Smoke and Shadows by Tanya Huff Page B

him?”
    â€œEssentially.”
    â€œSo all we need do is make our way to the soundstage and wait?” Henry asked.
    Arra nodded. “Be there at 11:15, it’s as simple as that. Research also indicated . . .” She glanced over at Tony, who curled his lip. “. . . that the mirror image of the gate equations would also work. On this world, that means there’s the potential for a gate every twelve hours. The Shadowlord will want to retrieve his spy and the information it carries as quickly as possible—he won’t wait until tomorrow.”
    â€œWait a minute!” Tony took two quick steps closer to the couch. “What the hell does essentially mean?”
    â€œIt means that it’s unlikely to be as simple as Ms. Pelindrake is indicating. It never is,” Henry continued when Tony spun around to face him. He returned his attention to the wizard. “Is it?”
    She shrugged. “It could be. The gate will open, the shadow will leave; any complications will be completely separate from that.”
    â€œLee?” When she didn’t answer immediately, Tony knew he was right. “Any complications will involve Lee, won’t they?”
    â€œIt’s possible he may have been damaged by the shadow’s possession.”
    â€œPossible?”
    â€œSome are; some aren’t. Those who are . . .” She looked inward, toward memory, and obviously didn’t like what she saw. “Some of them shake it off, some are damaged beyond repair; it depends on the individual and there’s no way of knowing until the shadow’s gone.”
    â€œSo what do we do?” Tony demanded.
    â€œTo prevent the damage? Once the shadow is in control, there’s nothing you can do. After . . .” Another inward look, then she shook herself free of the past. “There was a potion we had some success with in the early days, but the ingredients are a world away.”
    â€œCan you substitute?”
    An emphatic snort made her opinion of Henry’s question clear. “And what would you suggest I substitute for glinderan root, Nightwalker?”
    â€œThat would depend on what its properties were.”
    â€œYou’re serious?” When his expression made it obvious that he was, she snorted. “What do you care? Lee Nicholas isn’t yours.”
    â€œNo, but Tony is and Tony cares.”
    â€œSo you’re here, threatening me, because your exboyfriend . . .” She jerked her head in Tony’s direction. His lip curled. “. . . has a crush on an actor?”
    â€œI’m here, threatening you, because an evil wizard is attempting to gain a foothold in this world, my world. And the fact that I can make so ludicrous sounding a statement with a straight face should give you some indication of how serious I am.” Henry’s eyes darkened as he allowed the Hunger to rise, capturing the wizard’s gaze and holding it. “I will not sit by and allow that to happen and neither will you.”
    When he finally released her, Arra shivered. “Fine. If you put it like that, I guess I don’t have much choice.”
    â€œAstute of you to notice.”
    â€œThank you.” She heaved herself up off the couch, pushing past Tony without really acknowledging him, and walked into the dining room alcove where two computers were set up on a long table. Both screens showed partially completed spider solitaire games. “I’m blocked here by the queen of spades.” Arra waved toward the laptop. “Caution and an older woman. Now that you two have arrived, it’s easy enough to interpret the problem as my refusal to become involved.” She reached down and closed off the game. “Not really relevant now that my choices have narrowed a bit. This one, though . . .” The big seventeen inch monitor showed a game with almost all the cards in play. “. . . here I’m blocked by red twos. Hearts for love,