20

A WIZARD IN ABSENTIA

Magnus shuddered. If that is religion, I’ll none of it. Small wonder his son fled to Terra.

Fled} Fess said, puzzled.

Magnus shrugged. Gone to university, then, and become a scholar. Will you, nill you, he is set upon his professorship, and hath sent word that he will not return to Maxima.

And has only the one daughter}

Aye, my cousin Pelisse, who doth play the co-quette with me. Magnus smiled in pleased reminiscence. I cannot be so pleasant to regard as all that, can I, Fess}

You are quite imposing, Fess said slowly, and your face has a certain rough-hewn comeliness.

More to the point, I am someone new in her life, Magnus thought, amused. Anyone from off-planet must be of greater interest than someone near, eh}

No doubt an inborn reflex that evolved to minimize inbreeding, Fess mused. Nonetheless, in the case of this stranger, the inbreeding would still exist.

Not wholly—I am only half of Maxima, Magnus thought absently, most of his mind given over to the contemplation of the lovely vision with blonde tresses and long lashes. He felt a quickening of interest—but also felt how superficial it was, how little real emotion it held. Had the witches of Gramarye made him forever heartless?

Then he remembered the image of the golden box around his heart, given him by a Victorian ragpicker who must surely have been only a hallucination, a projection of his subconcious, an illusion that only a 21

protective telepath such as Magnus himself could engender. He had accepted the gift, had locked his heart in a box of golden, and wondered if he could ever find the key.

Flirting is a harmless game, Magnus, Fess assured him, as long as you remember it is only a game—

and are sure the lady does, too.

Aye, only a game, and great fun. Magnus pushed himself out of the chair, coming to his feet with a re-newal of energy. Let us resume the play, then. And he turned away to the closet and the modern formal wear it held, to dress for dinner.

22

A shout of pure terror rose to lan’s lips, but he bit down on it, as much afraid of the keepers as of this fall into the unknown.

There was a soft light about him, and his bottom struck a yielding surface. He fell backwards head over heels, then rolled and came up to his feet as his father had taught him, looking about him in panic.

He was inside the Stone Egg!

Outside, the keepers must surely be looking for him, calling to one another and running about—but he heard nothing except a whisper of moving air, and a faint hum, so faint that he felt it more than heard it. It flashed through his mind that this must be a safe place that the dwarves had built, but when he looked more closely at his surroundings, he found them completely strange, alien. Surely the dwarves could never have grown this odd golden moss beneath his feet, the great chair that looked to be of 23

leather with a row of peculiar square windows in front of it and a greater square above—but windows that were blank and empty, showing only the gray of the rock’s surface. For a moment, lan strained to understand—what good was a window that showed only the inside of a shell?

“Safety Base Forty-three ready to function as you may command.”

lan hunched down into a ball, his staff raised to defend himself, looking about wildly—but he could not see the person who had spoken.

The voice spoke again, deep and resonant, a man’s voice, though with a strange lack of feeling. “This facility is completely automated. Food and drink are prepared from cryogenic stock. Armament is activated. Communications facilities are functional.

Safety Base Forty-three is at your disposal.”

The voice was suddenly silent. lan held himself ready, looking about, waiting for it to speak again, to demand he say what he was doing there. It was a rich voice, a lord’s voice. Surely it would demand to know why a mere serf had invaded its hideaway… ?

The chamber was still; the voice was silent. No one spoke, no one moved.

Slowly, lan uncurled himself; more slowly still, he stood up, looking about at the rich surroundings, his pulse beginning to slow. The voice must be that of a guardian spirit—for certainly, inside this egg, there was scarcely room enough for two grown men. No one could hide from him.

Except for the guardian spirit.

The flesh on his back crawled. He looked behind 24

him, and behind him again. There was no defense against a spirit… .

But it did not attack him, it did not seek to take vengeance. It had said it was preparing food and drink. If it sought to help him … lan breathed more easily, and looked about him yet once more. He was safe for the moment; he could not have asked for a better hideaway until dark. What was this strange place he was in?

There was an air of quiet orderliness about him, of safety and security. lan began to relax, studying the chamber in which he found himself. At the far side, there was a round black hole in the floor with a low guardrail about it. lan went over to it and peered down. A flight of spiral steps led to a room below.

How strange that there was light, a soft light coming from nowhere that he could find! He retreated from the hole; perhaps that was where the guardian spirit lived. Later he might go down there and see—but only if he was sure it was safe. For now, it would be better to leave it alone.

He looked at the great chair, went closer to it, inspecting it. If this was a sanctuary to protect anyone who needed it, then surely this chair was for him to sit in. He clambered up, sat down, and looked at the table in front of him. It was shallow, only as deep as his forearm, and set with little circles and bars that glowed in many different colors. Their soft light struck fear into him, but he plucked up his courage and dared to poise a finger over one of them. Then his boldness failed, and he snatched his finger away. No, certainly he should not meddle with such things!