“How did he do that? I swear, I didn’t take my eyes off him. And what is a Transfer Portal?”

Morgan smiled and leaned back in his chair. “Kelson, you have just seen a practical demonstration of an almost lost art—that of portal transfer. You’ll notice, as you learn more about him, that our Duncan is a man of many talents. He’s made a fantastic reconciliation of that basic conflict we talked about earlier. He approaches his powers as a God-given gift, to be used for the good of all men.”

“And that’s why he became a priest?”

Morgan shrugged. “In his own way, Duncan is a very religious man. Things being what they are, what better place for one who is half-Deryni?”

AS Duncan appeared in the sacristy of the Cathedral of Saint George, he scanned the room. Other than the vigil illumination burning in the far corner, there was no light in the chamber. And as far as Duncan could tell, there was no one about, either.

He was just about to breathe a sigh of relief and transfer back to bring Morgan and Kelson, when he heard a movement in the shadows near the door, and a whispery voice said, “Who’s that, then?”

Duncan turned slowly toward the source of the sound, uncertain just what he’d blundered into. Now, as his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he was able to make out the stooped figure of a man in dark clothing standing there.

“I thought everyone had left for the night,” the voice continued. The stranger struck a light and lit a slim white candle, then held it aloft. “Oh, ’tis you, Father. I’m Brother Jerome, the sacristan. Do ye remember me?”

Duncan relaxed with an almost audible sigh. Thank God, it was Brother Jerome! The elderly monk was half-blind and beginning to grow a bit senile. If he had seen anything in the dim light, no one would believe him, anyway. Duncan crossed to Brother Jerome with a genuine smile on his face.

“Brother Jerome, you startled me,” he chided mildly. “What are you doing, sneaking around like this in the middle of the night?”

The old man chuckled. “Aye, I suppose I did startle ye at that, me boy-o. Why, when I first called out to ye, ye nearly jumped out o’ yer skin!” He chuckled again, almost to himself, and Duncan wondered if he had seen more than he was telling, or if it was just his senility flaring up tonight.

Duncan said, “Well, you did surprise me, Brother. I thought I was the only one here. I came back to make one last check of all the coronation regalia for tomorrow. I was rather busy today, you know. His Highness had me on call all afternoon.”