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Quick, Osmirik shouted, under the table!
They all dove for cover.
There came clattering sounds from all over the room as objects fell. Then
shelves began collapsing. The floor rocked violently and furniture slid about
as if animated. The disturbance lasted for a good minute.
Sounds of crashing peaked, then subsided. The floor finally settled down, the
thunder fading.
At length, an uneasy silence fell.
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The three came out from under the table, whey-faced but unharmed.
Osmirik made a quick inspection tour of the main floor. Damage was
surprisingly limited, despite what the ruckus had sounded like. Only about
thirty shelves in all had collapsed, out of the hundreds and hundreds. Even
so, the mess was terrible. Books lay scattered everywhere. He returned to the
study area.
That was bad, Linda said. I mean, the castle gets shaky now and then, but
that was real bad.
Earthquake? Jeremy asked, worried.
No, some kind of instability. You think, Ozzie?
I am afraid so. Perhaps caused by the disturbance His Majesty spoke of. If
so, it may be of greater proportions than he suspects.
Things keep going from bad to worse around here, Linda fretted. I m going
to see what I can do back at Halfway. Maybe Trent and Sheila went out to lunch
and just forgot to tell us. Jeremy, you better come with me.
Right, Jeremy said, snapping the computer s carrying case shut. He sure as
hell didn t want to stay here. But there was a problem.
As far as he could see, there was no place to run to.
Sixteen
King s Study
& Five & four & three & two & one.
On a wooden table in the middle of the chamber, there appeared a strange,
feathery glob of golden light.
Shifting and shimmering, it neither took shape nor attained substance, but
somehow suggested the form of a bird.
Incarnadine approached the phenomenon. Extending his hand, he gently lifted
the thing. Actually, guided it would be the more accurate description, for
the phenomenon seemed somewhat capable of movement.
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He moved to a table on which sat a personal computer.
Reduce to data, was his command to the thing he bore.
The luminous blob vanished with a flash. The screen of the computer suddenly
came to life with a golden snowstorm of numbers and symbols.
He seated himself and studied these, occasionally entering commands on the
computer s keyboard.
At long last, he sighed and sat back. He waved his hand, and the golden smear
of light exited from the back of the computer. It hovered before him.
I release you, he said.
The phenomenon brightened, fluttering and pulsing.
Go on, beat it.
The light shot off, darting about the room in a frenzy of rediscovered
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freedom. It bounced off the walls, did an Immelmann turn, then rocketed
ceilingward and continued straight through the stone, disappearing.
He rose and crossed the room. Against a far wall stood a collection of strange
contraptions, some of them resembling grandfather clocks. He consulted the
dials on a number of these, his brow knitting as he did so.
Damn. What in the name of all the gods do they think they re doing?
He shook his head, peering at more meters and gauges.
Strange, strange, he murmured, recrossing to the desk.
He entered some commands and punched Return. The screen swam with blurred
images. He waved his hands and chanted something in an exotic tongue.
Annoyed, he banged a fist on the top of the device. Drat. What s wrong now?
He tried different commands, to no avail.
Trent? Trent, can you hear me? Come in.
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The screen was devoid of anything recognizable. Then a garbled voice could be
heard.
& Inky? & you?
Trent! he answered. Speak up! I m having trouble receiving you.
More unidentifiable noise, clearing up for a second or two. &
trouble & the hell this is, but it s & get us out? &
He waited, but there was no more.
Going to have to do this the old-fashioned way, he complained.
The old-fashioned way turned out to be a large crystal globe sitting on a
table in a far corner of the cluttered room. The thing was covered with dust,
so he took a chamois cloth to it and soon had it acceptably clear.
He closed his eyes, then opened them suddenly. Damned if I haven t forgot the
riffs. Ye gods &
After rummaging through stacks of old books, he finally discovered the one he
wanted, then found out it wasn t. More rummaging, and much annoyed throwing of
things.
He chuckled. I m losing my grip. Here it is.
The right tome, the right passage, the right incantation. He read through it,
moving his lips.
He slammed the book closed. That s it. As he passed the desktop computer, he
shook his head ruefully at it. Technology. Makes a cripple of you, it does.
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