exaggerating

surprise, then he once more fell into Wyrdrune's attitude, duplicating his

posture and his frown. Wyrdrune folded his arms and stared at the mime with a

wry expression. The mime mirrored him, enjoying the laughter of his audience.

Wyrdrune unfolded his arms and took one step toward the mime. The mime

quickly

backed off a couple of paces, threw up his hands in an exaggerated expression

of

alarm, and then "constructed a wall" between himself and Wyrdrune. He mimed,

pressing his hands up against the invisible wall, indicating that Wyrdrune

couldn't touch him. The audience loved it.

"Fine," said Wyrdrune, scowling, "Have it your way." He mumbled under his

breath

and gestured at the mime, then turned and walked away.

Behind him, the smile slipped from the face of the mime as he suddenly felt a

real invisible wall before him. He spun around, stretched out his hands, and

encountered another invisible barrier. Frantically he felt all around him,

his

alarm growing as he realized that he really was trapped inside an invisible

box.

The audience laughed louder and louder at his antics.

"He sure makes it look as if he's really in a box, doesn't he?" one man said

to

his companion.

"Yeah, he's really good," the woman replied.

"Help!" the mime shouted desperately. "For God's sake, somebody help me!"

The audience laughed as he seemed to mime shouting for help and hammered,

panic-stricken, on the invisible walls with his fists. No one could hear him

through the invisible box, which extended straight up into the air for ten

stories and was open at the top, so he wouldn't suffocate for the three hours

he

would remain in mere until the spell wore off.

"Hey, warlock," said Kira as Wyrdrune passed the hot-dog stand. "Over here."

She stood next to the vendor's cart with her hands in the pockets of a black

leather jacket with chain-mail trim. She had on tight yellow trousers and

high

black boots. She wore her dark hair short, swept back sharply at the sides

and

down low over her forehead at a rakish angle. She was long-legged,

athletically

trim, and pretty in a slightly feral-looking way.

"You said in front of the arch," said Wyrdrune in an irritated tone. "This

isn't

in front of the arch. This is in front of the fountain."

"My, aren't we in a shitty mood today," she said. "I got hungry, okay? So sue

me." She turned to the hot-dog vendor and said, "Gimme one with the works."

The vendor, a sepulchral-looking black man with large gold earrings and a

shaved

head, ladled chili over a hot dog covered with sauerkraut, relish, onions,