the shadow double had a door that was locked from the inside, and wards against teleportation. If someone else had cast the spell, she would have seen that person in the room. It would have been her first clear memory. No, logically, Blamira must have been the one who cast the spell on the shadow double, and on herself at the same time, since neither one remembers seeing the other performing the spell.'
'But why?' Wentar sputtered. 'It's hardly logical to commit a crime and erase all memory of the object you plotted so carefully to steal. How did she ever hope to remember she had Ptack's research notes, let alone find where she'd hidden them?'
'She'd probably already sold them or traded them for some other consideration,' Andoris said. 'Both we-and she-will probably never know who she gave them to.' 'Making this the perfect crime,' Wentar groaned. He's right, you know. We may never solve this one. We must.
'The extent of the memory loss is what I find significant,' Andoris continued, ignoring the homunculus's fretting. 'Blamira didn't just erase her memories of the crime itself; she erased an entire day's memories. She has no recollection of the creation of the shadow double or of the exact moment she made the spell effect permanent.' 'But why?' Wentar asked.
'There's only one logical reason,' Andoris answered. 'Blamira wanted to raise the question of whether the shadow double was free willed from the moment it was created. If she'd conjured up a normal shadow double, it would have faded into nonexistence long ago-taking with it her clever alibi.'
'So she is guilty,' Wentar exclaimed, an excited gleam in his eye.
Is she? Then she must pay for her crime, even if she is Shadow's disciple. No favoritism-isn't that what we say? the homunculus asked bitterly. Not even for our own 'Not necessarily,' Andoris countered. 'There's a possibility you're overlooking. The shadow double has all of Blamira's magical capabilities-and her cunning. There is a possibility that it got the better of her-that it really did act of its own accord to steal the research notes. The shadow double could have been the one who cast the forgetfulness spell on Blamira-and on itself-to ensure its own alibi.'
Wentar*s shoulders sagged. 'So we're back where we started,' he groaned.
Back in his bedchamber, the homunculus was pacing, its clawed toes clicking against the hardwood floor, but Andoris remained calm, in complete self-control. He knew that logic wouldn't fail him-it never had.
Wentar drained his glass, then released it and snapped his fingers, teleporting it away.
'I'm glad you're judging this one, Andoris. This case just gets more and more confusing the more I try to decipher it. We may just as well be trying to read one of the Nether Scrolls with Ptack's half-completed spell notes.'
The homunculus halted abruptly, atremble with excitement.
That's it! How could we have been so stupid? If Blamira was helping Ptack reverse his secret script spell, he must have taught her how to cast it.
Andoris, however, merely turned to his fellow judge, and said, in a quiet voice, 'Did the constabulary search Blamira's laboratory when they arrested her?'
'They did, and I supervised,' Wentar said. Then he added, 'I can see where you're going with this one. You think we overlooked some innocent looking scroll that might really have been Ptack's notes, but I know he protected those notes. They could have looked like anything, from an accountant's ledger to a page of poetry. That's why I insisted he be present during the search. Ptack spoke the word that negated his secret script spell and looked over the books, scrolls, and pages himself, but though some of the written materials on Blamira's desk had been disguised with a secret script spell, Ptack's research notes weren't among them.'
'There may still have been clues to be found,' Andoris mused.
'What do you mean?'
'I think a second search of Blamira's laboratory is in order.'
The Shadow Consortium was noted for its gloom-filled corridors and tiny, claustrophobic rooms. Blamira's laboratory was no exception. Though the tower it was situated in had numerous windows-all of them ensorcelled against teleportation and scrying-they were long and narrow, filled with gray glass. The beams of sunlight that did penetrate the crowded, stuffy room seemed more like questing fingers of lighter shadow.
Wentar and Andoris were sifting through the books, scrolls, and loose sheets of vellum on Blamira's workbench. They'd shifted each pile from one end of the workbench to the other at least three times but weren't any closer to finding anything.
'It's hopeless,' Wentar moaned. 'I can't remember which of these changed when Ptack negated his spell.'
Idiot! You should have paid more attention.
'Keep looking,' Andoris said.
'What are we looking for?' Wentar asked.
Andoris was no longer listening. His attention was wholly focused on the book he had just opened. Reading it, he saw something he would have thought impossible: notes on the creation of a mythallar that drew not from the Weave but from the spaces between it. From the Shadow Weave.
Back in Andoris's bedchamber, the homunculus trembled with excitement.
So that's how she did it!
Andoris pointed to the page in the book that lay open in front of him and said, 'According to these notes, Shadow and his disciples have succeeded in creating a shadow mythallar.'
Wentar shook his head in puzzlement. 'A shadow mythallar? Incredible! But what does it have to do with-'
'If the mythallar is sustaining the shadow double,' Andoris explained, 'that means the shadow double is quasimagical, rather than permanent. It's a spell effect, rather than a sentient being.'
'Ah,' said Wentar, a smile of relief spreading across his face. 'I see. Our case is solved. We can find Blamira guilty-'
Even if she isn't?
'And hold the shadow double inside the maze-circle until we find some way to dispel it,' Wentar continued. 'But how are we to tell which is which?'
'Wentar,' Andoris began thoughtfully, 'when you teleported one of the accused to a different plane to see if the shadow double would dissipate, which one did you choose?'
When the trial resumed, the Spiral Court was even more crowded than it had been before. Word had gotten out that a decision was about to be rendered in the case, and the walls were so crowded with spectators that it was impossible to see the testimony that scrolled up the ivory spiral. Even Shadow had come to watch the proceedings-albeit surrounded by a protective bodyguard of his disciples.
On the floor below, all was in readiness. Andoris sat on one of the silver chairs. The second was empty. Wentar had explained the legal technicalities of permanence versus quasimagical non-permanence as it related to the issue of the shadow double being a person or creature. The crowd had listened in mystified silence, understanding the legal explanation but uncertain why it was being given, then Wentar had disappeared. Now it was up to Andoris.
Raising a hand to hush the crowd, Andoris spoke. 'Earlier today, High Justice Wentar and I discovered the source of the magic that is sustaining the shadow double. There is a third mythallar on Karsus Enclave.'
A buzz of excited voices rushed up through the Spiral Court. Andoris waited for it to subside, watching the faces of the two accused. They seemed wary but puzzled-as though they knew which mythallar Andoris was referring to but were unaware of its significance. This was perfectly logical. All knowledge of having used the mythallar to create and sustain the shadow double must have been erased, together with Blamira's other memories.
'One of these women is a quasi-magical spell effect, and thus is not responsible for its actions, according to enclave law. Therefore, Blamira must be found guilty of the crime with which she has been charged and dealt with accordingly.''
The homunculus's voice was nearly lost to Andoris in the excited crush of voices that followed this pronouncement.
Even if the law's not fair?
