The Wizard of Karres

contemplated the workings of fate.

The captain's estimate of just how seriously he ought to take Goth's assumption they'd eventually get married cranked up another notch. He was beginning to understand how his great uncle Threbus must have felt, many years before, when Toll made the same confident prediction.

Pausert chewed on the matter for a time, as they walked together in silence, for the first time giving it some serious thought. It wasn't as if the prospect bothered him, after all. In fact . . . he was beginning to find himself sharing Goth's opinion that there ought to be some way klatha could affect the aging process.

But, if there was, he'd never heard of any. So, since they were nearing the ship, he just dismissed the whole matter from his mind. Whatever happened, it was a matter for the future.

* * *

At the ship they met up with the Sedmons. 'Well?' said one of the two. They both had their arms around Hulik do Eldel. That was something Captain Pausert was still getting used to. He always felt as if he were seeing double around the cloned Sedmons. Hulik seemed to accept it, though. She'd once told the captain that she didn't think she'd ever meet a man she would love enough to marry. Apparently, in her own inimitable style, the do Eldel had found a solution to the problem.

'We're going to have to split up and each try to reach the Empress Hailie,' he announced, 'since we're running out of time. I think, Hulik, you'd better travel with the Daal. If you get through, at least you can get the Imperial Navy pulled off our back.'

The Sedmons nodded, clearly not inclined to argue the point.

Hulik nodded also. 'I don't want to desert you, Captain. But I was going to ask if you'd mind if we did that. I think I should keep an eye on him. Both of him,' she added impishly.

* * *

The Venture and the Daal's Thunderbird made quiet, low-fuss departures that night. Darkness would not shield them from watching instrumentation, but it might hide their departure from human spies. Even instruments might not spot the Thunderbird, actually. The Daal's ship was equipped with the very best antidetection gear available.

The best that they'd been able to do for the Venture, on the other hand, was adding a few mock-ups from the Dame's props, which slightly changed the outline of the ship. If whatever watchers there were—and by now the captain was sure that there must be some— didn't see Pausert's trademark wobbly take off, and didn't have instruments tracking, then they were away, at least until daybreak.

No atmospheric revolt-ships rose after them, at least. The Leewit left off manning the rear turret of the nova guns and came back to the Venture's control room. She was rubbing her shoulder. 'You'll kill us all yet with these take offs, Captain,' she complained. 'My shoulder hurts. And I'm bored already and we've only just left the circus.'

'Tell you what,' said Goth. 'You fish out those cards you found in the Agandar's kit and I'll play you snap.'

'Don't feel like snap,' snapped the Leewit. But she pulled the pack from an inner pocket anyway.

She always seemed to have them with her, Pausert noticed. The hand-painted cards had been found in the Agandar's personal kit after the pirate's death, and the Leewit had expropriated them. The cards were probably valuable antiques, given that the pirate lord had been fabulously wealthy and successful. Pausert had occasionally wondered if he should try to keep them safe from the Leewit, but it hadn't seemed worth the fight it would entail. Money was only worth its face value, but a contented Leewit was a jewel past price. And she was mostly pretty happy playing endless games of snap or patience.

But it appeared she'd been broadening her horizons. 'Let's play poker,' she piped.

Pausert raised an eyebrow. 'Where did you learn that game?'

'Vezzarn taught me.'

'I should have guessed. Well,' said the captain, setting the course for Gentian's Star and clicking on the long- range detectors, 'we'll play for spillikins. Every ten you win, I'll buy you a packet of candy at the next spaceport. Every ten I win, you bathe without a fight. And wash behind your ears.'

She looked darkly at him. 'Twenty.'

'Fifteen.'

'S'a deal. But I'm not too sure how you play poker, really.'

The captain had been around the witches too long to fall for that one. He was a lucky gambler because of klatha, and as soon as he heard that statement he knew he'd need to be.

'Deal me in,' said Goth, sliding bonelessly into the chair next to the chart table they used for cards. 'I'm not too old for candy.'

'But you wash behind your ears, anyway!' protested the Leewit.

'I'm not planning to lose, so what does it matter?'

'Huh!' said the Leewit scornfully. 'You're getting to be just like Maleen.'

'Deal,' said the captain, before this well-used argument could get any more exercise.

A few minutes later Vezzarn came up from the engine room and joined the game. And the captain soon realized that he had fallen among thieves, or at least cardsharps. If the witches or Vezzarn ever needed money, they had a profession lined up already. Pausert was quite relieved when the ship-detector alarm went off.

 

CHAPTER 27

Here, near the Empire's center, ship traffic was much heavier. There was virtually no way to keep out of detection range of all of them. And it very soon became evident that the ISS was searching hard, and that the Imperial Space Navy now had orders: destroy the Venture on sight.

Twice now their ship had come within detector range of ISN vessels and had not even been given the chance to try deception. She'd been pursued and fired on—despite being within hailing distance.

'Communicator chatter indicates we've been fingered as a plague carrier, Captain,' said Vezzarn indignantly. Aft of the Venture, space was lit up again by the blue lightnings of Imperial guns.

'It's more like the other way around,' grunted Pausert. 'We're the antibiotic and this is the disease trying to keep us away.'

Goth stared at the ship detectors. 'Guess we'll have to use the Sheewash Drive, Captain. Those Space Navy jobs are gaining on us.'

Pausert nodded. 'I'd rather not have to, because it gives them a definite fix on where we are, again. But I don't think we have a choice. We're certainly not going to win a battle with that many Imperial cruisers.' Seeing the littlest witch glaring, he added diplomatically: 'Not even with the Leewit at the nova guns.'

That seemed to satisfy the Leewit's touchy sense of honor. So, once again, she and Goth made orange fire dance over the twisted pattern of black wires. Pausert found himself staring so hard at the pattern that his eyes felt as if they'd crossed. It was almost making sense.

The Venture leapt away from the Imperial Space Navy ships. The acceleration was fantastic—except . . .

Looking at his instruments, Pausert knew that it wasn't what the ship could do, or used to do, when the witches of Karres pushed her along with Sheewash Drive. They used to move faster than his instruments could cope with measuring. Now the Venture merely ambled along at about double her normal top speed. Enough to shake pursuit, certainly, but not enough to break through the cordon that the Imperial Space Navy was putting around the heart of the Empire.

'I'm sorry, Captain,' said Goth tiredly. 'That pushing through jelly feeling is back.'

'I wish I could help,' said Pausert, apologetically. 'I've almost got that klatha pattern.'

Goth shook her head. 'You can't force klatha, Captain. It'll come when you're ready. I've got an idea that may work. They obviously know what the Venture looks like. But I could do a light-shift on her external appearance. Make her look like . . . say a Sirian passenger liner.'

'Could work,' said the Leewit. 'They wouldn't fire on a passenger liner. Not a Sirian one, anyway.'