May Contain Traces of Magic (48 page)

‘You're going,' Chris repeated.

‘Yes. Besides,' Jill added, reaching for the glass that the demon had drunk from, which still held about half an inch of liquid, ‘there are times when three's a crowd, and I think this is one of them.' She sniffed, then licked her lips and spat elegantly into a napkin. ‘That's one taste I won't miss,' she said. ‘If the grand design's ever going to work, we're going to have to do something about the way the stuff tastes.' She drained the glass and grinned at them. ‘So long,' she said. ‘I'd like to say how much I've enjoyed being your friends,' she went on, as the steam turned quickly into smoke, ‘but unfortunately I have too much regard for the truth. Try not to mangle each other too much. Bye.'

Then the flames took her, and she vanished.

Karen and Chris looked at each other for a long time. Then Karen said, ‘I think I'll go for the chicken korma, with pilau rice and some of that runny lentil stuff. What about you?'

‘Hang on,' Chris replied, and he opened his menu, and folded inside it he found a copy of
The Book of All Human Knowledge
, guaranteed to tell you what you really need to know or your money back; and since JWW Retail were really, really unhappy with the concept of refunds, he was pretty sure he could trust it, now, when it mattered. He opened it at random, and read:

Chris closed the book and the menu, put them down on the table and reached out his hand. ‘I'll have the same,' he said. ‘And a chapati.'