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But none of us could tear away frohtly tilted back, upper lip curled just enough to show his teeth, eyes half shut He see his inner sight on the river With it he could see things invisible to most others I had some of that ability as well, but since it&039;s a normal part of me I don&039;t have to concentrate to make it work

Shankey, however, was frustrated "I don&039;t see a da," he complained

"That&039;s the idea," said Terrin in a distant voice "Trust me, it&039;s out there"

Out there and then soates of the grounds It should have been able to ooze through the wrought iron, but didn&039;t, apparently held in check by the house&039;s shields

"Do the ical protections extend as far as the stables?" I asked

Filihtened look that o all cave-cat on her

Not the tiI think we should have a tour of the dungeon"

Elsewhere, at the Overduke&039;s Palace

Botello liked the palace dining roorandeur in the whole wretched city The ceilings were overwhelh, and like the walls, heavy with ornate decorations and gold leaf The vast table and its many chairs were on the saulfed the three people seated at one lonely end, but those three were extraordinary enough in thes

Overduke Anton, tall and spare in black discreetly trimmed in silver, could fill a room all on his own He had the presence needed for his office, a rare kind of stillness that co in one place the world had to necessarily h char about it

Seated to his left was Lord Cadmus Burkus, considered to be the most handsome man in the province His looks, combined with a certain flippant wit and a , swordplay, and horseuest at all the fashionable parties

Then there was Vel wo circus A dancer, of course She&039;d met Anton at one of the Darmo House parties, invited there by her old friend, Lady Filiht of his treacherous wife He also brutally suppressed a violent surge of resent from the s for the bitch Serve hiot her

"Does the strawberry sauce not agree with you, Lord Cad his expression

"It&039;s delicious," he countered "I&039;m just a touch distracted by this Hell-river puzzle"

"I&039;ve not heard it defined as a puzzle before," said Anton "Have you learned so new about it?"

Until now the topic of the river had not been broached On purpose, Botello thought, so as not to spoil the dinner, but that suited hiain, even when in another&039;s body It had cost hi down like a starving farmhand He was bodily sated, but on the astral level still ravenous That would soon be remedied

"Sadly not, my lord," he replied "I&039;ve been busy with study, but it rema to me"

"What about your portal theory?"

Portal? What had that idiot Cad of significance has presented itself"

Anton sipped his dessert wine,with details in the eneral one on quite long enough; we&039;re going to put an end to it The curfew isn&039;t popular, and if it&039;s still on by the time the Mid-Su Can&039;t expect people to be done with their drinking and debauchery by sunset"

"No, of course not" Gawds, he only saw the river as an inconvenience to some ridiculous celebration? It couldn&039;t be; the overduke was a much more subtle man than that Botello committed an otherwise unthinkable breach of etiquette - he was beyond such trivialities now, anyway - and used his inner sight for a look at Anton&039;s aura What an interesting patternand the colors

Ah So that&039;s hoas; thehad decades of practice with the public life he led, but there it was for those with the Sight What visions of the future had he seen to put him into such a state?

Velma was in a similar state of strain, but on a much lesser level Her concern would be for Anton, not the future of Ruh

"Anything wrong, Lord Cad

Filima would use that exact same expression when she was about to catch him out in some lie - that is, e to throw a psychic shock at Velma Not the tiic

He s Lord Anton cause for jealousy, I must confess your beauty quite enthralled h" He bowed to her from his chair There Exactly the sort of pretty speech a twit like Cadht effect, too Velma beamed and Anton nodded once to indicate that respectful adood cheer didn&039;t last long, and her face sobered soon after Did she know anything or was she back to worrying about Anton? That had to be it She couldn&039;t know Cad, and Anton was too wound into his Hell-river worry to notice Botello dabbed the corners of hishostess rather well, nodded at this silent signal that their guest was prepared to quit the table and suggested they remove to one of the parlors They rose, Botello with difficulty, for he was very full Anton offered Vel roo a vast hall

Social ritualsBotello had had a bellyful of them before his displacement Good manners were quite useless in Hell - unless one was one of the demons, of course Then one commanded respect, based on the fact that any demon with power could make existence extremely unpleasant for those with less power And if he didn&039;t do so to help himself soon, Botello would be back there and at their mercy - ah, there was the catch, they had none - in a very short while

"Perhaps," said the overduke, "even sonificance could prove useful in our quest"

"Pardon?" said Botello

"Your portal theory You&039;ve found nothing significant, butupon a small detail This business is too i Perhaps a fresh pair of eyes is needed"

"Indeed, h" Botello tried to call to mind all he&039;d ever related to Cadmus about portal-travel Pity he couldn&039;t be questioned, but the mind-prison he was locked into only allowed for thee an escape No probleht out in a lie was to just be vague and let the other person take the lead It had worked often enough on Filih

"After that wonderful meal I&039;m in a mood for trifles," Anton countered Beneath his fear a tiny flame of hope warmed his aura Hope was an excellent tool for manipulation

Botello nodded "Very well I could try recreating one of ht be able to ress That would require the use of your Black Roo generous? Most Talents held their special chambers aloof froic Generous or desperate

Velma paused before the door to one of the infor"

Anton also paused, with a questioning look at Cadave a rueful sive et rid of that Hell-river," she said "I&039;ll say goodnight now, then"

Botello brushed his lips on the back of her outstretched hand, then Anton affectionately pecked her cheek She wafted into the parlor; they took another direction toward Anton&039;s private apart Ahead of the doors The last door at the end of the hall re it came to attention at their approach

Anton had a key on a neck chain and used it to deal with the lock Botello took a candle froh The door, a black slab of oak with touches of silver, side A breath of chill air flowing fro seen Hell, Botello found nothing to intimidate him here He walked in behind Anton and solidly shut the door, sliding the inside bolt into place They would have total privacy, now Lovely Botello looked eagerly around, this being his first tier than he&039;d expected Instead of a pavilion of black velvet to help focus the power, the walls the, too In the center was a table with a scrying hted ainst the darkness

"You anticipated so more elaborate?" asked Anton He pulled a cord that caused a thick sheet of velvet to close over the doorway, cocooning them utterly The layers of plush fabric ood The nored a stab of worry that Anton had picked up on his thoughts The man had prophetic dreams, but was not clairvoyant "I suppose so"

"I don&039;t need more than this I wish there was no need of any of it, but one must accept one&039;s path" He flicked a handkerchief over theat the blank, polished face of the device, then puffed out a brief sigh "The visions have gotten worse, you know"

Gawds, the greata bit That was a decidedly confiding tone, as one friend to another Excellent All the better to catch hiuard Sympathy was in order "I&039;?"

"They&039;re daht&039;s rest since Botello died"

He gulped to hide his smirk "Yes, it was terrible what happened to hi Go to sleep with a beautiful woawds store souls until it&039;s tiain"

"He will be rind his teeth What had Fili bitch

Anton took a deep breath, clearing his throat "Past and done Let&039;s see to the present and try to save the future What have you inspecial?"

"Only your cooperation, my lord If you will seat yourself before the mirrorand I shall stand opposite"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Shut your eyes, and co session"

"I was hoping to avoid that," said Anton in a wry tone He sat and followed instructions "I never see anything I like"

Botello took his place and held still for so forth with his astral senses to deteric in the chamber Quite a lot of it was stored up - years of it His heart hammered frantically with anticipation, but he couldn&039;t feast just yet

Between theray Clouds for He opened his eyes There was a roiling i froray to blood-red

"That&039;s never happened before - " he began, startled

Botello slapped his right hand upon Anton&039;s forehead Anton gave a brief gasp, then froze, his blue eyes wide, hisin shock Visible now, his aura writhed like burning silk in a high wind Botello reached toward theon what should have been hard surface, he slipped right through into the churning red clouds

So within therip Yes, they would be eager to knohat he was doing, eager to tug hian to pull hiical flow Anton&039;s aura went flooding frouish as the h hirasp of those on the Other Side Then Botello cried out hi blindly into Anton&039;s empty vessel

He crashed heavily to the stone floor Disoriented, fighting nausea, he desperately tried to locate Cad dazed Fully conscious again Cadmus Burkus stared down, stupefied, at the mirror and at his arm, which was lost in the soft surface up to his elbow

Yelling panic, Cad While he tried to sort hier to his feet He could barely see the ies in the mirror, only a blurred impression of blood and fire andyes, he could hear Anton&039;s screams now Not in his own voice, but that of the astral body Botello had left behind in Hell Anton would have a fine ti with the politics there

Botello flipped the athered hi around the dim room Damn, he&039;d known the overduke had bad eyes, but the man was all but blind It would have to do for now

"My lord?" Cadmus now lay flat on his back, obviously exhausted and very shaken

"I&039;

"Are you all right?"

"Yes, but what exactly happened?"

"It was Botello Darut&039;s full to bursting" Cadroaned and turned on his side

Yes, well, Botello had indulged quite heavily at the dining table Tie some more now that he was in a body and in complete control of it He was so very, very starved

"Letdown, he took Cadical energy, a goodly a it fresh was far better than the stored stuff of the roo him