over Sir Bors, and just teleport him somewhere else. I switched my sword from right hand to left. I was good enough to hold him off that way for a while. Sir Bors hesitated, then fell back a step, wary of a trick. I used that moment to reach through my armoured side with my free hand, into the pocket dimension I kept there. But the Merlin Glass avoided my grasp. The damned thing refused to be brought out. So instead, I grabbed hold of my Colt Repeater, brought that out, and pointed the gun at Sir Perryvale.
“Stand down!” I said to Sir Bors, my voice sounding cold and authoritative, filtered through my mask. “Or I’ll shoot your Seneschal. I don’t need him to get answers from your oracle.”
“Please don’t let him shoot me,” Sir Perryvale said quickly.
Sir Bors hesitated, looking from me to the Seneschal and back again. “You wouldn’t . . . You wouldn’t dare!”
“Of course he would!” said Sir Perryvale. “He’s a Drood!”
Sir Bors lowered his sword and stepped back into the open doorway. “And you are still a London Knight, Perry, for all your sins.”
“Get out of here,” I said to Bors. “Go take a little walk, just long enough for me to conclude my business with the oracle. And then you can have your Seneschal back and I’ll get the hell out of Castle Inconnu.”
Sir Bors nodded slowly, reluctantly. “I’ll be back. With reinforcements! And if our Seneschal is harmed, your death will be a slow and terrible one!”
“Why, Bors,” said Sir Perryvale, “I didn’t know you cared.”
Sir Bors sniffed loudly and disappeared out the door. I listened to his heavy footsteps retreating back down the stairway, then pulled the sword back into my glove and armoured down. I realised I was still holding the Colt Repeater, so I put it away. Sir Perryvale looked at me thoughtfully.
“I won’t ask,” he said.
“Best not to,” I agreed.
He turned to face the well and raised his voice.
“Lady Gaea, it is Sir Perryvale of the London Knights who calls you! It is the Seneschal of Castle Inconnu, who invokes you! Come forth and speak, for we have need of your knowledge and wisdom! Come to us. In Arthur’s name!”
There was a long pause, and then from deep in the well there came a great roaring sound, of something huge rushing towards us. Building and building, with all the strength and power of an approaching tidal wave or tropical storm. I could feel pressure on the air, the sense of a growing presence, of something coming. Something too large to fit easily into our small, fragile, and easily breakable world. A feeling of something condensing itself so it wouldn’t overpower or damage our reality. I realised Sir Perryvale had stepped back from the well, pressing his back flat against the wall, so I did that as well. A solid jet of water blasted up out of the well, dark blue-green seawater. It slammed against the stone ceiling overhead and fell back as a shower of rain. The waters formed themselves into a human figure that suddenly snapped into focus, and there, standing elegantly on the still surface of the water in the well, was a beautiful woman. Not a single ripple moved across the surface of the water from where her bare feet made contact. She was wearing a long emerald-green dress, with a bright golden sash around her waist. She smiled dazzlingly at me and the Seneschal, and stepped forward. She placed one foot on the stone rim of the well and reached out a hand to me so I could help her down. I took hold of her hand automatically, and she stepped down to stand before me. I was amazed at how normal, how human, her hand felt in mine.
Because I knew there was nothing normal or human about her. She was Gaea. All the world in a woman. I just knew.
I let go of her hand and studied her openly. She had a classic face, with a strongly defined bone structure. A great mane of night-dark hair, warm blue eyes, and a really nice mouth. I thought she could be any age—until I looked into her eyes. They were old, so old; older than any living thing had a right to be. I dropped down on one knee before her. Just because it felt like the right thing to do. Sir Perryvale was already kneeling, and bowing his old head respectfully. I bowed to Gaea