No Quest For The Wicked

“Would a magical immune be affected by it?” I asked. “Would it turn an immune evil or power hungry?”

“It shouldn’t,” Merlin said.

“And what about the invulnerability from the Knot? Maybe an immune could get past whatever magical protection it gives.”

“There is no record of anyone wearing the Knot encountering magical immunes,” Merlin said. “They don’t occur among the elven race, and the Knot was lost long before they began cooperating with mankind.”

“So, it’s theoretically possible that Owen or I could, say, punch someone wearing the Knot and take it away from them?”

Merlin stroked his beard thoughtfully, and he was quiet for so long that I started to worry about him. “Possibly, possibly, though it would require bare hands, as no weapons would work. Yes, that may be the only solution,” he said at last. “Mr. Palmer, I know you regret the loss of your power, but it may be the saving grace in this. You’re the only wizard who can be trusted with this mission. You must find and recover the Eye—before anyone else does. It cannot be allowed into the hands of anyone who can be affected by magic.”

I tried to make myself invisible, hoping I could get away with tagging along, even though this mission had nothing to do with my actual job. Back when Owen was a powerful wizard, we’d often teamed up because his powers and my magical immunity allowed us to cover each other’s weaknesses. Now that he was a trained wizard who was magically immune, I was redundant.

“You’ll need help,” Merlin said, “and I hesitate to assign anyone susceptible to magic.” It took all my self-control not to jump up with my hand in the air and shout, “Ooh! Ooh! Pick me!” As if reading my mind, Merlin turned to me and said, “Miss Chandler is the obvious choice.”

“I’d be glad to help, sir,” I said, resisting the urge to salute. I knew this was likely to be a difficult and dangerous mission, but I couldn’t stop myself from grinning like an idiot. It had been boring not being in danger all the time.

“I don’t think we can do this with just immunes, though,” Owen said. “The elves have magic. Katie and I can’t compete against that. We’ll need all the tricks, from the little things like getting through traffic and summoning trains to getting past building security or neutralizing bystanders. And then we may have to fight the competition to get to the brooch.”

“This does present us with a dilemma, doesn’t it?” Merlin said. “Magic will be essential for finding and reaching the brooch, but then it becomes potentially deadly once we obtain the object of our quest.”

“What we need is a tranquilizer gun,” I said. “We could have a magical person with us to help with the quest, but then knock him out as soon as we get near the Eye.”

I’d meant it as a joke, but both Owen and Merlin turned to me with smiles. “Excellent idea, Miss Chandler,” Merlin said, raising an eyebrow.

“I bet R-and-D can whip up something,” Owen said, reaching for Merlin’s desk phone. “The trick will be finding someone willing to work with us under these circumstances.”

“Yeah, knowing you’ll be knocked out just when things are getting interesting would be a real turn-off,” I said.

“It would require a great deal of trust,” Merlin agreed with a sidelong glance at Owen and a fleeting frown. I bit my lip, knowing what that probably meant. Although I had no doubt that Owen was a good guy, and Merlin trusted him completely, not everyone in the company was dealing well with the recent revelations about Owen’s heritage. The loss of his powers was about the only thing that made his presence tolerable for a lot of people. There weren’t many wizards who’d be eager to join Owen on a quest for one of the most dangerous magical objects ever created, and even fewer who’d be okay with Owen having the ability to knock them out. Even if they gave the tranquilizer job to me, I was so closely associated with Owen that it wouldn’t make much difference.

Owen hung up the phone and said, “They’ve got something they think should work. And what about Rod for magical support? He’d trust me, and he’s the best there is at illusion and charm.” Rod Gwaltney was Owen’s best friend from childhood. He ran the company’s personnel department, and he was also an expert wizard.

“Good choice,” Merlin said, nodding, as he gave a very subtle sigh of relief. “We can use the security gargoyles for aerial reconnaissance and support. They can track the elves while also clearing the way for your team. Gargoyles are less likely to be susceptible to the Eye. It takes a lot to affect a gargoyle magically.”