“No!” howled the man. “You will not burn me up! You will not poison my thoughts with this stench!” He drew in his breath and gathered himself for a mighty effort. “Hear me! I take your servant from you for my own! I tear him from you and bind him to myself! You have lost him!” He wailed other incomprehensible words.
There was a rush of energy, a burst of light and darkness and a sudden violent crack. Ilissos felt himself thrown away across the floor and after a fierce, blurred moment was lying against the opposite wall, Gurdjatt lay beside him, stunned. The sorcerer was sprawled in his chair, body twisted grotesquely over an armrest. His head lolled at an ugly angle and, until his chest moved, Ilissos thought he was dead. On the floor scattered between them lay the charred and splintered
