Part 22 (1/2)
”With the Oracle, of course. You had to be provided some hint of your destiny.”
”That's what I suspected.” The Oracle had been meddling in his life throughout, guiding or herding him in the prescribed direction.
Yet could he condemn it? The future of the two frames was certainly an overwhelming consideration, and the Oracle's present avenues of expression were extremely limited. There had been rewards along the way. Stile had been given Citizens.h.i.+p in Proton and a worthy ally in the lady robot Sheen. He had been given the Lady Blue in Phaze and such close friends as Neysa the unicorn and Kurrel gyre the werewolf. He had seen his life transformed from the routine of serfdom to the wildest adventure-and de spite its hazards, he found he liked adventure. He also liked magic. When this was all over, and he had helped save or destroy Phaze-depending on viewpoint-he wanted to retire in Phaze.
But there was one other prophecy. ”Is it true that Phaze will not be secure until the Blue Adept departs the frame forever?”
Clef was sober. ”I fear it is true. Stile. Possession of the book of magic alone will make you dangerous. You will have great power in the new order anyway, and the book will make it so much greater that corruption is a distinct possibility. That book in any hands in Phaze is a long-term liability, after the crisis has been navigated. The Oracle takes no pleasure in such news-of course it is a machine without feelings anyway-but must report what it sees.” Stile loved the Lady Blue-but he also loved Phaze. She loved Phaze too; he did not want to take her from it. In the other frame there was Sheen, who loved him and whom he was slated to marry there. He did not quite love her, yet it seemed his course had been charted. He closed his eyes, suffering in antic.i.p.ation of his enormous loss. His alternate self had yielded his life for the good of Phaze; now it seemed Stile would have to yield his happiness for the same objective. He would have to leave Phaze, once the crisis had pa.s.sed, and take the book with him back to Proton.
Clef looked at him, understanding his agony. ”Scant comfort, I know-but I believe the Oracle selected you for this mission because you alone possessed the position, skills, and integrity to accomplish it. No other person would make the sacrifice you will-that your alternate already has made-guided solely by honor. Your fitness for the office has been proved.”
”Scant comfort,” Stile agreed bitterly.
”There is one additional prophecy I must relay to you immediately, before we part,” Clef said. ”You must marshal your troops.”
”Troops? How can they juxtapose the frames?” Clef smiled. ”The Oracle prophesies the need for organized force, if Phaze is to be saved.”
”And I am to organize this force? For what specific purpose?”
”That has not yet been announced.”
”Well, who exactly is the enemy?”
”The Adepts and Citizens and their cohorts.”
”Common folk can't fight Adepts and Citizens.”
”Not folk. Creatures.”
”Ah. The unicorns, werewolves, vampires-”
”Animalheads, elves, giants-”
”Dragons?”
”They are destined to join the enemy, along with the goblins.”
”I begin to fathom the nature of the battle. Half the animalheads will die.”
”And many others. But the alternative-”
”Is total destruction.” Stile sighed. ”I do not see myself as a captain of battle.”
”That is nevertheless your destiny. I am foreordained to juxtapose the frames, you to equalize them. Without you, my task is useless.”
”These canny riddles by the Oracle are losing their appeal. If this is not simply a matter of picking up a book of magic and moving some Phazite the Little Folk will give me, I would appreciate some rather more detailed information on how I am to use these troops to accomplish my a.s.signment. I don't believe in violence for the sake of violence.”
Clef spread his hands. ”Nor do I. But the prophecy tells only what, not how. Perhaps the Elven Folk will have more useful news for you.”
”Perhaps. But won't the enemy Adepts be watching for me to go to the Elven Demesnes?”
”Surely so.”
”So I should avoid whatever traps they have laid for me there, for my sake and the elves' sake. I can't visit the Little Folk at this time, and I suspect I should also stay clear of the unicorns and werewolves. So it will be very difficult for me to organize an army among creatures who know me only slightly. Especially when I can't give them any concrete instructions.”
”I do not envy you your position. I am secure; the Oracle is virtually immune from direct molestation. But you must perform under fire, with inadequate resources. Presumably your Game expertise qualifies you. As I said, the Oracle went to some trouble to secure the right man for this exceedingly awkward position.”
”Indeed,” Stile agreed, unpleased.
Now they reached the curtain. Stile doubted the Adepts would be lurking for him here; how could they know his devious route? But they would soon spot it when he started magic. He would have to move fast, before they oriented and countered.
Stile plotted his course and spells as they got out of the capsule and walked up a ramp to the surface. There was an air lock there. ”The curtain is a few meters distant; best to hold our breath a few seconds,” Clef said.
”You have certainly mastered the intricacies in a short time.”
”The Little Folk are excellent instructors. They don't like folk my size, but they do their job well. I will be sorry to depart Phaze.”
Not nearly as sorry as Stile would be! ”I will make my spells rapidly, the moment we cross,” Stile said. ”The Flute prevents magic from being blocked, so the enemy can not interfere, but it may resist a spell by a person not holding it.”
”Have no concern. I could block your magic by a single note, but don't have to. I trust you to get me to the Oracle in good order.”
Stile paused in the air lock. ”We may not meet again, but we shall be working together.” He proffered his hand.
”Surely we shall meet,” Clef said warmly, taking the hand, forgetting his own prior doubt on this score. Then they opened the air lock, held their breath, and charged out to intersect the faintly scintillating curtain ahead. The air-lock door swung closed automatically be hind them. It was camouflaged to resemble an outcropping of rock; Stile had pa.s.sed it during his honeymoon without ever noticing.
They stepped through together. The bleak, barren desert became lush wilderness. Stile played a few bars on the harmonica, summoning his magic. Now he was conscious of the spirit of his other self within the instrument, facilitating his performance. No doubt he had been able to practice magic much more readily and effectively because of this help than would otherwise have been possible.
”Adepts be deaf; computer get Clef,” Stile sang. He was trying to conceal his magic from the awareness of the enemy; he wasn't sure that aspect would work. Clef vanished. Stile played some more, restoring the expended potency of the magic. This time he was conscious of its source, Phazite, with an ambience of magic like a magnetic field; the music intensified and focused this on Stile, as a magnifying gla.s.s might do with a beam of suns.h.i.+ne. The transfer of Phazite to Proton-frame would diminish this ambience, robbing his spells of half their potency. Still, Phaze would be a magic realm-and of course he would probably leave it, so as to make it safe.
”Conduct me whole,” he sang, ”to the East Pole.” He splashed in water. Naturally that was why this region was not a tourist attraction. The water was foul too; the universal Proton pollution was slopping through. All the more reason for tourists to stay clear! Stile trod water and played his music again. ”Set it up solo: a floating holo.”
A buoyed holographic transceiver appeared. Stile had really strained to get the concept detail on this one. This was to be his contact station, so that he could stay in touch with the two frames from either side. Because it was at the deserted, unpleasant East Pole, it should be secure for some time from the depredations of other Adepts or Citizens. He was sure that by this time the enemy Adepts had b.o.o.by-trapped his fixture at the West Pole and would not expect this alternate ploy. Satisfied, Stile played more music. ”Take me down to see Brown.”
He arrived at the wooden castle of the Brown Adept, feeling nauseous. Self-transport never was comfortable, and he had done it twice rapidly.
In a moment the pretty, brown-haired, brown-eyed child dashed up to him. ”Oh, Blue,” she cried. ”I was so afraid they had hurt thee!”
Stile smiled wanly. ”I had the same fear for thee. Thou alone didst side with me, of all the Adepts.”
She scowled cutely. ”Well, they did tie me up with a magic rope or something. I was going to get a golem to loose me, but then Yellow came and let me go. She's real pretty in her potion-costume! She said all the others were after thee, and she really didn't like it but couldn't go against her own kind. Is that what I'm doing?”
”Thou art helping save Phaze from disaster,” he a.s.sured her.
”Oh, goody!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands. Stile had a second thought about using Brown as an ally. Could a child have proper responsibility? Yet he didn't seem to have much choice. She had at least had the courage to oppose the other Adepts, which was more than Yellow had had.
”I need thy help in an important capacity,” he said. ”There may be hard work and even danger.”
”If Phaze is in trouble, I'm already in danger,” she said brightly.
”Aye. The other Adepts prefer to risk disaster later, for the sake of power now. I must do something that will make magic less effective, but will save Phaze for future centuries. Then must I leave Phaze.”