I froze it again with the spikard. The shroudling's song went on.

At length Kergma said, _"There is a weapon that can destroy it underthe right circumstances. You must reach for it, however. It is a twistedblade you have wielded before. It hangs on the wall of a bar where once youdrank with Luke."_

"The Vorpal Sword?" I said. "It can kill it?"

_"A piece at a time, under the proper circumstances."_

"You know these circumstances?"

_"I have solved for them."_

I clutched my weapon and struck the guisel again with a force from thespikard. It squeaked and grew still. Then I discarded the blade I held andreached--far, far out through Shadow. I was a long time in finding what Isought and I had a resistance to overcome, so I added the force of thespikard to my own and it came to me. Once again, I held the shining, twistedVorpal Sword in my hands.

I moved to strike at the guisel with it, but Kergma stopped me. So Ihit it again with a lash of force from the spikard.

_"Not the way. Not the way."_

"What then?"

_"We require a Dyson variation on the mirror equation."_

"Show me."

Walls of mirrors shot up on all sides about me, the guisel, and Kergma,but excluding Rhanda. We rose into the air and drifted toward the center ofthe sphere. Our reflections came at us from everywhere.

_"Now. But you must keep it from touching the walls."_

"Save your equation. I may want to do something with it by and by."

I struck the dormant guisel with the Vorpal Sword. Again, it emitted abell-like tone and remained quiescent.

_"No,"_ Kergma said. _"Let it thaw."_

So I waited until it began to stir, meaning that it would be able toattack me soon. Nothing is ever easy. From outside, I still heard the faint