Ptolemy's Gate

was leaning forward with his mouth open; he had a slightly hungry look.

    On the seventh minute the room grew cold. Not slowly, but in an instant, as if a switch had suddenly been pressed. Everyone began to shiver. On the eighth minute came the sweetest of fragrances, that of meadow flax and celandine. On the ninth minute Nathaniel detected something in the pentacle with Makepeace. It was there on the third plane—something hazy, fluctuating, sucking in the light—a dark, horned mass, now tall, now broad, with arms that spread out and pressed against the pentacle. Nathaniel looked down; he thought he saw the inlaid boundaries of the circle bulge out a little in the floor. The features of the newcomer could not be seen. It towered over Makepeace, who spoke on, quite oblivious to his new companion.
    Makepeace came to the climax of his command, the moment when he bound the demon inside himself. With a cry, he spoke the final words: the dark figure vanished, like blinking.
    Makepeace stopped. He was quite still. His eyes looked out beyond his audience, as if at something far away.
    Everyone watched, frozen to the spot. Makepeace did nothing; his face was blank.
    "Hopkins," Rufus Lime said hoarsely. "Dismiss it. . . Quick!"
    With a great cry, Makepeace sprang into life. It was quite without warning. Nathaniel cried out, everyone jumped; even the mercenary stepped back.
    "Success!" Makepeace leaped from the circle. He clapped his hands, capered, hopped, skipped, and twirled. "Success! Such triumph', I cannot begin to tell you . . ."
    The conspirators inched closer. Jenkins peered out above his glasses. "Quentin. . . is it true? How does it feel. . . ?"
    "Yes! Nouda is here! I feel it within! Ah—for a moment or two, my friends, there was a struggle—I admit it.The effect was disconcerting. But I commanded it most strictly, with all my power. And I felt that demon shrink back and obey. It is subservient within me. It knows its master! What is it like? Hard to describe. . . It is not painful exactly. . . I sense it like a hard, hot coal within my head. But when it obeyed—I felt such a surge of energy! Oh, it cannot be imagined!"
    With this, the conspirators erupted into raucous celebration; they squealed and jumped for joy.
    "The demon's power, Quentin!" Lime shouted. "Use it!"
    "Not yet, my friends." Makepeace held up his hands for calm; the room fell silent. "I could destroy this room," he said, "turn all of it to powder if I chose. But there shall be time enough for fun once you have followed me. Go to your pentacles! Summon your demons! Then we shall set about our destiny! We shall seize the Staff of Gladstone and take a stroll through London. I believe some commoners are busy demonstrating. Our first task will be to put them in their place."
    Like eager children, the conspirators scampered to their circles. Nathaniel grasped Kitty by the arm, drew her to one side. "In a moment," he hissed, "I will be called upon to join this madness. I will pretend to do so. Do not be alarmed. At the last minute I shall use the pentacle to summon a troupe of the strongest djinn. With luck they will destroy Makepeace and these other fools. At the very least we shall have the opportunity to escape!" He paused triumphantly. "You don't seem overly impressed."
    Kitty's eyes were tired, red-rimmed. Had she been crying? He hadn't noticed. She shrugged. "I hope you're right."
    Nathaniel s wallowed his irritation; in truth, he was nervous too. "You'll see."
    Across the hall the summonings began: Rufus Lime, eyes tight shut, fish-mouth open, intoning his words in a muttered croak; Clive Jenkins, glasses removed from his little nose and held anxiously between his hands as he spoke in a rapid monotone. The others, whose names Nathaniel could not remember, stood in solitary postures, hunched, erect, shaking, stammering out their incantations, making the necessary gestures. Hopkins and Makepeace walked approvingly among them.
    "John!" That was Makepeace; with a trill of delight, he bounded over."Ah! Such energy! I could leap to the stars!"His face went serious. "Not holding back on us, are you, boy? Why aren't you in a circle?"
    Nathaniel raised his hands. "Perhaps if I was untied?"
    "Ah, yes. How discourteous of me. There!" A snap of the fingers; the cords burst into lilac flames. Nathaniel shook himself free. "There is an empty pentacle in that corner, John," Makepeace said. "What demon have you chosen for yourself?"
    Nathaniel chose two at