Free The Exotic Enchanter by L. Sprague de Camp, Lyon Sprague de Camp, Christopher Stasheff Page B

firm, which was more than could be said of the guards. Igor's orders or no, two of them ran off.
    The other two remained in sight, but at a safe distance, as if fearing Chalmers might Durst into flames at any moment, like a pot of Greek fire.
    In the middle of Chalmers' fourth attempt, Malambroso and Florimel vanished.
    "I'm sure I did everything correctly," Chalmers concluded. "Any one of those spells should have stopped him." His voice was tight with rage and grief. "And what has he done with my wife?" His voice rose to a shout. "Where has he taken her?"
    Shea mentally cursed the whole continuum, starting with Malambroso, going on to the Polovtsi, and not stopping there. He didn't dare curse out loud, but right now he would knowingly have accepted a drink from the caravan's remaining stores.
    The day was ending even worse than it had begun, and Shea hoped that Chalmers didn't want any company, because he himself certainly didn't. With a farewell grunt to Chalmers, he stumbled, half-blindly, back toward the center, where fires were beginning to glow.
    Shea had to swing wide before he'd gone more than a few yards. The sober merchants had pulled their wagons into a tight circle, in case any sober Polovtsi wandered by. The drunken Polovtsi covered as much ground as ever, although some of them were awake enough to groan and a few were struggling against their bonas.
    The psychologist was passing a wagon with a cover of smelly furs tied to poles, when one of the furs flew out and hit him in the face. Before he could react, a human figure leaped after the fur.
    The attacker landed on Shea's back, and the Ohioan felt the pressure of a knife seeking to pierce his armor. He tried to keep his balance and draw his sword, but did neither. He went down, his sword caught under him and the attacker on top of him. Shea felt another stab, this time higher up. He tried to free one arm to draw his dagger, because he had the feeling that the third time his attacker stabbed, the knife wasn't going to hit armor—
    Something cracked, something else thumped, and a third something went wssssh . The attacker let out a scream and released Shea. The psychologist rolled clear, drawing his sword as soon as his right arm was free, then leaping up ready to go into action.
    He didn't have to. The attacker, a thickset man with a Rus robe and a scarf over his face, was sprawled on the trampled grass. Reed Chalmers stood over him, with a long pole from the wagons cover in one hand.
    Shea took a deep breath. "Thanks, Doc. You're improving."
    "I thought of killing him, but I suspect he may have something to tell us."
    Definitely improving , thought Shea.
    The scuffle had drawn the attention of the guards, and the prisoner was soon dragged to the center of camp and stripped of his scarf and headdress. In the light of fires and torches, it could be seen that in spite of his Rus merchant's dress, the prisoner had Polovets blood in him.
    Chalmers looked closely at the man for a minute, then frowned.
    "Do you know this man, Rurik Vasileyevich?"
    Igor had come up, although both of die psychologists were too numb to notice. Chalmers stiffened like an icon. Those words were all too clearly etched in his mind.
    "Yes, Your Highness," he said. "This is the man who approached me in Seversk."
    "Doubtless a spy," Igor said. "But if I find out he had the cooperation of the merchants' guilds, they will pay."
    He shouted for Mikhail Sergeivich. "Learn what you can from this one," the prince told his captain. "If he survives, he goes to Krasni Podok."
    The return to Seversk took as long as ever, and what seemed like the final failure to rescue Florimel raised neither of the Ohioans' spirits. Chalmers was also frustrated and a little frightened at the failure of his spells. Shea did his best to help his mentor find an answer, but none of their speculation brought them any closer to Florimel or home and Belphebe, and chilly nights made it clear that winter was coming on fast.
    They