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high-pitched whine. Both lamp and table promptly ceased to exist, along with a geometrically precise ellipsoidal section of oak paneling on the wall. “Oops. Sorry about that,” he said to Max 2. “The field shape needs adjusting.”
    â€œForget it,” Max 2 said.
    Max 1 shot to his feet. “Where’d they go?”
    â€œNo way to tell with this baby,” Hochstader said. “Some backwater universe, probably. I usually use this thing for getting rid of trash. It also comes in handy for settling arguments.” Hochstader swung the gun around to Max 1 again. “Feel a sudden urge for a fresh change of clothes?”
    â€œUh, yeah,” Max 1 said, taking off his denim jacket. “Now that you mention it . . .”
    Hochstader said to Max 2, “Or I could just zap him.”
    â€œNo!” Max 2 said. “No need. You’ll make the switch, right?”
    â€œDo I have a choice?” Max 1 asked.
    â€œNo,” Jeremy Hochstader said. “Make it quick, guys. I have to get moving.”
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    CHAPTER TEN
    Â 
    â€œi thought you said you knew where the party was.”
    Cleve Dalton peered down a long, deserted corridor. “Thought I did.”
    â€œApparently you don’t.”
    â€œApparently I misunderstood. I was sure Gene said Arcadia.”
    â€œWell, we looked into Arcadia.”
    â€œI wonder if he meant Arctogaea, or said it and I misheard.”
    Thaxton said, “Damned if I can keep all these aspect names straight.”
    â€œThere aren’t very many that have names.”
    â€œOh? Isn’t there a book somewhere that names them all and notes their various characteristics?”
    â€œYes, the Book of the Castle, in several volumes. But I was talking about names everyone’s familiar with.”
    â€œI see.” Thaxton looked about. “Well, where is this Arcto-something?”
    â€œArctogaea. It’s in another part of the Castle. East wing of the keep, I think. That seems a long way to go, though.”
    â€œWhy don’t we try it? The walk won’t kill us.”
    Dalton gave the matter some thought before saying, “Maybe they chose it because Linda could work especially good magic in it.”
    â€œSounds reasonable.”
    Dalton nodded. “Yeah. On the other hand . . .”
    â€œUp to you, old man. Confound this bloody maze.”
    â€œI sometimes get lost myself, after all this time. Okay, let’s check out Arctogaea.”
    They walked back the way they had come. The halls were deserted, silent. The high stone walls led on and on, corridor after corridor, room after room. Castle Perilous was a daunting maze to all but the most seasoned castle-dweller.
    Thaxton loosened a button on his red smoking jacket, a garment he wore perpetually. Dalton usually wore slacks, loafers, and an old shirt. At one time he had been in the habit of gadding about the Castle in medieval costume, but gradually fell out of the habit over the years.
    They walked, noting aspects along the way. Nothing unusual presented itself: here a windswept plain, there a fenny heath. All were perfectly good worlds for exploring, but not for picnicking.
    Thaxton interrupted a conversation about the imminent wedding when he spied something to the right. “Hello, what’s this?”
    â€œSomething interesting?”
    â€œThought I saw a dancing girl.”
    â€œOh? Through there?”
    They peered into the aspect. Stately willows, cloud-hung skies, bright sunlight. A large dwelling—a manor house, perhaps—stood beyond a line of poplars. To the right, across a weedy lawn, stood a small section of woods.
    â€œCharming,” Dalton said. “A scene out of The Wind in the Willows. ”
    â€œEh?”
    â€œChildren’s stories.”
    â€œOh. Sir Richard Burton, wasn’t it?”
    â€œGood Lord, not Burton. I forget the author, as a matter of fact. Anyway, where are the