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.CoronationTomorrow might indeed have been a better day, but Ben Holiday never had a chance to find out.He dreamed as he slept, dreams of truth and fantasy.He dreamed of Annie and of finding her aliveagain, his exhilaration at being with her and loving her blunted by a pervasive sense that she could notstay and he must lose her once more.He dreamed of Miles, bluff and cynical as he reminded Ben atevery turn on a journey through a Chicago filled with Bonnie Blues that he had told him so.He dreamedof lawyers and courtrooms in which kobolds hissed from jury boxes and judges had the look of shaggydogs.He dreamed of high rises and concrete parkways and soaring over all a dragon as black as night.He dreamed of demons and knights, of faces in the mist, and of castles that shone like the sun.Hedreamed, and the world slipped away from him.When he came awake again, it was morning.He lay within his sleeping quarters, a vast chamber of Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmltapestries and silken hangings, of polished oak and heraldic stone sculptures.He lay within his bed, agreat canopied sarcophagus of oak and iron that looked as if it might successfully double as a barge.Heknew it was morning by the slant of the light through the high arched windows, though the light remainedgray and hazy as the mist without screened away its color.It was quiet within his room and quiet in therooms without.The castle was like a stone shell.Yet there was warmth in that castle.Sterling Silver was a dungeon to look upon and it lacked the visualappeal of even the most spartan, avant-garde, chrome-and-steel Chicago high rise, but it had the feel of ahome.It was warm to the touch, from the floors that he had walked upon to the walls that he hadbrushed against.The warmth was in the air, despite the mist and the gray; it flowed through her like alife-blood.She was what Questor Thews had called her.She was a living thing.Waking up inside of her felt right.It felt secure and comforting, the way it was supposed to feel whenone woke within one's own home.He stretched and glanced over to the nightstand on which he had placed his duffel and found QuestorThews sitting on a high-backed chair, looking at him."Good morrow, Ben Holiday," the wizard greeted him."Good morning," he replied.The good feelings evaporated in a rush as he remembered the wizard'sgloomy revelation of the night before that he was a King without retainers, army, or treasury."You rested well, I trust?" Questor asked."Quite well, thank you.""Wonderful.You have a busy day before you.""I do?""Yes, High Lord." Questor was beaming."Today is your coronation.Today you shall be crowned Kingof Landover."Ben blinked."Today?" He blinked again.There was a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach."Wait aminute, Questor.What do you mean, today is the coronation? Wasn't it just yesterday that you weretelling me that the coronation would not take place for at least several days because you needed time toinform all those that needed informing?""Well, ah.yes, I did say that, I admit." The wizard screwed up his owlish face like a guilty child."Thetrouble is, it wasn't yesterday that I said that.""It wasn't yester.?""Because this isn't tomorrow."Ben flushed and sat up quickly in the bed."Just what in the hell are you talking about?"Questor Thews smiled."High Lord, you have been asleep for a week."Ben stared at him in silence.The wizard stared back.It was so quiet in the room that Ben could hear the Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlsound of his own breathing in his ears."How could I have slept for a week?" he asked finally.Questor steepled his hands before his face."Do you remember the wine that you drank the wine Iprovided?" Ben nodded."Well, I added a dash of sleeping tonic to its content so that you would beassured of a good night's rest." He gestured with his hands."It was in the magic I used, just an inflectionof the voice and a twist." He demonstrated."The trouble was, I overdid it.The dash became a thimbleful.So you have been asleep for a week.""Just a little mistake of the magic, is that it?" Ben was flushed with anger.Questor fidgeted uneasily."I am afraid so.""Well, I am afraid not! What sort of fool do you take me for? You did it on purpose, didn't you? Youput me asleep to keep me here!" Ben was shaking, he was so mad."Did you think I had forgotten theten-day withdrawal clause in my contract? Ten days were allotted me to return to my own world if Iwanted my money back, less the handling fee.Don't tell me you didn't know that! Now eight of those tendays are gone! It's all rather convenient, don't you think?""One minute, please." Questor had gone stiff with indignation."If it were truly my intention to keep you inLandover.High Lord, I would not have bothered to tell you about the sleeping potion or the lost days ofsleep at all! I would simply have let you think it was still only your second day in Landover and all tendays would have passed before you realized differently!"Ben regarded him silently for a moment and then sat back."I guess you're right about that." He shook hishead in disbelief."I suppose I owe you an apology, but frankly I'm too mad to apologize.I've lost awhole damn week because of you! And while I've been sleeping, you've gone right ahead with the plansfor making me King sent out the invitations and everything! Good thing I woke up on time, isn't it, oryou would have been faced with a bedside coronation!""Oh, I knew you would awake on time after I discovered the problem," Questor hastened to assure him."You mean you hoped you knew," Abernathy interjected, appearing through the bedroom door with atray."Breakfast, High Lord?"He brought the tray over and set it on the nightstand."Thank you," Ben muttered, his eyes still fixed onQuestor."I knew," the wizard said pointedly."Beautiful day for a coronation," Abernathy said.He looked at Ben over the rims of the glasses."I haveyour robes of office ready.They have been altered to fit exactly as they ought to." He paused."I hadplenty of time to measure you while you slept.""I'll bet." Ben chewed angrily on a piece of bread."A whole week's worth of time, it appears."Abernathy shrugged."Not quite.The rest of us drank the wine as well, High Lord.""It was an honest mistake," Questor insisted, brows knitting. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html"You make a lot of those," Abernathy sniffed."Perhaps it would please you if I simply quit trying to help at all!""Nothing would please me more!"Ben held up his hands pleadingly."Hold it! Enough, already!" He looked from one to the other."I don'tneed another argument
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