"Okay," I said, facepalming. "So, Harry can't use magic for the next forty-some hours, has to host a summit in Mab's stead at MacAnnaly's is about twenty-four hours, and we're pretty sure that whomever set Harry up to have to swear on his Name to give up magic temporarily is going to be ensuring that at least some of the summit attendees have heard rumors to the effect." "Even if it means drawing Mab's wrath, that's going to be too much temptation for some of these 'people' to pass up," Harry said grimly.
"By all accounts, any summit like this is a shark tank," Karrin put it. "And someone is chumming the waters."
"But..." I held up a finger. "Because this is a Mab-hosted summit (even if by proxy), Harry shouldn't have to actually put the smackdown on anyone -- just convince them that whatever rumors they've heard are false. If they don't think Harry's helpless, then breaking the Accords becomes a lot less attractive."
"So all we have to do is convince a bunch of Fey, Fomor, and Vamps (oh my!), that I still have my magic, when I can't actually use any," Harry snarked.
"You've got a serious rep, Harry. All we have to do is show people what they expect to see." I grinned at him. "I'm surprised at you -- your dad was a stage magician, wasn't he? And Mac's is the closest thing to friendly territory we could have, under the circumstances -- he'll be happy to help us with the setup, since it'll actually be in service of maintaining his neutrality."
Harry boggled at me. "What, you're going to call David Copperfield or Harry Blackstone to bail me out here?"
I shook my head, snagging my magic-hardened smartphone out of my pocket. "Nah, we need a different brand of crazy. Not to mention guys who can improv fast. That means, Penn and Teller for the "tricks," and Savage and Hyneman for the A-Team Macguyvering (plus any explosives). Michael can probably get us local skilled labor that can keep their mouths shut for the donkey work...."
Karrin was looking a little poleaxed. "Are you seriously going to put Penn&Teller together with the MythBusters, in my city?"
"By all accounts, any summit like this is a shark tank," Karrin put it. "And someone is chumming the waters."
"But..." I held up a finger. "Because this is a Mab-hosted summit (even if by proxy), Harry shouldn't have to actually put the smackdown on anyone -- just convince them that whatever rumors they've heard are false. If they don't think Harry's helpless, then breaking the Accords becomes a lot less attractive."
"So all we have to do is convince a bunch of Fey, Fomor, and Vamps (oh my!), that I still have my magic, when I can't actually use any," Harry snarked.
"You've got a serious rep, Harry. All we have to do is show people what they expect to see." I grinned at him. "I'm surprised at you -- your dad was a stage magician, wasn't he? And Mac's is the closest thing to friendly territory we could have, under the circumstances -- he'll be happy to help us with the setup, since it'll actually be in service of maintaining his neutrality."
Harry boggled at me. "What, you're going to call David Copperfield or Harry Blackstone to bail me out here?"
I shook my head, snagging my magic-hardened smartphone out of my pocket. "Nah, we need a different brand of crazy. Not to mention guys who can improv fast. That means, Penn and Teller for the "tricks," and Savage and Hyneman for the A-Team Macguyvering (plus any explosives). Michael can probably get us local skilled labor that can keep their mouths shut for the donkey work...."
Karrin was looking a little poleaxed. "Are you seriously going to put Penn&Teller together with the MythBusters, in my city?"