“You’re with the elf underground?” I asked her. Resistance seemed to run in the family.
“I met some nice people that night in the park when the Eye of the Moon was drawing them, and Earl introduced me to some others. We meet occasionally. And I didn’t tell you because secret organizations are supposed to be secret.”
“I’m going with you, though,” Rod said, his jaw set stubbornly. “I won’t go into the building until you give me an all-clear, but I’ll be on the roof in case you need me.”
“My guys and I will keep anyone from getting out into our world,” Sam said. “That just leaves neutralizing the real bad guys.”
“Leave that to me,” Merlin said.
“Do you just want dance music, or do you want some ballads?” Jake asked.
“A few ballads would be okay,” I said. “They did a nice sing-along with one slow Bee Gees song.”
“And do you want to replicate the songs they were already hearing or do all new stuff?”
“How about a mix? Start with the stuff they were already hearing so the switch won’t be so obvious. Then mix in new stuff.” I listed the songs I remembered hearing.
“Gotcha. Just a few more minutes. I’ll have to save this list for the next party I have. It’s nothing short of awesome, if I do say so myself.”
Sam flew over to land on the arm of the chair where I was sitting. “You know, doll, you’re not gonna like it, but there’s one good way to get you on that rooftop,” he said softly.
“Yeah, I’d already figured that out. If you can keep the antique zombie gargoyles away, I’ll be okay.” The last time I’d been on a magic carpet, an evil gargoyle attack had nearly killed us. It wasn’t an experience I wanted to repeat.
“I won’t let ’em near you, I promise.”
Jake finished his playlist, then handed me his iPod. “Take good care of her,” he said, his fingers momentarily clutching on the device before he gave in and released it to me. “I want to make sure I can keep that playlist for later.” He reached into his lab coat pocket and pulled out a cable with plugs on either end. “Oh, and you might need this. If it’s a real docking station, you can just dock it, but otherwise you can connect through an auxiliary input jack with this.”
Wary of the technical stuff, I thought about bringing him with me, but the same argument I’d given Granny applied.
“While we’re handing out technology,” Sam said as he flew to Merlin’s desk. He picked up something and flew back to drop it in my lap. It was a cell phone. “The numbers you’ll need are already in there.”
“I guess I couldn’t hold out forever,” I said, turning the phone over in my hands. When I needed a phone, I usually used Owen’s, since we were always together. Needing my own phone made me miss him.
“Call us when you think the spell is breaking,” Sam instructed. He looked back over his shoulder and said, “And it looks like your ride is here.”
I hated stepping out of Merlin’s office window onto the magic carpet, but time was of the essence. Sam hovered alongside me as I made the frightening transition, with a little help from Rod. The carpet was driven by a small pixie-like creature. These guys knew what they were doing, and my last driver had saved us in the middle of an attack, so I felt a little better. To distract myself during the trip, I focused on the mission: infiltrating the Elf Lord’s lair and confronting his whole imported army, armed only with an iPod. That was even more frightening than whizzing up Manhattan several stories above the ground.
“So, I’ve been gone a week, huh?” I said to Rod as we flew.
“Yeah. We’ve been worried.”
“What about my roommates?”
“I told Marcia you had to go on a last-minute business trip. I thought it would probably be best if they didn’t have reason to worry.”
“Thanks! I wasn’t looking forward to explaining where I’ve been. I’m still not sure I understand it.”
In no time at all, we were back at the warehouse, and the carpet was settling gently onto the rooftop. The door was still propped open the way I’d left it. Rod gave my hand a quick squeeze and said, “Good luck. Call if you need me—and then call when you think it’s safe.”
“Will do.” I hurried down the staircase to the balcony level, then cautiously slipped out onto the balcony. The party was still in full swing on the floor below, but there was something different about the atmosphere. It was less free-and-easy, more intense. Instead of free-form dancing for the pure joy of moving to the music, the elves were moving in unison, as though they’d been choreographed and directed. They weren’t smiling, either. This looked like serious work, not fun. The music hadn’t changed, so I suspected it was whatever lay behind the music. And if they were making the elves dance in lockstep, I was afraid they were stirring up their army for an attack.
