{"id":513,"date":"2018-09-15T09:34:37","date_gmt":"2018-09-15T13:34:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/allen-wold.com\/?page_id=513"},"modified":"2021-03-07T10:50:09","modified_gmt":"2021-03-07T15:50:09","slug":"troll-sword-sample","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/allen-wold.com\/?page_id=513","title":{"rendered":"Troll Sword sample"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part Five: The Arkenome<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chapter Twenty One: The Magic Circle<\/strong><\/p>\n

She finished her step into a large room.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There were people around her, but her exhaustion, and the pain of her wounded cheek, came back to her like a blow. Her vision blurred and darkened, her feet stumbled, and she fell to her hands and knees. It had been stupid to come here before she had taken the time to heal. Her head, much too heavy, dropped forward, and she caught herself just inches from a smooth but unpolished stone floor. Didn\u2019t anyone use wood or vinyl? Maybe it was concrete. She wasn\u2019t ready for this. Stupid.<\/p>\n

People were talking. She couldn\u2019t understand them, but they sounded disappointed and frustrated, not surprised or frightened. She was intensely aware of a complexity of smells, and was distracted by the way her body felt, which was very strange, and sort of numb except for her left cheek, which hurt so badly that it made her gasp, raggedly, over and over again.<\/p>\n

The voices went on, confused and concerned. The smells, dozens of them, were not strong, but they were clear and each was distinct. If she could clear her head, if she could think about it for a minute, she would know what they all were. But before she could follow that thought, she became aware that, in front of her eyes, where the tip of her nose should have been just barely visible and never noticed, there was what looked like a dog\u2019s muzzle projecting from her face. It was hairless, a golden brown. Not her color at all.<\/p>\n

Her fascination with this was interrupted when hands, strong but not rough, took hold of her upper arms and pulled her to her feet. Her legs felt very strange, as if they wanted to bend in the wrong directions and places. She made an effort to straighten up, so that she could see the people around her. There were four in front, the two holding her arms, and two more behind her, whom she could not see, though she knew that they were there. And now she knew what she looked like.<\/p>\n

She was not ready for this. The word that came to mind was Anubis<\/i>, though these people didn\u2019t really look like the Egyptian god. Their muzzles were wider, and shorter, and deeper, and their noses were smooth and the same color as their skin. They had a more human upper face, with a high forehead and large eyes. Their ears were large and pointed, set low and rather flat on the sides of their heads. And they had Mohawk crests, four or five inches tall, from the top of the forehead to the back of the neck.<\/p>\n

They were long in the body, short in the leg, and only two or three inches taller than Jeanette. They wore open-collar shirts, red, or maroon, or dark orange, or shades of blue, and trousers that were black, or dark brown, or dark gray. The women were slightly broader hipped, and had four breasts. Their legs were dog-legged, but quite straight nonetheless. The shape of their shoes showed that their toes \u2014 from the balls of their feet where their shoe-heels were \u2014 were plenty long enough to give them support while walking. Their fingers were very long.<\/p>\n

Their skin, on heads, faces, and hands, was hairless, light tan or light brown or darker brown. Some were all one color. Some were shaded darker on the tops of their muzzles and heads and the backs of their hands. Some had lighter or darker bands across their muzzles and along the sides of their crests, which were black or russet or deep yellow or other colors. But what distinguished them from one another was not their highly individualistic appearance, but their scent. Each was unique, and she would recognize their scents again, though she didn\u2019t yet know which belonged to who. It was by their scent that she knew that there were two people behind her, and that there were no others elsewhere out of sight.<\/p>\n

She began to relate her sense of her body to these people, and almost literally found her legs. She looked down at her feet. Her boots had conformed, coming up to the lower joint of her legs \u2014 which would have been her ankles \u2014 instead of all the way to her knees. They fit perfectly. Of course they did.<\/p>\n

Her vision darkened again, and she became dizzy. She really should have taken a couple days off.<\/p>\n

She began to understand what they were saying. At first she caught just a few words, or phrases, which meant, but didn\u2019t sound like, \u201cdemon,\u201d and \u201cpoor thing,\u201d and \u201cnow what are we \u2014\u201d and \u201c\u2026all over again,\u201d and \u201care you stupid?\u201d which last was not directed at her. Their voices were rich and complex contraltos, each as unique as their scents. There could be no disguise here.<\/p>\n

One of the men in front of her said, \u201cAll right, all right, whoever this person is, she\u2019s been hurt. Let\u2019s get her upstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can put her in my room,\u201d the woman holding her right arm said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood,\u201d another man said, \u201cdo that. We can\u2019t do anything more right now anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

The people holding her up \u2014 the one on her left was a man \u2014 turned her toward a door behind her, the only door in the otherwise empty room. Someone went to open it for them. Jeanette tried to walk with the people supporting her, but they had to half carry her. She wasn\u2019t too proud to let them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They went into a corridor. There was polished wood wainscoting. The walls above it, and the concrete floor, were painted cream. They turned to the right, and things got all dark and blurry, and she felt herself sagging as she faded out.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

She awoke in what looked like an almost normal bedroom. It had all the right furniture, though the proportions were a bit odd. There was an unlit frosted glass ceiling fixture. Maybe this place had electricity. The light coming from windows behind her, on either side of the bed, felt like late afternoon. There was a door beyond the foot of the bed, and another on the left, next to a dresser which had a mirror above it. Her face still hurt a lot, but her head was clear enough that she thought about getting up to see if she really did look like these people. The visible muzzle in front of her face suggested that she did.<\/p>\n

She heard a page turning and rolled her head to the right. The woman who had held her right arm was sitting in a chair just beyond the window, reading a book in its light. She looked up at Jeanette and closed the book in her lap, with a finger to keep her place. \u201cHow are you feeling?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeanette guessed her to be the equivalent of about thirty. Her skin was an amber brown, darker on the upper surfaces, and her crest was almost black. \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d Her voice, unexpectedly, was several tones lower than the woman\u2019s. She stared up at the ceiling, at the frosted glass fixture in the middle. How was<\/i> she feeling? Aside from wishing that she could have another couple hours more sleep.<\/p>\n

She was glad to be in bed, but she was no longer exhausted. The ache in her cheek went all the way to her teeth. She was naked under the covers. The dagger\u2019s cord was not around her neck. Her legs felt just like normal legs, even though she knew that they were not the legs that she had grown up with. Her arms were on top of the covers, cool but not chilly. Her body was different, she didn\u2019t have to touch herself to know that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her mouth was full of teeth, more carnivorous than her own, with canines that were definitely longer than the others. Her golden brown muzzle was something she could clearly see, but would normally not even notice. It felt like there was a bandage on her cheek. She touched it, there was. She looked at her hand. Her fingers were half again as long as the ones she was used to, with an extra joint. They had nails, not claws. She still had the ring. She put her hand up to feel her crest. The hairs were heavy but not coarse. She wondered what color it was.<\/p>\n

She was hungry.<\/p>\n

She looked at the woman, who had put her book down on the small table under the window. Her eyes were a golden green, reflective like a cat\u2019s eyes, but with round pupils. \u201cI feel a lot better than when I got here. When was that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEarly this morning. It\u2019s nearly time for dinner. Are you hungry?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVery.\u201d She sat up and let the sheet and pale green blanket slide down off her chest. Her lower breasts were slightly smaller than the upper ones. She almost couldn\u2019t see the claw scars on her left side. Then she swung her legs around off the left side of the bed, but kept a corner of the blanket over her lap. The scars on her left hip and right thigh were also almost invisible. \u201cWhere are my clothes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything\u2019s in the closet. There\u2019s a lot of blood on your shirt and trousers. You can wear something of mine if you like, we\u2019re about the same size.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, thank you, that\u2019s very kind.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman smiled. It would have been frightening if Jeanette had been at home, but it was really a very friendly smile. \u201cWould you like to get dressed?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I would.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman went to the door on the left, reached in, came back with a red shirt and gray trousers, and put them on the bed. Then she got socks and underwear from the dresser. \u201cYou can use one of my brassieres if you like, but I don\u2019t think it would fit you.\u201d Her figure was rather fuller than Jeanette\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cI seldom wear one anyway,\u201d Jeanette said.<\/p>\n

She pulled on the underwear, and found that she had a short tail that curved forward between her legs. Interesting. The trousers were just a bit large, and just a bit short, but they fit well enough. They closed with a hook and a zipper, and had belt loops.<\/p>\n

The woman came back from the closet again, with Jeanette\u2019s belt, pouch, dagger, and boots.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d Jeanette said. She put on the shirt. It fastened with buttons, and fit about as well as the trousers did. She tucked it in, then threaded the belt through the loops and buckled it. She pulled on the socks, over feet that were almost all toe, then the boots, then hung the dagger from its cord around her neck and put it under her shirt.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can you wear that without cutting yourself?\u201d the woman asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how that works. Do you know how sharp it is?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. It\u2019s scary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her trousers had pockets on the sides, rather than on the front or back. She looked into her pouch, saw that everything was there. Nobody wore pouches here, but she put it on anyway, so that it hung on her right hip. \u201cDid you look inside?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did. But after Hikram cut himself on your dagger, we decided not to touch anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeanette smiled. \u201cProbably a good idea. Thank you. What\u2019s your name?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I\u2019m sorry. Lirikatli Vinados.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks for sitting with me, and for letting me use your room. I\u2019m Jeanette Delgado.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re welcome. It\u2019s just about time for dinner. Do you feel up to it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I do.\u201d Not really, but \u2026 \u201cI heal quickly.\u201d Far too quickly these days.<\/p>\n

They went out into a short corridor. There was another door on this side, and two on the other. The corridor ended on the left, where a balcony overlooked a two-story entrance hall. Jeanette paused. \u201cAh-hm, is there a bathroom?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, yes, of course. It\u2019s back that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeanette went to the other end of the hall, and into the bathroom at the end. There was a switch just inside the door. The light in the ceiling came on, obviously electric, though the light was a lot yellower than what she was used to.<\/p>\n

She used the toilet, dealt with her tail as if she had grown up with it, and found out more about her physiology. She looked at herself in the mirror while she washed her hands at the sink. Her crest was deep yellow, her eyes were dark brown, reflective like everybody else\u2019s. And yet, despite the different face, she was still herself.<\/p>\n

The bandage on her face, held in place by adhesive, extended from just in front of her left ear to the curve of her cheek. It was the source of an antiseptic smell, which she almost hadn\u2019t been aware of. She carefully pulled away a corner at the front. The bullet wound had scabbed over, but the flesh around it was still red and swollen. She touched it gently. It hurt, but she didn\u2019t think it was infected. She pressed the bandage back into place, and returned to the hall, where Lirikatli was waiting.<\/p>\n

They went to the balcony, wide and deep. There was a broad staircase descending from the middle, and doors at either end. There was a set of high, double doors, five or six paces beyond the foot of the staircase, flanked by high windows. Jeanette could not see much of what was outside from where she was, other than a bit of rather thick lawn. \u201cWhere is this place?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

They started down. This wasn\u2019t at all like her reception in Deroan. \u201cI have no idea. Although I guess it doesn\u2019t really matter. I felt your call and I came.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, that\u2019s a problem,\u201d Lirikatli said, as if Jeanette had said nothing unusual. \u201cWe weren\u2019t calling you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe not, but I heard you just the same.\u201d As if calls and responses were everyday events. \u201cDo you know who I am?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

They came to the bottom of the stairs. Jeanette went to one of the windows, so she could see more of what was outside.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a patio or courtyard, enclosed by a head-high concrete wall. The entrance, a dozen paces or more opposite the double doors, was closed by a double gate as high as the wall. Wind blew from the left, bending the tops of the taller bushes toward the right, so that they grew at a slant. Ground plants in the protection of the wall were not much affected by the wind, suggesting that there were other walls on either side, but the shorter bushes were agitated, and many of them were permanently bent away to the right as well.<\/p>\n

She turned back to Lirikatli. \u201cYou don\u2019t recognize me at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI never saw you before this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course not, but the last place I went, people knew me anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow could that be?\u201d Her tone was curious, but casual.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a kind of incarnation of their national hero.\u201d The conversation was taking a decidedly surreal turn.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo they thought you looked like their hero.\u201d Curious, but not humoring nor condescending.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d Her voice wasn\u2019t betraying her confusion, which was a relief. \u201cI was<\/i> their hero. That was why I was there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd where was this?\u201d Lirikatli asked. She gestured to an alcove on the right. They went to it. \u201cI\u2019ve never heard of anything like that.\u201d There was a set of doors in the alcove, which Lirikatli opened into a well-furnished parlor.<\/p>\n

All the furniture here was just a bit off somehow. Windows with sheer curtains were on the left, through which more bushes and trees were visible. They were not protected by courtyard walls, and permanently distorted by the wind which blew across the front of the house. This was someone\u2019s home, not a public building. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t anywhere in this world,\u201d Jeanette said.<\/p>\n

Lirikatli stopped and stared at her.<\/p>\n

Another person had been here recently. Jeanette recognized the subtle, lingering scent of one of the other summoners. It had been a man, but she wasn\u2019t sure which one. After a beat she said, \u201cIt was a parallel world, one dimension away, if that means anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t.\u201d Her ears twitched. \u201cI\u2019d think you were making this up, except that I saw you come into the circle this morning. Maybe you\u2019re a demon after all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I\u2019m not, and the place I come from is not your underworld. But it doesn\u2019t matter does it? You know I\u2019m from somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lirikatli turned away.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They crossed the parlor to a short, broad passage, and through it into a fairly large dining room. A man with a brick-red crest, his back to them, was sitting in one of the twelve chairs around the oval table. Of course the furniture was odd. Their proportions were meant to accommodate these people\u2019s different body shape.<\/p>\n

There was a garden outside the large picture windows on the far side of the room. All the bushes leaned away from the constant wind, except those directly in the lee of the house, which were agitated by the turbulence. The branches and leaves of the short trees streamed dramatically from crooked, slanted trunks, which looked like giant, animated bonsai. The shorter plants thrashed, and the grasses rippled.<\/p>\n

On the right side of the room was a pair of doors, on either side of a cabinet of glassware. She knew that they led to the kitchen by the complex smells, appetizing to her present self, but which would have been slightly nauseating had she still been in any of her previous forms.<\/p>\n

The man heard them enter, or maybe he smelled them, and rose to turn and greet them. She had not seen his face before, but she recognized him by his scent, as one of the people who had stood behind her this morning. \u201cHow are you feeling?\u201d he asked her. He was a bit taller and darker than Lirikatli, of a uniform, medium brown.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot better, thank you,\u201d Jeanette said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Lorathom Mishago. Will you be joining us for supper?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I will, thank you. My meals have been a bit irregular lately.\u201d<\/p>\n

He twitched an ear, as if her statement confused him. \u201cIt\u2019s the least we can do after the inconvenience we have caused you.\u201d He was taking this all too calmly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s no inconvenience, believe me. My name is Jeanette Delgado.\u201d<\/p>\n

His ears twitched again, and he glanced at Lirikatli. \u201cI can\u2019t pronounce that exactly. Jana Deigo?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cClose enough.\u201d She gave him a small, crooked smile. At least, at home it would have been crooked. She wondered what it looked like here.<\/p>\n

He gestured to the table as he sat back down, and she took the chair to his right. Lirikatli sat beside her. \u201cWe\u2019ve been trying to figure out,\u201d he said, \u201chow to send you back to where you came from.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think you can,\u201d Jeanette said, imitating his matter-of-fact tone. The table was covered with a simple, cream-colored cloth, and there was a tumbler of water at nine of the twelve places. She took a sip from her glass.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you know that?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause you didn\u2019t bring me here in the first place.\u201d How much should she actually tell him? \u201cI just became aware of your need, and I came here under my own power.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure I understand you.\u201d Which, if she could judge by the way his ears twitched, really meant that he didn\u2019t believe her.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Jeanette said, taking his words literally, \u201cyou don\u2019t understand me at all.\u201d She touched his forearm lightly. \u201cBut I don\u2019t want to explain this more often than I have to. Let\u2019s wait until everybody else is here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right,\u201d he said, and leaned back in his chair. \u201cI trust you rested well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did, thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThose were rather strange clothes you were wearing. You must have come from quite far away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom farther away than you can imagine, but that\u2019s part of my explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be an interesting story,\u201d Lirikatli said. \u201cI heard some of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two men who had been in the summoning circle came in from the parlor. They looked curiously at Jeanette as they came around the table and took places on the other side, leaving an empty chair between them. The one on the left introduced himself as Roma Bacho. He was tan, with a white crest, and distinctly golden eyes. The other was Om Dovor. He was of a slightly darker tan, with bands of a paler color across his muzzle and along either side of his dark brown crest.<\/p>\n

A man from the kitchen came in, pushing a wooden serving cart, and offered those present a hot beverage, served in large cups, almost mugs, with no saucers. Jeanette suppressed her residual home world perceptions and took one. The drink, a murky, ruddy brown, was both salty and sweet, with a richness like that of chocolate, but with a flavor that was oddly like bacon.<\/p>\n

More people came in from the parlor. They each in turn greeted Jeanette, introduced themselves, took their seats, and accepted a cup of the hot drink. The light outside the windows had begun to fade by the time all eight members of the circle had come. The man with the hot drink cart went away, and two women came in, pushing carts with shelves, on which were plates of food, napkins, and cutlery, which they set out for everyone present. On the plates were a small lightly grilled steak, several strips of raw white fish, some well done pieces of what looked like English bacon, a hot vegetable like pale sliced carrots, and two sections of peeled pink melon. By the time she had taken a bite of each, Jeanette had become familiar with the taste, and was no longer bothered by the completely alien flavors and aromas.<\/p>\n

There was little conversation, and what there was was trivial. Jeanette did not participate. These people didn\u2019t know her, were disappointed that she wasn\u2019t a demon, and while they were courteous, they were not ready to become friendly.<\/p>\n

The plates were taken away as each person finished, and they were served another hot drink, this one definitely herbal, and slightly nutty in flavor. Pots of this tea were left on the table. Several people added a pinch or two of salt from little open dishes, but Jeanette did not.<\/p>\n

It had grown quite dark outside by now. Globe lights in the ceiling had come on earlier, and had grown steadily brighter, but they never got as bright as natural daylight. Conversation resumed, but about things of which Jeanette had no knowledge or interest. It went on for a quarter of an hour or so, then Om Dovor said to her. \u201cWho are you? And where do you come from?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess you could call me an adventurer. And I\u2019m not from anywhere in this world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI find that hard to credit,\u201d said a woman named Lerthrop Tarpon, seated on the far right on the other side of the table. Her ears twitched as she spoke, a sign of disbelief. She was a darker tan, like Om, but with no shading, and her crest was orangey brown. \u201cIf you came from some other plane, you would not look human<\/i>.\u201d The word meant a being somewhere between the animals and the gods.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not look like this at home,\u201d Jeanette said. \u201cIt\u2019s not by my choice. I have to admit that this is the greatest change in myself that I have experienced. I take on the form of the people in every world I go to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow convenient for you,\u201d Roma Bacho said. There was no hint that the idea of visiting other worlds was at all astonishing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not at all convenient,\u201d Jeanette said. \u201cIf I were to take you to my world, you would find that having to get used to a different body can be quite distressing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt hardly matters,\u201d Belagor Shintai, the woman to Lorathom\u2019s left, said. She was a pale cream color, with brown banding on her muzzle and head, and a brick-red crest like Lorathom\u2019s. \u201cWhen we\u2019re finished here, we\u2019re going to send you back. You shouldn\u2019t have been brought here in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAside from your collapse this morning,\u201d Om said, \u201cyou seem to be taking this, ahhh, translation to another world rather calmly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done it before.\u201d She couldn\u2019t make these people out. \u201cThis is the fifth time. I\u2019m getting used to it.\u201d She wondered if her ears revealed how she really felt about that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t completely understand,\u201d Lerthrop said. Her ear twitch signified complete disbelief. \u201cWhy would you choose to go to where you are physically changed from your normal self?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I am needed. I am not here for pleasure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is ridiculous,\u201d Hikram Rinidan, the man to the left of Roma said, though not unkindly. It had been he who had held her left arm that morning. He was a grayish brown, darker than Om or Lerthrop, shaded with a warmer brown, and with a crest several shades darker still. He wore a bandage across the palm of his right hand. It was he who had cut himself on Jeanette\u2019s dagger.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t need just another person,\u201d Shantar Gles, the man to Lirikatli\u2019s right said. He was a reddish tan, with a dark, warm gray crest. \u201cWe need a demon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you are not a demon,\u201d Belagor said. \u201cYou are not who we were summoning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe not,\u201d Jeanette said, \u201cbut here I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should have known it wouldn\u2019t work,\u201d Roma said to the table in general. \u201cWe\u2019ve never summoned a demon before,\u201d he said to Jeanette, \u201cbut we are desperate, and we were trying to use old lore that no one has practiced for centuries. We obviously did it wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut here I am,\u201d Jeanette said again, impatiently, and this time she could feel her ears press flat against the sides of her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we will send you back,\u201d Hikram said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat makes you think,\u201d Belagor said to him, \u201cthat we\u2019ll be any more successful with that? If she goes at all, who knows where she\u2019ll wind up?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou won\u2019t send me anywhere,\u201d Jeanette said, keeping herself calm, \u201ceven if your lore is true. You did not bring me here. I just heard your call, and came by my choice, on my own power. Although I suppose I should have given myself time to heal first.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right,\u201d Shantar said, \u201ceven if this were true, what could you do for us? We need someone with the ability to penetrate the Chancellor\u2019s defenses, and restore the Main-Quey,\u201d an archaic word that meant something like the key of a lock, or a center or focus, or the heart of something.<\/p>\n

\u201cExactly,\u201d Om said. \u201cPeople have tried before, and many have died. We need a super-human agent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut here I am,\u201d Jeanette said yet again. She sighed. Then she showed them the black ring. \u201cDoes this mean anything to you?\u201d<\/p>\n

They looked at it from where they sat, but none of them recognized it, although several ears twitched.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow about this?\u201d She took the dagger from inside her shirt and held it up to them. It meant nothing to them. They didn\u2019t know who she was. She put the dagger away. Several of them cringed. This could make her task a lot harder. She really didn\u2019t want to be here in the first place. But she had made her choice, and she was going to have to deal with it. \u201cAll right, but did you really expect to summon a demon?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d they severally said, \u201cwe did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen why can\u2019t you accept that I\u2019m here to do what you wanted the demon to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause you\u2019re just a person,\u201d Lerthrop said, \u201cand what can one person do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes a lot of things. Why don\u2019t you tell me about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d Shantar said, \u201cit\u2019s not your problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes it is.\u201d And though her voice was even, she knew that her ears were giving away her feelings. \u201cYou called me here. The least you can do is tell me why.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s right,\u201d Lorathom said. \u201cHer being here is our responsibility, at some level or another. We can\u2019t take her away from where she really belongs, and then just say, \u2018oops, sorry,\u2019 and send her home again. We have kidnapped her. Despite our need, that\u2019s still a crime. The least we can do is explain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t kidnapped her,\u201d Om said. \u201cIf we had, do you think she\u2019d be sitting here so calmly? If it had happened to me, I\u2019d be furious.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you\u2019re saying,\u201d Lirikatli said, \u201cthat she\u2019s here of her own free will? Just like she told us?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAhh\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we did bring here here,\u201d Hikram said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo then,\u201d Lirikatli said, \u201ctell her why. Even if she responded to our summons voluntarily, she deserves an explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s none of her business,\u201d Shantar said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what?\u201d Roma said. \u201cThat\u2019s no reason to be rude. We made a mistake. Telling her it\u2019s not her business is extremely discourteous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s shown us nothing but forbearance and courtesy since she woke up,\u201d Lirikatli said. \u201cIt puts us to shame if we don\u2019t show the same forbearance and courtesy in return.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right,\u201d Belagor said, and eventually, after a few more minutes of discussion, everybody came to agree, even if some of them were reluctant.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right then,\u201d Shantar said to Jeanette, \u201cwhat we need is to return the Main-Quey to the Spiral\u2019s Heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEmpa Tethicho,\u201d Belagor said, \u201cis Chancellor of Shotoban. He took power from Venn Dricato, the previous Chancellor \u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably killed him,\u201d Roma said.<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably. Then he removed the Main-Quey from the Spiral\u2019s Heart, and began enforcing all the worst conformist policies of the Unity Party.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe party slogan,\u201d Lirikatli said, \u201cis, \u2018Pull together for the best of all,\u2019 but what it means is, conform or die.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not always that bad,\u201d Belagor said, \u201cbut non-conformists can\u2019t hold office, can lose their property, can be deported \u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut yes,\u201d Om said, \u201cmany are killed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis followers,\u201d Belagor said, \u201csupport him unquestioningly. They are given preferment, the wealth and property of the non-conformists \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis influence over people is unnatural,\u201d Roma said. \u201cIt\u2019s fairly obvious that he\u2019s getting demonic assistance of some kind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t get much news from outside Shotoban any more,\u201d Lorathom said. \u201cAnything against his policies is suppressed. But we do know that other governments don\u2019t like what he\u2019s doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout the Main-Quey to hold the other Arc-Stanes in focus,\u201d Om said, using another archaic term which Jeanette couldn\u2019t quite get the meaning of, \u201cthere\u2019s a real possibility that Empa Tethicho will be able to take over other governments as well, one way or another.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI assume,\u201d Jeanette said, \u201cthat he controls the military and the police.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course. They\u2019re conformists by nature and necessity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what are Arc-Stanes,\u201d she asked, \u201cand what is the Main-Quey that it should have so much of an effect on them?\u201d The question confused them, as if she had asked, what are my hands, and what are they good for? \u201cI really don\u2019t know. I\u2019m not just from another country on the other side of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, of course not,\u201d Lerthrop said. \u201cThere is no other side of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

This took Jeanette by surprise, but before she could more than wonder, Belagor said, in a tone of voice used for children, \u201cAll right, ahm, most simply put, an Arc-Stane is the symbol and embodiment of the spirit of a people, or a country. No race or nation exists without an Arc-Stane. If an Arc-Stane is lost, a new one must be put in place immediately, or the country, or region, or race, falls into chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich is why we know that the Main-Quey still exists,\u201d Lirikatli said. \u201cIf the Main-Quey had been destroyed, Empa Tethicho would sink into the foam of anarchy and chaos along with everyone else. He\u2019s just been removed from the Spiral\u2019s Heart and hidden.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWait a minute,\u201d Jeanette said, \u201cthe Main-Quey is a person?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, of course,\u201d Lerthrop said. \u201cWhat did you think?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know what to think. I\u2019ve never heard of a Main-Quey, or an Arc-Stane before now. I\u2019m not from here, remember?\u201d<\/p>\n

The silence indicated that this fact was finally beginning to sink in.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Main-Quey is the supreme Arc-Stane,\u201d Belagor said at last.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou really didn\u2019t know?\u201d Lorathom asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally, I didn\u2019t know.\u201d And her guide hadn\u2019t told her. This was not encouraging.<\/p>\n

It took a moment for them to digest this. Lerthrop and Om remained skeptical.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not the only underground,\u201d Shantar said, \u201cbut most of us were part of Venn Dricato\u2019s government before he was deposed, and all of us have demonstrated spiritual strength and ability. Which is why we have chosen the means we have to restore the Main-Quey.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re pretty sure the Main-Quey is still somewhere in the Capitol Building,\u201d Om said. \u201cOther people have tried to get in and rescue him. Those who made it out alive say that the Main-Quey is in there somewhere, but they were either unable to locate him, or to get to him before being discovered and forced to flee.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFour out of five,\u201d Roma said, \u201cdied in the attempt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWorse than that,\u201d Lirikatli said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut demons are not constrained the way people are,\u201d Lorathom said, \u201cand so might succeed where mere humans have failed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt least,\u201d Hikram said, \u201cthat is our hope and understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see,\u201d Jeanette said. \u201cAnd when was the last time anyone successfully summoned a demon?\u201d<\/p>\n

There was an uncertain pause, then Lirikatli said, \u201cMore than four hundred years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see,\u201d Jeanette said, looking at the faces around her. \u201cWell.\u201d Even the skeptical ones were a touch chagrinned at the admission. \u201cThat sounds like the kind of thing I\u2019m supposed to be able to deal with.\u201d She felt herself sinking inside.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you walk through walls?\u201d Om asked her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, I\u2019ve never tried.\u201d The Arkenome\u2019s black belt came to mind. Did it have that kind of power? She touched the black iron buckle, but it told her nothing. \u201cCan demons walk through walls?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re supposed to be able to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if you had your demon, how do you know it would do what you wanted it to?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIts service to us,\u201d Lorathom said, \u201cwould be our price for returning it home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it would not try to exact any vengeance for being kidnapped and forced into service?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a chance we have to take,\u201d Hikram said doggedly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have ways to protect ourselves,\u201d Shantar said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich are probably as effective as your summoning,\u201d Jeanette said dryly.<\/p>\n

They didn\u2019t know how to respond to that, but the logic did not escape them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you won\u2019t take a chance with me,\u201d she went on.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat could you possibly do?\u201d Lerthrop asked, a bit impatient herself. \u201cYou don\u2019t even know what an Arc-Stane is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what I could do, but what choice have you? You are not sorcerers. You don\u2019t know how to summon. And if by some chance you were able to summon a demon, you couldn\u2019t contain it, nor could you make it work for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s right,\u201d Hikram said despairingly. \u201cShe\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI still think \u2014\u201d Lerthrop said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy? All the times we\u2019ve tried, and nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil she<\/i> came,\u201d Roma said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d Jeanette said. \u201cAnd I did come. And unlike a demon, my reason for being here is to solve your problem. And when I\u2019m done \u2026\u201d she took a breath, \u201cI\u2019ll go home again. The same way I came. Under my own power.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nobody had anything to say. They just looked at her doubtfully. Even Lirikatli\u2019s left ear twitched a bit.<\/p>\n

Jeanette stood from the table, the others did the same. They prob-ably intended to go to the parlor, but Jeanette stayed where she was and, as if she were being guided, put her hands on her belt. She felt the power now, felt the weave of reality, thought about her home, felt a wave of darkness around her \u2014 natural, not magical. She felt it, and felt the present place so that she would be able to find her way back again. Then, while everybody was watching, she went home.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

It was night in her living room. Reflected moonlight shone through the curtained windows in front of her. The refrigerator was running. She didn\u2019t have to look at herself to know that she was in her own body. She felt the link with the other world. She could just give it up and stay here. It would mean going back on her choice, and abandoning the people who needed her\u2026.<\/p>\n

She turned from the windows, and went up the dark, enclosed stairs to the bathroom at the top, where she turned on the light. She looked into the mirror over the sink and pulled away the bandage from her left cheek. The wound, straight forward across her cheekbone from just in front of her ear, was less than twelve hours old by her internal clock, but it was no longer red and swollen. She touched the long, black scab. It came off in her hand. She dropped it in the wastebasket with the bandage, and rubbed the remains off her face. She had healed, but she would have a serious scar. Oh, well.<\/p>\n

It was a bullet wound. The Arkenome\u2019s gun had been brought from another world. That was, in itself, not necessarily an evil thing. Her dagger had been brought from another world, and her boots, her ring, and her belt. Did the people she had just come from have firearms?<\/p>\n

Knowing what she was doing, and not wanting to do it, she went to the little unfinished room beside the bathroom at the corner of the hall. There was no ceiling, just the bare slanting rafters of the roof on right and left. The sub-flooring was two inches lower than the hall. There was an old spare bed, its head against the far wall under a small, moonlit window. There were shelves on the right, on the wall adjoining the bathroom. On the left were racks of clothes in front of boxes and trunks, in front of the rafters which came all the way down to the floor. To the right of the bed was a low recess, behind the bathroom and above the back porch. She stooped into it, and went to her knees, facing the bare studs of the back wall. It was too dark to see, but she knew the box was there, and she put her hands on it without fumbling. In it was Steve\u2019s gun. Her stomach tightened.<\/p>\n

He had bought it second hand before they were married, and for a while he had kept it under the counter in the store, until she had found it and asked him to take it away. Who robbed a bookstore after all? He knew how much she disliked violence and firearms. She never watched the action movies he liked. So he had put the gun here, in this little unfinished room. He had taken it to a shooting range several times, always asking her first if it was all right. She knew that firearms were a part of the culture of the Delgado men, and reassured him that she didn\u2019t mind.<\/p>\n

She reached into the box and, without fumbling, picked up the gun. It wasn\u2019t very big, just a little over two pounds, just a little over nine inches long, a Smith & Wesson Military and Police Model 13, a six shot revolver. They weren\u2019t made any more. It was a 357 Magnum, but despite that, it was not a very powerful weapon with the ammunition Steve used in it, only 110 grain Winchester cartridges, the lightest he could find. Many newer handguns were far more powerful.<\/p>\n

It was not loaded of course. But there was also a box of cartridges, nearly full. Her chest constricted at the thought of actually shooting somebody with this thing, but she knew that she would if she had to.<\/p>\n

Or cut their throats if that were necessary. Compared to which shooting somebody was quite remote and impersonal.<\/p>\n

She put the gun and the box of ammunition in her pouch, backed out of the recess, and left the little unfinished room. She turned out the bathroom light as she went by, and went down the dark stairs to the living room. She composed herself, felt the weave of reality without having to touch the belt, felt for the other world among how many others, found it, and went back.<\/p>\n

She was in the dining room, not far from where she had stood when she had left, but it was a different time. Light came in through windows over which less transparent curtains had been drawn, there were the remains of breakfast on the table, and only Lorathom, Lerthrop, and Bel-agor were still there. Two men from the kitchen were clearing away. They were all startled by her sudden arrival, fumbled whatever they were doing, exclaimed one thing or another, and stared at her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry I was gone so long,\u201d she said. \u201cTime must run differently here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The staff made an effort to recover themselves, Lerthrop and Belagor continued to stare at her, but Lorathom got to his feet. \u201cIt\u2019s been eighteen days.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That surprised her.<\/p>\n

Lerthrop tugged at the sleeve of the waiter nearest her and said, \u201cGo get the others. Tell them to come here right now.\u201d The man went off, hesitantly at first, then at a run.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut what happened?\u201d Belagor said. \u201cWhere did you go?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI went home, and now I\u2019m back. Do you believe me now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess we must,\u201d Lorathom said, \u201cor else that you\u2019re really a demon after all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d better hope not. A demon who can come and get you without being summoned would not be a good thing. But as far as your enemies are concerned, I might as well be one.\u201d Her words sounded strange and alien in her ears, which she hoped did not give too much away about how she was really feeling.<\/p>\n

Lirikatli and Om came in, followed a moment later by the others. All were equally astonished. Jeanette needed to explain herself again. She did not mention the gun.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you \u2014\u201d Hikram asked, \u201ccan you move around the world like that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I cannot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut then,\u201d Om said, \u201cI still don\u2019t see how you can be of any help, as amazing as all this is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the moment, neither do I. Have you had any success raising your demon?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen it seems like you have little choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut what will you do?\u201d Belagor asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. I\u2019ll figure that out when I get to where the Main-Quey is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not very encouraging,\u201d Lerthrop said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never know in advance what I have to do, or how to do it until the last minute.\u201d She paused. \u201cI could fail this time, I suppose.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what happens if you do?\u201d Lirikatli asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI suppose I would die.\u201d They were silent. \u201cDo you want my help or not?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course we do,\u201d Hikram said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen someone will have to take me to where the Chancellor has hidden the Main-Quey.\u201d There was no response. \u201cAt least to the Capitol Building, if that is where the Main-Quey is being held.\u201d They glanced uncomfortably at each other, ears pressed flat, but no one spoke up. \u201cIf it\u2019s not important enough for you to put your lives on the line, then why should I do so?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll take you there,\u201d Lirikatli said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re crazy,\u201d Shantar said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it far?\u201d Jeanette asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust a few miles,\u201d Lorathom said. He looked at Lirikatli. \u201cI\u2019ll come too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d Jeanette said. \u201cOnce we get there, there may be nothing more for you to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe others couldn\u2019t go,\u201d Lirikatli said, \u201cbecause they would be recognized. Lorathom and I had nothing to do with the government before Empa Tethicho became Chancellor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood enough reason to not put them in any further danger.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite the danger you\u2019ll be putting yourself into,\u201c Hikram said. \u201cWe won\u2019t be sitting idle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will do what you can and must, but if we succeed, someone will have to step into the vacancies in government that will occur when Empa Tethicho is put down.\u201d Then a thought struck her. \u201cDoes this Chancellor of yours, by any chance, call himself the Arkenome?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Shantar said, \u201che does.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

Chapter Twenty Two: The Underground<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jeanette went with Lirikatli and Lorathom to a connected garage on the other side of the house. It was more than big enough for the four vehicles there, which were unlike anything she had seen before. Open tubular frames hung well below the axles of four bicycle-like wheels, each nearly four feet in diameter. Two of the vehicles were something over four feet wide and eight feet long, with two pair of low slung, almost reclining seats, like those of a European sports car. Another was a bit wider and half again longer, with three pair of slightly larger seats. The fourth had only two seats at the front, and a low, aerodynamic enclosure occupying the space behind, empty but big enough for four seats.<\/p>\n

Each had a mast which lay folded back between the seats, with a sail loosely furled around a single boom. There was a small control wheel in front of the left front seat, parallel to the running wheels. It had handles and was connected to the mast by a rather complex arrangement of cables and gears. In its stowed away position, it was impossible to see how it all worked.<\/p>\n

Lirikatli and Lorathom opened the double doors to an unpaved courtyard, protected by a high wall. Wind gusted in, and for a moment Jeanette was captivated by the smells that came with it. Most were of plants, each distinct, though she could not identify any of them. She could tell by the smell how moist the soil was. There were faint, distant scents of animals, which were not the same as the small, nearby smells of insects. She did not know what any of them were. She wanted to go out and explore this new sense of hers.<\/p>\n

Lirikatli and Lorathom went to one of the four-seaters. It had a blue and green frame, and a nearly white sail with a green pattern or design that was not discernible while it was furled. They started pushing it toward the doors to the courtyard.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait a minute,\u201d Jeanette said. The other four-seater was two shades of blue, its sail pale yellow with black decoration. The six seater was red and blue, with a pale green sail, marked in dark green. The truck was a different shade of red, with a gray enclosure and a lighter gray sail with black markings. \u201cAre you planning on taking that to the Capitol Building?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cOf course,\u201d Lorathom said. \u201cIt\u2019s nearly five miles from here.\u201d He used a different measure of distance which meant that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we should,\u201d Jeanette said. \u201cIf anything went wrong and the police found it abandoned, could they trace it here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, yes, eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s right,\u201d Lirikatli said. \u201cJust on mere suspicion, they\u2019d arrest everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd even if they let them go,\u201d Lorathom said, \u201ceverybody would be marked, and Belagor would lose her house.\u201d He moved away from the car.<\/p>\n

\u201cFive miles isn\u2019t that far,\u201d Jeanette said. \u201cI\u2019ve walked as much as thirty in a day. We\u2019ll get to the Capitol well before lunchtime.\u201d They didn\u2019t look very eager. \u201cIf you\u2019d rather, you can just draw me a map and I\u2019ll go by myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Lirikatli said. \u201cIf you\u2019re not familiar with our world, a map might not get you there. Besides, I\u2019m supposed to be in charge of this expedition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeanette was surprised by that, and didn\u2019t like hearing it, which also surprised her.<\/p>\n

They left the house, walking more or less down wind. Jeanette\u2019s clothes did not flap around her as much as she had expected they would, but the wind in her crest was interesting. That was the way it was supposed to feel. It oriented her to the world. The wind always blew from the same direction, so she knew, to within a degree, which way she was facing. And downwind was always the reference.<\/p>\n

There were no roads, just thick, wind-blown grass. Their progress wasn\u2019t as rapid as it would have been on pavement. The houses, with trees, bushes, and other plants growing near, were several hundred yards from each other. They were ramp-shaped, their thin edges upwind, rising to usually two but sometimes three floors downwind. Each had three, four, or sometimes five large tube-like structures, mounted on an extra half-story at the high end of the long sloping roofs.<\/p>\n

The sail-cars, of which there were quite a few, tacked almost as fast against the wind as with it. There were other varieties besides those in Belagor\u2019s garage, usually two but sometimes three colors. It was the complex symbols on the triangular sails which identified each one. The booms were longer than the cars, and passed well above the passengers\u2019 heads.<\/p>\n

There were more sail-cars than pedestrians. There was no smell from the cars, or from the houses. There was no pollution. In fact, there were almost no artificial smells at all. If one of these people came to Jeanette\u2019s world, they would find the stench appalling.<\/p>\n

They were in a better class of residential neighborhood, well within the city limits. The houses were not set out randomly, but arranged in a loose grid at angles to the wind, so that the sail-cars could tack freely. They had picture windows at the downwind ends, and part way back along the sides. There were smaller windows further toward the thin edge. The protected entrances and car yards were at the sides, all doors opening inwards so that they wouldn\u2019t be slammed by the wind, which usually blew at twenty to thirty miles an hour, never less than fifteen, nor more than thirty five. The funneling effect of the roofs accelerated it, to sixty or seventy miles an hour, through the turbine tubes at the top. The generators they powered were in the half story below them. Wind power had been used since this world\u2019s equivalent of the late stone age. Even the discovery that certain materials, used in the construction of windmills, could generate considerable amounts of static electricity was prehistoric. All power was direct current, and each house provided for itself.<\/p>\n

Every unprotected plant, whether tree, bush, low shrub, or ground cover, was shaped by the wind. Trees seldom got as tall as a house, though had they been able to stand up straight, they might have been twice as tall. Everything moved. Nothing was ever still.<\/p>\n

Some of the buildings were stores, sail-car repair shops, professional offices, and other small businesses. Their architecture was essentially the same as that of the homes, except for their downwind ends, and the downwind parts of their sides, which advertised what they were.<\/p>\n

The city, Great Bend, was extremely low density by any Earthly standards, but typical of cities in Shotoban, and in the other countries in this world. It was fifteen to eighteen miles across, but had a population of only twenty two thousand. Manufacturing was in another part of town.<\/p>\n

It was in a rich agricultural area. Most of the farms were ranches, although there were some which grew crops, such as the carrot-like vegetables and the melons. There were forests, deserts, and what they called mountains in other parts of the country. A major river, the Ashapili, a bend of which gave the city its name, ran on the north, or left-wind side, and provided a variety of fish. Magnetic directions were known but seldom used. Orientation by wind, being biological, was immemorial.<\/p>\n

They came to the commercial district less than two hours after leaving the house. The buildings here were set closer together in a more uniform diamond pattern relative to the wind. There were fewer trees or shrubs between them, and there were no walled gardens or car yards, but there were separate, sheltered parking lots. The buildings here were usually three and sometimes four stories tall, plus the generator half-floor and turbines at the top.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There was also of a variety of different architectural styles, which Jeanette\u2019s local sensibilities recognized as commercial rather than domestic. Most of them had two or three different shops on the ground floor, with various offices and services on the smaller upper floors. There were more pedestrians, but there were fewer sail-cars. Some of these were smaller vehicles for one or two passengers. The place was, in many ways, completely familiar, while at the same time utterly alien.<\/p>\n

There were no sail-cars at all in the city center. This consisted of six buildings, each with a much larger ground plan, at the corners of a hexagon, and a seventh, not quite as large or as tall, at the center. They were set only twenty or thirty yards apart. The central building was architecturally distinct, and obviously the Capitol. The building left-downwind was also, apparently, municipal rather than commercial. The winds were more complex here, eddying around and between the buildings. There were quite a few pedestrians, and occasional patrolling police officers, both men and women.<\/p>\n

They had come to the city center somewhat to the south, or right-wind of it. That side of the Capitol Building was glass-fronted at the downwind end on the first two floors, and on the first floor all the way back to a staff entrance, somewhat forward of where the roof came to the ground. The other side windows, on the second and the full length of the two top floors, were small.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They walked left-wind across the front to the main entrance, four large glass doors set in a slight recess at the center. People and guards were clearly visible inside, and on the balcony of a mezzanine. The picture windows on the left-wind side of the two first floors went back only half way, to a large, heavy, double door, not quite as far upwind as the staff entrance on the other side, after which there were no windows at all. There were smaller windows on the upper two floors all the way back to the slanting roof.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t stand around,\u201d Lorathom said. A guard inside the Capitol building was watching them.<\/p>\n

They went to a park downwind. Lirikatli and Lorathom needed a rest after their walk. Jeanette had completely recovered from her previous ordeal, even while walking, and felt no fatigue. There were several police officers on patrol here, but there were quite a few other people as well \u2014 crossing the park, sitting on shrub-protected benches, or strolling among the wind-distorted specimen plants. There were some adolescents but there were no children. They found an unoccupied bench.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo,\u201d Lirikatli said to Jeanette, with a hint of skepticism, \u201cwhat\u2019s your plan for getting inside?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m working on it.\u201d She was paying more attention to the park and the people than to why they were there. \u201cAre you sure the Main-Quey is in there?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was eight months ago,\u201d Lorathom said. The actual term he used was a reference to the different orbital periods of this world\u2019s two moons.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was seen?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, but Anjaro Denet was there, and she recognized his scent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut nobody actually saw him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. Why?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe might not really have been there.\u201d A image came to her. \u201cHe might have been made to wear absorbent pads under his arms, and under his tail, and then, when they were good and smelly,\u201d a very rude way to say it, \u201cthey could have been put somewhere in the Capitol while he was being kept elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut why would they do that?\u201d Lirikatli asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a decoy, so you\u2019d waste your time trying to get him out of the Capitol, instead of looking for him where he really was.\u201d<\/p>\n

This had not occurred to them. Deception was hard for these people to understand, since they gave away so much of what they were thinking and feeling with body language, voice, and scent. A fact of which the Arkenome probably took great advantage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere does the Chancellor live,\u201d Jeanette asked. \u201cHe might be keeping the Main-Quey with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cIn the Capitol Building,\u201d Lorathom said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHas he been seen?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, yes,\u201d Lirikatli said, \u201cthree or four times a week,\u201d which was eight days.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you know where his apartments are?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey would be on the top floor, but I couldn\u2019t say more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you don\u2019t know where the Main-Quey is being kept.\u201d<\/p>\n

They did not.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes little sense,\u201d Jeanette said, catching a whiff of something interesting coming from upwind, \u201cto get inside if we don\u2019t know where to go once we get there. Especially with \u2014 how many armed guards?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe twenty,\u201d Lorathom said. He could smell it too. \u201cMaybe more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cHave either of you been in the Capitol Building?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Lirikatli said, \u201cbut Roma was Venn Dricato\u2019s steward, and Hikram was his butler, so we have a pretty good idea of the layout of the place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCould you draw me a floor plan?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAhh, no.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow many stairways are there?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo, I think, plus the main stairs from the lobby to the mezzanine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Lorathom said, \u201cit\u2019s three.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure?\u201d Jeanette asked him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think so\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe her wanting to come here was a waste of time. \u201cI\u2019m going to try something. Keep a lookout, and if anybody starts to look at me suspiciously, just talk to me. About anything.\u201d She stood, moved away so that she could see the Capitol through the streaming foliage that sheltered the bench, and put her hands on her belt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She felt the weave of reality. That should have surprised her more than it did. She knew how to slip between worlds. She had just done it, home and back, but if she thought about it, it was amazing that she could. She knew where her home was, but if she went there again, far too much time would pass here. Even a minute there could be more than half a day. If she could return to any predetermined location, other than where she was now \u2014 something Steve had read about in one of his fantasies \u2014 it might be worth it, but she didn\u2019t think it was possible. As far as other places in this world were concerned, she could feel nothing, not even the house from which she had come. Maybe, after she had some experience\u2026. She sat back down.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about Bonir?\u201d Lorathom asked Lirikatli. \u201cDo you think he\u2019d help?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s Bonir?\u201d Jeanette asked. The interesting scent was gone.<\/p>\n

\u201cBonir Vinadeen leads another group here in the city,\u201d Lirikatli said. \u201cThey\u2019re mostly concerned with getting people to safety when the police suspect them of non-conformism. But some of them worked in the Capitol, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen maybe we should go talk to these people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a while. We\u2019ve been pretty involved with the summoning. The last I knew, they had a contact at the The Harper\u2019s. That\u2019s a restaurant. Besides, I could use some lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

The Harper\u2019s occupied half the ground floor of one of the major buildings right-wind of the city center. It was not all that different from restaurants with which Jeanette was familiar. After they were taken to their table, she explained that she wouldn\u2019t be able to pay her share, and showed them some of the coins from Deroan. They were fascinated by the gold and silver, since their own currency was printed on paper. Lorathom told her there would be no problem.<\/p>\n

She looked at her menu. \u201cI don\u2019t know what anything is.\u201d Lirikatli made suggestions. The food, when it came, was not as good as what had been served at Belagor\u2019s house.<\/p>\n

Jeanette played the role of a first time visitor, asking careful questions, which Lirikatli and Lorathom answered equally as carefully. By the time they had finished, she had learned a lot more than what her questions had implied, and Lirikatli and Lorathom were beginning to accept the idea that maybe she knew what she was doing. She wished herself that she did.<\/p>\n

Their waiter, when they were nearly finished, came to ask them if they would like tea. They would, and Lirikatli asked her if The Harper\u2019s had the \u201csom doro\u201d variety.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me check,\u201d she said, and went off to the kitchen. After a few moments she came back. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, we don\u2019t have som doro at the moment. If you\u2019d like to talk to Rigashen, our manager, he might be able to order some for the next time you\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll do that,\u201d Lirikatli said. \u201cMay we have the bill, please?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lorathom paid, left a generous tip, and the waiter directed them to a door at the back, next to the kitchen. A short hallway went past the glass-topped kitchen door on the left, and three doors on the right. They knocked at the second. There was a brief pause, then a man\u2019s voice told them to come in.<\/p>\n

Lirikatli pushed the door open. The smell of the six people inside revealed their tension. Lirikatli, Lorathom, and Jeanette went in as if there was nothing unusual. A man behind the door pushed it shut.<\/p>\n

Two men stood behind a desk facing them. Behind them was another door. A woman on the right stood in front of a set of cabinets, and a man on the left stood in front of some shelves. Another woman was on the other side of the door where they had come in. They all carried big knives in their hands, and had banded steel guards strapped to their off-hand forearms. They did not threaten, but they were alert and ready to attack if necessary.<\/p>\n

One of the men behind the desk, with a bronze crest and shaded brown skin, said, \u201cLirikatli, what are you doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHello, Cheledon. We need help. This is Lorathom Mishago \u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Cheledon nodded. \u201cI\u2019ve heard of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2014 and this is Jana Deigo. She\u2019s not from around here. She came to Belagor\u2019s circle nineteen days ago, ahh, in response to our summoning. We believe she may be able to get into the Capitol Building. At least, we\u2019re going to let her try.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cheledon looked at Jeanette, a bit cautious, and a bit dubious. \u201cAll right then, if Belagor can vouch for her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe can.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right then. Is anybody else with you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, they\u2019re still working on a summons.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right then, come on in.\u201d He opened the door behind him, and preceded them into a small storage room which held mostly office supplies. The other five did not follow.<\/p>\n

He led them through another door into a larger room which held, for the most part, more typical restaurant supplies: shelves of linens, glassware, plates, cutlery, boxes of canned food, racks of wine bottles, cleaning equipment, and so on. But the middle of the room had been cleared away. There was a table, with four chairs around it, where a man and woman sat; a sofa to the right of it; and a very small desk where another man sat. None of them were armed.<\/p>\n

The man at the desk, dark brown banded in russet with a nearly white crest, stood when they came in. \u201cLirikatli,\u201d he said, giving Jeanette and Lorathom only the briefest of glances, \u201cgood to see you. Have you had any success?\u201d He gestured to the table. The people sitting there moved to the sofa.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot really.\u201d She, Lorathom, and Jeanette sat. The man who had spoken took the fourth chair. Cheledon sat at the desk.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll have to tell me about it,\u201d the man said. He looked at Lorathom and Jeanette, as if expecting an introduction, which Lirikatli provided.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This was Bonir Vinadeen. The other man was Borosh Teven, brown with a crest of nearly the same color, and the woman was Chernis Redovar, dark amber with a ruddy brown crest. They were all relaxed but watchful.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had no success,\u201d Lirikatli said. \u201cWe\u2019ve not been able to summon any demons, or any other extra-mundanes. We\u2019re beginning to think that we never will. Lerthrop thinks it\u2019s because the old texts assume common knowledge no one has any more. Sometimes we seem to get a flicker of another plane, but it never lasts for more than a second, and we\u2019ve not been able to figure out just which plane it is, or even if it\u2019s the same one each time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to keep trying,\u201d Lorathom said, \u201conce Lirikatli and I get back. Lerthrop\u2019s been rereading the texts, and she has some ideas for the next time we try.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, then,\u201d Bonir said, \u201cbut who is this?\u201d He tipped his head slightly at Jeanette.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe appeared in our circle during our last summons,\u201d Lirikatli said before Jeanette could answer. \u201cThat was nineteen days ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut she\u2019s not an extramundane.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe says she\u2019s from another world altogether, and came to our circle because she heard us calling, or something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeanette had intended to reply. She didn\u2019t like being talked about as if she couldn\u2019t speak for herself. Bonir stared at her, aware, by her involuntary ear twitches, of her frustration. She kept a bland expression on her face, kept herself calm, tried to make her ears relax, and hoped that she wouldn\u2019t smell of her displeasure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe it,\u201d Bonir said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t either,\u201d Lorathom said, \u201cuntil she showed us she could leave and return at will.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou couldn\u2019t be mistaken about that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe work in the cellar,\u201d Lirikatli said. \u201cThere\u2019s only one door in that room. We were performing a summons, and suddenly she was there, in the middle of the circle. She was rather the worse for wear, I\u2019m afraid, as if she\u2019d been in a fight. We were convinced that we had accidentally brought her in from somewhere else mundane, but that evening, after dinner and a remarkably speedy recovery, she just, ahhh, sort of rotated where she stood, with all the rest of us around her, and was gone. She didn\u2019t come back until after breakfast this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was there when she came,\u201d Lorathom said. \u201cLerthrop and Belagor were there too, and two waiters. We actually saw her sort of \u2014 rotate, I guess that is the right word \u2014 back into the dining room.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRotate,\u201d Bonir said. He had been watching Jeanette the whole time, but he glanced at Lorathom as he said this. \u201cCan you do it again?\u201d he asked Jeanette.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can, but time runs differently in your world and mine. I might be gone for, well, I don\u2019t know for how long. I have no control over that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShow me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She met his eyes and sighed. \u201cAll right.\u201d She stood, stepped away from the table, and stuck her thumbs into the front of her belt, a perfectly normal gesture which revealed nothing. She felt the weave, felt this world in it, and her home. It was light there. She went to a mid-morning living room, and came back almost instantly.<\/p>\n

People were in different places. Chernis was still on the sofa, but Borosh had gone. One of the men from the office had taken his place. Lirikatli and Lorathom were still at the table, but Bonir had returned to the desk, and Cheledon was standing beside him. They were all staring at the place where Jeanette reappeared, and they all startled, even Lorathom. Jeanette smelled their surprise, and a subtle overlay of fear.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe it,\u201d Bonir said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow long was I gone?\u201d Jeanette asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout six minutes,\u201d Lorathom said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just a fraction of a second to me. And no,\u201d she said to Bonir, \u201cI can\u2019t move from one place to another in this world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bonir was silent for about two seconds, then he said, \u201cThat\u2019s too bad. It would have made things so easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese things are never easy,\u201d Jeanette said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, they certainly haven\u2019t been so far. So. Why are you here? And what can you do for us?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am here to restore the Main-Quey to the Spiral\u2019s Heart. At least, that\u2019s how I understand it. I don\u2019t know yet how I\u2019m going to do that, but it starts with getting into the Capitol Building, and finding where the Main-Quey is being kept. After that, I\u2019ll have a better idea of what to do next.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that\u2019s the problem,\u201d Cheledon said. \u201cNo one has been able to get into the building at all during the last six months.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, but having seen what I can do, do you trust me enough to tell me what\u2019s been tried so far?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

Not everybody had been happy when Empa Tethicho had become chancellor, despite his almost overwhelming charisma. But the real protests hadn\u2019t begun until several years later, when he had removed the Main-Quey from the Spiral\u2019s Heart, a small, compact complex of buildings, downwind and left of the city center, and put him in a suite in the Capitol Building.<\/p>\n

That was more than two years ago. A crowd of nearly a thousand people had gathered outside the building in protest. A number of them had forced the front doors on the third day. Guards at the back of the lobby and on the mezzanine had killed thirty or more before the mob outside stopped trying to push their way in. Then the guards had come out of the building and started taking prisoners, including the wounded, until the rest of the crowd went away. A few days later a mass trial was held. Those who had been wounded or captured inside the Capitol Building were convicted of treason and executed. Those arrested outside were convicted of criminal trespass and conspiracy and sent to prison, though many people thought that they had just been murdered elsewhere.<\/p>\n

A tense several weeks passed, and then a group of ten people had waited until an hour after the building had closed. Chernis, who had been on the cleaning staff at the time, had let them in through the right downwind side entrance. She had detected the Main-Quey\u2019s scent up on the residence floor, but the group was discovered before they could get there. Only one of the ten, besides Chernis, had managed to escape. The other nine were tried as traitors and executed.<\/p>\n

Nothing more was tried until some months later. Then, late at night, a similar group managed to force open the staff entrance at the rear of the right-wind side, but they never came out again, and there were no trials. Similar attempts were tried at the garage door, near the rear of the left-wind side, but all failed because the doors were too strong, and too heavily bolted and locked.<\/p>\n

Several people, who had legitimate business, tried to bluff or sneak their way to the Main-Quey. All but one were found out. Those who were important enough were imprisoned, those who were not important were executed. The woman who escaped, Anjaro Denet, had scented the Main-Quey on the residence floor, but had no idea where he was.<\/p>\n

Several times a man or woman of a more criminal nature, but otherwise sympathetic to the resistance, secreted themselves inside during the day, intending to try an assassination late at night. They were never heard from again.<\/p>\n

One attempt was even made to get in through the service hatch on the roof, on the downwind end of the turbines. Two people went up the roof from the back, equipped with ropes and pry bars, but the height of the roof, and the funneling effect, increased the wind speed near the top to maybe seventy or eighty miles an hour, and before the two could get around past the turbines they were sucked in. At least, that was the assumption. Two of the turbines were damaged, presumably by the pry bars, but they were repaired by the next morning. Nothing was officially said about the cause of the malfunction, even though blood and chopped body parts had been sprayed out over the front of the building.<\/p>\n

The Capitol Building had a cellar, but there was no outside access to it as far as anybody knew.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m beginning to understand,\u201d Jeanette said, \u201cwhy Lerthrop is trying to summon someone who could walk through walls. I wish I was able to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be a help,\u201d Bonir said. \u201cDo you have any ideas?\u201d<\/p>\n

She thought about it. \u201cThe garage doors. I think I can get in through there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bolts and locks are too strong,\u201d the newcomer from the office said. He was Sen Trikaloi, a pale ruddy brown shading to brick, with a golden blond crest.<\/p>\n

How easy it had been when everybody had just followed her lead. \u201cI\u2019m sure they are,\u201d she said, \u201cbut I have an idea, and I\u2019d like to give it a try.\u201d Not that she really knew what she was doing after all.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right,\u201d Bonir said. \u201cAnd what will you do if you get inside?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSomebody will have to lead me to where the Main-Quey is being kept. I don\u2019t know his scent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can do that,\u201d Chernis said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d Bonir said. \u201cIf you get in, there will be other locks and alarms. Cheledon is a mechanic, he can go with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cheledon nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we\u2019re going too,\u201d Lirikatli said, speaking for Lorathom.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood,\u201d Bonir said. \u201cYou\u2019re in charge then.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeanette felt her ears twitch, but kept her mouth shut.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen do you want to go?\u201d Bonir asked Lirikatli.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not tonight,\u201d she said, with a glance at Jeanette. \u201cThere\u2019s no sense putting it off. We\u2019ll need weapons.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll arrange for that elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

The others left, and Jeanette, with Lirikatli as her guide, spent the afternoon pretending to be a sight-seer. They went into some of the shops about which Jeanette was curious, but they didn\u2019t buy anything. They had supper at a place outside the city center, then went to a house, a half an hour\u2019s walk right-downwind of the commercial district, where they would meet the others much later. This was a clean house, with absolutely no hint of a connection to the underground, and would not be used again after tonight. Lirikatli was pretty well tired out by now, so they took the opportunity to get some sleep. They were awakened well after midnight when Lorathom, Cheledon, and Chernis arrived.<\/p>\n

Their weapons were large knives, which would be worn in sheaths on their hips inside their trousers, lightweight banded steel guards for their off-hand forearms worn under their shirt sleeves, and smallish crossbows which could be disassembled and carried wherever convenient under their clothing.<\/p>\n

Jeanette had never handled a crossbow before. Cheledon started to instruct her in how to assemble it, but she figured it out for herself, and had it together before he got very far. That rather impressed him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to try it out?\u201d Lirikatli asked her.<\/p>\n

Jeanette thought it would be a good idea, so they went up to the half story attic where the turbine-powered generators were, and set up an impromptu target. Again, Cheledon started to tell her how to draw the string with its lever but she already knew. Her guide hadn\u2019t abandoned her completely. She put a bolt in it, held it up to her shoulder, aimed, felt herself and the crossbow come together, and pulled the trigger. The bolt hit the target dead center. She had known that was going to happen, but she was still impressed with herself. She loaded another bolt, and this time she held the crossbow beside her at mid-chest, looked at the target, imagined the line of flight and, when it felt right, she pulled the trigger. That was where the bolt went, striking the target just to the right of the first shot. She felt a little unreal, and nobody else made a sound. She loaded it a third time, held the bow with one hand out in front of her at arm\u2019s length, and put the third bolt just to the left of the first.<\/p>\n

\u201cPretty neat,\u201d she said to the others, struggling for nonchalance as she turned the crossbow in her hands to examine its workings. She was self-conscious about showing off, but she hoped that it would help give her some authority.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019ve got a winner here,\u201d Lorathom said quietly.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

If you want to read more, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part Five: The Arkenome Chapter Twenty One: The Magic Circle She finished her step into a large room.\u00a0 There were people around her, but her exhaustion, and the pain of her wounded cheek, came back to her like a blow. Her vision blurred and darkened, her feet stumbled, and she fell to her hands andContinue reading →<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-513","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","no-thumb"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/allen-wold.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/allen-wold.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/allen-wold.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allen-wold.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allen-wold.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=513"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/allen-wold.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/513\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":682,"href":"https:\/\/allen-wold.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/513\/revisions\/682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/allen-wold.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}