Geste was speaking to empty air.
“Damn!” he said. “Get me Leila."
“The intelligences at the Mountain of Fire tell me that Leila does not wish to hear anything you have to say,” the floater replied.
Bredon wondered who Leila might be. Another Power, presumably, but one he did not recall ever having heard of. This was all proving very educational; when he got home-if he got home-he would have stories to tell for the rest of his life. He might well become a storyteller without even trying.
He listened with interest as Geste continued calling.
Chapter Eight
“…still he refused to give up. He chased her ever deeper into the forest, never gaining a centimeter, but never quite losing sight of her, either.
"At last he collapsed, exhausted, beside a river. He lay there gasping for breath, dipping his hands in the water and cooling his face with them. And the mysterious woman appeared among the trees on the far side, calmly watching him.
"'Hello,’ she called to him. ‘Were you looking for me?'
"He just stared, too tired to call out to her, and nodded weakly.
"'Well,’ she said, ‘here I am. Come and get me.'
"'Witch,’ he called, drawing strength from his anger, ‘you know I haven't the strength to swim the river!'
"'Then I suppose I must come to you,’ she said, and she rose up into the air and transformed herself into a bird. And in that form, she flew across the stream to him, and then transformed herself back into a woman.
"When he saw this magical shape-shifting, Harlen knew that this was no mere witch-woman. Even the most powerful witches in legend needed spells and chants and potions for the very simplest of transformations, and surely, to take the form of a bird cannot be simple. Harlen knew that he faced either a Power or a demon. And when she knelt down over him, her long red hair brushing his chest, he was afraid, and called out, ‘Get away, demon!'
"'Demon!’ she said, as she stepped back in surprise. ‘You think I'm a demon?'
"'What else could you be?’ Harlen asked.
"She laughed, and said, ‘Oh, I can be anything I please, anything at all. Shall I be a demon for you? Do you want a demon lover?’ And she was suddenly a demon, three meters tall and scaly black, her eyes pits of fire and her fingers curving talons. ‘Or something more comely?’ And she was a woman again, but a different woman, tall and slender, no longer naked, but wearing a gown of spun silver embroidered in gold. ‘Or would you prefer a simple companion, and not a lover at all?’ And suddenly a man much like himself stood there, clad in buckskin, smiling down at him.
"'Who are you?’ he asked, terrified.
"She did not answer immediately, but returned to her own shape, naked once more, and looked down at him. ‘You know,’ she said, ‘if you're too tired to swim the river, then I can't hope for much from you as a lover, can I? And if you think me a demon, you probably don't want me at all. I suppose I should just go and leave you alone, shouldn't I?'
"Before he could answer, she vanished, disappeared into the empty air.
"Her voice lingered, though, and said, ‘As for who I am, I'm called Imp, but I'm not a demon at all.’ And then she laughed, and her laughter gradually faded away until there was nothing left at all.
"And although he was tired he got to his feet and ran after her, first one way, then another, looking for some trace of her. But he found nothing, and he never saw her again, though he looked for her many a time, spending many, many wakes and even whole seasons wandering through the forest in search of her…"
– from the tales of Atheron the Storyteller
Geste's calls were not going well. Bredon watched and listened closely, but said nothing.
Gold the Delver said that Brenner deserved anything he got and it was all one of Geste's pranks, anyway. This said, he broke contact.
Lady Tsien giggled and flirted and refused to take Geste seriously, until at last Geste broke the connection himself. Bredon was fascinated by her appearance; although she looked human, she had small folds at the corners of her eyes, and an odd color to her skin.
Hsin of the River said that it was none of his business if Brenner had finally aggravated Thaddeus beyond bearing. His skin was an interesting shade of brown, and his image was accompanied by a flock of tiny, vividly blue birds.
The Nymph was not home, and could not readily be located; Bredon regretted not getting a look at the legendary beauty. She was thought to be visiting the Skyler, but the Skyland did not answer.
Before them the battle still raged, though darkness had fallen. The weapons used by both sides lit the skies in intermittent flashes, and in that flickering, polychrome glow Bredon saw several of the flitting silver drones tumble from the skies. Others were blown to fragments as he watched. Whenever their numbers seemed to be diminishing, though, a dozen more arrived to take the place of those that had been lost.
When Geste asked for Aulden the Technician a young woman's heart-shaped face appeared, framed in red hair and wearing a brilliant grin. Bredon noticed that despite the darkness she appeared to be in full sunlight.
“Hello, Imp,” Geste said. “Could I speak to Aulden? I need his help."
Bredon had assumed that the woman was a servant of some sort; hearing Geste address her by the name of another Power was disconcerting. He looked more closely.
She was unquestionably beautiful, without a blemish of any sort, but she lacked the radiant glory that marked Lady Sunlight as something beyond mortal flesh. Her face was that of a lovely little toy, not a goddess.
“Oh, I'm sorry, Geste,” she replied with a comical pout. “He's not here. Is there anything I can do? I'd love to help you, whatever it is.” She smiled fetchingly.
Geste smiled back, but only for an instant. “I appreciate that,” he said, “but I think we'll need Aulden, too."
“Well, he went to do some work for Thaddeus a few days ago. He should be back any time, or you could call him there…"
“For Thaddeus?"
“That's right."
Geste hesitated, troubled. Imp noticed immediately, and her smile vanished, her green eyes suddenly troubled.
“Geste, what's wrong?” she asked.
“It's Thaddeus-or Thaddeus and Brenner, anyway. Thaddeus has an entire fleet of war machines attacking the High Castle."
“War machines?"
“High-powered drones. One of them attacked me, as well. I think that must be the work he wanted Aulden for, building war machines."
“Oh, but Aulden wouldn't!” Imp said, shocked.
“Not willingly, I'm sure,” Geste answered grimly.
“Not…? Geste, he wouldn't… I mean… Geste, if this is one of your tricks, I swear I'll have Aulden sabotage every machine you own!"
“It's no trick. I promise you, Imp, it's not a trick. And it's not just Aulden I'm worried about, or Brenner; Sheila and Sunlight and Rawl were all last heard from at the High Castle, and Khalid and O are missing, last heard from at Fortress Holding."
“Geste, you can't… really? All of them?"
“Really. All of them."
The heart-shaped face turned for a moment, giving Bredon a glimpse of thick waves of reddish hair; Geste waited.
Imp turned back and said, “They are all missing. If this is a trick, Geste, it's a good one-and it's terrifying me. If it's a trick, Geste, please, tell me now. I don't like being frightened."
“I wish I could, Imp, but it's true."
“Thaddeus is really attacking Brenner? Seriously?"
“It looks serious to me; send something to check for yourself, if you like."
“Have you talked to Shadowdark?"
“Shadowdark?” Geste was plainly startled, but only for an instant. “Shadowdark! No, I haven't; I'll call him."
“You call him, then; maybe he can talk sense to Thaddeus. I'll try and get through to Brenner, and maybe some of the others.” Imp's image vanished.
The name “Shadowdark” was unfamiliar to Bredon, and he thought it had an ominous sound. “Who is Shadowdark?” he asked.
“Thaddeus's father,” Geste replied. He started to say something to the floater, but Bredon distracted him with a touch on the sleeve. The Trickster looked up at the mortal, startled at his audacity.