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"In what fashion?"
"He said that he wanted more than your death as we had pla
He was silent for a moment, then continued: "He struck me then. He hit me with his hands. As I defended myself, the fury grew in me and I decided to hurt him badly before I destroyed him. I called upon the Name that I had taken and Belion heard and came to me. I reached a power-pull, and standing in the shadow of Belion I burst the ground at our feet and called up the vapors and flames that dwell at the heart of the world. This was how I almost slew him, for he tottered for a moment on the brink of the abyss. I scalded him badly then, but he recovered his balance. He had achieved his intention; he had forced me to summon Belion."
"What end did this serve?"
"He knew my story, even as I have told it to you. He knew how I had obtained the Name, and he had a plan concerning it which he had been able to conceal from me. Had I known of it, however, I would have been amused. Nothing more. When I saw what he was attempting, I laughed. I, too, believed that such things could not be. But I was mistaken. He made a pact with Belion.
"He had aroused me to anger and placed my life in jeopardy, knowing I would summon Belion if these things occurred and I was given sufficient time. He fought poorly, to give me that time. Then, when the shadow came over me and I stood as one apart, he reached out with his mind and there was communion. In this fashion did he gamble with his life for power. He said, had he spoken with words, 'Look upon me. Am I not a superior vessel to he whom You have chosen? Come number the ways of my mind and the powers of my body. When You have done this thing, You may choose to forsake the Pei'an and walk with me all the days of my life. I invite You. I am better suited than any man alive to serve Your ends, which I take to be fire and destruction. This one who stands before me is weak and would have consorted with the Father of Flowers had he been given a choice. Come over to me, and we both shall profit by the association.'"
Here he paused again.
"And?" I said.
"Suddenly I was alone."
Somewhere a bird croaked. The night manufactured moisture and began to paint the world with it. Soon a light would begin in the east, fade away, come again. I stared into the fire and saw no faces.
"Seems to shoot hell out of the autonomous complex theory," I said. "But I have heard of transferred psychoses among telepaths. It could be something like that."
"No. Belion and I were bound by confirmation. He found a better agent and he left me."
"I am not convinced that he is an entity in his own right."
"You--a Name-bearer--do not believe ... ? You give me cause to dislike you."
"Don't go looking for new _pai'badra_, huh? Look where your last one got you. I only said that I'm not wholly convinced. I don't know. --What happened after Shimdon made his pact with Belion?"
"He turned slowly from the fissure which had opened between us. He turned his back on me, as if I no longer existed. I reached out with my mind to touch him, and Belion was there. He raised his a
"Was he able to use the power-pulls before this thing happened?"
"No, he could not even detect their presence."
"What of the others who have been recalled?"
"They are all of them on the isle. Several of them are drugged, to keep them tranquil."
"I see."
"Perhaps you will now change your mind and do as I suggested?"
"No."
We sat there until light came into the world about fifteen minutes later. The fog was begi
"How long did it take you to crap this place up?" I asked.
"I began altering this section about thirty years ago," he said.
I shook my head, stood and kicked dirt into the fire until I'd smothered it.
"Come on. We'd better get moving."
Gi
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Let's face it, air isn't very glamorous, no matter how you look at it. I mean, I'd hate to be without it, but it's invisible and so long as it behaves itself it can be taken for granted and pretty much ignored. Earth? The trouble with earth is that it endures. Solid objects tend to persist with a monotonous regularity.
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