She shook her head and stared past me at the fountain. 'The disintegration will reach the village soon if it hasn't already, and then it won't be long.'
'Are you giving up?' I asked.
'Aren't you?' she said.
'I could go out in search of the Delicate, but I doubt I could overcome him on my own.'
'I doubt the two of us could overcome him,' she said.
Just then, Brisden ceased his rant. He wiped his brow and looked up at us as if we had suddenly appeared before him.
'I was never gone, Cley. While you were turning my good friend, Nunnly, into a prune, I was arguing myself into a solution.'
If it were anyone else speaking, I might have been offended, but I had grown accustomed to Brisden's unique sense of humor. 'Who won the argument?' I asked.
'Who else?' said Brisden. 'Now you two are going to do as I say.'
'We're listening,' said Anotine, who seemed to be taking him with perfect seriousness.
'Nunnly was a part of me, and I can hardly stand to continue living, myself, without him. I wish I had the time to sit and reflect on the loss of my companion, but now it is time for revenge. I want the Delicate, and I know how to destroy him.'
'What should we do?' I asked.
'You two have already done enough. I want you to take your ridiculous spears and go hide behind the fountain over there. Whatever happens, and I mean whatever, don't come out of hiding. If you do, all will be ruined,' he said.
'You can't defeat the Delicate by yourself,' I told him.
'I won't be alone,' he said. 'I'll have the Doctor to keep me company.' He placed his hand atop the lid of the glass sample jar and patted it. 'Now go, quickly and keep quiet.'
'What are you going to do?' asked Anotine.
'Be off,' he said.
I was very apprehensive since, for most of the night, Brisden hadn't seemed to be in his right mind. Anotine took my arm, though, and pulled me away in the direction of the fountain. We stopped and lifted the spears where they lay near the entrance.
'There's a chance that he knows what he is talking about,' she whispered to me as we took up our positions behind the fountain.
'There's a chance we might find a flying carpet and escape the island too,' I said.
'Brisden has often amazed me with his insights,' she told me. 'His revelations are either uncanny in their brilliance or so bizarre they have no bearing upon reality.'
'I think I know which this one is,' I said, and my statement was confirmed when I heard the philosopher begin whistling, as loud as he could, the tune from the wooden box at Nunnly's.
'Give him a chance,' she said.
We could watch him from where we knelt on the cold stones in the shadows. He was whistling with great vigor and swaying back and forth. After a few minutes, he stopped abruptly and sat in silence. I was about to tell Anotine that Brisden was out of his mind, when I heard the sound of footsteps echoing from the other side of the wall near the opening.
'He's here,' she whispered, and I tightened my grip on the spear.
At first, I didn't think his enormous head could squeeze through the portal, but it did, like an infant's appearing from the birth canal. The Delicate was born into the secret place, pointed chin, twin braids, singed brown suit, and all. Once he was through, he stood and leaned over to brush the knees of his trousers.
'Hello, there,' said Brisden, waving to him as though he were seeing an old friend.
'Greetings,' said the Delicate, and waved back.
'Come sit down,' said Brisden.
'One moment,' he said, and stopped on his way to kneel over the remains of what had been the engineer. The huge head moved up and down the length of the shriveled carcass, sniffing and licking it here and there. When he had finished his investigation, he stood and continued on to the bench.
Anotine must have known what I was about to do, because she put her hand on my arm to restrain me from charging. 'Let's see what he has in mind,' she said.
'Thanks for stopping by,' I heard Brisden say, and refo-cused my attention on the bench beneath the tree.
'Quite a night of excitement,' said the Delicate.
'Well,' said the philosopher, 'the island is disintegrating, you know.'
'Oh, I don't trouble myself with those things,' said the creature. 'I'm only out for some air.'
'Mine, by any chance?'
'You are Brisden, aren't you?'
'I am.'
'Mouth or ear?' asked the Delicate.
'I prefer the ear, because that will give me a few more moments to speak.'
'Are we ready then?'
'Just a second, I'd like a last drink,' said Brisden, and lifted the sample jar. He unscrewed the lid and dropped it on the stones at his feet.
'Oh, my,' said the Delicate.
'Proceed,' said the philosopher as he put the jar to his lips and tilted it, swallowing the liquid mercury in four gulps.
At this moment, the Delicate's braid came up and encircled Brisden's neck. He was pulled sideways toward the creature, his ear fitting into its open mouth. As the process began, the sample jar dropped to the floor and smashed into splinters. I held on to Anotine and she to me as our friend's screams filled the secret place. We closed our eyes to the sight of his dissolution. We should have run to his rescue, but there was little point. Anotine had stopped me by whispering, 'Cley, don't. He wants to die.' I knew she was right.
There were all manner of terrible noises, sucking and gagging, the breaking of bones, the slosh of blood, and when I opened my eyes to look, Brisden had been reduced to a formless bag of flesh lying on the bench. The creature belched and wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his suit.
I nudged Anotine in order to get her attention. I wanted her to run for the portal while I made a foolish attempt to subdue Below's walking death. When she did not move or turn to look at me, I realized that she was in shock.
'Anotine,' I whispered, and tapped her cheek lightly.
She didn't move, but continued staring in the direction of the bench. Looking again at the Delicate, I now saw him looking directly back at us. I tried to crouch as low as I could, and I put my arm around Anotine as if this would serve to hide her.
The creature's broad mouth broke into a smile. 'Hello, there,' he said, and rose from the bench. 'I've been looking everywhere for you two. I have a secret to tell you both.'
22
AS THE DELICATE MOVED TOWARD US, I BROKE FROM THE shadows behind the fountain in an attempt to draw him away from Anotine.
He had only taken two steps before I came at him, walking quickly, spear in hand.
'Have you tried the fruit?' I asked.
'I couldn't possibly,' he said. 'I've just eaten.'
I lifted the spear in both hands and lunged at him, thinking I could keep him at a distance. He smiled at me and continued to advance.
'Stay back,' I yelled, and lunged again.
'An impressive maneuver no doubt,' he said. 'I think we are going to get along famously.'
In another step, he would have been close enough to wrap those rubbery fingers around my throat. I aimed for his head and threw all of my weight behind the weapon. That jab should have put the steel tip directly through his left eye, but his head simply flopped to the side, like a dead fish, at the last possible second, and I missed him completely. At the same time, his hand came up and grabbed the shaft of the spear.
'Let me hold that for you,' he said, and nonchalantly ripped the weapon from my hand.
I backed away from him as his head returned
'Anotine,' I yelled, and looked over my shoulder to see if she had heard me. She remained crouched in the shadows. When I turned back to the Delicate, somehow he was there, right in front of me, though I had never heard him move.
'Rest now,' he said, his eyes like stones, his stinking breath all over me.
I didn't have the chance to react. His arm moved like a whip, and his fist caught me right beneath the jaw. My head snapped back with the impact, and I fell to the ground, landing on my side. I felt no great pain, but I was stunned, unable to move my arms or legs. Consciousness was a tenuous thing, but I managed to hold on to it. Struggling to move my head, I looked over to see the Delicate standing above Anotine. He reached his hand down to her as if she were a child.
'It's time to go now,' he said in a soothing voice, coaxing her to stand.
I opened my mouth and tried to yell her name, but it came as a rasping whisper. His strategically placed blow had momentarily paralyzed me, and now that some feeling was beginning to return to my limbs all of my muscles were twitching like mad. It took the greatest effort to roll onto my stomach and lift myself to my knees.
