Castle War! by John Dechancie Read Free Book Online

castlemates here being exact duplicates mentally as well as physically. He would have to feel them out one by one.  
    He left the Hall of Mirrors and walked the hallways, thinking. He had already searched his room. “Gene” was a spartan sort with very few possessions, and what he had was not very useful. There was no cache of weapons, no interesting books or papers, no lists of potential supporters or enemies to be eliminated. Not that a shrewd conspirator would leave such lying about; but then Sir Gene himself had not been altogether cagey. After all, he had been caught!  
    How long would Gene be gone? It was vital that he find out. How could his unexpected return be explained? He owed no answer to the servants, but to satisfy the Guests he would have to come up with something.  
    Of course the simplest thing to do would be to get rid of the double. How? By lying low in the castle and waiting for the double's return. Then pounce, a quick kill, and dump the body through the nearest aspect. Simple enough. But there was no telling when Gene would return. Incarnadine might come back first. Then the game would be lost.  
    No, he had to act quickly.  
    He shook his head wearily. This was more complicated than he had at first thought.  
    Perhaps he should just give it up, slip into an aspect and disappear. For good. It was a temptation.  
    But no. There was this hunger in him, and only a steady diet of castle intrigue could satisfy it.  
    â€œGene!”  
    He spun around. It was the Lady Linda, running to him.  
    â€œThere you are! We've been looking all over for you.”  
    â€œYou've found me,” was all he could think to say, then silently berated himself.  
    Think fast!  
    Linda seemed breathless but deeply relieved. “When the servants said that Halfway had disappeared and you weren't around, I thought, here we go again! Why didn't you tell somebody? We thought you'd gone through the portal!”  
    â€œI'm sorry,” he said. “I should have reported directly. When I noticed something was amiss I thought I'd try to get to the bottom of it. Been exploring other aspects.”  
    â€œDid you find anything?”  
    â€œSome strange things may be happening in the castle.”  
    Which was true enough.  
    Linda nodded. “Jeremy just got a message from Incarnadine. He says to expect some kind of disturbance.”  
    â€œIndeed?”  
    â€œYeah. Halfway disappearing might be part of a pattern.”  
    â€œDid Lord Incarnadine say when he would return?”  
    â€œNo. For some reason—maybe because of the trouble—he can't get back from where he is.”  
    â€œI see.”  
    Some capital luck there.  
    â€œWhen we found out you'd disappeared, Snowclaw wanted to rush right out into that world to find you. We had trouble holding him back.”  
    Snowclaw! That horrid beast, a friend?  
    â€œI hope you dissuaded him.”  
    â€œWe did. Snowy's not stupid. He knows he'd get into trouble running around on some strange Earth. That is what we have out there, isn't it? Some alternate Earth with no Halfway House?”  
    He did not know what Halfway House was, but could guess. In his castle, there was no stable Earth aspect.  
    â€œPossibly,” he answered.  
    â€œAnyway, the aspect's still there. It hasn't disappeared. Something might come through.”  
    â€œLet us hope not. Is there anything else I should know?”  
    â€œWell, one of the servants told me that the golf course world looks different. I don't know if that means anything, but Mr. Dalton and Thaxton could be in there, and they could be in trouble.”  
    â€œSome men should be dispatched to find them.”  
    Linda brightened. “Thank God somebody's up to making some decisions around here. Yes, of course. Why didn't I think of that?”  
    â€œTyrene doubtless took