They drew coordinates, then headed out again. “You really wanted to travel with me?” Havoc asked Symbol. She had to have had more reason than personal desire.
"I love you of course, and want to be with you. But it also makes sense. Neither Gale nor I are Amazons; we need to travel with someone physically strong. Since you won't travel with Gale, that leaves me."
"But you will put more effort into seducing me than into traveling."
"Not if you acquiesce readily."
He smiled, though she was serious. “What are the coordinates?"
She showed them to him. “We're in luck,” he said. “There's a travel canal."
"But it's a toll canal. I assume you don't want to co-opt it as king. I could pay in sex, but not you."
"Pay in gossip,” he said. “We both know things that will interest them."
"Such as the doings of a barbarian king?"
"If it makes a good story."
She smiled. “Remember, you asked for it."
"Don't enjoy it too much."
They made their way to the closest station. It gave access to a long frozen canal that skirted just inside the fringe of a silver Chroma zone. The magic of the Chroma kept it frozen.
Their offer of royal gossip turned out to be acceptable. Symbol turned out to have a juicy imagination and excellent descriptive powers. She described the scene wherein the old king's mistress tried to seduce the young new king in such imaginative detail that both male and female listeners were salivating. The truth was that Symbol had tried, challenging Havoc to a game of stripping, but had not succeeded. Her present narration left the issue in doubt, as if preserving a trace of privacy.
They boarded the travel craft. This was a small flat-bottomed boat with sharp nether fins and a large propeller. It had evidently been built by a crew from the White Chroma, because mechanical technology was its specialty even when it wasn't actual science magic.
There was a brisk wind from the north. The propeller oriented on it. Its vanes turned, geared down to a spiked vertical wheel below. The wheel turned, biting into the ice and pushing the craft forward against the wind. Soon it got up respectable velocity. All they had to do was ride.
"Now we were addressing the matter of seduction,” Symbol said. “Do you prefer to make a challenge of it, or to succumb rapidly?"
"I prefer to watch out for accidents or enemies."
"Enemies?"
"We still don't know who is trying to kill me."
"But the Black Glamor wiped all the traitors out."
"All the traitors in Triumph City. But what of the ones beyond?"
"Havoc, be reasonable. We are traveling incognito. Has anyone tried to kill you since the Black Glamor acted?"
"No personal attempts that I know of. But I'm not the only one at risk. What of that wasp you spoke of?"
"It just happened to be in need of a host at the time I was passing that way.” But she shuddered, remembering.
"Or was it sent to intercept your route?"
Symbol stared at him. “Havoc, you make me nervous."
"Precisely. Save your seduction for a safe setting."
"Acquiescence,” she agreed faintly.
There were several brief portages between Chroma, but the boat was easy to push along the canal, frozen or liquid. They were soon moving at speed again. The wind shifted, and the propeller acted in the manner of a sail, enabling the boat to move along at greater velocity. Still, it was two days before they reached their destination: a Black Chroma zone.
They got off at it. Now they had to make a deal for guidance within it. Any Chroma was dangerous for visitors from outside, but Black had a special horror, because of the manner that its volcanic eruptions imploded rather than exploded. Havoc suppressed a substratum of panic; he could not avoid this challenge.
They approached the Black station master. “We have need to visit the interior,” Havoc said. “We need a guide."
"You certainly do,” the Black man said. He looked Havoc up and down. “You appear to be a very healthy specimen of a nonChroma male. We have natives in need of fourths."
Havoc had expected this. His interest in sex had finally recovered in the course of their travel. “I will serve."
The man eyed Symbol, whose figure showed up very well under her clothing, by no coincidence. “You?"
"Acquiescence for no fault.” That meant she would indulge a man sexually, but was not looking to conceive.
The man spoke into a black tube. “Healthy couple, nonChroma and Air Chroma, appealing forms, amenable. Guide to interior."
Soon a Black couple appeared. The man was a reasonably handsome specimen of his kind, and the woman was petite and quite well formed. Both were completely black, with no other color of person or of apparel.
"Salutation,” the man said.
"Acknowledged,” Havoc replied.
"Introduction: I am Trigue, and this is my wife Intrigue. We work for the zone authority, and will not clarify further. We are competent guides to the interior."
Havoc's dragon seed did not buzz, so he knew the man was telling the truth. “I am known as Hayseed, a false name, and this is my traveling companion."
"I am in need of a fourth,” Intrigue said. “I am extremely choosy, as I want to match the quality of the three. My husband's dalliance does not matter, except that she be interesting enough to keep him clear of me until I have my fourth conceived."
"Is this interesting enough?” Symbol inquired, removing her jacket and halter to show nothing.
"Air Chroma,” Trigue said. “You could be ugly under that invisibility."
"Try me."
He stepped forward and put his hand to her invisible bosom. His black eyes widened. “Apology for doubting."
"Let me feel you,” Intrigue said to Havoc.
"Feel free,” he said with a smile, thinking she meant to embrace him.
Instead she took hold of his trousers, opened them, reached inside, and held his scrotum between her cool black fingers. “It will do.” She let him go.
Havoc put himself back together. Women kept surprising him in odd little ways. She judged by scrotum?
"Where do you need guidance?” Trigue asked.
Havoc read off the coordinates. Both Blacks looked serious. “That is at the cone,” Intrigue said.
"I need to fetch a small object there."
"You understand,” Trigue said, “there may be danger. We can handle it, but you must obey our directives instantly, for your safety. Inruptions can be unpredictable."
"Understood.” Of course it was an inruption, rather than an eruption, for a Black Chroma volcano.
"It will require three days, with apt weather,” Intrigue said. “Longer if inclement. My husband will have the invisible woman no fault while we guide. You will be similarly at my beck, Hayseed."
"Acquiescence."
They started off afoot across the black landscape. Here at the fringe there was a path through a black field where a black cereal crop grew. A black cloud hung in the darkening sky. Only the light of Vivid Star was bright, and somehow it seemed that Void was dominant here. There was no looming cone; that was inverted, being a great pit.
Havoc walked beside Intrigue, and Symbol with Trigue. Havoc had recovered enough from his experience with the blue guirl to be mildly interested in sex again. Intrigue was healthy and, indeed, intriguing, from her black hair to her black toes; it should be nice to indulge her need for conception.
They skirted a black lake. Havoc could not see into its depths, and was glad they did not have to cross it in a boat. He had a mental picture of the boat getting sucked into oblivion below.
"Note the crests,” Intrigue murmured.
"Crests?"
She gestured, and he spied a series of wavelike ridges curving gently away to the sides. “Concentric rings around the cone, braced against implosion. Should there be a sudden inruption, fling yourself against the outer edge of a crest and hang on."
"Desperat
ely,” he agreed. Then, since she seemed willing to talk, he changed the subject. “Question: is it true that any Black Chroma person can kill with a mere look?"
She turned her dark gaze on him, making him suddenly nervous; even the so-called whites of her eyes were black. “Not without reason."
"So that, for example, if a brigand tried to molest a Black Chroma woman—"
She smiled, her teeth showing black too. “He would have to catch her out of Chroma, and even then he might lose what he put into her. But at that range a knife would do as well.” A black blade appeared in her hand. “Any woman of any Chroma would be dangerous if so armed—and most are."
"A brigand would try to disarm her first."
"Perhaps so. It is a reason I prefer not to travel outChroma.” The knife disappeared.
"No brigands here,” Havoc reassured her.
"You are more than you seem. I think discovering you is fortunate."
Havoc shrugged. “As long as you are satisfied."
As evening closed, they came to an established camping site. Black shelters had black hearths with black wood bolts stacked neatly beside. Trigue made a black fire and roasted black tubers. A barrel contained black beer. The food and drink tasted much the same as the staples Havoc knew; only the color differed.
They retired in due course to separate cabins, Havoc with Intrigue. There was a single wide bunk sufficient for them both, and a basin, pitcher, and water. Intrigue stripped away her black clothing and washed, unconcerned by his presence, and he saw by the light of the black candle that she was quite finely formed with a tiny waist, well rounded bottom, and esthetically full breasts.
She dried and donned a nightdress. Then as Havoc stripped and took his turn with the basin, she approached and touched his scrotum again. “Not yet."
"Question?"
"You have millions of viable seeds in you. I require only one. That one is not yet ready. Sleep in peace."
Evidently she was not interested in sex this night. “Acquiescence,” he agreed, bemused.
He put out the candle and joined her on the black bed, under the warm black blanket, beside but not touching. After seeing her, he would have preferred to have indulged in the sex, but it was of course her choice. He wondered whether Symbol was discovering a similar disinterest in the other cabin.
"Trigue will be enjoying himself,” Intrigue said, as if fathoming his thought. “He has touched no woman but me in five years, and will surely appreciate the variety. I gather that your companion is indeed well formed."
"Superlatively, though invisible when unclothed."
"In darkness that hardly matters. I am sure it will not be boring, with an otherChroma woman."
"This one is never boring."
"That is good.” She was silent then, and her breathing became regular. She was sleeping.
Havoc pondered her words. She wanted just one of his millions of seeds, and knew exactly which one? Or was that merely a figure of speech, indicating that she was not receptive at this time? Her attitude was a considerable contrast to that of the blue guirl. Of the two, he preferred this one.
He slept. In the night she rolled over against him, her flesh interesting, but he remained unmoving, taking no advantage. It was her choice, he reminded himself again.
He woke in the morning to find her propped on her elbow, gazing at him. “You're a nice man,” she said as she removed her hand from his scrotum.
They moved in toward the Black Chroma center, across terrain increasingly stripped of surface ornamentation. The suction obviously got worse close in, and their guides were careful; they zigzagged to keep ridges between them and the central pit. Then in the afternoon there was a huge sucking rumble, and a stiff wind blew toward the hole.
"Probably just a passing flexure,” Trigue said. “But we had better scout for safe terrain. The two of you stay here.” He showed them an entrance set into the slope, angling down to a sheltered chamber closed off by a stout stone door. “Do not emerge until we come for you."
They squeezed in. This was a small campsite, evidently constructed for just such occasions. Travelers could wait safely in it until the activity of the volcano abated. There was a bunk, water, candles, and potty.
"So nice to see you again,” Symbol said.
Havoc laughed. They had been seeing each other all day, but had been with their Black Chroma companions, hardly speaking. “Shall we compare notes?"
"Endorsement! It was one of my more interesting nights."
"Less so, here. She touched my genital, then slept without me."
"No sex?” she asked as if shocked.
"None."
"Contrast. He was all over me. Rather, I was all over him. Did you realize that Black Chroma folk echo their volcano? They suck rather than blow."
"Confusion."
"We stripped. Then he sort of imploded, drawing me into him and around him. He did not penetrate me, I surrounded him. Kissing him was similar; my face was drawn up to smack against his. It was weird. Apart from that, he was normal."
"You mean to say that he wanted frequent sex with you."
"Precisely. It was easy to accommodate him, since all I had to do was let myself be drawn in. He remarked on how refreshing it was to be the one doing most of the suction.” She gazed at Havoc. “That must be some woman, when she's ready."
Havoc shrugged. “I wouldn't know. But she has a nice shape and manner, and when she wants me, I'll be there."
"And you will tell me every detail, in due course."
"Won't you be jealous?"
"Deliciously so."
There was a sudden roar as air sucked out of the chamber. The door was made to swing shut from inside; it slammed to, preserving the rest of their air. “An inruption,” Havoc said.
"A solid one, I think.” She came to sit by him. “May I be a timid girl? This makes me unusually nervous."
Havoc felt it too. There was a special horror about being sucked into a hole that there was not for being blown away from it. He put his arm around her. “Acquiescence."
The roar got worse, though muffled by the stone. It seemed to be building to a full scale inruption. The warning to remain inside was well taken; they would have been sucked away had they been outside.
"I hope they're all right,” she said, shivering.
"They surely know how to protect themselves. But probably they can't return here until it alleviates."
"So we're stuck alone together, perhaps for hours. O horror."
He laughed again. “We shall surely survive it."
They waited, but the suction storm did not abate. The sound became steady, and they could hear objects bumping as they were hauled into the giant maw. They were definitely not going outside yet.
"It seems we have some dull time to spend,” Symbol said.
Havoc looked at her. She was a lovely and well constructed woman, and the fact that her torso and limbs were completely covered made that amply apparent. Her shirt was open to reveal a tight vest outlining her fine breasts, and her skirt ended at her raised knees to show the opaque stockings that defined her shapely legs and thighs. Such pseudo-exposure was no accident, he knew; she wanted to seduce him. But if she removed the clothing, she would disappear, and that would be even more suggestive.
"What do you have in mind?"
"You know what I would like."
And that was all too tempting. “You are another changeling. I could no more marry you than Gale—and if I could marry a changeling, it would be Gale."
"I know it, Havoc. But you can have infertile sex with either of us. I do not seek to win you away from Gale, only to amuse you in off moments. Any little thing you care to let me have, I want. I love you."
"Are you trying to induce me with guilt?"
"Of course. But be sensible: you will never encounter a more willing woman of my appearance and experience, with less obligation. Why not take what offers, no fault?"
"Because with you it can't be no fault. I know yo
u too well, and must work with you in future. I need you for a reliable friend, not a throw away lover."
"I would gladly have filled that role. I did not seek to love you. I was caught off-guard, and it is a considerable embarrassment to me. But I am a realist. I want you on any terms you will grant me. I wish you would let me do for you what I am good at. I could give you considerable pleasure, and pleasure myself endlessly in that role."
"Acknowledged. But there is another aspect: I owe Intrigue an impregnation. I don't feel free to indulge elsewhere until that is accomplished."
"You're saving yourself for her. How quaint."
She had a point. When had he ever saved himself like that before? “Still, it is so."
"And she had her chance, and stroked your member and denied it. I think she's teasing you, Havoc."
"Perhaps. Yet—"
"I will beg, if you allow it."
"Negative.” Yet it continued tempting despite his rational awareness of its dangers.
"I will cry, if you allow it."
She was playing fair. That moved him more than her conducive arts might have. “Symbol, I do desire you, and I need to wean myself away from Gale. You could help me do that. There is a case to be made. But I feel it is more important to retain you as an objective adviser, to the extent that is possible."
"Adviser, yes. Objective, no. Please, Havoc—"
She was starting to beg, and to cry. She couldn't help it. Even the briefest peek into her mind showed him the storm of love and desire she had for him; she was not trying to mask it. He had to come to some kind of settlement with her. “Compromise. Seduce me today, or not at all."
"Gladly!"
"Without touching me or flaunting your body. Without begging or crying. Do it by persuasion alone."
She considered. “A challenge. If I win, is it a continuing affair?"
"Yes, as convenient. Not when Gale is near. If you lose, you cease all persuasion, direct or oblique."
"Havoc, I don't know whether I am capable of that. Seduction is my nature."
"You will make a sincere effort."
She nodded. “A sincere effort. No pleas, no tears."