No,that hadn’t been a mistake. Her mistake had been panicking and runningoff half cocked. This—none of this could be real. It went against allthe laws of physics. So if it wasn’t real, what was it? An illusion.Maybe she couldn’t trust her eyes after all, at least not all the time.
Sheclosed her eyes. Now she didn’t see anything. The TV had fallen silent.This smelled like a hotel hallway—lint, carpet cleaner. A place devoidof character. She stood before a door, and when she opened it, she’dstep through to a concrete stairwell, where she’d walkstraight down, back to the lobby and the casino, back to work, and shewouldn’t ask any more questions about magic.
Reachingout, she flailed a bit before finding the doorknob. Her hand closed onit, and turned. She pushed it open and stepped through.
Andfelt concrete beneath her feet.
Sheopened her eyes, and was in the stairwell, standing right in front ofOdysseus Grant. On the floor between them sat a votive candle and alength of red thread tied in a complicated pattern of knots. Grant helda match in one hand and the book it came from in the other, ready tolight.
“Howdid you do that?” he asked, seeming genuinely startled. His wide eyesand suspicious frown were a little unnerving.
Sheglanced over her shoulder, and back at him. “I closed my eyes. Ifigured none of it was real—so I just didn’t look.”
Hisexpression softened into a smile. “Well done.” He crouched and quicklygathered up items, shoving thread, candle, and matches into hispockets. “He’s protecting himself with a field of illusion. He must beright here—he must have been here the whole time.” He nodded past herto the hallway.
“Howdo you know?”
“Fifthfloor. It should have been obvious,” he said.
“Obvious?” she said,nearly laughing. “Really?”
“Well, partially obvious.”
Whichsounded like “sort of pregnant” to her. Before she could prod further,he urged her back into the hallway and let the door shut. It sounded alittle like a death knell.
“Now,we just have to figure out what room he’s in. Is there a room 555 here?”
“Onthe other end, I think.”
“Excellent.He’s blown his cover.” Grant set off with long strides.
Juliescurried to keep up.
Atroom 555, Grant tried his universal key card, slipping it in and out ofthe slot. It didn’t work. “This’ll take a little more effort, I think. Nomatter.” He waved a hand over the key card and tried again. And again.It still didn’t work.
Agrowl drew Julie’s attention to the other end of the hallway, back theway they’d come.
Acreature huddled there, staring with eyes that glowed like hot iron. Atfirst, she thought it was a dog. But it wasn’t. This thing was slategray, hairless, with a stout head as big as its chest and no neck tospeak of. Skin drooped in folds around its shoulders and limbs, andknobby growths covering its back gave it an armored look. Her mind wentthrough a catalog of four-legged predators, searching forpossibilities: hyena, lion, bear, badger on steroids, dragon.
Dragon?
Thelips under its hooked bill seemed to curl in a smile.
She could barelysqueak, “Odysseus?”
Heglanced up from his work to where she pointed. Then he paused and tooka longer look.
“It’sa good sign,” Grant said.
“Howis that a good sign?” she hissed.
“Aguardian like that means we’ve found him.”
Thatshe couldn’t argue his logic didn’t mean he wasn’t still crazy.
“Canyou distract it?” he said. “I’m almost through.”
“Distractit? How on Earth—”
“Thismagician works with illusions. That thing is there to frighten usoff. But most likely it’s not even real. If you distract it, it’llvanish.”
“Justlike that, huh?”
“I imagine so.”
Hedidn’t sound as confident as she’d have liked.
Shetried to picture the thing just vanishing. It looked solid enough—itfilled most of the hallway. It must have been six feet tall, crouching.
“Andyou’re absolutely sure it’s not real.” She reminded herself about thehallways, the room service cart. All she had to do was close her eyes.
“I’mreasonably sure.”
“That’s not absolutely.”
“Julie,trust me.” He was bent over the lock again, intent on his work.
Thebeast wasn’t real. All right. She just had to keep telling herselfthat. Against her better judgment, Julie stepped toward the creature.
“Here, kitty kitty—” Okay, that was stupid. “Um, hey! Over here!” Shewaved her hands over her head.
Thebeast’s red eyes narrowed; its muscles bunched.
“Remember, it’s anillusion. Don’t believe it.”
Thething hunched and dug in claws in preparation of a charge. The carpetshredded in curling fibers under its efforts. That surelooked real.
“I—Idon’t think it’s an illusion. It’s drooling.”
“Julie, stand your ground.”
Themonster launched, galloping toward her, limbs pumping, musclestrembling under horny skin. The floor shook under its pounding steps.What did the magician expect would happen? Was the creature supposed topass through her like mist?
Julieclosed her eyes and braced.
Aweight like a runaway truck crashed into her, and she flew back and hitthe floor, head cracking, breath gusting from her lungs. The great,slathering beast stood on her, kneading her uniform vest withquesting claws. Its mouth opened wide, baring yellowing fangs as ithissed a breath that smelled like carrion. Somehow, she’d gotten herarms in front of her and held it off, barely. Her hands sank into thesoft, gray flesh of its chest. Its chunky head strained forward. Shepunched at it, dug her fingernails into it, trying to find somesensitive spot that might at least make it hesitate. She scrabbled forits eyes, but it turned its head away, and its claws ripped into hervest.
Shescreamed.
Thundercracked, and the creature leaped away from her, yelping. A second boomsounded, this time accompanied by a flash of light. Lesslike a lightning strike and more like some kind of explosion inreverse. She covered her head and curled up against the chaos of it.The air smelled of sulfur.
Shewaited a long time for the silence to settle, not convinced that calmhad returned to the hallway. Her chest and shoulders were sore,bruised. She had to work to draw breath into complaining lungs.Finally, though, she could uncurl from the floor and look around.
Adark stain the size of a sedan streaked away
