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.There wasshouting and chanting and bitching too, for many of these men had been here for quite some time.Emptycoffee cups from Starbucks littered the ground.Which was a bit surreal.Most of the major magickalwars of the past had happened before there were such things as chain stores or shopping malls.Zack blinked, and shuddered a moment.Surreal was definitely the word.On the steps, the old man screamed something in a language even Zack, who had spent his life as ascholar of the supernatural and paranormal, had never heard.Fire erupted from the ground in front of thehouse, but it wasn t just any fire.It was a purple-gray fire, which burbled rather than crackled, andseemed to flow rather than spark, and it blazed up high in front of the two acolytes now on the attack.The crimson serpents were eaten by the fire.The acolytes who had commanded them screamed in pain as the purple-gray fire peeled off their skinand then popped their eyes.The fire blazed as it was spattered with blood and vitreous fluid, as thoughgasoline had been thrown on it.The fire roiled around and over the dead acolytes, obscuring them fromview, and when it receded, all that remained were their bones and their shoes.Whatever lived withinthose eldritch flames, it couldn t abide the taste of leather, apparently.Zack wanted to throw up.But he would not underestimate the Gatekeeper again.The man was a menace to Il Maestro s plans,and therefore, he had to be stopped.Brother Zachary crouched down behind a bunch of acolytes whowere similarly positioned.They turned to glare at him almost simultaneously. Which one of you is Brother Thaddeus? he asked.A short, almost dwarfish man with a round potbelly and wire-rimmed glasses seemed to straighten up abit. You re the professor? the dwarf asked.Zack nodded, assuming this must be Thaddeus.The potbellied man looked around at the acolytes gathered nearby, and a broad grin crossed his face. Well, boys, he said, we ve got ourselves a specialist, now.He s going to succeed where everythingwe ve tried has failed. It was easy to read into his words and his tone. Believe it or not, Zack said. You think it makes any difference to me? You ve got something youwant me to try here, you let me know.If I wasted my time flying out, tell me we ve lost and I ll go onhome. The dwarf glared at him, nostrils flaring.The other acolytes puffed themselves up, as though they mightattack him.Zachary stood his ground.To hell with allof them, he thought. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html Look, he added, Il Maestro asked me to come here.If that was a mistake, all you have to do is sayso. His words had the desired effect.The idea that they might be challenging Il Maestro s will by giving hima hard time seemed to terrify them all completely.Zack understood that terror.He wouldn t ever want IlMaestro angry with him.Thaddeus sighed. What you do, it isn t magick? he asked. Not at all. The dwarf shrugged. Well, maybe that s what we need at this point.As a sorcerer, the Gatekeeper istoo strong for anyone except Il Maestro himself.I don t understand why he hasn t come here himself.not that I m questioning his wisdom, he added hurriedly. Of course not, Zack replied. But I thought the old man was dying. Yeah, aren t we all? Thaddeus remarked. Regnier s been dying for ages, and he s still destroying usfar too easily.Something s keeping him alive.Unless we can stop that.well, we need help. Brother Zachary nodded. I ll be more than happy to help. * * *Upon the steps of his home, the Gatekeeper faltered a moment.At the edges of his peripheral vision, thelight began to dim.His body swayed.Sound disappeared all of it.Not a car engine, not a voice, not thewhisper of the wind remained.Then he blinked, caught himself, and reached out for the railing to keep from falling.He was morevulnerable than ever without the Spear, but he could not let it fall into these men s hands.It was acalculated risk, destroying it before his son Jacques could take over.But it was a risk he had felt he musttake.Whoever held the Spear could not be defeated in battle.If it had fallen into Fulcanelli s hands.He took a long, deep breath, and the darkness receded.But it would be back for him.Soon.Within her son s bedchamber, the ghost of Antoinette Regnier floated solemnly about the room,examining each of his possessions.She mourned him, though he was not dead yet.It was an odd feeling.All this time, all she had wanted was for him to be free of the responsibilities of the Gatekeeper, so thatshe could be with him in the world after, the world that waited for them both beyond the ghost roads.Antoinette s ghost paused above the Cauldron of Bran the Blessed.It was still filled with the water thathad saved her son only hours before.The last time, he had said.And they both knew it was true.It wasas though a portion of his life was drained away by battle, only to be replenished by the power of theCauldron.But his own life was nearly gone now, the Cauldron all that was sustaining him.Without even a spark of his own life force, Jean-Marc could not survive.Even the Cauldron could not Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlpower a body whose energy had completely dispersed.Yes, this last time had been the end.The cauldron could do no more.And yet, Antoinette could not bring herself to empty it.Not yet.If there is some small chance. Help! Antoinette turned.Through the open door, she saw them in the hallway.The girl, Cordelia, and anothershe did not know, were dragging Xander between them.The Slayer s friends.The boy was not moving.Willow s eyes widened.Within the large room Cordelia had told her was the Gatekeeper s, the ghost ofan old woman in old-fashioned clothing floated on air, her body from the waist down little more than mist
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