myself upward with them. As I reached the opening I paused to recover Frakir, who was coiled about its underside. That had been my trap. Luke, or anyone else, would have been passing through a noose to enter, a noose ready to tighten instantly upon anything moving through.
Now, though…
A trail of fire ran down the slope to my right. The fallen lantern had shattered, its spilled fuel become a burning riwlet. The men I had choked lay sprawled at either hand. The boulder that had blocked this opening rested to the left and somewhat to the rear of me. I remained where I was - head and shoulders above the opening, resting on my elbows - with the image of the Logrus dancing between my eyes, the warm tingling of its power lines yet a part of my arms, Frakir moving from my left shoulder down to my biceps.
It had been almost too easy. I couldn't see Luke trusting a couple of lackeys to question, kill or transport me - whichever of these had been their mission. That is why I had not emerged fully, but scanned the nighted environs from my vantage of relative security.
Prudent, for a change. For someone else shared the night with me. It was sufficiently dark, even with the dwindling fire trail, that my ordinary vision did not serve to furnish me this intelligence. But when I summon the Logrus, the mental set that grants me vision of its image permits me to view other nonphysical manifestations as well.
So it was that I detected such a construct beneath a tree to my left, amid shadows where I would not have seen the human figure before which it hovered. And a strange pattern at that, reminiscent of Amber's own; it turned like a slow pinwheel, extending tendrils of smoke-shot yellow light. These drifted toward me across the night and I watched, fascinated, knowing already what I would do when the moment came.
There were four big ones, and they came on slowly, probing. When they were within several yards of me they halted, gained slack, then struck like cobras. My hands were together and slightly crossed, Logrus limbs extended. I separated them with a single sweeping motion, tilting them slightly forward as I did so. They struck the yellow tendrils, casting them away to be thrown back upon their pattern. I felt a tingling sensation in my forearms as this occurred. Then, using my right-hand extension as if it were a blade,I struck at the now-wavering pattern as if it were a shield. I heard a short sharp cry as that image grew dim, and I struck again quickly, hauled myself out of my hole and started down the slope, my arm aching.
The image - whatever it had been - faded and was gone. By then, however, I could make out more clearly the figure leaning against the tree trunk. It appeared to be that of a woman, though I could not distinguish her features because of some small object she had raised and now held before her near to eye level. Fearing that it was a weapon, I struck at it with a Logrus extension, hoping to knock it from her hand.
I stumbled then, for there was a recoil which jolted my arm with considerable force. It would seem to have been a potent sorcerous object which I had struck. At least I had the pleasure of seeing the lady sway also. She uttered a short cry, too, but she hung on to the object.
A moment later a faint polychrome shimmering began about her form and I realized what the thing was. I had just directed the force of the Logrus against a Trump. I had to reach her now, if only to find out who she was.
But as I rushed ahead I realized that I could not get to her in time. Unless…
I plucked Frakir from my shoulder and past her along the line of the Logrus force, manipulating her in the proper direction and issuing my commands as she flew.
From my new angle of view and by the faint rainbow halo that now surrounded her I finally saw the lady's face. It was Jasra, who had damn near killed me with a bite back in Melman's apartment. In a moment she would be gone, taking with her my chance of obtaining some answers on which my life might depend.
«Jasra!» I cried, trying to break her concentration.
It didn't work, but Frakir did. My strangling cord, glowing silver now, caught her about the throat, whipping out with a free end to lash tightly about the branch that hung near, to Jasra's left.
The lady began to fade, apparently not realizing that it was too late. She couldn't trump out without decapitating herself.
She learned it quickly. I heard her gurgling cry as she stepped back, grew solid, lost her halo, dropped her Trump and clawed at the cord encircling her throat.
I came up beside her, to lay my hand upon Frakir, who uncoiled one end from the tree limb and rewound it about my wrist.
«Good evening, Jasra,» I said, jerking her head back. «Try the poison bite again and you'll need a neck brace. You understand?»
She tried to talk but couldn't. She nodded.
«I'm going to loosen my cord a bit,» I said, «so you can answer my questions.»
I eased Frakir's grip upon her throat. She began coughing, then, and gave me a look that would have turned sand to glass. Her magical construct had faded completely, so I let the Logrus slip away also.
«Why are you after me?» I asked. «What am I to you?»
«Son of perdition!» she said, and she tried to spit at me but her mouth must have been too dry.
I jerked lightly on Frakir and she coughed again. «Wrong answer,» I said. «Try again.»
But she smiled then, her gaze shifting to a point beyond me. I kept the slack out of Frakir and chanced a glance. The air was beginning to shimmer, behind me and to the right, in obvious preparation to someone's trumping in.
I did not feel ready to take on an additional threat at this time, and so I dipped my free hand into my pocket and withdrew a handful of my own Trumps. Flora's was on top. Fine. She'd do.
I pushed my mind toward her, through the feeble light, beyond the face of the card. I felt her distracted attention, followed by a sudden alertness. Then, Yes…?
«Bring me through! Hurry!» I said.
«Is it an emergency?» she asked.
«You'd better believe it,» I told her.
«Uh - okay. Come on.»
I had an image of her in bed. It grew clearer, clearer. She extended her hand.
I reached out and took it. I moved forward just as I heard Luke's voice ring out, crying, «Stop!»
I continued on through, dragging Jasra after me. She tried to draw back and succeeded in halting me as I stumbled against the side of the bed. It was then I noted the dark-haired, bearded man regarding me with wide eyes from the bed's farther side.
«Who-? What-?» he began as I smiled bleakly and regained my balance.
Luke's shadowy form came into view beyond my prisoner. He reached forward and seized Jasra's arm, drawing her back away from me. She made a gurgling noise as the movement drew Frakir more tightly about her throat.
Damn! What now?
Flora rose suddenly, her face contorted, the scented lavender sheet falling away as she drove a fist forward with surprising speed.
«You bitch!» she cried. «Remember me?»
The blow fell upon Jasra's jaw, and I barely managed to free Frakir in time to keep from being dragged backward with her into Luke's waiting arms.
Both of them faded, and the shimmer was gone.
The dark-haired guy in the meantime had scrambled out of the bed and was snatching up articles of clothing. Once he had them all in his grasp he did not bother to don any, but simply held them in front of him and backed quickly toward the door.
«Ron! Where are you going?» Flora asked.
«Away!» he answered, and he opened the door and passed through it.
«Hey! Wait!»
«No way!» came the reply from the next room.
«Damn!» she said, glaring at me. «You have a way of messing up a person's life.» Then, «Ron! What about dinner?» she called.
«I have to see my analyst,» came his voice, followed shortly by the slamming of another door.
«I hope you realize what a beautiful thing you just destroyed,» Flora told me.
