of the way and kitchen utensils clattered onto the floor. Arthur did not even take the time to mutter 'Excuse me' as he shoved past.
There was a rolling cart of dishes off to the right. One of the waiters paused momentarily, grabbed it, and toppled it. A resounding crash rang through the kitchen as miles of dishes spilled out and shattered in Arthur's path. He vaulted, skidding slightly when he alighted but recovering and continuing the pursuit. The camera crews, on the other hand, were not so lucky. They slid headlong into the mess of dirty dishes and leftover food on the previously spotless floor and with a yell went down, one atop the other.
Arthur burst out into the open air of the back alley. It took a moment for his eyes to readjust to the gloom of the night, and then he saw the bright red jackets of the waiters only yards away, dashing down the alley toward the street. Arthur gave chase, shucking his four-hundred-dollar dinner jacket and tossing it aside.
The waiters made it to the sidewalk and then did exactly what Arthur feared they would do-split up. Arthur felt a surge of panic. How was he supposed to follow the one with the invisible sword? Which one had it?
He felt a bulge in his pants pocket and remembered the ashtray. What had Merlin said?
Look through it. He pulled out the ashtray and peered through the blueness.
He made an awful sound deep in his throat. He had spotted the waiter bearing Excalibur immediately-through the blue lens the sword became visible, even though it had not been drawn from its scabbard. But what horrified Arthur was the thing holding it.
It was covered completely with brown scales, its torso elongated so that it was hunched over. Its hands ended in three long, tapering claws. Its head was similar to an alligator's, except the snout was not quite as long. It turned its malevolent green eyes on Arthur and snarled a guttural warning through a double row of pointed teeth. However, it did look snappy in its red waiter's jacket and pressed black slacks.
It turned and faced Arthur, drawing Excalibur from the sheath. Arthur saw his sword glowing dimly in the evening light, and rather than fear, he felt rage that this. . . this thing was soiling his beloved sword with its foul hands.
Passersby who saw only an angry waiter, incensed perhaps because he'd been stiffed on a tip, nevertheless drew back in fright when they saw the immense sword he wielded.
Arthur approached cautiously, arms spread out, legs flexed, never taking his eyes from his opponent. He growled low in his throat as he inched closer and closer to the demon. Cars slammed to a halt on nearby Forty- seventh. Two small children, who lived in an apartment above a deli that had closed for the night, leaned out their window and watched in fascination.
The demon swung Excalibur in an arc and hissed, 'Morgan Le Fey sends her regards, King of Nothing!' The demon slashed Excalibur down and Arthur dove to one side, rolling and quickly getting to his feet. The demon closed on him, swinging the blade back and forth.
It whizzed through the air like an angry hornet, and Arthur could do nothing except stay the hell out of the way. He stumbled once and the demon almost caught him flatfooted. The demon swung Excalibur around, and Arthur leaped out of its path. The blade sliced through a parking meter, cutting it neatly in half at the middle of the pole.
Arthur backed up, looking around desperately for something to intervene. He heard a police car's siren, but it was a long way off, and besides, there was a chance that police would not be able to aid him against this nightmare creature.
'Afraid, Arthur?' crowed the demon. 'You have a good head on your shoulders. Let's see if you can keep it there.'
Arthur retreated farther, thankful at least that the bystanders had had the good sense to get away. Then his retreat was momentarily halted as he bumped into a large iron object behind him. His questing fingers immediately informed him he'd run up against a fire hydrant.
The demon was barely a yard away, and this time Arthur didn't flinch. 'All right, you bastard,' he snarled. 'Give it your best shot.'
With unearthly glee the demon brought Excalibur back over its head and then brought the blade swinging downward.
Arthur waited until the last possible instant, waited until the weight of Excalibur would make the sword's trajectory unalterable. And when it was bare inches from the top of his head, Arthur sprang catlike to one side. Excalibur sliced deep into the fire hydrant.
In a rage the demon yanked Excalibur to one side. The blade effortlessly cut through the rest of the hydrant, and with a sudden gush water blew forth from the broken hydrant. It sprayed upward and sideways. The demon was caught in the face and chest by the full impact of the water. With a howl it went down, clawing at the clean water that to the demon was like acid.
Excalibur flew from its grasp and clattered to the ground.
Arthur was on the sword in an instant, and within the next was upon the demon. He held the sword at the creature's neck and snarled, 'Give Morgan my thanks... should you see her on the way to hell.'
Then he drew Excalibur back and rammed the point through the inhuman thing's throat. Its angry howl of anguish was cut short, and it clawed at the blade even as the life fled from it.
A hole appeared in the demon's chest. Arthur looked down in surprise as a small creature darted forth from the already disintegrating body of the demon. It flittered this way and that, leaving a trail of flame behind it. Arthur stared at it in wonder and muttered, 'A fire elemental.
Upon my sword, I thought I'd seen the last of--'
The elemental gingerly danced around the water droplets which sprayed from the fountain.
Then it caught sight of Arthur, and it flared in alarm and anger. Arthur frowned, suddenly aware that this small creature intended no good at all. He yanked Excalibur from the demon's throat and in one smooth movement sliced upward at the fire creature. The little ball of flame avoided him, spun around his head so close that it singed his eyebrows, then headed straight for the building that housed the closed deli.
'No!' shouted Arthur, but it was too late. The elemental hit the building at full steam. There was a loud fwoosh, and it was as if the two-story building had been firebombed. The downstairs windows exploded as fire leaped out from them, illuminating the street in a nightmarish glow of orange. Smoke poured out from the shattered windows, both downstairs and upstairs.
And as Arthur's gaze took in the second floor, he was horrified to see two children in one of the windows. Moments ago they had been witnesses to Arthur's struggle with the demon.
Now their eyes were riveted elsewhere-behind them, as they saw the room they were in engulfed in flame. The air crackled, became acrid with the biting sting of the smoke. The children screamed.
The police car was pulling up, but how long now before a fire truck could be summoned?
And, Arthur looked around the area in horror, what would they hook up to? The hydrant had been slashed in half, thanks to his brilliant tactic.
Without hesitation Arthur stepped into the stream of water that gushed from the hydrant. The water soaked his clothes, his body, his hair. He glanced over to where the demon lay, and was pleased to see nothing but a small pile of soot where the creature had once been. That was convenient-he hadn't relished the thought of explaining the presence of a recently slain corpse to the authorities.
Arthur stepped out of the water, then, grabbed up Excalibur's scabbard, and slid the weapon back into his sheath, buckling the now-unseeable blade back onto his belt even as he raced toward the burning building.
The TV crews arrived just as the police cars did. Seeing the fire, the newsmen automatically trained their minicams on the blaze. It took them a few seconds to realize that there were children trapped inside, and even a few seconds more before they saw that the would-be next mayor of New York was risking his life in a mad dash into the inferno.
Arthur took one glance upward, saw that the children were hysterical, saw that there was no way he was going to be able to talk them into trying to jump down. However, he did not relish the idea of entering the building- the intensity of the heat was almost overwhelming.
Then, as he studied the wall, he had an idea. He removed his shoes and began to scale the side of the building.
It was easier than he'd dared hope. The building front was brick, and the windows and doors had been built with so many outcroppings that it had been practically designed for handholds. From the corner of his eye Arthur saw that residents of the buildings to either side were clearing out, and he was thankful for that.
