Untitled

“He’s flaky, but he knows better than that,” she said. “Besides, his bed’s made, and it’s
too early for the maids to have come in. Rondeau doesn’t make his own bed, so that
means he didn’t sleep here.” Maybe he was flaking out—maybe he’d run into Zara and
slept with her. But Marla had told him to come back to the room, told him and meant it,
and she didn’t believe he would have disobeyed her if it had been in his power to
comply.
She checked the voice mail on the cell phone, but there were no messages. The fact that
she and the phone had been in other universes all night might have had something to do
with that, she supposed. She noticed a light blinking on the phone beside the bed. “I
guess there’s voice mail for the room,” she said, and pushed the button.
The first message had come in that morning, just a couple of hours before. It was the
Chinese sorcerer, speaking in the sweet stolen voice of his apprentice. “Meet me at my
shop, today, at three o’clock. Bring me Ch’ang Hao, properly restrained, and I will
return your lickspittle Rondeau to you. And then we will discuss restitution for the
damage you have caused my reputation and my shop.”
Marla swore. Then the next message began. It was her consiglieri, Hamil.
“Marla,” he said. “I’ve been trying to reach you for hours. I just got word from another
one of my spies. Susan is going to cast the spell tonight. If you don’t find the
Cornerstone now, soon, it’s going to be too late.”
That was bad news, but it could have been worse. Marla was going to confront Mutex
this afternoon, and one way or another, things were going to end. She would get the
Cornerstone, or she would die. If she got the stone, Susan’s spell tonight wouldn’t be a
problem. If she died, well, Susan’s spell still wouldn’t be a problem.
Then the automated voice of the machine told Marla the date and time of Hamil’s call.
His message was older than the Chinese sorcerer’s. Hamil had called the day before, in
the afternoon, while she was in another world with B.
Which meant Susan had cast her spell to take over Marla’s city the night before, while
Marla was trapped in another universe.
Marla began to laugh.
17
S o what’s the news?” B said.
Marla didn’t hesitate. B had proven himself, as much as anyone could in two days. “The
bad news is, the Chinese guy has Rondeau. I’m supposed to meet him at three o’clock
today to negotiate his safe return, or, more likely, to walk into his ambush.”
“Three o’clock. The same time you’re supposed to lie in wait to ambush Mutex.”