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He wants this medallion I am wearing. But he cannot take it from me. I have to give it to him. So he has
locked me away down here until I agree to give it up. He brushed some straw from his muzzle with one
paw. But the medallion isn t his; it isn t even mine. It was just loaned to me, and I have to return it to its
owner.
He thought, for the first time in quite a while now, about the High Lord and the problems he faced in
Landover without the medallion to protect him. Then he sighed and began eating again.
Elizabeth looked at him a moment, then nodded slowly. I talked to Nita Coles about you today. We re
friends again, see. She explained all about Tommy Samuelson and said she was sorry. Anyway, I told her
about you, cause we tell each other everything. But we keep it all secret. Most of the time, anyway. This
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was a sworn, double-locked finger secret, so neither of us can tell anyone or we ll have seven years bad
luck and Tad Russell for a husband for life! She says you can t be real, of course, but I told her you were
and that you needed us to help. So she said she would think about it, and I said I d think about it, too.
She paused. We ve got to get you out of here, Abernathy.
Abernathy pushed the last of the sandwich into his mouth and shook his head vehemently. No, no,
Elizabeth, it s gotten much too dangerous for you to try to help me anymore. If Michel finds out...
I know, I know, she interrupted. But I can t keep sneaking food down to you like this. Michel is
going to figure out that you re not starving or anything, that someone s feeding you. And how will you get
out of here if I don t help you?
Abernathy sighed. I ll find a way, he insisted stubbornly.
No, you won t, Elizabeth declared, just as stubborn. You ll just be down here in this cage forever!
There was a sudden barking from somewhere down the hallway through a closed door. Abernathy and
Elizabeth both turned to look, freezing into motionless statues. The barking lasted only a few seconds and
died away.
Real dogs, Abernathy whispered after a moment. Michel keeps them locked away down here, poor
things. I don t even want to speculate why. I hear them cry out sometimes, calling. I can understand
something of what they are saying...
He trailed off, distracted. Then he looked quickly back at the girl. You have to stay out of this,
Elizabeth, he insisted. Michel Ard Rhi is very dangerous. He would hurt you if he knew what you were
doing even if he suspected! It wouldn t make any difference to him that you were a little girl. He would
hurt you anyway maybe your father, too, for that matter.
There was immediate concern reflected in her eyes when he mentioned the danger to her father. He felt
bad about suggesting such a thing, but he had to make certain that she did not take any further chances
on his account. He knew what Michel Ard Rhi could be like.
Elizabeth was studying him intently. Why do you try to scare me like that, Abernathy? she asked
suddenly, almost as if she could read his mind. You are trying to scare me, aren t you?
She made it a statement of fact. Yes, of course I am, Elizabeth, he answered immediately. And you
should be scared. This isn t a game for children!
Just for dogs and wizards, I suppose! she snapped back angrily.
Elizabeth...
Don t try to make up to me! There was hurt now in her eyes. I am not a child, Abernathy! You
shouldn t call me one!
I was just trying to make a point. I think you would...
How are you going to get out of here without me? she demanded again, cutting him short.
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There are certainly ways that...
There are? How? Name one. Just one. Tell me how you re going to get out. Go on, tell me!
He took a deep breath, his strength deserting him. I don t know, he admitted wearily.
She nodded in satisfaction. Do you still like me, Abernathy?
Yes, of course I do, Elizabeth.
And would you help me if I needed helping, no matter what?
Yes, of course.
She bent forward against the bars of the cage until her nose was only inches from his. Well, that s how I
feel about you, too! That s why I can t just leave you here!
The dogs began barking again, more insistent this time, and someone yelled at them to shut up. Elizabeth
began backing away toward the alcove.
Finish your food so you ll stay strong, Abernathy! she whispered hurriedly. Shhh, shhhh! she
cautioned when he tried to speak. Just be patient! I ll find a way to get you out!
She paused halfway through the break in the wall, a slight shadow in the half-light. Don t worry,
Abernathy! It ll be all right!
Then she was gone, the break disappearing once more into blackness.
The barking down the hall was punctuated by several sharp yelps and then faded slowly into silence.
Abernathy listened for a time, then pulled out the medallion from beneath his tunic, and studied it silently.
He was scared to death for Elizabeth. He wished he knew what to do about her. He wished he could
find some way to protect her.
After a time, he put the medallion back in place again. Then he uncovered the rest of his food and slowly
began to eat.
Charades
Ben Holiday squinted through the glare of the hot Nevada sun in total disbelief. Massive hotel and casino
signs lined the street in both directions, jutting up against the cloudless desert horizon like some bizarre,
twentieth-century Druidic Stonehenge, garish even without the dance of the bright, flashy lighting that
would come with nightfall. The Sands. Caesar s Palace. The Flamingo.
Las Vegas, he whispered. For crying out loud, what are we doing in Las Vegas?
His mind raced. He had assumed that when he was transported from Landover into his old world, he
would emerge just as he always did when coming out of the fairy mists into the Blue Ridge Mountains of
Virginia. He had assumed, quite reasonably he thought, that Abernathy must have been dispatched to that
same point when the magic went awry. But now, it seemed, he had been wrong on both counts. The
magic must have gone sufficiently bonkers to send them both to the other end of the country!
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Unless...
Oh, no, Ben thought. Unless Questor had messed up yet again and sent Abernathy to one place and
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