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told her. "Do the others know?" "No." "Would it be kind to tell them my version of reality?" "No." "May I visit any of you again, after this?" a a T T n n s s F F f f o o D D r r P P m m Y Y e e Y Y r r B B 2 2 . . B B A A Click here to buy Click here to buy w w m m w w o o w w c c . . . . A A Y Y B B Y Y B B r r "Since you live opposite to us in time, such opportunity is limited. We have to be briefed for each new act, because you return before we experience the last one. Soon we shall be beyond the time of your accession to office, and you will be able to visit us only discamately." Norton found himself mildly shaken. Of course they could not have experienced his three visits in the same order he had! So they would proceed next to his Alicorn adventure, and finally to the space adventure, never telling him. Truly, he did not belong here! "Then I will bid appropriate farewell now," he decided. "I thank you, Bemme, for your invaluable advice." "I only play my role according to the rules," she said. "You played and won when you had the wit to select me for advice and to fathom truth in the third chamber." "All the same, I would like to call you friend." "Friend," she agreed. "I do not have many of those among your kind. I understand you will do me a favor." "Favor?" "In the third act. Saving me from destruction by the spaceman. My briefing suggests something of the sort." "Oh. Yes," Norton agreed awkwardly, remembering how he had talked Dursten into adopting the orphan. But he also remembered the cause of the Bemme's orphaning and winced. It was all a play, yet..."I wish I could take you away from this." "You do have that power, Chronos. But that would be pointless, for my service to you is finished from your perspective, and, if I departed this frame, who would take care of Dursten? When the occasion is appropriate, I will depart of my own accord," She made uncompromising sense. "Good-bye, then, friend," he said sadly, shaking her tentacle. He turned to Dursten. "Bat, I have found the way back to my planet of Earth. I thank you for risking your gallant life to help me, and wish you every success here." "Shux, '(weren't nothing," the spaceman said, abashed in his handsome, rough-hewn, manly way. His eyes flicked toward the woman. "You ain't coming back?" In a sense he was, since his space scene was in Dursten's future. But that wasn't the essence. "I'm not coming back," Norton agreed. "I'm trusting you to keep an eye on Excelsia." "Shore will!" Dursten said enthusiastically. Norton turned to the Alicorn. "Thank you for carrying me those two times," he said. "Without that help, I couldn't have made it through." The Alicorn snorted, swished his tail, and fluttered his wings, embarrassed. Then he nuzzled Norton's ear with his velvety-soft nose. Trot well, good man! Now it was Excelsia's turn. Norton took her in his arms and kissed her. She was a bit like Heaven itself, though her destiny lay closer to Hell; but, as with Orlene and Agleh, he knew he could not continue with her. The Damsel smiled through her tears as they separated. That was all; she understood. Then he turned and walked along the wall until he came to the edge of the prop. He circled it and found himself in a motion-picture studio, with cameras, workmen, a director, and a general atmosphere of rushed chaos. An attractive, mature woman approached him. "You were a fine star, Chronos," she said. "I am only sorry the play did not reach its climactic scene." a a T T n n s s F F f f o o D D r r P P m m Y Y e e Y Y r r B B 2 2 . . B B A A Click here to buy Click here to buy w w m m w w o o w w c c . . . . A A Y Y B B Y Y B B r r "The confrontation with-?" "The Eviler Sorceress," she said. "Yours Truly. I was to seduce you and strip you of your magic ring so you could not escape my clutches. I'm not sure the latter would have been successful, but the former would have been intriguing." Indeed it might have been, for she had a figure very like his Hourglass and was obviously an experienced star. "Better luck with the next leading man," he said. "It's hardly luck," she breathed. "It's magic." He moved on past the personnel and props, finding the exit. When he left the building, he turned back to read the sign above it: SATANIC STUDIOS. Yes, that was what he had thought. This was Hollywood, of course, where Satan could field excellent actors and facilities and be able to operate freely without interference. Probably there were some pretty good motion pictures released under the Satanic imprint, for he was certainly adept at invention. It had been quite an experience, and the Father of Lies' expertise was impressive, but now Norton had broken free of the deception and would be able to balk whatever plot the Prince of Evil had brewing. He turned the sand of the Hourglass yellow and traveled spatially to his mansion in Purgatory. What a relief to be home! But he couldn't rest yet; he had to find out what the Father of Lies was up to, which made the absence of Chronos so important. "Summon Lachesis," he told the butler. "I'd like to talk to her at her earliest convenience." He noted that the mansion clock showed him to be back at the time he had started the third antimatter adventure; the three-person limitation had prevented him from living those hours a third time and slid him smoothly past them. "Immediately, sir," the butler said. Indeed, a spider was swinging down along a thread when he entered the sitting room. She expanded and formed into Lachesis as Norton sat in his easy chair. "Something special on your mind, Chronos?" she asked. "I've been away a few hours," he told her. "I understand Satan is planning something, and I hurried back to balk his mischief. Do you know what it is?" She glanced at him with evident perplexity. "Why should Satan do anything to disturb the status quo?" "Are you teasing me? He wants to win political power on Earth!" "But he already has the inside track on that. All he needs to do is wait." "He has it? When did he get it?" "Sometimes it is difficult for me to untangle my skein enough to isolate significant threads. But the key is political. In about two years there will be a crucial vote in Congress-and though it will be close, it seems Satan has the votes to prevail. From then on, things will go his way, and there is nothing we can do that won't simply make the situation worse. Satan knows that, which is why he isn't worried." "But what about Luna? She won't support him, and-" "Who?" "Luna. Senator Kaftan. Thanatos' woman." "Oh, her. I had forgotten her name. Yes, that woman does keep company with Thanatos, but she's no Senator. She runs a magic shop in Kilvarough." Norton stared at her. "Not a Senator?" a a T T n n s s F F f f o o D D r r P P m m Y Y e e Y Y r r B B 2 2 . . B B A A Click here to buy Click here to buy w w m m w w o o w w c c . . . . A A Y Y B B Y Y B B r r "Never was. Never held any political office at all. Are you sure you have the right name?" Norton realized that something was seriously amiss. "I must have misremembered. I'm sorry I bothered you for nothing." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |