Vengeance of the Dancing Gods (12 page)

"My people all belong to clans, which are more than that—they are distinct tribes, with their own coloration and markings. You can't change your clan—you are what you are. But if you don't go along with whatever the clan leaders demand, you risk banishment. Our territories are sacred and are tightly controlled. All who use them must do so with the approval of the clan, and, of course, clans often fight over territory with each other. I simply grew sick and tired of it. I just couldn't do what they ordered..

"So you disobeyed and they threw you out?.

"It was more than disobedience, really, I—I refused to kill someone they ordered me to kill..

Joe was shocked. "They actually do that?.

"All the time. Usually it's killing someone randomly from another tribe that killed one of us, either accidentally or on purpose; but sometimes it's land-people who won't pay tribute or show the leaders proper respect. It doesn't take many of us to sink a ship, you know..

Joe just shook his head in wonder. Somehow, he had never thought of mermaids as being like the Mafia. He could see the racket, though. He'd been a truck driver, after all, and not everything and everyone that he'd worked with during his career had been legal and aboveboard.

There were routes and cargoes where protection had to be paid, and territories that were reserved for certain companies and owners. Here everything of importance moved along the great river system and across the broad ocean, and the ones who controlled their territories would indeed have enormous power.

He felt sorry for Tura. Because she'd been banished, she couldn't go home or she'd be killed, but the other clans had different colors and markings and wouldn't accept or trust her. She was an outcast from her own kind, in her own way as torn from her world as he'd been from his.

She liked the land—a forest had the same mystery and Page 60 Chalker, Jack L - Vengeance of the Dancing Gods 79 JACK L. CHALKER romance for her that the bottom of the sea would for him—but she needed to be near water much of the time.

She was good for extended periods, but eventually her skin would dry out and crack or break out painfully if not fully immersed for quite some time. The sun also caused discolorations after a while that carried the threat of skin cancer.

"I've always wanted to go up to a mountaintop," she told him, "and feel the cool snow and look down on the world. It's silly, I know, but it's something of a dream..

"It's not silly," he assured her. "Not at all..

The place had thinned out, and it was clearly near closing time, which was still early in a place like this.

"Come on," he said. "I'll walk you back to the ship..

She smiled and nodded, then suddenly shook her head.

"Ugh! I think I overdid the drinking. I never drink, much, and I feel—dizzy..

He was concerned. "Are you gonna be all right? I mean—tonight?.

"I—maybe not. I don't know. I guess I have to, though..

"No, no. You can stay here. It's a fairly large room..

She looked over at the wooden stairway leading up.

"I don't think I could manage that, at least not in my condition..

Joe grinned, got up, went around to her, and picked her up. She was heavy, but she was no Tiana. By this time, only the proprietor was in the place, and he paid no notice at all.

He got into the room, put her down on the bed, then went back down to get her wheelchair. As he was going back, the proprietor called to him.

"Your finny lady's got a load on, huh?.

Joe shrugged. "That's about the size of it..

The man reached under the bar and took out two small corked bottles. "This one is for the lady. You sleep nice but you don't get sick and you don't have much of a headache in the morning. The other's a little good-night drink for you—on the house..

80 JACK L. CHALKER VENGEANCE OF THE DANCING GODS 81 Joe noted which was which, then nodded. "Thanks..

"Any friend of Ruddygore is a special guest here..

Joe went back up to the room and stowed the wheelchair to one side. She was lying there, looking through Page 61 Chalker, Jack L - Vengeance of the Dancing Gods the pictures in a small book that was on the nightstand.

Joe knew by the cover photo that it was the biography of J. Millard Harrilot, the founder of the largest chain of inns in Marquewood. Joe hadn't noticed that even this little one was part of the chain until he saw the ubiquitous paperback.

At least all the beds were king-size in Harrilot inns, and never did Joe need that more than now.

He sat down, took the bottles, and uncorked them.

"The barkeep says this stuff will give you a good night's sleep with no hangover," he told her. He sniffed it. It smelled like cherry brandy. His smelled much more pungent and powerful, with a trace of anise.

She smiled, and they touched bottles. "To the mountains!.

he said, smiling.

"To a good day," she responded, and they both drank.

The stuff was smooth but strong going down. He went over and blew out the light and returned to bed. Suddenly, he felt a little dizzy, too.

"Hmph! Must have been a real kick in that," he commented and lay down.

Almost immediately he felt as if he were floating—not awake, but not asleep, either. It was an odd but euphoric dreamlike state and it felt far too good to fight.

Tura, too, lapsed quickly into the same sort of state, and they lay there, eyes closed, hardly aware of anything, and particularly not aware of the door to their room opening and a black shape entering.

The newcomer quickly examined the two of them for spells and curses. Tura had a few minor charms, probably purchased from some river wizard, but was essentially clean. Joe was not quite as clean, however. Not only did he have a lot of strong magical protections bearing Ruddygore's unmistakable stamp, but there was something else there, too, something infinitely complex and dark.

The man carried within him an incredibly powerful curse, one that was of the blood. The stranger hadn't expected that, but couldn't divine its exact nature.

He was himself an enormously powerful wizard, but it hardly seemed worth it to undo all of Joe's protections methodically. With the potion they had both taken, it was far easier just to go around them.

He could do little about the Kauri and even less with the nymph, and Ely didn't matter all that much in this, but these two he could affect now. He knew better than to challenge the big man directly with some sort of armed force; he had a charmed sword, and that curse looked as if it gave him some strong measure of protection as well as cursing him. Well, he had lives to spare—when the time came.

For now, a little monkey-wrench was in order, nothing Page 62 Chalker, Jack L - Vengeance of the Dancing Gods more. Something to keep them off-balance until the time was right.

The potion would do most of the work. A!) he needed to add were a few more practical "suggestions..

JACK L. CHALKER 83 CHAPTER 7 MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS The following shall be taken as the only legitimate purposes for messages from beyond the grave: (a) warnings; (b) prophecies; (c) curses; (d) related grave matters. Ail other motives should be suspected.

—Rules, CVI, 201(b) "IT'S A GOOD THING I STAYED UP PAST SUNRISE," MARGE told Ely as they walked back to the inn from the boatyard.

"I really can't believe this. How could it have happened?.

"Deliberately, you can be sure," the ratlike creature responded. "It had to be right in the inn. There's no evidence that either of them left that night..

They approached the inn at a brisk clip. "The inn is still closed to the public?.

"Oh, yes. I had enough influence to handle that, which is a very good thing, as you'll see..

They entered through the rear door, walked past the small kitchen and into the main tavern area, and then froze.

Joe had apparently moved all of the furniture back from the center of the serving floor and set up several cushions.

He sat there now, stark naked, an equally but more naturally naked Tura on his lap, and the two were alternately laughing, giggling, and making out like newlyweds. They seemed oblivious to the newcomers, occasionally breaking and feeding each other small morsels, mostly bread and fruit bits.

82 Marge, who did some of this sort of thing as a business, was nonetheless disgusted by the display. She cleared her throat several times, and, when that produced no reaction, she said, rather loudly, "AHEM!.

They both turned, big grins on their faces, and looked at the two interlopers. "Oh, hi!" Tura called with a giggle.

"Joe! What the hell happenedto you?" Marge demanded Page 63 Chalker, Jack L - Vengeance of the Dancing Gods to know.

Joe had a puzzled expression and then looked at Tura.

"Who's Joe?" he asked her, and she shrugged.

Marge frowned. "You are! And you're Tura. Don't you remember your own names?.

"I never heard of no Joe," the big man responded.

"You?.

The mermaid shook her head. "Nope. And who's that other one you said?.

"See?" Biy whispered. "Bewitched for sure. Both of 'em..

Marge nodded. "I wish I could see the spell, but in daylight and with these glasses on I'm as spell-blind as you are. Joe's pretty well protected against spells, though.

I smell a potion in this." She turned her attention back to the unlikely pair. "So if you're not Joe and Tura, what are your names?" she asked them.

"I dunno," Joe responded, then looked at Tura. "You?.

The mermaid shook her head, but it was clear that this lack didn't bother them in the least.

It took quite a while for Marge to get the whole story out of them, what there was of it. Clearly neither of them had any memory whatsoever of their past or their identities, nor did they wonder about this or even care about it. They had awakened together upstairs in a bed and it was like being born at that moment. They had no idea where they were, or why, and no interest in such things.

They only had eyes for one another. They were passionately, madly in love, and the center of the universe was the other one and absolutely everything else was irrelevant.

In point of fact, it hadn't even occurred to them 84 JACK L. CHALKER VENGEANCE OF THE DANCING GODS 85 that Tura had a fish-like tail while he had legs; it seemed the most natural thing in the world for them.

"Definitely a whale of a love potion," Marge told Ely.

"I'm something of an expert in these things. It's tied to an uninhibitor of some kind. It's a really primal potion, too. Joe doesn't even know he's naked, or care. I doubt if either one of them knows the difference between good or evil, for that matter..

"So they are in some ways like small children," the Page 64 Chalker, Jack L - Vengeance of the Dancing Gods captain replied. "But what are we going to do? The ship's repairs are minor and will be completed by late this evening.

We can sail tomorrow—but with them like this.....

Marge thought a moment. "If they were slipped a Mickey, the odds are it was done here after everybody else left. It would have taken a small gang to have gotten them both upstairs when they were out, and I don't think it's that elaborate, or we'd have noticed something. That leaves the one man who was here for certain last night.

Where's the proprietor?.

"Still asleep, I think. His daughter runs the breakfast part and she was the one who discovered them—like that—and awakened me..

She thought for a moment. "I'm a lot weaker in the day, but I might be able to manage enough for this. Do you have a way to contact Ruddygore in an emergency?.

"I have some pigeons aboard, yes..

"Well, send him a message now—this morning. It shouldn't take more than half a day, considering how little distance we've traveled. Tell him basically what happened and request his help or an antidote, then meet me back here..

"All right, but what then? I mean, he's an awfully big man for us to handle, if he doesn't want to be handled, and Tura's no lightweight—most of that tail is pure muscle..

"I know. We'll cross that bridge later. Get that message off. I'm going to find out why and at whose order this was done and, hopefully, find out the potion..

She left him and walked to the back, meeting up with a thin, nervous-looking girl of sixteen or so. "You the innkeeper's daughter?.

The girl nodded.

"Where is your father now?.

"In back—but he's sleeping. He doesn't like to be disturbed at this hour..

"I think maybe we should wake him, don't you? Or don't you want to open today? Suppose they decide it would be fun to smash chairs and bottles?.

The girl nodded, looking both scared and glum, and led the Kauri back to a large wooden door. Marge looked up at her. "Your mother in there, too?.

"No. My mom died a few years back..

"Uh-huh. No brothers or sisters?.

Page 65 Chalker, Jack L - Vengeance of the Dancing Gods "No..

"Is this door unlocked?.

"Certainly. Why should it be otherwise?.