Wielding a Red Sword (17 page)

“You did!” she exclaimed. “You didn’t stutter!”

“I told you this was special”

“But a moment ago—why did you sing, if you have conquered the stutter?”

“I haven’t conquered the stutter. This is a gift of this garden. Here I can speak normally, nowhere else.”

“Here? What is this place?”

Satan appeared, with Lila at his side. This time both were clothed. “It is an extension of My domain,” he said grandly. “I thought you would like it.”

“Rapture, meet Satan,” Mym said. “The occidental equivalent of Siva.”

“Siva!” she cried, retreating.

“And Satan, meet Rapture of Malachite, my betrothed,” Mym concluded.

Satan bowed. “My pleasure, lovely mortal woman.”

“But Siva—God of Destruction and of—”

“Of sex,” Satan finished. “Which brings us to Lila, here, a demoness of My realm. It occurred to Me that your betrothed is short of concubines, here in Purgatory, and if you approve, Lila will be happy to serve.”

Rapture did a rapid reassessment. Western nations had different and peculiar standards, but in India the Rajahs and noblemen were expected to have plenty to concubines, who were subservient to the wife. It would be a
sorry Rajah who lacked concubines, and his wife would suffer loss of status, too. People would think he was impotent. On the other hand, this was not India, and it was a trifle early for Mym to be needing a regular concubine; it would be better for Rapture to get gravid with a son first. Thereafter, it was a relief for her husband to have plenty of concubines; it provided the wife more time to herself. But Rapture was a dependent person, who didn’t want to be left to herself too much.

“Let’s let that wait a few months,” Rapture decided.

“By all means,” Satan said. He gestured negligently, and Lila vanished; only a faint puff of smoke remained where she had been.

Mym made no comment, but he was privately relieved. Concubines still made him remember his father’s lesson in obedience: they tended to find their heads on spikes when declined. Since Rapture had turned this one down—or at least postponed her—he didn’t have to worry about that this time. Also, he was far from ready to trade Rapture off for other women in his bed; he loved her and wanted to make the most of her while the emotion remained high. Evidently she felt the same, and that pleased him deeply.

Now the table laden with food reappeared. “This is a feast for you, honored Lady,” Satan said grandly.

“But I can’t live on—” she protested.

“Satan says that you can be sustained on this food,” Mym said. “Just as I can talk here without stuttering.”

Slowly, she smiled. “Then I can remain here with you, always!” she exclaimed.

They fell to, and the food was excellent. But privately Mym had a reservation. Satan was doing him favors here, and he did not trust this occidental version of savage Siva not to make some inconvenient claim on him at some later date. But as long as Rapture was happy, he would not interfere.

Later, alone again, he pondered further. He knew that Satan was tempting him, offering gifts it was difficult indeed to decline. He distrusted this; but, when the alternative was to be without Rapture or to have her unhappy,
what choice did he have? So he knew he would not interfere with this offering, but he knew he had to some minor degree compromised himself. How could he ensure that no offering of Satan’s subverted his ability to perform his office?

He wandered the bare halls of the Castle of War, nominally exploring its reaches, but actually exploring his own disquiet. Mym was a prince; he had received expert training in the administrative as well as the physical aspects of government. He knew he was treading on treacherous ground, and he wanted to find some way to improve his position without sacrificing anything he valued. It was no necessary for him to turn down Satan’s offerings; it was only necessary for him to shield himself from subversion by them. If he could do that, Satan would not have the leverage he thought he had. But since Satan could withdraw the benefits of the garden at any time, any overt denial would be costly.

Perhaps he should simply inform Satan that he refused to be influenced by any such gifts, so that Satan was wasting his effort. That would be the honest course, and it was important to be honest, because Satan was the Father of Lies. Any lie would be playing into Satan’s hands. But if he told the truth, and Satan still thought the gifts would subvert him—

Mym came to a chamber he had not seen before. He had been following an unfamiliar hall, and it had terminated in a flight of stairs that evidently mounted a turret, and here was a closed wooden door. Curious, Mym pushed at it with his hand, but it would not budge. He was sure the chamber beyond was not intended to be barred to the master of the castle; it had to be sealed against intrusion by the servants or visitors. Why?

He explored the door, tapping it here and there. It was solid. There was a large keyhole—but he had no key.

He touched the Red Sword. He could hack through the door-but he didn’t want to do that, for that would be admitting some kind of defeat. Or he could render himself into ghost status, and walk through it—but again, that implied defeat. He should be able to obtain access legitimately, without special measures.

He touched the Sword again, considering. Then, abruptly, he snapped his fingers. He drew the Sword and willed it to change its form to that of a key.

The Sword shimmered and changed. Now a large key was in Mym’s hand. He inserted this into the keyhole, and turned it. If he had guessed correctly, this should be the right key. The tumblers clicked, and the lock gave way. Victory!

He opened the door and entered the chamber. It contained only a table, and on the table was a book. Mym crossed over and picked up the book.

The volume had symbols on the cover and symbols inside. Mym recognized these as Chinese or Japanese, but could not read them. Then, as he watched, the symbols shimmered, as the Sword had, and became words, identifying the book. Its title was
Go Rin No Sho
. But he still couldn’t read it.

Then the words shimmered and became English:
Five Rings—A Book
. The volume had finally zeroed in on a language he could use.

Mym had seen this book before; he had read it years ago. It was a very well known reference for Kendo, or the Way of the Sword, and was studied by serious martial artists everywhere. It seemed that the prior Mars had valued it too; evidently the man had come here often to review it, for the volume was well-thumbed.

He opened it randomly, and read a passage.
In strategy make the gaze broad. Learn to see to the sides without shifting the eyeballs. Use this gaze always, whether in battle or in ordinary life
.

Interesting. Mym had forgotten this—or perhaps he had understood it on another level before. Of course it was literal—but it was also figurative. A warrior did not want to give away the focus of his attention by shifting his eyes about; he needed to take in everything while looking at nothing, to spy the enemy to the side, without seeming to, so that the enemy would not have the advantage of surprise he thought he had. That much was literal. But also in the mind-a person should grasp concepts without seeming to and fathom deceptions while focusing on ordinary matters-just as he was trying to do with Satan.

He flipped randomly again, and read another passage.
Become the enemy. Merge with the enemy’s situation. In this manner you will gain understanding to prevail over him
.

Again, that seemed both literal and figurative. If a warrior considered his enemy’s situation, really getting into it, he could more readily fathom that enemy’s likely reactions. That could be a valuable tool for victory. But, in the more subtle interpersonal relations, it was just as useful. Satan was not threatening him physically; Satan was trying to modify his attitude. If he could just comprehend Satan’s motive, he could judge it and work out an effective counter.

Mym closed the book. He was impressed. If two random glances offered this much insight, what would the entire volume provide? The random passages had not given him answers, but had suggested alternate ways of considering the problem. He felt that his awareness had been broadened already.

Mym sat at the table and commenced reading the volume from the beginning. Though he had read it before, this time it was as if he had an entirely new text, because he was absorbing it on a different level.

 
9
 
LACHESIS

A few days later another battle was shaping up, and the grim horsemen gathered again at the front of the castle. Rapture shuddered as she saw them in their impressive white, red, black, and brown cloaks, their matching horses stamping their hooves and snorting with eagerness.

“
Must
you associate with those ruffians?” she asked. “I realize that you have a job to do, exactly as you would have had as a Rajah, but these casteless creatures—!”

“I fear I must,” he sang. “I did not choose them, but I did choose to assume the office of War, and they are the handmaidens of war.”

She laughed, somewhat hysterically. “Handmaidens!”

“But I will try my best to minimize the conflict I supervise today,” he continued “War may be inevitable, but it doesn’t have to be totally destructive, if properly managed. Then those subsidiary Incarnations will not have much benefit from it.”

She had to be mollified. “Return as soon as you can, my beloved. I don’t like being here without you.”

“Well, you can return to Luna’s house in the mortal realm,” he reminded her. “Or you can go to the garden and have something to ear.”

“You would have to take me to Luna’s house, and, anyway, she’s busy. She’s nice and always polite, but she is engaged in local politics, and I don’t like to take up her time. But the garden …” She trailed off.

“I’m sure nothing there can hurt you,” he sang. “I wouldn’t trust Satan unduly, but he is currying my favor and he knows that what pleases you is likely to please me. You could go and talk to Lila, to see whether she is worthwhile.”

Rapture brightened. “Yes, I must find out how well she sews and weaves, and whether she dances.”

Mym smiled inwardly. What a neat solution to her problem! Concubines did a lot of sewing and weaving in their off hours, supervised by the wife. Sometimes the Kingdoms of modern India had contests between the harems of their ranking nobles to see which produced the finest tapestries, and great honor accrued to the wives who organized the winning shows. It was said that the wives were more interested in the harems than the husbands were, though there was a snide side to that remark.

But this exchange remainded him of Satan’s influence on his present existence. Satan was helping to make Rapture happy and Satan could help to make her unhappy. That remained awkward.

He had read
Five Rings
, and it had provided him with much upon which to cogitate. But he had not yet digested it sufficiently to apply it to Satan.

The heart of the book, as he now understood it, was the five great rings, which equated on one level to the five elements: Ground, Water, Fire, Wind, and Void. None of these were simple concepts, and complete understanding would require long experience and contemplation. But it was as if it were a chart for his future understanding. Once he comprehended the full nature of each of the rings, he should possess sufficient understanding of the universe to know his true course. He intended to work on it.