[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
a
a
T
T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
r
r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
B
B
Y
Y
B
B
r r
with him always and now she could not.
They went immediately to the butler, who explained that there were those mortals who cooperated in
special matters like this and maintained a system of hostels for displaced associates of Purgatory. They
were discreet and understanding. "In fact you can stay with Thanatos' consort, Luna Kaftan," he said.
"She is in mortal politics, but because of Thanatos, she understands perfectly. You will be fully
comfortable with her."
And so it was arranged for Rapture to stay with Luna, who lived in Kilvarough. Thanatos himself came
to escort them down. Rapture almost fainted when she saw the skull-face, but then Thanatos drew back
his hood to reveal an ordinary human face, reassuring her. It was all right-for now.
Chapter 8 - SATAN
Other nights, Rapture would come to stay with him in the Castle of War. But this night she was back on
Earth, for she had a day's eating to catch up on and needed to acclimatize. Mym had known the instant
he met Luna, who seemed oddly familiar, that she would take good care of Rapture; she was a beautiful,
brown-haired, occidental woman, whose house was filled with artistry and guarded by griffins. It was no
palace, but it was the kind of place the Princess could feel at home in.
So Mym slept alone-and discovered that, though Rapture might be dependent on him, he had become
dependent on her, too. He had grown accustomed to sleeping beside a loving woman and felt ill at ease
by himself.
In fact, he was unable to sleep. After more than an hour of restless turnings, he sat up and looked for
something to read. There was nothing; evidently his predecessor had not been a literary man.
He got up and donned slippers and night robe and walked out into the dusky hall. The castle staff had
retired; all was quiet. Did the spirits of Purgatory require sleep? Perhaps so, if they required food. As he
was coming to understand it, the lives-the afterlives-of these people were similar to those of mortal folk,
but more diffuse and extended. If they did not eat, they would not starve-not within a century or so-for
they could not die; they were already dead. But they would become uncomfortable. Likewise, probably,
with sleep. So let them sleep; it did help differentiate the days, which surely were dull enough.
Purgatory was not supposed to be torture, as he perceived this Western mythology; it was merely a state
of indecision, a working-off of the debts of an imperfectly lived life. Westerners had no second chance
by way of reincarnation to expiate their faults; they had to get it straight in just one life and then pay the
consequence in the long stretch of eternity thereafter. He did not envy them their system.
But, of course, he was part of it, now. He should have been a better Hindu, so as not to stray into this
inferior framework. This was really his own next incarnation, the Incarnation of War in an alien
framework, and now he was bound by its laws. Punishment enough!
Yet reward enough, too, for it had solved the problem of his voided betrothal to Rapture and the war
between their two Kingdoms. Had this office not come to him when it had, he would have faced
disaster. So fate had not been cruel to him; it had been kind. Most kind.
Also, he rather fancied the challenge of this new position. He had made mistakes on his first day-but
what person didn't, when learning the job? He now had a far better notion how to proceed and expected
to do better on his next battle. The powers of his office were phenomenal and could be a great force for
good when properly applied.
He came to the garden region that had so enraptured Rapture. Now it was dark; the cycles of Purgatory
mirrored those of mortal Earth. The exotic plants seemed larger, the shadowed statues more alive,
somehow. He walked on through it; it was indeed a lovely region, the kind that a woman could spend
much time appreciating. It seemed almost natural-as if crafted by the forces of nature, rather than those
a
a
T
T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
r
r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
B
B
Y
Y
B
B
r r
of man.
The clouds parted to allow a shaft of moonlight down, and the leaves and statues turned silvery. A
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]