Piers Anthony: Robot Adept

Then Tania got up, fetched her butterfly net, reversed it, and smashed the handle down on the hapless bird. When she was sure it was dead, she nudged the body off the edge, so that it fell to the ground beyond.

And that completed the picture on Tania: he could never have been attracted to her mind. She was a true example of the nature of the Adverse Adepts.

In due course her brother arrived. “How goes it, Tannu?” Tania asked.

“Indifferently,” he replied, plumping into another deck chair. “The rovot and the unicorn traveled to the Harpy Demesnes, where he switched with Bane. Then Bane went to the Blue Demesnes, leaving the ‘corn.”

“He sported with animals, but does no more,” she remarked. “Bring him to me, and I will bind him to our cause.”

“Can’t, under truce,” Tannu said.

“Truces exist only for convenience,” she said disdainfully.

He grimaced. “Needs must someone inform Translucent o’ that,” he said. “After Purple botched the job, Translucent won o’er the rovot, and his word governs. Methought Translucent was crazy and would hang himself, but he did not.”

“Yet,” she said. “He has hanged himself not yet. He were lucky, but his luck will turn. It be crazy to let Bane run loose.”

“We be preparing for the time Translucent comes to his senses,” Tannu said. “The ogres, goblins and demons be alerted; they be marshaling their forces.”

“For what? Bane can be held not by goblins!”

“But the ‘corn can,” he replied. “An the rovot return and change his mind, we want that unicorn captive.”

“Where be she now?”

“We know not. She set out afoot in girlform for the mountains, but vanished.”

“Belike she took birdform and flew away,” Tania said. “An she come to me in that form, I know how to deal with her!” Her gaze flicked to the butterfly net.

“Save thy strength for Bane,” he advised. “It will require it all to make him do thy will.”

She shrugged, her breasts moving. “He be a man. I have practiced the Eye to stun the higher functions. An I hit him with that, he will not know he be changed; he will see only a body he lusts to possess. By the time he spend himself on that, he be mine.”

“Just make sure he is, an that time come,” Tannu said seriously. “Meanwhile, we marshal the animals.”

“Speaking of which—there be a bird below. Do thou get it away from here before it stinks.”

He shook his head. “Thou must cease wasting thy power on nonentities, Tania.”

“Well, bring me something worthy of mine effort!” she snapped. “Like Bane. Methinks I could have amusement of him; he be a fair young man now.”

“All in good time,” he replied, and got up, evidently to take care of the dead bird.

Bane realized that he had scored as a spy after all. By being made captive, he had remained close enough to overhear the enemy dialogue. Now he had confirmation of the treachery of the Adverse Adepts—and some notion of their interest in him, too. Could Tania really use her evil eye to enchant him? He would have thought no, before, but now he was not sure. She seemed too confident, and her approach was insidious. Stun his higher sensitivities, and tempt him with sex. If he succumbed to that, it would play havoc with his relationship with Agape, as perhaps Tania intended. More likely, she merely wanted the challenge of taming an apprentice Adept, and of fashioning a sexual plaything.

He did not think she could do it. But he wasn’t sure, and did not care to take the chance. He would stay well away from her!

The day slowly passed. Bane flew to a number of flowers in the cage, satisfying his hunger, but did not dare try to escape. He was sure he could get away by reverting suddenly to manform and immediately conjuring himself away, but that would give away his identity and ruin the validity of the information he had gleaned. It was important that he escape without being suspected.

At night, when Tannu and Tania had settled for sleep elsewhere in the tree, he made his move. He flew to a firm spot in the garden, and reverted to his natural form. Then he walked carefully to the fastened flap of netting that Tania used for her own entry, opened it, and stepped out. Then he climbed a branch overhanging the garden and broke off a dead projection. He brought this down to the net and used it to tear a small hole in the fabric, directly below the spot from which the branch had been taken. He set it down just beside the net. In the morning, when Tania found her prize butterfly gone, she would discover the hole evidently made by the falling branch, and realize how the insect had escaped. She would be annoyed, but not suspicious. He hoped.

Then he climbed down a trunklet to the ground, and made his way out of the tree. He walked some distance into the night, putting distance between the sleepers and his conjuration, making it less likely that they would be aware of it. Then, finally, he conjured himself home.

In the following days he spied on the goblins, ogres and demons that Tannu had mentioned. Sure enough, they were organizing as for battle. But where did they plan to strike, and when, and with what forces? The break he had had at the Tan Demesnes turned out to have been his best; butterflies could not get close enough to the decision makers at the right times to spy out anything critical.

Then he learned that the Adverse Adepts were suspicious of the unicorn. They had managed to trace her to the Red Demesnes, and saw little reason for the unicorn to go there. But if it were another person in her body, who needed help learning the magic, that could account for it. So they were alert for her, in whatever form. They knew their strongest possible hold on him, Bane, would be through the creature he loved, just as it was with Mach.

“I must go to her, to protect her,” he told his father. “No,” Stile said. “They aren’t sure. If you do that, they will be sure, and her danger will be increased. Let Trool handle it; he can protect her readily enough.”

Bane knew that his father was right. So, reluctantly, he continued his spying missions, hoping for the break that would give them the rest of the information they needed. In time he would be reunited with Agape. That was what he lived for.

Chapter 6 Amoeba

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Mach found himself naked in a chamber, embracing the alien female, Agape. “The exchange has been accomplished,” he said. “We had better disengage.” For Bane had conveyed to him that this was the office of one of the Contrary Citizens. What a place for them to hide!

“Where be we?” the woman asked.

He started to explain, then realized it was pointless, because she had been here all along. “But you already know that, Agape.”

“I be Fleta!” she said.

“Don’t tease me like that, Agape,” he said. “I love her.”

“Tease thee? I tease thee not,” she protested. They discussed the matter, and soon she satisfied him that she really was Fleta, who somehow had managed to exchange with him, and was now in the body of the alien female. What a development!

“This really be thy rovot form?” she asked.

He was glad to have his love with him, however unexpectedly, but this was decidedly awkward. Fleta had no notion of the ways of Proton, or even of the management of her strange body. She would quickly give herself away, if he didn’t indoctrinate her immediately. Her language alone…

They worked on it. Fleta adapted to the language fairly readily, and with some difficulty learned how to reshape her amoebic body. Learning how to cope in the frame of Proton would be a longer task; he had to settle for the minimum.

In the course of their discussion, he learned from her that Tan was the Adept of the Evil Eye, and that he had wanted to marry his daughter to Bane. How fortunate that Bane had resisted!