This was disappointing.
‘I guess we’ll never know about Vision BO55, then.’
‘Oh, I found that out,’ said Perkins. ‘Blix caught me after I read it.’
Tiger and I stared at him. Even the Quarkbeast looked interested, and Moobin, whom we had quickly brought up to speed on events while he was away in jail, was keen to know more.
‘The vision was nothing specific,’ said Perkins. ‘It just stated that Blix’s wife would be greater and more powerful than he, and ultimately the agent of his downfall.’
‘He’s not married,’ said Full Price. ‘Sorcerers rarely are. So what does it relate to?’
We all looked at Kevin Zipp for an answer.
‘Search me,’ he said. ‘It wasn’t my vision, anyway – it was Sister Yolanda’s. But if she says he’s married, then I suppose he will be – or was, or is.’
We mused on this for a moment. Sister Yolanda was usually right, but without Blix here to question, it would have to remain a mystery.
‘Look,’ I said, ‘Dame Corby.’
She was standing at the door as self-conscious as a latecomer to their own party. Standing with her was Tchango Muttney, who was only there because of no better option, and next to them both, Samantha.
‘She doesn’t look as though the ants obey her,’ said Tiger, commenting on Dame Corby’s appearance, which was that of a rather small, ineffective-looking woman, who didn’t like to look anyone in the eye.
‘iMagic is finished, the traitor Blix has fled,’ announced Dame Corby in a resigned voice. ‘We humbly beg to join your establishment in whatever capacity you think fit.’
She looked at Tchango, who nodded, utterly humiliated.
It was embarrassing for us, too, to hear a licensed sorcerer beg in this manner. It also proved what we had thought for some time: that Dame Corby’s shares in the family trouser-press business were not doing as well as she had boasted.
‘You are welcome here,’ said Moobin as he strode forward to greet them in the traditional manner, ‘but your status and duties will be decided by a committee led by our acting manager.’
Moobin introduced them and they shook my hand in a doubtful manner. I knew for a fact that Blix had referred to me as ‘that upstart foundling’ and it looked as if they shared the sentiment.
‘I have heard great things about you,’ said Dame Corby in a voice taut with forced politeness.
‘I too,’ said Tchango.
‘I’m Samantha Flynt,’ said Samantha in a breezy tone, giving me her hand to shake, ‘but it’s pronounced without the first “A”.’
‘Smantha?’
‘That’s it. I don’t have my licence yet, but I’m working very hard on my studies. It’s tricky because, well,’ she tapped her temple with a fingertip, ‘I’ve not much upstairs. Why are you staring at me?’
I took a step back and nudged Moobin.
‘What?’ he said.
‘Shifter,’ I said out of the corner of my voice.
‘You’re going to have to speak up. I can’t hear you.’
‘SHAPE-SHIFTER!’ I said in a louder voice, and pointed unsubtly at the apparently pretty girl in front of me. Moobin understood what I meant and had a standard Magnaflux Reversal on her in a heartbeat, in order to uncover the Blix hiding within. Surprisingly, there was no effect at all, except her ringlets disappeared, her nose became slightly less cute, her eyes reduced in colour and blueness and her waist size increased by half a size. A Magnaflux Reversal reversed all spells, irrespective of who cast them. She had been augmenting herself.
‘Whoops,’ she said, putting a hand to her nose, ‘this is, like, so embarrassing.’
But we had more important things to worry about than Samantha’s vanity.
‘Samantha, were you here ten minutes ago?’ I demanded.
‘It’s without the first “A”.’
‘Smantha, were you here earlier?’
Her now not-so-large eyes opened wide.
‘Absolutely not!’
Samantha had remained Samantha for the simple reason that she was Samantha. The first one had been the impostor. There was only one person it could be.
‘Blix is in the building,’ I yelled. ‘Containment plan “D”!’
Plan ‘D’ was one of several we had planned in case of emergencies. In this case, the possibility of something nasty being created that couldn’t be allowed to get out of the building. We’d used it on a phantasm a few weeks back who managed to escape from its bell-jar, and it was quite a job to get it back in – especially as a plan D seals the hotel, and there is only about four days’ worth of air contained within its walls.
Dame Corby and Tchango Muttney were the first to react by diving under the table with a yelp. They were more frightened of Blix than us, and they were meant to be colleagues. The Prices and Moobin responded more sensibly and steel shutters suddenly appeared across the windows and external doors with a chunk-chunk-chunk that echoed throughout the old building. Perkins dashed to the door to the dining room and peered out.
‘All clear out here,’ he said.
‘Wandering in here is a big risk,’ observed Full Price, ‘he must want something badly.’
‘He knows RUNIX and wants revenge,’ I said as a knot began to tighten in my stomach, ‘and we have four Gig of raw crackle sitting in the Palm Court.’
We tumbled out of the dining room and headed downstairs to the Palm Court, which predictably enough had a seven-headed dog with flaming eyes standing guard outside. It growled menacingly, the hair on its seven necks bristling aggressively while its fourteen front legs pawed the parquet flooring and drool dripped from its seven tongues and two hundred and ninety-four teeth.
Those less well acquainted with seven-headed dogs gave out a gasp of horror, but Moobin muttered ‘Amateur!’ and strode through the illusory beast, which evaporated like smoke. Once inside the Palm Court we found the excellent facsimile of Samantha Flynt working at the tear we had last seen open when Monty Vanguard failed so utterly to break the passthought. Next to her were Lady Mawgon and Monty, still stone.
‘I lost my way to the bathroom,’ said the faux Samantha as she gave a heart-melting smile.
‘It’s over, Blix,’ said Moobin.
‘Step away from the Dibble,’ ordered Full Price, index finger at the ready. I knew that he’d never newted anyone, but was itching to do so.
‘It might have looked like I was frightened by that dog thing,’ said Tiger, ‘but I wasn’t.’
‘She looks sort of familiar,’ said the real Samantha.
‘Quark,’ said the Quarkbeast.
‘We can negotiate your surrender,’ I said, stepping forward, partly to stop him being newted – he currently had eight fingers pointed at him, and while Perkins’ skills in these matters were questionable, I knew that the Prices and Moobin could take him in an instant. I think Blix knew this as he melted out of Samantha and back into himself. He made a move to give a slow handclap.
‘DON’T MOVE A MUSCLE!’ I yelled. ‘And very slowly: fingers toward the floor.’
Blix smiled but didn’t comply.
‘We can talk about this. All wizards together.’
‘Let him make a move on us, Jenny. I so want to take him out.’
‘No, Moobin. Blix? Fingers down. Really slowly.’
He looked at us all in turn, then slowly swivelled his hands until his index fingers were pointing straight down.
‘There is a passage in the Codex Magicalis,’ said Blix slowly, ‘which states that a wizard in trouble should always be afforded every help and assistance by every other wizard, irrespective of the trouble they may find themselves in.’