The Adversary Read online

  The Tanu who tried to stop him were badly beaten in a skirmish, and the incident was expunged from Tanu history.

  For most of the intervening years, Marc Remillard had devoted himself to his star-search, hoping to find another world with advanced mentalities. His companions eventually dwindled to forty-three, and there were now, in addition, thirty-two mature children and a handful of third-generation youngsters living on the island, vegetating or chafing in idleness according to their individual temperaments.

  For years the adult children of the Rebels had watched events in the Many-Colored Land as a respite from boredom, yearning hopelessly for the sophisticated Milieu that their parents had tried to dominate. When Felice sent out her telepathic appeal at Gibraltar, the children prevailed upon Marc and the other elders to join them in assisting her, linking in a metaconcert to channel a psychocreative blast through Felice. Ever since the Flood, ringleaders among the rebel children had been importuning Felice telepathically, but she was terrified by the voice of the "devils" and refused to respond. Marc and most of the members of his generation dismissed the European catastrophe as a moment's diversion, but their children believed that the postdiluvial chaos in the Many-Colored Land afforded them a unique opportunity to escape from their dead-end existence in the Pliocene.

  ***

  In Europe, the rising star in the devastated Tanu kingdom was none other than the incorrigible Aiken Drum, who now styled himself Aiken-Lugonn Battlemaster and presided as usuqjer over Nodonn's former city of Goriah in Brittany. Mercy, bowing to expediency and believing that her beloved Nodonn was dead, assisted Aiken in his bid to take over the vacant Tanu throne and promised to marry him at the Grand Loving festivities in May.

  Many surviving Tanu—including most of the Tanu-human hybrids—flocked to the banner of the metapowerful youth. The conservatives rallied round Celadeyr of Afaliah, one of the few surviving fullblooded battle heroes.

  Culluket the Interrogator attached himself to Aiken as a sort of Grand Vizier—not only because he perceived the human upstart as the main chance, but also in hopes that Aiken could protect him from the madwoman Felice, still searching relentlessly for her "Beloved."

  During the winter rainy season, Firvulag forces began a systematic series of attacks upon outlying Tanu cities and Lowlife villages—this in spite of an armistice that had been proclaimed in the aftermath of the Flood. The Firvulag monarchs Sharn and Ayfa blamed the raids on renegade Howlers and stoutly maintained that they were in favor of Aiken's pacification scheme. This involved the abolition of the Grand Combat (and the other fighting between Firvulag and Tanu) and the substitution of a nonlethal "Grand Tourney" in its place. This would be celebrated on the Firvulag Field of Gold outside Nionel—traditional alternate to the Tanu White Silver Plain, which had been disused for the forty years of Tanu supremacy in the Combat. The Firvulag artisans crafted a new trophy, the Singing Stone, to take the place of the Sword of Sharn, presumed lost in the Flood.

  In order to cement the new Tanu-Firvulag Entente, it was planned that Firvulag royalty would for the first time attend the Tanu Grand Loving festival in Goriah as honored guests of Aiken and Mercy. When certain Tanu nobles showed a reluctance to attend this event, suspecting that Aiken would take the occasion to proclaim himself king, the usurper gathered his forces and undertook a "progress" in order to intimidate the vacillators. The progress was ultimately successful, but stubborn old Celadeyr of Afaliah capitulated only after Aiken defeated him in a mental duel.

  At about the same time that Aiken began his progress, early in April, the Rebel children in Ocala finally managed to contact Felice. They made extravagant promises to the madwoman and she agreed to meet with them if they came to Europe. The children planned to use Felice's awesome power for their own ends—which ultimately included building a new time-warp device that would give them access to the Milieu. Ringleaders among the younger generation included Marc's son, Hagen, and daughter, Cloud. The formidable Marc was at first utterly opposed to the plan. A two-way time-gate, he said, would allow Milieu authorities access to him. The children swore that they would destroy the Pliocene gate after passing through, so that their elders would remain secure. In an attempt to temporize, Marc agreed to let Cloud, three other young people, and his own contemporary Owen Blanchard sail to Europe to meet with Felice. He forbade Hagen to go, telling his only son he was needed to assist in the star-search. Hagen, who had long feared and envied his powerful father, now actively hated Marc and schemed to escape his dominance.

  ***

  Back in Goriah, Mercy gave birth to Agraynel, her child by King Thagdal, and mourned the loss of Nodonn. She agreed to marry Aiken even though she did not love him and knew that the young man's infatuation for her was deeply tinged with fear—and even menace.

  Unknown to Mercy, Nodonn was not dead. Cast up by the flood upon the distant Isle of Kersic (Corsica-Sardinia), he was rescued by Huldah, a simple-minded woman of Firvulag-human ancestry, and her malevolent grandfather, Isak. After lying unconscious for nearly five months, Nodonn awoke. He discovered to his horror that he was paralyzed and bereft of one hand, and that Huldah had been using him as a helpless love object while she tended him. With his telepathic calls muted by the cave rock around him, Nodonn endured Huldah's devotion and Isak's mockery.

  Freeliving Lowlife humans, in the forests adjacent to the Firvulag capital, High Vrazel, had set up iron-mining villages shortly after the fall of Finiah. The "blood-metal" was poisonous to both exotic races, and humans hoped to secure their own independence by forging iron weapons. A metallurgical engineer, Tony Wayland, who had enjoyed a privileged position in Finiah under the Tanu, was forced by Lowlife captors to work in the mines. He ran away, together with an eccentric companion, Dougal, hoping to gain both sanctuary and restored privileges from Aiken Drum. Instead, Tony and Dougal were taken by Howlers to refurbished Nionel just in time for the Firvulag Grand Loving.

  In Goriah, Aiken returned from his progress exhausted in mind and body. Securing a portable force-field to screen himself against attempts on his life, he showed Mercy an enormous cache of contraband Mi lieu armament and other equipment that Nodonn had secreted in the dungeon of the Castle of Glass. He fully expected the visiting Firvulag nobles to attempt assassination during the upcoming Grand Loving.

  ***

  On 27 April the boat bearing Cloud Remillard and her confederates arrived at the mouth of the Rio Genii in Spain. Vaughn Jarrow, one of the Rebel children, infuriated Felice by killing dolphins. She annihilated him and mortally wounded the boat's skipper, Jillian Morgenthaler. Calmed by the elderly Rebel Owen Blanchard, Felice nearly fell into a trap that would have put her under control of the North Americans. She was saved by a telepathic warning from Elizabeth, who urged her to come to Black Crag for treatment of her mental illness.

  Felice finally agreed and flew away in raven guise, leaving the shaken Cloud, Owen, and Elaby Gathen wondering what to do next. Marc was inaccessible, locked away in cerebroenergetic equipment scrutinizing distant stars. It seemed obvious that the only course left was to make a friendly approach to Aiken Drum.

  The usurper of Goriah was busy with other affairs, however. As a preliminary to the Tanu celebration, he took King Sharn on a Flying Hunt in which the Firvulag ruler barely escaped a fierce plesiosaur. Sharn suspected (correctly) that Aiken had set him up. Later, Sharn and his stalwarts did their metaconcerted best to mind-blast Aiken, but they were not yet skilled enough to harm him.

  The Grand Loving of Tanu shocked the straitlaced Firvulag visitors. There were murmurings about an upcoming Nightfall War—presumably a resumption of the ancient conflict of Tanu and Firvulag in the Duat Galaxy, which had been interrupted by Brede's offer of exile a thousand years ago.

  On May Day, Aiken married Mercy. Having impressed or intimidated the majority of Tanu, he proclaimed himself king with the blessing of Elizabeth, and named a new High Table that included both his friends and certain former enemies. Among the latter were Cela
deyr of Afaliah and Kuhal Earthshaker, a blood-brother to Nodonn being nursed back to health after rescue by Celadeyr.

  Simultaneously, the Grand Loving of Firvulag took place in the Howler city of Nionel. Humiliation of the Howler brides was averted when they were chosen in the Bridal Dance by love-starved Lowlife males, who could not see the true monstrous shapes behind the attractive feminine illusions. Among the bewitched were Tony and Dougal, who awoke the next morning to find that they were wed to devoted she-goblins.

  In the cave on Kersic, Huldah celebrated the Grand Loving by dressing the paralyzed Nodonn in his glass armor and embracing him. Wicked old Isak spied on the couple. Nodonn's disgust and fury were so intense that he regained his strength, thrust away Huldah, and killed the wretched old man. He would have slain the woman as well, but Isak had tauntingly ordered him to "look inside" her before doing so.

  Exerting his farsight, Nodonn discovered that Huldah was pregnant with his son. Here in the cave, shielded from sublethal solar radiation that had rendered him all but sterile for some 800 years, Nodonn had engendered the heir he had so long desired. Sparing Huldah, he told her to care for the child when it was born and wait for his instructions. Then he left the cave and sent out a telepathic call to Mercy, informing her that he was alive.

  ***

  In Ocala, Hagen Remillard had finally worked up the courage to defy his terrible father. While Marc continued his futile star-search, Hagen and the rest of the Rebel children and grandchildren fled the island, heading for Europe after disabling pursuit. Marc "returned" on 16 May with a premonition of what had happened four days previous. Some of his old cronies were in favor of blasting the fleeing children, eliminating the threat of a two-way time-gate once and for all. Marc refused to consider this and proposed another plan. In a week or so, when conditions were favorable, the children would be forced off course onto the African shore, giving their parents time to repair their own damaged ships and go after them. In the meantime, Marc had a plan to forestall any attempt by Cloud to deal independently with Aiken. With luck, he would be able to neutralize the newly crowned King altogether...

  Concealing his identity, Marc farspoke Aiken and revealed a knowledge of the King's impending expedition into Spain. With Felice undergoing redaction by Elizabeth, Aiken hoped to hunt out the madwoman's lair and retrieve the invaluable Spear of Lugonn—which was not only a useful weapon but also the ancient authority symbol of Tanu kingship. Marc offered to reveal the exact location of the lair and also pledged the mental assistance of his people. No one knew when Felice would leave Black Crag. If she caught Aiken attempting to rob her, he'd need all the help he could get.

  Aiken shrewdly deduced the identity of the unknown farspeaker. Not trusting Marc, he was nevertheless eager to use a sophisticated metaconcert program that the rebel leader offered—provided that a fail-safe living "fuse" (in the person of the luckless Culluket) was inserted in the multimind structure to shield Aiken from Marc's direct mental influence.

  Having concluded the agreement with Marc, Aiken set off for Spain with an army of his strongest metapsychics, planning to rendezvous with Cloud Remillard and her companions, and with an auxiliary force led by the conservative Celadeyr of Afaliah.

  Mercy accompanied Aiken. She forced Culluket to accompany her on a secret flight to Celadeyr's camp and there broke the news that Nodonn was alive. Celadeyr was overjoyed, as was the convalescent Kuhal Earthshaker. Mercy had not dared previously to broadcast the news telepathically because she feared that Culluket, a powerful redactor who hated his brother Nodonn, would betray her to Aiken. But now ... Culluket wryly admitted he had undergone an about-face—since Aiken had designated him willy-nilly for the "fuse" role, which was likely to be fatal.

  Mercy urged the others to abandon Aiken and fly with her to distant Var-Mesk, where Nodonn was hiding. Aluteyn pointed out that they had given Aiken their oath of fealty; it would be dishonorable for them to desert their companions so late in the game. No ... they would have to go ahead with the raid on Felice's lair. If they survived, then would be the time to rally round Nodonn!

  ***

  On 2 June, with Aiken's force poised for the rush to Mount Mulhacen, Elizabeth made her culminating attempt to purge Felice's mind of the pathological factors responsible for her psychosis. Against the advice of the wiser Dionket, who had been Lord Healer of the Tanu, she believed that once Felice was sane, she would give up her megalomaniacal power fantasies and become a tremendous force for good. At great personal danger, Elizabeth accomplished the psychic drainage. Felice awoke with her mind free of anomalies—only to laugh at Elizabeth's altruistic proposals and to fly happily from Black Crag seeking her own pleasure.

  Her first stop was the Lowlife Village of Hidden Springs. There Sister Amerie, whom Felice loved, was celebrating a solitary Mass in thanksgiving for a safe homecoming. Felice demanded that the nun abandon her vocation and come away with her. When Amerie refused, Felice exerted her psychic force. Amerie was killed. Felice then coolly set her sights on her other love, Culluket the Interrogator. Failing to find him in a swift inspection of several Tanu cities, she headed for her lair to spend the night.

  She discovered the mountain hideaway buried under tons of fallen rock—Aiken's work. Incandescent with fury, she went after the despoiler and his fleeing force, who were in boats racing down the Rio Genii. Aiken and his technicians were working madly to fix the laserlike Spear, knowing it would provide the margin of safety if Felice should attack.

  Marc's enhanced farsight saw Felice approaching and he gave warning. Aiken assumed the executive position in the metaconcert and expelled an immense blast of psychoenergy. (Large as this blast was, it was safely below the potential maximum for the structure. Aiken had discovered during his previous use of the metaconcert, when he zapped Felice's lair, that attempting to channel the full output through his bare brain would very likely kill him. And this might be exactly what the wily Marc had planned.)

  As the reverberations of the blast against Felice died away, Aiken heard Marc's farspoken voice say: I think you got her. A split second later, the King's elation turned to stark terror. He heard an agonized telepathic shout from Marc: GOD NO SHE D-JUMPED! There was an unintelligible image, a pause, and then the farspoken voice of Marc urging Aiken to hit Felice again.

  The metaconcert, with its thousands of linked minds, faltered, then steadied. Something had gone terribly wrong—but Aiken realized that if he didn't strike Felice with every bit of psychoenergy at his disposal, she would surely destroy them all. In desperation, he flung the entire load of psychoenergy at her. The shock sent him falling into oblivion.

  ***

  He awoke to discover Elizabeth, Dionket, and Creyn attending him. He had nearly died, but they had saved him. In anticipation of such a disaster, Elizabeth had asked Minanonn to fly her and the other two redactors to Spain, where they had observed the encounter with Felice and its aftermath.

  Felice had vanished. The mental blast had triggered an enormous rockfall into the river, burying part of Aiken's fleet and altering the course of the Genii. Cull was gone, and the Craftsmaster, and Mercy, and some ninety others. The rest were safe—and awaiting the recovery of their King.

  It hardly seemed possible to Aiken that Mercy could be dead. Her body had not been recovered. But there was the testimony of Celadeyr, who claimed to have seen her die, and Mercy's empty silver-and-emerald helmet. Still deathly weak, Aiken returned to Goriah to recuperate. He attempted to farspeak Marc Remillard in North America, but received no reply.

  ***

  Some time passed. A force of Lowlives led by Basil Wimborne traveled once again to the Ship's Grave crater. There they rendered no less than twenty-nine of the exotic aircraft operational. The rest were destroyed. According to plan, twenty-seven of the flyers were brought to a secret hiding place on the slopes of Monte Rosa—which during Pliocene times exceeded Mount Everest in height. Chief Burke hoped that this region would be inaccessible to Aiken and the Firvulag al
ike.

  The other two flyers brought the Lowlife expedition back to the Vosges Mountains. They were concealed in the Vale of Hyenas, not far from Nionel, where it was planned to adapt them for defensive purposes.

  In the small Tanu city of Var-Mesk on the shore of the New Sea, Celadeyr of Afaliah finally met with Nodonn. He brought with him Mercy—who, of course, was not dead at all. There was a tender reunion between Nodonn and his former wife. Since there was no time to heal Nodonn's missing hand, Mercy furnished him with one made of silver to take the place of a wooden prosthesis old Isak had carved, back on Kersic. Regretfully, Nodonn told Mercy that she would have to return to Aiken while he himself accompanied Celadeyr to Afaliah and set about gathering an opposition force of conservatives. It was necessary that Mercy keep them informed of Aiken's movements. Aiken was too metapowerful for any of the Tanu to keep track of by means of ordinary farsensing. After a brief happy interlude, the lovers parted.

  Mercy came back to Aiken with a story of having had amnesia. The King seemed to believe her; but he was much changed from the fun-loving trickster who had come to the Many-Colored Land the previous August. There was a somber air about him, and he still had not fully recovered from the terrible effects of the fight against Felice. Together, Aiken and Mercy supervised preparations for the Grand Tourney, which would be held at the end of October in place of the abolished Combat.

  Meanwhile, in Afaliah, Nodonn and Celadeyr passed the word to all traditionalist Tanu that the designated heir of the late King Thagdal was alive and ready to challenge the human usurper. Nodonn's brother Kuhal Earthshaker regained his strength almost completely after an innovative Skin treatment shared with Cloud Remillard. Cloud, attracted to Kuhal and now alone in the Many-Colored Land (her brother and the others were slowly making their way north on land from their landing site in western Africa), became converted to the traditionalist cause. Nodonn had promised his cooperation in a temporary reopening of the time-gate if the Rebel children subsequently destroyed it completely.