03. War of the Maelstrom "Crim! My God! Is that you? What are you doing here?And what happened to you?"She went over to him and tried to help him to one of thebeds, but he shook her off and collapsed in a chair instead.She immediately forgot her own thirst and offered the cup ofwine to him, which he drank greedily and then tried to catchhis breath."Been—protecting you," he managed. "Did a good jobfor a while, but it was finally too much."She frowned. "Protecting me—from who?" She suddenlyhad a fearful thought. "I'm not going back, Crim. You can'tmake me!"250 Jack L. Chalker"I knew the situation, that's why 1 could only protect, notbring you out," he told her. "I wish 1 could—that wouldhave prevented this, but that doesn't matter now. Nothingmatters right now but the moment. How many people arethere in the camp right now, besides you and me?"She thought a moment. "Sixteen, counting the other girls-Why?" She began fussing with his shirt to see and perhapshelp dress the wound, but he again would have none of it."Forget me now. If we don't act and soon. it won't makeany difference if the wound's bad or not. Can you call theothers? Get others here in a hurry?""Yeah, I got a bell, but—""Then do it! Now! All our lives depend on it! Theirs,too!"She knew Crim well enough to take him at his word, andshe went out and immediately rang the bell loud and long forall it was worth. When she finally decided that even the deadcouldn't have missed, she went back inside. "Now—what'sthis all about?""Sam—if/could find you, they could find you. Klittichom'salready started the war. He attacked and destroyed Masalur.Boolean got away but it's ugly. Now a mercenary bastard Ishould have killed years ago named Zamofir is riding herehard. They've got repeating guns that can shoot hundreds ofrounds a minute and they intend to get you and everybodyelse and just level this place, just to make sure.""Zamofir! That son of a bitch from the train who was inwith them raiders? Oh, I know him, Crim. How many?"By that time the first of the camp people had appeared,with several more following. Two of PUtie's husbands, Ladarand Somaz, and one of Quisu's, Dabuk, anyway, as well asPutie herself. They initially froze in hostility at the sight ofCrim, but his condition told them he wasn't somebody to befeared. Sam told them briefly who the stranger was, and thathe was trustworthy, and they listened with growing concern.Ladar, a big, muscular man, and by agreement of thewomen the best-looking male body they'd ever seen, nodded."How many arc there?""There were twenty when they started, but there are onlyfourteen now." the Navigator responded with a touch of pridein his voice. "But they're mad as hell and they got nothingWAR OF THE MAELSTROM 251but blood in their eyes at this stage. I overheard them sayingthey were going to kill every living thing here and bum theplace. I pulled two of me fancy rifles off the dead ones andgot two boxes of ammunition as well. Hauled them on footthe last three leegs. They're simple to operate and you don'thave to aim—they'll nail most anything within maybe a thirty-or forty-degree angle of where they're aimed. You haveanything else to fight with?''Ladar turned to Dabuk. "Get back to the still. That stuffspure grain alcohol. You remember the firebombs Jerbal usedback in that raid? Make some. Figure what to do with the rest.Somaz, you and Putie go tell the others and have everybodymeet here. This here and the mill across the way are the firsttwo buildings they got to pass. You—Navigator. How muchtime you figure we got?""An hour, maybe a^ little less. Hard to tell today."He nodded. "Might be just enough. All right, everybody—move!"They put Putie in charge, getting the other women wellback in the jungle they all knew, along with the two babies.They were just to go as far back as they could, far enoughback so that the crying of the babies wouldn't attract any-body. Sam was ordered back, too, but she refused, "No, thisis my fight, my fault," she told them. "If it wasn't for me,they wouldn't be comin' here. The Others'11 make out, but Iwant my crack at the bastards. Besides, if they get us and I'mkilled, maybe at least they won't risk stayin' around to findthe others, but if I'm not here, they'll stay until they findus." That last was the clincher.Crim showed Ladar how to work the submachine gun andthe big man took it and one box of ammo and set up in theloft above the mill about a hundred yards away across aclearing. Crim himself kept the other one, propping himselfup behind the porch stove and cutting a hole in the netting bigenough to fire through. Other men took their positions withbaskets filled with fire bombs—small gourds filled withnearly pure grain alcohol and plugged with strips of cloth.The rest loaded rifles and pistols, all single-shot legal kinds,and waited in a line behind bales of hay. All seemed almostrelieved that they didn't have long to wait.They rode into the camp slowly, bold as brass, eyeing252 jack L. Chalkereverything like they were speculators out to see if the placewas worth buying. Sam had a feeling of unreality about thescene, as if she had seen it many times before in countlesswestern movies, where Constable Earp faced down the Clantonmob or a hundred old Duke Morrison turns on late night TV.The only difference was, most gunfights were at dawn, notsunset. Damn! This was more Charley's style than hers. Shecouldn't help counting mem, and suddenly came up short."Crim!" she whispered urgently. "/ only count ten!"Crim nodded. "One or two to watch the road just in case,and two more probably coming in on foot to cover them.We'll just have to take the hidden ones as they come. We gotthe high ground."A man—one of Famay's boys, Sam saw—got up frombehind a hay bale, rifle at the ready. "That's far enough,strangers!" he called out. "What do you want here?"Zamofir, looking ridiculous and haggard at one and thesame time, with his big waxed moustache and riding clothes,came a bit forward, but not too much. "Covanti's underattack," the little man shouted back. "A general uprising bythe natives in a ton of colonies. We've been sent here toevacuate all of you to the hub until the crisis has passed.""That so? We heard of the troubles but there ain't nonatives around here, either. This ain't their type of place. Andif we was gonna be evacuated, they'd send the army.""The army's too busy handling the flow of refugees andsetting up defenses. There's whole armies of rebels converg-ing on die hub border, and massacres of Akhbreed throughoutthe colonies. They couldn't spare a troop of soldiers for thislittle outpost, so they sent us, instead."Zamofir, she thought, was as glib and convincing as ever,and just as much a skunk and a liar."That's pretty good, you bastard!" Crim yelled down athim. "Zamofir, if I didn't know you so well, I'd almostswallow that myself!"Zamofir suddenly went white and somehow slid, horse andall, back into the midst of the gang. "Crim! I—uh! Oldfriend, 1 know we haven't seen eye to eye on a lot of this, but. . . scatter, boys! They're ready for us!"At that moment Crim and Ladar opened up a sudden,withering crossfire, and men and horses went down in aWAR OF THE MAELSTROM 253bloody mess in the clearing. Some who had bolted at Zamofir'sfirst syllable made for the mill or the house, on the instinctmat neither man would fire towards the other's position. Itwas also clear that they'd gotten more horses than men;machinegun fire was being returned from the midst of theclearing, behind the figures of horses, some still, some thrash-ing in agony. Bullets whistled through the house and mill anddown the main road, and Sam beat a hasty retreat to the rearof the house, where the angle kept direct shots from hitting.Furniture, pans, you name it, started moving, flying, andshattering all at the same time.She was ashamed of herself for cowering like this, and shewas worried for Crim. It didn't sound like he was firing anymore.The firing at her didn't last long, though; she heard soundslike breaking glass outside and then the sounds of men scream-ing, and, cautiously, she made her way forward again to see.The men in the trees had started throwing firebombs down onthe massed men in the clearing, creating a hellish fire, andindividual shots picked off men, some on fire, who ran fromthe cover into the openSuddenly there were sounds on the porch vibrating throughthe floor, and into the interior lurched a huge, filthy, beardedraider brandishing a pistol. He stood there, staring at her, andgave a laugh and then brought the pistol up, still chuckling.Suddenly someone appeared behind him, and, before he real-ized that anyone was there, he suddenly stiffened and bentbackwards a little, the most incredulous expression on hisface, then keeled over and collapsed on the floor, a bigNavigator's knife sticking full into his back."The sun set just in time," Kira said with satisfaction."Now, help me get out of Crim's shin and jacket before 1tangle and fall myself!"Sam was almost too shocked to do anything, but Kiragalvanized her into action. There was more shooting outsidenow, and a lot of yelling.Kira got the rest of Crim's clothing off and then croucheddown and looked at the situation outside. Although the sunhad set, it was still very light, but there was little to see. Thesurvivors of the raiders and whoever was still going defending254 Jack L. Chalkerthe camp were all under cover now, and it was hard to tellwho, what, or where, or even friend from foe.Kira looked over at Sam and gave her a reassuring smile."I feel like a native now. Crim couldn't haul much more thanhe did, so I guess I'm bare-assed and everything else for meduration."Sam partly recovered her composure. "Criro—I didn'thear. . . .""Like I said, nick of time," the pretty woman responded."That bastard got under me porch, climbed up, and pulledCrim and half the netting down. I guess he thought Crim wasdead, and if sunset had been another five minutes, or thoseguys had waited until dawn, he would be. Now he's sort ofsuspended, at least 'til dawn." She sighed. "Wish I hadsomething decent to fight with. Any weapons here except thisone-shot pistol?""Crim had the repeater. The only thing we got is an old setof sabers, Jubi—one of my husbands—kept from his oldarmy days.""Get them. God, that horse barbecue out there smellsawful!"Sam fumbled and then opened the trunk. Although it wasgrowing pitch dark in the house without the lantern, she knewher way as if it were the back of her hand.Kira took both sabers, hefted them, men picked one. "This'Udo. You take the pistol and shoot anybody who comes throughthe door.""What're you gonna do?""A little hunt in the dark. This is my element, remember?And I'm fresh as a daisy." She started to duck out, but Samcalled after her."Kira—what about Crim? Come morning, I mean. Andyou?""If help doesn't come before morning, then Crim willdie," she responded calmly, as if referring to someone else."And if Crim dies, I probably will, too. That makes the nextfew hours real precious, doesn't it?" And, with mat, sheslipped out.Sam felt suddenly terribly guilty and panicky at one and thesame time. This wasn't me way it was supposed to go, damnit! Would they never leave her alone? Now Crim and Kira255WAR OF THE MAELSTROMwere gonna die for her, too, and maybe most or alt of thepeople she loved here! And all she could do was sit there inthe dark on the floor with a pistol.Or could she? Suddenly she smelled smoke, not fromoutside—that had pretty well died out now—but like it wascoming from. . . . The house was on fire! The bastards hadset fire to it, and maybe to other places in town. The four leftbehind, and anybody who got away, now working to createlight and force the defenders from their own ground out intothe open.And it was a good plan, since there was no question of herstaying where she was. She got up and carefully peered out at' the porch, or what was left of it. Was the one who set fire toher place hiding under it? Damn it, what could she do? Theglow from underneath told her that the place would quicklybe engulfed in flames, but she'd also be silhouetted againstthat glow when she got down. Jumping was out of the,•' question—not in her condition. Taking a deep breath, andholding the pistol tightly, she let herself out over the edge ofthe porch, turned as best she could, and dropped, landing onher feet for a moment but then falling over. She forgot all herphysical limitations, all danger, picked herself up and madefor the darkest area she saw nearby, behind some bullet-scarred trees.She froze for a minute, then peered cautiously around itand back at the house, where flames were now shootingupwards. But—wasn't that somebody on the edge of the' porch? Who the hell . . . ?The dark figure jumped effortlessly to the ground and thenbegan to look around. At that moment, two shots from some-where crashed into the tree, one just above her head, shower-ing splinters and wood fragments, and she gave an involuntarycry. The figure heard it, turned, and advanced towards her,holding something in his hand.Sam looked frantically around but couldn't see where torun. There was shooting in back of her and this character infront. Damn it, she couldn't outrun them—she couldn't waddlemore than ten feet at a stretch."Come, come, Susama!" cried a familiar and unwelcomevoice. "The threads of our destinies have been criss-crossingfor a long time now, and then barely missing entanglement. It256 fack L. Chalkeris time now, my sweet," Zamofir almost sang to her. "Comeout and I will make it swift and painless and then get out ofthis trap. Resist or make any trouble for me and I will carvethe child out first so you can watch, and then I will remainuntil I have hunted down and killed all the other women aswell. Your choice. Whatever, it is time."She took another deep breath, then turned, and stepped outinto the fire's glow, facing him. Oddly, she felt calm, evenrelaxed, at this moment, and the moment seemed to hangstuck in time.He was there, showing some blood so at least he'd beennicked a few times, and he was holding the other saber! Mygod! Did the man actually just twirl his moustache? Then hesaid, "You see, my dear, we are both survivors. We surviveand triumph against even the most impossible odds. Thetrouble is, destiny allows only one of us survival at thisjuncture." He raised the saber in a sort of salute, then tookanother step forward.Kira stepped out of the trees nearby, holding the othersaber, blood very definitely on it. "Hers is not the onlydestiny entwined with yours, you pig," she said to him."First you take me, and then you can have her."Zamofir froze, turned, and sighed. "I would think youmore confident with a rapier," he said calmly, lowering thesword- "This, my dear, is more a man's weapon." And heleaped towards Kira, who blocked, and they were joined in aduel.Sam knew she couldn't run any more, that all the fight hadbeen drained out of her. She could do nothing now but standand watch one hell of a duel, between an old-time movievillain and a naked beauty, with swords that looked left overfrom a pirate epic.Clang! Clang! Thrust! Parry! Block! Clang!With stray bullets still whistling occasionally through thetrees, and by the eerie glow of the fire, the two of themfought their duel, and they were pretty damned good at it,both of them. Sam expected Kira to have the moves, thegrace, the quickness, but not the arm and wrist strength forsuch heavy weapons. Clearly Kira did a lot of steady workingout with weights—that explained some of the stuff in the257WAR OF THE MAELSTROMwagon. Muscles flexed now, she was still gorgeous, but shehad the arms of a female body builder.Zamofir had some experience and more familiarity with theweapon, but Kira was younger, quicker, and had the movesof a ballet dancer. Sensing that Zamofir was tiring, shepressed in, again, again, again. . . . Now a twirl, a twist, andthe little man's saber flew from his grasp and landed a fewfeet away on me ground. He crouched down, warily, andgave a furtive glance to it, as if be were going to try for it,then suddenly he laughed nervously, whirled, and began torun.Kira ran after him, but not a runner's gait, holding thesaber almost like a javelin, and, when only a few feet in backof him, she let it fly. The sword was thrown with such forcethat it pierced Zamofir's back and came right out his front, sothat from his back you could see only the ornate hilt. He criedout, staggered, then managed to turn back to Kira and almostshrug."Just as well," he managed, coughing. "Better ... a morehonorable . . - death . . . than I deserved . . . than to face... the wrath ... of Klittichom. Never . . . underestimate... the power of ... a woman, eh?"He smiled at that, then collapsed forward, the sword actu-ally popping up a bit from his back as be hit face down andlay still. Kira went over, put a foot on his back, and pulledthe sword out, then came over to Sam. "That was almostworth dying for!" she proclaimed. "You okay?"Sam was stupefied. "That was the most amazing thing Iever saw! Like you was Robin Hood or somebody!""1 told you once I was a female jock, before I got para-lyzed. Since coming back to life, more or less, I've donemost everything to make up for lost time. He was right, bythe way. 1 fenced a lot in college, but these damned things areheavy and awkward as hell. I think 1 sprained my wrist atleast. If he'd been in his prime, I wouldn't have had a prayer.but I bet that was the first time he'd fought with swords inyears. You don't use it, you lose it. Thank heavens.""Now what do we do?" Sam asked her.Kira sighed and shrugged. "I dunno. I figure your boyswouldn't shoot a naked lady in this place and I knew who thegang was, but as to who's winning and what's what, it's258 Jack L. Chalkerimpossible to say- Unless we see something worth goingafter, I think we find a dark. secluded spot, sit down, andhave a good cry.""But we can't know much of anything until it's light,and when it's light. ...""Yeah, I know. That's why I'll do most of the crying."The shooting had stopped completely within another hour,but most of the camp was either burning or had alreadyburned, and there wasn't much to see. Nobody dared comeout in the open yet, though; in the darkness and with pocketsof flame, it would be impossible to tell who was who andmake a decent count to see if all the raiders were dead—or ifall the camp people were dead.Slowly, though, one at a time, the surviving men of thecamp made contact with one another. It took most of thenight to count all the casualties. On the camp side, six dead,including Ladar, damn it, cut down and shot in the back fromhis loft position by one of the guys who'd snuck in just forthat, and three wounded, none critically—although it lookedas if Somaz might well tose both legs, and Kruwen, anotherof Quisu's husbands, appeared paralyzed from the waist downthanks to a wound in the spinal area. The girls and the babieswere okay, certainly, but, ironically, it looked as if the onlyfamily left intact was Sam's, whose husbands were still out inthe boat and blissfully ignorant of all this. That made her feeldoubly guilty, almost unbearably so. It wasn't right that she'dbeen the cause of this, however unwillingly, and that shealone should survive with her family intact.By now she was cried out and felt drained and sick, yet hermind was going 'round and 'round. There was no end to it. IfCrim and Zamofir had found her, then others would, and thathonied bastard would never stop, never, until he killed herand maybe saved the baby to raise, to try again with a StormPrincess raised from me cradle to do his bidding. Now, too,they wouldn't just send mercenary gunmen, they'd send sor-cerers and demons.The wedding spell inherent in the ring was a simple spell,meant for simple folk and for common situations. It wasdesigned to eliminate all complications, not cause them, but259WAR OF THE MAELSTROMcause them it now did. Her duties as a Covantian wife were tolove, honor, and obey her husbands, to keep house, relievethe burden of their chores, do whatever was in their bestinterest, at whatever sacrifice. Her duty to her child was tobear and raise and protect it, and allow it to grow up healthyand strong.But if she remained here, remained loyal and faithful, shewould bring down more terror on this place, and certainlydeath or worse upon her own husbands. If she tried to pick upand go on, they would find her, and her child would eitherdie or be taken to an evil monster to raise.But she couldn't run. Not any more. Not physically, notemotionally. She'd be found out anyway. The only solutionwas to face and defeat the threat, and to do that she wouldhave to be her old self, the surrogate Storm Princess. Had shestill had those powers she could have brought lightning downto fry all those bastards, and rain to quench the fires. Had shebeen the Storm Princess, those men wouldn't be crippled, ordead, and Crim and Kira wouldn't be facing certain death atdawn having given everything to protect her.But then the ultimate act of love, of sacrifice for herhusbands and child-to-be, was to give all this up. The ringand its spell was preventing her from doing what its ownlogic compelled her to do. She felt its grip on her weaken,felt waves of dizziness and confusion, and sensed somehowthat it was locked in a logic loop from which it could notescape. The conflicting demands it was making on her weresending waves of nausea and making her feverish, her emo-tions running the entire range, her mind beset with completeconfusion as to what she could do and should do, until shecouldn't stand it any more. It pushed her over the edge, andthe only thing she could do to stop it, she did without eventhinking about it. She pulled the ring violently from herfinger, tearing me skin, and threw it away, and then shecollapsed and passed out.Sam awoke with vivid memories of all mat had been untilshe'd looped out or gone nuts or whatever had happened. Shereached over to her ring finger and felt it. There was abandage on it, but no ring. She had sensed it more than260 Jack L. Chalkerremembered it, but that in itself was strange. She didn't reallyfeel much different. Oh, she knew now what she had to do, ifat last she was allowed to do it, but she still felt real affectionfor those four men and for the others as well, and still thoughtof the camp as home. Short of Boday's place, it was theclosest to a real home she'd had since being dragged toAkahlar.But there was a difference, and it was again something shesensed, felt, rather than directly experienced.The power was back. It was raining now, outside wherevershe was, and she could sense, feel the storm, join with it ifshe wished.She suddenly opened her eyes full and looked around witha start. It was the cottage! Her house! And she was in herown bed, and nothing was burned and nothing was out ofplace! God—had it all been a terrible nightmare? But—no,what about her finger? The return of the powers, of self-control? Had she somehow had the ring torn from her ortaken from her and hallucinated the rest as a result?It had to be, because it was day, and there was Crim,coming in the door, and he looked okay! Even his buckskinswere clean!He grinned when he saw her staring at him like she wasseeing a ghost."Not dead yet," he assured her. "But it was a nearthing.""But—but—Did I dream it? Didn't it happen?""It happened," he assured her. "All of it. This is a cleanset, by the way—in spite of what you've often accused me of,I do have more than one set of clothes. They just had to beretrieved.""Never mind the clothes! You had a couple of holes in youbig enough to run through, you had maybe half your blood,you fell off the porch, and who knows what else. You were adead man at dawn!""That happened as well. It all happened, Sam. I can showyou where the dead bodies are stacked, including Zamofir's. Iwas proud of Kira, even though I had always hoped I coulddo the slimy bastard in myself." The smile faded. "Also sixvery brave men are laid out over on the floor of the mill,awaiting a proper funeral. Their wives insisted on doing it allWAR OF TOE MAELSTROM 261themselves, along with the six who survived. Strong sorcerycan rebuild a town that burned and repair the worst of wounds,but it can't raise the dead no matter what the legends say."She sat up straight. "Sorcery! Boolean!""Yes. He got here two hours before dawn—thank thefates. Kira damn near had a heart attack when he showed up.Not alone, either."? She suddenly felt a shock. "God! I must look awful! My^ hair ....'*I "You look fine, or at least normal. Relax."f "1—Boday?"J(L He nodded. "And Chariey, too, and a very odd fellow'"' named Dorion, and Boolean's familiar whose name is Cromiland who looks like a green monkey and likes to insult people.''"1—I'm not so sure I'm ready for Boday yet.""Relax. She's on guard duty overlooking the road rightnow and she can't come back here until I relieve her. Butyou'll have to face her sooner or later. How do you feel aboutit?"She sighed. "I—I really don't know. I haven't been able toget my head screwed back on right yet. I just need a littletime, that's all." She paused a moment. "Can I first see theother women here? I—I sort of feel responsible. Maybe I canhelp."Crim nodded. "But be quick. Boolean wants us out of hereas fast as is practical. Even now Klittichom dispatches Sudogsto see what has been happening here, and he must know thatas of now the child still lives. Boolean is powerful—even Ihadn't realized how powerful until I saw what he did here—but that power has limits. He's not the only one with power,and they can and will gang up on him if they think they havehim cornered."She nodded. "I can take care of the Sudogs," she assuredhim, "but you're right. I've brought enough misery down onthis place. All right—let's go."The place was so fully restored that it made it all the morejarring to see the corpses laid out in the mill. At least Bool-ean's healing powers had extended to the wounded; therewould be no amputations or paralysis. It did not, however,end the sadness of the men who died bravely defending whatwas theirs.262 Jack L. ChalkerSam had come there mainly to comfort the others, but asshe looked at Ladar and the others she'd come to know sowell, bloody and still, she suddenly found herself tilled notwith sadness nor even guilt but with anger. All that time,until she'd finally faced up to that Changewind back inCovanti, she'd been running away. Running away from her-self, running away from duties, responsibilities, burdens. Shehadn't asked for them, of course, but they were hers none theless.These guys hadn't run. They'd stood and bravely defendedall that was important to them, even to paying the ultimateprice. It wasn't fair that she had all this dumped on her, but itwasn't fair that she'd brought death on them, either. Theyhadn't questioned fairness; they'd done what they had to do tosave her and their wives and their camp and all that meantanything to them.She walked back out to where Crim was waiting andlooked up at him. "All right, let's see this big-shot wizard,"she said detenninedly.Seeing Charley again was something of a shock, too. Notjust the brown skin-deep dye job, but Charley was so thin shelooked almost emaciated, and she seemed, well, a whole lotolder, somehow. Well, Sam reflected, maybe she was awhole lot older now where it counted, too.She kind of liked Dorion on first impression. Tme, hewasn't much on physique, with pot belly and thinning hair,but there was a certain kindness and gentleness in him thatcame through right from the start, and the way he doted onCharley was more than me slave ring thing. Anybody couldsee he was in love with her; anybody, that is, but Charley.Boolean was a different sort of shock. A man of mediumheight and build, with a gray-black neatly trimmed beard anddeep-set, heavily lined blue eyes, he looked so, well, ordinary.Even Charley, who couldn't see the man as he was, had comeup with the right impression at the start. The guy looked likea high school science teacher, and sounded much that way,too.At his suggestion, they went back to her place and satdown, just the two of them, to discuss what happened next.She offered, as host, to make him some tea or coffee, but he263WAR OF THE MAELSTROMjust chuckled, snapped his fingers, and they both had justwhat they wanted right in front of them."The man who could do miracles," he chuckled. "Child'splay, really. Once you determined the rules and the math andapproached magic here as you approach any other scientificdiscipline, it just all sort of comes naturally. I've never tiredof it, and it's as much fun, and just as fascinating as it wasthe first time. The only thing is, the more you can do, themore godlike your powers become, the more frustrated youbecome by those things you can't do. Those dead men outthere. I could animate their corpses, but I couldn't bring themback or restore their bodies. They're gone- It's what keepsdriving us to push the limits, and what destroys most of us inthe end."She nodded. "But what's next for us, on the practicallevel?" she asked him. "I mean, let's be realistic here. Ican't be positive here, but I think I'm in my eighth month. Ican't seem to keep my emotions in check, I haven't got thestamina, and I can't run or fight worth a damn, and as near asI can figure out, the only way to end this madness is toliterally walk into the lion's den and face them down. She'llbe in peak condition and totally in control, and she hasKlittichom for protection, 1 won't be able to get near enoughto lay a glove on her and you know it. On top of that, she cansense the kid. I can't even hide out in a group, I'm willing todo whatever is necessary, but I can't see how I can do it, allthings considered. Not until after the baby's bom.""I understand the problem," he replied seriously. "Ourrelated problem is that we can't wait for the birth. He's goingto jump the gun at almost any time from right now to no morethan a week or two at best. His timetable was already upsetby the problems involved in the attack on me. His generalsare amateurs and they're now seeing the results of theirmistakes. You can train armies of specific worlds rather well,but when you have to simulate conditions, and then mixvarious races with their own tribal chiefs and loyalties you geta mess. I think the effect on him would be to accentuate thepositive and ignore the negatives. He did destroy a hubcivilization and break the hold of a sorcerer. He's desperatenow. If the child is bom, the Storm Princess's powers may beweakened to the point where she couldn't handle multiple264 fack L. ChalkerChangewinds, or perhaps not put them and keep them wherethey're supposed to be. He can't do it one at a time. Hispower is limited, the same as mine. The next time he's got todo it, if not simultaneously, at least continuously. Speed andaccuracy are at a premium for him right now. Everything he'sbuilt all these years, and all his dreams, face ruin unless heacts now.""But how can I do anything?"He sighed. "You've heard from Charley and Dorion whatthe battle and its aftermath was like, what a mess this all is,what horror it is bringing. I don't know whether we can stopthe process now. As soon as he feels we're after him he'lljump the gun and do it, and we .can't wait because he couldjump the gun anyway, thanks to your own biological clock.There is a way out of this, though. Wait a moment."He got up and went outside and looked down at the clear-ing. "Charley, will you come up here?" he called. "Dorion,help her out and come up, too. I may need some assistancehere."Charley got up and in, with Dorion's help, and was takento a chair. She was puzzled, but willing to listen.Boolean took a deep breath. "Charley, you know theproblem. We have to hit them before they hit everybody andmake us irrelevant. I'm sure Klittichorn would have done itall as soon as he got the data from Masalur, if he didn't alsohave to play some politics with the Storm Princess and others.We have to hit him and get him the first time. There will beno second chances. And we have to do it soon.""You know where he is?" Charley asked him.Boolean nodded. "I know. I didn't know, exactly, until hehit Masalur, but I was able to identify and follow his threadsback. That's what I was doing, and is the gain we got fromMasalur's suffering. It's not close, which is why, even usingthe flying spells, we must leave immediately. Even with Samand I in the best of shape, it's a question whether we can do italone, or with just the forces that we have, even if we make itin time. As it stands, we have less chance. Sam hasn't memobility or the control she should have, and the child is adead giveaway. Sam needs a way out."She nodded. "So?" At the moment she had no idea wherehe was going with this or what it had to do with her.WAR OF THE MAELSTROM 265"I can't snap my fingers and make her into a peakAmazonian warrior. Well, actually, I could, but not withoutdestroying the child. I'm just now beginning to realize whythere is such a thing as a Storm Princess, why she comes upin other worlds as well, and why Klittichorn just didn'tpreempt this threat and have his own knocked up. Too muchdeduction with too much hunch, but I think I'm on the righttrack. The Storm Princesses are the only true 'naturals' inmagic, and the only ones with influence over and immunityfrom the Changewinds. I think, somehow, they're safetyvalves—natural regulators—essential to keeping some kind oforder. How and why it evolved this way is something we maynever know, but, like gravity, it's still there. There's someevidence to show that the death of any of the Siorm Prin-cesses anywhere, even on the outplane, is followed by a longperiod of natural disasters, cataclysms, wars, you name it—until a new one is bom. By killing so many in the outplane,Klittichorn has provided the evidence and pattern that this istrue—at the cost of who knows how many lives or evencivilizations. What will happen when he looses so manyChangewinds at once on a weakened outplane is something Ican't imagine, nor can he. The difference is, I care and hedoesn't.""I'm with you so far," she told him. "I just can't see whatit has to do with me.""Both of you think back, to that first time, in the Tubikosancaves, when we first had a talk. When 1 transmitted, throughthe icon, a blood-mixing and sealing spell that turned you,Charley, into a physical twin of Sam's."They both nodded. "I remember," said Sam. "It seems ahundred years ago.""It wasn't a mere appearance spell. I had to fool not justsomeone who knew what the Storm Princess looked like, Ihad to fool magicians, Sudogs, ones with the ability to seethrough mere appearances. Anyone short of the highest levelsof the Second Rank, who could recognize the spell for what itwas. It did more than make you physical twins on the outside;it made you true twins, genetically identical. You still are.The difference in appearance between me two of you mayseem great now, but it's a difference in weight—and howlong you've been like that and adjusted to it—and experience266 Jack L. Chalkerand, of course, in Charley's case, Boday's alchemy made astunning difference. But, you see, I had to guard againstspells and alchemy, so I had to make those with me powerbe confused, and they see people differently than the averageperson does.""Wait a minute," Sam interrupted him. "If she's actuallyme down to that level, why isn't she a Storm Princess, too?""Good question. There are two answers to that, both rele-vant. The first is that no one can create a Storm Princess bysorcery. It can not be done, or Ktittichom would have dis-pensed with his right off and things would be a lot morecomplicated. Second, there is more than the physical involvedhere, there is an entire pattern. Notice how the commonpeasant marriage spell removed your powers yet it didn'tchange you physically one bit, Sam. It is physical, mental,and psychic, and all must have certain elements exactly rightor the balance is destroyed and the rest is ignored. Charley isphysically you, no matter how dramatic the difference seemssitting here, but she is nothing like you either mentally orpsychically in me areas that seem to count. One of them,quite clearly and unexpectedly, is sexual in nature, somethingI have been puzzling about since that was shown. There's gotto be a reason for that. In many ways, it seems to be part ofthe key to this overall puzzle, a key that I am afraid Klittichomhas worked out ahead of me, as usual. But that's beside thepoint for now. The bottom line remains that Sam's currentphysiology can't be touched for fear of harming her child, yetit places her at great risk and extreme disadvantages in anyshowdown. We can't just transfer the needed elements toChariey, who's better suited for it, since one can not giveaway magical gifts of that sort.""Yeah, well, Sam wouldn't be much use blind, either,"Charley noted."She wouldn't be blind. Her psychic self has the power.That's why she's been exposed to much magical energyherself and yet never suffered from the problem."Chariey suddenly pushed back a bit from the table- "Oh,no! 1 think I see now where you're going with this and I don'tlike the route one bit."Sam looked at Chariey, frowning, then at Boolean. "Well,I don't," she said. "Somebody want to let me in on this?"WAR OF THE MAELSTROM 267"From a magical viewpoint," Boolean patiently explained,"the two of you appear identical. The differences, psychicand mental, are, therefore, easy to factor out completelywhen you two can be compared side by side like this. Wereyou not physically the same, all the differences could neverbe so clearly identified. Since they can in this case, I couldtransfer those differences.""Differences? What the hell do you mean?""He means," Chariey said softly, "that he can take yourmind and soul and whatever and put it in my body, and minein yours. And I get to carry the kid and keep their eyes offyou two sneaking up on them while you get in my body. Isn'tthat about right?""I couldn't have said it better myself," the sorcerer re-plied. "It's an ideal solution shaped by me threads of destiny.And it's best for both of you. Sam gets the mobility and losesa telltale marker; you get out from being a blind, dependentwoman without status whose body is good for only one thing,Sam's body also has other attributes. Thanks to the demon ofthe Jewel of Omak, wherever he now is, she doesn't get sick,No hostile organism can live inside her. Fleas, ticks, mosqui-toes and other parasites die when they bite her. In spite of herweight, her blood pressure is perfect, her heart strong, herveins and arteries cleaner than a newbom's. Wounds healquickly, damaged tissue regenerates.""So that's why I was able to run like that, build thosemuscles, lift those weights!" Sam exclaimed."Well, it didn't hurt," the sorcerer replied. "So where isme problem, Charley? Are you afraid of the process itself?''"No, no. Not after what you've pulled off so far. I believeyou. But—to be fat without even having had the pleasure ofeating my way up to it, and pregnant at the point where it'sall work and the fun's long past—I'm not so sure I can handlethat. Yeah, I'm frustrated here, and it seems like I alwayshave a cold or I'm scratching little bites, but—jeez, Sam.What do you weigh now?""Last time I checked it was about two hundred and sixtypounds," she responded. "At least I think I got that fromfigurin' the halg and stuff.""Two . . . And when you add the kid and the waterweight. . . ."265fack L ChalkerSam was astonished. "Jesus, Charley—I can't believe you!Ever since you got the way you are you been paranoid aboutweight. You always were, but it got to be a mania. I got totell ya, Charley, you don't look real glamorous to me rightnow. You look fucking anorexic! I ain't no more thrilledabout having that body of yours than you are havin' mine. Inever liked bein' fat but I kind'a got used to it. The only realhangups I kept were about my health, and now I find out that'sno problem at all! I'd be givin' up shit, too, you know." Shegrabbed her breasts. "I'm at least a forty-four D and I love*em. Most of all, I'd be givin' up havin' the kid, and I wantthis kid bad.""Yeah, but it's your kid, not mine. And it's the only onebetween us!""Not necessarily." Boolean cut in. "There's nothing phys-ically wrong with Sam's system. It's Storm Princesses whoare prevented from having but the one child—related in someway to that regulatory function I mentioned. You wouldn't bea Storm Princess. There's no reason to believe you would notremain fertile.""You mean," Sam asked him, "if that spell here had stuckand I wasn't a Storm Princess, I could'a had more kids?"Boolean shrugged. "Who knows? If you were taken outand stuck here, though, I doubt if it would have been a longor happy life once KHttichorn won. Here—or in Albuquer-que, for that matter.""Yeah, but who would screw somebody that fat withoutmagic?" Charley asked acidly.Behind her, Dorion said, too low for her to hear, "Iwould." To him, die resemblance was more marked thancould be seen by each of them, and the idea of Charley inSam's body was, somehow, something of a turn-on."So, this is the great Charley Sharkin," Sam retorted."Bright, ambitious, liberated, and all that. The new woman,right? So what's she do? Finds out when she's turned into awhore and a bimbo that she loves being a whore and a bimbo,sellin' herself and actin' cute and dumb and all that. Shit,Chariey, I thought I was given a raw deal here, but you'reactually happy with the deal you got. You just want it im-proved so you can go on bein' Little Miss Fuckalot untilyou're big enough to become a madam and sucker in more269WAR OF THE MAELSTROMpoor kids. Another Boday, maybe. And to think I alwayslooked up to you—""Hold on' Hold on! It's not that simple," Charley pro-tested, then took a moment to compose herself. "Sam—it'sall I have."Sam sighed and looked at Boolean. "Well, if we're reallytwins now, and you got the power to rebuild the town andheal the wounded overnight, couldn't you just take off thespells that kept me fat and make her thin and pretty?""I could," the sorcerer admitted, "but not right off. Idon't dare mess with any of those without risking messing upthe biochemistry and .possibly harming or even killing the kid.I'm not that good. Afterwards, if any of us survive this, andthe child's born, well—then anything is possible."That put a different face on it for Charley. "You reallymean that? If I keep like that for another month or two, andbear her kid, then the weight and all can be taken away? Imean, if you fail after all this, it won't make any differenceanyway, I guess, so otherwise I pay the price of a couple ofmonths like that and then wind up better than I am now." Sheshrugged. "Well, 1 guess we'd better do it, then, huh?""Jeez," Sam sighed. "This is gonna confuse the hell outof Boday. , - ."• 11 •Allies, Answers, and Questions"WHEN DO YOU want to do this?" Sam asked Boolean, a bitnervous in spite of it all."Ordinarily I'd have to set up a lab," he replied. "Prepareprimer potions to ease the transfer, do a lot of provisionalspells, all that. But because you two are true twins, created inthe lab for this purpose, so to speak, I think I can do it on thefly, right here and now. It'll save time and ease the stress.Just lie down there, side by side, heads towards me," heinstructed. "Dorion, you assist as needed. Sam, I know it'suncomfortable, but bear with it.""Everything's uncomfortable at this stage," she responded,but managed to lie down with some help from Dorion. Themagician then guided Charley to the right spot and positionedher as well, then stepped back. He felt oddly mixed emotionsat this, but while Boolean had removed the ring from Char-ley's nose he'd made no move to remove Dorion's. Dorionwas stuck if Charley went along, and probably even if shedidn't—Boolean's power was far greater than the simple spellthat bound the former magician.He also couldn't avoid a little straight professional curiosityin spite of the personal involvement. The fact was, thiswasn't one of the spells they ever taught or talked about inmagician school.Boolean went over to them and stretched out his arms,hands palm down, over each of their faces, and concentrated."Now, each of you just close your eyes and go to sleep."he told them softly. "In a nice, deep, pleasant sleep, with nothoughts, no worries, no cares. Just a nice, deep sleep."They were both out, with soft smiles on their faces, and,270WAR OF THE MAELSTROM 271oddly, like this and so relaxed, they really did look a lotalike.Boolean turned towards Dorion and said, "I hope it's thiseasy with twinned people and I don't require the prep. Other-wise we could have some very hairy results." And then hewinked, and turned back to the two sleeping women. He kneltdown behind their heads and placed one hand on the face ofeach of them. Neither moved or seemed to notice, theirbreathing heavy and regular.,Dorion felt suddenly uneasy about this, thanks to Boolean'scomment. Up to now he'd had so much confidence in theman's power he hadn't doubted, but Boolean was right. Doingthis by spell and sheer force of wilt, with no intermediatemedium for the soul except himself, was damned dangerous.He would have to draw both souls, both consciousnesses,even memories, from the bodies into his own as the mediumand then switch them with no losses—and pretty damned fast,too—without mixing them or letting them touch in any way,either each other or his own.The sorcerer took a deep breath, let it out, took a second,let out a bit, closed his eyes tightly, and began.His body began to tremble slightly, and gobs of sweatbroke out on his forehead; his teeth were tightly clenchedtogether and his face contorted into a terrible grimace.To normal human eyes nothing else was happening, but toDorion's magically attuned eyes, the great juggling act wasclear.Both women's bodies took on a sudden pale reddish glow.It was all over, except for the different colored mass in Sam'sabdomen which had a few slender psychic tendrils to her.The two large masses coalesced, growing smaller and smallerand yet more intense, and the tendrils from the fetus grewlong and wispy, like a few strands of spider's web trying notto let go in the wind.Now came the tricky part for Boolean, as the two centersof bright energy, now burning with an intense red-white fire,egg-shaped and compact, were drawn into the sorcerer's twohands, then up the arms and into Boolean's own body. Hewas going to pass them very close—too close for any eye tofollow—and Dorion watched as they drew closer and closer.jack L. Chalker272the thin webs from the fetus seeming too tiny and tenuousnow to possibly hold.Now, carefully, the orb from Charley slid just atop the onefrom Sam, so that Charley's gently brushed by and made everso gentle contact with the thin tendrils from the fetus andcontinued on to the other arm.There! The wispy links had transferred! They were nowcontracting, getting a bit stronger and thicker as Charley's orbflowed now past the shoulder and down the arms towardsSam's body, while Sam's orb, now free of the contact, wenttowards Chariey.He'd done it! The hell with KUttichom! Dorion thought inintense admiration and wonder. That's the greatest feat ofunaided sorcery anyone has ever seen!Now the orbs passed through the beads, out of Boolean'sbody, and began to lose their distinctive shapes and some oftheir intensity, flowing into first the head and then throughthe rest of the two bodies, fading, fading, until they werefinally mere auras such as everyone had.Boolean suddenly expelled his breath, which he'd beenholding for at least the couple of minutes that seemed to havepassed, and gasped for air, then removed his hands and fellback.Dorion was to him in an instant. "Master Boolean! Areyou all right?"Boolean's eyes opened. "For a brief moment, right there inthe transfer, my soul, which was still diffuse, intermixed withSam's," he managed, still a bit out of breath. "I am afraid,Dorion, that I am now cursed to sexually prefer only women."And then he grinned and sat up."I have just witnessed perhaps the greatest feat of mindcontrol in all history," Dorion growled. "Why is it, then,that 1 still want to wring your neck at this point?"Boolean's grin remained, and he managed to stand up, thenmake his way back to the pair who still reclined there sleep-ing. He examined his handiwork and nodded to himself. "Itwas tough, a lot tougher than I figured on," he admitted."The transfer's complete and successful, but I don't think Iwant to do that again without the full paraphernalia and a lotof time and prep. I had some mild chest pains at the transferpoint and I almost lost my concentration wonde^.ng if I wasWAR OF THE MAELSTROM 273going to have a heart attack or a stroke. One more like thatand it'dkill me."Dorion stared at him and saw how suddenly old and tiredhe looked and realized that this wasn't a put-on. "Are youcertain that you are still up to Klittichom? Or that she is?""I can't ever know that until we try it, Dorion. There willbe enough time between now and when we get there for me todo some self-repair and reconditioning, though. As to Sam—yes, I think she is, now.""How long are you going to keep them in the trance?""The longer the better so it settles in," the sorcerer re-sponded. "Anything from Crim or Boday yet?""I'll check." Dorion stepped outside and looked around,but it was still quiet. He went back in and reported, "Nothingyet. Want me to go check?''Boolean nodded. "Do that." He turned back to the twosleeping forms, looked down at them, and gave a soft chuckle."I really feel sony for those four husbands," he muttered tohimself. "Not that she'd enjoy herself like she did, movingback from oral to anal. I'd sure like to leave Charley here if Icould. Be good for her, too, to find not just one but manymen still wanting her no matter what her weight or condi-tion." He sighed. "Well, can't solve everybody's problems,I guess."He didn't dare leave her anywhere near here or anywheremat anyone from the rebel camp was likely to spot her. Thefour guys would just have to suffer, but be made a mentalnote to make it up to them, if he could, at some point in thefuture. Decisions, decisions—that's all great power ever re-ally brought you. Decisions without irreversible consequencesor accountability.It was fun to be a sorcerer.Charley awoke slowly from a very erotic dream and turnedslowly to one side. Suddenly she felt a shifting down in herabdomen and it unnerved her and she woke up. Somebodyelse—Sam—was waking up next to her. She looked over andwas startled first to realize that she could see again, in thenormal, colorful way, and that excited her. What she wasseeing, though, bothered her a lot.She had never really seen herself properly and in full color274 )ack L. Chalkerwith the chocolate brown skin and blue-black hair, and itdidn't look right. In fact, Sam was right—God! She'd beenskm and bones! Funny it hadn't felt like that. . - .With a shock she suddenly realized that she was seeing herown body in full living color and three dimensions, yet as athird party. Somehow, deep down. she hadn't really believedit was possible, and certainly not like this. Hell, it was stilltight out!She shifted uncomfortably and ran her hands over her ownbody as it now was. She remembered how fat Sam had been,but it seemed even more gross, if anything, now.She tried to get to her feet and found that it took somethingof a balancing act to do so. Dorion came over, put out hisarms, and she took them and let herself be pulled unsteadilyto her feet. Christ! It felt like she had a goddamned bowlingball in her stomach, and something in it shifted slowly whenshe did, but not in the right ways or at the right speed. She letgo of Dorion and tried walking a few steps and it, too, feltawkward and weird,The weight and feel of the breasts also surprised her. Theyfelt like they weighed a ton of dead weight each, shiftingwhen she walked but complicating the balancing act requiredto maintain equilibrium with the bowling ball in her belly,and the extra padding wasn't any real help, either. Her thighsrubbed together tightly every time she took a step, and pro-duced motion in her ass as well. God, she was gross!"God! This feels weird," she heard Sam say. "Jeez! I feelso light it's like I was eleven years old again! It just don't fee!like I'm all here no more. I guess I got more used to thatbody than I thought I had. Wow! This is strange! I'm actuallyinside your body, just like it was mine! Uh—how you feelin',Charley?""Like a beached whale. I think these tits are more likefifties than forty-fours. Jeez—when did you weigh yourselflast?""Back in Tishbaal. It was the last scale I saw. 1 could'adone it on the mill scales here, but with bein' pregnant and allit didn't seem worth it. Boy, that's strange, seein' yourselflike this, from a different pair of eyes or whatever it is I'mseein' with at the moment. It's different than a mirror. It'sreal and not backwards."275WAR OF THE MAELSTROM"You went like this and didn't have screaming fits?""Aw, you get used to it pretty fast. Not the kid—youalways know that's there. But like Boolean said, you don'tget sick, and you don't get clogged. Bigger lungs carryin'more oxygen, so you can't exactly do things fast but you cando 'em pretty good.""1 gain three times my weight at least and I don't evenhave the fun of eating my way up to it. It's not fair!""Yeah, well, at least you can eat whatever you want andall you want now," Sam noted. "Huh! These eyes are kmd'aodd. You see like this when you was in this body?""Unless it was something of magic or another plane all Isaw was gray, unless I used Shadowcat," Charley told her."Why? What do you see?""Everything, but not quite. The colors are funny. Thingslook sorta' fuzzy and all, and all the colors are pastels orsomething, and there's a glow to most everything. Real strongfrom you and your buddy, there." She stared hard at Charley."Hey! If I concentrate real hard I can see your insides! Wow!X-ray vision!" She hesitated and looked at Dorion. "Wouldit hurt the kid if I checked her out?""No," Dorion told her. "You're not really using your eyesto see in the old pattern or old ways. You're not really seeingjust with them at all. In fact, if you concentrate hard enough,you can see what's in back of you, too. It has a lot to say forit, but it's also limited in vital areas. Those of us with TheSight can't read ordinary books—takes a special kind of inkand paper to see right—and there's a lot of color shift, and alot of blurring with much motion. You can see things otherscan't, but there are tradeoffs. You'll learn them. The glows arcthe auras or spiritual components of people and things. Youget pretty good at recognizing specific things by their aurasatone."Charley looked at Dorion. "Then why couldn't / see likethat?""You have to have the power as well. Just three percent ofthe Akhbreed have it, and they're bom with it. You eitherhave it or you don't, and, even then, you never find out unlessyou're subjected to the intense radiation from dealing with thenetherhells. Only ones with really strong natural power see itfrom the start."276 Jack L. ChalkerSam looked now at Charley's distended abdomen and con-centrated and, to her immense surprise, she could see thefetus in the womb. "Gee—looks just like the films in sex ed,only in three-D and living color," she commented. "This isneat! Kind'a gross in parts, though. And it glows real bright."She felt a sudden shiver run throug
