[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
time to eat something, first woops, I forgot. Chandos can't come. And I'm out
of magic, too. If Carolinus doesn't show up in two minutes, he'll have
forgotten us and I'll have to call him again."
"He'll be glad to see how good you're looking now," said Angie. "He loves
you, Jim, as if you were family as if you were his own son."
"Hah!" said Jim. "He's interested in me, but that's a far cry from loving
anyone. Anyway, we don't have any family here except for little Robert, who
can't really be called family because he's only our ward."
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"Robert is my child as far as I'm concerned!" said Angie. "Yours, too you
just don't realize it yet. The fact he's got a different last name makes no
difference at all. And you're wrong, too, about Carolinus. He was here every
one of the twelve days while you were down in the Nursing Room, to see how you
were, and did everything that hismagickcould do to make things easier for you.
That opium pipe didn't come easy, you know. He does love you, Jim. He probably
didn't start out that way, but he does now. Don't you know he's got the
softest heart in the world?"
"Great-great-grandson's more like it," said Jim.
But he was remembering the continual parade coming to Carolinus for
attention. Wood nymphs, sprites, other woodland Naturals, and animals from
meadow mice to the ox-sized boar he had talked into letting itself be magicked
into looking like a destrier as a steed for the Unknown Knight at the
tournament during the Earl of Somerset's last annual Christmas party.
" I suppose you're right," his conscience prodded him into saying. Something
else she had said registered on him. "As a matter of fact, I have a sort of a
bit of memory about hearing his voice saying something like ' not supposed to
work that way ' What do you think he was talking about?"
"You weren't following the usual pattern of someone with the buboes form of
plague."
"I wasn't?"
"No," said Angie. "That was something any one of us in the Nursing Room would
have known by a few days after you got here, but Carolinus spotted it right
away. The bubonic form you had usually has buboes visible by the third day at
the latest you didn't have them full-sized until the fifth day after we got
here."
"Five days!" Jim shook his head.
"Carolinus blamed it on your having been hit by two things at once: the
plague and this rare magicians-only sickness. He said you were affected as
much by your burning up an unreasonable amount of your magic in fact, every
scrap of magic you had in too short a time and on top of that somehow pulling
more out of the ether."
"Was that it?" said Jim, deeply interested in this business of extra magic
from someplace else.
"Yes," she said. "And the double dose of making magic out of nothing on top
of the fact you were already sick and ignoring that was calculated to throw
you into something like a severe state of shock."
"He didn't say any more about where the extra magic had come from?"
"He didn't seem to know. Nor did Kineteté. They seemed to be guessing that,
unconsciously or otherwise, you did what no other magician on top of the earth
here has ever been known to do. Because you needed more magic and didn't have
any left you started drawing on the raw, unknown magic energy that's all
around us in this world, like the weather. You remember you guessed there was
something like that after you got back from Lyonesse this last time? Because
people like Morgan le Fay and Merlin didn't have an Accounting Office to meter
out their earned magic to them?"
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"I certainly do and so Carolinus knew about raw energy all the time and never
said anything to me about it, damn his eyes!"
"I think he said you would've been told about it. Along with a lot of other
things, once you got voted in as a plain Class C magician."
Angie sat down in the chair across the table from Jim.
"It's not a short story," she said. "I meant to tell you in bits and pieces,
if you asked, but now that I've dived into the whole thing& are you sure you
want me to tell you everything now? You're not really back in full health,
yet."
"Yes, I am!" said Jim. "A little wobbly, but what's that? Pain's just about
gone. Tell me everything take your time. But come to think of it, you're worn
out from taking care of me. Here, drink first "
"All right, if I'm not gearing you up too much. That's half your trouble. You
go into overdrive, and when there's no energy left you just keep going on, on
plain will power."
"I'm not excited. I won't get excited."
"Hah!" said Angie, " on both counts. But you'll pester me to death now if I
don't tell you. But I'll be watching you, and if you start overdriving on me "
"I won't. I'm sitting still, just listening. See?"
"Well, Carolinus tried to figure out what was happening to you. For the first
two days he was in and out all the time. But he couldn't tell what was shock
and what was plague. Neither he nor Kineteté could figure you out you were
unconscious nearly all that time "
"I don't remember anything except the bit about Carolinus saying it wasn't
supposed to work that way."
"Yes," went on Angie. "Anyway, he and Kineteté talked you over and talked it
over without getting anywhere. The two best magickian minds in the world,
probably, baffled. They even called in the only other A triple-plus magickian.
You know him: a small fussy man, middle-aged or a little older looking, called
Something Barron two r's or Barren Something. Carolinus and Kin just called
him Barron."
"That goop!"
"He may be a goop, but he knows his magick," said Angie. "He was the one who
suggested the shock and the plague could be working against each other as much
as they were working together against you. He also said we shouldn't forget to
lance your buboes to keep the pus there from going in and poisoning you. But
I we all in the Nursing Room I mean we ordinary non-magicians already knew
that& as if we'd forget to do it for you! I told him as much. Kin and
Carolinus both backed me up. He stuck his nose in the air and vanished."
"You didn't need him any more, anyway. He hadn't said anything useful. Why do
you say he 'knew his magick'?"
"Because he did. Both Carolinus and Kineteté were really struck by his
suggestion the two things were fighting each other. Carolinus said that was
probably the reason you were having an easier time than the other sick ones
with buboes "
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"Easier?" exploded Jim. "Angie, if only you knew what that pain was like "
"Yes, dear. I didn't mean to make light of it. But I was nursing you and
nursing some of the other sick ones, too, and in spite of the fact they didn't
make as much noise about it as a modern person might, I could tell how the
others were suffering and theywerehaving that part of the sickness, anyway,
harder than you were. Believe me."
With most of his pain gone now, and still alive to boot most plague victims,
he knew, died in a few days Jim felt a twinge of shame.
"And I was the only one with an opium pipe, too," he said.
"Yes, my love. But you mustn't feel bad about that. Carolinus just couldn't
get any more and none of the staff who had sickened begrudged your having it.
They all believe God had sent the sickness to them for their sins, and they
were all sure they must be much worse sinners than you were. Besides, you were
the lord."
"Of course," said Jim bitterly. "It's always that "
Carolinus chose this moment to appear again. He cleared his throat.
"Intruded, didn't I?" he said. "My apologies. I'd become used to finding you
sick and in bed, Jim."
"Of course," said Jim. "No apologies required. But what did you mean, saying
'What now?' just before you thought just before you disappeared again?"
"You were going to call me." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl szkicerysunki.xlx.pl
time to eat something, first woops, I forgot. Chandos can't come. And I'm out
of magic, too. If Carolinus doesn't show up in two minutes, he'll have
forgotten us and I'll have to call him again."
"He'll be glad to see how good you're looking now," said Angie. "He loves
you, Jim, as if you were family as if you were his own son."
"Hah!" said Jim. "He's interested in me, but that's a far cry from loving
anyone. Anyway, we don't have any family here except for little Robert, who
can't really be called family because he's only our ward."
Page 195
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"Robert is my child as far as I'm concerned!" said Angie. "Yours, too you
just don't realize it yet. The fact he's got a different last name makes no
difference at all. And you're wrong, too, about Carolinus. He was here every
one of the twelve days while you were down in the Nursing Room, to see how you
were, and did everything that hismagickcould do to make things easier for you.
That opium pipe didn't come easy, you know. He does love you, Jim. He probably
didn't start out that way, but he does now. Don't you know he's got the
softest heart in the world?"
"Great-great-grandson's more like it," said Jim.
But he was remembering the continual parade coming to Carolinus for
attention. Wood nymphs, sprites, other woodland Naturals, and animals from
meadow mice to the ox-sized boar he had talked into letting itself be magicked
into looking like a destrier as a steed for the Unknown Knight at the
tournament during the Earl of Somerset's last annual Christmas party.
" I suppose you're right," his conscience prodded him into saying. Something
else she had said registered on him. "As a matter of fact, I have a sort of a
bit of memory about hearing his voice saying something like ' not supposed to
work that way ' What do you think he was talking about?"
"You weren't following the usual pattern of someone with the buboes form of
plague."
"I wasn't?"
"No," said Angie. "That was something any one of us in the Nursing Room would
have known by a few days after you got here, but Carolinus spotted it right
away. The bubonic form you had usually has buboes visible by the third day at
the latest you didn't have them full-sized until the fifth day after we got
here."
"Five days!" Jim shook his head.
"Carolinus blamed it on your having been hit by two things at once: the
plague and this rare magicians-only sickness. He said you were affected as
much by your burning up an unreasonable amount of your magic in fact, every
scrap of magic you had in too short a time and on top of that somehow pulling
more out of the ether."
"Was that it?" said Jim, deeply interested in this business of extra magic
from someplace else.
"Yes," she said. "And the double dose of making magic out of nothing on top
of the fact you were already sick and ignoring that was calculated to throw
you into something like a severe state of shock."
"He didn't say any more about where the extra magic had come from?"
"He didn't seem to know. Nor did Kineteté. They seemed to be guessing that,
unconsciously or otherwise, you did what no other magician on top of the earth
here has ever been known to do. Because you needed more magic and didn't have
any left you started drawing on the raw, unknown magic energy that's all
around us in this world, like the weather. You remember you guessed there was
something like that after you got back from Lyonesse this last time? Because
people like Morgan le Fay and Merlin didn't have an Accounting Office to meter
out their earned magic to them?"
Page 196
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"I certainly do and so Carolinus knew about raw energy all the time and never
said anything to me about it, damn his eyes!"
"I think he said you would've been told about it. Along with a lot of other
things, once you got voted in as a plain Class C magician."
Angie sat down in the chair across the table from Jim.
"It's not a short story," she said. "I meant to tell you in bits and pieces,
if you asked, but now that I've dived into the whole thing& are you sure you
want me to tell you everything now? You're not really back in full health,
yet."
"Yes, I am!" said Jim. "A little wobbly, but what's that? Pain's just about
gone. Tell me everything take your time. But come to think of it, you're worn
out from taking care of me. Here, drink first "
"All right, if I'm not gearing you up too much. That's half your trouble. You
go into overdrive, and when there's no energy left you just keep going on, on
plain will power."
"I'm not excited. I won't get excited."
"Hah!" said Angie, " on both counts. But you'll pester me to death now if I
don't tell you. But I'll be watching you, and if you start overdriving on me "
"I won't. I'm sitting still, just listening. See?"
"Well, Carolinus tried to figure out what was happening to you. For the first
two days he was in and out all the time. But he couldn't tell what was shock
and what was plague. Neither he nor Kineteté could figure you out you were
unconscious nearly all that time "
"I don't remember anything except the bit about Carolinus saying it wasn't
supposed to work that way."
"Yes," went on Angie. "Anyway, he and Kineteté talked you over and talked it
over without getting anywhere. The two best magickian minds in the world,
probably, baffled. They even called in the only other A triple-plus magickian.
You know him: a small fussy man, middle-aged or a little older looking, called
Something Barron two r's or Barren Something. Carolinus and Kin just called
him Barron."
"That goop!"
"He may be a goop, but he knows his magick," said Angie. "He was the one who
suggested the shock and the plague could be working against each other as much
as they were working together against you. He also said we shouldn't forget to
lance your buboes to keep the pus there from going in and poisoning you. But
I we all in the Nursing Room I mean we ordinary non-magicians already knew
that& as if we'd forget to do it for you! I told him as much. Kin and
Carolinus both backed me up. He stuck his nose in the air and vanished."
"You didn't need him any more, anyway. He hadn't said anything useful. Why do
you say he 'knew his magick'?"
"Because he did. Both Carolinus and Kineteté were really struck by his
suggestion the two things were fighting each other. Carolinus said that was
probably the reason you were having an easier time than the other sick ones
with buboes "
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"Easier?" exploded Jim. "Angie, if only you knew what that pain was like "
"Yes, dear. I didn't mean to make light of it. But I was nursing you and
nursing some of the other sick ones, too, and in spite of the fact they didn't
make as much noise about it as a modern person might, I could tell how the
others were suffering and theywerehaving that part of the sickness, anyway,
harder than you were. Believe me."
With most of his pain gone now, and still alive to boot most plague victims,
he knew, died in a few days Jim felt a twinge of shame.
"And I was the only one with an opium pipe, too," he said.
"Yes, my love. But you mustn't feel bad about that. Carolinus just couldn't
get any more and none of the staff who had sickened begrudged your having it.
They all believe God had sent the sickness to them for their sins, and they
were all sure they must be much worse sinners than you were. Besides, you were
the lord."
"Of course," said Jim bitterly. "It's always that "
Carolinus chose this moment to appear again. He cleared his throat.
"Intruded, didn't I?" he said. "My apologies. I'd become used to finding you
sick and in bed, Jim."
"Of course," said Jim. "No apologies required. But what did you mean, saying
'What now?' just before you thought just before you disappeared again?"
"You were going to call me." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]