Astra 9 was rather alarmed. This wasn't where they had intended to
arrive. Had Vincent's device malfunctioned? And if they had gone astray
geographically,
was it possible that they weren't even on the correct version of Terra?
Worst of all, if the
device wasn't working properly then they might never get home.
But she quickly composed herself, and replied to the man who, for all his unkempt and haggard look, was clearly a Fred: "Clearly I'm not dead, Lord Frederigo D'Honaire, but I am afraid I am not the one you take me for." To herself, she thought: But if that means that this world's Astra is dead, then that's sad news indeed to be starting this expedition with. Fred's eyes widened in surprise when this duplicate of Astra as he had once known her used his name. "But you must be Astra," he said. "How else would you know who I was?" "Astra?" queried Rowena. "Who's Astra?" Meanwhile Thelma was looking round bemusedly. She had been fast asleep in bed in Count Yorga's cottage. Then there had been that unearthly sound, and she had had the alarming experience of watching herself seem to fade away. Now she found herself here, wherever "here" might be. To make matters worse, since she owned no nightclothes she was naked. Luckily she was neither the nervous nor the prudish type so, instead of screaming as many might have done, she said: "Would somebody mind telling me where on earth I am and what is going on here?" Captain Locke did not like these strange goings on at all. For all Denom's apparent shock, Locke would bet that he was behind all this. These people - as they appeared - might well be creatures that Denom had conjured up in an attempt to free himself. (For Denom was a prisoner in all but name.) They could be demons; the naked woman was most probably a succubus, for instance. He only hoped that his and the other guards' weapons would be some use against them. He drew his sword, and the other guards followed his example. "Begone, foul fiends," he said, and he started to recite what he hoped might prove to work as a prayer of exorcism.
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12/28/2000 10:40:22 AM
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