Empires of Flux & Anchor

“I have your daughter. You have four Hellgates. I need access to them from the temples.”

“You know I can’t do that—even if I wanted to, they wouldn’t permit it.”

“A straight swap, then. You for her?”

“More tempting to me, personally. I, too, would like to try you one-on-one, Coydt. But it would be only a brief respite for my daughter, whom I could not protect, and I could not bind the Nine to any bargain I made. You know that.”

The huge image of Coydt sighed. “Well, then, what are we to do? It seems I have a commodity with no major market value. You cannot, or will not, pay the price.”

“Just let her go. I’ll arrange to meet and settle our disputes.”

“A wonderful idea, and part of my original hopes for this, but no longer possible,” he responded. “I’m afraid we’ve discovered that your daughter has a Soul Rider. Neutralizing the Soul Rider has thus become an overriding preoccupation.”

The news was a shock, but also something of a relief. Spirit must have gotten the Soul Rider from her, somehow. The creatures’ natures were totally unknown, but they certainly protected their hosts and were on the right side in a fight. She should know. Coydt, in fact, had a series of dilemmas.

“Then you can’t transform her and let her wander, because the Soul Rider would eventually make it right,” she noted. “You can’t try a really major spell on her, because it can probably unravel it. And you can’t kill her, because then you wouldn’t know where that Soul Rider was, except that it was after you.”

“We’ve learned a lot since Haldayne’s attempt on you. Very well—there is no offer you wish to make for her release?”

“The best I could do would be to drop all charges against you should she be returned unharmed. And agree to meet you at some point.”

“Oh, we will meet, I promise you that. I’m looking forward to it. But not now. Very well. Here is how we will resolve this. You can’t find the others who helped me pull the job, but everybody is being bottled up. I want everyone who wishes to leave Anchor Logh within the next full day to be allowed to do so without harm or prejudice. The borders will be open again, and everything will be back to normal. In exchange for this, if Spirit agrees, I will return her to Anchor Logh within three days. She may have some spells, but they will not harm her or anyone else. And, after all, you’re a great wizard yourself. You can take care of those. Agreed?”

She frowned. “Agreed.”

“Until we meet again, then,” he responded, and the huge face shrank more and more until it was merely a point in the void and then was gone.

She shook her head in wonder and suspicion. There was more to this than what he’d said, that was for sure. Why go through all this trouble and all that risk only to settle for the getaway of some of the more minor perpetrators?

The place was called a Pocket. In many ways it resembled a Fluxland, in that it was a very substantial and substantial-looking reality designed, built, and maintained by the mind of a wizard. It differed only in size. While a Fluxland could be larger than an Anchor, a Pocket was generally small enough that one could see the Void all around from its center.

This one had a lot of trees, a stream running through it near the house, a bright whitish-gray sky, and, in the middle, on a small knoll, a rather standard-looking six-room, two-story house. It was not terribly well hidden from those who could discover it, but no strings that any but Coydt could see led to or from it, and it was well away from any stringer routes, although less than a day’s ride from Anchor Logh. It seemed to stand out, but in the context of World it was smaller than the smallest needle in the largest haystack.

She had not been imprisoned here, and had full run of the place except for Coydt’s own two-room complex in back of the first floor and just off the small kitchen. She had her own room, had access to a very modern shower and toilet, and except for the fact that she still had only the clothes she’d had on when kidnapped, she was quite comfortable. She had not only not been mistreated or molested; she was almost completely ignored.

Now, though, Coydt, who’d been away for a while, had returned and a knock on her door by Yorek summoned her. “The boss wants to see you,” he said simply, and that was enough.

He sat in a comfortable, padded desk chair, rocking slightly and smoking a cigar. He looked over a bunch of figures on a piece of paper one last time as she entered and took a seat on a small couch two meters from him. For a moment he did not acknowledge her, but then he looked up, dismissed Yorek, sighed, and turned to her, putting the paper down.

“It’s time for us to bargain,” he said simply.

She was startled. “Bargain? What do I have to bargain with?”

“Just hold on a moment and listen to me. The boys told you what a Soul Rider was?”

She nodded. “I’m not sure I understand it, but I’ve always known it was there. Sometimes I almost think I can hear its thoughts.”

“Probably because it entered at birth. It’s so closely integrated with you that you and it are almost one being. That makes you dangerous.”

“If it’s so powerful, why am I still here?”

He chuckled. “Well, it’s not human, so it doesn’t think the way humans do. It knows there’s a big plot going on. It knows, too, that if it takes me on, it will certainly cost your life, although possibly not its own. It’s curious. That’s the way they are. It won’t act until it knows all the facts and is able to do the most damage. Short of your life, it won’t move to protect you. For example, did you notice that while we’ve been talking, you have removed every single stitch of clothing you had on and are now waiting there totally naked with your legs spread apart?”

She jumped. Until that moment, she hadn’t been the slightest bit aware of it. She looked down for the clothes, but for some reason just could not bring herself to reach down, pick them up, and put them back on.

“That’s how simple and effortless spells are,” he told her casually. “In point of fact, you don’t feel the least bit embarrassed or uncomfortable, do you? You feel natural and normal that way, even though you know you shouldn’t.”

It was true. The idea of clothing seemed somehow unnatural, even repugnant to her, yet she knew how she should feel and even knew that she felt this way because of the man’s will.

If he was trying to frighten her, he was succeeding admirably.

“I’m demonstrating power, no more,” he told her. “This is absurdly simple. Child’s play. If I so desired, I could make you fall madly, passionately in love with me, willing to do anything I wanted. I could make you my slave, my plaything, and you would love every moment of it.” Suddenly he stood up. “On your knees before me, slave!”

She was off the couch and on her knees in front of him, head bowed, before she realized what happened. “Yes, my master,” she responded. For a few minutes he put her through her paces, ordered her to do odd gymnastics and crave odd sex from him. He stopped her just short of actually performing, though, and somewhat released her. Her rationality returned, but not her control. She was a jumble of emotions, disgusted with herself, repulsed by Coydt, and terrified of his power, and yet she knew that if he ordered it, she would do it again, and more.

“That was a demonstration of the mental and emotional spells. Now, stand up. Hold out your right arm.”

She did as instructed, and was horrified to see not an arm but a slithering, pulsating sucker-covered tentacle, one of a dozen. She oozed slime and filth; reeked of garbage. She wanted to scream, but nothing came out.

And, just as suddenly, she was herself again and her arm was her arm, but she was badly shaken.

“That was no mental trick. You really were that creature. I could do that in a moment and make you love it. I can make you old, young, male, female, human, animal, or monster. I can do anything I want with you. Do you believe that?”

She nodded, trying to stop shaking.

“I can do more than that. Little is permanent here in Flux, and your Soul Rider knows it more than any. Everything in Anchor, though, is permanent, including anything you might be when entering Anchor from Flux. Your mother and the Soul Rider aren’t concerned about any spell I may cast, since they can remove it. It might take time and be a lot of trouble, but they can do it. However, I can cast a delayed spell that will make the Flux to you seem as hard and impenetrable as stone. I can cast you as I will, send you into Anchor, and you cannot get back to Flux. Without it, the spell can not be seen or analyzed, much less broken, for to take you back into Flux by force would be