could be more than a trifle unpleasant. I didn’t like the feeling of being hurried out the door, of course. I would much rather take a step back, look over the situation, and decide for myself.
Unfortunately, by the time I got a complete grasp of the situation, I might be dead. Deader. Seriously dead.
Tort, Tianna, T’yl, Firebrand, and Bronze were all in on this. They had a plan worked out. I really should have the decency to not screw it up.
“So, what do you suggest?” I asked.
“Run.”
“I’m strangely okay with that,” I agreed. “I bet I could hide out with the People of the Plains, maybe with the viksagi …”
“You misunderstand. They will hunt you even though you flee to the Spire of the Sun or the Horn of Ice.”
“But you told me to run—”
“Through the gate.”
“Hmm.”
“Go through it, wherever you will, and I will destroy it after you.”
“Maybe,” I allowed, unwillingly. Running isn’t always a bad idea; I’m not against it. I have a lot of time and care invested in this place, though. And there are things about it that I love… “First, though, tell me what happened to Tort. I have to know.”
“There is no time! ” he shouted.
I slammed a hand down on my desk and everything in the room jumped. Papers fluttered. The trapdoor gave a resounding thud as something heavy hit it from below. It held; I ignored it.
“Don’t tell me we don’t have time!” I shouted right back. “You have no idea how fast things move in here! Firebrand will tell me if anyone enters the room and Bronze will cheerfully stomp anyone coming through that door into a sizzling meat paste! Now tell me what happened to Tort! ”
T’yl and I glared at each other for several seconds while we got a grip on our collective composure.
“Stubborn jackass,” he growled, quietly. “She intended to use her reflection in the mirror to seize the creature’s reflection. In some fashion I do not understand, she would then pull the creature itself into the mirror, leaving your flesh empty. If all went as she planned it, she would then activate the mirror and it would become the black sphere. If the thing inside was too strong for her to devote attention to activating the spells, then she would have to keep it penned until someone else could activate them—you, if you could occupy your body quickly enough, or I, on my way as soon as word went out through the Dragonsword.”
“Okay, I get that. Now, answer my question: Where is Tort?”
“I have no idea,” he admitted. “I never saw her spells. All I know is she was in the mirror with that Thing, and if she remained, it would consume her. She knew that. She did it anyway.”
“She didn’t have an escape plan?” I demanded.
“How?” T’yl replied, which stopped me. If T’yl, a professional magician and Tort’s teacher, couldn’t see a way to survive the process, there very well might not be one. Then again, she created spells T’yl didn’t understand. Maybe she did have a way. But if she was trapped in there with a ravening monster-spirit-reflection-thing, she might still be fighting it. I had no idea how it worked or what precautions she might have taken.
“Is it possible she’s still in there, still uneaten?” I pressed.
“It’s possible, but unlikely. You don’t know the power of that thing!”
“Don’t I?” I asked, softly. T’yl sighed.
“Very well, perhaps you do. No, certainly you do. Of course. Forgive me.”
“I might.”
T’yl sighed and rubbed his forehead.
“Fine. So take the sphere with you through the gate. Experiment with it at your leisure; you certainly don’t have time to play with it here and now. Go, you idiot, and save her if you can—save yourself, first, so you have the chance to save her!”
“Damn you,” I said. He found the one argument that could persuade me to abandon everything else. “What about Amber
Unfortunately, by the time I got a complete grasp of the situation, I might be dead. Deader. Seriously dead.
Tort, Tianna, T’yl, Firebrand, and Bronze were all in on this. They had a plan worked out. I really should have the decency to not screw it up.
“So, what do you suggest?” I asked.
“Run.”
“I’m strangely okay with that,” I agreed. “I bet I could hide out with the People of the Plains, maybe with the viksagi …”
“You misunderstand. They will hunt you even though you flee to the Spire of the Sun or the Horn of Ice.”
“But you told me to run—”
“Through the gate.”
“Hmm.”
“Go through it, wherever you will, and I will destroy it after you.”
“Maybe,” I allowed, unwillingly. Running isn’t always a bad idea; I’m not against it. I have a lot of time and care invested in this place, though. And there are things about it that I love… “First, though, tell me what happened to Tort. I have to know.”
“There is no time! ” he shouted.
I slammed a hand down on my desk and everything in the room jumped. Papers fluttered. The trapdoor gave a resounding thud as something heavy hit it from below. It held; I ignored it.
“Don’t tell me we don’t have time!” I shouted right back. “You have no idea how fast things move in here! Firebrand will tell me if anyone enters the room and Bronze will cheerfully stomp anyone coming through that door into a sizzling meat paste! Now tell me what happened to Tort! ”
T’yl and I glared at each other for several seconds while we got a grip on our collective composure.
“Stubborn jackass,” he growled, quietly. “She intended to use her reflection in the mirror to seize the creature’s reflection. In some fashion I do not understand, she would then pull the creature itself into the mirror, leaving your flesh empty. If all went as she planned it, she would then activate the mirror and it would become the black sphere. If the thing inside was too strong for her to devote attention to activating the spells, then she would have to keep it penned until someone else could activate them—you, if you could occupy your body quickly enough, or I, on my way as soon as word went out through the Dragonsword.”
“Okay, I get that. Now, answer my question: Where is Tort?”
“I have no idea,” he admitted. “I never saw her spells. All I know is she was in the mirror with that Thing, and if she remained, it would consume her. She knew that. She did it anyway.”
“She didn’t have an escape plan?” I demanded.
“How?” T’yl replied, which stopped me. If T’yl, a professional magician and Tort’s teacher, couldn’t see a way to survive the process, there very well might not be one. Then again, she created spells T’yl didn’t understand. Maybe she did have a way. But if she was trapped in there with a ravening monster-spirit-reflection-thing, she might still be fighting it. I had no idea how it worked or what precautions she might have taken.
“Is it possible she’s still in there, still uneaten?” I pressed.
“It’s possible, but unlikely. You don’t know the power of that thing!”
“Don’t I?” I asked, softly. T’yl sighed.
“Very well, perhaps you do. No, certainly you do. Of course. Forgive me.”
“I might.”
T’yl sighed and rubbed his forehead.
“Fine. So take the sphere with you through the gate. Experiment with it at your leisure; you certainly don’t have time to play with it here and now. Go, you idiot, and save her if you can—save yourself, first, so you have the chance to save her!”
“Damn you,” I said. He found the one argument that could persuade me to abandon everything else. “What about Amber
Similar Books
