The Far Side Of Forever Part 41

"No, no, not that," I interrupted, impatient with being fussed over but trying not to show it, "There's something about Morgiana's spell that doesn't make sense, but I can't seem to figure out what it is. It was a perfectly straightforward, selective forget-spell, so what could be wrong with it?"

"You're asking me?" he said with a snort of amuse- ment, taking his arm back before lying flat in the straw. "1 may know more about magic than the others, but I don't have the necessary equipment to be involved with spells.

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Didn't it work right? Or didn't it all leave you when it should have?"

"It seemed to work right," I said, leaning my elbows on my folded legs as I prodded mentally at the problem.

"And as far as I know it all left me when it should have.

Of course there's no way of knowing if it all left me, not until or unless the rest of it goes, if there is any rest of it-"

I broke off and sat very still, finally seeing what had bothered me, but it still didn't make any sense. Or maybe I should say it made even less sense after I was able to see it clearly.

"Rik, the spell lasted as long as it was supposed to, then it dissolved the way it was supposed to," I said, looking at him where he lay in the straw. "How do you suppose it managed to do that?"

He opened his mouth, probably to say he didn't know, and then he closed it again with a frown and sat up slowly in the straw.

"As I understand it, a spell has to be maintained by the one who cast it," he said thoughtfully, thumbing through his memories. "As long as the Sighted is in the same world with you, the spell won't weaken or dissolve. If you leave that world or the Sighted does, the spell is immedi- ately canceled-unless it's been cast over somethmg inani- mate and has been made self-sustaining."

1 'Or unless the Sighted has given the job of maintenance to someone else," I added with a nod for the rest of what he'd said- "Now, Morgiana traveled more than I did, but I've spent some time on worlds other than my own, and there were occasions when we were both away at the same time. If her forget-spell needed to be maintained, who was doing the maintaining?"

"Who was around when she wasn't?" he countered with a small shrug. "Isn't it possible the wizard had something to do with it? If he was there as often as he said while you were growing up . . ."

"Rik, the forget-spell worked perfectly, and dissolved exactly on cue," I reminded him. "Look around you, Who's the only one who was around then-and is also here now?"

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"But I thought you said you couldn't See," he pro- tested, looking as unsettled as I felt. "If this world doesn't allow magic, how could you have been maintaining a spell?"

"That's what I'd like to know," I muttered, looking hard at the inside wall of the bam. All I saw was rough, shadowy wood and braces, nothing that had to be Seen.

"Morgiana obviously set up her spell to be maintained by my talent, but how can a talent maintain something when that talent isn't there?"

"And yet, it has to be there." he said, straightening with frustration where he sat. "I hadn't noticed it sooner, but your forget-spell hasn't been the only spell which was maintained. Dranna hasn't forgotten how to ride a horse since we came through the gate, Su can stilt follow any trail she wants to follow, and Zail's finding that secret way into the palace seemed to be more man ordinary ability.

The wizard had to set up his own spells with you as the one maintaining them, otherwise they wouldn't have con- tinued past the first gate. That means I was right, and there is a way off this world involving magic!"

"You hope." I grumbled, not yet willing to share his bright-eyed-or glowing-eyed-*enthusiasm. "If you can't See a gate you can't use it, and all I-'m Seeing right now is a dim barn and soggy landscape. There's still no guarantee we won *t end up fanning next to those small, quiet people.''

"Well, if that turns out to be true, I can always accept the earlier job offer made me," he said, leaning back into the straw again with a grin. "Rikkan the First, G.o.d-king of the world. If you're a good girl, I might even let you join my harem. Provided you keep dressing like mat, of course.''

His grin widened and he began chuckling at the blush I could feel spreading all over me, even the parts that were covered. The problem was there were too many parts wicovered, and Rikkan the First was enjoying the view.

Blus.h.i.+ng, no matter how furious, has never been known to b.u.m anything, but every now and then it gets hot enough to start a small fire.

"Oh, I don't mink you'd enjoy having me in your harem," I said with what I hoped was deceptive mildness, also hoping he didn't see how deep my hands were going

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in the straw as I leaned toward him. *'If I ever find myself in that position, I'll consider it my duty to teach every other woman there to call you-'fearless leader'!"

With the last two words I picked up all the straw I could and threw it at him, catching him, as I'd thought I would, right in the face as he began to sit up. 1 laughed as he sputtered and batted his way through the storm, certain he would be glad that wasn't used straw he was in the middle of, but the laughing slowed when I was finally able to see his expression.

"That was very f.a.n.n.y," he said, wiping at his face one last time before starting to s.h.i.+ft to his knees. "Especially the part about what you were going to call me. Tell me, what was that name again?"

Not being an idiot, 1 was already sliding back in the straw away from him. trying to get enough distance be- tween us to let me climb to my feet, but it wasn't working.

He had more experience than most in moving on all fours, and even in human form he was faster at it than anyone had a right to be. I finally tried to scramble up and make a break for it, but two wide, bare arms closed around me, and 1 didn't go anywhere but back down to the straw. I tried once again to fight my way loose, but Kadrim had definitely been right: Rik was even stronger than the red- headed boy-man.

"You can't afford to even come close to murdering me," I pointed out over my shoulder as 1 squirmed use- lessly in his grip, fairly well pleased with the inarguable logic mat had occurred to me. "If you're right about magic being able to get us off mis world, I'm the only one who might have it."

"Oh, 1 would never murder you," he came back much too easily, and then I was on my back between his knees.

my wrists swallowed up in his hands. "It's just that being called that name does something strange to me. Part of that something, oddly enough, is that I suddenly feel as though I'm improperly out of uniform. I think I'll need my s.h.i.+rt back now."

"Oh, Rik, no!" I gasped, really upset, finding it impos- sible to get my wrists loose. "Please don't take your s.h.i.+rt back! There's nothing else for me to wear!"

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"But leaders are expected to be properly dressed," he countered, s.h.i.+fting his grip to hold both of my wrists in his right hand. "I would say mat goes double or triple for- certain kinds-of leaders. Other leaders, of course, don't have to bother with that sort of convention."

"Oh, don't!" I pleaded as his free hand went to the bottom of the s.h.i.+rt, obviously prepared to begin taking it off me. It fit like a thigh-length tunic, loose and very much too short, but still about a thousand times better than that stupid costume they'd put me into. And half of the cos- tume, the wide, bead necklace, was lost in the straw somewhere!

"Well, you really do have to remember that you were the one who first named me mat-certain kind-of leader,"

he said, paying a lot of attention to the way his hand was slowly pus.h.i.+ng the s.h.i.+rt up. "You're also the only one who keeps on calling me that. My, my, this costume they put you in really is brief, isn't it?"

"All right, I apologize!" I blurted, finally admitting I was beaten. "I'm sorry I called you fearless leader, and I won't do it again! I promise! Please don't take the s.h.i.+rt back'"

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid Proissed part of what you just said," he responded with a faint grin, raising those bronze eyes to my face as I squirmed helplessly in his grip. "I think you'd better say it again. All of it."

"I said I'm-sorry for calling you fearless leader," 1 repeated after swallowing, very much aware of the fact that he hadn't yet taken his hand away from the s.h.i.+rt. "I also said I-promise not to do it again."

"Now, that's a good girl," he approved with a wider grin, raising my arms out of the way so he might lean down closer to me. "1 accept your apology and your promise, but I think you ought to offer me a kiss to bind the agreement. What do you say?"

What could I say? With absolutely no choice in the matter I raised my face to his, but after a minute I was no longer thinking about choices. His lips were soft and warm, the sensations I felt incredible, and I realized that he'd freed my wrists only when 1 found my hands touching his back. I wanted to touch him very much right then, just

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the way he was touching me. In a little while I lost the s.h.i.+rt after all, but at that point I didn't mind a bit.

When it was over I lay very close to Rik, his arms still around me, listening to the soft sound of his breathing as he slept. It felt so unbelievably good to be held that way, and if it hadn't been likely to wake him 1 would have kissed and stroked his face.

"If you ever do end up in my harem, you won't have to worry about keeping your promise," he'd whispered be- fore making love to me again, his lips warm against my ear. "If 1 ever have a harem, you'll be the only one in it."

He'd chuckled at my blush of pleasure, and then we'd gone on to something much more wonderful than chuck- ling or blus.h.i.+ng. Making plans or promises for the future right then would have been stupid, but as I delighted in his warmth I suddenly found myself very eager for the quest to be over, and not only out of concern for the people of my world. Rik had said he didn't have to die in order for us to succeed, and I very much wanted to believe that.

Something else I had decided to believe was that we would find a way off that world, and I would do everything I could to help. If my talent was still maintaining spells, and there was no doubt that it was, then-

That line of thought broke off very abruptly when an- other, very obvious one came to take its place, and. sud- denly the cold and damp moved in despite the warmth I was surrounded by. There was another spell involved on that quest, one I'd thought was being renewed every time we pa.s.sed through a gate, but that would have been the hard way of doing it. As a sorceress I had enough strength to maintain a dozen spells without even noticing it, and the enemy had taken advantage of that. Rik hadn't made love to me because he wanted to, but because he was under the same spell Zail and Kadrim were.

I moved very slightly in the strong arms holding me, wis.h.i.+ng I could get up and go somewhere else, somewhere it was possible to hide. When we'd first started that quest, Rik hadn't even liked me; how could I have forgotten mat so completely mat I'd almost begun falling in love with him? Of course, I hadn't fallen in love with him, that