Ray stood outside the shack. He didn’t know what to say. He admitted he would

rather fire somebody than sell them down the river. He couldn’t make up his mind if

he was too soft for this job.

Johnny Mac stood next to a tree, glaring out in the distance. His hand flexed at his

side as he thought about punching things.

“He knew he was sending us into trouble,” said Johnny Mac. “He knew it, and he did

it anyway.”

Ray said nothing. Part of the job they had been given by their backers entailed

running into trouble. Having your assistant deliberately try to kill you, or cause you

to fail if you lived, had to be anger inducing.

Ray might have decided that going it alone was better just on the basis of what just

happened.

At least the weapon he had been given was a big help, instead of another

encumbrance.

Affirmative.

The door to the shack opened. Buble stumbled out. His pink fur had paled in the five

minutes since they had last seen him. His ears drooped down from the top of his skull.

The fur of his face stood out in all directions.

“I have to get back,” said Buble.

“No,” said Johnny Mac. “You stay right there. There’s no more ducking out for you.

You’re staying here until the job is done. If the Duke needs you, he will call you.

Until then, where I go, you go.”

“But the household needs constant oversight,” said Buble.

“Let me, Johnny,” said Ray. He put his metal arm around Buble’s shoulders. The

rabbit was taller, but he could just reach. He led the rabbit away from his temporary

master so they could have a small bit of privacy. “How do you feel?”

“I feel used and mistreated,” said Buble. “I can’t believe what that woman made me

do.”

He shuddered at the memory.

“I want you to look at Johnny Mac’s face,” said Ray. “Just a look. Now look at me.

I don’t want him to think we’re talking about him when we should be talking about

you.”

“He looks angry,” said Buble.

“And he is,” said Ray. “Right now, he might think that you tried to kill him on

purpose, and in violation of whatever deal he struck. He doesn’t know for sure. He

might be inclined to be lenient as long as you don’t give him a reason not to be. Once

he really starts thinking that you tried to kill him and deserve no mercy, what do you

think is going to happen to you?”

“He can’t really do anything to me,” said Buble. A look of smugness crossed his face.

“He’s only human.”

“You are so wrong and such an idiot,” said Ray. He rubbed his face with his normal

hand. “How did that five minutes feel? How do you think five years will feel, or five

centuries?”

Buble blanched at the thought of five centuries in Ishvar’s service attending her

intimate desires. All of his fur stood out.

“He wouldn’t dare,” said Buble. “The master would be angered.”

“We didn’t get picked because of our fundamental common sense and decency,” said

Ray. He wondered how much of this was a lie, but decided to press on. “We got

picked because of our ruthlessness and desire to get something as a reward for a job

done. As long as Johnny Mac is holding your leash, he has the final say. And if

something happens to him, it’s your butt on the hot seat.”

Ray paused to let that sink in.

“How does the Duke reward traitors?,” he asked.

Buble started crying into his hands. Loud sobs filled the air as he covered his round

face and shook in place.

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“Look,” said Ray. He patted the butler on his back. He didn’t know what else to do.

“Just keep your head down, watch what’s going on, and pull when the rest of us pull.

Johnny Mac will forget this as long as we’re making traction. Don’t try to screw us

again, and remind him before you get released.”

He leaned in and whispered, “You don’t want to be Ishvar’s plaything for five

millennium, do you?”

“He wouldn’t,” said Buble.

“He would,” said Ray. “Don’t cut your own throat.”

He made a throat cutting gesture with his metal hand.

Buble looked at him in real fear. Both hands seemed to be trying to stop him from

screaming.

“Calm down,” said Ray. “We need you, but don’t think you’re indispensable. And

don’t think Johnny Mac won’t get rid of you if he doesn’t like you. You ready? Put

on your game face.”

Golden armor walked out of the shack. Ray frowned at it. The only feature was a

symbol on the front that he couldn’t read, and the lamp couldn’t translate. He put it

down as a magic sign.

“How do I look?,” asked Ishvar. Her voice was muffled inside the full helmet she

wore. Ray didn’t see slits for eyes.

“Like a tank,” said Johnny Mac. He squinted at the full armor. “Are you sure you’re

going to need all that?”

“You can never be too careful,” said Ishvar.

“Lamp, is she really in there?,” thought Ray. He couldn’t be the only one who had

thought of remote control drones in a fantasy campaign.

Unknown. Can’t get a reading.

Ray frowned. He knew there were ways to look at things from his own world, but

decided that he would let the mystery ride for the moment. If Ishvar was present, then

he wouldn’t begrudge her the extra protection. If she wasn’t, he wasn’t going back

on her home ground to talk to her about it.

That would be a fatal mistake in his opinion.

“We have to get back to Barley,” said Ray. “Ishvar can look at the walls and see if

there is a way to trace them back to the summoner. Johnny Mac and Buble can try to

figure out who made arrangements on who put the wall together. Maybe there is

somebody in the masons you guys can root out. I have a network watching things, but

I don’t know if it caught anything while we’re away. If it did, I’m going to trace that

down. Also I have people looking around for me, so I have to check in with them to

let them know what we found out so far.”

“You have someone watching the wall?,” asked Ishvar.

“Not people,” said Ray. “More like golems, artifacts. I placed them to keep an eye on

things to give me a warning.”

“Can you show me how to do this?,” asked Ishvar.

“It’s not really magic,” said Ray. He thought about it. “It’s not magic that I control.”

“The general idea will be fine,” said Ishvar. “I will take off what you owe me in my

gratitude.”

Buble nodded at the thought of time being taken off the punishment he might be

inflicted with in the near future.

“Lamp, can you reach the drones we set up around Grandview from here?,” thought

Ray. He wasn’t sure about the distances involved. Did he need a clear idea of what

he was doing to do what he needed to do with the spark in his arm?

Negative. They are out of range.

“Can you feel the general direction?,” asked Ray.

A blue marker appeared in his vision. He turned until he was lined up in the direction

the marker indicated the town stood. He nodded.

“I can’t actually reach my viewers from here,” said Ray. “I don’t have the range, so

I am going to try something else if you guys will give me a second.”

“Go ahead,” said Ishvar. “I can feel the energy you are using. It is really close to

magic, but not quite.”

Ray nodded.

What he had changed the world. What magic did changed the world. It made sense

that they would be close if not the same thing in action.

“Lamp, this is going to get a little complicated so you might have to search my

memory for the intent,” thought Ray. “Ready?”

Affirmative.

“I want you to reach down to the edge of your range and set up a relay,” thought Ray.

“I want you to keep doing that until you can feel the drones on the other end. Can

do?”

Unknown.

A blue flame appeared in the distance. Another spark appeared beyond that. The

lightings were faster than Ray could identify each spot in view.

“Is it supposed to be doing that, Ray?,” asked Johnny Mac.

“I think so,” said Ray. The vents of his metal arm jetted small flames in the air.

Contact established.

“Can you show us an image of what is happening in Barley right now?,” thought Ray.

The university sprung into view in front of the group. It was about three hours ahead

of where they were and the sun was going down.

“That is something I never considered,” said Ishvar. “Remote viewing is done through

another plane usually. The image is not as sharp as this.”

“We’re looking at Barley in real time,” said Ray. “The problem is they are ahead of

us on the clock because of the distance. I’m going to miss my meeting if we don’t

hurry.”

“I can get us there instantly,” said Buble. He raised a hand.

“No,” said Johnny Mac. “That teleportation thing of yours wrecks my stomach. There

has to be an easier way of doing things.”

“Too bad there’s no way to send us down the signal to Barley,” said Ray. “It would

work just like Buble’s space fold.”

Method can be performed.

“Seriously?,” said Ray.

Have analyzed space folding. Can do a kinder method using relay system.

“Seriously?,” said Ray. “All of us?”

Affirmative.

“Everybody, huddle close,” said Ray. “We’re going.”

“What do you mean?,” asked Johnny Mac. He looked at Buble. The rabbit vanished

before Ray could use his new means of transportation.

“Lamp, try to be gentle at the other end,” thought Ray.

Affirmative.

“What are you doing, Ray?,” asked Johnny Mac.

“Energize,” said Ray, with a smile.