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like a surfboard rider on a rolling swell.
The wave motions propagated forward from a point just beyond where Jacoby and
Kwip had come to rest after the last disturbance. Helpless, they watched Linda
being carried out of sight while fleeting, incongruous shapes filled the air,
and rats, bats, and other creatures skittered between the walls.
Eventually things got quiet again. They got up, and Kwip called out. There was
no answer. He ran down the passageway calling Linda s name, Jacoby huffing
after.
They ran until Jacoby was out of breath. Linda was nowhere to be seen. Jacoby
slumped to the floor, wheezing and coughing. Kwip leaned against the wall and
stared off.
A pity, Jacoby finally said, his breathing still labored. But we finally
have a chance to talk. Let me first commend you He coughed elaborately,
then took a deep breath. You did a fine job keeping it from the soldiers. I
saw you take it out of the knapsack and hide it on your person. For the life
of me, though, I can t imagine how you kept them from finding it when they
shook you down.
Kwip cast a cold eye on him. To what do you refer, sir?
The jewel, of course. Or the piece of it you hacked off with the pickax. How
did you manage to prevent them from finding it?
Kwip shrugged. He saw no reason to deny it. He feared Jacoby as much as he did
a garden slug. There are ways, he said. There are portions of the body that
no one thinks of palping, certain ways of twisting and turning, presenting
those areas one wishes to present.
You could have run at first sight of them, Jacoby said. Gone off and run
into a wall. Yet you stayed.
Kwip scowled. I didn t, against my better judgment.
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Perhaps you fancied Linda?
Perhaps. A fair lass. A woman of quality, I should say.
I found your staying rather strange behavior. You see, I took you for an
experienced thief and a thorough scoundrel the moment I laid eyes on you.
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Kwip s hand went to the haft of his shortsword. Then he relaxed and smiled
crookedly. I ll husband my strength and not slit you from gills to gullet.
But choose your words with care.
One thief and scoundrel to another, Jacoby said, chuckling.
Kwip regarded him. So?
In the world I hail from, my particular specialty is called embezzling. I was
employed by a prominent London assurance company. Accounts receivable. Oh, it
was a grand scheme, and it worked for years. Greed got me in the end, and an
unexpected accident that kept me in hospital during the semiannual audit.
Nothing I could do.
The judge gave me three years. And you?
Twas the hangman s noose for me, Kwip said.
I thought as much. And that story about getting lost in a friend s house?
It happened on the eve of the execution. I was pacing the length and breadth
of my cell for the thousandth time when I turned about and saw that the wall
of the far end had disappeared. I walked out, and &
Of course. As for me, I couldn t face the prospect of jail. On the eve of my
sentencing I was sitting in my bedroom thinking seriously of ending my life. I
was facing my own dark night of the soul, and that s when destiny s door swung
wide. Jacoby smiled. We really have much in common.
That much, at least.
Jacoby grunted and got to his feet. And now you ll be wanting to hand the
jewel over to me.
Kwip drew his sword. Mark you, there is only so much A strange expression
overcame his face. The muscles of his neck bunched into taut cords, and his
arms began to shake.
You walk through walls, Jacoby said. I control people. I make them do what
I want them to do. You have no choice, no way of fighting me. It s a pity I
can t control more than one person at a time. But with the jewel, that may
change. Hand it over.
Kwip s sword arm spasmed, went rigid, then bent spastically to bring the point
of the blade near his eyes. No!
he gasped.
Jacoby s jaw muscles twitched. I want it, now.
It s yours, Kwip screamed. He then collapsed, dropping the sword. He
breathed heavily for a moment, then looked up at Jacoby, who stood over him
threateningly. He fumbled in the folds of his blouse near the neck, withdrew
the amber jewel fragment and gave it up.
The fat man held the thing, admiring it, his eyes focused deep within its
fiery interior. At last. At last. He scrutinized the fragment for a full
minute, then exhaled and slipped it into the vest pocket of his tattered
pinstriped jacket.
Kwip watched him walk away.
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King s Study
HE HAD SEEN enough. A single hand pass darkened the screen and returned the
AO> prompt.
He sat for a moment, deep in thought. Then he rummaged in a small plastic
filing chest and withdrew a computer diskette, which he inserted into the
right-hand drive slot.
Never tested, he murmured. But it should work.
He hit a series of keys, waited, hit more keys, waited, then sat back.
I hope, he added.
He began an elaborate set of hand passes, tracing designs in the air with his
fingers. These took some time to complete. Presently the screen brightened
again and began to show blurred images.
At last he sat back and took a deep breath.
The screen displayed a face in close-up. It belonged to a man of middle years,
dark of eye and strong of jaw,
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to his stubbly cheek. He looked directly out from the screen, one eye
squinting, blade poised for a stroke. Suddenly his eyes darted about warily.
Who calls Ervoldt? he bellowed, looking off-screen. He got no answer,
cursed, looked forward again and brought the knife to his oiled chin. Then,
startled, his eyes bulged and his head filled the screen.
Who in the name of all the gods might you be? he shouted with great
annoyance. And what devilment are ye about inside my shaving glass? .
I speak across the chasm of three thousand years, came the answer.
Do you? To glower at me as I crop my whiskers? Begone, spirit, and let me be
about my business.
Hear me, Ancient One. I am human, and as alive as you, though I inhabit a
time far removed from yours. I am your remote descendant.
Eh? The devil you say.
I speak truth.
The man in the glass scowled and peered outward. I see you. He nodded, his
expression softening. You have the family look about you. Three thousand
years, say you? The line breeds true. He stepped back from the mirror. And
still in the family business, I see. What device do you use? Crystal sphere?
Far-seeing glass?
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