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She glanced around, like she wassure no one was nearby to eavesdrop, then leaned forward and opened her lower desk drawer With another glance around and then a big gulp, she pulled a piece of paper out fro the paper at me like it was on fire Then she screwed her eyes shut, as though she expected me to hit her once I saw it

It was a flyer photocopied onto colored paper, the kind of thing political groups hand out around Union Square "ARE WIZARDS OPPRESSING ELVES?" the flyer asked in huge block capitals Underneath, it listed the evidence in bullet points, with each line in a different font I cringed at the first one, which claimed that wizards had stolen and then destroyed the Knot of Arnhold, the ancient ical brooch treasured by the elves

Actually, I’d been the one to destroy it, though I hadn’t been a wizard at the time And, technically, we hadn’t stolen it from the elves Their own leader had stolen it to use it in a scheme, then it was stolen from him and sold, and then we’d stolen it It was a co the world because the Knot had been united with a nasty gem that probably would have led to World War III if I hadn’t thrown it on the electric third rail of a train track during a ical powers out of the bargain was beside the point I wasn’t nae was highlighted I wondered if that explained the attack on us

There were other gripes, including an accusation that wizards were abducting elves who dared to speak out The flyer concluded with a call for elves to disassociate theht back It looked like Sylvester, the Elf Lord, was still up to his old tricks and using propaganda to do what he hadn’t been able to do with enchanted jewelry "Thanks for showing me this, Perdita," I said

She cautiously opened one eye "It’s not true, is it?"

"Parts of it are," I admitted, "but they rather severely missed the point There’s a lot more to it than that" She opened her other eye, but she didn’t see this seriously?"

"Soriping at asped and hurried to add, "Not that I would I like it here But, yeah, even so to listen" She twirled a red ringlet around her finger before whispering, "To be honest, I feel kind of like a rat for showing that to you I ainst my own people"

"Not all your own people," I reassured her "There are free elves who don’t want you to be ruled by a lord of any kind, and they’re the ones working with us to keep your people fro even more under Sylvester’s control"

"I’m not sure my family would see it that way"

"Don’t worry, they won’t knohere we got this There are a lot of elves working here" At least, there had been If this flyer represented elven sentie soon I stood "Mind if I take this?"

"Please do"

"Thank you again for trusting me" I started to leave the office, then turned back "Could you hand me an envelope?" She did, and I sealed the flyer up in it There were a nu in the sales department, whereit fro it to ht up to the boss’s office, where, as usual, he aiting for es to anticipate your every move, but when your boss is Merlin--yeah, that one--it coet used to it On the upside, I never have to wait for him to see me

"I take it you have a concern, Miss Chandler?" he said by way of greeting as he gestured me to a seat in front of his desk

I handed hi around the elven community," I told him

I watched his face as he removed the flyer fro away He murmured a soft, "Hmmm," as he laid it on his desk

"Is that what last night was about?" I asked

Instead of answering me, Merlin picked up his phone and called Sam, Owen, and Rod to co elf who’d been instru us knohat Sylvester had been up to with the Knot