Part 27 (2/2)

'Thou must appreciate the larger picture. I suppose thou canst not be convinced that thy father's side might be wrong-”

'True,” Bane agreed grimly.

”But thou canst appreciate the practicalities of the situation. Like it or not, some you value be hostage.”

”Fleta escaped!”

”But what of those in Proton? Hast thou no interest there, in either thine other self or any other party?”

Shrewd guess! ”Aye,” Bane agreed. 'There be captives there.”

”Whether or not we approve of such tactics, we must deal with what exists, not with what we like. If someone there be held hostage against thy performance, thou canst not be free no matter what occurs in Phaze. And if thine other self be in the power of one like Citizen Purple, thou canst not exchange into Proton without going back into his power. In fact, thou wouldst have to return to the Purple Adept to overlap the location of thine other self.”

Bane nodded. ”I'm not free at all,” he agreed.

”Therefore it behooves thee to cooperate, at least until thou canst discover the situation there. An I tell Purple thou hast changed thy mind, he will let thee return to his Demesnes without molestation. Otherwise, thou canst not do so.”

”But Mach might escape, and free Agape-” Bane broke off, realizing that he had said more than he should have.

”Aye, he might, and come to exchange with thee in the Blue Demesnes, and victory would be thine. But dost thou care to take the chance, when by cooperating with me, at least for a time, thou canst be sure no harm will come to any?”

Bane realized that the Adept was making a disturbing amount of sense. As long as the situation in Proton was in doubt, he should not take any chances he didn't have to.

”Let me think about it,” he said.

”Welcome to, Bane. There be no urgency here, now that thy friend be free. Go home to thy Blue Demesnes, and summon me when thou dost choose.”

”Thou art letting me go?” Bane asked, hardly daring to believe it.

”I told thee: I believe logic, not coercion, will bring thy cooperation. Go talk to thy father, tell him all, and do as he advises thee. He and I have ne'er been close, yet do we respect each other's discretion, and mayhap we can work to mutual benefit.”

Bane considered. This seemed too easy, but the lure of finally getting home with his full story of Proton was great. Once he did that, he could look for Fleta, to be sure she had made it safely back to her Herd. ”Then that shall I do,” he said.

Translucent made a beckoning gesture, and a mermaid swam up. ”Conduct Apprentice Bane to sh.o.r.e, and give him this token of safe pa.s.sage from my Demesnes,” he said. He reached out and caught a small fish from the water, giving it to her.

The mermaid swam up to Bane, and smiled. She was a half-person, of course, but her upper half was as delightfully human as any man could wish. Her hair was as green as seaweed, billowing out behind as she moved, and her full b.r.e.a.s.t.s needed no external support because of the buoyancy of the water. But human interest ended at roughly the waistline, where the scales began. They were tidy scales, of course, tinted the same hue as her hair, but her nether portion could never be mistaken for anything other than a fish. That destroyed the better part of her appeal, for him.

He followed her out of the cave and through the water. He walked along a path that traversed the sea floor, while she swam above it. When the path ascended toward the surface, she halted, handed him the fish, and kissed him on the right ear. She pointed up, and waited while he made his way up and out.

As he broke the surface, the spell that had been on him abated, and he breathed air instead of water. Still waist-deep in the water, he turned to peer down and wave at her. He thought he saw her wave back, but it was hard to be sure.

Then he moved the rest of the way out, carrying the fish. There was a large serpent guarding the land-path; he showed it the fish, and it slithered away, letting him pa.s.s unchallenged. The Translucent Adept seemed to be as good as his word.

Bane's clothing was completely dry, despite his recent immersion. He walked up the path, proceeding east. He knew that he was at the western coast of Phaze, not far from the West Pole; he had a long way to go to reach the Blue Demesnes. There would be no problem, of course; he would simply conjure himself there. He had not dared to try that, when in the Adverse Demesnes but now that he was free, it was feasible.

But he hesitated. He could go-but what of Mach, and Agape in Proton? What would his father, Stile, say to the news that he was in love with an alien creature of the other frame?

Love? Could that be true?

He thought of all the females he had known in Phaze, human and werewolf and vampire and other. He had liked a number of them, and some had been excellent playmates. Suchevane . . .

But none of them had moved into his awareness in the manner Agape had. She was more truly alien than any of them physically, and yet perhaps more truly human too, in her personality. He had not known her long, as his life went, but their acquaintance had been intense.

He wanted to be with her again. He wanted to share more experience with her, whether it was simply a walk down a hall or a talk about other frames or other planets. To be with her by day and by night, just to know she was beside him. She could be in human form, or in protoplasmic form; it hardly mattered. Just so long as it was her.

Was that love? He didn't know. He simply knew that he wanted to go back to Proton, because she was there.

And he could do so, by returning voluntarily to the Translucent Adept. If he returned to his father, and told of this. . .

Bane shook his head, in deep doubt. He was not at all sure how Stile would react to this. Did he really want

to go home and find out?

13 - Agape

Agape waited till the lights dimmed for night, then dissolved. But she did not sleep; she spread herself out deliberately thin, so that she could flow beneath the heavy gla.s.s barrier that formed the front of the cell. The connection was supposed to be hermetically tight, but the floor was not precisely even, so there was not a perfect fit. The crevice was only a fraction of a centimeter, but she could navigate it.

She did so. Then she formed herself, outside the cell, into the likeness of one of the attending serfs she had studied for this purpose. She walked down the hall toward the nearest maintenance service outlet, and tapped the pattern Mach had told her to.

For a moment nothing happened. Then a floor-cleaner trundled toward her, its brushes working. She got out of its way, but it stopped beside her. ”Follow me,” its speaker said. Then it resumed its work.

She followed it down the hall and into a maintenance closet. The door panel closed on them, and it was dark.

”How came you by that code?” a speaker inquired at the level of her head.

”Mach gave it to me,” she said nervously.

”Why?”

”He said you would help me escape from here.”

”What else?”

”He said to trust the machines.”

The panel opened. Now a mobile food dispenser was there. Its top access port opened, revealing a large empty tank within it. ”Enter,” its grille said.

She put her hands and head into its hopper and melted them so that they flowed down inside. Then she melted the rest of her body, setting up a siphon so that all of it could flow in. Finally she drew in the remaining ma.s.s of herself, and settled into the tank.

The lid closed. The food machine moved. She formed an ear so that she could hear anything that might be said to her, and attuned herself to the motion, so that she had some notion where they were going.

They went down the pa.s.sage toward a service ramp. But before the machine could exit on this ramp, a serf approached. ”Hey, foodmach-wait a minute,” the serf said.

The unit halted. ”This unit is out of service,” its grille said.

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