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Talieos snorted. "A common but anthropocentric
misconception. The pentagram became popular because a
man, with arms and legs spread, could imitate one.
Hermetic philosophers who thought the universe circled
Man Ae way the sun circled the earth found this
profound and significant."
"The sun doesn't circle the earth-'1
"So true. Nor the universe Man." Talieos dieted across
the floor, his hooves tapping loudly, He pointed to the deca-
gram. The unicursal decagram, however, represents each of
the possible emanations between the world of Knowledge
and the worid of the Unknowable Infinite."
Minerva twitched an eyebrnw upward. "How fascinating
that the Unknowable Infinite is reachable by such an easy
number as ten."
Talieos frowned at her. "Even the Unknowable Infinite is
within the reach of the true seeker. As you will discover."
He pulled a black robe off a coathook and handed it to
Minerva. "Wear this. It is fitting garb for a seeker and future
magus such as yourself,"
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She struggled her way into tlie garment with difficulty.
MINERVA WAKES 109
The robe draped down to the floor, the hem crumpled on
the wood to form several folds of cloth around her feet. The
sleeves enveloped her hands. They dangled well past her fin-
gertips. The cowl hung over her face hot and scratchy and
uncomfortable- The robe must have been worn by a man
seven feet tall, she thought.
"Don't you have one smaller?"
Talieos gaped at her as though she had suggested profan-
ing a temple. "Have one smaller? Are you kidding? That is
the Sacred Robe of Exarp. There aren't two of them."
The robe was wool coarsely woven, scratchy, hot, and
heavy. Minerva felt like she was wearing a bedspread and not
a good one, either. "How am I supposed to do magic with this
on?" How am I supposed to mow with it on? she wondered.
Talieos sighed. "You have to suffer a lot to do magic. That
is just the way it works. If you want your lads back, you're
going to have to wear the robe unless . . ." He gave her a
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
sideways glance and said, "No . . ."
Minerva hated games, and she had no time for coyness.
"Unless whaty she snapped.
"Well, magic done skyclad is even more powerful than
magic done wearing the mystical Robe of Exarp."
"Skyclad. Sfa/clad?" Minerva didn't recognize the term,
but she didn't like the sound of it.
"Nude." Talieos gave her a hopeful little grin.
Her instincts were right on the money, she decided. "I'll
suffer." She rolled the scratchy sleeves up all the way to her
elbows, then reached down and tucked a portion of the front
hem under the robe's heavy rope belt. She brushed the cowl
back with a quick swipe of her hand.
"There. See? This will do just fine."
Talleos seemed to have been stricken by a fit of coughing.
She watched him lean, shoulders heaving, against a rack of
skulls. He gasped and choked, and his face turned duskier
than usual.
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"Are you all right?" she asked, concerned. She walked
toward him, but he waved her off.
"Fine " he croaked. " Water " and he clattered out
of the room.
110 Hofly Lisle
When he came back in, he looked much better. "Choked
on some dust or something," he told her. His color was stiB
high. "Okay!" He gave her a bright smile. "Lets get to work
on the magic. Take a seat in the middle of the decagram."
While Minerva sat on the hard floor, Talleos puBed a
huge book out of me bookcase, propped it on a carved book-
stand, flipped to the first page, and began to read.
"'The beginning of magic is the beginning of the com-
prehension of the Manifest and the Unmanifest, the
corporeal and the incorporeal, and the flow of the ions of
time and not-time through the river of die Eternal Is.
Within the spin of the single atom, the magus finds con-
tained all secrets and all miracles of every facet of existence.
And the harnessing of the powers of that atom is within the
reach of me dedicated seeker. Above aB, the seeker must
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
strive for purity of intention, purity of thought, and purity of
being.
"'To attain the purity required of the magus, the seeker
must reach within and find a personal and internally consis-
tent meaning for each of the thousand spoken names of
God. The first of these names is Ke-Seh-Haveh-Kalla, which
means . . .'"
Minerva felt her eyes beginning to glaze over. This was
the way to do magic, was it? Oh, God. Her kids lives and
her own depended on her ability to learn this stuff?
It felt like chemistry class all over again. She'd hated
chemistry.
""The second name of God is Gur-Gesh-Hegonokrisve-
domio, which . . .'"
Dam/I, you stinking pig, she thought, ; hope to heU
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you're as miserable and as scared as lam right now.
"Gooff, I really don't know what happened. ... No ...
No some kids found her while they were out playing. . . .
No, not my lads; the police are still looking for them..., Not
yet. The police have tapped the phone lines there weren't
any ransom notes that anyone could find. . . . No, I guess
the/ll be doing the ah the au-au-autopsy ... today..."
MINERVA WAKES 111
"No ... I'm all right now. . . . Thank you. I appreciate
that a leave of absence would help a lot.... I'd I'd really
rather not talk anymore right now."
All morning. The goddamned phone hadn't stopped. Peo-
ple telling him how sony they were; people telling him he
was a miserable bastard and the police were going to find
out what he did; friends of Minerva's who wanted to com-
miserate with him; friends of his who didn't know what to
say.
Minerva was right there in front of him, right on the
other side of the fucking mirror. He couldn't touch her, he
couldn't hear her, he couldn't actually see her except once
when she looked in a mirror. But, dammit, it was really her.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Out of his reach.
He'd made the funeral arrangements. He'd sat on the
other side of the funeral director's desk and picked out a cas-
ket and discussed the service. He'd cried. He couldn't help
it. The funeral director had a mirror behind his desk. The
whole time Dairy! was discussing the details of the service,
Minerva was standing behind the man, playing with powders
and knives and wands and other weird shit- He wanted her
back. No matter how hard he tried to convince himself oth-
erwise, he couldn't believe she was coming back.
"If your face drags any lower, old pa!, we can use it to sole
your shoes." Birkwelch leaned along the back of the arm-
chair and hung his head, upside down, in front of Danyl.
As a sight gag, it probably would have been pretty funny,
but Darryl wasn't in the mood, "Go 'way," he snarled.
"No, man. I want to go to McDonalds and get some fish
sandwiches and fries. They're my favorite."
"Good. Go."
The dragon did not get his face out of Darryl's way. "I
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
want some company."
Darryl lost his grip on his calm. "You miserable son of a
bitch," he yelled. He grabbed Birkwelch around the dragons
long, muscular neck and tried to strangle him a feat he
discovered was about as smart as trying to strangle a boa
constrictor. One minute he had his hands around the dragon's
neck; the next, he was lying on the floor on the other side of
112 HoUy Lisle
the room, watching lights going round and round on die
ceiling, wishing he could remember how to breathe.
His mother stood over him, an unreadable expression on
herface-
"How did you do that?"
He couldn't quite breathe yet. "Do what. Mom?" he
wheezed.
"Jump across the room like that? And who were you yell-
ing at?"
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl aikidobyd.xlx.pl
Talieos snorted. "A common but anthropocentric
misconception. The pentagram became popular because a
man, with arms and legs spread, could imitate one.
Hermetic philosophers who thought the universe circled
Man Ae way the sun circled the earth found this
profound and significant."
"The sun doesn't circle the earth-'1
"So true. Nor the universe Man." Talieos dieted across
the floor, his hooves tapping loudly, He pointed to the deca-
gram. The unicursal decagram, however, represents each of
the possible emanations between the world of Knowledge
and the worid of the Unknowable Infinite."
Minerva twitched an eyebrnw upward. "How fascinating
that the Unknowable Infinite is reachable by such an easy
number as ten."
Talieos frowned at her. "Even the Unknowable Infinite is
within the reach of the true seeker. As you will discover."
He pulled a black robe off a coathook and handed it to
Minerva. "Wear this. It is fitting garb for a seeker and future
magus such as yourself,"
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
She struggled her way into tlie garment with difficulty.
MINERVA WAKES 109
The robe draped down to the floor, the hem crumpled on
the wood to form several folds of cloth around her feet. The
sleeves enveloped her hands. They dangled well past her fin-
gertips. The cowl hung over her face hot and scratchy and
uncomfortable- The robe must have been worn by a man
seven feet tall, she thought.
"Don't you have one smaller?"
Talieos gaped at her as though she had suggested profan-
ing a temple. "Have one smaller? Are you kidding? That is
the Sacred Robe of Exarp. There aren't two of them."
The robe was wool coarsely woven, scratchy, hot, and
heavy. Minerva felt like she was wearing a bedspread and not
a good one, either. "How am I supposed to do magic with this
on?" How am I supposed to mow with it on? she wondered.
Talieos sighed. "You have to suffer a lot to do magic. That
is just the way it works. If you want your lads back, you're
going to have to wear the robe unless . . ." He gave her a
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
sideways glance and said, "No . . ."
Minerva hated games, and she had no time for coyness.
"Unless whaty she snapped.
"Well, magic done skyclad is even more powerful than
magic done wearing the mystical Robe of Exarp."
"Skyclad. Sfa/clad?" Minerva didn't recognize the term,
but she didn't like the sound of it.
"Nude." Talieos gave her a hopeful little grin.
Her instincts were right on the money, she decided. "I'll
suffer." She rolled the scratchy sleeves up all the way to her
elbows, then reached down and tucked a portion of the front
hem under the robe's heavy rope belt. She brushed the cowl
back with a quick swipe of her hand.
"There. See? This will do just fine."
Talleos seemed to have been stricken by a fit of coughing.
She watched him lean, shoulders heaving, against a rack of
skulls. He gasped and choked, and his face turned duskier
than usual.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
"Are you all right?" she asked, concerned. She walked
toward him, but he waved her off.
"Fine " he croaked. " Water " and he clattered out
of the room.
110 Hofly Lisle
When he came back in, he looked much better. "Choked
on some dust or something," he told her. His color was stiB
high. "Okay!" He gave her a bright smile. "Lets get to work
on the magic. Take a seat in the middle of the decagram."
While Minerva sat on the hard floor, Talleos puBed a
huge book out of me bookcase, propped it on a carved book-
stand, flipped to the first page, and began to read.
"'The beginning of magic is the beginning of the com-
prehension of the Manifest and the Unmanifest, the
corporeal and the incorporeal, and the flow of the ions of
time and not-time through the river of die Eternal Is.
Within the spin of the single atom, the magus finds con-
tained all secrets and all miracles of every facet of existence.
And the harnessing of the powers of that atom is within the
reach of me dedicated seeker. Above aB, the seeker must
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
strive for purity of intention, purity of thought, and purity of
being.
"'To attain the purity required of the magus, the seeker
must reach within and find a personal and internally consis-
tent meaning for each of the thousand spoken names of
God. The first of these names is Ke-Seh-Haveh-Kalla, which
means . . .'"
Minerva felt her eyes beginning to glaze over. This was
the way to do magic, was it? Oh, God. Her kids lives and
her own depended on her ability to learn this stuff?
It felt like chemistry class all over again. She'd hated
chemistry.
""The second name of God is Gur-Gesh-Hegonokrisve-
domio, which . . .'"
Dam/I, you stinking pig, she thought, ; hope to heU
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
you're as miserable and as scared as lam right now.
"Gooff, I really don't know what happened. ... No ...
No some kids found her while they were out playing. . . .
No, not my lads; the police are still looking for them..., Not
yet. The police have tapped the phone lines there weren't
any ransom notes that anyone could find. . . . No, I guess
the/ll be doing the ah the au-au-autopsy ... today..."
MINERVA WAKES 111
"No ... I'm all right now. . . . Thank you. I appreciate
that a leave of absence would help a lot.... I'd I'd really
rather not talk anymore right now."
All morning. The goddamned phone hadn't stopped. Peo-
ple telling him how sony they were; people telling him he
was a miserable bastard and the police were going to find
out what he did; friends of Minerva's who wanted to com-
miserate with him; friends of his who didn't know what to
say.
Minerva was right there in front of him, right on the
other side of the fucking mirror. He couldn't touch her, he
couldn't hear her, he couldn't actually see her except once
when she looked in a mirror. But, dammit, it was really her.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Out of his reach.
He'd made the funeral arrangements. He'd sat on the
other side of the funeral director's desk and picked out a cas-
ket and discussed the service. He'd cried. He couldn't help
it. The funeral director had a mirror behind his desk. The
whole time Dairy! was discussing the details of the service,
Minerva was standing behind the man, playing with powders
and knives and wands and other weird shit- He wanted her
back. No matter how hard he tried to convince himself oth-
erwise, he couldn't believe she was coming back.
"If your face drags any lower, old pa!, we can use it to sole
your shoes." Birkwelch leaned along the back of the arm-
chair and hung his head, upside down, in front of Danyl.
As a sight gag, it probably would have been pretty funny,
but Darryl wasn't in the mood, "Go 'way," he snarled.
"No, man. I want to go to McDonalds and get some fish
sandwiches and fries. They're my favorite."
"Good. Go."
The dragon did not get his face out of Darryl's way. "I
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
want some company."
Darryl lost his grip on his calm. "You miserable son of a
bitch," he yelled. He grabbed Birkwelch around the dragons
long, muscular neck and tried to strangle him a feat he
discovered was about as smart as trying to strangle a boa
constrictor. One minute he had his hands around the dragon's
neck; the next, he was lying on the floor on the other side of
112 HoUy Lisle
the room, watching lights going round and round on die
ceiling, wishing he could remember how to breathe.
His mother stood over him, an unreadable expression on
herface-
"How did you do that?"
He couldn't quite breathe yet. "Do what. Mom?" he
wheezed.
"Jump across the room like that? And who were you yell-
ing at?"
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]