unite their strength against him. He would divide and conquer.

It would be soon now. He was looking forward to it.

unite their strength against him. He would divide and conquer.

It would be soon now. He was looking forward to it.

The trip from Albuquerque to Santa Fe was much more pleasant than the flight out from New York.

They drove. Neither Wyrdrune nor Kira was bothered by airplane flights, but while Billy enjoyed them,

Merlin was a white-knuckle flier, which had made for a curious time with the flight attendants. Merlin

kept asking for a drink, and the flight attendants, quite naturally, refused to give him one.

Fifteen-year-olds were not allowed to drink, no matter how deep their voices were. And despite the fact

that the pilot adepts kept the plane flying by means of sorcery, which they had learned through programs

of instruction Merlin had helped devise, the old mage simply didn't trust them.

It didn't help much that the in-flight movie was a Ron Rydell feature, the latest in his long and successful

series of "Necromancer" films. Merlin still could not forgive Rydell forAmbrosius! a film Rydell had made

about his life, which had started out as a serious historical drama and ended up as a musical, with a

singing and dancing Merlin portrayed by a hammy British actor and a Morgan Le Fay played by the

director's former girlfriend, in spike heels, garter belt, and leather corset. With Merlin and Billy trading

personalities back and forth, alternately enjoying the film and making rude, sarcastic comments, the flight

had threatened to get ugly. Twice, the flight attendant had caught Billy with a drink, which Merlin had

magically hijacked from her cart, and only the threat of being met by airport security officials when they

landed stopped their mutual shenanigans.

The shuttle from Albuquerque deposited them in front of the entrance to the historic La Fonda Hotel, on

San Francisco Street. Located on the downtown plaza, it stood on the site where the legendary Santa Fe

Trail had ended and it was one of the oldest establishments in town. It had changed hands and been

enlarged and refurbished several times through its long history, but it still had the authentic look of a large

southwestern inn, though Billy thought the huge adobe building with its squared towers and exposed long

beams resembled a fortress out ofGunga Din .

As they walked through the spacious, Spanish-style lobby, they saw people dressed in casual

southwestern style: women in hand-tooled boots and long, flowing cotton dresses with beautiful squash

blossom necklaces; men in faded jeans, western shirts, boots, and Stetson hats; as well as young people

dressed in the more urban renaissance punk style, with skintight breeches and chain-mail leather jackets.

Some people were garbed in Nouveau Medieval fashions, women in graceful, form-fitting gowns in silk

and satins, with slender girdles of gold and silver chain encircling their waists, and men in breeches, high,

soft leather boots, and medieval cotton tunics embroidered with gold and silver thread.