And so the woman who awoke with a start in the chair was not an agent, nor did she even know what the Seven were. She was, in fact, a carbon copy of the original Daji, a woman with the body of a goddess, the mind of a child, and an insatiable worship of and lust for older women. The agent of Hell had not minded. Otherwise, this sort of life would have been unbearable.
The woman in the chair frowned, annoyed by the prattle of the recorder. She got up, went over to it, and shut it off. The recording on it erased automatically. She popped out the small module, picked another at random and popped it in. A lively tune began playing, which she started humming along with and dancing to. Eventually she tired of the game and went into the Sister General’s office and walked up to the sleeping falcon. “Oooo, my pretty birdie! Daji’s just gonna love you to death.”
It was well into the night, and the Sister General had long ago returned. Now both she and Daji were asleep on the bed in the next room, and the entire complex was in darkness save for a small nightlight in the commode.
Deep below the temple, below the sub-basement and foundation itself, below even the glassy-smooth lock base, something triggered on. Now there was a slight hissing noise in the sub-basement itself, and in the area marked in dull chalk in the empty and damp room a form took shape. None in Anchor could see the form, and none in Flux would want to. It was a creature of pure energy, yet so terrible was it to gaze upon that humans would go mad at the sight, could they see it at all. Slowly it looked around, not seeing as things of flesh and blood saw but sensing energy and receiving direction. Slowly, it stepped off the chalk-marked area in the floor and up to the door. Although the light was still switched off, the lone hanging bulb suddenly glowed.
It paused only a moment at the door, then seemed to flow under it and out the other side. Once in the corridor, which itself became lit as the bulbs received the energy from the creature, it moved slowly and deliberately down to the far end, where a complex of machinery whined dully. It merged carefully with the power grid, not wanting to overload it, although those still awake not only in the Temple but throughout the capital’s electrically powered area frowned and noticed lights seemed to be burning brighter and electrical devices seemed to speed up slightly.
Firmly in the power grid, the creature rode it, searching the entire Temple area until it came upon the one place it was searching for. The tiny nightlight in the Sister General’s bathroom glowed, then flared and burnt out, as the creature entered, but other lights came on in their ghostly fashion. In the bedroom, one of the sleeping women gave a muffled cry, turned over, and was soon fast asleep again.
The creature was not heading for the bedroom, but for the Sister General’s office. The rear area was again in darkness as the lights in the office came eerily to life.
The Soul Rider inside the sleeping bird read the intense energy field and was confused. It knew the nature of the creature, but could not comprehend how it had gotten here. Still, it understood that the unknown power that directed its destiny had sent an ally, although it was unprecedented in form. The Guardians of the Gates of Hell were in fact creatures of Flux with a specific mission, and to have one detach itself from that mission was almost impossible to believe.
The Soul Rider sensed the Guardian, but had no common language to speak to it, if, indeed, such a creature had speech. Still, when the Rider understood that the Guardian was about to touch its host, it screamed out, “No! Do not destroy the host!”
Energy touched the sleeping bird, and engulfed it, then transformed it. Matter became energy, and the stronger of the three entities now carried the other two in a manner that had no words to describe. Back again they went to the bathroom, and into the electrical system at the nightlight. Again, all electrical devices flared in the capital, and in the wardens’ security office the alarm board rang. The startled warden looked up at the board, which showed every single alarm in the Temple triggered all at once, with all the tiny lights flashing on and off. “Damn!” she swore. “A stinking short on my shift!”
Below, the Guardian emerged once more from the power grid and walked to the door in the sub-basement, then flowed under it and back to the chalk-marked area. The area glowed for a moment, and then they were in the tunnel at the gate to Hell itself.
The Guardian moved swiftly up the tunnel, which blazed with light, then up through the hole and into the air above the saucer-like depression. The Soul Rider and its companion were flung high into the air and out, away from the gate and into the void.
The Soul Rider was confused and bewildered, but lost no time in acting. Having been present at the casting of the spell on its host it knew the counter, and rushed it into form, with modifications to suit the occasion. It did not understand what had just occurred, but it certainly knew why.
The energy that had been transformed from matter became matter again, reconstituted. Cass burst into sudden consciousness, remembering everything, including the details of what had happened while she was in bird form, although it all seemed distant, unreal, almost like it had happened to someone else. Her last clear personal memory had been going into the hotel room in Globbus.
Instinctively she stretched out, and was startled to find that she did indeed have wings. So she was still a bird, and it had been no dream, but she was now in Flux, thinking, remembering, and free. She wondered how she had gotten here, since the last bird memory was the Sister General and Daji playing with her, then hooding her to sleep, but here she was, suddenly whole in mind and flying through the void.
Only it wasn’t a void.
Below she saw the void as wizards and stringers saw it, a criss-crossing network of complex lines of differing colors and intensities. They had an insubstantial look to them, much the same as the afterimage of a swinging light, but they were fixed in place and could be followed.
She banked and circled a moment, staring at the patterns, flying as if it was the most normal and natural thing in the world to her, but she felt some concern. She knew she had to get back, to warn Matson and the others, but which of those strings led to Globbus? Which to Persellus? Which to other places, perhaps Anchor Logh itself?
Although there were countless secondary strings, there were only three main ones, so she picked one at random and followed it, hoping it would lead eventually to someplace that would orient her. Although there were no real landmarks except the occasional patterns in some of the secondary strings, she knew that she was flying abnormally fast and realized that she was feeling neither hunger nor thirst. The Flux was supplying all the energy she required.
She was upon it almost before she realized it, breaking through into Anchor. At that moment she felt herself start to drop like a stone, and with great difficulty she turned herself back into the void, thankful that she had had enough altitude to make it in time. Strength and that curious sense of weightlessness returned. Now, at least, she knew where she was, for below her as she’d started to fall had been the apron and gate to Anchor Logh.
Now two main trails led from Anchor, and she picked the right-hand one, remembering Matson’s comment that Globbus and Persellus were almost the same distance from the Anchor. She realized after a bit that she still wasn’t certain if this was the route to Persellus or to Globbus, but she had no choice now but to follow it and pray that there were no other forks. Suddenly she passed over two figures, odd enough to see along any route in the void. She was going too fast to tell much about them, but banked, slowed, and approached them again, flying high enough, she hoped, to avoid their detection but just low enough that when she banked and came around again she could see more about them.
Both were mounted on horses with just saddlebags for their gear. One was a young, handsome man dressed in riding clothes who had a full, light beard. The other was a small, well-built woman, bare from the waist up but wearing a broad-brimmed hat and blue denim work pants. She recognized the figure. Suzl! But who was the other man? An agent of Haldayne’s, or one of Mervyn’s men? After all this, she decide
d she had to risk an appearance. At least these two, alone, would be easier to deal with if the man were an enemy than an armed and wizard-filled camp suspicious of everything and likely to shoot first and ask questions afterwards. She came around again and this time dipped low in front of them, so both could see her. She saw their faces look forward and up, and their mouths droop, but they made no hostile moves. Both riders, however, stopped, and she circled once more as they watched and landed right in front of them.
With a shock she saw that she was as large as they were, if not even larger. They stared at each other for a moment, and she wondered if she could speak. Finally she said, “Suzl?” It sounded right.
Suzl frowned. “Cass? Is that really you? Holy Mother of Universes! What in hell happened to you?
Feeling a little relieved, she responded, “First, who’s that with you?”
The young man chuckled. “Why, my dear, I am Mervyn.” His voice changed, taking on the old man’s low, broken cackle. “We are what we choose to be in Flux.”
She looked back at Suzl. “Is that right?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Second biggest shock I ever had. You’re the third. What happened to you at the hotel? Who changed you into—that?”
“I’m not sure what ‘that’ is,” she told them honestly. “Some sort of bird, I guess.”
“Some sort, yes,” Mervyn agreed, and made a gesture. Between them appeared a huge mirrored surface, and she could see herself.
Her body was that of a giant falcon, and her arms were wings, but her underside, raised up and facing them, was human all the way, and she had her own face, although feathers replaced hair on her head. She stared at the reflection for a moment more in wonder than in shock or horror.
“The only reason I didn’t bring you down was because I sensed the Soul Rider still inside you,” the wizard told her. “It has certainly delivered you from evil.” The mirror vanished, and both riders dismounted and sat down, relaxing. “Now, then, tell me all that you have been through. Spare nothing.”
She went into extreme detail, although it still seemed like a dream to her. When she finished the wizard just nodded and sat thoughtfully for a moment. Finally he said, “It is very clever. It is, in fact, diabolical. It should have worked completely, for I know that while a Soul Rider can exist in Anchor its powers there are minimal and mostly involved in influencing specific actions of others. I would love to know how you escaped, how it escaped.”
“I’m not sure I do,” Cass replied. “I don’t have any real memories between the time they stuck that hood over me until I was suddenly flying in the void, but there’s a sense there of something— terrible. I really can’t describe it.”
“I can read it inside you, but aside from verifying your sensations there is nothing more I can make of them. It is certainly not anything I’ve ever experienced from a Soul Rider before, nor are they particularly—terrible, as you call it.” He sighed. “No matter for now. It is a question now of what to do next.”
Cass looked at them. “If you’re such a powerful wizard, how come you two are riding to Anchor Logh? Couldn’t you just transform the both of you into flying things like me and make it quicker?”
“I could,” the wizard agreed, “but, for one thing, we would arrive without bags or horses, and that would terrify the guards. There were also other factors, not the least of which was timing. I needed some time to think, and it would not do to arrive too early. If we got the aid we are seeking they would be hot to ride out immediately and on their own, and that would be disastrous. And, finally, I wanted to check this route in detail, for it forms the third arm of the triangle with Globbus, Persellus, and Anchor Logh, with the Hellgate in the center of that triangle. I wanted no surprises, and could trust none but a wizard of my rank to do the survey. I suspected that Haldayne was not acting alone. Otherwise he would not be so bold in his actions.”
“Well, you’ll clearly get no help from Anchor Logh, not with dear Daji as the power behind the throne.”
“On the contrary, I think we will get it. This dual personality trick is a favorite of Haldayne’s in Anchor, because it is impossible to detect there. By the same token, a command from a third party must be made in order to summon up the original personality.”
“But surely Haldayne and she have agents in the Temple, ones that will find out I escaped and trigger it.”
“Perhaps,” Mervyn replied, “but perhaps not. All the Daji personality knows is that her pet escaped and is gone. This will upset her for a while, but the Sister General will console her and give her a new toy or something and she may forget all about it. The agents might never know, or never know the importance. Even if they do find out, they must trigger the other personality, and one or more must be taken through this intriguing gate access and then get to Haldayne, who must respond. This will take time, particularly since those agents are unlikely to be wizards of any significance. By that time we will have had our audience.”
“Maybe,” Cass said dubiously, “but what good will that do us? I mean, if this woman is this highly placed, then she’s probably got agents or corrupt innocents all over the place. That army might wind up fighting on the wrong side if at all.”
“But I don’t care about its loyalty,” Mervyn told her. “Don’t you see? Haldayne has rigged things to lose. They will contribute and they will fight well with us because of that alone. After—well, think of this. Isn’t it obvious to you by now that we must not only conquer Persellus but Anchor Logh as well?”
Both of the others looked shocked. It really hadn’t occurred to either of them until now.
“And, if we do, I certainly would prefer a good share of their army out under our control in Flux. It’ll make things a lot less bloody, I suspect.” He laughed. “No, now that we know it all, I think we are about to give a truly bitter pill to Mister Haldayne.” He sighed and got up. “And now we must let the others know of our plans. That will mean a slight inconvenience.”
“I could fly back with it,” Cass suggested. “I kind of like this.”
“No, unless you were lucky enough to come across a first class wizard they would at least try to kill you, certainly not listen to what you have to say, or believe a word of it if they do. I’m afraid I must go, but this time I will take the express. You two are still half a day’s ride from Anchor Logh. You go on, and I will catch up to you.”
It was Suzl who looked distressed at that. “But how will we find our way in the void?”
Mervyn chuckled. “That should present no problem at all. You see, as she is just discovering, Cass is a wizard herself and a fairly strong one, although limited right now to her own self.”
“What!” they both cried in unison.
He nodded. “It took this stress and trauma to bring it out, although it has been latent all along. That is why the Soul Rider chose you. I knew it the moment I sensed the Rider, for Riders are limited to using the powers and abilities of their hosts. That is why your escape is so puzzling— Flux has no power in Anchor, as you well know. Now that you know, and now that crisis has brought it out, you can use it. You could not have found us unless you were following a main trail—correct?”
Cass nodded soberly. “Yes, that’s true. I found I could see them. But I thought it was the Soul Rider or the transformation.”
“No. It merely brought them out in you. Now, understand, you have power but no knowledge. That means that this power as regards specific things will affect only you or that which you need or which threatens you. Without much study and much mathematical training you cannot know how powerful you really are or use it practically. But you can follow this trail, and if you need water you can find or even create it. Besides, I still want a good look at this whole route by a wizard I can trust. You fill that bill.”
“But—what about this form?” she asked lamely.
“If you concentrate hard enough, you can be anyone or anything you wish to be, with any attributes you need,” he told her. “It will take much e
xperimentation to get it right all the time, but you should at least have no problem whatsoever in becoming yourself, for you know your true form better than anyone. Try it now. Just close your eyes and concentrate on your old self. Picture it, and want to be that way again. Go ahead.”
She did as instructed. She remembered herself, not as she was, but as she remembered that slightly redone Cass in the mirror at Miss Rona’s. She pictured it, remembered it, and called up the same amazed satisfaction.
She opened her eyes. “See? Nothing?”
“Oh no?” Suzl responded. “Don’t you feel a little—shorter? And maybe a little hairier?”
She looked down at herself, and gasped. She was, in fact, human once again. That body looked very familiar, although it was stark naked. She brought her arms up and looked at her hands. Her hands! She felt her head, and there was hair there, although not tied, just streaming down. “I did it,” she said wonderingly.
“That you did. And if you need to be a bird woman again, just think of that image you saw. That’s the way it works on a personal basis.”
She grinned. “I’ll be damned! Wow!” She hesitated a moment. “But—wait a minute. I can’t go into Anchor dressed like this.”
“Why not?” Suzl asked. “That’s the way you left it.”
The wizard shrugged. “We’ll have to teach you a few simple tricks when we can. For now—” he snapped his fingers—“that should do it.” And, suddenly, she had on a short-sleeve red pull-over shirt, brown work pants, and boots. “Yeah, you will….” she breathed.
“Well, I’m off. If I’m not back before you get to Anchor, wait on the apron for me. Under no account go in there alone. Particularly not you, Cass. If word is out, Haldayne will have you marked for instant death this time, Soul Rider or not.”
16
HOMECOMING
They rode along for a while, just getting up to date.
Spirits of Flux and Anchor Page 22
