“Months or years?” Tan asked. “I have aught better to do than that!”
“Then thy sister. Only thou or she can do it.”
Tania nodded. “I may do it, but I have a price.”
Translucent glanced at her. “Thou art moved not by the need o’ the Adepts?”
“Let us be not hypocrites,” she said coldly. “Which o’ us be moved by other than selfishness? We cooperate only in the face o’ a common enemy. An I devote myself to this tedious labor, needs must I have recompense.”
Translucent nodded. “Plainly put. Say on.”
“Was once might I have married Bane, uniting in time our power with that o’ Blue. Till he found the other frame, and his rovot self was besotted by the mare. Methinks me-him remains a decent match.”
“Thou didst try that,” Translucent said. “Unbeknownst to me. Bane fended thee off, and made I oath to him: no more o’ that. Now his power be such thou canst not fascinate him with thine Eye. This be no price thou canst ask.”
“I ask but this: that I be given leave to do what I can with him, using not my Eye. An he come to me voluntarily, it be no violation o’ thine oath.”
Translucent considered this, not trusting it. “For this thin chance, thou wouldst devote thyself to the search for the boy?”
“Aye, for this thin chance. An I succeed, it will bring me union with an Adept, and that be what I crave beyond all else.”
Translucent shrugged. “Then be it so. Our effort be in stasis till thou hast result.”
“The younglings,” Yellow said. “This be their travel time, small groups going to new homes. Only those who traveled need be checked, for a new member be not otherwise admitted to a tribe without challenge.”
“It still be some search, through all o’ Phaze,” Purple said. “Methinks the human brats should be checked first, and then the ‘corn foals.”
“Agreed,” Tania said. “An there be resistance to my search, you others support me.”
“Agreed,” Translucent said for the others.
First she approached Bane, who happened to be with Fleta the mare. That could be for only one reason. “Thou dost seek the boy,” Tania said.
“Dost have complicity?” Fleta asked sharply.
Tania turned her gaze on the unicorn. In her human form the mare was petite and full-bodied, with glossy black hair in lieu of her mane, and a pearly button set in her forehead in lieu of her horn. She was attractive enough, for men who might like that type. Bane was evidently immune, but Mach had proved susceptible. That suggested that Bane was susceptible too, but chose not to admit it. But Bane in the old days had been interested in any female form that was young and healthy; his way with ‘corn, werebitch and batlass had been notorious.
Well, Tania could compete in that respect. Now she regretted that she had not deigned to do so back during Bane’s days of experimentation; she could have nabbed him readily then, and saved much complication. But she had foolishly hoped for better prospects, which had not materialized. Now she was older and wiser. Proximity, and time, might well do wonders with Bane. Of course he knew her nature, which was a problem; but he had known the natures of the animals he played with too, seeming to care mainly about their human forms for the indulging of his passing passions.
“Canst not answer?” the mare demanded, taking Tania’s silence for guilt.
Oh, how tempting it was to give her a piece of the Eye!
But she had promised not to, and, more important, it would alienate Bane. In fact, it might enrage him, and he was no mean Adept in his own right; she could get in trouble. This had to be defused, much as it grated her to do so. “Nay, mare; this absence discommodes us as much as thee, for we had hope o’ the boy’s aid in our mission. We suspected at first that thou mightest have—”
“I had naught to do with it!” Fleta flared. “He be mine offspring, my flesh; I love him and fear for his safety!”
“My apology for doubting thee,” Tania said easily. She had done what she sought to do: turned the mare to the defensive, instead of herself. “But if thine interest be familial, ours be practical; we want the use o’ the power the lad has. So be assured that we wish him harm not, but rather we want him safe and well. We desire his return, and I be here to join thee in a search for him.”
“We search not,” the mare said. “It seems Flach fled by choice, and though my heart break, I may not bring him back unwilling.”
“Fled by choice?” Tania asked, affecting surprise. “Loved he not his dam?”
“My father designed this thing,” Bane said. “For that he knew the boy would be useful to the Adverse Adepts, and now the covenant between sides be broken. It be the same in Proton; they acted together.”
Tania eyed him, playing the role of one who had not heard of this before. “Thy father, who opposes us. Be this good news or bad, to thee?”
“I joined this side because I lost the wager with mine other self. Fain would I have served my father instead, but I be true to my word. I knew naught o’ the powers o’ the children, and thought them slow. This be good news for me to find the children otherwise, bad news to find them lost.”
“But what news, to find them foiling the change in the balance o’ power?” Tania asked pointedly.
“I serve thy side loyally, but my heart be with the other. That thou hast always known.”
“Then must thou make thy most diligent effort to recover the boy for us,” she concluded.
“Aye,” he agreed grimly.
“Then shall we work together, and thine other self too, when he returns. Thy service to us was excellent, when thou didst have access to the Book o’ Magic; it must be the same, in this quest for thy nephew.”
“I shall look for my nephew. But I see no need to work with thee. Make thine own search.”
“Nay, that be inefficient. There be the whole o’ Phaze to search; two will cover it faster, with no duplication. Also, there be danger, in some locales; the one must guard the other.”
Bane grimaced. “Perhaps I made not my sentiment plain: I wish not to work with thee.”
At least he was straightforward! “Nay, mayhap it was I who was unplain: I mean to work with thee, and have the backing o’ the others.”
“Then thou dost have no objection if I verify.”
“None,” she said evenly. Already she was feeling the thrill of fencing him in.
He sang something, and disappeared. Tania was left alone with Fleta. “And thee, mare—willst join the search?”
“Aye,” Fleta said through her teeth.
“Why so negative? Methought thou wouldst welcome aid to recover thy foal.”
“Thine interest be more in Bane than in Flach!”
“And what if that be so? Be Bane thy man?”
“Bane be Agape’s man! We need not thee to interfere!”
“Methinks Bane be his own man. An he chooses one or t’other, that be his business.”
Fleta looked ready to skewer something with her horn, for all that she lacked most of her horn in this form. But then Bane reappeared, abating what might have become an interesting confrontation. “We search together,” he said. “But thou willst ne’er have satisfaction o’ it.”
“That remains to be seen, methinks,” Tania replied, satisfied. The Adepts were supporting her, as she had required.
They checked the human settlements first. These were scattered all across Phaze; most were small, hidden hamlets whose inhabitants eked out their existence by hunting and farming. Bane conjured an accurate map, and they decided to cross out each village after checking it.
The first one was typical. Bane conjured the three of them to the village of Gnomore, in the Gnome Demesnes. The name was not intended to be punnish; it related to the region, and indicated that the human villagers acknowledged the supremacy of the gnomes in this vicinity. In return, the gnomes tolerated the human presence, and even traded with the villagers.
They arrived in the center square, and caused an immediate s
tir. Word went to the village patriarch, who hobbled up to greet them. “Be ye Adept?” he asked nervously. “We have no quarrel with Adepts!”
“We be partial Adepts,” Bane explained. “I be Bane, son o’ the Adept Stile o’ the Blue Demesnes; this be Tania, sister o’ the Tan Adept; and this be Fleta, mate o’ the Rovot Adept. We come to question thee about new arrivals at thy village.”
“We take sides not between Adepts!” the patriarch protested. “We be far from the controversy, and minded so to remain!”
“An we be satisfied, we shall depart, leaving thy village so,” Bane said. “Please summon all thy members, that we may question them.”
“But they be widely scattered!” the patriarch protested.
“Some in the fields, some doing service for the gnomes, some away trading with other villages—”
Tania spoke. “Man, look at me,” she said.
The man looked at her. Her eyes widened slightly; that was all. But the patriarch was transfixed by her Evil Eye.
“Do it,” she said, looking away.
As in a daze, the patriarch hobbled off, calling to others. Soon a younger man approached. “We are sending out word; all our members will gather. But some are far-flung; it will be two days before all are present.”
“Then prepare a residence for us for that interim,” Tania said curtly. “And bring good food.”
The natives scurried to oblige. The party had known it would be thus; only full Adepts could do things promptly. This was why this search promised to be extremely tedious. There were about a hundred villages scattered across Phaze, and if each took two days to check, over half a year would be expended in this single aspect of the effort. She was sure it would prove futile; the boy had shown himself to be too smart to risk using human form. But she was prepared to endure it, because it meant half a year of close association with Bane or Mach.
They shared a single residence, on the direct understanding that this would protect against possible treachery: one of them would always be on guard. There was also the tacit understanding that Tania was out to subvert Bane, and Fleta was out to prevent this, protecting the interest of her opposite number in Proton. Therefore the three were closely bound, though not exactly by friendship. It was also to the interests of Bane and Fleta to accomplish their mission as quickly as possible—and that was part of Tania’s strategy. She wanted them to want to find the boy, and they were surely the ones to whom the boy was most likely to come. Thus her approach to Bane was artful, and she made no effort to conceal it from the mare.
Indeed, as dusk came, she played it for what it was worth. “Do thou take the first watch, animal, and we human folk will sleep.” Before the unicorn, who was maintaining human form throughout, could retort, she turned to Bane. “And since it be cool, thou and I may share a blanket, and the warmth o’ our bodies. That be most comfortable.” And before he could protest, she pulled off her tan cloak, showing her body naked beneath it.
“I will make a spell for warmth,” Bane said. “With thy permission for the magic to be practiced on thee.”
“It really be not necessary to expend thine precious enchantments, when we have a natural alternative,” she said. “Willst not simply strip and join me?”
“Nay; I will warm the full chamber, so that all be comfortable.” And he singsonged, and it was so: the chill was gone.
“As thou dost wish,” she said, lying down on one of the pallets, and spreading her cloak over her body as a covering. “But methinks it be a shameful waste.” She had accomplished what she sought: to give him a good, solid, lingering view of her excellent body. He might affect not to notice, but she knew better than that; the image would remain in his mind long after the original was gone. The were-folk (and she regarded the unicorns as such) always had good human forms because they crafted them that way, but genuine human beings had to settle for what they started with. She was blessed with a trim form and ample secondary endowments, and understood the effect these had on men of any age; she had put it to the proof often enough. Her main liability was her face: it was ordinary. She did what she could to frame it with her hair, and she definitely preferred shadows for close contacts. She could of course fascinate men with her power of the Eye, but usually she didn’t bother, because it worked only once on a given man; she saved that for emergencies. It would not be long before Bane wanted more of her body than mere glimpses. She could wait.
After three hours Fleta returned. Obviously she had been grazing near the village, in her natural form. Tania didn’t care; she knew that the ears, eyes and nose of a unicorn missed nothing, and that if anything had approached this house, the mare would have intercepted it. The mare might not care for her, Tania, at all, but when the mare was committed to stand guard, the mare would be the best possible guard.
Also, the mare would have known immediately had anything occurred between Bane and Tania in the house. One night, Tania intended to give the mare excellent grounds for her concern. But that would take time, because of the stricture against employing the Eye. Even if it were not for that, it would be pointless to use it on Bane; it would have greatly diminished effect on him, and thereafter he would be proof against it. No, she had to win him the hard way.
Tania roused herself. “Very well, animal; I be alert.”
The mare’s ears seemed to flatten against her skull, though she was in human form at the moment. She departed again, for further grazing; this time she would sleep while doing it.
Tania spent her watch time pondering the quest they were on. Where could that brat have gone? If he’d assumed bird form, he could be anywhere—but surely he would have lacked the flying experience and stamina to wing far, for none had ever seen him assume that form before. Where could he have gone that was near to where he started from? South, maybe, to the Purple Mountain Range. But there were few unicorns there, and few human folk, and many predators. Translucent was probably right: he had assumed another form, a fourth form. What would that be? That of an elf or gnome? Or a dragon?
Nothing seemed to make much sense. Well, he had to have assumed some form, and she would find that form. In due course.
She gazed at the sleeping Bane. Oh, he was a handsome cuss! And a talented one, too. An excellent match for her. It was really infuriating that the mixup of the exchange of identities had occurred, bringing him love in Proton before Tania had had proper opportunity to take him. She had been assured that he would be hers, so had not rushed it, preferring to have him pursue her, not she him, so that most of the concessions would have been his to make. Who needed the other frame? She would have roped him in, in time, and the issue between Adepts would have been settled in favor of the Tan Demesnes before it ever came to a head. But everything had gone awry, and only now, with the interruption in contact, did she have a proper chance at him again.
She daydreamed, how it would be. Perhaps she would let him have some modicum of pleasure, before closing down his options. Let him indulge his appetite on her body, convinced it was his own idea. Then, slowly, gradually, she would assume control, and finally indulge her appetites on his body. A man could experience a lot of pain, and not only of the body, when things were properly managed. At first she would scream in simulated rapture as he took her; later he would scream in unsimulated agony as she took him. But there would never be, of course, aught that showed.
“Ah, I have plans for thee, fair man,” she murmured, her eyes dwelling fondly on him.
But first she would have to win him away from his alien creature lover in Proton. That would not be easy—but of course there was pleasure in the challenge, too.
When her watch was up, she arranged herself artfully in the lone shaft of moonlight that entered the house, draped her cloak so that one breast and parts of both thighs were dimly illuminated, and called to him. “Bane—it be thy turn.”
He woke. His eyes opened, scanned the ceiling, then dropped to orient on her. She lifted her knees so that nothing but shadow masked the space between h
er thighs; he would see only the most tantalizing suggestion. “Thy watch,” she reminded him innocently.
He squinted, attempting to fathom the shadow; then he caught himself, and stretched, trying to make it seem that he hadn’t looked. “Got it,” he agreed, standing. “Where be Fleta?”
“Where else? Out grazing. It requires much fodder to maintain a mass like hers.”
He did not answer. He walked around the room, getting his circulation going. Tania lay down to resume her sleep, drawing the cloak across her torso imperfectly, so that neither breast nor thigh was fully covered. Let him gaze at her while she slept, as she had gazed at him! He would deny it, most of all to himself, but he would desire her. Desire was the hook that would hold him, night after night, until at last she reeled him in. That was a man’s most singular weakness: his inability to control his lust.
At dawn she woke, discovering herself completely covered by the cloak. Had she moved it in her sleep, changing it as she turned, or had Bane done it? It hardly mattered, yet she was inordinately curious.
She sat up and stretched, so that her belly thinned and her breasts lifted, choosing her moment when Bane was facing her. Then she stood and pulled the cloak on over her head, and shook her hair into place. She stepped out back to the privy, then took the short walk to the stream near the village where she could wash her face and arms. This was not exactly the Tan Demesnes, but it was a pleasant enough bucolic locale, and she rather liked it. She saw Fleta in animal form, still grazing in the near distance, and marveled again how the rovot could love such a creature, knowing her to be an animal. Bane’s dalliances with her in the early days had been but natural; a young man experimented on whatever was available. So did a young woman; Tania had practiced both Eye and sex with village louts, getting the details of it straight. She knew how to make a man respond. But love? Marriage? Reproduction? It was laughable!
She returned to find a breakfast of fruits and nuts and milk in the process of delivery. The townsfolk were being most hospitable! Did this owe more to the Eye she had given the patriarch, or to their ardent wish not to affront the Adepts in any manner, so that there would be no cause to harm the village? A bit of both, she concluded, satisfied. She had forgotten what pleasure it could be to intimidate rustics!