact your competitor can have just long enough to come up with a way of fighting him. This may do it."

"Then I am most grateful." He chuckled. "Here they brought an ancient sorcerer out of hibernation, and our problems are solved by a clever girl without an ounce of magic in her."

"Hey, I didn't say anything about solving this. That part's up to you guys." I took a sip of my tea and thought for a moment, then plunged ahead with the question I wanted to ask. "How bad is this Idris guy, anyway?"

"Phelan Idris is a great danger, and not just because he's angry at us. He's dangerous because he believes in using his power to its fullest extent, without regard for the consequences and with no thought for the people who might get in his way. He would have left eventually, for he chafed under our rules, but we sent him away angry."

"And everyone's in danger, not just magical people?"

"I'd say the nonmagical people are in greater danger, not because he has any particular enmity toward them, but because they lack the resources to protect themselves."

"And is he really all that powerful?"

"I don't think he can counter the combined might of our best people. But in order to counter a spell, one must hrst understand it. Unfortunately, understanding it may involve some risk, as would testing any countermeasures we might devise."

"You'd have to be on the receiving end of it," I guessed.

"Or very nearby."

I didn't like to think about that. It meant Owen was out looking to be hit by one of those spells, and as powerful as I knew him to be, I still thought of him as that sweet, shy, harmless-seeming guy. "All this"—I indicated the package—"may just rile him up for you."

"Then your plan will have unexpected benefits." He rose from the sofa. "Now, what about your offer to go out to lunch with me and show me the area?"

"It's still good. I just need to give Ralph the go-ahead on the packaging."

"We'll go see him together. Is there anything I'll need with me?"

"It's a bit nippy, so you may need your jacket. And you'll need money." I certainly couldn't afford to buy lunch for both of us at too many places around here.

He took his jacket from a coat tree, then went into the outer office and asked his assistant for some of the local currency. He waited in the hallway outside the verification department while I grabbed my jacket and purse, then we went down to the basement together. Ralph jumped to attention when he saw the big boss enter his den.

"Very good work, son. Please implement it immediately," Merlin said.

"Yes, sir, boss, right away."