"Can anyone use this lift, then, or just us?" asked Billy.

"Just us," said Merlin. "It's spellwarded. It won't open for anyone else, and

only we can make it run."

"That's cozy," Billy said. He watched the lights over the door changing

swiftly.

The elevator was traveling at an astonishing rate of speed. There was almost

no

sensation of motion. And then it stopped at the penthouse floor and the doors

opened.

Billy couldn't believe his eyes. He stepped out of the, elevator onto a soft,

thick, handwoven Persian carpet. The huge penthouse living room opened out

before him, softly illuminated with indirect lighting. The dark glass wall

looked out over the glowing nightscape of the city. The center of the living

room was dominated by a sunken conversation pit containing a wraparound sofa

upholstered in soft black leather and a gleaming mahogany coffee table. The

walls were lined with bookcases holding hundreds of ancient, leather-bound

tomes

with titles written in many different languages. Among them Billy recognized

Arabic, Old English, Old French, Chinese, and even Aramaic, though he knew

none

of those languages and had no idea how he could tell what they were. There

were

several old, iron-banded, wooden chests placed around the room, as well as

bizarre bronze sculptures, primitive wood carvings, and a stuffed owl fixed to

a

perch. In the corner was an ornate wooden desk covered with scrolls and

parchments. There was a pipe rack on the desk, as well as a wooden humidor and

a

human skull with the top of its cranium removed so that it could hold a glass

ashtray. A small, square-shaped personal computer with thaumaturgically

etched

and animated chips also stood atop the desk. As Billy entered, it stood up on

chunky little legs and marched across the desk, turning to face him.

"Did you get me a modem?" it asked. It had a voice that sounded the way

people's

voices sound when they inhale helium.

"No," said Merlin, speaking through Billy. "I didn't have a chance."

"I need a modem."

"I know that."

"How do you expect me to work without a modem?"

"Will you stop pestering me?" said Merlin. "There aren't even any phone lines

in

this building. How do you expect to use a modem?"

"There isn't any power, either, but I notice you got the elevator and all

these

lights working just fine. You got power for your damn Gordon Lightfoot

tapes—you

can't get me power for a modem?"