The Witch, the Cathedral

He reached for his sword, but I froze it in his sheath. “I thought you’d discovered that violence against a wizard won’t work, Lucas,” I said fiercely, standing in front of him with my arms crossed. “And I already know most of it. It starts with your plan to use a gorgos to discredit both the Church and organized magic!

“You and your brother,” I continued sternly, “have developed the foolish idea that the power of the aristocracy, even that of the kings of the western kingdoms, is being diminished. And you blame the priests and the wizards for this. Because you imagine that the kings could do better without their spiritual and magical advisers, you-”

“I know nothing of the gorgos,” interrupted Lucas. “I’m not going to dignify such accusations with a response. But the power of kings is being daily diminished by wizardly scorn!” Sometime soon I really would have to find out what purported failings had led to Sengrim’s final argument. Should I start suspecting Lucas of having murdered him, then deliberately replacing him with a renegade who paid no attention to the school and its oaths to help humanity?

Lucas looked as much toward Paul as me as he spoke. “Did you hear that wizard up on top of the mountain? ‘Young fellows,’ he called us. And it’s not just scorn for our position. It’s a determined effort to weaken us collectively! Even the feeblest and silliest kings are allowed to survive and flourish. Before the wizards’ school, when wizards owed their allegiance to their kings rather than the school in the City, bandits and ruffians were found in great numbers, and princes could earn their spurs in combat. Then a few short wars by the strongest took care of the weak and foolish, and kings could stand proudly in their castle halls, rather than amusing themselves with illusions and fairy-stories.”

Paul looked toward me with a forced smile, as though trying to persuade me he had never believed such things.

“Did you consider the gorgos a fairy-story?” I demanded of Lucas.

He ignored me. “Not very long ago, all my worst fears were confirmed. A nobleman from the City stopped by our castle on a journey. And this man, as it turns out, is a close friend of the Master of the wizards’ school. He confirmed that the school is plotting very soon to break all purported obedience to the aristocracy!”

“The Master has no close friends among the aristocracy,” I said, surprised. “Just who did this man claim to be?”

“He was an nobleman, all right,” said Lucas testily. “I don’t remember his name, but he had a black beard and hazel eyes-wore a big ring. And he seemed remarkably well informed on how the school operated.”

“I spent all spring at the school, and I never saw anyone who-” The words died on my lips. Standing before us, where a second ago there had been no one, was a pale green woman.

She was green all over, naked skin the color of the first leaves in spring, eyes and hair a rich jade hue. She had round, uplifted breasts, a tiny waist, and almost unbelievably long and graceful legs. Clouds of dancing lights, like tiny stars, surrounded her: almost, but not quite, keeping her decent.

“Is this one of your Little People?” I asked Vor in a low voice.

“She is not little,” he said with the hint of a smile. “She’s a nixie.”

“Of course I’m a nixie,” she said in a mellifluous voice, taking a step toward us. “And I’m delighted that four men have chosen to visit me.”

Vor turned to her, smiling fully now. “I wouldn’t have said we chose to visit you, Lady. But you do have a charming grove.”

“And even more charming treats await you, as I’m sure you realize.”

“I realize that, of course, but you must understand that this is rather startling for all of us.”

“Did you bring me here?” said Lucas, glowering balefully at her. “I am leaving now.”

“But you can’t leave,” she said with a tinkling laugh. “None of you can. Not until you’ve fully satisfied me. He knows what I mean,” with a glance at Vor, “and the rest of you will find out quickly. But don’t worry. You’ll enjoy it fully as well!” She leaned down, breasts near Lucas’s face, and kissed him on the top of the head.

Paul took an involuntary step backwards. His sword, forgotten in his hand, clanged against a root.

She said a quick word and it spun out of his grip. “No weapons here, or at least not weapons of steel!” she said coyly. “Come now, which of you would like to be the first?”

I shot Vor a despairing look. “It’s late in the day, Lady,” he said smoothly. “We’ve had an exhausting time, and, as you can see, one of us is injured. We wouldn’t be able to satisfy you very well this evening. Perhaps if we could eat and sleep first?”

“Very well,” said the nixie with the same coy smile. “Come with me!”

We followed her a short distance through the grove; Lucas, supported by Vor and Paul on either side, managed to hop. I came behind, trying to sort out magical influences. It was unexpectedly easy, and then I realized that this was because no magic now penetrated from outside the grove.

Under low-hanging branches were spread four beds, piled high with pillows. On tables next to each were bottles of wine and baskets of red and yellow fruit. She had clearly been expecting us.

“There!” said the nixie to Vor. “Is this what you wanted?”

“This will do most excellently, Lady.”

“Then I shall leave you to your dreams.” She kissed him quickly and slipped away through the trees.

Vor looked after her, rubbing his lips with his knuckles. “This will be a new experience. I’ve never been caught by a nixie before.”

“A new experience for all of us,” I said. I wondered briefly if the stories I had sometimes heard at the wizards’ school, of witches and their mad lusts, were in fact garbled stories of nixies.

The others sat down on the beds. Lucas looked fairly subdued now. I was still furious with him, but it would have to wait. “I’m going to find out how thoroughly the nixie has us imprisoned,” I said. “Paul, come with me. Vor, see if you can make Lucas’s ankle more comfortable.”

As we walked under the trees toward the edge of the grove, Paul asked with distaste, “So she expects us all to satisfy her before she’ll let us go?”

“That’s certainly what she says.”

After a short pause, he continued, “Is flying always like that?”

“It’s not usually that exciting. Generally I’m not trying to lift three other people at the same time.”

Paul nodded, seeming reassured. “I’d gotten used to the air cart this week-or as used to it as one can get. It’s like being in a boat; you know you’re suspended far above the bottom of the lake or ocean, but you still feel as though your feet are solidly planted. But coming down … I was amazed you’re willing to fly at all!” At least he didn’t say that flying make him think of ascension.

“Maybe we can see the horses again once we get out of the trees,” Paul added.

“What horses?” The prince seemed to think about horses at entirely inappropriate times.

“Didn’t you see them, out on the plain? I spotted them just before the air cart tipped us out.”

“I was too busy trying to save our lives to give anything else much attention,” I said sharply.

“There was a whole herd of them,” he continued, unabashed. “And they were running like the wind.”

Before I could answer, my nose was abruptly flattened by something invisible. I stopped, rubbed my nose delicately, and reached out a hand. The air had become solid before us.

III

Paul put out his hand too and rapped on the invisible wall. “I was afraid of this,” I said. “The air’s been turned to glass “We can’t get out of the grove, and no magic can pass in or out.”

“Let’s see if the barrier’s impervious to steel,” said Paul, drawing his sword. To my surprise, the blade went straight through up to the hilt, but his hand was stopped. “It’s as though it’s only a spell against humans,” he suggested.

This was a new kind of spell to me, but I admired its ingenuity. By being specific to humans, the spell could