We took our seats in front, with Rod and Ethan soon joining us. Two minutes before the hearing was set to begin, Ramsay made his grand entrance, with the usual adulation from most of the crowd. His fan club was in for a big surprise, I thought with some satisfaction. He took the front-row seat across the aisle from us, and he knew better than to even pretend to give James and Gloria a friendly acknowledgment. He carried a briefcase, which he set on the floor in front of his feet. Had he brought his own evidence?
The Council members then took their places at the head table, and Rudolph stood and struck his staff on the ground while giving the ritual opening. I felt the wash of magic as the wards took hold. This time, I knew no one would drop the wards for Owen. He was stuck until we proved our case.
Then they brought Owen in, and James, Gloria, and I gasped in unison. He was dressed all in black, like the uniform of the enforcers, and it looked like they’d scavenged whatever they could find for him to wear. The dark, ill-fitting clothing made him look small and pale. The only hint of color on him came from his eyes—and from the ugly bruise under his left eye that spread over his cheekbone. It was a few days old, so it looked like sunset over the Grand Canyon, all reds and purples, with a hint of yellow. James had to grab Gloria’s arm before she instinctively went to him.
The one improvement over the last hearing was that his hands were bound in front of him this time, which had to be more comfortable. Mack being his guard probably had something to do with that. I felt a little better about his situation.
Owen caught my eye as they brought him in. I could see the question on his face and realized that he didn’t even know if what we’d found was useful. I nodded, and his shoulders relaxed ever so slightly.
And then the hearing began. Rudolph read off a list of charges, which included the earlier conspiracy to commit magical crimes plus charges of escape and evasion. He added, “And these crimes are even more alarming when taken in context with the allegation that Owen Palmer is none other than the son of Kane and Mina Morgan, who were so disastrous to the magical community. We know he can’t help the accident of his birth, but we also know he has great power—a power he may have inherited from his alleged parents—and there is also the possibility that the capacity for darkness has been inherited, as well.”
Merlin leaned forward. “As I understand, these were merely allegations made by someone with a personal grudge against Mr. Palmer. Has anyone presented any proof? The person who made the allegations doesn’t appear to be present today, as he is also a fugitive.”
Ramsay then stood. “I took the liberty of asking Mr. Idris to accompany me here today after he approached me to explain how he came by this information.” A man in a hat and jacket stood at the back of the room and made his way down the aisle. He must have come in at the last second, or I would have recognized Idris. I wasn’t sure what Ramsay’s game was, since it was more than likely that Idris learned it from Ramsay.
“This is most unorthodox, Ivor,” Rudolph said. “Mr. Idris has broken numerous magical laws and escaped from legitimate custody. In fact, he’s known to have committed more magical crimes than even Mr. Palmer is accused of. It’s hardly fair to have Mr. Palmer as a prisoner while we do nothing about Mr. Idris. We will listen to your evidence and take your cooperation into consideration, but Mr. Idris, I’m afraid we will have to take you into custody first.” He waved a hand at one of the guards, who moved toward Idris.
“I was framed!” Idris screamed, suddenly breaking into a run and charging toward Owen. “It was him! He did it! It’s all his fault!”
I shouted a warning to Owen, who whirled just in time to see Idris running at him. With his hands bound, Owen was practically helpless. Idris sent a magical attack in his direction and, acting as if on instinct, Owen threw his hands up in a defensive position, and his lips moved silently, like he was doing a spell. He was in the containment circle that kept anyone from using magic, so the spell was useless for defending himself or attacking Idris.
But then Merlin fell out of his chair with a cry of pain, like someone had hit him with a powerful spell.
“See, he’s found a way to breach the circle!” Ramsay shouted. “He’s attacking Merlin, even now! He has to be stopped!”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Owen went a sick gray color and froze. I thought Gloria would come right out of her seat and take on Idris herself, but the guards finally got to him and pulled him away from Owen.
“I didn’t attack Merlin,” Owen said, his voice so faint it wasn’t much above a whisper. “I wouldn’t, ever. I don’t know what happened. I was just defending myself from Idris—and I did that without thinking. It shouldn’t have done any good, since I’m in the circle.”