by Jerry
Van drew his sword. “Turn loose that boy,” he said.
“What is this brat to you?” the free head inquired growlingly. “Many times has he teased me, and now I have caught him, and I shall make a messy end of him.”
“It’s wrong to eat a human being,” Van said, somehow not surprised that the creature could talk. He had already seen other magic as surprising as this.
“It may be wrong by your definition, but not by mine,” the dog said. “This place will be better off without this obnoxious cub.” The other head hauled on the cloth, drawing the boy back a step with a frightened cry.
“Let him go,” Van said evenly, “or you and I will find out exactly who is the better creature.”
“You annoy me,” the dog said. His right head jerked up and back, and the boy went flying through the air, to land in a cage Van hadn’t seen before. He seemed unhurt, but could not climb out. “Since I see you too are fair game, I will deal with you also, now.” Both heads faced Van, snarling.
“Don’t try to fight him!” Tara cried. “I forgot that you aren’t safe until you have seen the dragon.”
“I have this good sword Todd gave me,” Van said. “It is magically competent. I should be able to dispatch this animal.”
“But the dog is magic too,” she said. “He can counter the sword.”
Van experienced a chill. He had been trained for combat, and could control fear, but he didn’t like going into action against a creature of unknown potential. Yet he didn’t seem to have much choice. “I’ll just have to risk it.” He advanced on the dog.
“Well, it has foolish courage,” the left head said. “But it will avail him nothing,” the right one said.
Van decided not to wait for the dog to make the first move. He charged, his blade swinging at the left head.
The dog dodged aside, spun, and leaped at Van from the left. Van’s blade swung quickly back to intercept the creature’s body as he ducked down. But the body dodged in air, avoiding the cut.
It was magic, again. This creature was more formidable than he had thought. Maybe it was unkillable. But he was in this fight, and he had to finish it.
Van stalked the monster, stabbing repeatedly at the heads, first one, then the other, and swinging at both when he had the chance. The body and both heads maneuvered with marvelous cunning, avoiding every attack. But Van refused to quit, fearing that he would be finished if he did. He drove the dog steadily back from the cage. If he could get it far enough away so that he could lift out the boy—
Then the dog disappeared. Van whirled—and spied the animal behind him. Beside the cage. So that strategy was no good either.
How could he defeat an animal that used magic to get around him, literally? Van stalked the creature again, not with any real hope of success, but giving himself time to ponder. He had had dog-training at one point, and knew how to defend himself from an ordinary canine. It involved padding for an arm to block the dog’s teeth, and less polite techniques, depending on whether the dog was to be discouraged, captured, disabled, or killed. All he wanted to do was the first, so that he could rescue the boy. But the dog showed no sign of being liable to discouragement.
Then Van had a bright notion. This was a magic scene. He had nulled the magic before simply by changing his name in his mind. If he could do the same thing here, the scene would revert to reality as this world knew it. Then he should be dealing with an ordinary dog, and that one he could handle.
Duff, he thought. I am Duff. This is reality.
It worked. The spell on him faded. He saw things as they were. The great odd trees became relatively small mundane trees. The dog was an ordinary mongrel. Behind the dog was a crude cage, and in the cage was—nothing.
He was fighting over an empty cage?
Duff looked across at Tara. She remained as she was, towheaded ten. But she was startled. “It changed!” she cried, alarmed. It seemed that his change had overwhelmed her illusion too.
“This is reality,” Duff told her. But he kept a wary eye on the dog. Now he realized that he was carrying a stick. Some sword!
It didn’t matter. He threw away the stick and grabbed at his clothing, which was unchanged. He tore off his robe and wrapped it around his left arm. “Okay, doggie,” he said. “Let’s settle this my way.”
“But you mustn’t do that!” Tara protested.
“I’m not going to give way to a dog,” Duff said. “I’m going to get him out of here one way or another.” He advanced on the dog, who retreated, growling.
“But it only counts if it’s magic!” the girl cried.
“Counts for what?”
“For the dragon.”
Duff was perplexed. “You mean this is supposed to be some kind of a game, and I have to follow the rules to get points?”
“It’s no game,” she said. “Please, Van, do it right!”
Duff shook his head, bemused again. He was here to understand these people, so it was indeed better to play by their rules. Without rules, no game worked. So be it.
Van, he thought. I am Van. This is fantasy.
The magic returned. The dog grew larger, and developed two heads. The boy reappeared in the cage. The trees became exotic. And his sword lay where he had thrown the stick, gleaming on the ground.
The dog leaped for the sword. He stood over it. “Now you have lost your weapon, fool,” he growled.
Van’s robe remained wrapped around his arm. “I don’t need it, animal,” he replied. “I am going to put you in a headlock and strangle you until you quit.” He advanced, his padded arm in front.
“But I have two heads,” the dog said. “While you strangle one, the other will bite your face off.”
“So it’s a fair fight,” Van said. “I’ll take my chances.” Actually he was afraid that the dog could do exactly what he said, but he refused to let that fear show, knowing that it could be disastrous. He had to appear confident. Perhaps he could throw the dog on his back and nullify the other head with a foot.
The dog evidently wasn’t certain either. “You have courage, man,” he said. “And you do seem to know how to fight my kind. But I also know how to fight your kind, so we do not know who will be the victor.”
“We do not know,” Van agreed. He charged the dog.
Again the creature avoided him. Van barely kept his footing as he slowed and turned, whipping his padded arm around to counter the expected attack from the rear.
“I do not understand you,” the dog said. “Why do you risk your life to save the most obnoxious brat in the colony?”
“Because he is a child, and does not know better. With proper adult supervision, he can learn to be a decent human being. I must see that he has that chance.” But as he spoke, he wondered. Tara called the boy “Nothing,” and in reality that was what he was: nothing. There were aspects of this encounter that made description by the term “unbelievable” inadequate. Yet he had to play the game through, whatever its rules. In the game, there was a boy.
The dog circled, looking for an opening, and Van circled with him, never letting down his guard. It seemed to be a standoff.
“Would you try to raise such a child?” the dog demanded.
That was a challenge of another nature! “I’d hate to try,” Van admitted.
“We aren’t getting anywhere here,” the dog said. “I’ll make you a deal: I’ll spare the boy and leave you alone, if you adopt him.”
Van glanced at the boy in the cage. The boy stuck out his tongue. What an albatross such a brat would be! Yet the offer did have to be considered, because it was a peaceful way out of a violent situation.
“I don’t think my wife would agree,” Van said. And there was another surprise: He now thought of himself as married to Violet, in the fantasy realm. That was another rule of the game.
“She would agree,” the dog said.
“How can you know that? You just want to make trouble in my family.”
“She would,” Tara called.
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nbsp; The girl had shown him her reality. He could not doubt her word. He sighed. “Then I will make your deal,” he said heavily.
“Done.” The dog turned and ran away through the forest.
Tara approached. “That was brave and wonderful, Van.”
“It was desperation,” he replied. “I couldn’t get rid of that dog any other way.’ He went to pick up his sword.
Tara opened the cage and helped Nothing out. “I guess you think you’re pretty noble stuff,” the boy called at Van. “I guess you think I’m grateful.”
“I doubt it,” Van said.
“Well, I’m not! I don’t even like your stinking house, and I’m not going to do anything you say.”
Van unwrapped his robe and put it on. He slid the sword back into its scabbard. Then he came to the boy. “Do you want to walk home with me, or be carried over my shoulder?” he asked evenly. “I’ll give you a hint: You will find walking more comfortable.”
“Listen, dung-head—” Nothing started. But he had to stop as he dodged out of the way of Van’s grasp. “I’ll walk.”
“Henceforth you will not use language like that,” Van informed him as the three of them started back down the path.
“Like what, pee-brain?”
Van lifted a hand. “Like that.”
“Yeah? And what’re you going to do about it?”
Van set the hand firmly on the boy’s head. “I will ground you until you reconsider.”
Nothing laughed. “And what will you do when I ignore your grounding?”
“You will not ignore it.”
“Or what, slop-face?”
“Or you will cease to exist,” Van said. He started to change his name, mentally. Duff.
The boy began to fade. “I got it!” he cried.
“I thought you would,” Van said, returning to his real name.
“You have a way with kids,” Tara observed.
“It’s the military way,” Van said. He had simply pictured the boy as a loudmouthed recruit. There were ways to tame such folk in a hurry, without violence.
Violet made a place for the boy that night. She was thrilled to have a child so quickly, but confessed privately that she had hoped for a girl. “And you have not yet seen the dragon,” she said worriedly.
Van doubted that the dragon would be worse than the dog. But the boy was bad enough. Suppose the dragon rejected Van, and Violet was stuck with the boy?
“Let me love you tonight,” Violet said. “For I fear for tomorrow.”
Nothing jumped out of his bunk across the room and came over. “I’ll watch!”
“You’ll do nothing of the kind,” Violet said severely. “You need your sleep.”
“Awww.” Nothing looked rebellious.
“Return to bed,” V called from the hearth. Van relaxed, relieved. He trusted V.
Nothing began to walk away. “What about when you do it in daytime?”
“Then you may watch,” Violet agreed.
Oops. Van waited until the boy went back to bed and the light was out. Then he inquired. “Children watch?”
“Of course. Oh, I see your problem. In the world you came from, where everything is so physical, children don’t watch. But here sex is just for fun and commitment and family unity. When we want children, we adopt them from the forest. We teach them what they need to know, and part of that is love. How could they understand it, if they did not see it?”
Van thought about it, as she kissed him and hugged him, and after a while it began to make sense. He cast off another aspect of his former life-style. This was not the world he had known. It was a better world.
In the morning they went to see the dragon. The other villagers merely nodded as the three of them passed, and Tara emerged to wish him well. Then they took the path up the mountain.
Van remembered how the Colonel had said that the dragon had killed Victor. The dragon was a mock-up, but it had done the job. Now Van believed that he would encounter a real dragon, and it could indeed kill him. If it didn’t like him. Because it would know his heart.
And would his heart be good enough? How could he know? But he could doubt! Because he was a spy for the science world. He had told V, and V had not been surprised, but V knew only his mind, not his heart. Where was his heart?
He glanced at Violet, beside him, so lovely. She turned her face to him and smiled.
“Oh, Violet,” he said. “I am afraid.”
“But why should you be, Van?” she asked. “The dragon is our lord; he knows the truth. There will be no pretense before him.”
“That’s why I am afraid.” He kissed her, holding her as close as he could without hurting her.
“Hey!” Nothing said. “Do it now, so I can watch.”
Van wished he hadn’t had to adopt the boy. He could see that any life he had with Violet was going to be seriously compromised. Even if it was acceptable for a child to watch, he didn’t care to have an obnoxious child kibitzing.
“Why do you think the dragon will not like you?” Violet asked.
“Because I am a spy for the outsiders. They sent me in to find out what is going on here, because their instruments aren’t picking it up.”
“But we know that, Van! We were all brought here from outside. The outsiders don’t believe any of this.”
“But I have to report to them.”
She shook her head. “They won’t believe you, Van.”
He considered it, and was relieved. All he had to do was tell the truth: that there really was magic here, and that it governed the lives of all the colonists. They would think him to be lying or crazy. Except—
“Suppose they shut down the project?”
“The dragon wouldn’t let them do that,” she said reassuringly.
He hoped she was correct.
At the top of the hill he saw the dragon. It was a monstrous serpentine winged figure whose head was large enough to gulp down the body of a man.
“We must wait,” Violet said. “You must meet the dragon alone.” She shivered. “Now I am afraid!”
Van kissed her again. It was very sweet. Then he nerved himself and went forward to meet the dragon.
The huge head swung around to orient on him. “Be at ease, Van,” the dragon said. “I am satisfied with you.”
Just like that?
“Do not speak aloud of this,” the Dragon said. “There is one other test for you, but it is not mine. It is that of those who sent you. I can not prevent this, for they are not of my domain. But I will finish my business with you before they come.”
Business? Van still hadn’t adjusted to the notion of the dragon’s instant acceptance. How could the dragon know his heart, without even looking?
The dragon smiled. “I knew it yesterday, Van. The dog is my creature. So is Nothing. If there was abuse in your heart, it could have shown then.” He glanced past Van. “Nothing! Come to me.”
The boy left Violet and walked forward.
“Now wait!” Van protested. “I adopted that boy.”
“You don’t want him,” the dragon said. “He is an obnoxious pest. I will exchange him for a better child.”
“You can’t just switch our children!”
Smoke puffed from the hot nostrils. “I can.”
Van drew his sword. “You can’t!”
“Oh, I like you!” the dragon said. “You have the heart of a hero. But your way does not govern here.”
Van stepped forward, lifting the sword. But the dragon exhaled flame. It surrounded Van, setting him afire without pain. He was unable to move. The creature’s power was overwhelming.
Nothing came to stand before the dragon. The enormous eyes focused on the tiny boy.
Please! Van thought. It was the only way he could express himself now. I made a deal with the dog. I know the boy is obnoxious, but I can handle him. I don’t want him to die by your agency any more than I did by the dog’s agency. He deserves his life. You gave me my chance; give him his chance.
“The boy does not exist,” the dragon said. “He was never more than a manifestation, there only to test for the ugliness of hearts. He can not remain with you.”
But—
“But you may keep the child—in her true aspect,” the dragon continued. He breathed on Nothing, and Nothing changed. Where he had stood was the most adorable little girl Van could imagine. Niceness emanated from her. “I give you Veeda. She will be the joy of your life, as she has been of mine. She is the best of all my children.”
The little girl turned and smiled at Van. “I love you, Daddy,” she said. “You stood up for me when I was mean.”
The fire faded, and Van was free. He put away his sword and squatted to hug the darling creature. He remembered that Violet had wanted a girl, but had accepted the boy. Violet, too, had passed her test.
Van stood as Veeda went to embrace Violet. He addressed the dragon. “You know my heart,” he agreed. “I never suspected.”
“You should have,” the dragon said. “How could an N child join a V hearth?”
Van clapped his palm to his head. Of course! V had accepted the child, and that was possible for only the right letter. Even Violet had not thought to rename Nothing.
“Now grasp this,” the dragon said. “At dawn tomorrow the colony will rejoin its parent world. All of you will come here to me for the transfer. Do not be late, for once the portal closes you can not pass. The colony will become a settlement in our world, and will manifest the things of science as persuasive illusions, so that we of magic can better understand the creatures of science. In time perhaps our two cultures can adjust to each other. In time, perhaps, we can teach the ways of peace and the living world to the other. With your help. This is why we extended our presence to the world of science, though here our power is slight, limited largely to illusion. In our own world it is the other way around, and we have difficulty even perceiving the manifestations of science. The concept of war remains opaque to us. I regret that we had so little time to let you adjust, Van, and I realize that this has been hard on you, but the science folk are preparing to move against us and we have little choice. We have to get out of their way.”