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said. "But she's been good to me recently. She's finally become the sister I'd always wished she'd been.
Then you brought me back here and I saw her like that, not knowing what you really planned to do with
her-"
"I want you to know that I wouldn't hurt her, Coral," I interrupted. "I owe her-it-for favors past.
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When I was young and naive on the shadow Earth, she probably saved my neck, several times. You
have no reason to fear for her here."
She cocked her head to the right and narrowed one eye. "I'd no way of knowing that," she said,
"from what you told me I came back, hoping to get in, hoping you were deeply asleep, hoping I could
break the spell or at least lift it enough to talk with her. I wanted to find out for myself whether she was
really my sister-or something else."
I sighed. I reached out to squeeze her shoulder and realized I was still clutching the Jewel of
Judgment in my left hand. I squeezed her arm with my right hand instead and said, "Look, I understand. It
was boorish of me to show you your sister laid out that way and not to have gone into a little more detail.
I can only plead industrial fatigue and apologize. I promise you she's in no pain. But I really don't want to
mess with this spell right now because it's not one of mine-'
Just then Nayda moaned softly. I studied her for several minutes, but nothing more followed.
"Did you pluck that metal ball out of the air?" I asked. "I don't recall seeing one for the final spell."
Coral shook her head.
"It was lying on her breast. One of her hands was over it," she said.
"What prompted you to check there?"
"The position looked unnatural, that's all. Here."
She handed me the ball. I took it and weighed it in the palm of my right hand. I had no idea how the
things functioned. The metal balls were to Mandor what Frakir was to me-a piece of idiosyncratic
personal magic, forged out of his unconscious in the heart of the Logrus.
"Are you going to put it back?" she asked.
"No," I told her. "Like I said, it wasn't one of my spells. I don't know how it works, and I don't want
to fool around with it."
"Merlin . . . ?"-whispered, from Nayda, her eyes still closed.
"We'd better go talk in the next room," I said to Coral. "I'll lay a spell of my own on her first, though.
Just a simple soporific-"
The air sparkled and spun behind Coral, and she must have guessed from my stare that something
was going on, for she turned.
"Merle, what is it?" she asked, retreating toward me as a golden archway took form.
"Ghost?" I said.
"Right," came the reply "Jasra was not where I left her. But I brought your brother."
Mandor, still clad mainly in black, his hair a great mass of silver-white, appeared suddenly, glancing
at Coral and Nayda, focusing on me, beginning to smile, stepping forward. Then his gaze shifted, and he
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halted. He stared. I had never seen that frightened expression on his face before.
"Bloody Eye of Chaos!" he exclaimed, summoning up a protective screen with a gesture. "How did
you come by it?"
He took a step backward. The arch immediately collapsed into a gold-leaf calligraphed letter O, and
Ghost slid around the room to hover at my right side.
Suddenly Nayda sat up on my bed, darting wild glances.
"Merlin!" she cried. "Are you all right?"
"So far so good," I answered. "Not to worry .Take it easy. All's well."
"Who's been tampering with my spell?" Mandor asked as Nayda swung her legs over the side of the
bed and Coral cringed.
"It was a sort of accident," I said.
I opened my right hand. The metal sphere immediately levitated and shot off in hip direction,
narrowly missing Coral, whose hands were now extended in a general martial arts defense pattern,
though she seemed uncertain what or whom she should be defending against. So she kept
turning-Mandor, Nayda, Ghost, repeat. . . .
"Cool it, Coral," I said. "You're in no danger."
"The left eye of the Serpent!" Nayda cried. "Free me, oh, Formless One, and I will pledge with
mine!" Frakir in the meantime was warning me that all was not well, in case I hadn't noticed.
"Just what the hell is going on?" I yelled.
Nayda sprang to her feet, lunged forward, and with that unnatural demon strength snatched the
Jewel of Judgment from my hand, pushed me aside, and tore into the hallway.
I stumbled, recovered.
WHold thatty'iga !" I cried, and the Ghostwheel aasl past me followed by Mandor's balls.
X
I was the next thing out into the hallway. I turned left and started running. Aty'iga may be fast, but so
am I.
"I thought you were supposed to be protecting me!" I shouted after her.
"This takes precedence," she answered, "over your mother's binding."
"What?" I said. "My mother?"
"She placed me under ageas to take care of you when you went off to school," she replied. "This
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