Chapter 5

Angelique reread the notes. As she suspected, Stokes had compiled a few of the legends about the Old Time sorcerers. Some of it quite useful, knowing what they knew. Megan could ask some of the older vampires for whatever information they might have. That might be hard sometimes, since the memories were too painful for some of them to share. But others, with the passage of time, and the awareness that they had prevailed were willing to talk.

One of the facts that was stressed was that no spell was complete without a counter spell to nullify it. It was most foolish to create something that you could not control.

And if the gorgon, in her haste, petrified someone that was useful to you, did not make sense to know how to de-petrify him or her?

Another trip to the maze might be necessary, dangerous as it might be.

But there must be a way to shields oneself from detection. Maybe the wizard had not sensed Adam's presence. Or if he did, was wary of being spied on by another sorcerer, and was waiting to see if it was repeated.

There had to be a way to contact another sorcerer. One who might be unaware.

Or one who could be willing to talk to you, for a price.

What they could not do was to send Adam again, to lay a trail that led back to Collinsport. Because the wrath of an Old Time wizard was a terrible thing.

Quentin listened to Adam, as Adam told of his adventures in the maze.

"Well, that was helpful."

"But I wonder what good it did. Angelique did not say anything of sending me back."

"Well, she may have other ways of getting the information."

"I wish they sent me back."

Quentin sighed. "The boy has been dead centuries ago. There is nothing that you can do to help him."

"I want to.:"

"It is risky to change history. You never know what an action of your in the past can do to the present. Most of those effects you will not like.. No, better leave the past alone."

"But.."

"There are plenty of abused and exploited children here and now. Those you can help."

"Buff if I were to go back and find the answer for Maggie and Joe."

"Adam, don't even think about it."

"About what?"

"Going into the maze by yourself."

"But if it were to help Maggie and Joe, it would make it up for what I did before."

Quentin sighed. Adam was going to try it, unless he was stopped. Better let Angelique knock some sense into him.

Urien let a low whistle. "You mean both Joe Haskell and Representative Evans are in your cellar now?

"Yes. Both turned to stone."

"But how? It is too flaky, too weird. These things don't happen."

"You know better than that."

"Yeah..." Urien swallowed "I am sorry, is there anything...?"

"That you can do? No, Julia and Angelique are taking care of it. At this moment I am just a bystander myself."

Urien accepted it. If Barnabas could do nothing, then he, Urien could do even less.

"And what about you?"

"I start classes next semester."

He would not tell Barnabas of the dreams he had. Barnabas had enough worries without that.

Barnabas hung up and went down to the cellar again. He did not know what good it did to look at Maggie and Joe, but he kept coming back.

"Can you get Vicky back?" Carolyn asked Megan.

"Can you get the sea out of Collinsport?:"

"But, you made me do what I did not want to do. You made me..."

"And because of that I am supposed to make Vicky and Phillip come back to what is a hazardous place for him? They should have moved inland as soon as he was let out of the hospital. "

"You were not so scrupulous with me?"

"Why? Because I forced you to solve a problem that had been simmering too long in your factory? It needed done. Because I made you deal with a clear and present danger that Roger was? Would you have preferred that he killed someone and be locked for life?"

"You made me make friends, made me change the way I dealt with people"

"I gave you good advice, which you followed up to a point. But I cannot patch your relationship with Vicky now... Only you can do it. Invite her over. Visit her. Talk to her on the phone. And deal with hear equal to equal. On the other hand, I can give you advice on how to patch up your relationship with Adam."

'Him!"

"From what I understand, there is blame on both sides."

"I apologized to him."

"And he was not willing? have you any idea how much you hurt him?"

"But..."

Megan sighed. What had she gotten into? It had seemed a simple thing once. To put Carolyn under control so that she dealt with some serious issues. Now she was stuck in the role of Dear Abby.

"You will come to the wedding, won't you?" Derek asked George "we are going to have a real wedding, Roxanne and I."

"Of course, I will. After all, I was the one who brought the two of you together, sort of."

Yet something about it made him uneasy. He hoped for the best, both for Derek and Roxanne. But something told him that this was not the way it was supposed to be...

But what was supposed to be, he could not fathom.

"Adam is tied up in my room." Quentin said "I knocked him out and tied him up. You can go reason with him. Or have Barnabas or Megan bite sense into him."

"Why?" Angelique asked.

"Because he wants to go into the maze all by himself."

"He wouldn't... I told him what the danger was."

"Of course, you told him. And so did I. But Adam does not pay attention. He's too much of a child. This will take more than advice. He needs stronger measures."

"Fine, I will go deal with him.

Adam had gotten loose. He had found a matchbook and risked a fire burring the rope that bound him.

He did not try to force the door open. There were still matches in the matchbook. Six of them. He used his fingernails to make the appropriate marks on them. Then he threw them before him.

He wondered about the configuration he got. What was it?

But whatever it was, he was going into the maze again.

"