across the lanes, wove through the light traffic carelessly, speeding as usual. He had no more regard for traffic laws than he did for any other laws. Karl wondered how many accidents Doro had caused or been involved in. Not that it mattered to Doro. Had human life ever mattered to Doro beyond his interest in human husbandry? Could a creature who had to look upon ordinary people literally as food and shelter ever understand how strongly those people valued life? But yes, of course he could. He understood it well enough to use it to keep his people in line. He probably even understood it well enough to know how Karl and Mary both felt now. It just didn’t make any difference. He didn’t care.
Fifteen minutes later, Doro pulled into Karl’s driveway. Karl was out of the car and heading for the house before Doro brought the car to a full stop. Karl knew that Mary was in the midst of another experience. He had felt it begin. He had kept her under carefully distant observation even after he had severed the link between them. Now, though, even without a deliberately established link, he was having trouble preventing himself from merging into her experience. Mary was trapped in the mind of a man who had to eventually burn to death. The man was trapped inside a burning house. Mary was experiencing his every sensation.
Karl went up the back stairs two at a time and ran through the servants’ quarters toward the front of the house. He knew Mary was in her room, lying down, knew that, for some reason, Vivian was with her.
He walked into the room and looked first at Mary, who lay in the middle of her bed, her body rolled into a tight, fetal knot. She made small noises in her throat like choked screams or moans, but she did not move. Karl sat down on the bed next to her and looked
at Vivian.
“Is she going to be all right?” Vivian asked.
“I think so.”
“Are you going to be all right?”
“If she is, I will be.”
She got up, came to rest one hand on his shoulder. “You mean, if she comes through all right, Doro won’t kill you.”
He looked at her, surprised. One of the things he liked about her was that she could still surprise him. He left her enough mental privacy for that. He had read his previous women more than he read her and they had quickly become boring. He had hardly read Vivian at all until she had asked him to condition her and let her stay with him, help her stay, in spite of Mary. He had not wanted to do it, but he had not wanted to lose her, either. The conditioning he had imposed on her kept her from feeling jealousy or hatred toward Mary. But it did not prevent her from seeing things clearly and drawing her own conclusions.
“Don’t worry,” he told her. “Both Mary and I are going to make it all right.”
She looked at Mary, who still lay knotted in the agony of her experience. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Nothing.”
“Can I … can I stay. I’ll keep out of the way. I just?”
“Vee, no.”
“I just want to see what she has to go through. I want to see that the price she has to pay to … to be like you is too high.”
“You can’t stay. You know you can’t.”
She closed her eyes for a moment, dropped her hand to her side. “Then, let me go. Let me leave you.”
He stared at her, surprised, stricken. “You know you’re free to go if that’s really what you want. But I’m asking you not to.”
“I’ll become an outsider if I don’t leave you now.” She shrugged hopelessly. “I’ll be alone. You and Mary will be alike, and I’ll be alone.” There was no anger or resentment in her, he could see. Her conditioning was holding well enough. But she had been much more aware of Mary’s loneliness than Karl had realized. And when Karl began occasionally sleeping with Mary, Vivian had begun to see Mary’s life as a preview of her own. “You won’t need me,” she said softly. “You’ll only come to me now and then to be kind.”
“Vee, will you stay until tomorrow?”
She said nothing.
“Stay at least until tomorrow. We’ve got to talk.” He reinforced the request with a subtle mental command. She had no telepathic ability at all. She would not be consciously aware of the command, but she would respond to it. She would stay until the next day, as he had asked, and she would think her staying was her own decision. He promised himself that he would not coerce her further. Already it was getting too easy to treat her like just another pet.
She drew a deep breath. “I don’t know what good it will do,” she said. “But yes, I’ll stay that long.” She turned to go out of the room and ran into Doro. He caught her as she was stumbling blindly around him, and held her.
Doro looked at Mary, who had finally straightened herself out on the bed. She looked back at him wearily.
“Good luck,” he said quietly.
She continued to watch him, not responding at all.
He turned and left with Vivian, still holding her as she cried.
Karl looked down at Mary.
She continued to stare after Doro and Vivian. She spoke softly. “Why is it Doro is always so kind to people after he messes up their lives?”
Karl took a tissue from the box on her night table and wiped her face. It was wet with perspiration.
She gave him a tired half smile. “You being ‘kind’ to me, man?”
“That wasn’t my word,” said Karl.
