I didn’t want to release Owen now that I had him again, but he slipped out of my grasp and joined the fight. I didn’t think he’d thought that through, since him doing magical battle probably wouldn’t go over very well, but his secret was soon to be out, anyway, and I doubted that anyone was paying much attention at the moment. Quite frankly, we needed all the assistance we could get, and Owen’s talent with wards was sure to help.
I was really surprised when the elf version of Florence came through the portal and approached me. “What are you doing here?” I asked her.
“My cover was blown anyway,” she said with a shrug. “Take out a few guards, and they notice. If I can’t be a double agent, I may as well openly join the resistance. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have freedom to win. When this is over, movie night?”
“Sure. But does it have to be a romantic comedy?”
She made a face. “Please, no!” And then she zapped an enemy elf who was coming at her.
I headed up to the balcony. Since I was magically useless, I thought I might be able to help by getting a bird’s-eye view. Once I got up there, though, I saw it wouldn’t do much good. Sylvester’s elves hadn’t obliged us by wearing uniforms that made it obvious which side was which, and that made it hard to track the progress of the fight. I could see Owen setting wards to divide the vast space into segments so people from one battle zone couldn’t move into another.
There was a loud noise from nearby, and I turned to see Brad the elf standing on the balcony near me, holding his arms out in an expansive gesture. At the sound, everyone below paused to look up at him. I waited to see what he’d say, but instead of speaking, he sang.
I didn’t understand the words or recognize the tune, but the elfsong was heartbreakingly lovely. I caught the eye of the little gargoyle guarding the stereo and gestured for him to shut off the music. Most of the rest of the elves joined in the song with their unearthly harmonies. I felt privileged to be allowed to hear this.
I didn’t know what Brad’s plan was, but it seemed to be working. The fighting had stopped entirely, and elves from the MSI team, from the foreign army, and even from Sylvester’s team were singing together. They were having a real “Kum-ba-ya” moment. If it hadn’t been for Owen’s wards separating the warehouse into grids, I had a feeling they’d have all been holding hands and swaying. I wondered if I should signal to Owen to drop the wards so they could do so. Then again, we didn’t want them to be able to fight again if the togetherness wore off.
The MSI non-elves moved out of the way and watched warily to see what would happen. I wondered where Sylvester was. Surely if he’d been building an army to help him solidify his power over the elves or even over the magical world he’d have been here to lead the attack. Or did he have something else planned?
Then I remembered the commander talking about this world’s elves being oppressed. An army wouldn’t be much good against an underground movement like Sylvester’s enemies. But if Sylvester created an outside threat with an attack by an army of otherworldly elves, that might rally the elves to support him. And if not otherworldly elves, then wizards just might do the trick.
I scrambled for my phone and found that someone had conveniently programmed Merlin’s number into the directory. “You may be walking into a trap,” I blurted when he answered. “I don’t think he’s using the army to actually attack his enemies. The army is playing the role of enemy, and since they’re not coming, you’ll do.”
“Interesting theory, Miss Chandler. How goes the battle?”
“One of the guys from the elf underground started a singalong, so we’re good for now. And a lot of our people got free and back through the portal. But maybe you’d better get over here instead of going after Sylvester.”
“We are already on our way, since Sylvester doesn’t appear to be at home.”
That worried me. Sylvester had proven to be rather subtle thus far—that was, when he wasn’t under the influence of an evil magical gemstone. His schemes tended to involve making other people want him to be in power so he could take on even more power. His attempt to use magic had failed when someone else used the same gizmo for a different scheme and that got the whole magical world involved. Now I was sure his contingency plans had contingency plans. He had to be up to something, and that something would likely hit us hard.
On the former dance floor below, the elf love-in was going full-force. Even though I was immune to any magic in the song, the sound still sapped all aggression out of me. I wasn’t sure I could have been mean to anyone if I’d tried. By this time, all the elves were singing, even those who’d been leading Sylvester’s forces. I glanced at Earl, who was standing next to Brad, and saw that he was smiling slightly.
