No Quest For The Wicked

Instead, the doorman moved to confront us. “What is your business here?” he demanded.

Rod took a surprised step backward. Then he recovered and said smoothly, “We’re here to see Mr. Martin.”

“Is he expecting you?”

“We should be on the list.”

The doorman stepped inside, then returned with a clipboard. Rod waved a hand at the clipboard as the doorman read it. “I don’t see any guests listed here for Mr. Martin,” the doorman said.

“There must be some mix-up,” Rod said. He looked perfectly at ease, like this was no big deal, but I could hear the tension in his voice and I felt the magic as he gave it everything he had. Could the doorman be immune to magic?

The doorman then laughed out loud and said, “You think to fool me with your illusions? You MSI people don’t know the first thing about magic.”

Earl then opened his mouth, and the haunting sound of elfsong poured out. The doorman laughed at that, too. “You think that would work twice, elf?” he sneered. “We’ve forgotten more than you’ll ever know about magic.”

Thor unsheathed his battleaxe and stepped forward. “But how much have you forgotten about steel?” he asked, swinging the axe back and forth.

The doorman held out his hand, and Thor froze. Granny stepped up and swung her cane at him, but the cane bounced backward like it had hit something solid before it struck the doorman. Rod and Earl teamed up on a spell, but the doorman was apparently protected from it because he just laughed. Even Sam flying down from above wasn’t able to get past the doorman.

“We do have tranquilizer darts,” I said to Owen.

“I hate to use them when we aren’t even dealing with the Eye. It’s probably going to get much worse.”

“Worse than getting our butts kicked by a doorman?”

He smiled ruefully. “Very likely. But a dragon guarding the gate is a good sign that the Eye is here, so we don’t have much of a choice.” He took the case from his breast pocket, removed one of the darts, then replaced the case. “I doubt throwing it would work. I’ll have to get past his defenses, myself, then jab him directly. I’ll need a diversion.”

Thor was still frozen, but Rod, Earl, Sam, and Granny were giving it their all, each of them trying to get past the doorman to the side or above him or, in Granny’s case, by crawling past him. He easily repelled all their attacks, shouting words I didn’t recognize as he did so. “One diversion, coming up,” I said. I then approached the doorman, smiling as he threw magic at me without having any effect. That disconcerted him enough that Owen was able to lunge at him and jab the dart in his neck. A second later, the doorman slumped into Rod’s arms. Owen picked up his feet and the two of them carried him inside.

I glanced around, worried that even jaded New Yorkers would look askance at someone ambushing a Park Avenue doorman, but Sam said, “Don’t worry, sweetheart, I had us veiled the whole time.”

With some relief, I joined the others. Thor, who’d revived at the doorman’s collapse, came staggering inside a moment later. Sam gestured the door closed behind him as he flew into the lobby.

“I’d say he wasn’t the real doorman,” Owen remarked, pointing out the bound man lying in his underwear behind the doorman’s desk. Owen knelt beside him, checking for a pulse. “He’s alive,” he said. Rod magically untied the real doorman, then waved his hand and sent the ropes spiraling around the imposter’s wrists.

“If somebody else got here first, we’d better get upstairs,” I said. We squeezed the seven of us into the small elevator for the ride all the way to the top floor, where the doors opened into a private vestibule. It didn’t look like there’d been a scuffle there. I glanced at Owen, and he shook his head.

“I’m not feeling any magic in use. Maybe the doorman was just keeping us away from the Eye.”

“Does anyone feel a strange pull?” I asked.

“Nope,” Rod said. “If it’s here, it’s in the box. So, how do we want to deal with this if she’s home?”

“Let’s pretend I’m paying her a personal visit,” I said. “She thinks I’m useless and stupid—not remotely a threat. If she isn’t wearing the brooch, I’ll distract her, Owen can tranquilize her, and you guys go looking for it.”

“And what if she has it on her?”

I flexed my fingers and formed a fist. “Then I’ll punch her lights out and take it away from her.”