Gwen flipped open the compact and held it between her and Morgan. The pencil-thin beam of light hit the mirror and bounced off. Gwen had hoped that it would bounce back and hit Morgan herself. Instead the beam shot off to the left and struck the crystal column in which Merlin was trapped.
'No!' screamed Morgan, but it was too late. Like a laser cracking a diamond, the spell of disintegration pierced the crystal. A weblike pattern of lines appeared on the crystal surface, and Merlin's small body began to glow with power. Again Morgan cried 'No!' but that was a split second before the crystal shattered into a million shards. Gwen shielded her eyes, but miraculously, or perhaps magically, not so much as a single piece cut her. Morgan, on the other hand, was unable to fend off what seemed like thousands of angry hornets ripping at her. She went down, pieces of crystal embedded in her dress and skin.
Merlin stood there. His eyes were smoldering with anger and power. His fists were clenched and glowing. 'Morgan,' he said in a dangerous voice, 'you've kept bound forces with which you should not have tampered.'
'You little fiend!' Morgan cried. 'That's the second time you've done that. First you nearly get me cut to ribbons with my own television set, and now this. Well no more, I tell you. No more!'
Her body glowed. 'You're in my place now, Merlin! You cannot win!'
'Gwen! Behind me!' ordered Merlin. Gwen barely had time to comply before Morgan's mystical attack was launched.
'And in a sudden reversal,' the newscaster was saying, 'returns from the upper Manhattan voting districts have tilted the balloting more toward Arthur Penn....'
Arthur, up in his suite, could swear that he heard a roar of approval go up from the gathering room downstairs. He smiled as the newscaster said, 'Once again this race has become so close that it has become impossible to call.'
'Gentlemen,' said Percy, 'it looks like we're going to be putting in a long night.'
Merlin had erected his mystical defenses barely in time. A sphere of pure energy surrounded Merlin and Gwen as Morgan's powerful spells bounced off the shields. Pillows imploded into nothingness. Walls began to melt into puddles. And Morgan's wrath grew.
Merlin, his face frozen in concentration, worked on maintaining the shields that were preserving their lives. Gwen crawled to him and demanded, 'Now what?'
'You're asking me?' said Merlin desperately. 'You're the one who came to the rescue. I assumed you'd figured a way out.'
'I did,' said Gwen. 'You're it.'
'Wonderful,' replied Merlin.
Energy cascaded around them, dancing in little sparks. 'I can't hold her back much longer,'
grated Merlin. 'I'm too weak. I've been cooped up for too long.'
'Then what are we going to do?'
'Will you stop asking me that?'
'All right,' said Gwen angrily. 'All right!' She started to stand. 'Cover me.'
Merlin looked at her, aghast. 'What do you think this is, Gunfight at the OK Corrall What do you mean, cover you?'
'I'm going to get her.'
'You're insane! There are forces being unleashed here you know nothing about.'
'Good,' said Gwen. 'If I knew about them, I'd probably be more terrified than I am right now.
See you next lifetime, Merlin.'
'Gwen-'
Gwen DeVere leaped out from behind the protection of Merlin's shields. She rolled across the smoldering carpet as Morgan, blind with fury, directed her attack at Gwen's quick-moving form. Gwen, heart pounding with excitement, mind racing thanks to the uppers, moved with a speed that defied description. And Morgan, caught up in her anger, used her power wildly, recklessly. She did not take time to aim, or plan, or think. She was reacting on the most primal level-utter rage. Gwen broke right, broke left, leaped forward, then pivoted and dodged again to the right. Explosions of primal force bracketed her. A chunk of floor tilted wildly under her and she jumped off it, rolling that much closer to Morgan.
A sudden instinct warned her, and she ducked to one side as a huge piece of plaster from the ceiling fell and shattered right where she'd been.
Morgan was grinning wildly. 'You're going to die, Guinevere, you slut!' she shrieked. 'My brother's whore! There'll be less than nothing left of you when I'm through.'
Still two yards away, Gwen grated, 'All talking, bitch queen, but no action. Hiding behind your spells and your pretty lights! When it comes down to the crunch, you just don't have what it takes.'
'You . . . you ...' Raw energy flew between Morgan's palms and arced outward at Gwen. She leaped in the one direction Morgan had not anticipated-straight at her. Gwen came in low in a flying tackle, her arms wrapped around Morgan's legs, and the two of them went down in a tumble of arms and legs.
Merlin shouted from across the room, 'Gwen! Don't look in her eyes! Not at such close quarters!' And Gwen, hearing his words, shut her eyes tightly, even as she and Morgan rolled, struggling hand to hand.
Then Gwen was on*her back, Morgan straddling her. There was a triumphant gleam in Morgan's eyes that Gwen didn't see. 'I don't need my magic to finish you, little queen.' She brought her hand down, open, slapping it across Gwen's cheek. 'That's just the beginning of paying you back for what you've done to me.'
The pain raced through Gwen's face even as she brought her legs up from behind and wrapped her knees around Morgan's neck. The sorceress gagged, gasping for air, as Gwen turned and slammed her down on the ground. The impact stunned Morgan momentarily, and also caused Gwen to involuntarily open her eyes. Her gaze fell on the skull-headed knife with which she had missed her mark earlier. It was just out of her reach.
Quick as lightning she released her hold on Morgan and hurled herself at the knife. Her desperate fingers curled around the hilt, and before Morgan could regain her senses, Gwen had thrown herself across Morgan's prostrate form.
She held the knife over Morgan's rapidly rising breasts.
'Finish her!' shouted Merlin.
Morgan, petrified, made no move. Her gaze shifted from the knife to Gwen, but Gwen was careful not to look at her directly. Her entire concentration was on the point of the knife, poised directly over her fallen foe's heart. Gwen's hand trembled. She bit her lip.
'Dammit, woman! What are you waiting for? Kill her!' Merlin screamed.
'I-' Gwen half sobbed, exhaustion overtaking her. 'I can't! I can't just kill someone. We've beaten her. Isn't that enough?'
The air crackled around them. Gwen's head flew back, her mouth open in a silent scream. And then, like a marionette, Gwen was hurled back, soaring through the air, her body twisted. She hit a wall with a sickening crunch and slid to the floor like a broken doll. A small trickle of blood ran down the side of her mouth. She did not move again.
'No,' said Morgan, getting slowly to her feet. 'It wasn't enough, little queen. Not nearly enough.''
Arthur was in the men's room. Percy watched dismally as the latest tallies were reported. He turned to Ronnie, Groucho, and Chico and said simply, 'The gap is widening. We may lose her.''
Morgan started to laugh. She tilted her head back, her mouth opened wide, and she started to laugh. Then a mystic bolt hit her with full impact. Her instincts warned her barely in time to raise a most minimal shield. She fell back, terror in her eyes.
Merlin was standing there. His fists were glowing, smoke rising from them. His eyes were little more than white, pupil-less spots with energy crackling from them. Lance the Rat cowered in a corner.
'All right, Morgan.' The voice of an old man rose from the throat of a young boy. 'This ends here. Now.'
The air exploded.
Ed Shukin on WNYW looked surprised. 'And with new returns coming in, we see another swing in the direction of Arthur Penn. With ten percent of the votes tallied, it now appears that the Independent candidate and Bernard Bittberg, the Democratic candidate, are even at forty-six percent each. To be honest, I have covered many a political race and I cannot recall in recent history one that seesawed quite as much as this one has. But I would have to say that, at this point, it is far too early to call Arthur Penn out of the race.'
Arthur stood up and slapped his knees. 'I'm going downstairs.'
