10.1

Portia knocked softly on the door to Cai's quarters on the ground floor of Castle Blackpool. It was past two in the morning. Minutes seemed to tick by as she waited for him to answer. She knocked again, hoping he was alone.

When he finally opened the door, it was obvious he had been sound asleep. The usually impeccably groomed seneschal's dark hair was askew. He looked as though he had just pulled on the nearest pair of breeches he could find, and had not bothered with a shirt. He stared at her with bleary eyes, and a pleased smile slowly spread across his face. He reached out into the hallway and yanked the diminutive woman inside his chamber, shutting the door behind her.

"You don't know how happy I am to see you!" he whispered, embracing her.

"You missed me that much?" Portia smiled, delighted by the reception.

"Absolutely. I was afraid you weren't going to keep your promise to stay in touch," Cai said quietly.

"I would have come sooner but I've been busy trying to convince Zyrdicia that the world isn't over. She's been a gloomy ball of misery since she left."

"Why, did something happen?"

"You don't know what happened?" Portia asked in wonder. "Oops. Well you didn't hear it from me, but..." Portia wished she could have seen his face in the dark as she told him the story about the events at the ruin.

"Unbelievable. She has to be lying."

"No way. I told you she's miserable."

"It would certainly explain why Prince Blackpool has been a royal pain in the..."

"Say it!" Portia giggled. "I dare you."

"You are such a bad influence! My knighthood and my station prevent me from using such vulgar language," he explained facetiously.

"Ass! Say it."

"Pain in the neck. He's been unbearable. But it's perfectly understandable that he would be angry if she actually did that. I am surprised he hasn't had Vector hunt her down and kill her."

"She had no clue how it might come across. She just freaked out. She's..." Portia stopped. "Let's just say she's never had this sort of contact with a mortal. The only relationship she's ever been in is a sick, violent one with a demon. She has no idea what to do. But she's crazy about him."

"So why didn't she come back when she came to her senses?"

"All her friends have told her how wrong she was to just disappear, and now she's convinced that he must hate her and she's afraid to see him again."

"I don't envy him. She's the epitome of every irrational quality a woman is capable of," Cai commented grimly. "What an ordeal for him to have to go through now, of all times."

"Why?"

"Things are bad here, Portia. I'm not exaggerating when I say that seeing you has been the only good thing that has happened since Midsummer." After he related the litany of disasters confronting Blackpool, Portia was silent. Cai had no idea the information was being relayed telepathically immediately to Zyrdicia in Lyr.

After a long pause, Portia suggested. "I think I can get you more of the elixir. Come on, let's get you dressed and go to Lyr."

"At this hour? Can't it wait til morning?"

"Not if the army is already infected. Every hour counts. No one really sleeps in Lyr."

"What do you have in mind?"

"We're going to go see Zyrdicia's Plague Master. Think of him as Vector, substituting illness for magic and you'll have a vague idea. He's the most spiteful, nasty creep of a guy I know, and I know a lot of spiteful, nasty guys. He loves Zyrdicia."

Portia banged loudly on the door to Dr. Krankstoff's laboratory. She hoped he was ready. This part of the plan she personally thought was pointless. Zyrdicia was calling the shots, however, and that meant that pointlessness would be the order of the day. Portia called out to Krankstoff when he did not answer.

"Oh, it's you," the old man said with obvious distaste when he opened the door. "One can't be too careful at night." He looked at Portia's companion briefly, but otherwise ignored him.

"Good evening, Doctor," Portia smiled thinly. "Zyrdicia sent me for a supply of the Death Spore elixir. How much do you have in stock?"

The old man pursed his lips and looked at Portia through narrowed eyes over his spectacles. "Two thousand plats a dose, and I have a thousand on hand. That would make 2,000,000 plats for all of it. Yes?"

"You are insane. Zyrdicia already pays you a salary. It belongs to her."

"Yes, but you are not she."

"You know damned well that I represent her."

"Ah, but representation is not an identity. You forget that she never speaks with me through an intermediary. My loyalty is to her, not you. Good night." He waved them out the door impatiently and banged it shut.

As they walked away, Cai muttered, "I have to return with a squadron of our soldiers and take it from him."

"Oh, you are such a man!"

"Which is why may way of solving this is reasonable," he countered defensively. That was how things were done in the North.

"Did you notice there aren't any guards here?"

"Exactly. It will be easy."

"You are thinking like Geoffrey!"

"That was harsh, Portia."

"There aren't any guards because he doesn't need any. He has the whole place trapped with his little creations. Everyone who has ever broken into this house has ended up in his experiments."

"So how else can we get the elixir from him?"

"Go find Zyrdicia and have her ask for it, obviously. They have a special relationship, as you may have noticed."

"I don't think I want to know what you mean by that."

"She will be very upset to learn that the plague harmed your prince's troops. She will want to help him. She's probably still at the Cauldron. Come on!"

Cai tried to mask his wonder as she took him through Lyr's winding streets to the Red Zone. At this hour, the Red Zone was at its most active. The streets were jammed with people. Prostitutes posed in store windows, advertising themselves. Gambling agents coaxed passers by into casinos. Shady characters hawked every mind-altering substance imaginable.

A long line of young, attractive Lyrians waited patiently outside the mammoth, temple-like Devil's Cauldron. "What are they waiting for?" Cai asked as Portia pulled him past the line to the front door.

"To get in."

One of the bouncers at the door smiled when he saw Portia. "Hiya, beautiful. Back already?" He kissed her cheek, much to Cai's irritation.

"Yeah. Is the boss still here?"

"Upstairs in the Sanctum. Hasn't left yet."

The bouncer opened the door to let the pair pass. Portia tugged a very distracted Cai along a darkened hallway filled with scantily clad men and women. A pulse of unrecognizable music pounded in the air. They passed into a cavernous room filled with even more people. The music was almost deafening in the room. Magical lights flickered on and off in the darkness illuminating strange dances. Cai had a hard time keeping himself from gawking.

In the back of the mirror filled cavern, another group of bouncers stood guard over a nondescript doorway. They greeted Portia and moved to let her pass. They barred Cai's path, however. "Sanctum members only, friend."

"Oh, get over yourselves!" Portia scolded. "He's with me. Obviously. Fucking idiots."

They apologized profusely. Portia could fire them on the spot. She could have some of Magnus' goons take them out back and gut them as a personal favor. A few unkind words about them to her boss would ensure them an even more unpleasant death. The large men had no intention of angering the little woman.

Cai and Portia ascended a long spiral staircase lit with magical, violet light. The music became a distant thump. The stairway emerged into an opulent chamber. It was the only place inside the establishment that was not crowded. It was quiet and inviting. Massive couches upholstered in purple velvet contrasted with the rich, black silk damask of the walls. Zyrdicia and Magnus' sat curled up together upon the couches. Her cheek rested contentedly against his shoulder as he held her tightly. A handful of friends stood around them, apparently consoling her. She seemed to not be listening. She stared vacantly at nothing in particular, her eyes filled with anguish. Portia approached, and whispered to Magnus that she needed Zyrdicia.

Magnus glanced at Cai curiously. He shook his head and answered loud enough for the seneschal to hear, "Forget it. She's useless right now."

"What do you mean?"

"After you left she had another bout of depression over that damned prince in Karteia. Anthony took it upon himself to fill her full of opium and who knows what else. She had already had a hell of a lot to drink."

"I'm going to kill Anthony..."

"Leave him alone! She needed to numb herself. She has never been this sad. Sometimes consciousness obliteration is a good thing. Better this than exterminating half the city. Besides, she's already sleepy from it."

"She's been so upset. She hasn't slept in four days."

"Exactly. I'll take her home and keep an eye on her."

"What do you mean, you can't talk to her?" Cai asked angrily.

"Her body is there but she might as well be unconscious. She's lost in an opium fog. If I try to get her to focus on reality in this state, she'll get mad. And if she gets mad when she's like this, she has no sense of the power of her magic. She could incinerate the whole city and not even realize it. To keep her from harming herself and all of the rest of us, we keep her very calm and happy - and well away from sharp objects. She'll sleep it off and I'll try again tomorrow."

"If she's in such a state, should you have left her with that man?" Cai might have been something of a womanizer in his native land, but he was sufficiently well-bred to have chivalrous instincts when he saw females in danger - particularly when those females were valuable to Prince Blackpool.

Portia shook her head, "Magnus? He's her best friend, besides maybe the dragon. He's the safest person she could possibly be with. No one will bother her while he's around."

"Portia, are you blind?"

"You don't understand. They're just friends." She saw Cai's disbelieving stare. Most rational people seeing Zyrdicia and Magnus would assume they were lovers. Inserting an element of jealousy into the farce had been Magnus' idea. Portia had no doubt that every detail would find its way back to Blackpool.