The whale creature was better suited to fighting on dry land than the serpent, and it reached Burke first. It grabbed the ambassador's jack like a doll in both hands and rammed him deep into its mouth. The creature ground its huge jaws together once, twice, and then threw its head back like a shark to swallow the chunks of its meal without further chewing. It turned to

Chainer and Laquatus, spread its arms, and bellowed defiantly.

"Well, that was entertaining," Laquatus said. "Perhaps we should just forget this ever happened and you can-"

"Three, two, one," Chainer said. "Go."

A bruise-black fist erupted out of the monster's sternum. The whale-thing roared and tried to tear Burke's arm off, but the gel man held on, and the creature only succeeded in ripping Burke completely out of its gullet. Burke's expressionless face showed no reaction to the layer of blood and bile that coated him. The mortally wounded whale-monstrosity fell onto its back and soon vanished.

"One more to go," Chainer said.

The sea serpent had at last found some traction and was undulating at Burke with its jaws wide. Burke regarded those jaws, and then he leaped forward. His spread-eagled body met the oncoming serpent's head, and Burke splashed across the serpent's face like an overripe piece of fruit. To Laquatus's visible amazement, the shapeless splotch of gel adjusted itself and willfully expanded across the serpent's mouth and nose until both airways were blocked. The serpent shook its head violently in an attempt to dislodge its tormentor, but the gel clung tight and would not be thrown off. The serpent's struggles grew slower, then feeble, then stopped altogether. Only when it disappeared out from under him did Burke reform himself into his humanoid shape.

"He's even better underwater," Chainer said happily. "He can smother gills as easily as lungs. The principle's exactly the same, keep air from entering the body."

Burke stood tall and silent, awaiting his next command. Laquatus woodenly began to clap, slow, measured applause that gave him time to think.

"Absolutely marvelous," Laquatus said. "Forgive me, Master. I did not fully appreciate the value of your gift."

Chainer smiled graciously. "Not at all Ambassador. There are many tasks a man in your position needs a reliable jack to perform. The Cabal is always willing to assist you."

Laquatus was still staring at Burke, his mind furiously churning.

"I'm sure," Chainer went on, "that you'll find something useful for Burke to do almost immediately."

That caught Laquatus's attention. "There are many ways I could employ such a champion. Some are more urgent than others."

"I also have urgent matters to attend to. Matters far less enjoyable than meeting with you, Ambassador. I wonder if we were to discuss these matters together, would we find a way to help each other, as we have done today?"

"I would be most interested in finding out the answer to that question, Master Chainer. I would welcome the Cabal's help and the chance to help the Cabal in return."

"Perhaps we should meet again before you head back below the sea. Tonight, for example. Over dinner?"

"I would be honored. Come to my embassy this evening, and we'll discuss the future."

"I am looking forward to it. Ambassador?"

"Yes?"

"I've heard wondrous tales of the great libraries of Mer. Is it true that they go back thousands of years?"

"Absolutely true."

"And if you had access to certain other… special documents… a man of your talents could uncover a secret that has been hidden for generations?"

"It would be my pleasure to try. More, it would be my duty. You have done me a great service here today, Master Chainer."

Chainer offered the ambassador his hand, and after a conspiratorial smile, he took it.

"The Empire and the Cabal," Chainer said. "May their interests always coincide."

PART FOUR: MASTER

CHAPTER 23

"Master Chainer?"

Chainer started and looked for the speaker. He was in his private chambers with his hands in casting position, facing the corner of the room. Deidre stood in his doorway, all eyes and sharp edges. She appeared more nervous and timid than Chainer had ever seen her before. She seemed shorter and slighter, but she still had the eyes, the hair, the teeth and the nails..

"I thought you were dead," he said. He lowered his arms and bowed.

"Oh. Uh, the First requires your presence, Master." Deidre's face began to soften and melt, running like candle wax.

"Don't go," Chainer said urgently. His vision fogged, and in Deidre's place stood Fulla. She was smiling savagely. Slowly, she snapped her fingers in front of Chainer's face.

Chainer shook his head to clear it. Fulla had vanished. Skellum stood before him, his hat tucked under his arm, his eyes shining and confident.

Chainer's stomach froze when he saw Skellum. The fresh pain of his mentor's death told Chainer that the apparition before him was a lie. Rage churned up the pain and soon overwhelmed Chainer's grief.

"Remember me," Skellum said.

Chainer angrily waved the phantom away. He closed his eyes tight, then opened them again. The only other person in the room was the frightened little blond messenger. Hadn't she been bit by a rattler? Chainer reached for the wall, but his depth perception failed him, and he almost fell to the floor.

"Big brother?"

Chainer found himself propped up between the wall and the messenger's birdlike hands.

"Haven't slept. What day is it?" he said. He stood and dusted off an imaginary cape. The First wanted to see him about the ambassador's new jack. Or had he already seen the First about the ambassador's new jack? It was something about the ambassador's jack, but a new something.

The messenger was staring at him with an absolutely hilarious mixture of pity and fear. Chainer laughed and stood up off the wall.

"Always make that face," Chainer said. "It suits you."

"Yes, big brother." She gave him a gentle shove and guided him out the door.

He remembered now. The First wanted to ask him exactly how much control they would have over Burke now that he had bonded to the ambassador. It was a simple matter and wouldn't take more than an hour. He would lie down on his cot when he returned, force himself to rest. Not that he was tired, of course. He just wanted to stop thinking for a while. His thoughts were starting to intrude on his fun, just as the crusat intruded on his time in the pits.

He watched the back of the messenger's head as they walked, and he felt more and more clear with each echoing step they took.

"The ambassador has expressed his satisfaction with your efforts, Master Chainer. Another job well done."

"Thank you, Pater."

"I understand that the demonstration was quite impressive."

"It was glorious, Pater. Burke performed even better than we'd hoped."

"And he is still under your influence?"

"Yes. He is bonded to Laquatus and will obey the ambassador's every command. But his essence is Cabal. Cabal magic, Cabal methods. He is Laquatus's slave, but he is the Cabal's asset."

"And if you wanted to, you could make another?"

This caught Chainer off-guard. "I suppose I could, Pater. Yes. If I had the Mirari to power the casting, a second Burke would be as powerful and as real as the original."

"Outstanding. Let us retrieve the Mirari from the vault. I would like you to create a duplicate of the ambassador's familiar for me."

Chainer felt an idea forming, and the first tingles of anticipation before a major challenge. "Such an attendant would be more durable than your human ones."