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“Didn’t somebody say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing in the same
way over and over and expecting a different outcome?” B said.
“Yeah,” Marla said. “It’s a Chinese proverb. Which reminds me that I do have a plan,
but it’s rather dependent on my getting in touch with Ch’ang Hao, who doesn’t seem to
be answering his snake-o-gram. He struck me as an honorable guy—”
“God,” Rondeau said.
“—honorable god, but I’m beginning to think he’s skipped for parts unknown, and that
the whole calling-him-with-a-snake thing was a load of crap. In which case…yeah, a
new plan would be good. But it’s worth noting that we’re not doing the same thing, not
exactly. I fought Mutex back there, and wounded him. He’s lost a lot of steam. It wore
me out, too, but I’m betting he’s worse off. We’ve got a chance, especially if he crawls
off somewhere to recuperate, and we find time to organize some resistance. So let’s see
who’s next in line to rule the city and get their heart cut out.” She took out the printout,
opened it, read, and grimaced. “Naturally,” she said. “Who else would it be?
This…complicates matters. Mutex and I might actually have a common cause, here.”
“Who is it?” Rondeau said.
“The Chinese guy,” she said. “If he lost his heart, I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it.”
Rondeau took her arm and tugged her aside for a semblance of privacy. “You can’t just
let him die,” he said.
Marla didn’t answer. She could just let him die, of course. It would probably save her a
little grief farther down the line.
“If the Chinese guy did steal his apprentice’s body, then Mutex is going to kill the
apprentice, not the sorcerer. She doesn’t deserve to die, Marla.”
“Death hasn’t been limiting itself to those most deserving, in case you hadn’t noticed,”
she said. She sighed. Clearly, this meant a lot to Rondeau, and maybe the Celestial
would calm down when he realized they had a common enemy. It wasn’t likely, but it
was worth a try. “But, yeah, of course, I’ll try to stop him. Come on, guys. Let’s go into
the house of my enemy.”
“This is it,” Marla said. The street outside the hidden magic shop was just as crowded
now as it had been yesterday, but today she was a lot more worried about surveillance,
so she wasn’t willing to just dash into thin air. Marla muttered a brief diagnostic spell,
which made the entry to the shop glow red in her vision, but revealed no magical traps.
Of course, the Chinese sorcerer could have strewn bear traps on the floor beyond, and
she wouldn’t be able to sense those or any other mundane dangers, but since this was
ostensibly a place of business, she doubted he’d set hazards that might catch paying
customers. “You two, come close.” B and Rondeau flanked her, their shoulders almost
touching hers, and she scooped a handful of yellowish powder from one of the side
pockets of her bag. She rubbed her hands together, yellow dust puffing around them,