Vengeance of the Dancing Gods (10 page)

"Yeah, sure." Joe sighed, secretly relieved at this. He wouldn't like to have her there to be used as a threat against him in a fight, he knew. "Don't worry. Hell, maybe the Oracle will tell us it's a waste of time..

Ruddygore stood up and looked at them, grim-faced.

"If so, a darkness, will fall over this land which will make us yearn for death or even Armageddon, to gain some release..

CHAPTER 6 NOSTALGIA TRIP Anyone bound by these Rules of magic and behavior shall remain bound to them, even if in a plane where the Rules do not apply in and of themselves. This Rule is mandatory until death. After death, it is optional.

—Rules, III, 106(d) TIANA WAS WORRIED, BUT SHE HAD HER DUTIES AND SHE was stuck with them, and so she reluctantly returned to Castle Morikay, there to prepare for the opening of the vitally important Lavender Festival, after a long and tearful farewell to Joe. He, at least, knew that some of those tears were less from separation than from a desire to chuck it all and go with them, no matter what. It was clear, not only to the two of them, but to Ruddygore as well, that the demigod situation simply could not be tolerated much longer. Something had to be done to get rid of the need for that.

Poquah best knew and understood Ruddygore's Earthly organization and he also knew Earth. He was, therefore, sent on ahead to set things up and ease the transition of the others when they arrived. The Imir believed with Ruddygore that the faster this was done the better, and so the preliminary detective work and evaluation was under his direction.

He hoped that the rest of the Company might be determined by what the Oracle had to say, although, if not, he had a few ideas in reserve. What he did not like was too much delay. He had no idea what grandiose scheme had been hatched by his old enemy, but he did not underestimate him.

So it was that Joe and Marge were pretty much alone as they walked down the long path from Castle Terindell on the bluff to the small dock just down from the junction of the river Rossignol with the great Dancing Gods. Marge needed no baggage, of course, but did wear a belt hung loosely on her hips which supported a small leather case.

In it were two pairs of the sleek but gogglelike sunglasses Page 49 Chalker, Jack L - Vengeance of the Dancing Gods Ruddygore had ordered made for her long ago so that she could remain awake and alert in daylight. Even with them, her daylight vision was quite poor, since her eyes were those of a nocturnal creature, but at least she could function and not become comatose.

Joe, too, traveled light, although not quite that light.

It was now spring, and they were heading south into subtropical and even tropical climes, so he felt little need for heavy furs and boots, preferring to stick to his ornate sword belt, which held his great magic sword in a snug but easily reached scabbard, and a simple brown loin cloth. With his long, straight, black hair and reddish brown skin, he looked very much like an idealized version of his Apache ancestors.

He stopped and looked over and down at Marge.

"Seems like old times again, doesn't it?.

She smiled. "Yeah, it does that, all right. I still can't help thinking like a target, though. I heard of these ora- 66 VENGEANCE OF THE DANCING GODS JACK L. CHALKER 67 cles, and even if any of 'em can really predict anything, you never can figure 'em out until it's too late, anyway, so what good are they?.

"Well, the old boy seems to think that this will be different. Anyway, it feels good just to have a little action again. I've been bored to death..

The boat was a small luxury sailing vessel that could operate well both in shallow and deep waters. Ruddygore had described the captain as an old water rat, but they weren't prepared to be greeted by a creature who stood nearly six feet tall and looked for all the world like a giant brown rat with broad, flat feet and tiny humanlike hands.

The giant rat wore a blue and red jacket on which epaulets had been sewn at the shoulders; in between its huge rodent's ears perched a small sailor's cap with polished bill. If the thing weren't so imposing, and if it didn't smell, close up, like twenty gallons of stagnant water, it would look almost comical, Joe thought.

Marge whispered, "He's a Pahadur. Be polite..

"He's not of the faerie, is he?" Joe whispered back.

"No. Just one of the several hundred nonhuman races around..

Joe could only feel upset at his shock and his ignorance.

He'd seen a number of nonhuman races, and even fought a few, but his real knowledge of most of this world and its creatures was abysmally poor. For all the perspective Morikay and Wolf Island provided, he might as well have Page 50 Chalker, Jack L - Vengeance of the Dancing Gods been in Philadelphia.

The captain had a gritty, rasping, unpleasant voice that came from somewhere far beyond the snout, deep in the throat.

"Welcome aboard the Piebald Hippogryph\" he said.

"I'm Captain Ely." He stuck out a small, gray-pink, taloned hand.

Joe took it without hesitation. He wasn't used to shaking hands with giant talking rats, but he'd been several years now in the social and diplomatic circuit. "Glad to meet you..

"I'm glad the ship's not named the Bounty," Marge mumbled.

"Is this your ship. Captain?" Joe asked, either not hearing or ignoring the comment. "No, it's actually owned by a bunch of little old ladies who had to invest their quilting money in a tax shelter, but for all intents andpurposes it's mine. We run charters to various points up and down the river system. You don't get luxury like this on the average vessel," Biy bragged.

And, in fact, he wasn't kidding. There was far more room below than either of them would believe—two very well-appointed staterooms with large beds with feather mattresses and a dining and lounge area off of which was a well-designed galley. The area was presided over by a very beautiful young woman whom Ely introduced as Audra. Only the fact that not only Audra's eyes were green, but her skin and hair as well, suggested that she was something other than human.

"I can see your question, and it's a common one," she told them without it having to be spoken. "I am a wood nymph. I had just lost my tree in a fire and had switched to another when they came to lumber the area. I was in hibernation at the time and wasn't marked or registered, so they took the new tree and used it in building this boat..

"You mean you're stuck, attached to this boat?" Marge asked, a bit taken aback by the comment.

"Oh, yes, at least until it is totally destroyed. I don't mind. At least it gives me some chance to see the world and earn my keep, and I meet a lot of interesting people.

It could have been worse. I mean, they could have used only half of the tree..

Marge shuddered. The idea of severed limbs appearing all over the place was unnerving.

Biy took them back topside. "She literally lives inside the ship itself, or in its timbers," he told them. "Makes it easy, considering the limited crew's quarters, and real convenient. She's happy, and we get free maid service.

Page 51 Chalker, Jack L - Vengeance of the Dancing Gods 68 VENGEANCE OF THE DANCING GODS JACK L. CHALKER 69 Only trouble is, she's a lousy cook, since she just sits up here and takes in the sun for a couple of hours and gulps down some water. She tries following recipes; but if you've never eaten food, how the hell can you ever leam how to do it right?.

"You won't need much on my score," Marge told him.

"I eat fruit and take juices now and then, maybe even some wine, but nothing else..

"Well / eat, and a lot," Joe noted. "However, I'll take your advice and do my own cooking, if Audra will let me in the galley for it..

"Oh, sure. She's used to it. She'll stand there and take all sorts of notes trying to figure it out. Ah! Here's our pilot!.

The face and form of yet another pretty young woman appeared; she was holding onto the side of the ship, apparently just back from a swim. When she hauled herself aboard, though, and sat on the rail, a long, fishlike tail, cream-colored like her skin, extended down from her waist.

Joe had seen mermaids before in Husaquahr, but never this close up. He had always imagined the tails as dark and scaly.

"Tura, meet our passengers," Biy called to the mermaid.

"Hi! Glad to know you!.

There were introductions around, and Joe began to wonder just what sort of cruise this was going to be.

Certainly he was glad that Tiana was off at Morikay. What would she say on discovering that he was to be in close quarters for several days with a Kauri, a wood nymph, and a mermaid, with his only competition a giant rat.

Mermaids, he knew, were always female, but mated solely with human men—but only at one time in the year and for the duration of getting pregnant.

This, then, was the crew of the Piebald Hippogryph.

"Anything to report, luv, before we get under way?.

Biy asked the mermaid.

"No, it's pretty clear. Steer forty degrees to the main channel, then follow it. There was a herd of wild hippocampus grazing on the river bottom about nine leagues south, just off the main channel, but I wouldn't worry about them..

Biy looked at his two passengers. "Very well, then.

Any luggage or other gear to be stowed?.

Page 52 Chalker, Jack L - Vengeance of the Dancing Gods "We're clear," Joe told him. "We tend to travel light..

"Very well, then. It's a pretty easy trip going downriver.

The current's strong and gets stronger from here south, and I use the sails more as a brake than as power.

We'll run until dusk every day, then tie up at a settlement, if it's convenient, or along the shore, if it's not. Barring bad weather or unforeseen accidents, we should hit Marahbar in about ten days..

They mostly got out of the way as the mermaid again went over the side and Biy cast off the lines fore and aft, then went leisurely to the large wheel located in the rear.

As he said, he didn't even bother to set any sail at this point, although it was clear from the look of a forward line that something or someone was pulling the ship away from the dock and pointing it in the right direction.

As soon as they got into the main channel of the Rossignol, the line went suddenly slack, and Tura hauled herself back aboard, looking a little winded. She glanced over, saw Joe and Marge sitting on deck, and smiled.

"In main ports they have trained hippocampus to do the tug work, but out here it's just little old me," the mermaid said, between deep breaths.

She didn't look that strong, but Joe reminded himself not to underestimate a mermaid's strength or power in the water again.

Tura was well accustomed to moving along the ship, using the rails and other projections. She sat down near them and stretched out her long tail. "Fish out of water,.

she commented apologetically.

"You stay on board when not working?" Marge asked her.

"Sometimes, yes. Everybody thinks of us as related 70 JACK L. CHALKER 71 VENGEANCE OF THE DANCING GODS to the fish, but we're air-breathing mammals, just as humans are..

"But don't you—dry out—after a while?" the Kauri asked.

"Oh, sure. Don't you? But this is skin, not fish. I've got layers of protection underneath it that you don't, so I don't have to worry about water temperatures and the like, at least not much, but the skin's the same. I'm pretty awkward out of the water, but there's no harm in it any Page 53 Chalker, Jack L - Vengeance of the Dancing Gods more than with Joe, say. Worst problem up here in bright sunlight is that it's so bright I don't see as well..

Marge, who had her goggles on, chuckled. "I know what you mean. Maybe you ought to get a pair of these made. Without them, I'm totally blind and out like a light up here in the day..

"Say! What are you, anyway? I don't think I ever saw somebody of your race before..

"I'm a Kauri..

The mermaid stared at Marge, then looked at Joe, and gave a knowing smirk. "Oh.....

"Hey! It's not that way!" Joe protested. "We're old friends and partners, that's all..

The mermaid looked startled. "Why not?.

"Huh? What do you mean?.

"Why not that way? You one of them muscle boys who only likes other muscle boys or something?.

Joe flushed. "Of course not! I'm happily married!.

Realizing that the mermaid would never let Joe off her hook and that he was incapable of getting off it gracefully himself. Marge intervened. "I'm a changeling. We're from the same place and knew each other before I changed..

Tura sighed, and Marge knew that she'd put it down as a case of fate stepping between two old lovers. Wrong, of course, but unrequited love was a more convenient explanation than the truth.

They were now well past Castle Terindell and out into the River of Dancing Gods. The Rossignol and the Dancing Gods met rather gently, but did not immediately mix.

It was fascinating to see the difference in coloration as the two rivers flowed side by side without any barrier between them except speed and density. When these finally equaled out, perhaps a few miles south of the junction, there was a gradual merging into one body.