The Truth (Discworld 25)

The dwarf walked across and swiftly opened the door. 'Then get--'

'Ah, a vonderful framing effect!' said Otto, who'd been on the other side of the door.

Click!

William shut his eyes.

WHOOMPH.

'... oohhbuggerrrrr...'

This time William caught the little piece of paper before it hit the ground.

The dwarf stood open-mouthed. Then she closed her mouth. Then she opened it again to say: 'What the hell just happened?'

'I suppose you could call it a sort of industrial injury,' said William. 'Hang on, I think I've still got a piece of dog food somewhere. Honestly, there's got to be a better way than this

He unwrapped the meat from a grubby piece of newspaper and gingerly dropped it on to the heap.

The ash fountained and Otto arose, blinking.

'How vas that? Vun more? This time viz the obscurograph?' he said. He was already reaching for his bag.

'Get out of here right now!' said the dwarf.

'Oh, please' - William glanced at the dwarf's shoulder - 'corporal, let Mm do his job. Give him a chance, eh? He's a Black Ribboner, after all...' Behind the watchman Otto took an ugly, newt-like creature out of its jar.

'Do you want me to arrest the pair of you? You're interfering with the scene of a crime!'

'What crime, would you say?' said William, flipping open his notebook.

'Out, the pair of--'

'Boo,' said Otto softly.

The land eel must have been quite tense already. In response to thousands of years of evolution in a high magical environment it. discharged a night-time's worth of darkness all at once. It filled the room for a moment, sheer solid black laced with traceries of blue and violet. Again for a moment William thought he could feel it wash through him in a flood. Then light flowed back, like chilly water after a pebble has been dropped in the lake.

The corporal glared at Otto. 'That was dark light, wasn't it?'

'Ah, you too are from Uberwald--' Otto began happily.

'Yes, and I did not expect to see that here! Get out!'

They hurried past the startled Corporal Nobbs, down the wide stairs and out into the frosty air of the courtyard.

'Is there something you ought to be telling me, Otto?' said

William. 'She seemed extremely angry when you took that second picture,'

'Veil, it's a little hard to explain,' said the vampire awkwardly.

'It's not harmful, is it?'

'Oh, no, zere are no physical effects vhatsoever--'

'Or mental effects?' said William, who had spun words too often to miss such a carefully misleading statement.

'Perhaps zis is not zer time...'