On the last word, Telemain clapped his hands together loudly. The trees melted and ran like soft wax on a hot stove. To her surprise, Morwen felt no sensation of movement. It was more as if she were standing still while everything around her shifted. As she nodded in approval, the blur flowed into a new shape and solidified.

They now stood on the paving stones of the castle courtyard, in the relatively narrow strip between the moat and the main door. A large dragon lay along the left side of the castle, basking in the sun. Her head, with the three stubby horns that proclaimed her a female, rested at the edge of the moat; most of her body was hidden by a tower with two staircases running around its outside. Her wings were partway open to catch the sun, and her green scales glittered, even where they were beginning to turn gray at the edges.

"Eee-augh!" Killer brayed in terror. "A dragon!" Oh, good," Morwen said at the same moment. "That will save some time."

"Good?" Killer seemed to be trying to hide behind Telemain and to watch the dragon at the same time. "A dragon is good?"

"Not a dragon, you idiot," said Scorn. "That's Kazul, the King of the Dragons."

Killer edged away. "Does he eat rabbits? Or donkeys?"

"She prefers cherries jubilee," Jasper said.

"She?" Killer looked thoroughly confused, as well as alarmed.

"But-the 'King of the Dragons'?"

"'King of the Dragons' is the name of a job," Jasper said. "It has nothing to do with gender."

"Dragons are very sensible about things like that," Fiddlesticks put in, nodding. "Almost as sensible as me. But they don't like fish."

"I'd be happier if they didn't like donkeys."

"Don't worry about King Kazul," Morwen said to Killer. "She doesn't eat friends of friends."

"Not even if she's hungry?" Killer's ears pricked forward nervously.

"She looks hungry to me."

Before Morwen could respond, the castle door creaked open. From the dark hallway inside, a voice called, "Madame Morwen! Magician Telemain! Welcome to the castle."

As everyone turned to look, a three-foot elf wearing a gold lace collar and a crisp white shirt under a green velvet coat with gold buttons, white silk hose, and green shoes with chunky gold heels stepped into view in the doorway of the castle. "Welcome, all of you," he added, bowing low.

"Hello, Willin," Morwen said. "We need to see King Mendanbar and Queen Cimorene right away."

"In regard to what?" the elf asked.

"Technical difficulties," Telemain said. "We have discovered a possible disruption in the obstructive enchantment fabricated by King Mendanbar and myself, and-" "Er, yes, of course," said Willin. "I'll tell the King immediately. You needn't give me the details."

Telemain caught Morwen's eye and winked. Morwen suppressed a smile and said, "And while we're waiting, Killer's hungry." She nodded at the donkey. "If your kitchen could put something together that would suit him."

"Certainly," Willin said. 'Just trot around backer, Killer, and the cook will take care of you." He waved toward the left, where Kazul was sleeping.

"I'm not hungry!" Killer said.

"Go around the other way, then," Morwen told him. "It doesn't really matter. Just go."

"I'll show him!" Fiddlesticks bounded across to Killer. "The kitchen is this way. They have cream, and butter, and fish, and…" His voice faded as they rounded the crooked tower by the stone bridge.

Scorn stood up and stretched. "What a pair of idiots." She looked at Jasper. "Maybe we should go after them and make sure they don't get into trouble."

"An excellent idea," Jasper agreed. With an air of determined casualness, the two cats strolled off, following the donkey.

Willin looked after them with a worried frown. "Did I offend them?"

"Not at all," Morwen assured him. When his expression did not clear, she added, "They're hoping the cook will give them some cream. Now, we'll just go have a word with Kazul while you let Cimorene know we're here. Oh, and would you put this bucket somewhere? I've enough to carry without it."

"Very good, ma'am," Willin said stiffly. He accepted the bucket and vanished into the castle, closing the door carefully behind him.

"Morwen, Mendanbar's the one we really need to see," Telemain said softly. "King Kazul-" "Has good reason to be just as interested in the doings of wizards as the rest of us," Morwen said. "Besides, it wouldn't be polite to go in without at least saying hello."

"I suppose not," Telemain said, and the two walked across the courtyard to talk to the dragon. Up close, Kazul was an even more impressive dragon than she looked from a distance. Standing, she was at least six times Morwen's height, even without her wings, and every inch was muscle and armor scales. The sleepy, contented expression on her face vanished as Morwen and Telemain drew nearer, and by the time they were close enough to talk, the dragon was wide awake and ready for them.

"Hello, Morwen, Telemain," Kazul said. "Wizards again?" She flicked a claw in the direction of the staff Morwen held.

"Hello, Kazul," Morwen said. "It's a wizard, at least."

"I thought you'd shut them out of the forest," Kazul said to Telemain.

"What one magician can do, another can find a way around," Telemain said with a shrug. "Unless the quantity of energy involved reaches a magnitude that renders-" Kazul cleared her throat pointedly. Telemain stopped. "Unless what?" asked the dragon.

"Um. Unless you… put so much power into a spell that nobody can, er, examine it closely enough to, um, figure out how to break it without getting fried by the backlash," Telemain said carefully.

"Ah. Well, I suppose nothing's perfect."

A bell chimed, and all three turned to look at the castle. The door swung open, and Willin marched out. "Their Majesties King Mendanbar and Queen Cimorene of the Enchanted Forest ," he announced, and bowed low.

"Hello, Morwen, Telemain. We were just trying to get you on the magic mirror." The speaker was a tall young woman in a loose cream-colored shirt and a pair of baggy gray pants tucked into short leather boots.

Her black braids were wound around and around her head like a crown, and her face was both lovely and intelligent.

As she came down the steps and into the courtyard, a man emerged from the door behind her. He was equally tall and dark-haired, and he wore a plain gold circlet that he had pushed back off his forehead. It gave him a rakish look.

"Yes, the gargoyle said something about wizards," the man said, coming forward. "Is it urgent?"

"Important, certainly," Morwen said. "Urgent, possibly. I don't think it's an emergency. Not yet. Hello, Cimorene, Mendanbar."

There was a brief round of greeting, and then Mendanbar said, "I thought something was wrong in the forest. It's been higgling at me ever since we got home."

Cimorene frowned. "You didn't say anything."

"I didn't want to worry you."

Cimorene rolled her eyes. "Mendanbar, I haven't suddenly turned to glass just because I'm going to have a baby."

"Well, but-" "I believe that can wait," Morwen interrupted tactfully.

"The wizards shouldn't."

"Yes, now that we're all here, tell us where you came across that.

"Kazul waved at the wizard's staff in Morwen's right hand.

Morwen nodded and launched into a summary of the events following Killer's appearance in her back garden. Cimorene, Mendanbar, and Kazul listened without interrupting, though their expressions grew more and more serious. When she finished, Mendanbar turned to Telemain.

"These dead spots. I thought the spell we worked out prevented them."

"It should have," Telemain said, nodding. "And since the spell has worked perfectly well for over a year, it seems unlikely that the breakdown is due to an inherent flaw; nonetheless, I think the initial phase of our investigation should involve an examination and analysis of the primary linkages."