A Magic King (23 page)

She would have screamed if she hadn't been frozen in shock. Then the shadow slipped closer, moving silently toward her. She gathered her strength to run when the vague form finally coalesced into the black panther.

Jane managed to draw an unsteady breath. "We need to arrange some sort of signal," she said to the silent cat, "so I know it's you appearing out of the black mists instead of some rabid thing from the Black Lagoon."

She stepped closer to the proud beast, wanting to bury her hands in the silken fur to reassure herself that the panther was indeed real. But as soon as she stepped forward, the cat slipped backward.

"Hey! Don't leave yet. You know," she continued, hoping her voice would soothe the skittish beast. "We really have to find a name for you. That is, if you intend to hang around for a while." Jane took a step forward, keeping her movements slow as she approached the cat. "How about Kitty? Too boring?"

The panther moved further into the woods.

"Okay. What about Smoke? That fits your present state of semi-reality." She again approached, only to have the animal withdraw another step. "Maybe you prefer Shadow? Ink Stain? Zsa Zsa the Wonder Cat?"

With each word Jane tried to move closer while the panther retreated then looked back, her black eyes glittering like shiny marbles. Finally, Jane stopped just short of the first few trees.

"Come on, Pantar. Don't run from me." She used the Common name for the cat thinking it might respond better to that. No dice. The cat stayed where she was, her long, sleek tail twitching back and forth in impatience.

"Look, I know you want me to follow you, but I hate the woods. I grew up on the flat plains of Illinois. Cornfields as far as the eye can see. Later, I moved to the big city, and I felt really crowded. But buildings have a sense to them, a regularity you don't get with these redwood type things." She waved at the huge, hulking trees that only seemed hulking because it was nighttime and very, very dark. "The bottom line is I'm not going into that woods. I'm not. So you better come to me."

She said the words. She even meant them, but when the panther stared at her with those mysterious, unblinking eyes, Jane felt like a petulant child who had just disappointed her mother.

"Don't make me do this. I've had a really hard day."

Jane crossed her arms, wondering if arguing with a black panther was a sign of insanity. The cat tilted her head as though she studied a strange new form of food.

Jane cursed under her breath. "This world just gets weirder and weirder." Then she dropped her indignant pose and stepped to the first tree. "I've got no sense of direction, you know. If you lead me in there, you better bring me out again."

Nothing. She might as well be talking to a black marble statue.

"Oh, all right." Jane clenched her teeth against her fears and moved into the woods. At first the pace was a steady, measured walk, but as soon as the panther realized Jane followed, she increased her pace. Soon Jane was scrambling through the underbrush, zipping past huge trunks and wading through vines that would probably give her some dreaded disease.

Then the panther disappeared. Jane had just struggled through some prickly ferns, cursing up a blue streak, only to realize she was alone. She quickly spun around, scanning everywhere, even above, but she saw nothing but foliage and shadow.

"Damn! I knew I couldn't trust a cat. My mother loved cats, but I always thought they were arrogant, conniving, sneaky, litt..." Her tirade was cut off midword when her heart jumped into her throat.

She'd seen something move, and it wasn't large enough to be the panther. Jane froze in her tracks, her mind spinning furiously through Dr. Beavesly's memories to find out what lurked in these woods. The answer wasn't helpful. Dr. Beavesly had never bothered to notice. After all, he was an inanimate form bonded to telephone wires. Slathering beasts couldn't hurt him.

They could, of course, easily rip her to pieces.

Belatedly remembering the dagger Daken had given her, Jane slipped it from its sheath. Then she stood, sweating, poised, waiting to be attacked.

Nothing.

Her muscles screamed with tension. Her head started to ache and her vision blurred from constantly scanning the shadows for another shadow of indistinct shape that could possibly eat her alive. It was ridiculous, and so she told herself a dozen times.

After five more minutes, she couldn't stand it anymore. She dropped her dagger into the dirt, then collapsed onto a log in disgust.

"Great. Just great. Some first day as the great Oracle. I get a bastard castrated, tick off his Elven high muckimuck, and manage to get myself completely and totally lost. Ah, hell."

She let her head fall into her hands and wondered if she could afford a moment of complete and total self- pity.

She didn't know when it happened. There wasn't even a sound. But slowly, gradually, awareness prickled at the base of her neck. She had the uncanny feeling she was being watched or that someone or something was nearby. Very close.

The hair on her body rose to painful attention as she slowly lifted her head, and nearly fell off the log.

Directly in front of her was a dagger held by a person.

It was another heart-stopping moment before she realized it was her own dagger, extended hilt first. It was another moment before she recognized the shadowed face.

"Steve! Criminy, you nearly scared the life out of me.

He didn't move, and eventually she realized he was giving her dagger back to her. She took it and sheathed it, using the movement to steady her racing pulse.

"You know Steve," she said, switching over to Common. "I'm too old for this. I used to think what my life needed was a little adventure, a change of scenery, a little adrenaline from chasing the bad guys. I thought it would spice up my life."

She looked up at the silent boy in front of her.

"But I've decided I'm not cut out for adventure. I get lost in the woods. I hate cats. And as for a change of scenery, well... What I wouldn't give for a good pizza and my heat-controlled, vibrating easy chair."

Steve hadn't moved. She wasn't even sure he was alive. His pale eyes seemed an eery silver in the moonlight. It was disconcerting until she realized what he was doing. By posture and attitude, he conveyed that he was her servant, waiting to do her bidding.

Jane sighed, kicking herself for her stupidity.

"Please, Steve, sit down. It's just as well I got lost here because I wanted to talk to you." She glanced up again at the silent figure. "Can you understand me? I mean, I know my Common isn't great. I'll try to speak more clearly."

Steve sat beside her. He moved faster than she would have believed. Like a wild forest creature, he was totally still one second, then gone in the next, slipping into his next spot faster than a raindrop can fall from the sky.

"You'll have to teach me that."

He didn't answer, not that she'd expected him to. So she took a deep breath, trying to sort through her jumbled emotions to the right words.

"Look, I wanted to find you so I could say I'm sorry."

She felt the jolt of surprise hit his small body. It was actually a very small movement, a slight twitch that could have been a hiccup for all she knew. But it was all she had, and she took it for a sign he was listening.

"I didn't handle things with Borit the Bastard very well. I'm not sorry I did it, just that I spoke out so publicly. You'll be happy to know he's been both expelled and castrated, so he won't hurt anyone else. At least not in that way. The main thing is you're safe now."

She stumbled into silence. They didn't touch, and she didn't want to look at him for fear it would be too intimidating or maybe just too direct. So she toyed with a stick she'd picked up, ostensibly staring at it, but in truth, her every sense focused on the boy.

"The problem is, Daken tells me I haven't really helped you. The way I've been singling you out, in the computer room and then..." She drew a deep breath. "I should have known better than to do that publicly. Or at least not with you there because now I've made you different, and my guess is that's the last thing you want to be."

He'd grown very still. He was quiet before. Immobile, but alert. But this was more than that. It was a stillness of the soul, and she didn't know if it was good or bad.

"I was just trying to help, Steve. Which may ease my conscience, but doesn't really do a whole lot for you. See the thing is..." This time she did shift to look directly at him. "We're all different. We've all got things that make us odd or strange that we'd like to hide from everyone else. But we can't because that's part of who we are."

She watched him now, studying his expression as clearly as the moonlight allowed. It wasn't an inspiring sight. She was losing him. Fast.

She sighed. "Okay. Forget the philosophy. Bottom line. I need some help. I fell into this world, not on purpose, but by some random act of chance. Now I'm here, and I want to keep it on track. I've got to stop mankind from making the same mistakes over and over again. The problem is, that as nice as my party was, no one really wants to give me the power to do what I think needs to be done. They don't even want me on the Council, not in any real sense. So I need someone on the inside. Someone who knows what truly goes on, where the real power is, and can key me into it."

She'd gotten him back. His eyes finally lifted to her face to watch her as intently as she studied him.

"I have a hunch you know a heck of a lot more about what goes on over there." She jerked her head to the left to indicate the University. Then she realized she had no clue where she was or where the campus was in relation to her, so she extended the motion to a silly swivel. "Or wherever the stupid place is."

Steve pointed to her right and back a bit.

"Ah-hah! You do understand me!" she said, pretending she'd been testing him. "Now here's what I propose. I want you to be my assistant. I'll teach you how to use the computer, retrieve information, and even fill in for me as needed." She watched his eyes grow into huge pools of shimmering silver. "In return, you'll help me get the power and respect I need to do my job."

She started ticking off items on her fingers. "You'll tell me when they hold Council meetings. You'll make sure I get to the right dinners and the right seats at the right time." Having worked in academia all her life, she knew the importance of seating arrangements. "You can even keep your ears open for any plots against my life." She'd been joking when she said it, but as the words came out she realized that wasn't far from the realm of possibility.

"In short, you'll look out for my best interests. And in return, I'll train you to take my place one day. Think you can do that?"

The boy was silent for a long time, but she never feared he hadn't understood. His steady gaze told her he was thinking about it, and that he was a good deal more intelligent than anyone gave him credit for.

She waited as patiently as possible for his decision. And like a born street kid, he made her sweat it out for longer than was comfortable. In the end, he nodded, and she grinned.

"Great. We're gonna make a fabulous team, Steve. I haven't felt this sure about anything else since coming to this crazy land."

She stuck out her hand, and it took him a moment to realize she wanted him to shake it. Hesitantly, he offered up his hand, and she clasped it as she would a partner's. His fingers felt small and fragile against her larger palm, but she knew he possessed skills she might never master. He had a street canniness beyond her abilities. She had the academic training and the drive.

They would be a good team.

"So, assistant," she finally said, "how about you show me the way out of this horrid place."

He glanced up at her, his head cocked to one side as though he questioned her sanity.

"Hey," she protested. "One man's sanctuary," she glanced around at the massive swaying branches that seemed to close in on her, "is another man's hell."

He looked at those same trees, an expression of peace and reverence settling on his features, and she knew she had guessed correctly. These woods were indeed where Steve ran for peace and solitude. She waited for a moment, then she nudged him in the shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah. They're beautiful. Big leaves, nice color. Now get moving before I freak out from claustrophobia."

* * *

By the time she and Steve arrived back at her apartment, Jane decided they had a marvelous rapport. Steve was widely expressive with both facial expression and gestures. Even without words, he provided a delightful commentary on her monologues. It also didn't hurt that he was the perfect listener, attentive and silent as she talked through her often-tangled thoughts. It wasn't until they entered her rooms that Steve reverted back to his silent, shadow-on-the-wall servant mode. And that was in the face of a furious, hulking brute of a man.

"Daken! What are you doing here?"

"I've been driving myself to distraction waiting for you! Where have you been, woman?"

"Don't you scream at me! Don't you know what time it is? People are sleeping."

Daken rounded on her, his jaw slack with astonishment. Unfortunately, it didn't remain that way for long. "Of course I know what time it is. I thought you'd gotten yourself killed by a zlebaar." As furious as he was, Jane noted he kept his voice down enough to wake only the people on this floor, not the entire University.