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Authors: John Dechancie
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Sorry, I shouldn't be kidding around. I realize this is a serious matter, what with your friend involved."
âWe're worried, sir. And we do need help."
âPlease, don't call me âsir.â I got out of the prince business long ago. âTrentâ will do."
âCertainly ... Trent."
âThat's better. Sounds more like you trust me."
âHow could we suspect you when you helped Incarnadine against the Hosts of Hell?"
âI was fighting to save Perilous, not necessarily my brother."
âI see."
Trent shrugged. âJust being honest. And I was only half joking about my being a suspect."
âI trust you,â Sheila said firmly.
He smiled, showing astonishingly white teeth. âThank you. And I you.â He put down his glass. âWon't you stay for lunch?"
âWe'd love to,â Sheila said, with deep-seated reluctance, âbut Linda is working on a spell to locate Gene in the castle, and she needs all the help she can get."
âI thought you were pretty sure that Gene disappeared here."
âIt's just my magician's intuition again, but there is the slight possibility Gene might have slipped past the guards at Halfway House. I didn't want to say anything, but once I found both of them asleep in front of the TV."
âYou should have reported it,â Trent said. âThey should be disciplined."
âWell, I didn't want to get anyone in trouble. It must be boring to be stuck in that houseâ"
âThat's hardly an excuse."
âGene does have a key to the place. He could haveâanyway it's a possibility."
âThat means he could have disappeared inside the castle. By accident, I suppose. But as Gene's a castle veteran, more likely by design."
âBut again the question is âWho?ââ
âWell, let's go over the disappearance once again. You say Gene did board the plane in L.A.?"
âYes, as far as the airline knows."
âWas anyone supposed to meet him at the airport?"
âLinda's not sure, but she thinks Gene told her that his dad was supposed to pick him up."
âAnd you can't reach his parents?"
âNo, though I should try again from here. Or maybe when we switch the portal back to Halfway, I'll take a drive into Pittsburgh and see if I can't find them. We were afraid of doing that, causing them worry, but now I think we might have to."
Trent nodded. âIt might be the only way.â He thought for a moment. âDid it ever occur to you that Gene might have boarded the plane but never got off?"
âNo, it never occurred to me. Howâ?â Sheila frowned. âWouldn't the flight crew have wondered what happened to him?"
âMaybe. When they came up one short on the deplaning nose count, they would have searched the plane. When they didn't find him, they might have figured they just counted wrong. It happens."
Sheila chewed her lip, then said, âSo you think somebody meddled with the portal and had it link with the plane ... in midflight?"
âWhy not? It's not easy to do, but it's doable. Happen to know what kind of plane it was?"
âNo, not really, but I guess we can find out. Wouldn't somebody have seen what was going on?"
âIf it was a 747 or an L-1011, there'd be no end of room to materialize a portal. I'd do it in the head, myself. Perfect place."
âBut why go to all that trouble?"
âTo confuse things, keep you guessing,â Trent said. âI admit it's a wild possibility. But if true, it means that the portal was meddled with from the castle side, unless someone was on the plane to manipulate things from that end. I guess that's a possibility as well. Are you keeping a list?"
Sheila shook her head glumly. âThere are too many of them. I wonder if we'll ever know what happened to Gene."
âDon't worry. We'll find him."
âBut it's been almost four days."
âNot to worry. There are any number of universes, and he could be anywhere in any one of them.
âWe're worried, sir. And we do need help."
âPlease, don't call me âsir.â I got out of the prince business long ago. âTrentâ will do."
âCertainly ... Trent."
âThat's better. Sounds more like you trust me."
âHow could we suspect you when you helped Incarnadine against the Hosts of Hell?"
âI was fighting to save Perilous, not necessarily my brother."
âI see."
Trent shrugged. âJust being honest. And I was only half joking about my being a suspect."
âI trust you,â Sheila said firmly.
He smiled, showing astonishingly white teeth. âThank you. And I you.â He put down his glass. âWon't you stay for lunch?"
âWe'd love to,â Sheila said, with deep-seated reluctance, âbut Linda is working on a spell to locate Gene in the castle, and she needs all the help she can get."
âI thought you were pretty sure that Gene disappeared here."
âIt's just my magician's intuition again, but there is the slight possibility Gene might have slipped past the guards at Halfway House. I didn't want to say anything, but once I found both of them asleep in front of the TV."
âYou should have reported it,â Trent said. âThey should be disciplined."
âWell, I didn't want to get anyone in trouble. It must be boring to be stuck in that houseâ"
âThat's hardly an excuse."
âGene does have a key to the place. He could haveâanyway it's a possibility."
âThat means he could have disappeared inside the castle. By accident, I suppose. But as Gene's a castle veteran, more likely by design."
âBut again the question is âWho?ââ
âWell, let's go over the disappearance once again. You say Gene did board the plane in L.A.?"
âYes, as far as the airline knows."
âWas anyone supposed to meet him at the airport?"
âLinda's not sure, but she thinks Gene told her that his dad was supposed to pick him up."
âAnd you can't reach his parents?"
âNo, though I should try again from here. Or maybe when we switch the portal back to Halfway, I'll take a drive into Pittsburgh and see if I can't find them. We were afraid of doing that, causing them worry, but now I think we might have to."
Trent nodded. âIt might be the only way.â He thought for a moment. âDid it ever occur to you that Gene might have boarded the plane but never got off?"
âNo, it never occurred to me. Howâ?â Sheila frowned. âWouldn't the flight crew have wondered what happened to him?"
âMaybe. When they came up one short on the deplaning nose count, they would have searched the plane. When they didn't find him, they might have figured they just counted wrong. It happens."
Sheila chewed her lip, then said, âSo you think somebody meddled with the portal and had it link with the plane ... in midflight?"
âWhy not? It's not easy to do, but it's doable. Happen to know what kind of plane it was?"
âNo, not really, but I guess we can find out. Wouldn't somebody have seen what was going on?"
âIf it was a 747 or an L-1011, there'd be no end of room to materialize a portal. I'd do it in the head, myself. Perfect place."
âBut why go to all that trouble?"
âTo confuse things, keep you guessing,â Trent said. âI admit it's a wild possibility. But if true, it means that the portal was meddled with from the castle side, unless someone was on the plane to manipulate things from that end. I guess that's a possibility as well. Are you keeping a list?"
Sheila shook her head glumly. âThere are too many of them. I wonder if we'll ever know what happened to Gene."
âDon't worry. We'll find him."
âBut it's been almost four days."
âNot to worry. There are any number of universes, and he could be anywhere in any one of them.
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