you.'
'As you wish, Father,' she said dutifully. 'I have yet to meet the man I couldn't impress when I tried, but I doubt I have much future with the like of Death.' She turned and departed the way she had arrived, poised but still not special. It seemed to Zane that Magician and daughter both had considerable arrogance, assuming so blithely that the office holder of Death could be swayed by such obvious means.
Perhaps, he thought further, his glimpse of lovely Angelica had forever spoiled him for other women, even if his new office had not.
'My message is this,' the Magician said abruptly. 'There is a complex plot afoot that affects my daughter, Luna Kaftan. I have protected her hitherto, but I shall no longer be able to do so. Therefore I am asking you to do so.'
'I must have misunderstood. I thought you were offering me your daughter's favors in exchange for five minutes of my time.'
The Magician smiled. 'Death, you are rightly cynical. It is a barbed offer, of course. If you accept the bait, you will find yourself emotionally committed and you will guard her in a manner few others could.'
'How can I guard anyone?' Zane demanded, sensing that he was being managed. 'I am Death!'
'You are uniquely qualified,' the Magician insisted. 'When, through my black arts, I perceived the nature of the conspiracy against my child, I knew she would have to have a champion to guard her as I could not. I researched diligently to locate that champion, neglecting my health in the process, and at length identified you.'
'Me!' Zane exclaimed. 'As Death, I can do only a thing you would not want for your daughter. As a man, not as Death, I am unqualified to do anything at all for her. You should know that!'
'As a man, it is true, you are unremarkable,' the Magician agreed. 'But you are nevertheless uniquely qualified for the need. I believe you will grow with the office and become what you presently are not.'
'You know something about how I got the job of Death?' This was indeed interesting.
'I was the one who persuaded Fate to arrange your placement at that office,' the Magician said.
'Persuaded Fate! You — ?'
'I suspect you are not yet aware of the significance of your role.'
'Well, every person has to die sometime — '
'But any person can serve, however indifferently, in the office of Death. This particular situation requires your personal expertise.'
'You're not making much sense to me!' Zane said. 'It was sheer chance that brought me to — He broke off, for the Magician's daughter Luna had re-entered the room. She was clothed now — she was evidently efficient about getting dressed — and wore makeup and had let down her hair — and it did make a difference. Her tresses were shoulder-length, chestnut brown, and shone with such a rich luster that Zane was sure an enchantment of enhancement had been applied. Her eyes, which had seemed nondescript before, now were huge and beautiful, their color a deep gray like the hide of a fine racing horse, or the Death steed himself. Her cheeks had warmed and her lips were bright and sensual, the teeth showing white and even. She wore two Saturn-stone earrings that projected little colored rings and illuminated the smooth column of her neck on either side.
But she had hardly finished her makeover there. She wore an off-shoulder gray blouse that clung lightly to the contours of her arms and bosom, making what had seemed modest before come to life now as a fully respectable endowment. Her belt was wide and heavy and set with colored stones; probably it was a flying belt. Her brown skirt, matching the shade of her hair, caressed a configuration of hip and leg that was elegant in its artistry of form. Zane had not before realized how striking a slender woman could be. Even her feet were pretty, in delicate, winged, green slippers that were crafted to resemble her namesake, the Luna moth. About her neck was a chain of gold in the mode of fine serpentine, and on the chain, suspended artfully between her breasts, was a large moonstone, its brightness at crescent phase. Such stones waxed and waned magically with the changes of the real moon, the ultimately female symbol. She was magically lovely, as stunning as any model at a fashion show.
Of course she had magic, Zane reminded himself. She was a Magician's daughter! Naturally she had become impressive; it was an artifice! Yet he could not help being impressed, for it was indeed the same girl he had seen before, in a new aspect. Luna's present presence was like a selected precious stone, dull in shadow, suddenly enhanced by the brilliance of a spotlight that caused it to project its awesome luster.
She had been nude before. Truly, in seeing her uncovered, he had not seen her at all. Not even Angelica could rival — 'Shall I do a dance for you?' Luna inquired with a charming quirk of a smile.
'I don't believe it,' Zane muttered.
'Well, you should,' she said mischievously. 'You saw me nude.'
Zane shook his head. 'I don't believe a creature like you can be casually offered to a nondescript character like me. It just doesn't make sense.'
'Oh, she is no gift,' the Magician said. 'Luna has to be won, and the winning is not straightforward. What you get is the first option to compete.'
'I don't care to compete,' Zane said, distrusting this.
He was aware that the Magician was offering less, now that Luna had manifested as more. Zane didn't like being managed.
'Suit yourself. The Love stone is here.' The Magician indicated a small blue gem on the table beside him.
'I have no use for Lovestones!' Zane snapped. He now wished he had never seen Angelica; how much grief that would have saved him!
'Perhaps you misunderstand,' the Magician said. 'This is not your common locater stone; this one compels love. Merely hold it and look at the woman you desire, and she will be instantly afflicted with overwhelming passion for you. You do not find these on sale in knickknack shops.'
Zane eyed the stone with new respect. If he took that and looked at Luna, she would become his love slave. Probably its effect was limited to a single session; otherwise the user would never be able to get away from the subject. But it meant the man — or woman — possessing such an artifact could take advantage of any other person encountered. What was he to make of the father who openly offered to subject his lovely daughter to such influence, or of the girl who knowingly permitted such enchantment to be used on her? 'Thanks, no.'
Luna nodded slightly, perhaps in approval. Had this been a test? The Magician had said his daughter needed to be won, and the use of the Love stone was hardly fair competition. Maybe the stone induced passion but not love. Given the choice between passion and love, Zane preferred the latter.
The Magician settled slightly in his chair, relaxing. 'I must proceed; the spell that extends my life beyond its appointed time is weakening, and I dare not use another.'
'You dare not?' Zane asked, increasingly suspicious. 'Aren't you a powerful Magician?'
'Magic is addictive and often damning. The white magic which has become so popular is generally harmless, but it can lead stage by stage to the more potent black magic, which gradually corrupts and eventually damns the user. All serious practitioners employ black magic, because of its versatility and power. I have used more than enough to damn me to Hell.'
'But you are in balance, or I would not have been summoned!'
'Technically true. It was necessary that I summon you, and this was the only way possible without alerting the Unmentionable.'
'The — '
'Do not utter the name, for he is attuned to it. My enchantment protects us from chance discovery, but against his direct inquiry there is no protection, and his name would bring that. This discussion has to be private. Once I talk to you, my fate hardly matters, except that I must stay free of Hell long enough to give the plan a chance to function. The Unnamed quickly picks the brains of his incoming victims. So we had to seem to meet in the normal course, to avoid suspicion.'
'You set up your own death, just to talk to me without a certain entity knowing — when you yourself had gotten Fate to put me in office?'
'It does seem to be a cumbersome mechanism. But a complex conspiracy is abroad, and devious sacrifices are required.'
'Such as your life — and your daughter's virtue?' Luna smiled, taking no offense. 'Father is like that. That's why he's a great Magician — one whom even the Incarnations respect.'
