Marcus ordered the black mist that contained the demon's heart to disappear into a pocket dimension. The fiend wished it could learn where its heart was kept. In the meantime, the wizard had complete control over it.

Marcus departed. After the day's battle, he deserved a rest. He would call on his winged, female companion to help him relax. As he floated to his throne room, he thought to ask Tanetal to summon more creatures like the erinyes, but he decided to wait until all this unpleasantness was over.

"The life of the future ruler of the world can be so difficult," Marcus sighed and felt sorry for himself for a moment. Then he fell into a daydream about his glorious future.

Upstairs, Tanetal contemplated his situation.

"Fool! I am such a fool for not killing him long before this. Latenat!" The fiend moved around the room, extinguishing the magical fires and lights Marcus had lit.

Some of the flames were exceptionally difficult to quench, even for the fiend. The Red Wizard had become even more powerful than Tanetal had suspected.

"But I haven't taught him everything. If Phlan doesn't fall soon, that little human idiot will be the one suffering under the beams of Bane's glare. Latenat!"

Tanetal would have to speak with Bane again, to grovel and explain the failure in conquering Phlan. The fiend sighed a slobbering sigh as it anticipated the unpleasant idea.

Still, the pit fiend held out hope. When the mercenaries had been sacrificed in the pool of darkness, he had absorbed some of the soul energy and gained power. Perhaps it had been enough to give him power to stand up to the god of strife.

He would be careful not to reveal too much of his own power in the next meeting with Bane. The god would be suspicious. Bane was a jealous lord, so Tanetal's best hope was to gather a strong army, overwhelm Phlan, and provide the god with many souls for the pool.

The beast grunted. "Yes, little human. I will call Bane once again. But the god will know who is in control here. Latenat!" He hissed as the last of the magical lights were extinguished.

8

In the dim light of dawn, Evaine's spell to locate the pool ended abruptly. Her traveling mind was instantly dumped into her brain. In the woods once more, she realized her face had been dusted by the white powder of the pulverized crystal, but she was otherwise unharmed. She looked up toward Gamaliel.

The cat was already on his feet. If I didn't know what a strain you'd just been through, I'd tease you about looking like a carnival clown. But you need rest.

Without a word, Evaine brushed the dust from her face into the cloth in her lap. She carefully gathered the corners of the fabric, then held it up to Gamaliel, who took the cloth in his mouth and deposited it carefully into a metal cup near the bedroll. The powder would be used as a component for another spell.

The cat returned to his mistress, allowing her to lean on him to rise to her feet. Then he led her to the bedroll. She slid to the ground. Gamaliel grasped a corner of the blanket in his teeth and pulled it up to Evaine's shoulders. He muzzled her cheek and ear, purring. Are you going to be all right?

Evaine didn't open her eyes, but answered the cat. "Yeah, Gam, I'll be fine. I just need to rest. Take care of things for me, will you?"

Gamaliel stretched out on the blanket alongside Evaine. His front paws lay extended in front of him. Don't worry about anything, mistress, he said, nuzzling her hair. We've been here before.

Evaine was already asleep. Gamaliel knew she might sleep for a long time. His job was to protect his mistress as long as necessary.

The sorceress awoke in complete darkness. The coals left in the firepit had died, but she saw two points of light in the dark. "Gam? I sure hope that's you."

The cat was at her side in an instant, ready to mother her. You slept nearly a full day. It'll be dawn in another hour. Here's the waterskin and some dried fruit. You'd better eat something so you can begin to recover. The cat dropped the items into Evaine's hands. She followed his orders without question.

After a few minutes, Evaine felt better. Her mind was clearing, and her body was regaining energy. "Gam? Thanks for looking after me. Sometimes I don't know what I'd do without you."

I know. Sometimes I don't know what you'd do without me either, answered the cat. Now that Evaine was recovering, Gamaliel had reverted to his usual teasing self.

Evaine just laughed. She couldn't find it in herself to be upset with the cat-she was too accustomed to his attitude. In fact, she often thought to herself that she wouldn't have him any other way, but she'd never admit that to the feline.

"I'm going to lie here until the sky lightens, Gam. Have you eaten anything? Why don't you find yourself some breakfast? I'll be fine." Evaine really was feeling better and knew her companion must be hungry.

Gamaliel hesitated, but then decided that it wouldn't take long to hunt up some food. He rubbed her hair with his nose, then crept into the woods.

Evaine dozed. When she awoke, Gamaliel was polishing off a large trout. She wondered why he never tired of eating fish. She watched as the cat finished the last scraps, then meticulously began to wash himself. It was a careful, perfect habit that Evaine never tired of seeing. In her life of adventure and challenges, simple, normal routines were a comfort.

As Gamaliel finished, Evaine rose and stacked tinder and kindling onto what used to be the fire. She spoke a single word of magic, and a bright green flame appeared on the tip of her finger. She held it to the tinder, and, in moments, the wood was ablaze.

Are you sure you should be doing that? You've had a rough time. A person can handle only so much magic, you know.

"Are you kidding? This is nothing. I hardly have to think about this trick anymore. I can remember when I first learned this spell. I was so impressed with myself that I did it all the time. But now it's almost second nature." She smiled. "Don't worry, Gam, I'll be fine. But I won't be spying on the pool for at least a week. That spell would be too much." Much as she hated to admit it, Evaine was drained by the pool spell. The incident would have killed a weaker wizard.

So what happened, anyway? It didn't look like your scrying went well. You looked as if something went wrong. Gamaliel was eager to hear the story, but knew he had to wait until she was ready to tell it.

Evaine sighed. "Something did go wrong, I think. I really don't understand it." She looked at the cat in the growing light and suddenly noticed great ragged scratches on the side of his face and along one shoulder. "Gamaliel, what happened to you? You look like you were in a war! What went on while I was asleep?" Evaine instantly arose and picked up her pack, rummaging for a healing ointment.

Oh, it was nothing, really. The four wolves ran off as soon as they got their noses singed on your protective spell. It was the pair of owlbears that gave me a little trouble. Gamaliel was obviously proud of his victory, and his feigned modesty made Evaine laugh.

"Mister Tough, eh, kitty? You amaze me sometimes. How did the creatures get through the ward, anyway?" Evaine rubbed the ointment into the cat's wounds. The scratches healed before her eyes.

The first three got cooked when they touched the ward. That broke the spell, though, and the other two just sauntered in. I was ready for them, of course, and made short work of them. And to answer your next question, I dragged the bodies into the woods. They didn't smell too nice, and I didn't think the first thing you should see upon awakening was a pile of disgusting bodies. Gamaliel tilted his head proudly.