I sat down with Tysiel and Meta early the next morning, with Lysandra at my side because I thought she would help keep Tysiel in line, and she was also the Archfiendess. Valeria stood guard, and she was supposed to tip me off if either of them lied.

“So, what do we know now about the gate?” I asked.

They both began at once.

“Let’s start with Meta. A brief summary, if you would. Then one from you, Tysiel. And then I’ll ask questions.”

Tysiel didn’t object to going second. Maybe he thought it was an advantage, because he leaned back with a smug look on his face.

Meta nodded. “So, here’s what we agree on. It is possible to open a second gate near the existing one, and then dismantle the old one. I think that it would solve the problem of the magic expanding. It –”

“It wouldn’t,” Tysiel interrupted.

“You’ll have your turn,” I told him, noting that Meta had managed to stick to things they agreed on for just one whole sentence. “And I won’t let Meta interrupt you.”

“Thank you, Uber Archfiend,” Meta said. “Opening a second gate entails some risk. The risk would be smaller the further the other gate opening is, and yet on the Earth side, it would need to be done in the area where magic operates. On the Amaranth side, it could be anywhere. That palace in Tartarus that you could have for the asking, for instance.”

So, I could solve the problem by opening a gate to hell. Well, sort of.

Tysiel bit his lip, and I could tell he was holding something in.

“We could also enchant the puzzle so as to make it movable, perhaps. We think the gate would move with it, and we could test that theory by simply nudging the puzzle laterally. The challenge would be keeping the puzzle physically together while we did that. Again, I think changing the puzzle’s orientation would solve the problem of the magic expansion.

“Or we could simply close the gate by dismantling the puzzle. That would stop the magic from expanding, unless – well, unless both of us are wrong. There is a theory that magic is like a living organism, and that it will continue to grow. Like, um, algae. But that’s not my theory, you understand. We both agree that the puzzle can be taken apart safely. Don’t we, Tysiel?”

“We do,” he said. “Which makes it not very interesting. It wouldn’t prove anything.”

Are you going to listen to them or are you going to listen to me? These two probably aren’t even tenth level, much less twelfth!

Neither was Enash anymore. And unlike Enash, Valeria could tell me if Meta and Tysiel were lying. I nodded. “Tysiel, what do you have to add?”

“Well, I think Avonia would make a better location for a gate exit,” he said. “But there would be some benefit to even moving it as far away as that structure we were building the other day. The danger will remain, however, because of the proximity of the gates on Earth.”

“Can you give me a percentage?”

He shook his head. “No. We just know that there were problems in the past, and we don’t know if they were related or not. No one has tried it since, for obvious reasons. I can’t recommend the risk unless you want to change the location of the gate on Amaranth for some other reason, and I strongly suggest that putting it in the hands of the demons would be a very bad thing indeed. Furthermore, I don’t think it would accomplish anything in terms of the magic expansion.

“I think moving the puzzle sideways, however, would advance the cause of magical research, if only to disprove the particle theory for once and for all, if we can figure out a way to stop it from coming apart.”

“I think I can manage that,” I said, although I wasn’t that interested in theory proving or disproving.

“How?” he asked.

“Puzzle glue. Or preserver sheets. I guess it all depends on what parts of it are like a puzzle, and what parts of it are like a gate. Moving it some can’t destroy it, because I’m sure I’ve nudged it at some point or another.”

“If we turn it sideways and the magic continues to expand, it still doesn’t disprove the particle theory,” Meta said. “It could be that it’s simply a matter of magic working wherever there are enough particles, and the particles aren’t “lighter” per se, but merely moving about randomly.”

“That’s because your theory is not even wrong,” Tysiel retorted.

“What?” I asked.

“The best theories,” Tysiel explained, “are correct and fit the data. The second best theories can be proven wrong by not fitting the data. But the worst theories can’t be proven one way or the other, because they don’t make falsifiable predictions.”

“Particle theory makes predictions,” Meta retorted. “But we still have things to learn about the particles. Just as –”

I held up my hand. “Stop. Both of you. Meta, is there any way we can test whether magic particles rise without turning a gate sideways?”

“Not on Amaranth. Because magic is everywhere.”

“The field,” Tysiel said. “Is all-encompassing. Except of course for anti-magic shells.”

“But we can’t prove anything by what happens when one of those goes down, because the particles move too fast,” Meta said.

“Or, more accurately, because the field expands instantly.”

“Wait,” I said. “Anti-magic shells. If there was one of those that surrounded the gate…”

Meta shook her head. “You can’t make an anti-magic shell around a gate. It’s been tried, and it can’t be done.”

“The explanation for that in field theory is much more elegant,” Tysiel said.

“I really don’t care about the theory, if it won’t work,” I said impatiently. “Fundamentally, we can try to very carefully move it, and that might solve the problem of magic expansion. And we might screw it up. We could put in another gate, and that might solve the problem, but it might create all sorts of damage. The only safe answer is to destroy the whole thing, and you’re both sure that’s safe, despite Enash claiming otherwise?”

“Yes,” Meta said. “At this point, quite sure.”

“As certain as it is possible to be about any phenomena,” Tysiel said. “Enash is either ignorant, or a liar.”

I prefer liar. I’d like to see one of them make a gate in the form of a jigsaw puzzle, and push the pieces through to a non-magical world full of futa chicks and tentacle monsters!

I glanced at Valeria, and she gave me a thumbs up. Neither of them were lying. They were both sure.

“And the effect of trying to move it, and having it fall apart instead, is the same as taking it apart?”

They both shook their head. “If we just take it apart, we can stabilize the process using magic. If it falls apart while moving it, we can’t,” Meta said.

Tysiel nodded. “Either one of us could do it, but with both of us present, the redundancy should eliminate any risk.”

“And if it’s not stabilized?”

“There’s a possibility of a sudden violent exchange of matter between the two locations,” Meta said.

“Then we’ll have to destroy it. But we can’t do it right away. I have things arriving through the gate shortly.”

Lysandra squeezed my hand. She’d been so quiet, and I noticed that Tysiel didn’t flirt with her when he had Meta to argue with.

“I shall stay as long as you need me, Uber Archfiend,” Meta said with a smile.

“I won’t leave you in the hands of this quack, Queen Abby,” Tysiel said, glaring at Meta.

I nodded. “Thank you both.”

“Abby,” Meta said.

“Yes?”

“Someone will have to be on the other side to dismantle the puzzle. And they won’t be able to come back through the gate.”

I nodded. “I already thought of that.”

I told Jill that the gate might have to be closed over the phone, and that there was a rush to sell the gold, buy Earth products, and get them through the gate. Three days later, the trucks started arriving. Giant moving vans full of stuff that we might need or might be able to use in trade. Workmen unloaded them in the house. Everyone of us helped bring them down into the crypt, even Meta and Tysiel, who were not about to be outdone by the other. The zombies moved much of it from the crypt to be stored in the Orc and Troll villages.

I built a big shed near the crypt, to store still more. It got crazy busy, and we were all working fourteen hour days. Gruush and Inka closed up shop for a while to help us. I didn’t want to let my demon guard see the gate, but they helped, too. Of course I stuffed some stuff in my bag, but Lesseth said even that was getting full.

Some things we just protected with a tarp. Gavabar’s great hall got filled with lumber, and I assured him that even though he was getting it in advance, he could pay on the regular schedule. Even if he gave me a massive amount of gold now, I didn’t think I’d have the time to dispose of it, even with Jill’s help.

On the sixth day, Jill arrived herself, having done all she could to get rid of the gold and gems profitably. I needed a break, so we both walked into the forest, found ourselves a quiet spot, and sat down on a fallen tree.

“So,” she said. “How are you going to dismantle the gate, anyway?”

“By taking the puzzle apart one piece at a time.”

“And how are you going to do that? Doesn’t someone have to be on the other side for that?”

I nodded. I hadn’t needed the experts to tell me that. “Yes.”

“Sandra?” she asked.

“I thought –” and I shut my mouth. I’d been assuming she would do it, but I had the wisdom to stop talking before I put my foot in it.

“Not getting rid of me that easy,” Jill said. “Unless I’m not welcome.”

“You’re – yes, you’re more than welcome.” I had been too busy to feel the sadness of losing Jill, as I’d expected, but I wasn’t too tired to feel relieved.

“So much for your plan, hmm?” she teased.

“No, I have a plan B.”

“Always good to have a plan B,” she said. “Otherwise there’d be little Abbys running around everywhere.”

“That’s not what I meant. And, um, anyway, I think there are going to be little Abbys running around everywhere.”

“Gren?”

“You knew?”

“I wondered. She’s not showing yet, but there’s something about her. Call it woman’s intuition.”

“Better watch out,” I joked. “I have that too, now.”

She laughed. “You’ve got all sorts of things. Anyway, I figure you owe putting me up for a while at company expense, after what I’ve managed to do for you. Also, I quit my job, remember? Boss?”

“Oh, don’t you start with the boss thing.”

She grinned. “Speaking of which, you’ve gotten rather intimate with Kendala, haven’t you?”

I nodded. “Uh, yeah.”

Jill put her arm around me. “Good. Glad to know you’re not worried about improper employee relations. I really don’t know what good I’ll do for you here. I can’t do magic and stuff, and it’s not like you don’t have plenty of women around who want to do the same things I want to do with you.”

“You have a place. We’ll figure it out. You’re smart, and I know I can depend on you.”

“Good.” She snuggled up, and I snuggled back. “How are you going to move the puzzle, then?”

“Zombie.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It doesn’t have to be done with finesse. As long as the gate is open, I can give it directions. And if it closes, it doesn’t matter.”

“Except there will be a zombie wandering around Earth?”

“I’ll tell it to stay still after every piece it takes out. They can handle two steps – take a piece out and then stay still. Take a piece out and then stay still.”

Jill nodded. “What can possibly go wrong?”

I shuddered. “Don’t say stuff like that. This is the solution that has the least chance of something going wrong.”

“You aren’t superstitious, are you?” she teased. She tugged my dress down. It was an off the shoulder sort of thing, and my boobs popped right out.

“Of course not,” I said.

“Oh, good. I’d hate to think you believed in magic, or anything.” She grinned, and groped me.

It seemed only polite to grope her back. Besides, I’d missed her, and her boobs too. One would think I had plenty, including my own, but every pair is a little different.

I felt a little guilty, turning my rest break into a nookie session, especially while everyone else was working hard. But when Jill took off her clothes, the guilt gave way to other feelings.

I lay down on the ground, and let her straddle me and guide my hard cock into her wet pussy.

“I brought a strap-on,” she told me. “I can’t wait to fuck you with it. But it’s back at the base.”

I grinned. I liked that idea, too, but not quite enough to interrupt what we’d started to go get it. Especially since I knew that the moment I got back I’d be deluged with questions about where I wanted everything, when without me, Gren could manage all that just fine.