A Sudden Wild Magic

“It was a massive dose, whatever it was,” Mark said, “and it’s antipathetic to most of the usual sumps.”

“They did their best,” Gladys said defensively. “So did we. Let’s see if it’s helped at all.” She tapped gently at the girl’s skinny arm. “Wake up, my darling. Auntie Gladys is here. Gladys is here to help. Wake up and tell Gladys what needs to be done for you, my love.”

The girl’s eyes had been half-open all along. Now, slowly, they were seeing. A weak but practiced consciousness played over first Gladys, then Mark.

“Friends, dear,” Gladys said.

They could tell that the girl knew that. Her mouth made a mumble. It sounded like “Thank goodness!” But Mark, moving automatically to another plane of being, interpreted it there and exchanged a look with Gladys. The girl had tried to say “Thank the Goddess!”

“And may She bless you too,” he said. “Where are you from?”

The girl’s mouth mumbled again. Gladys, tenderly holding the girl’s wrist in one hand and grasping Mark’s hand with the other, was forced to join Mark, and both had to move to a more distant plane before the sounds made sense. The girl manifested there as a little flame, flickering and guttering, but somehow fresh and sweet.

“The Ladies of Leathe,” the flame fluttered at them. “I wasn’t careful enough and my Lady Marceny found out — found out, my love, my love — it wasn’t done for the Brotherhood — it was wicked, wicked — and I tried to get away and warn you, my love — but I think she poisoned me — and they have traps out — I didn’t know and I was caught — and my love has no idea — I must warn—”

“Where were these nasty traps, my love?” Gladys asked. “Tell Gladys and she’ll take them apart.”

“Through every band of the Wheel,” flickered the flame. “Between the two of them.”

“But where?” Gladys insisted gently. “Where did you come from, my love?”

“Neighbors,” whispered the flame. It was down to a weak phut-phut now. “Next-door universe — the Brotherhood studies yours — but it was wicked—” The guttering light flared desperately. “I must warn him—”

And went out. On the pillow the eyes were still half-open but evidently saw nothing now. A green light that had been scribbling on a screen drew a straight green line.

“We’d best get out,” Gladys said briskly. “They’ll be along to see her any second.”

They passed the nurse hurrying that way as they went. Both of them made very sure they were not noticed either by her or by anyone else they encountered, until they came to the parking lot, where the taxi driver was patiently reading a newspaper spread over his steering wheel. “Back home?” he asked Gladys. “That was a quickie.”

“It takes all sorts,” said Gladys. “And I can’t wave a magic wand over all of them.” The driver laughed.

Mark fell asleep on the way back, into dreams of drugs uneasily seeping and knives lancing, and did not wake until Gladys was heaving herself out of the taxi at her tumbledown gate.

“Well, how about that?” she puffed, somewhat triumphantly, as they walked up the muddy path. “The only way I slipped up was not seeing you and that poor girl were part of the same thing!”

Mark nodded. It had been proved to him over and over again that there was no such thing as coincidence in magic, but he still felt a kind of incredulous excitement, weary as he was. “You believe me now?”

“As soon as I set hands on her, I knew she wasn’t out of this world. Didn’t you feel the strangeness? It wasn’t just the strange poison either.”

Again Mark nodded. It was easier than confessing that touching the girl had told him nothing beyond the fact that she was poisoned.

Gladys shot a look at him as she unlocked her green door. “You’re going to lie down and sleep while I look into this. Where do I tell Paulie you are?”

“Birmingham,” he said. “The conference took longer than I expected. But she has to be able to get in touch with me there. I gave her a phone number. I’d better—”

“I’ll do it,” said Gladys. “It’ll be a bad day when I can’t tangle a few phone lines. She’ll get a hotel receptionist who’ll promise to give you the message. You get upstairs. There’s a bed for you in the room on the right.”

He stumbled his way gratefully up the shallow, creaking stairs, knowing there was some other anxiety in his mind, but almost too tired to place it. Traitors, he thought. Spies and traps. That was it. But he had warned Gladys. He could surely trust her to handle it. He found the room. He removed his jacket and shoes and fell on the bed, which proved to be as shallow and creaking as the stairs. He slept.