Текст книги "The Quest"

Автор книги: Wilbur Smith

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Two of the villagers had been hunting in the hills. From afar they witnessed the massacre and went to warn That and Meren that they had been betrayed. They ran all the way to where the band was hiding, a distance of almost twenty leagues.

That listened to what the two men told him, and did not hesitate.

'We cannot wait for the harvest moon. We must march at once.'

'Taita!' Fenn cried out, in agony of spirit. 'You promised to wait for him.'

'You know that I cannot,' That replied. 'Even Colonel Cambyses must agree that I dare not do so.'

Reluctantly Meren nodded. 'Colonel That is right. He cannot wait.

He must take the people and fly. Taita himself wanted it.'

'I will not go with you,' Fenn cried out. 'I will wait until Taita comes.'

'I will stay too,' Meren told her, 'but the others must leave at once.'

Sidudu reached for Fenn's hand. 'You and Meren are my friends. I will not go.'

'You are brave girls,' said That, 'but will you go again to the Temple of Love and bring out our young women?'

'Of course!' Fenn exclaimed.

'How many men will you need to go with you?' asked That.

'Ten will suffice,' Meren told him. 'We will also need spare horses for the temple girls. We will bring them to you at the first river crossing on the road to Kitangule. Then we will come back to wait for Taita.'

They rode for most of the night. Fenn and Sidudu led, but Meren followed close behind on Windsmoke. In the early light of dawn, before sunrise, they breasted the top of the hills and looked down on the Temple of Love, nestled in the valley below.

'What is the morning routine in the temple?' Fenn asked.

'Before sunrise the priestesses take the girls to the temple to pray to the goddess. After that they go to the refectory for breakfast.'

'So they should be in the temple now?' Meren asked.

'Almost certainly,' Sidudu affirmed.

'Whatofthetrogs?'

'I am not sure, but I think they will be patrolling the temple grounds and the woods.'

'Are any of the priestesses kind to the girls? Are there any good women among them?'

'None!' said Sidudu bitterly. 'They are all cruel and merciless. They treat us like caged animals. They force us to submit to the men who come, and some of the priestesses use us for their own foul pleasures.'

Fenn looked across at Meren. 'What shall we do with them?'

'We kill any who get in our way.'

They drew their swords and rode down in a tight group, making no attempt to conceal their approach. The trogs were nowhere to be seen, and Sidudu led them directly to the temple, which stood detached from the main building. They raced towards it and pulled up the horses in front of the wooden doors. Meren jumped down and tried the latch, but it was barred from the inside.

'On me!' he shouted to the men who followed him, and they formed up in phalanx. At his next order they lifted their shields and charged the door, which burst open. The girls were huddled on the floor of the nave

with four black-robed priestesses standing guard. One was a tall, middle aged woman with a hard, pockmarked face. She lifted the golden talisman she held in her right hand and pointed it at Meren.'

'Beware!' Sidudu shouted. 'That is Nongai and she is a powerful sorceress. She can blast you with her magic'

Fenn already had an arrow nocked to her bow and did not hesitate.

She drew and released it in a single fluid movement. The arrow hummed down the length of the nave and struck Nongai in the centre of her chest. The talisman spun out of her hand and she crumpled on to the stone floor. The other three priestesses scattered like a flock of crows.

Fenn shot two more arrows and brought down all but the last, who reached the small door behind the altar. As she wrenched it open Sidudu shot an arrow between her shoulder-blades. The woman slid down the wall leaving a trail of blood on the stonework. Most of the temple maidens were screaming. The others had pulled their chitons over their heads and were cowering in a terrified group.

'Speak to them, Sidudu,' Meren ordered. 'Quieten them.'

Sidudu ran to the girls, and pulled some to their feet.

'It's I, Sidudu. You have nothing to fear. These are good men, and they have come to save you.' She saw Jinga among them. 'Help me, Jinga! Help me bring them to their senses!'

'Take them out to the horses, and get them mounted,' Meren told Fenn. 'We can expect an attack from the trogs at any moment.'

They dragged the girls out through the doorway. Some were still weeping and wailing and had to be thrown up bodily on to the saddles.

Meren was ruthless with them, and Fenn slapped one across the face as she shouted at her: 'Get up, you foolish creature, or we will leave you to the trogs.'

At last they were all mounted, and Meren shouted, 'Forward at the gallop!' and touched Windsmoke's flanks with his heels. He had two girls up behind him, clinging to him and each other. Nakonto and Imbali hung on Fenn's stirrup ropes and she carried them along with her. Sidudu had Jinga behind her and one of the other girls seated in front. All the other horses carried at least three girls. Heavily laden, they galloped in a tight group back across the temple lawns, heading for the hills and the road to Kitangule.

As they entered the track through the forest, the trogs were waiting for them. Five of the huge apes had climbed into the trees and they dropped out of the branches on to the horses as they passed below. At

the same time other apes came bellowing and roaring out of the undergrowth. They leapt up at the riders or snapped with their powerful jaws at the legs of the horses.

Nakonto had a short stabbing spear in his right hand and killed three of the brutes with as many quick blows. Imbali's axe hissed and hummed through the air as she cut down two more. Meren and Hilto hacked and thrust with their swords, and the troopers who followed spurred their horses into the fight. But the trogs were fearless and single-minded and the fight was ferocious. Even when they were gravely wounded or dying the apes tried to drag themselves back into the fray. Two set upon Windsmoke and tried to savage her hindquarters. The grey mare aimed two mighty kicks. The first crushed the skull of one and the second caught the other under the jaw and snapped its neck cleanly.

One of the temple maidens was dragged down from behind Hilto's saddle and her throat was ripped out by a single bite before Hilto could smash in the brute's skull. By the time Nakonto had speared the last trog many of the horses had been bitten: one had been so gravely savaged that Imbali had to despatch it with an axe stroke through the crest of its skull.

They formed up again, rode out of the valley, and when they reached the fork in the track they turned eastwards towards the mountains and the Kitangule Gap. They rode through the night, and early the next morning they saw a dustcloud rising above the plain ahead of them.

Before noon they had caught up with the tail of a long dense column of refugees. That was riding with the rearguard, and as soon as he saw them coming he galloped back to meet them. 'Well met, Colonel Cambyses!'

he shouted. 'I see you have saved our girls.'

'Those who have survived,' Meren agreed, 'but they have had a hard time of it, and are near the end of their tether.'

'We will find places for them on the wagons,' That said. 'But what of you and your party? Will you come out of Jarri with us, or are you determined to go back to find the old magus?'

'You already know what our answer must be, Colonel That,' Fenn replied, before Meren could speak.

'Then I must bid you farewell. Thank you for your courage and for what you have done for us. I fear we might never meet again, but your friendship has done me great honour.'

'Colonel That, sir, you are the eternal optimist.' Fenn smiled at him.

'I warrant you shall not be rid of us that easily.' She pushed Whirlwind

up beside his mount and planted a kiss on his whiskery cheek. 'When we meet again in Egypt I shall kiss the other,' she told him, and turned Whirlwind back, leaving That staring after her in pleasurable confusion.

They were reduced to a tiny band now, only three women and three men. For once Nakonto and Imbali had chosen to ride rather than run, and each led a spare horse.

'Where are we going?' Fenn asked Meren, as she rode beside him.

'As close to the mountains as is safe,' Meren answered. 'When Taita comes we must be able to join him swiftly.' He turned to Sidudu, who rode at his other side. 'Do you know of a place near to the mountain where we can hide?'

She thought for only a moment. 'Yes,' she replied. 'There is a valley where I used to go with my father to collect mushrooms when they came into season. We camped in a cave that few know of.'

Soon the shining white peaks of the three volcanoes rose above the western horizon. They skirted round the village of Mutangi, and looked down on the burnt-out ruins from the low hills where they had hunted the wild hog. The smell of ashes and charred bodies wafted up to them.

No one said much as they turned away and went on westwards towards the mountains.

The valley to which Sidudu took them was tucked away in the foothills. It was so well concealed by trees and the folds of the land that it was not visible until they were looking down into it. There was good grazing for the horses and a tiny spring that supplied sufficient water for their needs. The cave was dry and warm. Sidudu's family had left a pair of battered old cooking pots and other utensils in a crevice at the back, with a large pile of firewood. The women cooked the evening meal, and they all gathered round the fire to eat.

'We will be comfortable enough here,' Fenn said, 'but how far are we from the citadel and the road that leads up to the Cloud Gardens?'

'Six or seven leagues to the north,' Sidudu answered.

'Good!' said Meren, through a mouthful of venison stew. 'Far enough to be unobtrusive but close enough to reach Taita swiftly when he comes down.'

'I am pleased that you said when and not i,' Fenn observed quietly.

There was silence for a while, except for the clinking of spoons in the copper bowls.

'How will we know when he comes?' Sidudu asked. 'Will we have to keep watch for him on the road?' They all looked at Fenn.

'There will be no need for that,' Fenn replied, i will know when he comes. He will warn me.'

They had been continually on the move, riding and fighting, for many months. In all that time this was their first chance for a full night's sleep, broken only by their turns on sentry duty. Fenn and Sidudu took the midnight watch and when the great cross of stars in the south dipped towards the horizon they stumbled half asleep into the cave to wake Nakonto and Imbali for the dog watch. Then they fell on to their sleeping mats and dropped into oblivion.

Before dawn the next morning Fenn shook Meren awake. He started up so violently that he woke the others – and when he saw the tears on Fenn's cheeks he reached for his sword. 'What is it, Fenn? What is amiss?'

'Nothing!' Fenn cried. Now he looked properly at her face, and realized she was weeping for joy. 'Everything is perfect. Taita is alive. He came to me in the night.'

'Did you see him?' Meren seized her arm and shook her in agitation.

'Where is he now? Where has he gone?'

'He came to overlook me while I was asleep. When I awoke he showed me his spirit sign and told me, 1 will return to you soon, very soon.'

Sidudu leapt up from her mat and embraced Fenn. 'Oh, I am so happy for you, and for the rest of us.'

'Now everything will be all right,' Fenn said. 'Taita is coming back and we will be safe.'

' IT have waited through the aeons for you to come to me,' said Eos, I and although he knew that she embodied the great Lie, Taita could JL not help but believe her. She turned and walked back into the mouth of the grotto. Taita did not try to resist. He knew that he could do nothing but follow her. Despite all the defences he had raised against her enchantments, there was nothing he wanted to do more at that moment than follow wherever she might lead.

Beyond the entrance the tunnel narrowed until the lichen-covered rock brushed his shoulders. The spring water was icy as it burbled over his feet and splashed the hem of his tunic. Eos glided ahead. Under the black silk her hips moved with the undulating motion of a swaying

cobra. She left the stream and went up a narrow stone ramp. At the top the tunnel widened and became a roomy passageway. The walls were covered with lapis-lazuli tiles carved in bas-relief, depicting human fdrms, and beasts both real and fabulous. The floor was inlaid with tiger's eye, and the roof with rose quartz. Large rock crystals the size of a man's head were set on brackets on the wall. As Eos approached each in turn they emitted a mysterious orange glow that illuminated the passage ahead.

As they moved on, the crystals faded into darkness. Once or twice Taita glimpsed the shaggy black shapes of apes as they moved away into the shadows and disappeared. Silently Eos's small bare feet flitted over the golden tiles. They fascinated him, and he found it difficult to take his eyes off them. As she moved on she left a delicate perfume on the air.

He savoured it with intense pleasure and recognized it as the scent of sun lilies.

At last they reached a commodious chamber of elegant proportions.

Here the walls were of green malachite. Shafts in the high ceiling must have reached up to the earth's surface for the sunlight spilled down through them and was reflected from the walls in a glowing emerald effusion. The furniture of the room was of carved ivory, and the central pieces were two low couches. Eos went to one and seated herself, folding her legs under her and spreading her cloak so that even her feet were concealed. She gestured to the couch facing her. 'Please be at your ease.

You are my honoured and beloved guest, Taita,' she said, in the Tenmass.

He went to the couch and sat opposite her. It was covered with an embroidered silk mattress.

'I am Eos,' she said.

'Why did you call me “beloved”? This is our first meeting. You do not know me at all.'

'Ah, Taita, I know you as well as you know yourself. Perhaps even better.'

Her laughter was sweeter on his ears than any music he had ever listened to. He tried to close his mind to it. 'Even though your words defy reason, somehow I cannot doubt them. I accept that you know me, but I know nothing of you, except your name,' he replied.

'Taita, we must be honest with each other. I will speak only the truth to you. You must do the same for me. Your last statement was a lie. You know much about me, and you have formed opinions that are, alas, mostly erroneous. It is my purpose to enlighten you, and to correct your misconceptions.'

'Tell me where I have erred.'

'You believe I am your enemy.'

Taita remained silent.

'I am your friend,' Eos went on. 'The dearest and sweetest friend you will ever have.'

Taita inclined his head gravely, but again made no reply. He found he wanted desperately to believe her. It took all his determination to keep his shield high.

After a beat, Eos continued, 'You imagine that I will lie to you, that I have already lied to you as you have lied to me,' she said.

He was relieved that he threw no aura for her to read: his emotions were seething.

'I have spoken only the truth to you. The images I showed you in the grotto were the truth. There was no element of deceit in them,' she told him.

'They were forceful images,' he said, his tone neutral and noncommittal.

'They were all true. All I have promised is in my power to give to you.'

'Why of all mankind have you chosen me?'

'All mankind?' she exclaimed, with scorn. 'All mankind is no more important to me than the individual termites in a colony. They are creatures of instinct, not of reason or wisdom, for they do not live long enough to acquire those virtues.'

'I have known wise men of learning, compassion and humanity,' he contradicted her.

'You make that judgement from the observations of your own short existence,' she said.

'I have lived long,' he said.

'But you will not live much longer,' she told him. 'Your time is nearly done.'

'You are direct, Eos.'

'As I have already promised, I will speak only the truth to you. The human body is an imperfect vehicle and life is ephemeral. A man lives too short a span to acquire true wisdom and understanding. By human standards you are a Long Liver, one hundred and fifty-six years by my reckoning. To me, that is not much longer than a butterfly lives, or the blooming of a night-flowering cactus, born at dusk and perishing before dawn. The physical vehicle in which your spirit soul rides will soon fail you.' Suddenly she thrust her right hand from beneath the black silk cloak and made a sign of benediction.

If her feet were lovely, her hand was exquisite. His breathing checked and he felt the hair on his forearms rise as he watched its graceful gestures.'

'But for you it need not be so,' Eos said softly.

'You have not answered my question, Eos. Why me?'

'In the short time that you have lived you have achieved much. If I extend your life eternally you will become a giant of intellect.'

'That does not explain all of it. I am old and ugly.'

'I have already renewed part of your body,' she pointed out. He laughed bitterly. 'So, now I am an ugly old man with a young and beautiful cock.'

She laughed with him, that thrilling sound. 'So elegantly phrased.'

She drew her hand back under the cloak, leaving him bereft. Then she went on, 'In the grotto I showed you an image of yourself as a young man. You were beautiful, and you can be again.'

'You can have any beautiful young man you choose. I do not doubt that you have already done so,' he challenged.

She answered at once, fairly and honestly: 'Ten thousand times or more, but despite their beauty they were ants.'

'Will I be any different?'

'Yes, Taita – yes.'

'In what way?'

'Your mind,' she said. 'Carnal passion alone soon palls. A superlative intellect is endlessly alluring. A great mind growing stronger with time in a fine body eternally youthful: these are godlike attributes. Taita, you are the perfect companion and mate I have longed for down the ages.'

Hour after hour they discoursed. Although he knew that her genius was cold and malevolent, it was still fascinating and seductive. He felt charged with energy, physical and intellectual. Eventually, to his annoyance, he felt the need to absent himself, but before he could voice it she told him, 'There are quarters set aside for you. Pass through that doorway at your right hand and follow the passage to the end.'

The room to which she had directed him was large and imposing, but he hardly noticed his surroundings for his mind was alight. He felt no fatigue. In a cubicle he found an ornately carved stool with a latrine bucket set beneath it and relieved himself. In the corner, scented warm water ran from a spout into a basin of rock crystal. As soon as he had washed he hurried back to the green chamber, hoping that Eos would still be there. The sunlight no longer glowed through the shafts in the

I mTHE QUEST ¦ roof. Night had fallen but the rock crystals on the walls glowed with a warm light. Eos sat as he had last seen her, and as he settled himself opposite her, she said, 'There is food and drink for you.' With that lovely hand she indicated the ivory table beside him. During his absence silver dishes and a chalice had been set upon it. He felt no hunger, but the fruit and sherbet looked delicious. He ate and drank sparingly, then returned eagerly to their conversation: 'You speak easily of eternal life?'

'The dream of all men, from pharaohs to serfs,' she agreed. 'They long for eternal life in an imagined paradise. Even the old people who lived before I was born painted images of that dream on the walls of their caves.'

'Is it possible to fulfil it?' Taita asked.

'I sit before you as living proof that it is.'

'How old are you, Eos?'

'I was already old when I watched Pharaoh Cheops raise the great pyramid at Giza.'

'How is this possible?'

'Have you heard of the Font?' she asked.

'It is a myth that has come down to us from antiquity,' he replied.

'It is no myth, Taita. The Font exists.'

'What is it? Where is it?'

'It is the Blue River of all life, the essential force that drives our universe.'

'Is it truly a river or a fountain? And why “Blue”? Can you describe it for me?'

'There are no words, not even in the Tenmass, that adequately describe its might and beauty. When we have become one, I will take you to it.

We will bathe side by side in the Blue, and you shall come forth in all the splendour of youth.'

'Where is it? Is it in the sky or in the earth?'

'It moves from one place to another. As the seas shift and the mountains rise and fall, so the Font moves with them.'

'Where is it now?'

'Not far from where we sit,' said Eos, 'but be patient. In time I will lead you to it.'

She lied. Of course she lied. She was the Lie. Even if the Font existed, he knew she would lead no other person to it, but still the false promise intrigued him.

'I see you doubt me still,' Eos said softly. 'To demonstrate my utmost

good faith, I will allow you to take another person with you to the Fbnt, to share in its blessing. Someone whom you count dear. Is there such a person?'

Fenn! Instantly he cloaked the thought so that even she could not read it. Eos had set a trap, and he had almost blundered into it. 'There is no such person,' he answered.

'Once when I overlooked you, you sat beside a pool in the wilderness.

I saw a child with you, a pretty child with pale hair.'

'Ah, yes,' he agreed. 'I forget even her name, for she was one of those you call termites. She was a companion of the moment only.'

'You do not wish to take her with you to the Font?'

'There is no reason why I should.' Eos was silent, but he could feel the softest touch on his temples, like that of teasing fairy fingers. He knew that Eos was unconvinced by what he had said and was trying to enter his head, trying to reach into his mind and steal his thoughts. With a psychic effort he blocked her entrance, and immediately she withdrew.

'You are tired, Taita. You must sleep awhile.'

'I am not tired in the least,' he replied, and it was true: he felt vital and fresh.

'We have so much to discuss that we are like runners at the start of a long race. We must pace ourselves. After all, we are destined to become companions for all eternity. There is no need to hasten. Time is our plaything, not our adversary.' Eos rose from her couch and, without another word, slipped through a doorway in the back wall that he had not noticed before.

A lthough he had felt no fatigue, when he stretched out on the ¦k padded silken sleeping mat in his chamber Taita fell into deep JL ~ sleep. He woke to find a shaft of sunlight playing down through the opening in the ceiling. He felt wonderfully alive.

His soiled clothing had disappeared and a fresh tunic had been laid out for him with a new pair of sandals beside his leather cloak. A meal had been placed on the ivory table near his head. He bathed, ate and dressed. The tunic Eos had provided was of a delicate material that caressed his skin, while the sandals were worked from the skin of a newborn goat and embossed with gold leaf. They fitted perfectly.

He returned to Eos's green room to find it deserted. Only her perfume

lingered. He crossed to the doorway through which she had gone the previous night. The long passage beyond led him out into the sunlight.

Once his eyes had adjusted he found that he was in another volcanic crater, not as large as the Cloud Gardens but more lovely by far. Yet he had no eyes for the luxuriant forests and orchards that covered the floor of the crater in profusion: directly in front of him spread a green lawn with a small marble pavilion above a pool in the middle, a rill of bright water cascading into it. Although the stream was clear, the surface of the pool was black and shiny as polished jet.

Eos sat on the marble bench in the pavilion. Her head was bare, but she faced away from him so that only her hair was visible. He moved quietly towards her, hoping to come on her unawares and catch a glimpse of her face. Her hair rippled down to her waist. It was as dark as the water of the pool, but ineffably more lustrous. As he drew closer to her he saw that the soft reflections of the sunlight glowed in the tresses like the glint of precious rubies. He longed to touch it, but as he reached out, Eos lifted the veil over her head, covering herself, denying him even the briefest glimpse of her face. Then she turned to him. 'Take your place beside me, for that is where you belong.'

They sat in silence for a while. Taita was angry and frustrated: he longed to see her face. She seemed to sense his mood and laid her hand on his arm. Her touch thrilled him, but he steeled himself and asked, 'We have spoken much of physical appearance, Eos. Do you suffer from some blemish? Is that why you hide yourself behind the veil? Are you ashamed of the way you look?'

He had tried to provoke her as she had him. But her voice was sweet and calm as she replied: 'I am the most beautiful person, man or woman, who has ever walked the earth.'

'Then why do you hide that beauty?'

'Because it can blind the eyes and unhinge the minds of men who look upon it.'

'Must I take your boast on trust?'

'It is no boast, Taita. It is the truth.'

'Will you never reveal this beauty to me?'

'You will look upon my beauty when you are ready to do so, when you realize the consequences and are prepared to accept them.' Her hand still lay upon his arm. 'Do you not see how my lightest touch disturbs you?

I can feel the beating of your heart through the tips of my fingers.' She withdrew her hand, leaving his senses in turmoil. It took him a while to

bring them under control. 'Let us speak of other matters. There are many questions you have for me, and I have given you my undertaking to answer them truthfully,' she said.'

Taita's voice sounded a little breathless as he took up her invitation.

'You have placed barriers across the headwaters of the Nile. What was your purpose in doing so?'

'My reasons were twofold. First, it was an invitation to you to come to me. You were unable to resist it, and now you sit beside me.'

He thought on it deeply, then asked, 'What was the other reason?'

'I was preparing a gift for you.'

'A gift?' he exclaimed.

'A betrothal gift. Once we are joined in spirit and flesh, I will give to you the Two Kingdoms of Egypt.'

'Only after you have destroyed them? What perverse and savage gift is this?'

'When you wear the double crown and we sit side by side on the throne of Egypt, 1 will restore the Nile and its waters to our kingdom . .. the first of our many kingdoms.'

'In the meantime it is only the termites of humanity who suffer?' Taita asked.

'Already you begin to think and act like the lord of all creation, whom you will soon become. I showed it to you in the images beside the grotto in the Cloud Gardens. Dominion over all the nations, eternal life, youth and beauty, and the wisdom and learning of the ages, which is the diamond mountain.'

'The greatest prize of all,' Taita said. 'I call it the Truth.'

'It shall be yours.'

'I still doubt that you offer me this without demanding some commensurate price from me.'

'Oh, I have already spoken of that. In return for what I offer, I demand your eternal love and devotion.'

'You have existed so long without a companion, why do you wish one now?'

'I have been overtaken by the tedium of eternity, a staleness of spirit and the aching boredom of lacking someone with whom to share these wonders.'

'That is all the price you ask of me? I have had a glimpse of your mighty intellect. If your beauty matches your mind, it is a trivial price to pay.' Her lies were disguised by truths. He pretended to believe them.

They were like the commanders of two armies arrayed against each other.

This was the skirmishing and maneuvering that preceded the battle. He was afraid, not so much for himself as for Egypt and Fenn, the two things dearest to him, both in deadly danger.

They spent the days that followed beside the black pool and most of the nights in Eos's green chamber. Gradually she exposed more of her physical form to him while keeping her spirit soul concealed. Her discourse grew daily more absorbing. Occasionally she would lean forward to pick up a morsel of fruit from the silver tray and artlessly let her sleeve fall back to reveal her forearm. Or she would shift position on her ivory couch and let the skirt of her black robe expose a knee. The shape of her calf was sublime. He should have become conditioned to the perfection of her limbs, but he had not. He dreaded the moment when her entire body would be revealed. He doubted his ability to resist its enchantment.

The days and nights sped by with startling rapidity. The carnal and astral tensions built up between them until they were almost unbearable.

She touched him, taking his hand when she wanted to emphasize a point. Once she clasped it to her bosom and he had to exert all of his self-control not to groan at the pain in his groin as he felt the warm elasticity of her breast.

Her perfume never changed: it was always the scent of sun lilies.

However, she changed her raiment morning and evening. Always it was long and voluminous, barely hinting at the swells and curves of her body beneath the delicate fabrics. Sometimes she was serene, at other times restless: then she circled his couch with the graceful menace of a man eating tigress. Once she knelt in front of him and brazenly slipped her hand up his thigh under his tunic while continuing her erudite discourse, her fingers stopping just short of his manhood and withdrawing as she felt it swell. At other times she reverted to the black robes and kept herself completely hidden, not allowing even her toes to show.

One morning they were in her green chamber and Eos was wearing a robe of diaphanous white silk. She had never worn white before. In the midst of their conversation she rose unexpectedly to her small bare feet and came to stand before him. The white veil she was wearing floated about her like a cloud. The pink and ivory tones of her skin shone through the material as the light played on her. Seen through the silk, her image was ethereal. Her moon-pale belly was as sleek as that of a hunting greyhound, with a mysterious triangular shadow at its base. Her breasts were indefinite creamy orbs, tipped with strawberry aureoles.