by Джеффри Лорд
As Blade stepped toward the bed, the woman rolled over in a swirl of silk and pale legs, then raised her head to look at Blade. Her eyes were enormous, staring wildly without understanding, and with huge dark circles under them. Her blonde hair was a tangled mess, dark and stiff with grime. She laughed, a low bubbling sound deep in her throat that made Blade's flesh crawl and nearly made him turn around and leave the room much faster than he'd come in. She raised a thin hand to point at him, a shaking hand with black circles under untrimmed fingernails. She laughed again, and then she swung her legs off the bed, sprang to her feet, and came toward Blade.
Blade forced himself to stand and meet the woman's eyes as she came at him. As he got a better look at her, he realized that she was beautiful, or at least would have been, except for the look in her eyes and her unhealthy thinness. Pale, freckled skin was stretched too tightly over fine bones, and what should have been the generous curves of breast, hip, and thigh were shrunken and flattened. She looked as if she hadn't eaten regularly for months or years.
Then her hands clawed at Blade's shoulders until her fingernails sank through his silk shirt into his flesh. He gripped her arms, trying to control her, but she broke free and stepped back just out of his reach. Her hands made another quick dart, this time to grip her robe at the level of her knees. Before Blade could move or speak, she jerked the robe over her head and flung it away from her so violently that it flew clear across the room.
Certainly the beauty was there, as if asleep under that pale skin showing too many bones. The breasts rose in a proud challenge, the hips and thighs curved gracefully even now, the long legs held both power and elegance. She tossed her head, and Blade wished her hair was clean, loose, and flowing, so he could see it swirl about her high cheekbones and the long, graceful throat. Then she was coming toward him again. There was still a madness in her eyes, but it was a madness of desire, and Blade no longer feared that his own manhood would collapse at the woman's touch.
She went down on her knees before him, her bands tore the seams of his hose, and her lips descended on his bared flesh. They worked upon him until desire was almost pain, and his hands were clutched in her hair, gripping her as if releasing her would release his own hold on life. She stood, and her hands clawed his shirt from his chest and shoulders. Then she gripped both his hands and dragged him toward the bed.
Blade still wore his hose as they lay down on the bed, and he wore them as he thrust deep into the woman. After that it did not matter, for he wouldn't have noticed or cared if he'd been wearing a full suit of plate armor, as long as the woman was there and he was in her.
Blade couldn't have imagined a joining like this before, and he could never describe it afterward. There were no words to do justice to the mixture of pleasure, amazement, and doubt. All he knew was that his joining-he would never call it a lovemaking-was at the same time one of the most exciting and one of the most terrible experiences of his life. He was aware of the woman's body and the incredible joy it was giving him and taking from him. He was just as aware of the ruined mind within that body, and what this joining might do to it or for it.
At last the peak came for both of them, and with terrible violence. Blade found the strength to lie beside the woman and the will to keep his arms protectively about her. He would not simply jump up and leave her lying here, whatever she might do next. He wasn't going to come here again, either. That might offend the Wizard, but his mind was made up. He would look for some excuse that would satisfy the Wizard, but if he couldn't find one, then-
As Blade's thoughts turned to making up a tale for the Wizard, he became aware that the woman was shifting her position, so that her lips were against his left ear. Then those lips were moving, and in another moment he could make out words, in a whisper so faint they would have been lost a foot away.
«Thank you,» the woman was saying. «I could not hope that you would do as well, when I had to keep up my playacting. It is good acting, for it has confused the Wizard himself. I feared it might also confuse you. Now-let us talk, and swiftly. There is much to say, and not much time for saying it.»
«You-«said Blade, then broke off as he realized why the woman was whispering so close to his ear. The room doubtless had eves-droppers listening for whatever was said within it.
«Yes,» she said. «They listen to know if I am truly mad, and they must hear nothing to make them doubt. That would be danger for me, perhaps even for you. Lie where you are and listen. They say you are the Wizard's trusted friend and ally, who has penetrated all his secrets as no man has ever done before. I am Serana Zotair of Morina, who would free my people from the Wizard, and I am as sane as you are. Perhaps saner, if you are truly a friend of the Wizard.»
Blade listened, curious, fascinated, excited, and hardly suspicious or surprised at all. Why should she lie? As for being surprised, Blade was past that now in this mad Dimension, he would not have been particularly surprised if she'd told him she was the Empress of Japan!
She was alone here in the castle, she said, and she had few supporters of her plans even in her native Morina. There were many who hated the Wizard, but few willing to risk the fate he dealt out to his enemies.
She had not planned to become the Wizard's prisoner. That would have been the act of a madwoman. Then her brother conceived of showing his loyalty to the Wizard and getting rid of her by sending her to the castle. She could not ignore the opportunity this offered for digging out the Wizard's secrets.
Blade would know, she said, what she'd endured during the past two years. The Wizard would have told him of the beatings, the brutality from the Wolves, the confinement. Then there was the endless strain of seeming to be mad, a grim battle that at times had almost driven her into real madness. She'd endured it all, and for nothing. The Wolves had knowledge of the Wizard's secrets, but never spoke of them in her presence. The household guards and servants spoke freely, but they knew nothing.
Now Blade had come. He could make it all worthwhile, if he chose to help her. She could neither promise nor threaten anything if he didn't help her. She could only pray that what he knew of the Wizard would tell him what he should do.
Perhaps she was foolish, trusting Blade, the Wizard's intimate friend. Certainly he was the best opportunity she'd ever had. Long before she had another one as good, she would have lost her sanity, if not her life. So what choice did she have?
At this point Blade shifted position, so that his lips were against Serana's ear. In a whisper as soft as hers, he said, «What makes you think I would not help you?» and squeezed her hand.
There was a very long silence, during which Blade held on to Serana's hand and she was obviously trying hard not to burst into tears. Then she rolled over, nuzzled at his cheek, and put her lips back against his ear.
There was not much more to tell and after a few more minutes Blade rose, pulled on his clothes, and left the room. He got rid of his escorts as fast as possible, not wanting to hear any more of their coarse jokes. He also wanted to be alone to think through his plans in the light of this new situation.
Fortunately, he couldn't see that many changes would be needed. He would be visiting Serana again, probably several times, but that wouldn't bother the Wizard. During those visits, he could tell the woman everything he'd learned-enough to let Morina lead a successful rebellion against the Wizard.
Such a rebellion might not be necessary, of course. If the Wizard returned to Home Dimension with Blade, his rule over Rentoro would come to an end naturally. His trained assistants and the Wolves might do their best for a few years, but they would go down sooner or later, whether Morina rebelled or not.
Yet he had to guard against failure. The techniques for getting other people back from Dimension X were uncertain, unreliable, hardly more than guesswork. There was a good chance Blade would end up back in London while the Wizard stayed in Rentoro. That would not only cost Home Dimension the Wizard's secrets, but leave Rentoro under his tyranny. Blade was determined to at
least prevent the second, if he could not accomplish the first.
So Serana Zotair had to learn all the Wizard's secrets, carry them safely to Morina, and reveal them. Blade could tell her everything she needed to know, but getting her out of the castle was another problem.
«I think I see a way,» he told her, on his third visit. «The Wizard thinks I am a learned man. I will say that I believe you will not be cured of your madness unless you are returned to Morina. I will say that you may even die, if you are not sent home for at least a few months. The Wizard does not want to have your death on his hands.»
«No, and neither does Duke Efrim, my brother. He will keep me closely confined, though.»
«Will you be able to send messages to your friends?»
«Yes. But will they do anything? They have not done so, in all the years there has been talk of a new rebellion. Some call themselves leaders in that rebellion, but they have done little enough leading.»
«They may have done nothing because it seemed they would be throwing their lives away in vain. With all the Wizard's secrets in their hands, the odds will be much better.»
«I hope they will see this as clearly as you do. Will you be coming with me to Morina?»
«The Wizard does sometimes let me leave the castle, but not without an escort of Wolves. You would be safer going alone. Go on pretending to be mad, but eat a little more and get some strength back. You may need it, after you reach Morina.» Then there were no further words, only quick breathing and writhing flesh. They had to make love as if Serana was still mad. Blade was sorry they would never be able to do it with the tenderness and affection they both now felt and wanted.
There were dangers in the plan. He could not go with Serana, and only partly for the reason he gave. He had to stay in the castle, close to the Wizard, or throw away any chance of taking the man home with him. Serana would have to play a lone game in Morina, but that should be almost easy for her after what she'd done these past two years in the Wizard's castle.
Blade would also have to make sure the Wizard didn't try to read Serana's thoughts before letting her go. He obviously hadn't done so before, otherwise he would have known that she wasn't mad. Suppose he did so now? There would be hell to pay, for he would be almost certain to learn not only that Serana was quite sane but that Blade had told her all his secrets. Blade suspected the best thing to do in that case would be kill the Wizard and then try to get clear with Serana in the resulting uproar and confusion. It would be a very poor «best.»
Blade mentally kept his fingers crossed, and as the days turned into weeks, he began to think his plan might work. Serana stayed as wild-eyed and incoherent as before, but slowly she put on flesh. The Wizard listened politely to Blade's proposal, seemed to suspect nothing, and said he would give his answer in a week or two. Blade could only hope he would make up his mind before the computer reached out to haul one or both of them back to Home Dimension. If the Wizard did decide to let Serana go, and did not probe her mind, everything should be simple.
Then all at once nothing was simple, because of the Wizard's latest idea.
Chapter 16
Blade and the Wizard were sitting up late in the Wizard's private dining room. Blade reached for the silver wine jug on the low table between them. Then the Wizard spoke and Blade froze with his hand in midair.
«I think it will not be necessary to return Serana Zotair to Morina. In fact, it will not even be possible. In another few weeks there will be no Morina.»
Blade forced himself not to sit up with a jerk, and leaned back in his chair. «Oh? What is going to happen to it?»
«Happen to it, Blade? I am going to happen to it. My Wolves and I. It will be destroyed, so that when I am gone from Rentoro the people will come to where Morina stood and remember me. It will be destroyed, its houses and even its walls cast down, and its people slain to the last graybeard and squalling infant.»
«Certainly the Rentorans will not forget you, if that is your farewell to them,» said Blade. «But isn't it a rather large task?»
«Not for all my Wolves striking together, with surprise and terror on their side. It will be a most unusual sort of terror, for it will be mine.»
«Yours?» Blade was having trouble understanding the Wizard's cryptic references. He was having even more trouble keeping his face expressionless.
«Yes, mine. I shall cross the sky-bridge with my Wolves for the first time, and I shall send terror into the minds of all the people of Morina. They will be an interesting sight, when they find my terror destroying their minds and my Wolves destroying their bodies.»
Blade nodded politely, although «interesting» was not precisely the word he would have used. «Forgive me for raising this possibility again,» he said. «What if we do not return to England and it is your fate to remain here to the end of your life?»
«That will be a long time,» said the Wizard. He shrugged. «If it is my fate to remain in Rentoro, the destruction of Morina will still do me no harm. The people will think that what I have done once, I can do again. They will be even more obedient than they have been, for they will be even more fearful than they have been. I will lose nothing, not even wealth, by destroying Morina. And if it is fate that we both remain here in Rentoro-«He broke off and looked at Blade, who tried even harder to seem perfectly calm. Then, «Richard, do you have sons-sons of your own loins?»
«Yes. I have left several behind me, during my travels.»
The Wizard relaxed visibly. «That is good news-the very best news I could imagine.» His voice was level as he continued. «You see, I have no children, neither sons nor daughters. I had none in Milan, and I have none here in Rentoro. I greatly fear there is no power in my loins to beget children. So I can have no heirs of my body, and I fear that all I have built in Rentoro will fall when I die. I would not have that happen. Too much of my life in Milan was wasted. I would not have it so here in Rentoro as well.»
The Wizard smiled. «You wonder what I am trying to say, Blade? Well, I shall tell you in plain words. If it is our fate to both remain here in Rentoro, you shall be my heir. You shall be the next Wizard, and your sons shall come after you.»
Once again, only the fact that he was getting used to surprises in this Dimension kept Blade from gaping. He returned the Wizard's smile. «I am vastly honored, and believe me when I say that I am grateful beyond words. But-I do not have your mental powers. Could I hope to rule Rentoro without them?»
«You do not have those powers,» said the Wizard, in a gently chiding tone. «But you know those powers can be taught. How else would my assistants be able to control the viewballs and the sky-bridges? I have only given my assistants some of the powers, but to you I would be prepared to give all of them. We would have many years, and you have a powerful mind. I would be very surprised if you could not learn to do everything I can do, and teach your sons in their turn.»
«We may not have many years,» said Blade. «Remember, it is also possible that I may return to England while you stay here in Rentoro.»
«I know that,» said the Wizard impatiently. «I admit that would not make me happy. Still, something can be done about this. The most intelligent of the castle's women will be sent to your bed, and I shall teach the children you get on them. The best shall become my heir. And if we are fortunate, and do have years-«
«Yes?» Blade could not quite control his impatience. He wanted to learn the rest of the Wizard's plans, and then get out of here before he did anything to make the man suspicious. His self-control would not be enough to deceive a telepath much longer.
«If we have years, I shall pick out all the finest young women from Rentoro. I shall examine both the body and the mind of each one. The ten best shall all be sent to the castle, and all ten of them will become yours. You will get children on them, children strong in mind and body like their father and mothers. Then there will be heirs for both me and you, and the rule of the Wizards of Rentoro will never end!»
«You are an ambitious man,
Bernardo.»
«If I was not ambitious, would I be where I am today?»
There was no possible reply to that. Blade frowned in a pretense of concentration. «What about Serana Zotair? Do you plan to make her one of my harem?»
The Wizard shook his head. «Her mind is not strong enough to make her a worthy mother for your heirs. I have other plans for her.» The Wizard smiled, but it was a smile Blade knew too well meant bad news.
«I shall have to examine her mind before I send the Wolves against Morina. If she is not helplessly mad, I shall take her with me when the city falls. It will be interesting to enter her mind and read her thoughts as she watches her city and her people die.»
Blade's face was a mask and his voice was very level. «And if she is too mad to know what she is seeing?»
The Wizard shrugged. «Then there would be no pleasure for me in reading her thoughts. I will turn her over to the Wolves and they can do as they please with her.»
«So I suppose I shall have to take as much pleasure as I can from her, these next few days?» said Blade, trying to smile.
«Yes,» said the Wizard. «Unless you have a taste for corpses?» He laughed coarsely.
«Not I,» said Blade. «Live ones only-the livelier the better.»
«Shall we drink to that?» said the Wizard. He filled both cups and raised his. «To lively women!»
Blade drank and after that there was no more discussion of the fate of Morina. He found it easy to keep his face under control and after a few minutes was able to find an excuse for leaving.
Outside in the hall, he found he had to lean against the wall briefly before he could walk the rest of the way to his own rooms. Had the Wizard gone completely mad or was he just indulging himself more than usual?
It didn't matter. Mad or sane, the Wizard was perfectly capable of carrying out his plans for the destruction of Morina. Those plans had to be defeated. It would be better to defeat them without killing the Wizard himself, but if there was no other way-
