Man From Mundania (44 page)

202 Man from Mundania

me. Bow down before me, grovel low, humble yourselves

before the horrendous maleness I am!"

This was awful! But somehow the infinite menace of the

Python was mitigated by an almost infinite appeal. She

was terrified, yet a part of her also desired to be consumed

by this monster. Thus it was not merely the magic mes-

merism of the reptilian gaze that held her; it was the weak-

ening of her will to resist. What a horror, to know what

was to happen yet not want to fight it!

"Down!" the Python hissed. "Bow down, tasty mor-

sels! I require my homage before I feed!"

Dutifully they got down, still held by that sinister gaze.

But Electra was a little ahead of Ivy, and her body mo-

mentarily interfered with Ivy's line of sight to the eye of

the Python.

Suddenly she was free of the awful compulsion. Now

she was revolted. How could she ever have desired any

part of that disgusting reptile?

But Electra was still under the spell. Ivy scrambled for-

ward, shielding her eyes against the gaze, and threw her

body down before the girl's face, interrupting her line of

sight too. The Python was like a hypnogourd, completely

captivating those who met his gaze but losing power the

moment the contact was broken.

But it was too late. The gigantic jaws were hinging open,

and in a moment one or both of them would be snapped

up. The Python did not need to mesmerize them the whole

time, only long enough for him to get within striking

range. He was within it now.

"Shock him!" Ivy whispered, putting her hand on Elec-

tra's arm. "I'll Enhance you!"

The head plunged down, the daggeriike teeth leading.

Both girls rolled to the side, and the jaws snapped closed

just beside them. "Now!" Ivy cried, hanging onto Elec-

tra's arm.

Electra flung her free arm across and smote the Python

on the side of his massive snout. The blow itself was

laughable; she might as well have struck the trunk of a

tree. But it was charged with all the electric power of her

magic talent—enhanced by Ivy's own talent.

Man from Mundania

203

There was a jolt so strong that even its backlash stunned

Ivy for a moment. The Python stiffened, then collapsed,

his head drooping to the path beside them, his latter coils

writhing without direction. Electra's shock had knocked

him out.

Ivy sat up, her senses reeling. She discovered she didn't

really like such close calls. "Come on, 'Lectra—we've got

to get away before he recovers."

Indeed, the head was showing signs of animation. The

monster was so big and tough that even that terrible shock

was enough to set him back only briefly. Ivy thought fleet-

ingly of trying to bash the Python with a stone, but real-

ized that her strength, even if she Enhanced it, would

barely be enough to dent the giant skull. It was safer to

flee.

They got up, wobbly on their feet. The path below was

blocked by the thrashing length of the reptile; they would

have to go back up. But soon he would follow them, and

this time they would not be able to shock it, for Electra

was depleted. She was no Sorceress; she could not exer-

cise her talent twice in one day. Ivy herself had no limit,

but what point would there be in enhancing the Python?

That would only make him worse!

"We can't outrun him!" Electra gasped. "We'll never

make it to the top!''

Ivy had to agree. "We must find a safe way off the path,

where he can't follow or at least will be too slow to catch

us." She did not voice her private doubts about their abil-

ity to find any such way.

They stumbled on, holding hands so that Ivy could en-

hance Electra's stamina. And there, beside a nettlebush,

was a contorted little path departing from the main one.

They had not noticed it before.

"But the nettle!" Electra protested. "It will hurt us!"

"Let me at it," Ivy said. She stood before the bush,

thinking how pretty it was, and how decorative its spines

were, more bluff than substance, and how such bushes

never did really sting nice girls, only mean serpents. The

bush became prettier, its sharp edges softening. She

touched a leaf, cautiously, and it did not sting her.

204 Man from Mundania

She brushed by the bush, and Electra followed, trusting

Ivy's talent. The nettle did not sting her either.

Then Ivy addressed the bush again, silently. Now she

concentrated exclusively on its detestation of all things

reptilian, especially monstrous Pythons. It would sting any

such creature viciously!

They walked on down the path, no longer feeling the

urgency of panic, but not delaying either. They needed to

get somewhere safe before the Python found a way to get

past the bush.

The path was evidently little used, but Ivy sensed some

enchantment on it. She enhanced this, and the path be-

came clearer, with some protective magic. Someone must

have used it regularly, once, to visit the Muses.

"Who else lives on Parnassus?" Ivy asked. It was

something she knew she ordinarily could remember, but

in her present state she couldn't recall all the details.

Electra considered. "Gee, I don't really know. There's

the Simurgh on the Tree of Seeds at the top, and the Py-

thon and the Wild Women."

"And the Tree of Immortality on the other peak," Ivy

added. "But this path's going down, so it must be to some-

where else. I just want to be sure it's better than what

we're hiding from."

"Anything's better than that horrible monster!" Electra

exclaimed. "I mean, I suppose it's pretty bad getting eaten,

but that awful gaze—somehow I knew that what the Py-

thon planned was worse than eating."

Ivy shuddered reminiscently. "I hate to say it, but if

that thing fights with the Maenads, I favor the Wild

Women. But this path—there's something about it I don't

understand. I wonder if we should follow it any farther."

"Well, if the Python doesn't follow—"

There was a crash above, as of a bush getting ripped

out of the ground, nettles and all.

Wordlessly, they resumed their flight down the path.

Abruptly it debouched in a valley hollowed from the

side of the mountain. Huge stone ruins stood there, the

remains of some vast ancient temple. Rounded columns

reached toward the sky, the roof they once supported gone.

Man from Mundania

205

Sunlight angled across the stones, making the scene totally

bright and stark.

"What is this?" Electra asked, stepping onto the stone

platform that must once have been a beautiful floor.

Before Ivy could answer, a robed, bearded old man ap-

peared from behind a ruined wall. "Pythia!" he ex-

claimed. "Just in time!"

"What?" Electra asked.

"You are the new priestesses. It was foretold you would

come, but we were afraid it would be too late. Come this

way!"

"But we aren't priestesses!" Ivy protested. "We are

merely innocent maidens who—"

"Of course. We shall have to clean you up, and you can

serve immediately.''

"We're tired and hungry," Electra said. "We have no

intention of—"

"We have excellent food and drink for you."

Ivy exchanged half a glance with Electra. They were

both hungry. They decided to hold their protest until after

they had eaten.

Part of the ancient temple remained roofed. Here there

were several chambers, and there really was good food.

The girls feasted gluttonously on hayberry longcake and

ice chocolate drinks. A quiet old woman brought a basin

of water and sponges and cleaned them off while they were

eating, then presented them with rather pretty white robes

to don in place of their soiled and torn clothing.

Without even quite paying attention, they found them-

selves garbed like, well, priestesses, with pretty diadems

on their heads and sylphlike gowns. Ivy was surprised to

see how pretty Electra looked. "You're growing up, 'Lec-

tra!" Ivy remarked appreciatively.

Electra grimaced. "I'm in no hurry. All too soon after

I come of age, so will Dolph, and then he'll have to

choose, and then—"

Ivy knew why she didn't finish. They both knew that

Dolph would choose Nada to marry, and then Electra

would die. She was safe only as long as she remained

betrothed to Prince Dolph; when that ended, her nine hun-

206 Man from Mundania

dred or so years would catch up with her, and she would

shrivel into extinction. Unless they found some way around

the dilemma.

"Hark, the Client is arriving," the original old man

announced. "We had better use the older one first. Do

either of you have any idea how this is done?''

"No!" Ivy and Electra said together, resuming their

nervousness about the proceedings.

"Excellent! Have either of you ever had relations with

a man?"

"We are both betrothed," Ivy said a bit stiffly.

"What—"

The man was taken aback. "But you are so young! We

require virgins. Why didn't you tell us this before?"

"You didn't ask, dodo!" Electra said with her usual

asperity. "Anyway, who said we're not—"

Ivy tried to caution her, but was too late, as was usually

the case when dealing with Electra.

"Ah, so you haven't been with a man!" he exclaimed.

"What difference does it make?" Ivy demanded. She