Roger Zelazny - A Farce To Be Reckoned With

Fatus came to the lovers, Kornglow and Leonore. It was refreshing to find two for whom life and the love of each other was a continual revelation and a constant delight. Go and teach the others, he told them, but they only laughed at him. It is simple, how to live, they said. Each can do it, there is nothing to teach.

Fatus returned to his castle and mused over his old things and wondered what might happen next.

In Venice, the one in Limbo, Kornglow and Leonore talked about Aretino.

"I wonder if he'll ever write his play."

"Perhaps he will. But not the real one. This one—the one in which we die every night, and are reborn every morning. I hope you're not afraid of death, my love."

"Perhaps a little. But we'll be alive again tomorrow, will we not?"

"That is my belief. But death now will feel like death while it is happening."

"Must we die now?"

"All of Venice dies tonight."

There is a clatter of hooves. Horsemen in the city. Mongols!

Kornglow fights valiantly, but he is run through with a lance. The Mongols try to seize Leonore, but she is too quick for them — the Mongol isn't born who can move faster than an elf's daughter. She runs out into the street and plunges into the water, swimming away from the city. The waves are high, walls are falling, and Venice is on fire. She watches for a moment, but she can stay afloat no longer. This is dying for the first time, and though it is difficult, she knows just how to do it. Her head slides beneath the waves.

Azzie felt a giant hand tightening over him. Then there was blackness. When he awoke, a cool hand was on his brow. He opened his eyes.

"Ylith! What are you doing here? I didn't know demons and witches had any life after death."

"As it happens, you and I are still alive."

Azzie looked around. He was at the Friendly Inn in Limbo, a place of neutrality for spirits Bad and Good.

"What happened to the universe?"

"Thanks to you, Ananke was able to save it. We should all be grateful to you, though I'm afraid you're going to find a lot of people angry. The Council of Evil is considering issuing you a reprimand for starting the whole thing in the first place. But I still care for you. Always will, I'm afraid."

He took her hand.

"Daughter of Darkness," he said, smiling weakly. "We are of a kind."

Nodding, she smiled and squeezed his hand.

"I know," she said.