Kiss and Spell

After ending the call, I crept back to the stereo and hit the “forward” button to move to the next song before Aretha could whip the army into a freedom-fighting frenzy. In a miracle that made me want to kiss Jake, the next song was the Bee Gees’ “Jive Talking,” and the combination of the harmonies, the danceable beat, and the lyrics questioning someone’s veracity shifted the room’s mood once again. The elves went back to dancing even as the commander shouted at them.

I slipped back into the middle of the crowd and said loudly enough to be heard by the people around me, “If it’s about freedom, then why did they take us against our will? They could have talked to us about freeing our brethren.” Then I ducked out of the way before anyone could notice who’d been talking. A ripple of conversation spread.

I moved to another part of the room and said, “It makes you wonder what’s really going on here. Are these people trying to free this world’s elves, or keep them from being free?” Again, I ducked out of the way and let the elves discuss that. Judging from the rise in conversation volume, I thought the seeds I’d planted must be growing.

I jumped when someone touched me on the shoulder, and I turned to see Rod. “How’s it going?” he asked.

“I seem to have stirred up a little discord.”

“That sounds like fun. I think I’ll join you.” The two of us moved through the dance floor, questioning what the commander had said or complaining about what had happened, and then moving on. Soon, the murmur of conversation was almost drowning out the music.

The commander tried to rally his troops again, but then “YMCA” came on and he lost their attention entirely. There were a few elves not joining in the dance, and I wondered if they were Sylvester’s henchmen rather than imported soldiers. Even if I succeeded in keeping the newcomers from joining the fight, our people still might have to face this world’s loyalists.

I called Sam. “We may have the situation more or less under control at the moment. I don’t think the army’s going to rally behind Sylvester’s cause, but he does have some people here. Do we have any elves who can come deal with the new guys and provide another perspective?”

“Granny rounded up a few. Now, we’re about to make a move, so get yourself someplace safe and out of the way.”

I felt a wave of magic that made me reel even if it didn’t affect me, and the dancing stopped. “Uh oh, they’re trying again,” I whispered into the phone as I hurried toward Rod, worried about how he might be affected.

“Now is the time for our glorious crusade!” the commander shouted, his voice ringing with a magical undertone.

Murmurs of “glorious crusade” echoed through the dance floor as the elves stared enraptured up at the balcony. Fortunately, Rod didn’t seem to be affected by the elven spell, but he looked as concerned as I felt. I wasn’t sure there was any disco music strong enough to counteract this magic. But then “Stayin’ Alive” came on, and most of the elves shook themselves out of the spell to dance. One benefit of most of the dancers being from another world was that none of them tried to impersonate John Travolta.

Not everyone was liberated by the music, though, and the leaders were able to line a number of soldiers up in ranks, ready to head out into our world. I didn’t know what our people had set up out there, but I hoped they were ready for it. Then I remembered that I could warn Sam, so I called him back and said, “They’re coming out. Not all of them, but enough.”

“Thanks for the heads-up, doll.”

The soldiers marched out, and I held my breath, waiting to see what would happen. It wasn’t long before they came flooding back into the main room, followed by MSI’s forces. There were even a few people in Council black, so Merlin must have really brought in the big guns. Waiting for the warehouse to open had allowed the MSI group to get in past the guards, who were swept up in all the confusion.

I rushed over to the stereo and turned up the volume. I didn’t recognize the next song that came on. It sounded like the kind of dance electronica that got played at nightclubs. I wouldn’t have thought the elves would be all that into it, with its lack of discernable melody, but the novelty seemed to strike them, and they were completely distracted from the fight going on between the MSI group and Sylvester’s people.

One struggle was between an MSI elf and one of the elf loyalists. Our guy must have been briefed by Sam, for he shouted, “These elves are trying to seize power over the elves of this world! They’re oppressing us, and they want to use you to help them!” Soon, some of the foreign elves had rallied to his side.