Chapter Five: A Fool and Her Magic Are Soon Parted

The Baron appeared mildly surprised, then looked behind him and chuckled—there were no bars at the back of the cage. He started to roll off the rug to exit there, but Tina saw her mistake and with a hasty wave of her hands closed that exit.

After bumping his head on the suddenly appearing bars, the Baron lowered the bear rug and slowly stood up in the cage to face Tina with his hands on the bars. “This is not merely a joke, is it?” he asked quietly.

“No joke.” Tina strutted up to him, naked and proud. “Your time has come, old man. I have your power and I’m taking over.”

She walked back and forth in front of the cage, fondling the amulet to taunt him.

“Why? I’d have freely handed over the Gift in a few minutes. I told you the truth when I said I was tired of it. What have you gained by doing this?”

“My real lover told me, ‘If you want power you have to take it.’ And here I’ve proved it. Now I’ll go back to him and together we’ll rule the world. Did you really think I loved you? You ugly, fat old man!”

The Baron laughed. Unworriedly he asked, “Did your lover ever tell you that a fool and her magic are soon parted?”

“What?”

The Baron walked through the cage bars as if they were illusions, trussed Tina again—even more securely than he had in play, but without gagging her—and threw her into the cage. She landed gently on the bear rug, which was floating again, struggled awkwardly to her feet, and tried to walk back out. But the bars she had passed through were now solid and cold. She could not reach the amulet strapped tightly to her body.

Finally, Tina sputtered, “How could you do that without the amulet? I’ve watched you, you always use it. You never let the amulet out of your sight. Even the villagers know that!”

“A red herring, my dear. Do you think I would be so rash as to let even the villagers know the source of my power?”

He barely glanced at Tina as he spoke. He was busily transforming the far end of the ballroom into a hideous temple interior. A grotesque idol occupied most of the far wall. Lighted braziers smoked around a large stone altar before it. From that altar rose a stone post with blood grooves radiating from it. Apparently the ritual of human sacrifice there required the victim to be standing.

Seeing herself ignored, Tina tried alternately to push through the cage’s bars and to loosen the straps that held her arms behind her. Both efforts were futile. Things were no longer going according to her plan, and for the first time that evening, she was truly frightened. When she became frantic, yelling and screaming as she bounced off the bars, the Baron bellowed, “Tina, will you stop fidgeting in there—please!”

So admonished, Tina regained control. She settled down cross-legged on the bear skin and watched as the wizard, with a final flourish, conjured wall torches for the temple area.