Wielding a Red Sword

by Piers Anthony

  While they dined on curry and the other aspects of an excellent Indian meal, Satan made his pitch.

  "You and I seem to have been working at cross purposes, Mars," he said. "When actually we may have a common purpose."

  "I doubt that," Mym replied. "My sympathy is with the force of good, while you represent the force of evil."

  "We each represent forces of expedience," Satan said. "Just as you understand that there must be violence in mortal affairs, so I understand that there must be evil. Sometimes violence abates evil; sometimes evil abates violence. But the two can go together."

  Mym didn't like the sound of this, but he confined his reaction. "In what way?"

  "It is My duty to harvest the souls where evil preponderates. But too many souls are shades of gray, with the good and evil so hopelessly intertwined that Thanatos himself can barely distinguish them. The situation is too complex; I wish to simplify it by generating more action."

  "More violence?"

  "Yes. One does not get dirty laundry clean without agitation. Since this aspect falls under your—"

  "So you want me to stir up more war," Mym said.

  "Yes. Not too much, just enough to enable the souls to settle out more rapidly."

  "In other words, to have more people die."

  "That is one way to put it. This activity would of course enhance your position."

  "And yours," Mym said. "Because you would reap an earlier and greater harvest of souls. Because the stresses of war would generate famine and slaughter that would not otherwise have existed."

  "Well—"

  "Not interested," Mym said, rising from the table.

  Satan hastened to stay with him. "Of course there could be lagniappe. For example, this borderline soul, the Princess Ligeia, could be made available to you in Purgatory."

  "No!" Ligeia cried.

  Satan glanced darkly at her, and she shrank back, silenced.

  Now Mym looked at her. "Satan requires that you remain with us; I do not. I came to help you, not to oppress you. Certainly I would not take you to the Castle of War if you objected."

  "Oh, no, Mars," she protested. "It's not that! You are a prince, and there are things that only nobility understands. I am sure you would be compatible, and I would gladly go with you, but—"

  "But not at the behest of Satan, as part of a corrupt bargain," Mym concluded.

  Mutely, she nodded.

  Mym liked her attitude. She was correct: there was a camaraderie among those of royal status that commoners accepted but seldom truly grasped—things like the importance of appearances, the routines of palace existence, and the use of concubines. There was much that he would never have to explain to Ligeia, just as he had not to Rapture, and much that she would not have to advise him of. But more than that, it was fitting that royalty consort with royalty. This was one thing that had kept him from dealing with Lila or any other woman. He had to establish a relationship with one of his own station first; then the rest would fall into place.

  Certainly Ligeia was loath to establish any relationship with him by Satan's directive. Only her father had the authority to make such a commitment for her. Or, since her father was in another realm, herself. She would make her own commitment, in her own fashion, or make none at all.

  "We can arrange other habitation for you, woman," Satan said. "Your mortal rank carries no significance here."

  "Let her be," Mym said gruffly. Satan had just demonstrated the ignorance and insensitivity of the commoner. "Isn't it enough that you hold her here illicitly, and that you used her against her will to bring me here? Why try to force further corruption on her?"

  "This is my domain. Mars," Satan said evenly, "The determination of treatment is Mine. This slut is overdue for a touch of flame."

  Slut? Mym controlled his blaze of anger. There would be a reckoning for such insults in due course.

  Satan raised his hand. Ligeia shrank away from him, terrified. Satan pointed, and flame appeared. The fire followed the line traced by his finger, moving toward the woman. Mym stood abruptly, flinging the chair to the rear, and stepped into the path of flame. The fire touched his cloak and turned back, unable to penetrate. "Let her be," Mym repeated.

  "You accept my offer?" Satan asked. "The woman's consent does not matter; she fears the flame and will cooperate without limit to avoid it."

  "I reject the offer," Mym said.

  "Then you may remain the guest of this establishment indefinitely—and she will burn while you reconsider." Satan gestured, and a sheet of flame appeared. Ligeia whimpered.

  Mym put his arm about her, enfolding her within his protective cloak. The flame leaped up about them both, harming neither. "I believe it is time to see that this woman has a fair hearing," he said.

  "You may not be touched," Satan said. "But she is Mine. You can not hold her." He lifted one hand and snapped his fingers.

  Huge, menacing demons appeared at the entrance to the restaurant. Some had horns and tails and snorted fire; others had huge crab claws in lieu of hands. They closed in on Mym and the girl.

  "Get a good hold on her," Satan directed them. "His substance is not subject to our power, but hers is. Take hold and pull; he will let her go, lest she be torn apart."

  Mym bit his tongue. He was here in spirit only, but he felt the pain and tasted the blood. "Do not touch her," he warned the demons.

  "No, I will go with them!" Ligeia protested. "It is another trap for you, Mars! Satan means to—"

  Six demons pounced, converging. Two grabbed for her feet, hauling them up and apart. Two more grabbed for her hands, doing the same. One grabbed for her silver hair, pulling cruelly on it. The sixth, slavering, opened its tusked face to take a horrendous bite of her bosom.

  That sixth received Mym's fist in its teeth. The tusks broke off and the teeth were jammed back into its throat. The demon fell, choking on ivory. It was evident that the powers of Mars remained with him, even in spirit form.

  But the strength of the other demons was hauling the girl away from Mym's other arm that held her about the waist. Mym realized that to deal with the demons, he would have to have both hands free—which meant letting her go. He didn't trust that; she could be whisked away in an instant, the moment he lost physical contact. How would he ever locate her again in this fell region?

  But even though he retained his hold on her, it was no good, because the five demons were trying, literally, to pull her apart. The two on her arms were bracing to haul in opposite directions, the one on her hair was yanking so hard that her eyes were being drawn wide open, and the two on her feet were wedging her legs so far apart that they were spread almost a hundred and eighty degrees.

  Mym used his free fist to club one of the arm-holding demons on the skull. The skull caved in and the demon fell. Then, moving with the blinding rapidity available to him in the berserker state, he swung his hand across, caught the hair of the hair-pulling demon, and yanked the entire demon up into the air and down against the floor, breaking its hold and body in the process.

  But the three remaining demons had not left off. Taking advantage of Mym's own effort, they succeeded in getting Ligeia free of his grasp. He leaped at one of the leg-holding demons, grabbed one of its own legs, lifted it, braced one of his feet against the other leg and forced a split that went into an obtuse angle before the demon's leg broke off.

  Mym whirled—and saw the two remaining demons dragging Ligeia across the room. Rather, one was dragging, its hands locked under her shoulders and about her bosom, while the other was using its pincers to clasp her thighs apart while it walked into her. In a moment its evident demon lust would—

  Ligeia screamed.

  Mym had never before heard a sound of that nature. It pierced the atmosphere of Hell, like a power saw cutting through metal, and stunned the demons. They fell away, leaving her collapsed and sobbing.

  Mym was unaffected, protected by his office. So was Satan. "Now you see what she is," Satan said. "You don't want
to get involved with a creature like that."

  "What is she?" Mym demanded.

  "A siren, of course. One who destroys with her voice. The secret shame of her royal family; such defects are not supposed to run in royal lines. That's what got her sent here."

  Secret shame? Mym, the stutterer, understood very well about that sort of thing.

  Satan shrugged. "Well, might as well wrap this up; she's of no further use to Me." He raised his hand.

  Mym leaped across, again intercepting the flame with his cloak. "I don't care what she is; she's a decent soul!"

  "Another reason you can't have her," Satan said. "Had she been willing to cooperate, I would have let her be with you. As it is, I shall treat her unkindly." He glanced about, noting the sprawled demons. "But first I had better gag her." He gestured, and a snake appeared, wrapped about Ligeia's head, its body wedging into her mouth so that she could not speak.

  Mym realized that there was no way to protect her from Satan's direct mischief. Not here in Hell. Unless he could manage to hide her, somehow.

  He took hold of the woman, heaved her up and ran out of the restaurant. Beyond it was a flat, bare plain—no place to hide!

  But he was Mars, he reminded himself. He could change his aspect, and the aspect of anyone with him. Simply by touching the Red Sword.

  Oops! He had left that with his body.

  Still, physical separation did not cut off the Sword's attachment to him. He should be able to do the magic of the office regardless, even here in Hell. All he had to do was will it.

  He rendered himself invisible. He hoped. He could still see himself and Ligeia, but—

  Several more demons charged out of the restaurant. "And tear her apart!" Satan's voice came after them. "Or you'll be torn in her stead!"

  The demons paused, peering about. They saw nothing, though Mym and Ligeia were standing near, she with the snake still wrapped about her head. The three of them—man, woman and snake—could be perceived only by each other, for the moment.

  Except Satan himself. As another Incarnation, Satan would not be subject to the illusion. Mym knew he had to get Ligeia away before Satan emerged.

  He ran across the plain, carrying her, for she was not moving voluntarily. He knew why; she did not want to be either a drag or a corrupting influence on him. She was a decent girl who meant no harm, yet had been required to be the agent of much mischief. Probably she would have let the demons take her away to the torture, had one not threatened to rape her on the spot.

  Suddenly the plain ended. Mym stopped abruptly. This was not a plain, it was the level top of a mesa! The dropoff was sheer and seemed to extend a kilometer. It was awesome.

  The demons were spreading out, going over the entire area, searching. Satan had not yet emerged, but could do so at any moment.

  Mym hurried along the brink, searching for some way down. He didn't want to have to jump. He was a soul, and Ligeia was a soul, so they couldn't be killed, but he was sure the fall would incapacitate her for a time and be extremely painful. He might suffer himself; he wasn't sure whether his office protected him from acts of sheer folly in Hell.

  There was a path, a niche, a crevice leading down! Mym walked down it, getting them out of the line of sight to the restaurant. For the moment, Satan would not be able to spy them; that was all that counted.

  Ligeia struggled, still unable to speak. "Don't do that!" Mym warned. "Look where we are!"

  She craned her head to look, stiffened, and went slack. She didn't like that sort of height any better than he did.

  "They've got to be here somewhere!" Satan's voice came. "If not on the mesa, then on the slope. Did you check the slope?"

  Mym knew that in moments this scant path would be swarming with demons. They would not be able to see the fugitives—but would they be able to feel them? In life. Mars could make himself intangible, invisible, or both at once. But this was not life, and he feared that one spirit could not be made insubstantial to another spirit. After all, Ligeia had become tangible to him when he encountered her in spirit form in the capsule in the palace of ice. He could not afford to risk contact with a demon.

  Yet the invisibility ploy was working, so maybe—

  Now the silhouette of a demon showed at the rim of the mesa. The demon started down the path.

  Mym looked ahead. The path wended on down and around the mountain. He had to follow it; there was nowhere else to go. He would not risk contact with any demons unless he had no other alternative.

  "I'm setting you down; stay with me," he whispered to Ligeia.

  She shook her head in negation, still unable to speak because of the snake.

  Mym reached across and took hold of the snake. Quickly he caught its head, and squeezed it just hard enough to make the reptile realize that it was in his power. Then he unwound it, freeing the woman. "You have been very good about this, wanting to spare me further trouble," he whispered. "But now I'm in trouble, and so are you. Neither of us has anything to gain at this point by having the demons capture you. If you leave me now, all it could do would be to give away my location. Do you want that?"

  She shook her head no.

  "Then follow me," Mym said. "As long as you stay close, you will remain invisible." He turned, holding the snake with one hand, and proceeded down the path.

  A short distance down, the path widened, and an overhang developed. This was a relief, because any slip would send them tumbling off the mountain. Mym saw that there was a hole in the overhang; perhaps this was the remains of an ancient cave. But the path continued on down, and the demon had been joined by others behind, so Mym didn't pause.

  Then he heard something. Demons—ahead! They were coming up the path from below!

  "We're trapped!" Ligeia moaned. "But I can scream at them—"

  "And alert the whole of the rest of Hell to our location!" Mym returned. "Keep your mouth shut!" He considered momentarily. "We'll have to try that cave."

  "Oh, I hate caves!" she said.

  He ignored that. They moved back up the path, and to the cave. The demons above were getting close.

  "I'll boost you up," he said. "Then I'll follow." He wished he had the Red Sword; with that he could have flown right off the mountain.

  Well, maybe he could do that anyway. After all, if the invisibility worked—

  He tried it, willing himself into the air, while Ligeia made her way cautiously up the rock. Nothing happened. Evidently he could change his appearance by himself, but had to have the Sword right with him in order to travel. Perhaps it needed to see exactly where he was going in order to operate. Or maybe he simply didn't have the right mental key for remote control. Too bad.

  He boosted her by the pert bottom, and she scrambled up into the hole. "Very well—here's the snake," he said, handing up the reptile. Ligeia seemed less than eager to handle it again, but took it. Then he fitted his hands to the edges of the hole and heaved himself up. She was there to help him navigate the edge.

  It was a small cave, hardly more than an etching in the mountain, but large enough to hold them comfortably. The snake settled down to the side, seeming satisfied.

  The demons reached the overhang, talking gruffly among themselves. "Oh, I'm afraid!" Ligeia whispered.

  Mym put his arm about her shoulders. "Remember, they can not see us. Just be quiet, and they'll pass."

  She was quiet, though her body shivered. The demons tromped by from the upper path, grumbling; evidently they felt that this search was so much foolishness. Mym wondered how they could be so similar to mortals in their minor reactions, if they were soulless constructs of ether. They should have no personality, but that was obviously not the case. Perhaps demons were crafted in Satan's image, much the way man, according to the occidental mythos, was crafted in God's image. Of course that was illusory; how could such imperfection come from perfection? Man had a delusion of grandeur. Mym was glad that he did not share such confused thinking. Reincarnation made so much more sense that any sensi
ble person should be able to understand it.

  The upper demons met the lower demons. There was an outcry, and the sound of a brief skuffle; then a descending wail as one of them fell or was thrown off the ledge. Irascible creatures, demons!

  Now the demons tromped back up the path. "Not on this ledge," one was muttering. "I don't care what His Foulness says! We'd have found them, if—"

  "The cave—did you check the cave, you moron?" another demanded.

  "What cave, imbecile?" the other asked.

  "That cave, idiot!" the other retorted. "The one we use to entertain that demoness in our slack time."

  "Oh, that cave," the first demon said. "Where is that demoness, now? I haven't seen her in a century."

  "She's on sunside duty," the second replied. "Seducing some mortal."

  "Some mortals have all the luck," the first muttered. His tusked face poked into the cave from below.

  Ligeia stiffened, for the demon was staring right at them. But the creature's gaze passed through them, and it saw nothing but the cave. They truly were invisible.

  Then the demon spotted the snake, which was separate from Mym, and just beyond the ambiance of his power. The demon reached for the snake, but the snake rose up hissingly and opened its jaws wide, and the demon thought the better of it. His head ducked down. "Nothing but wildlife here."

  "Well, let's go back," the other demon said. "Either they fell off the mountain, or they never were on this path. I don't know why Satan's so hot to get them; they can't escape Hell anyway."

  "He wants to torture the woman, rotface," the first said. "She was supposed to corrupt the Incarnation, and she tried to bug out, so she's in for it."

  "Yeah, I hope Satan gives her to me to play with," the second said as they resumed their tromp up the path. "I'd bring her right back here to this cave and really work her over! Did you see those legs when we held her?"

  "I was on one of those legs, snotpuss! I saw all the way up..." The sound faded as they departed.

  "Oh, I hate those demons!" Ligeia whispered. "All they think about is lust and torture!"

  "Well, Hell is supposed to be an unpleasant place," Mym responded, "to make the damned souls regret their crimes in life."