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right,” Dalgar stated, “it looks like we get a second chance at this. We need to find out which way the wagons are going and intercept them. There will be no prohibition of magic once they’re clear of the town, but I don’t ever want to see this fiasco repeated. Anyone who has the urge to toss a fireball while raiding another temple had better be prepared to eat it! Aurora, get back into the street and let us know which way the wagons go. The rest of you be prepared to move out quickly!”
    Aurora reported that the three wagons were headed west. The Black Devils mounted their horses, determined to ambush the caravan.

    Alex was disoriented. Moments earlier he had been in the stuffy confines of Lord Habas’ laboratory and now he was in a beautiful study. The pungent aroma of jungle fruit permeated the air. Calls of exotic birds mingled with the murmur of waves lapping at the beach. Alex looked out the window and recognized the distinctive shape of Atar’s Cove. He turned to view the room and saw the amused grin on Jenneva’s face. “You never cease to amaze me, Jenneva. If it wasn’t for the smells and sounds, I’d believe you were presenting another illusion.”
    “Actually,” Jenneva lectured, “smells and sounds can be incorporated into an illusion as well as taste and touch. All senses can be deceived, but there is a certain pleasantness in knowing that this is real. The Doors are the genius of Egam. The room you entered between Doors was Egam’s laboratory, deep beneath the Boulders. The Doors must remain a secret for now until Egam can find a way to lock them. We are also working on a way to teleport without the use of the physical Doors, but that may take some time.”
    Alex looked around the room and spotted Shanor peering at him from the hall. Jenneva followed his gaze and called to the small girl. “Shanor, come in. I have a very special friend for you to meet. This is Baron Alexander Tork, a Lieutenant in the Red Swords. Alex, this sweet, young girl is Shanor. She lives with me.”
    Shanor cautiously entered the room and gazed up at Alex. “This is Alex? The Alex that you are always . . . ”
    “Yes,” interrupted Jenneva, “this is the Alex that I mentioned to you once.”
    Alex laughed. “Jenneva, do you think you could make me one of those rings that Sarac gave to Oscar?”
    Jenneva chuckled and Shanor ran over and hugged Alex. “Can I ride on your shoulders? Jenneva said that you were so strong that you carried her for miles after the war and didn’t even look tired.”
    Alex picked Shanor up and placed her on his shoulders. “Certainly, Shanor, a friend of Jenneva’s gets whatever she wants from Lieutenant Tork. How about we take a run down to the beach and you can tell me all about your stay with Jenneva?” Jenneva gave a sigh of defeat and sat on her desk.
    Moments later Egam and Lord Habas came through the magic Door talking as casually as if they had just came in from the next room. “Some type of signal is needed in the meantime,” Egam was saying.
    “All right,” Lord Habas conceded. “How about three knocks followed by two knocks and then three knocks again?”
    “That should be as good as any. Jenneva, when will the Pegasus arrive?”
    “If it’s on schedule, it should be here at dawn tomorrow,” she replied. “I assume that you were discussing a secret knock for the portals. We should make sure that Alex and Shanor know of it, also. Let’s go downstairs and talk while I prepare some dinner.”
    Dinner was a simple affair of fried fish with fresh fruit. The old friends sat around a table in the kitchen. Shanor insisted on sitting next to Alex and was constantly grinning as if she possessed some delicate secret that no one else was aware of. Everyone noticed Alex’s gaze following Jenneva every time she moved, his eyes wide and full like a small boy staring at some pieces of gold uncovered by the surf.
    After dinner, Egam rose and suggested a walk in the garden to