"The land must be healed," replied the Lady.

Bear bowed his head, and it seemed to John that his shoulders bent under an invisible burden. But only for a moment. Bear raised his head and stepped forward, hand reaching for the hilt.

His fingers never touched it.

A thunderous sound shattered the peace of the chamber. Bear's hand jerked away from Caliburn as some force spun him around. Arms flailing, he slammed into the gla.s.sy column. Man and block crashed to the floor.

CHAPTER.

24.

John stood stunned as Kun launched himself into the air, firing his machine pistol. He slammed into Dr. Spae and the two of them tumbled to the floor behind one of the couches. Automatic-weapon fire ripped into their shelter, sending puffs of upholstery and splinters of wood flying.

John couldn't see who was shooting, and realized that they must not be able to see him either. That was all that had saved him while he stood there like an idiot, looking down at Bear's sprawled form and the red stain spreading across his shoulder and onto his upper chest. Belatedly he moved, grabbing Faye and pulling her down behind one of the cabinets. She squawked when they landed and he was afraid he'd hurt her, but as soon as he rolled off she was up and peering through the gla.s.s. He joined her, trying to see what was going on.

From his new angle he could see a hole hanging in the s.p.a.ce between two of the columns of the north colonnade. A hole? What else could you call a circle, bounded by an eye-searing rainbow of colors, whose center seemed to be somewhere else? Though where that someplace else might be, the swirling, pearly white of the hole gave no clue.

Men leapt over the lower bound of the rainbow. Most carried automatic weapons. Most were short and broad figures. All wore black clothes, combat vests, and helmets with dark, featureless visors. One of the short figures stood to one side of the hole, shouting orders and pointing his shotgun toward the fallen Bear. To the crack of his voice, the invaders landed on the floor of the Lady's house, rolling to take the shock. One after another they bounced up and scrambled away in random directions to seek cover among the Lady's furnishings.

John had seen outfits such as they wore before, on the night Mitsutomo had raided MaxMix Manor. He'd heard that voice as well, ordering the other murderers to concentrate on "the sleeper."

From somewhere behind the nearby chariot, Trashcan Harry started shouting.

"I'm sorry! I couldn't help it. They made me do it!"

One of the dark figures popped up from behind a planter overgrown with rhododendron. His weapon burped. Trashcan Harry began jerking as slugs slammed into his body and sent him sprawling over a low railing into the area in which John and Faye cowered.

The goblin was exposed where he lay, so John grabbed Harry's hand and tugged hard. Harry moaned with pain, but slid a foot closer to cover. John was able to get a second hand on Harry's arm and start pulling him to safety behind the case. Some of the Mitsutomo raiders opened fire. Gla.s.s rained down on John as he tugged on the limp goblin. Harry's body slid suddenly and the motion forced John almost upright. Something buzzed past his ear. He dove for the floor. Unfortunately, Harry's smelly body was between him and the cool stone. The goblin whoofed when John landed on him.

"Lay down some fire, Reddy!" Kun shouted.

"Harry's hurt," John told him.

"d.a.m.n the goblin. We're all dead if you don't do something."

Kun knew about these sorts of things; he was probably right. In an awkward rush, John unslung the Viper and clicked the selector to full autofire. Without looking, he poked it around the case and pulled the trigger. The recoil nearly pulled the weapon out of his hand. The black-clad men fired back, forcing John to huddle behind the case.

"I'm sorry, Jack," Trashcan Harry moaned. "I didn't want to do it, but they hurt me. They made me do it."

"Do what?" Faye sounded infuriated. John knew instantly he never wanted her to use that tone of voice on him.

"Open the door," Harry whined. "They put a tracker under my skin."

Faye slapped the goblin across the face, and he whimpered.

With a shout, a knot of the raiders burst from their hiding places, running forward under covering fire from their fellows. Something small and black arced out from Kun's position to meet them.

A grenade.

The explosion broke the charge, scattering men like tenpins. One of the attackers, a man much taller than the rest, was lifted off his feet by the explosion and tossed back through the hole. In his flight, he struck the short one with the shotgun, knocking him backward. The man flung out an arm to regain his balance and his flailing hand struck the rainbow fringes of the opening. Screaming, he was sucked into the rainbow.

The survivors crawled for cover, but Kun showed them no mercy, firing at anything that moved. John joined in, sticking his head up enough to see what he was shooting at. His fire caught one of the raiders dashing between a couch and a cabinet. The man fell without a sound. But instead of lying there bleeding, he turned black, not the cloth black of his clothes, but a total, utter, light-swallowing black.

And then he was gone.

Only a few drops of blood remained to show that he had ever been there.

The firing died down. There was furtive movement on the other side of the chamber, but none of the attackers showed themselves. John thought he heard voices and guessed that the raiders were conferring. Kun took the opportunity for a conference of their own.

"Bear dead?"

"Can't tell," John replied. "Don't see much blood, but he's not moving."

"Anybody else hurt?"

Faye shook her head, her tousled hair and hard-eyed expression making her look feral. She held a knife she'd gotten from somewhere.

"Just Harry," John said.

"f.u.c.k him. You see the elf lady anywhere?"

The Lady of the Lakes seemed to have disappeared.

"Not since the shooting started. She was standing right next to Bear."

"Elves don't seem to be much for hanging around when it drops into the pot."

John couldn't deny that.

"How's the doctor?"

"b.u.mped her head. She's too dizzy to be helpful."

Faye laid her hand on his arm. "John, they're surrounding us."

"Better shift over here, Reddy. I'll cover you."

"What about Harry?"

"Leave him."

"But I can't-"

"John, they're coming. Let's go." Faye ran toward Kun's position.

John followed. Miraculously, they made it to where Kun and Spae were waiting without getting hit.

"Only two firing on overwatch," Kun said. "That would make a half-dozen unaccounted for."

"Over by Caliburn's place," Faye said.

"Flankers," Kun p.r.o.nounced them.

John looked and caught a glimpse of a black figure disappearing behind a cabinet. Another flashed between a dividing wall and one of the couches. Kun ordered them to shift around to a position where they would have cover from both the overwatchers and the flankers. By the time he was satisfied, they were under fire again and the flanking raiders were advancing across the area where Bear had gone down.

Looking like a b.l.o.o.d.y spirit of vengeance, Bear rose up behind the flankers. He held Caliburn in his hand. He raised the sword high, adding his free hand on the pommel to take a two-handed grip as he advanced. Their overwatchers spotted him, but with partners between them and Bear, they shouted a warning instead of firing. The raider nearest Bear tried to turn and face the threat, but he didn't get halfway around. Bear swept the sword down, burying it in the man's shoulder. The raider fell with a strangled cry, blackening as Bear pulled the sword free. Bear stepped through the s.p.a.ce the man had occupied and was in among the rest of the flanking party, sword swinging.

Kun's elbow jogged John out of his openmouthed inactivity. The agent popped up to fire at the raiders on over-watch. John rolled to the edge of the cover to add his weapon fire to Kun's effort. Just then, the raiders around Bear broke, scrambling away. Two more of them had gone down to Bear's sword work. The two survivors fired as they ran, but Bear was too fast, ducking to safety behind one of the low walls.

The failure of the flanking maneuver seemed to sap the raiders' will. They started retreating toward the hole in the air, firing as they went.

"Let them go," Kun shouted.

The black-clad forms leapt over the rainbow line into the nacreous white and vanished one by one. The polychromatic circle contracted into a ball and winked out. Whoever they were, they were gone, gone back to wherever they came from.

"And good riddance to them."

John and Kun, weapons ready, spun at the sound of the voice, but Bennett didn't look at all impressed.

CHAPTER.

25.

With a ripple of air, the Lady of the Lakes appeared at Bennett's side; and that, John supposed, was what saved him. At least John was sure that was why he hadn't tightened his finger on the trigger of his machine pistol; no one seemed interested in hurting the Lady. Not that he wanted to shoot Bennett, but the fight with the raiders had left him ready to fire at any unexpected thing and Bennett's appearance was certainly unexpected. With a sigh of released tension, John lowered the weapon.

"You can come out now, Artos," Bennett called. "I know you have Caliburn, so you're not going to surprise me with it."

Bear emerged from behind a cabinet. Blood streamed from his wounded shoulder and he was shaky on his feet. "You're late again, Bennett."

Bennett chuckled. "As usual, you misunderstand. I wanted Caliburn free."

"You'll never take it from me."

"I don't intend to. You've already accomplished what I sought. Caliburn unbound is what I sought. That, and my son."

"What?"

Bennett laughed at Bear's confusion. "I thought it most amusing that you took him as your 'man.' "

"Jack, what's he talking about?"

"See for yourself," Bennett said.

John felt a blast of hot air. Bear's eyes went wide, as though he were seeing John for the first time. In a way, he was; John didn't need a mirror to know that his true face and form had been revealed at last. Bear's gaze pa.s.sed from John to Bennett and back, his expression darkening into a scowl.

"I've been blind. You've been a serpent in my camp all along."

"Bear, I-"

"Speak no more to me, traitor."

Bear moved over to Kun and Spae, but kept his face turned from John. In a way it made it easier. The expressions on the faces of the other two were hard enough to bear. Too hard. John turned away to avoid seeing their betrayed looks.

"Behind you, Jack," Bennett called, gesturing over John's shoulder as he spoke.

To the tolling of a great iron bell, John turned to see Kun and Spae standing unnaturally still. Kan's weapon was half raised and a faint light flickered around the tip of Spae's staff. It died even as John saw it. Bear was stepping forward, Caliburn ringing in his hand. Bear took another step toward John and Bennett. At John's side, the elf gestured again. The sword toiled as the spell struck, but the tone cut off as Caliburn slipped from Bear's grip. The blade clattered as it hit the floor, not like a bell at all. Bear came on and Bennett gestured yet again. Bear, shorn of the sword's protection, stilled into immobility.

"You see, Jack? He is not so great and powerful, after all. Just another lumbering human who is ready to kill an elf without asking questions first."

"Questions like, what do you think you're doing?"

"Exactly like that. I took action only to ensure your safety."

"They wouldn't hurt me." "You trust them far too much." Bennett held out a slim bladed dagger of dark metal. "Take this, Jack."

John took it; it was lighter than he expected.

"The blade is ensorcelled and will pa.s.s through the stasis."

"You want me to kill him," John said, not really believing it.

"Now that he knows who and what you are, he will tiy to kill you. You heard what he called you. In his time, a traitor to the king was killed out of hand. Act now, and save yourself trouble in the future."

John looked into Bear's face. Could he hear what was being said? Was what Bennett was saying true? Bear's lips remained frozen, and his still, staring eyes held no answer.