'He has his good points, I'm sure,' Rance allowed. Krak advanced from the shadows and passed near the power grid. A large spark leaped from the sky-stone and struck the beast, enveloping him in a crackling cloud of energy. Krak struggled, but was trapped. He roared in frustration.
'I had an idea we'd be attacked,' Benarus said. 'So I added protective measures.'
'Good idea,' Rance told him. 'Now, trip the spell.'
'The invocation is done. The spell will trip of its own accord in but a few seconds. Enough time to do what my conscience bids me. I must tell you something. This spell is designed to transport you to a point on the globe directly opposite this one.'
Rance's eyes widened. He took a step forward. 'What? Not to another world?'
'Stay in the circle! If you move you'll be cast into oblivion!'
'What about those other worlds?'
'There are none! Purest fancy. And if they exist, I certainly don't know how to get you to any of them. I do know that if you move out of the circle you'll be transported in an arcane direction.'
'Arcane direction? What does that mean?'
'It means one perpendicular to all the dimensions of the world we live in.'
'How could that be?'
'Never mind. I designed this spell to transport you to the other side of the world, and me safely back home.' Benarus limped to the small circle and stood inside it, a triumphant smile on his lips.
'You fraud!' Rance snarled. 'You hoodwinked me!'
'Need I remind you that I was coerced?'
He does have a point.
'Shut up, demon! All right, Benarus, but I'd rather take my chances here than be transported to some gods- forsaken hinterland on the backside of creation.'
Rance moved out of the circle.
'Don't do it! The spell will trip at any moment!'
At that moment Krak broke free of his magical bonds and lunged.
Rance drew Bruce and hacked at the thing. The sword seemed to disappear inside it, burying itself deep into the matted fur. In fact, Krak seemed to be composed of not much but dried hair and a few bones. The fur flew and the bones rattled to the floor.
Rance stood over an unmoving pile of debris on the stones. He blew fur away from his face.
A bluff, as you can plainly see, the voice said. Ah, well…
'Get back to that circle before it's too-' But it was already too late.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The wedding rehearsal was not going well. In hushed tones, the members of the wedding speculated that the groom's absence was having its effect on the bride, thus affecting the general mood. No one knew where Gene had gone, nor was there any word when he would return. Snowclaw was missing, too, and that was in a sense reassuring, for the two were probably together; but at the same time it was a clue that he and his human pal might be off on some adventure.
It was, to say the least, an inappropriate time for them to be off on an adventure.
'Let's have the flower girls split into two columns, each going off in opposite directions when they reach the altar.'
Linda was looking off into the choir loft. She turned to Melanie McDaniel, who had made the suggestion. 'Huh?'
Melanie said with wry grin, 'You're not all here, Linda.'
'Sorry. What were you saying about the flower girls?'
'Two columns. Wait-let's keep them in one column, and when they reach the altar rail, one goes girl goes right and the next goes left, and so on.'
'Okay.'
'Okay, what. Two columns, or one?'
'I don't care. One?'
'Okay,' Melanie said, making a note on her clipboard. 'One column, and they alternate directions.'
There were no pews in the chapel. Seats would be brought in for the wedding, but for now the wide stone floor was bare. With a flip of her hand, Linda conjured a bunch of chairs and sat down in one. A few of the members of the wedding party sat down. Most kept to talking in little groups.
Melanie sat, too. 'Your heart's not in this. Let's postpone the wedding until Gene gets back.'
'I won't postpone it,' Linda said firmly. 'If he doesn't get back, he doesn't get back.'
'Okay,' Melanie said evenly. 'Anything you say, Linda.'
'He'll be around,' Linda said. 'Gene's not a castle beginner. He can take care of himself.'
'Well, he has three days,' Melanie said. 'But it's just strange that he didn't say anything about where he'd be going.'
'Does he ever say anything when he and Snowy take off?'
'Sure. Sometimes.'
'Well, this time he didn't,' Linda said. 'I'm not worried.'
'Sorry, Linda, I'm not trying to cause you any anxiety. Sure, Gene can take care of himself, and Snowy's indestructible. He probably got himself into a serious project, another revolution or something. And if I know Gene, he'll be out of it soon. He never stays long in any one aspect.'
'Right,' Linda said.
'But, if by chance the two of them get themselves into a tight situation, they could be delayed.'
'Gene'll be here for the wedding,' Linda insisted.
Melanie shrugged. 'Fine with me.' She made another notation on her clipboard.
'Let's cut the rehearsal short,' Linda said, standing. 'I'm tired.' She sighed. 'I'm always tired, these days. For some reason.'
'But we haven't got to the recessional,' Melanie reminded her.
'Oh, to hell with it. After the ceremony, who cares what happens? Everybody gets up and leaves, and that's it. We'll wing it.'
Melanie lifted her shoulders again. 'Okay. You're the dictator.'
'I wish I were a dictator. Okay, everybody, that's it. Thank you very much, and we'll see you on Saturday. That's Fifthday of Baletidings Week, on the castle calendar.'
'I've never been able to figure out the castle calendar,' said Barnaby Walsh.
'No wonder, when every week of the year has a different name,' M. DuQuesne said.
'It is a liturgical calendar, right?' Barnaby asked.
'I do believe so,' DuQuesne said.
'It's screwy, that's what it is,' Deena Williarns pronounced.
'Well, this is not Earth, after all,' Walsh said.
'No kidding, Sherlock,' Deena said.
'No, what I meant was-'
'The castle's religion is a strange and complex thing,' DuQuesne commented.
'I never figured that out either,' Deena said. 'All I know is there's a bunch of gods, but then again, there's only one of 'em, because of something or other.'
'The Pantheistic Concatenation.'
'The which?'
'It's not unlike the Trinity in Christian doctrine, but it involves more god aspects.'
'Oh. Let's discuss theology while we eat. I'm hungry.'
'You're always hungry,' Barnaby Walsh complained.
'I'm eating for two.'
