Secret of Spring

by Piers Anthony

  “So. You were lying to me from the start,” Herb stated angrily. Never mind how he had lied to her. That was different, naturally.

  “I didn’t mean to mislead you, Herb. I just haven’t told you everything. And I can’t. I don’t want to put you in danger as well. But believe this. I am not married. Whoever that man is, he is certainly not my husband.”

  Herb’s anger left him, to be replaced by concern. “You said something about danger. Is that man trying to harm you? Please Moon, I want to help you, but you must tell me the truth.”

  Spring sighed. “I suppose I have to tell you now. If he saw your secretary, he must have an idea where I am.” She suddenly realized what that meant. “Oh—I have to get out of here fast!” She jumped up and ran about gathering all her things from the shower and throwing them into the bag from beneath the bed.

  “Wait! Are you hiding? What’s going on? Tell me,” Herb demanded.

  “No time to explain everything. That man, or other men may be looking for me. They—they killed my father. And now they want me,” she panted, trying to force the bag shut.

  “Someone killed your father?” Herb knew offworlders were violent, but actually killing someone? “Why? What have you done?”

  “Done? Nothing. And I don’t intend to do anything,” she said, thinking of the sexual requirement of the transference. “I have some information, and they want it, but to get it, they have to—oh, I don’t know how you say it.” She was floundering. “You know, the sex act.”

  “They would bed you against your will?” he breathed, shocked and amazed.

  “Exactly. So you see, Herb, I can’t let them find me here.”

  “An abomination!” Herb exclaimed. Such acts were virtually unheard of on Paradise. For one thing, it was impossible for most of the species to pollinate without cooperation. Perhaps once in many seasons, some loco weed would grow wild and attempt it, but that was a biological defect. To do such a thing on purpose was unthinkable. “Moon, I don’t understand.”

  “Much better that you don’t,” Spring agreed. “This trouble is not for you.” She had finished packing and tucked her small rock pouch into a pocket of her skirt. “Well, that’s everything.”

  “But where will you go?” asked Herb. “What will you do?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll try to get back on the starship. Or hide out here. I don’t know, but for your own sake, please don’t try to find me. I know it wasn’t much of a visit. I wish we had more time to know each other.” She smiled, fleetingly. “Who knows? We might have liked that.” She stood up on tiptoes to plant a lingering kiss on his lips.

  Dazed, Herb stood aside as she went to the door. Her touch had been pleasant. Very pleasant indeed. He was sorry this pale Moon Maiden had beamed into his life for so short a season. He was about to protest this mad departure—but instead stiffened along with Spring at the sudden violent banging at the door.

  15

  Double Trouble

  Spring retrieved her case and dashed quickly into the shower closet while Herb advanced cautiously toward the door.

  “Who is it?” he called, hoping he didn’t sound half as scared as he felt. There was no answer. Herb pressed his ear against the frame, but could detect no sounds outside. He could see no one out the viewer, but they might be hiding at the side away from his vision. Gathering all his failing courage, he released the lock and slowly opened the door. First a crack, then all the way. There was no one there at all. Only a crumpled paper lying at the middle of the entrance where someone had hastily shoved it.

  Herb picked it up and read the scrawled message: “We have your green girl, Lily. If you want to see her in one piece again, bring us Spring Gabriel. Don’t call the authorities or you will regret it. We will be watching. Wait for instructions.”

  Herb stood in the doorway, baffled at the message. What could it all mean? Someone had taken Lily? And who was this Spring person they mentioned, and why did they think he knew anything about it? It was all some terrible mistake. He closed the door behind him in a daze.

  “Herb? What is it? Who was at the door?” asked Spring, returning as soon as she heard the door shut.

  Herb handed the letter to Spring. He was still too confused to speak.

  As she read, dismay clouded her features. It had already begun.

  “They’ve kidnapped your secretary? I’m so sorry Herb.”

  “No. No,” Herb said slowly. He was still trying to sort it all out. “I must be truthful with you now, Moon. Lily is not my secretary. She—she is my fiancée.”

  “Oh. I see,” Spring said. Evidently she had not been the only one keeping secrets.

  “I know I should have told you about this before, but it just didn’t seem that important when we were only corresponding by mail. I never expected—”

  “That I would end up on your doorstep.”

  “In my bed,” Herb corrected her.

  “Whatever,” Spring said, dismissing the subject. “I have a confession to make, too. I haven’t been completely honest with you about who I am and why I’m here either. You see—” She swallowed. “I am the Spring Gabriel in the note. I am the one they’re after.”

  “Then, these are the same men. But what about Lily? They say they will harm her unless they get you. But I can’t let you go now. They will harm you instead!”

  “It’s a trap. I’m convinced that once they have me, they won’t let any of us go. I know that slimy little Ki behind this outrage. He has no scruples.”

  “We should call the Patrol,” Herb said. “Ask them what we should do.”

  “Wait, is that the same thing as the Police? I don’t think that’s a great idea, Herb. Zygote’s men will be alert for any double-cross. They could disappear so fast we’d never find them again, and I hate to think of what might happen to Lily if we disobey them.”

  “No, nothing must happen to Lily,” Herb said, blanching. He replaced the communiline speaker in its slot.

  “Do you love her?” Spring asked quietly.

  Herb hesitated, his eyes showing the inner turmoil.

  “I’m sorry, that doesn’t deserve an answer,” Spring said, angry at herself for saying such a stupid thing. “You’ve just said you plan to be married. Of course we can’t let anyone harm her. We won’t,” she said emphatically, trying not to let Herb see how hopeless it was to prevent it at the moment. She sank down on the bed in despair.

  Spring could not deny she had been surprised by the news that Herb was engaged, but after all, it had nothing to do with her. She had come to Paradise to hide, and make plans. Certainly not for romance. Herb wasn’t for her. He wasn’t even human. Not that she held that against him. He was very nice, and sweet, and different from any of the boys she had met on New Landers. There was a naivete that made you trust him right away.

  Well, of course that was a crock. He wasn’t all that innocent. He managed to hide a fiance well enough. What else had he been hiding behind that honest, good-looking face of his? Those big green eyes and thick lashes that any woman would envy were not going to make her forget why she was there. But, all this trouble wasn’t his. It was hers. She felt bad that he and his friend had been dragged into it through no fault of their own. Herb was a nice person, and it had been nice when they kissed, too. He didn’t deserve this.

  Herb sat reading the note over and over again. What could they do to help Lily? Paradise was a peaceful planet. They had their share of native law breakers, but violent crimes were a rarity. It was simply not the nature of things there so he did not have the background to prepare him for something of this magnitude.

  “What are you going to do?” he asked. “You might still escape if you told the Patrol. They could protect you. At least get you safely off the planet.”

  “You know I wouldn’t,” Spring said, a bit hurt. “You know I couldn’t do that to your girlfriend. It’s bad enough it happened. Do you think I go around leaving a trail of bodies in my wake?”

  “No, but—”<
br />
  “But I have a darn good track record so far?” she said sarcastically.

  “I don’t blame you. I just wish you had trusted me and told me about it from the beginning. We could have gone off some place where you’d be safe. And Lily would be safe.”

  “Ha. Don’t give me that, Herb Moss. If I had said, ‘Hello, I’m on the run from some powerful men who want to rule the universe. How about risking your life to help me out?’ What would you have said to that, eh?”

  “I—”

  “I’ll tell you what you’d have said. You’d have told me I was crazy. To go fly a rocket.” Her defiance crumbled and she turned away to hide the tears.

  Herb stood by helplessly as she cried and agreed inwardly that he probably would have thought she was unbalanced if she had told him such a story. “It’s been hard for you. Alone,” he said sympathetically.

  “I’ve managed,” she said briskly, in control once more. “The note said to wait for instructions. They have to tell you where to deliver me. All we can do is wait, but if we learn where she is, maybe we can think of a plan. A way to rescue her.” She tried to sound encouraging.

  “Yes, we can find a way,” Herb agreed, grasping at hope once more. “They won’t hurt her while they still believe we will trade. We have time.”

  They settled down to an uneasy wait. Herb made a path to the door every few minutes to check for notes, but found nothing. Time crawled. They had a light meal which neither did more than pick at, and Herb took a short nap on the condition that Spring wake him at the first sign of contact.

  The evening was interminable. It grew late and both grew tired. Herb sat nodding in the chair while Spring perched with legs drawn beneath her on the side of the bed.

  “Herb, they may not even call tonight,” Spring said. “They may be waiting to be sure we haven’t contacted the Patrol. Why don’t you come to bed? You had no sleep last night and only a nap today. Here, I’ll take the chair tonight. I refuse to chase you out of your own bed another night.”

  “No, I don’t want you to sit up,” Herb protested, ever the gentleman.

  “Then come over here,” Spring said firmly. “We’ve already slept together, if that’s what you’re worried about,” she added mischievously.

  Herb’s face registered confusion. He might have overlooked a lot of things about Moon, but that would not be something he would forget.

  “I meant during your nap, Herb,” she clarified. “When I came back from the kitchen, you were asleep and I sat down on the side of the bed. You threw your arm around me and I didn’t have the heart to move and waken you.” She smiled.

  Now he remembered. His dream. Green hair on the pillow, and the sweet scent of honeysuckle. Moon’s perfume. In the dream, it was Lily. He thought he had found her.

  “Lily,” he said.

  “All we can do is wait, Herb. When they want us, they will get our attention, you can be certain of that. They won’t give up until they have me,” Spring said.

  Whether from loss of sleep, or anxiety over Lily, Herb felt incredibly tired. He looked at the beckoning bed sheets and agreed.

  “You’re right. We need our rest. Not that I will sleep until we know something,” he added. “But it would feel good to stretch out.”

  He went to the opposite side and lay down stiffly at the edge, careful not to touch any part of Spring’s apparel.

  “Oh for Pete’s sake,” exclaimed Spring, grabbing his arm and pulling him toward the center beside her.

  “Who is Pete?” asked Herb. He had a cousin, Pete. Pete Moss.

  “Never mind. Relax. You feel like a stick. I promise I won’t break if you touch me, and I seriously doubt if either of us feels romantically inclined tonight. Try to get some rest now, okay?”

  Herb recalled how different it had been when he last lay in bed with a beautiful girl. He had not been shy with Holly, his playmate on Avocado. What was it about Moon that made him so uncomfortable? True, she had not come looking for a romance, but he enjoyed her letters and thought she was very beautiful. He was strangely attracted to her, despite all the problems she represented, and despite the fact he was in no position to be. There was Lily, his fiancée. And for Moon, there was the memory of that other man who had been untrue to her. In a way, she also had ties, if only in her heart.

  He stole a sideways glance in her direction and saw that she reclined on her back with an arm flung over her head. She was breathing evenly in sleep. As he lay noting the rise and fall of her breasts, he wished he could fall asleep. He never would with that distraction!

  Reluctantly, Herb turned over and away from the pleasant view. Much better with his back toward her. He shut his eyes and counted pussy willows.

  The shrill buzz of the communiline broke the silence. Herb awoke abruptly, realizing he had indeed fallen asleep. Groggy, he reached for the speaker, afraid of what he would hear. “Yes?” he said. His voice sounded strange and hollow in his ears. The sound of fear.

  A muffled voice spoke thickly. “I won’t repeat this Moss, so write it down.”

  Herb groped about the bed stand for a writing quill and lily pad. Spring sat alert at his side and handed him what he needed. The voice gave him an address in a seedy side of town.

  “Daybreak. Got it?” the voice said.

  “Got it,” Herb agreed, swallowing as he replaced the communiline.

  “What did they say?” Spring asked.

  “We go there at daybreak,” Herb said, indicating the address.

  “Smart. Gives us no time to change our minds about the Patrol. But Herb, the more I think about everything, I don’t see how we can do it alone. Don’t you have some other private organizations, like detectives? Or—” she paused as she read the confusion on Herb’s face. “No, of course not,” she said in disgust. “This is such a law abiding planet.”

  “No, wait. I do know someone who might help us. He isn’t a professional in the way you mean, but he is a friend and runs a Julep-so school.”

  “Julep? Like Mint Juleps?” she asked, perplexed.

  “No, Julep-so. He is very proficient in that ancient art of defence. We are not a violent people, but this is a weaponless form of combat with throws and holds. It is more for exercise, and he is very fit. We’ve known each other since university.”

  “He sounds perfect. But—” She hesitated. “Do you think he would help?”

  “I don’t know, but I think so. He likes adventure. He is always watching Vision Plays.”

  “Vision Plays? Oh, yes, I know about those. Hologram tapes you play on home viewers, only in these you can enter astrally with the action and experience the story with the images. But there was a problem with addiction. An electronic drug. Many users could not tell fantasy from reality after a while. I thought they were outlawed.” She raised a fine brow.

  “They are,” Herb agreed. “But my friend is, well, adventurous. There is not much of an outlet on this planet for that sort of nature. He knows all about offworlders, too.”

  “You’ve convinced me. Call him now.”

  Herb punched the communiline and was soon speaking with his friend. After Herb explained the urgency of the situation, it was agreed that his friend would assist them. Perhaps he thought it was a chance to participate in a real life adventure instead of a hologram? Herb gave him the address where they were to go. It was decided Cling Ling would go now and look it over. They would meet later and determine how to proceed from there. There was still a few hours until dawn.

  “Cling Ling will help,” Herb said to Spring. “He looks like the bush people you were expecting to see when you arrived here. He is a full Vinese.”

  Spring laughed in spite of herself. “A Vinese named Cling Ling? Do you have plant folks of Irish descent as well? Sharon Begonia? A bit of the Old Sod?”

  Herb looked at her blankly. That only served to send her into additional peals of laughter. Herb decided not to comment.

  “Sorry. This is no time for jokes. When I get nervous, I get
giddy. But I, more than anyone, realize the danger we face.”

  Herb was certain she meant no disrespect to Lily. It was a trying time for both of them. Also, the sound of her laughter had fallen pleasantly on his ears.

  “I understand, Moon. We may as well return to bed. I will set the timer so we can meet Cling. It is not far from here.”

  Herb turned out the flowerbulb and they were left in darkness once again. He shut his eyes but all his thoughts were on the morrow and what it would bring.

  Spring’s voice broke the silence as he turned over. “Herb?” she whispered.

  “I’m sorry. Did I wake you? I’m just so restless. I’ll get up so you can sleep.” He moved to rise, but her hand clutched at his arm.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. Do you think I could sleep any more than you? Come here.” She pulled him against her breasts and cradled him in her arms.

  “Spring,” he protested, shocked.

  “Oh, quiet. Shut your eyes. You don’t have to sleep. Just shut your eyes.” The fingers of one hand wandered to the back of his neck and caressed with small round strokes.

  Herb basked in the warmth of the embrace. It did help to be with someone. Perhaps she was just afraid as he was. She always seemed so independent that he took her strength for granted. She really was a caring girl.

  He adjusted to put his arms around her as well, but he didn’t feel the way he usually did in a similar situation. It was just a contented feeling. Just to lie there and nothing more. It was complete the way it was. He sighed deeply and slept.

  The next thing he knew the timer rang. The quiet moment had ended. Spring was already up, bustling about, putting on her Veganette disguise. She did it very well. Even though Herb knew what she really looked like underneath—did he ever!—he would not have known the difference seeing her with the eyes of a stranger.

  Herb splashed water on his face, and drank a hot cup of coffee beans that Spring had brewed for them. She was becoming quite handy in his little kitchenette. In a few minutes they were ready to leave the safety of the apartment and venture into the darkness toward their rendezvous with Cling Ling.