Inactuality, our plan was a bit more complex. Unbeknownst to Quigley, Iwas also supposed to circle the inn and find a covert entrance. Then,at the appropriate moment, Tanda and I were to create a magicaldiversion, allowing Aahz to use the secret weapon he had acquired onDeva.

Agully blocked my path. I took to the air without hesitation and flewover it. I had to be in position in time, or Aahz would have nomagical support at all.

Actuallymagik was quite easy here. The inn was sitting squarely on anintersection of two ground force lines, while a force line in the airpassed directly overhead. Whatever happened in the upcoming battle ofmagik, we wouldn't suffer for a lack of energy. I wished I knew moreabout Aahz's secret weapon. He had been doggedly mysterious about it,and neither Tanda nor I had been able to pry any information out ofhim. He had said it had to be used at close range. He had said itcouldn't be used while Isstvan was watching him. He had said it wasour only hope to beat Isstvan. He had said it was supposed to be asurprise. Terrific!

Maybewhen all this was over I would find a mentor who didn't have a senseof humor.

Islowed my pace. I was coming to the back of the inn now. The brushhad grown right up to the wall, which made my approach easy.

Ipaused and checked for wards again.

Nothing.

Tryingto force Aahz's "easy in, hard out" prophecy from my mind,I scanned the upper windows. None of them were open, so I chose thenearest one and levitated to it. Hovering there, I cautiously pushed,then pulled at the frame.

Locked!

Hurriedly,I pulled myself along the wall with my hands to the next window.

Alsolocked.

Itoccurred to me it would be ironic if, after all our magicalpreparations, we were stopped by something as mundane as a lockedwindow.

Tomy relief, the next window yielded to my pressure, and in a moment Iwas standing inside the inn, trying to get my heartbeat undercontrol.

Theroom I was in was furnished, but vacant. Judging from the dust on thebed, it had been vacant for some time. I wondered for a moment wheredemons slept, if they sleptat all, then forced the question from my mind. Time was running outand I wasn't in position yet. I darted silently across the room andtried the door.

Unlocked!

Gettingdown on my hands and knees, I eased the door open and crawledthrough, pushing it shut behind me.

Afterstudying the inn's interior so often in Quigley's dirt sketches, itseemed strange to actually be here. I was on the long side of anL-shaped mezzanine which gave access to the upper-story rooms.Peering through the bars of the railing that lined the mezzanine, 1could look down into the inn proper.

Therewere three people currently occupying a table below, I recognized thedisguised features of Higgens and Brockhurst as two of them. Thethird was sitting hunched with his back to me and I couldn't make outhis face.

Iwas debating shifting to another position to get a better view, whena fourth figure entered bearing an enormous tray with a huge jug ofwine on it as well as an assortment of dirty flagons.

"Thisround's on the house, boys!" the figure chortled merrily. "Haveone on old Isstvan."

Isstvan!That was Isstvan?

Thewaddling figure below did not seem to display any of the menacingfeatures I had expected in a would-be ruler of the dimensions.

QuicklyI checked him for a magical aura. There was none. It wasn't adisguise. He really looked like that. I studied him carefully.

Hewas tall, but his stoutness kept his height from being imposing. Hehad long white hair and a longer white beard which nearly covered hischest with its fullness. His bright eyes were set in a face thatseemed to be permanently smiling, and his nose and cheeks wereflushed, though whether from drink or laughter I couldn't tell.

Thiswas the dark figure of evil I had been dreading all these weeks? Helooked to be exactly what Quigley said he was… a harmless oldinn-keeper.

Amovement at the far end of the mezzanine caught my eye. Tanda! Shewas crouched behind the railing as I was on the other side of thestairs, and at first I thought I had just seen the movement of hereasing into position. Then she looked my way and cautiously waved herhand again, and I realized she was signaling for my attention. Iwaved an acknowledgment, which she must have seen, for she stoppedsignaling and changed to another set of actions. Glancing furtivelyat the figures below to besure she wasn't observed, she began a strange pantomime. First shemade several repeated gestures around her forehead, then pointedurgently behind her. I didn't understand, and shook my head to conveythis.

Sherepeated the gestures more emphatically, and this time I realized shewas actually pointing down and behind her. The stables! Somethingabout the stables.

Butwhat about the stables?

Iconsidered her first gesture again. She appeared to be stabbingherself in the forehead. Something had hit her in the stables? Shehad killed something in the stables? I shook my head again. She baredher teeth at me in frustration.

"Innkeep!"

Ijumped a foot at the bellow.

Aahzand Quigley had just walked through the door. Whatever Tanda wastrying to tell me would just have to wait. Our attack had begun.

"Twoflagons of your best wine… and send someone to see to myunicorn."

Aahzwas doing all the talking, of course. It had been agreed that hewould take the lead in the conversation. Quigley hadn't been toohappy about that, but in the end had consented to speaking only whenabsolutely necessary.

Theirentrance had had surprisingly little impact on the assemblage below.In fact, Isstvan was the only one to even look in their direction.

"Comein. Come in, gentlemen," he smiled, spreading his arms wide inwelcome. "We've been expecting you!"

"Youhave?" blurted Quigley, echoing my thoughts. "Of course, ofcourse. You shouldn't try to fool old Isstvan." He shook afinger at them in mock sternness. "Word was just brought to usby… oh, I'm sorry. I haven't introduced you to my newpurchasing agent yet."

"We'vemet," came the voice of the hunched figure as he turned to facethem.

Frumple!

That'swhat Tanda had been trying to tell me! The war unicorn, Quigley'sunicorn, was down in the stable. For all our speed, Frumple hadgotten here ahead of us.

"Whoare you?" asked Quigley, peering at the Deveel.

Forsome reason this seemed to set Isstvan off into peals of laughterfrom his eyes. "We are going to have such fun this afternoon!"

Hegestured absently and the inn door slammed shut. There was a suddenripple of dull clunks behind me, and I realized the room doors werelocking themselves. We were sealed in! All of us.

"Idon't believe I've had such a good time since I made love to myweek-dead sister."

Isstvan'svoice was still jovial, but it struck an icy note of fear within me.I realized that not only was he a powerful magician, he was quiteinsane.