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obliterated.
    â€œGods,” he said. “What happened? ”
    No one answered.
    He swung his feet over the side of the bed, kicking aside a chunk of ceiling, and stood up—and realized he was naked. He looked for the wardrobe, but it had plunged into the alley.
    He had clothes on the line, though. He pushed himself upward, thinking he would climb across the wreckage.
    Instead he found himself floating above the wreckage.
    â€œGods!” he said again.
    This was magic, of course—but what kind of magic? Who was doing it? Had he managed to offend a wizard or sorcerer without knowing it?
    He moved himself eastward over the broken roof and fetched girdle, tunic, and breeches from the line. He dressed hastily and looked out over the city to the west.
    A building was on fire somewhere—he could see leaping flames and a bright orange glow. The screaming had stopped, but there were voices in the street, shouting at one another.
    Who was up at this hour? Had the destruction of his home woken the whole neighborhood?
    He made his way to the stairwell and hurried downstairs.
    He found Annis in the front showroom on the ground floor; she was staring out the front window at the street.
    â€œWhat’s happened?” he asked her.
    She whirled and stared at him. “Don’t you know?” she asked.
    â€œNo,” he said, puzzled. “It’s some sort of magic that smashed our room, obviously, but I don’t know why or who did it.”
    â€œ You did it, somehow!”
    â€œBut…” Varrin stopped, remembering.
    Yes, he had done it. He didn’t know how or exactly why—something to do with a nightmare of being smothered—but yes, he had done it.
    And he had held up the roof, which must have weighed hundreds or thousands of pounds, and he had flown across the wreckage like a wizard with a levitation spell.
    â€œHow did you do that?” Annis demanded.
    â€œI don’t know,” Varrin said. “You mean you can’t? I assumed that whatever it was happened to both of us.”
    She waved that idea away. “It’s just you, ” she said. “At least, in here. There are others out there.” She pointed at the window.
    â€œThere are?” Varrin glanced at the window.
    â€œYes,” Annis said. “I saw them.”
    â€œMaybe I had better go talk to them,” Varrin said. “They might know what’s happening.”
    â€œYes,” she said, stepping backward, away from him. “You do that.”
    â€œAnnis, don’t be frightened,” he said as the firelight from outside spilled across her face and let him see her eyes. “Especially don’t be frightened of me. ”
    â€œBut I’m not sure it is you!” she wailed. “What if you’re some demon that took my husband’s form?”
    â€œAnnis, I’m me. I’m Varrin.” He stepped toward her. “We’ve been married for thirty-one years—you know me!”
    She squealed and backed away again. “Go away!” she said. “If you’re really Varrin, go find out what happened to you!”
    He stopped, baffled.
    â€œAll right,” he said at last. “I’ll go see what I can find out.” He turned away.
    A moment later he was out on the street, looking around in confusion.
    Something in him wanted to go north, but that was absurd; he lived and worked just three blocks from the beaches along the eastern shoals and four blocks from the city’s eastern wall. Almost the entirety of the city of Ethshar lay south and west of Seacorner.
    He could hear voices shouting to the south; he turned and headed toward them, and found his feet leaving the ground. At first he fought it, but then he turned up a palm, lifted his feet, and flew.
    *   *   *
    At the same time as the others, Kirsha the Younger dreamed of fire and falling and then entombment somewhere deep beneath the earth, dreamed she was