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I tried to bring myself under control, and reached for wind

and sla I’d ever encountered Soht It had the smell of Djinn to it

"Please," Lazlo said "There is no need for this unpleasantness All you have to do is tell us what happened Surely there’s nothing you object to in that I’m certain you already told the story to the Wardens Why not to us?"

Because I didn’t want to reh the chair, just enough to sting and asped in shallow breaths Hell, they probably already knew the story, I toldwasn’t getting ely hypothetical afterlife I wasn’t ready to die again Not yet

I sucked in a deep breath, hten myself up, and tried my voice It sounded weak, but steady

"I’ll tell you," I said "But don’t blame me if you don’t like it"

I hated Chaz from the first moment I laid eyes on him, and I couldn’t really say why Ever have that happen? Makes you feel ridiculous and prejudicial, but it’s nothing you can help It’s some cellular process of repulsion that you have no control over

That waspleasant to him for more than a ranite with a teaspoon After an entire day of poking through the chaotic h paper cuts that it constituted huhts violations, I called back to the office and coet out of it, exactly, but I had ed for help My boss, John Foster, gave me reassurances and platitudes in his warm Southern voice and told me not to kill the bastard

One thing I did figure out, fro piled on my bed Chaz had tooabout personal funds, like being born rich, although he probably had been; I’rade should make-I had the pay tables with ht back out again, to not-very-well-concealed Cayman Island accounts

Chaz was definitely dirty It was just athe weather patterns, over and over, I decided it had to do with s him to make adjust patterns, too Classic

I needed to catch hi, unless you were caught red-handed; I intended for Chaz to be dead to rights

Mainly because, as previously stated, I just couldn’t stand the little prick He kept showing up atto sleaze ically convincehim out to dry

On the fourth day, I threw back the curtains and discovered thathad dawned early and cold, the way it does in the desert; there was so toward the blue blur of , today would be a day Chaz would be trying so in the direction the stor; you had to track it upstream, to the point at which it provided cover and protection It was a good three uar wasto be a hike

I could do with burning off some frustration, I decided, not todown on tuna-fish sandwiches and fries I had bikini season to worry about Plus, going on foot would givebra and sweatpants, threw on a thin white T-shirt, and laced up running shoes There was coffee down in the chilly lobby; the fountain was still tinkling ht partier-had added a floating Budweiser cup to the extravaganza of dusty silk plants and spray-on stone I chugged down some heavy-duty caffeine, liberally diluted with fake creamer, and waved to the desk clerk on the way out

I paused inside the glass doors to adjustI looked up and found the sky clear, laced with a few high-riding cirrus clouds and reflected orange sunrise Chaz was already starting up, aht postpone things, considering he had an auditor sitting right in a ringside seat

He thought he was good enough that I wouldn’t notice Idiot

The as shifting to the east I could clearly feel the tug of power from that direction I braced myself with one hand on the wall and drifted up to the aetheric Chaz orking quietly to slow a high, fast- a cool air mass to the north That hat caused the wind shift war into the downdrafts Subtle, and effective He was creating a hell of a lot of chop that extended in about a five-square-mile radius over my little patch of desert

I went back to the desk and called Chaz’s hoot voiceon site Good I’d be able to get a look at as going on

I walked outside, braced , and stretchederratic circles; it gave up and headed off to the south Away from the interdicted area affected by the weather shift I couldn’t tell what kind of plane it was, but traffic patrols were co too hways Aerial surveillance

andthat they didn’t want that plane to see Which explained the chop that Chaz had created a few thousand feet up

I finished stretching and jogged out onto the shoulder of the road, heading toward the center of the probleonal line froht out into the middle of God knehere; I orientedlost wasn’t going to be a problem

The first half mile was hard as my body adjusted to the new cli down, thinner than I was used to It tasted sweet, full of subtle dry perfun of the surveillance plane, which had evidently decided to go surveil somewherechanges to keep things balanced, but balanced in his favor I could undo that with a little judicious application of force, but until I knew better what I was up against, there was no reason Besides, there was no advantage to letting hi in sand ice as tiring as on a flat surface, but I relished the burn Sunrise caed-layers of gold, tangerine,moved out in the emptiness; no breeze stirred the sand, and it was too early for snakes and too late for owls Overhead, an early-rising hawk rode thermals, and out to the far eastern horizon a cloudbank brushed its heavy skirts acrosseous