the region where gold can't go.'
'It can't be that way,' Zane said, troubled. 'Maybe Satan is soul-grubbing, but God has to want the genuine welfare of man.'
'Then how come God never helps man directly?' Molly demanded. 'Satan has minions all over, sowing dissension, making mischief, publishing commercials for Hell. God remains aloof.'.
'God is honoring the Covenant,' Luna said. 'Satan is cheating. There should not be any supernatural interference. Man is supposed to make his own destiny, by the type of life he lives when given free will.'
'If you believe that,' Molly said, the accent of the gutter where she had been raised in life coming through more strongly, 'you must also believe the Tooth Fairy is queer.'
Luna was startled. 'That's a serious charge.'
The ghost laughed. 'See? You argue the case!'
The cart passed through an invisible curtain and emerged at the carnival grounds. 'That was quite a tour,' Zane said politely, though he had not paid it much attention.
'That's just the beginning!' Molly said, hauling them off to the ghostly, ghastly Horror House. The experience was, of course, awful, for the ghosts really knew how to horrify mortal people, but Luna took advantage of the darkness to sneak in a passionate kiss that horrified the ghosts. At least Zane thought it was Luna.
They had ghostly cotton candy and visited the Dinosaur Petting Zoo — the larger carnivores were muzzled, which annoyed them visibly — and tried to win a valuable invisible doll by catching a smoke ring on a glass lance. It didn't work; the ring shattered and the lance puffed away as vapor. They concluded with the Tunnel of Love — and here Molly had to let them go alone, for the boat held only two.
By this time Zane was quite satisfied to be alone with Luna. Maybe it was the hypnotic effect of the constant noise and color of the carnival, or the knowledge of her brief time remaining, or that she was soft and pretty — for whatever reason, he found himself dizzy with delight at her propinquity, and as close to love as he had ever been. They drifted down the calm channel of water; as the quiet darkness closed in, they held hands and kissed again, and that was more pleasant than anything else he might have contemplated with any other woman. Then, it seemed like only half a moment later, they were emerging from the long tunnel, the journey over.
It was enough. They unloaded Molly Malone's wheelbarrow from the car and got in for the drive back to Kilvarough. It had been a good date.
Chapter 8
GREEN MOTHER
A light was flashing on the dash. That meant Mortis had something to tell Death. 'Brace yourself,' Zane told Luna. 'We're about to be on the Death horse.'
'I love horses,' she said. 'I'm a girl at heart.' He pressed the button, and they were on the stallion, Luna sitting behind him. 'What is it?' Zane asked. 'My countdown is turned off; I'm pretty well caught up on my backlist, and I don't begrudge my upcoming clients a few more hours of life.'
The horse neighed urgently and swished his tail. 'Idiot — turn on your translator,' Luna murmured. Zane hastily set the language gem in his left ear. It was uncomfortable to wear continuously, as he had never gotten his ear pierced so he could use it as an earring, and he normally removed it during off hours. He hadn't realized it could be used to talk to Mortis!
'Nature summons you,' the neigh-voice said. 'I can wait till I get home,' Zane muttered, conscious of Luna's presence.
'The Incarnation Nature,' the horse clarified. 'Gaea. She says to dally only long enough to pick up one soul.'
'Nature-the-person? If she wants to talk to me, why doesn't she come herself, as the other Incarnations have?'
'She is the Green Mother,' Mortis neighed, and there was an undertone of equine respect. 'She governs all living creatures. Do not annoy her. Death.'
'You had better go,' Luna said. 'I don't know which of you Incarnations has the most power, but Nature surely is not to be trifled with. You can drop me off anywhere near Kilvarough, and — '
'Do not go near Kilvarough!' Mortis warned. 'Operate from the ghost world.'
'But I can't leave Luna among the ghosts!' Zane protested.
'Bring her.'
'I'd like that,' Luna said. 'Is it permitted?'
'I'll do it regardless,' Zane decided. 'I'm not going to leave you in any strange place unprotected.' He turned on the Deathwatch countdown. It showed nine minutes. He oriented on the client, using the special gems of his bracelet. He nudged Mortis, aiming the stallion in the right direction. 'Take us there,' he directed.
The horse leaped away from the carnival. Clouds wafted by, and the cosmos was inchoate. 'Ooo, lovely!' Luna breathed, hugging Zane from behind.
Then Mortis landed in a great dance hall in the city of San Diego. Magic clothed the walls with royal trappings and made the floor resemble solid silver. It did not at all look like a place of death.
'So this is what your job is like,' Luna murmured. 'You must enjoy it well.'
'It varies,' Zane said. 'Parts of it are not fun.'
They dismounted, and Mortis stepped into the background. No one noticed that he was a horse, for he was protected by the magic of his own office.
The watch showed four minutes. Zane went to the spot indicated by the gems. It was a section of the dance floor. Dancers crossed it and moved on, doing the Squirm; he could not tell who was fated to be there when the time came.
There were two empty seats beside a young woman who was not dancing. Zane and Luna took them.
Two young men walked along the edge of the dance floor, engaged in animated conversation or moderate debate. They halted abruptly near Zane. 'Well, then, let's try it!' one exclaimed. 'Random selection, yours against mine.'
'Done!' the other agreed. 'Winner takes them both. A disinterested judge.'
The first turned to a seated youth who was drinking a beverage from a bottle. 'Do you know how to play a guitar?'
The youth laughed. He set down his bottle and stifled a burp. 'Me? I'm tone deaf! I can't even play a triangle!'
'He'll do,' the second man said. He turned to Luna. 'Do you dance well, miss?'
'Excellently,' Luna said.
'No good.' The man focused on the other girl. 'Do you dance well?'
'No,' the girl said shyly. 'I've got two left feet. I only come to watch the others dance.'
'She'll do,' the first man said.
'Do for what?' Luna asked, annoyed about being passed over for whatever it was.
'And you can be the judge,' the second man said to her.
Zane looked at his watch. The countdown timer showed two minutes. Who was going to die here, and how?
The first young man produced a nondescript guitar and pushed it into the hands of the tone-deaf lad. 'When I give the signal, play.'
'But I told you I can't — '
'Precisely. It's an excellent test.'
The second man brought out a pair of dancing slippers. 'Put these on and dance,' he said to the left-footed girl.
Suddenly Zane had an awful notion. 'Luna!' he cried. 'Get out of here! It may be your death we're here for!' The watch showed ninety seconds.
'Don't be silly,' she said, 'You brought me here. That wouldn't have been necessary if I were the client. You could simply have pushed me off the horse in mid-air. Anyway, I'm not in balance; I can make it to Hell without your
