Kay Hooper - The Wizard Of Seattle

Kane glared at her. "Bigfoot and Elvis sightings, huh?"

A low laugh escaped her. "Touché. But we are different, you know. We aren't tacky."

Kane grappled a moment in silence, trying to work things out in his mind, then said, "That announcement about the grant. You did take it from my apartment."

It took Serena a moment to remember, and then she nodded. "Yeah, I did. I wanted to know if Seth got the grant. So I sent for it to come to your pocket. And then I just put you to sleep before you could pass out."

"I don't believe this. Any of it."

Merlin, able to sense as well as see the reporter's rising agitation, spoke calmly. "We're no threat to you, Kane. To any of you. I'll tell you another little secret. Our kind has walked the earth as long as yours has; there have always been beings of power-and there always will be. With very few exceptions, we've learned to pass unnoticed in society."

"Exceptions?"

"Some of us have been careless from time to time, which is why there are stories about witches and sorcerers and the like. And some born wizards don't realize what they are, which is why they make a living performing parlor tricks like bending spoons and taking photographs with their minds."

Kane felt oddly relieved when Merlin-Was he the wizard Merlin? But how was that possible?-made another of those supple gestures that apparently caused his blue robe to vanish and leave him dressed normally again in jeans and a thick sweater. Then he leaned back against the desk again while Kane tried to make himself think clearly.

"If you don't want this to get out, then why the hell are you admitting it to me?" he demanded finally.

"Mostly because I knew very well you weren't going to give up." Merlin smiled faintly. "That was obvious. I could have removed any interest in myself and Serena from your mind, but that's an intrusion I'd rather not have to make."

"Is that a threat?"

"No. You see, we don't toy with people, Kane. It's against our laws. At the same time, we have no intention of going public just yet; it's a human trait to always fear what you don't understand, and that could cause us a great deal of unnecessary trouble… as it has in the past."

"These are hardly the Dark Ages," Kane scoffed. "We're not afraid of things that go bump in the night."

"Oh? Then why are you backed up against a shelf?"

Embarrassed, the reporter straightened his shoulders and stepped forward toward the desk-and Merlin. But his bravado didn't hide his wariness when he said, "If you're not threatening to do something to my mind, then what makes you think I'm not going to take this story public?"

"They wouldn't believe you," Serena murmured. "You'd sound like a raving lunatic. And in a contest of your word against Richard's, he'd win hands down."

Kane thought she was probably right. Keeping his gaze on the Master wizard, he said, "Maybe that's true, but I wouldn't be the first reporter to face disbelief- and if you yell long enough, people start to listen. And believe."

Merlin looked at him steadily. "I want to make something very dear, Kane. I have the ability to make very sure you never say a word about this to anyone. I can place a spell on you that's rather like a post-hypnotic suggestion, so that all you would have to do is simply decide to tell someone-and you'd lose it. You would instantly have no memory of this conversation or any interest in us whatsoever. In other words, you would lose, for all time, a part of your experience. A piece of your being."

Kane found that unexpectedly sobering and not a little chilling. He swallowed hard. "And you don't toy with us, huh?"

"I'm not toying with you, I'm merely telling you what I'm capable of."

"Then we're back to square one," the reporter said. "If you have no intention of going public, why the hell did you tell me about this? To torture me?"

"No. To make a point, I suppose."

"Which is?"

Merlin's wide shoulders lifted and fell in a shrug, and he smiled. "That there are more things in heaven and earth than even a jaded investigative reporter could imagine. You had talent, Kane, and you let it trickle through your fingers; I think that was a shame. I think that, somewhere along the way-and please forgive the maudlin phrase-you gave up on life. It's a waste, and I hate waste."

Kane might have sneered at that, but he didn't. He merely stared at Merlin, unmoved. "So you're gonna save me, huh?"

"I'm not that presumptuous-or that philanthropic. No, your future is yours to shape. I just thought that it might make a difference to a man like you to find out that the world has quite a few mysteries left. I may not allow you to display mine, but I'm sure there are others you would find interesting. If you care to look for them, that is."

Kane didn't know what to make of Merlin, but he knew he had a lot of thinking to do. "Maybe I'll do that," he said, easing toward the door, inwardly furious that he was afraid to turn his back on the wizard. Wizard? God!

"I can be a very good friend to have," Merlin offered, still smiling easily.

"And a bad enemy?"

"Exactly."

Kane found himself in the doorway of the study, and paused there. "So tell me, have you fixed it so I'll lose a piece of my mind if I try to take this story public?"

"No," Merlin replied. "Not yet anyway."

"Don't tell me you trust me?"

"Hardly. I'm just giving you a little rope, Kane. Use it to climb-or knot it into a noose. It's up to you."

The reporter took a step back out into the foyer, but paused again, this time with a jerk, when Merlin spoke softly.

"By the way… the voice-activated tape recorder in your pocket? You'll find the tape blank. Funny thing about wizards; we tend to adversely affect electrical and magnetic fields if we're not careful. I'm afraid I wasn't careful."

Kane looked both furious and nervous, and this time he backed completely out of sight. A moment later, the front door opened and loudly dosed.

Serena came out from behind her chair and went to Merlin. "For a nice guy, you can sound a little scary," she told him solemnly.

He put his hands on her waist and drew her closer so that she was standing between his knees. "You don't seem frightened," he observed, smiling.

"No, but Kane was shaking in his shoes, at least for the moment." She leaned even closer and linked her fingers together behind his neck. "Do you think he'll keep quiet?"

"I think… life will probably be quite interesting for a while."

Serena eyed him in amusement. "I think you're looking forward to a fight with Kane. Practically every word you uttered to him was like waving a red flag at a bull- and don't tell me you didn't know that."

Merlin shrugged. "I imagine I can handle Kane no matter what he decides to do. And if we didn't change our present after all, we'll be gone and the Council can deal with him."

Her smile faded a little. "I keep forgetting about that."

He bent his head and kissed her, the light touch rapidly becoming more intense, and when Merlin finally drew back a little his black eyes were burning and heavy-lidded. Huskily, he said, "I want to find out if we were successful so we can go forward from here, Serena. Our future is together, remember that."

She nodded. "Then I guess you should go and call your father."

Merlin let her ease back away from him, but took his hands off her only reluctantly. He wondered if he would ever grow accustomed to the magic of touching her, and knew he wouldn't; it was the only magic in his life that was utterly, wonderfully, beyond his control.

There were some things no man was meant to master.

"Not just yet," he said. "I realized something just before Kane came into the room."

"What?"

He went around the desk and pushed his chair back, looking down at the big book lying open on the blotter. "This. These, really-all the books, Serena. If we changed history, we should find evidence of it in the books."