Witchcraft

still felt very foggy. "Now we get out of here." But even as Cavenaugh pushed her toward the window, the hall door opened. light poured into the room. "They're getting away!"
    Zorah screamed.

CHAPTER TEN.
    "Let's go, Kim." Cavenaugh ordered. "She's not armed.
    Hurry!" Kimberly tried frantically to obey him, scrabbling over the windowsill. But the smoke seemed to have played tricks not only with her brain but with her body. She felt oddly lethargic still, and her muscles refused to coordinate with her mind. "My lady!" Zorah screamed, "They're escaping!"
    "Come on, Kim, move." Cavenaugh reached for Kimberly's arm, trying to push her through the open window, but she was unable to cooperate in her own escape. Every movement seemed to require incredible effort. " Cavenaugh , I can't ...!"
    "Goddamn it, Kim!"
    Cavenaugh grabbed her, trying to forcibly stuff her through the window.
    He was interrupted by another voice from the doorway. "You shall not escape the power this time!" Ariel's shrill screech of fury was backed up a second later by Emlyn's uneasy command. "Stop where you are, Cavenaugh , or I'll shoot the woman."
    "Which woman?" Cavenaugh asked, sounding vastly annoyed. "Right now all three of them are giving me a headache." But he reluctantly stopped trying to push Kimberly through the window and stepped down off the bed to face Emlyn's gun. The smoke from the brazier continued to waft through the room. It was diluted now by the effects of the open window and door but it had not completely dissipated. Kimberly remained on the bed, her legs feeling shaky as she stared at the three people in the doorway. "Aren't these about the poorest excuses for witches you've ever seen, Cavenaugh ?" she muttered.
    "Yeah," Cavenaugh agreed, his eyes narrowed on Emlyn's gun. "Pretty poor. Kim, stay right where you are."
    "You have mocked the power one too many times," Ariel shrieked at Kim. She lifted her hands high above her head. The full sleeves of her robe fell back revealing a variety of odd bracelets on her wrists. "Uh, my lady," Emlyn began with what Cavenaugh thought was superb diplomacy under the circumstances.
    "Perhaps we should wait until later?"
    "Let her teach the bitch a lesson," Zorah interrupted fiercely. "Call up the power, my lady! Let the darkness rain on her. Let her see what it is she mocks!" Oh hell, thought Cavenaugh . Looking straight at Emlyn he said coolly, "This whole scene is getting a little out of hand, isn't it? Maybe it's time for you to split. I think you can write off any money you might have been hoping to see." Emlyn glowered first at Cavenaugh and then at Ariel who was still standing with her hands raised above her head. The older woman had shut her eyes, her face twisted intensely. She was beginning to chant "Let the power that dwells in the depths of darkness come forth to anger the challenge of this foolish creature of light," Ariel intoned while Zorah watched in anticipation. "Let that which lives on the fringes of the universe and in the center of the Earth rise to smash the impudent being."
    " Cavenaugh ... " Kim began uneasily and then closed her mouth. This was nothing but a crazy woman's act. It was probably just the remnants of the smoke lingering in her head that made Ariel seem so menacing. Cavenaugh ignored the new fear he heard in Kim's voice. Right now the only one who held any real power was the guy with the gun, and Emlyn was looking distinctly unhappy. That didn't make him any less dangerous. "My lady," the male witch tried again, "I think it would be better if we saved this bit for another time."
    "Shut up!"
    Zorah hissed. Ariel's voice was rising in intensity now, filling the room as she chanted. "All that answers to me; all that I have chained and bound according to the ancient laws, hear me now!" Ariel called.
    "Hear her," Zorah echoed fervently, her eyes glittering with excitement.
    "As her handmaiden I, too, call on that which is raw power!" Kimberly shuddered and didn't know if the shiver was caused by the cold night air pouring into the room or Ariel's chanting. But she obeyed Cavenaugh and stayed very still on the bed. Emlyn moved uneasily. " Zorah , stop her, we've got to get these two under control. She can use her witchcraft later!" Zorah turned on him violently, her eyes wild. "Hush! You are only a man. You will never understand the depths of the power you serve. Leave my lady alone!" Ariel droned on, oblivious to the conversation. "Out of the bottom of the pit