ack
magic, dies of internal malfunction, not of a bullet through the
heart.

"In effect, the Black Sorcerer induces his enemy to kill himself by
psychosomatic means. He dies by what is technically known as psychic
induction. Master Sean informs me that the commonest--and
crudest--method of doing this is by the so-called 'simalcrum
induction' method. That is, by the making of an image--usually, but
not necessarily, of wax--and, using the Law of Similarity, inducing
death. The Law of Contagion is also used, since the fingernails, hair,
spittle, and so on, of the victim are usually incorporated into the
image. Am I correct, Father?"

The priest nodded. "Yes. And, contrary to the heresies of certain
materialists, it is not at all necessary that the victim be informed
of the operation--although, admittedly, it can, in certain
circumstances, aid the process."

"Exactly," said Lord Darcy. "But it is well known that material
objects can be moved by a competent sorcerer--'black' or 'white'.
Would you explain to my lady the Countess why her brother could not
have been killed in that manner?"

* * * * *

Father Bright touched his lips with the tip of his tongue and then
turned to the girl sitting next to him. "There is a lack of relevancy.
In this case, the bullet must have been relevant either to the heart
or to the gun. To have traveled with a velocity great enough to
penetrate, the relevancy to the heart must have been much greater than
the relevancy to the gun. Yet the test, witnessed by myself, that was
performed by Master Sean indicates that this was not so. The bullet
returned to the gun, not to your brother's heart. The evidence, my
dear, is conclusive that the bullet was propelled by purely physical
means, and was propelled from the gun."

"Then what was it Laird Duncan did?" the Countess asked.

"_Tertius_:" said Lord Darcy. "Believing what his wife had told him,
Laird Duncan flew into a rage. He determined to kill your brother. He
used an induction spell. But the spell backfired and almost killed
him.

"There are analogies on a material plane. If one adds mineral spirits
and air to a fire, the fire will be increased. But if one adds ash,
the fire will be put out.

"In a similar manner, if one attacks a living being psychically it
will die--but if one attacks a dead thing in such a manner, the
psychic energy will be absorbed, to the detriment of the person who
has used it.