Страница 76 из 81
He wished that she would weep and beg. But she was very dignifiedand verybrave. What else could you expect from the woman who had once beenJoan of Arc?
"Hold on to her," he said to the others.
Pao and O'Brien pulled her legs apart. They were beautiful, perfect legs, with flawless white skin. The bush on the mound of Venus was thick and auburn. She probably had the most attractive pussy that he had ever seen. There was no hint of the horror that lived coiled inside it.
Childe felt like ordering one of the men to take the next step, but if he had the guts to order this, then he felt obliged to have the guts todo it himself.
Carefully, he inserted the pliers. Vivie
He pushed the pliers in and felt around. His original intentionto close the jaws of the pliers around the head now seemed foolish. He could notget themopen enough, and that thing was too active. But he could drive itout, and hedid.
Its wet, black-haired and black-bearded head shot out past thepliershandles. Its tiny mouth was open, exposing the sharp teeth. Itsforked tongueflickered at him.
With his left hand, he caught it behind the head. He pulled itout slowly asit writhed and then placed the head and a part of the body on thestool.
Pao sucked in his breath. Apparently, up to that moment, he hadexpectedChilde to yank the thing out by its uterine roots and so disco
Childe said, "Hand me that cleaver." Vivie
O'Brien. "You do know how to do it, don't you?"
"I do," O'Brien said. "So, you've recognized me. Did I ever treatyou? No. Anyway, morphine will do no good. She is resistant to it."
"I don't want to inflict physical pain on her," Childe said. "Aslittle as possible, anyway. What kind of anesthetic do you have? I do want herto see this. She is not to be unconscious."
"Never mind that!" Vivie
He did not ask her what she meant by that. He looked down at thesnake-thing, which twisted and hissed. Then he raised the cleaver andbrought itdown hard across the flexible spine.
Blood spurted out across the room. The head rolled off the stooland fell on the floor. Pao picked it up and put it beside the still bleedingtrunk. The head moved its mouth several times, and its eyes glared up at Childe as ifwishinghim evil even after its death. Then the eyes glazed, and the lipsceased to work.
Vivie
O'Brien smeared an ointment over the amputation. The blood quitflowingentirely. Probably, that ointment was not known to Earth doctors norused byO'Brien in his Beverly Hills practice.
O'Brien bandaged up the body, and Vivie
Two women came in and began to clean up the mess. Pao said, "Whatshall we do with the head?"
"Put it down the garbage disposal." Pao said, "Very well. Will you be ready for the ceremony
tonight?" "I'll try," Childe said. "Of course, Breughel emptied me." "Breughel maintains that you asked him to go to bed with you,"
Pao said.
"I would think that his duty would have been to find some excusefor puttingme off. He knew that I should be full again for tonight."
"That is true, but the temptation is very great. And you did askfor what you got. However, if you require it, Breughel will be killed."
"Let him live," Childe said. "Now, if you don't mind, I wouldlike privacy. Complete privacy. Turn off everything, except the intercom, ofcourse. Don't bring me anything to eat until I ask for it. I want to meditate andpossibly tosleep later on."
"As you wish," Pao said.
Childe sat on a chair for a while. He had considered doing whatthe Ogswished, up to a point. He had intended to land them on some otherplanet. Maroonthem. They would find themselves on a world which could support lifebut would offer them little except hardship. And he would go on.
Pao had explained some of the results of the Grailing, and heknew that during the voyaging ceremony he would be able to scan through a partof the cosmos. He did not know how he could do this, but he had been assuredby Paothat it was open to him. The implication was that he could go on toany world hewas able to see during the ceremony. The idea scared him now, and hehad been frank enough to tell Pao that. Pao had replied that he would not bescared during the ceremony because the power would make him courageous.
But now, he had changed his mind. He wanted to escape. The chopping off ofthe snake-thing's bead had sickened him. He was becoming an Og byassociation with them. If he continued with them, he might end up as cold andcruel as they.
An hour passed. Then, knowing that he did not have too much timeto carryout the plan he had conceived, he arose. He went into the bathroomand turned on all the faucets. He used a nailfile to unscrew the grate over theshower drain, and he stuffed the drain with sheets. He put the plugs in the bathtuband washbasin drains. Then he looked around for weapons and tools. TheOgs had takenthe pliers and the cleaver.
The nearest thing to a weapon was the jade statuette, which hecould use for a club. He could also use it to listen in on anything on theintercommunication system, since it operated without wires.
He prowled around, looking for other useful items and could findnone. He sat down on the bed and waited. It would take a long time for thewater to fill the room as high as the canopy on top of the bed. He would be on topof it when that occurred, since he had determined that the canopy would supporthim.
The hours passed. The water flowed out of the bathroom and spreadover the bedroom floor. It rose agonizingly slowly. But the time came when hehad to climb up on the canopy and wait there.
The statuette in his hand spoke. "Captain, it is di
"Not now!" he said. He gauged when the water would rise to thelevel of the canopy. "In about an hour. I'll take the same food as last night! Oh, by theway, when does the ceremony start?"
There was a pause and then the voice said, "About nine, Captain. Or later if you prefer."
"I think I'll sleep a little now," he said. "Be sure to wake meabout ten minutes before you bring di
When the waters lapped at the canopy, and wet his rear throughthe cloth, heswam out into the room. The door to the bathroom was almost under bythen. He dived through the door and came up to the airpocket between thebathroom ceilingand the surface. Then he dived down again. The ceiling light wasstill on, so hecould see somewhat in the clear water. He turned off all the faucets in one dive and then returned to the top. Another dive through the door, and heswam back to the canopy.
As he pulled himself onto it, he felt a shock. The water slippedto one side of the room, as if the house had been tilted, and then it rushed back.
For a moment the motion confused him. He was panicked. What thehell had happened?
The voice said, "Captain! If you felt that lurch, do not bealarmed! It's not an earthquake! We think that the front of the hill gave way! We're inspecting the damage now! But do not be alarmed! The house is atleast fortyfeet from the edge of the hill!"
Everybody in this house was so engrossed in the Grailing thatthey hadforgotten about the deluge and its possible effects. Other houseswere slippingand sliding, tumbling down hills which caved out from under them. Butthese people had felt themselves insulated from the disaster. They had farmore important matters to attend to.