Fractal Mode

CHAPTER 12—DUEL

NONA stared at the multitude of the rabble. Directly before her was the one who was emulating her, still distressingly naked. Beside that one was the imitation Darius, looking so exactly like the original that without the help of the horse’s mind-magic she would not have known the difference. Indeed, she had not known, until it became apparent that the imitations could not talk in the manner of the originals. Beyond these was a massive throng of people in brown cloaks, male, female, and animal. Some of the animals were horselike, and some were doglike, but others were unlike anything seen on the surface. What were the true forms of the human rabble? Were they like those animals?

One thing was clear: a physical escape was impossible, unless certain conditions were met. If the rabble chose to let them through, or if Seqiro penetrated their minds and changed their wills, or if Darius conjured them out, or if Nona used her magic to float them over the heads of the rabble and away. But it was best not to reveal the nature of the assorted powers of the group. Not until it was a last resort.

Keli came out. “We have tried to make you want to breed with us,” she said. “It is better if you want it. But you must do it regardless. Please do it with me now, because you would not like it as much if we have to make you do it.”

“But surely they can’t make us breed against our will,” Nona said. Yet she feared that something like this was in the mind of the rabble, for attempts had been made to seduce each of the four of them.

Stave glanced at her. “The despots do.”

“But even with the despots, a person has to agree, or suffer privation,” she argued.

“They can make us suffer privation,” he pointed out. “They are many and we are few, and they possess the food.”

Nona realized that it was true. If they lacked the resources to escape without showing their powers, they also lacked the resources to maintain their independence. They would indeed be subject to the will of the rabble, in much the way they were subject to the will of the despots on the surface. The rabble did not possess superior magic, but did control the nether geography.

Still she argued against it. “A thousand breedings—I do not want even one! If I did, it would be with Stave, not with any of these creatures.”

“Thank you,” Stave said, and there was a surge of joy from him that showed how strongly he desired such a union. “But I fear they are about to use force.”

Seqiro must have translated that thought for Keli, because she responded to it. “Yes, we shall make you do it now. You must breed.”

“You will starve us until we agree?” Nona asked. It would be a while before they grew hungry, during which time they could plan their escape. In fact, she could make food for them out of hairs or fingernails; anything organic would do, to make anything else organic. But if the rabble discovered that, they would take other steps, and those could be less comfortable. The despots, too, had ways and ways, and could break most peons to their will in time without even using magic, if they chose.

Keli looked at her as if she were naïve. So, disturbingly, did both Stave and Darius.

“What am I missing?” she asked, alarmed.

Both men turned away.

“You, Seqiro,” she said. “Tell me.”

Colene could tell you, the horse thought.

“But Colene is not here. You must tell me, so that I know what we face.” She did not like the mood here.

A picture formed in her mind: Seqiro was sending her the memory of an image. In it was a woman, a girl, garbed in clothing unlike that of Oria: not a red tunic, but a two-part outfit with blouse and skirt. The concepts came to her from the memory, though she had never worn such items. Then there was a man too, closing the door to the chamber. There was a bed; this seemed to be a sleeping chamber.

The girl had no clear image. Nona realized that this was because it was Colene’s memory of herself. She did not see herself from outside, but from inside; she was aware of what she wore, but could not see her own face unless she gazed in a mirror. But apart from that, she was somewhat fuzzy in the mind. What could account for that?

Alcohol, Seqiro thought. It is a drug that deadens the minds and sensitivities, so that human folk may do what they otherwise would not do.

Someone had given Colene such a drug? Why?

Then the image abruptly clarified. The man had lost his clothing, and he was naked, with his member erect as if about to indulge in sex. There was no memory of his change in appearance; apparently it had happened during the girl’s somewhat sleepy study of the room. She was no longer sleepy; now she realized that the man wanted something from her.

She tried to go to the door, but the man caught her and spun her around and threw her down on the bed. She tried to struggle, but was ineffective. He shoved up her dress, tore down her alien panties, and climbed on top of her. It was forced sex: his desire, not hers.

This is what she terms “rape,” Seqiro explained.

The memory faded. Nona stood bemused and horrified. She had lived a sheltered life, she realized; it had never occurred to her that such a thing was possible. She knew that men were constantly interested in indulging in sex, but thought that they always persuaded their partners to cooperate. But obviously a man could hold a woman down and do it. One of these rabble could do the same to her, unless she used her magic.

“But I am the only one at risk for that,” she said after a moment.

“I don’t think so,” Darius said darkly.

“But a man—his—he has to—if he simply refuses—”

“He can refuse to act, but he can not refuse to react.” Darius said. “If he is held down, and a woman then touches him to arouse him, and then—” He did not finish speaking, but the image in his mind made the process clear. Nona realized that there were ways in which a man could be raped too. What bothered her even more was the dark hint in his mind that worse than that was possible. She did not want to know any more.

“Then we must use our powers to escape, immediately,” she said. “We can return to the surface and hide—”

“No,” Stave said. “The despots now know what we intend to do. They will be watching, and will try to capture us immediately, or destroy us. Even if we hide from them for a while, we will not be able to find the place for the anima. We must emerge exactly when Colene returns, and hope she has what we need.”

He was right. But still she could not accept it. “Even if we agree to do what they want, the rabble will keep us for years! Until we have each done a thousand breedings!”

“There must be another way,” Darius said. “Seqiro, does Keli’s mind show any alternative?”

Yes. Their society allows a person to decline to breed, by dueling.

“Dueling! Do you mean individual combat?”

Yes. But Kelt has no direct experience with that; she knows only that such a convention exists.

“But suppose we get killed? How would that encourage breeding?” Darius seemed as perplexed as Nona herself, which made her feel only slightly better.

“Maybe that is how we avoid breeding,” Stave said wryly. “By getting killed.”

No, there does not seem to be death.

“Then we had better find out about it,” Darius decided. Nona could only agree.

She turned to Keli. “We prefer to duel. How do we do that?”

Keli looked so disappointed that Nona felt sympathy for her despite regarding her as an enemy. “I do not know, but I wish it not to be.”

“Maybe Stave can duel you,” Nona suggested. “So that you retain your chance.” It was clear that Keli, whatever her real appearance, was both female and human in nature.

Keli brightened. “Yes! I have the right. I have been challenged.”

“Then find out exactly how it is done, and tell us. We will be here.”

Keli walked away. Nona watched her go, surprised. Could it be this easy?

They entered the chamber and made themselves comfortable, waiting. The massed rabble did not try to come in. But the two emulations did: Null-Darius and Null-Nona. They spoke but Seqiro could not interpret their thoughts. He had not had enough time with them to get that far into their minds.

However, Nona had a notion. “Every one of these folks wants to breed with us,” she said. “They have an elaborate system of changing off so that as many as possible have a chance. Keli—the one Keli that Stave fixed in place—wants to breed with him. Because we said we wanted to duel, and she is the first to hear it, she considers herself challenged. So she will not change off, and Seqiro can continue to know her mind. These two others must want the same. If we challenge them, then they can not be switched out until they have finished the duel, I think.”

Yes, I am beginning to get into them, the horse thought. I do have a head start on them. That is what they want.

“Are we better off with folk Seqiro can read?” Darius asked.

“Yes!” Nona agreed. “Because then we’ll know what they are trying to do, and will be better able to prevent it. The blank ones will find it easier to fool us.”

“Then let’s make them happy,” Darius said. He addressed Null-Nona. “I challenge you to my duel,” he said formally.

Seqiro managed to get just enough of that translated so that the woman understood. She smiled and flung herself forward, kissing him.

“Hey, not yet!” he exclaimed. Nona picked up his embarrassment at embracing a creature who looked exactly like Nona herself, naked. She appreciated the sentiment.

Three more figures entered the room: Potia, Lang, and the equine Bel. “You made Potia jealous,” Nona said, almost finding it funny.

“Sorry,” he said. “But Potia kept changing too fast. It has to be Null-Nona.”

His reasoning seemed sound. “My turn,” Nona said. She walked to Null-Darius. “I challenge you,” she said. “And don’t kiss me!”

He understood enough to smile, and not advance on her. But Lang scowled. He knew he had lost.

“Now pick yours,” Darius suggested to Seqiro.

This Bel will do, the horse thought. I will not mind breeding with her.

They sat down again at the table where Stave and Keli had eaten. Their chosen opposites, now clothed, joined them. Nona was struck again by the uncanny accuracy of the emulations; Null-Darius looked and moved exactly like Darius, and Null-Nona seemed to be her own mirror image. Without Seqiro, they certainly could have been fooled, as long as no words were spoken. The imitations did not act at all threatening; they seemed like good companions. This could almost have been fun, were it not unfortunately serious.

Before long, Keli did return. She was the same individual; Seqiro verified that. “I have talked with those who remember,” she said. “The duels will start immediately. First mine.” She advanced possessively on Stave.

“But we must understand the rules!” Darius protested.

“It will be clear,” she replied. She did not seem surprised that he now seemed to be speaking her language, because of Seqiro’s translation. Probably the horse was also sending a reassuring feeling, so that she did not think to wonder. “Come with me.”

They followed her out of the chamber and down the passage. She led them to a truly grand cavern whose ceiling was so high that it was lost in gloom, and whose sides were smooth. Nona wondered what aspect of what Colene called the Mandelbrot set this represented. Certainly it was unlike the surface, though there was enough light from hidden sources.

There was a platform in the center. In fact there were several platforms, rising in a group. “This is like the daises of my own reality!” Darius exclaimed. “Everything happens on a dais.”

That was what Nona was afraid of. But they had no choice now.

Each of them was led to a separate dais. They could see each other, but not reach each other, except by getting off one dais and onto another. Obviously each dais defined the arena for its particular duel.

The rabble were pouring in as word of the duels spread. “They do seem to like a spectacle,” Darius muttered. “Colene would have loved getting up before this mob and stepping out of her clothes.”

“She likes to go naked?” Nona asked.

“No. She likes to make an impression, and to take suicidal risks.”

“And you chose this one to love?”

“No. Love chose this one for me, and I am helpless.”

“I would like to know what such love feels like.”

“You do not feel it with Stave?”

She paused, reconsidering. “I think not. Friendship, respect—he is a good man.”

“But no fire,” he said.

“No fire,” she agreed.

Then they had to separate, to go to their individual daises. Hers was the closest to their path. It was stepped around the edge, so was easy to reach.

Null-Darius mounted from another side, and stood waiting for her. Meanwhile the others mounted theirs, until the four were filled. They were in a rough square, with space inside and the massed rabble outside.

Nona looked around, expecting some sort of announcement, but there was none. “This was supposed to be explained,” she said, nettled.

“I will explain it,” Null-Darius said. As usual, his meaning was brought to her by Seqiro, so that she did not have to depend on her interpretation of his words.

“But you are my opponent! How can I trust what you tell me?” But she realized that she could, because once the horse penetrated a mind well enough to translate, he also knew the truth in that mind, and would provide her with it no matter what the person tried to say. Nona wished she could always have Seqiro with her, but knew also that this was not destined. He was committed to Colene. As was Darius. Colene was doubly fortunate.

“There is only one way to do a duel, and I have just learned it,” the rabble man said as if that decided it. “We have a day and a night from this point to decide. We may eat, sleep, or do anything we choose, but we may not leave this dais until the breeding occurs, and it is witnessed.”

“Witnessed?” But the horse was clarifying the meaning already. This assembled multitude would watch it happen.

She had no intention of letting it happen, but she was morbidly curious. “Suppose it happens early. Then what?”

“Then we are free to leave the dais.”

“But not to leave this realm,” she said.

“I can not, and you may not,” he agreed.

“Suppose one of us has to—to—” She did not wish to speak it, so had Seqiro send the implication of a natural function being performed.

“There is a bucket,” he said, gesturing to the side. She looked, and saw it. “When one asks, there will be a brief cessation for this purpose.”

And in public, she realized. She was not easy about this, but realized that protest was pointless. The ways of the rabble governed here.

“And what is permissible?” she asked. “How much can one be hurt?”

“No hurt,” he said. “The one who hurts the other loses the duel.”

Now, this was interesting. “But how does one win?”

He shrugged. “We must breed or fail to breed. That is the only conclusion.”

“But if you try to breed with me, how can I try to stop you, without hurting you?”

“You can tie me with the ribbon,” he said, gesturing to another side. There were coils of light ribbon that was surely stronger than it looked. “And I will tie you with ribbon if I need to.”

So that was the way of it! If she managed to tie him, he would not be able to do anything with her. If he tied her, she would not be able to prevent him. The ribbon would immobilize a person without damage.

“When does it start?” she asked.

“It started when we came to the dais.”

“But you have not tried anything!” she said.

“There is time,” he said. “Perhaps before the end you will decide to do it without strife. I would like that.”

“I doubt I will change my mind,” she said. “I do not want to breed.”

“Perhaps you will reconsider after watching the other duels,” he suggested.

“Watching the others?” she asked blankly.

“It would be pointless to have the breedings all together,” he said. “People would not know which one to watch.”

She still did not trust this. “Then let’s watch all the others,” she said. “You stay on your side, I’ll stay on my side, and no one touches those ribbons.”

“I agree.” He sat on the edge of the dais, his feet on one of the steps down.

Nona found this awkward to believe, but Seqiro reassured her. We are waiting too, he thought. I will of course lose, by your definition, but it will happen in its turn.

“Lose?” she asked.

The mare will come into heat, and I will have to breed her. With my species, breeding is too important to be left to individual whim. But I will continue to support you in your foolish resistance, since your human attitude differs from mine.

“Thank you, Seqiro,” she murmured. There were indeed differences between human beings and horses.

Darius and Null-Nona were also waiting. The only active dais was the one to her left, where Stave and Keli were.

As if Nona’s attention was the signal, the two started moving toward each other. Keli was naked and Stave was clothed; it seemed that this was a matter of individual choice. They met in the center and touched hands.

Then Keli grasped his right hand. Stave resisted, but she was not trying to apply force. She held his hand up and walked into it, causing him to caress her torso. “Can I not persuade you?” she asked. “I almost did before.”

“To do what you want would alienate me from my group,” Stave replied. “I must support my friends.”

“I know you like me,” she said. “Can’t you see that what I want is right? It would cost you so little, and give me so much.”

Nona, watching and listening, began to feel guilty. Not for the watching, because that was part of the duel, but because she understood the position Stave was in. He was a man, and he surely did want to breed with the woman, who was of exactly the contours that men preferred. But he did not want to do it in public, and he did not want to do it if it meant that he would then have no chance with Nona herself. It was not a nice position he was in. She almost wanted to call across to him, telling him to do it. But she feared that the first default to the way of the rabble would begin the unraveling of their group, and then none of them would escape.

“Let me kiss you,” Keli said.

He let her kiss him. Nona saw the expertise of that kiss, and saw his hands slide down her bare back; he was indeed tempted. But he had resolved not to do it, and did not weaken. She felt the warring currents within him, relayed by Seqiro: the burgeoning desire and the denial. She was discovering, through this mental contact, how strong the passions of men were. No wonder they tended to be irrational on this subject.

Keli drew back and shook her head with regret. “Perhaps you won’t resist too much when I try to tie you,” she said. Then she walked to the edge and picked up a coil of tape.

But when her back was turned, Stave began his defense. His body seemed to shimmer. Nona knew what he was doing: he was Grafting an illusion of himself, while he crafted an illusion of nothing beside himself. He stepped into the second illusion, leaving the first.

Keli returned with the tape. She took a length between her two hands and flung it over the man she saw—and the tape passed through him without resistance.

“Oh, no!” she exclaimed in perfectly understandable annoyance. “You have magic!” There was a murmur of awe from the watching throng.

“I have magic,” the illusion agreed. “I am a man of the surface.” It was only technically correct; illusion was not considered true magic, but rather a cheap variant.

Then Keli regrouped. “But that’s why I must breed with you. My child must have magic, to achieve the surface and be human again.” She now seemed pleased rather than displeased, having verified her rationale. And more determined than ever.

But Stave was now cloaked by the illusion of nothingness and was in effect invisible. Nona had to admire the quality of the illusion; some were better than others at it, and he was one of the best. Perhaps there was a bit of despot blood in his ancestry. Keli had no such magic, and couldn’t see him.

“But I will catch you, my rare prize,” Keli said. “I will have your seed.” She stretched her ribbon out between her two hands and walked forward, seeking the unseen presence. The ribbon looked slight, but Nona was sure that it was strong enough to bind a person securely.

The illusion followed her. “Here I am,” it said.

“No, you aren’t,” she retorted, not looking.

“But I am,” it said. “You will never find me by casting at shadows.”

Keli ignored him and continued to walk with her ribbon. She moved back and forth, sometimes jumping, so as to surprise an invisible man who might think he was beyond her reach.

When this didn’t work, she expanded her effort. Her arms extended, becoming inhumanly long, still stretching out the ribbon between them. She was a shape-changer, and no longer bothering to maintain her seductive appearance, since that wasn’t working. As her arms lengthened, her breasts diminished; she was evidently drawing on their mass. Had she had magic, she might have increased her bulk, but as it was she was limited. Still, it was impressive enough, for no one on the surface had such power of self-changing.

When Keli still did not snare the invisible man, she extended herself again. She became shorter and wider, her legs far apart, and her arms reached out almost to the edges of the dais, still holding the ribbon. She no longer looked human at all. It was amazing.

Just how far could the rabble change? Nona had assumed that they could assume the likeness of any human being of their own sex, but this was far beyond that. Was Keli human at all? How was it possible to know?

The rabble are cross-human, Seqiro thought. I am learning their nature as the duel proceeds and I get farther into their minds. They have evolved not in size but in malleability, and are now as different from ordinary human beings as the despots are from the theows.

“But despots and theows are both human,” Nona said.

Yes. But in magic they are far apart.

“Because of the animus. But when that changes—”

It will not affect the rabble. But the rabble is close enough to human to breed with humans.

Nona remained amazed. Of course she had seen the remarkable changes in size which were possible without loss of the human condition; Angus was certainly human, yet could not breed with the folk of Oria. So now she was adjusting her concept of human; the rabble differed less than the sizes of surface folk.

The Keli creature started at one side of the dais and slowly crossed it with the ribbon. Now there was no way for an invisible man to avoid being intercepted. But Nona knew that this wasn’t going to work.

Because Stave had played a trick on the woman. Nona herself, distracted by the other aspects of the contest, had not caught on to it immediately. The key was this: illusion could be visual or sonic or smell. Not all together. An illusion man could look completely authentic, but he would have to freeze in place for a moment in order to speak. Yet the Stave illusion was speaking without interrupting his motion. That meant that it wasn’t the illusion; the man had returned to merge with the illusion, and was now being ignored by the creature who most wanted to catch him. As a tactic, it was a stroke of gentle genius. It seemed that Keli did not know enough of the nature of illusion magic to realize the falsity of this particular example.

However, Stave was now in front of the creature, and would soon be caught even if she didn’t realize that he was real. How would he escape?

He did have a way. He fetched a ribbon himself and stretched it out before him. “I am going to tie you,” he told Keli. “You had better defend yourself, or you will be helpless.”

She paid him no attention. She was intent on her sweep of the dais, which she was sure would be effective, and suffered no distractions. She moved slowly forward.

Stave came to stand directly in front of her. “This is your last warning,” he said sternly, threatening her with the ribbon.

Keli took another step. Stave reached over her head, which was now at about half normal human height, and made a loop of ribbon. He dropped it on her and began wrapping more of it around her.

It was a moment before Keli realized what was happening. She had become so accustomed to tuning him out that she could not adjust instantly. But as the tape tightened about her, she did catch on. “You’re real!”

“You noticed.” He was wrapping loops of ribbon around her extended arms now, making spot knots and pulling them tight. Her arms were reaching out so far that she was unable to bring them in quickly to grab him. Then he ducked down to throw a loop around her legs, pulling it tight. He hauled on the ribbon, hard. She had to fall, for her legs were now being bound together and she could not move to recover her balance.

“You are tying me!” she cried, surprised again, belatedly. She contracted her arms, but they remained enmeshed in the ribbon. Like a spider, he took advantage of her struggles to tie her more securely.

She tried to extend her legs, and they lengthened grotesquely, but remained tied together. Her shortened arms were bound to her sides. She could not shape-change her way out of confinement.

“You fooled me!” she accused him, still changing shape.

“You fooled yourself,” he replied. “You will not be breeding with me this day.”

Now she returned to her original form, naked and voluptuous. “Stave, you have me helpless! You can do what you desire with me. Breed with me!”

The unfortunate thing about it was that he was tempted. Nona felt his desire as he gazed down on her fetching form. Her very helplessness was seductive. She was trying to make it seem that his victory gave him the right to breed, and though he knew better, and had seen how unhuman she could be, he did desire her now.

But he looked across at Nona, and that stiffened his resolve. “No. I will wait until the time has expired.”

Nona felt renewed guilt, denying him his desire. The mind-talk of the horse was giving her a new perspective, and now she understood why men sought women so avidly. Their passions were readily aroused by superficial appearances, but were very strong.

“Then let us be together for that time,” Keli pleaded. “Keep me tied, but lie here with me, so that I may at least enjoy your closeness.”

Nona realized that the duel was not yet over, and would not be over until the time ran out. Keli might yet manage to seduce Stave.

But the main action of the match was over. It was time for the next to become the focus.

That was Darius, against Null-Nona. This one interested Nona for a more personal reason. She wanted Darius to win, of course, but it required some mental adjustment to wish that the image of herself should lose. Despite that image’s desire to breed with him, which was not Nona’s desire.

Null-Nona advanced on Darius much as Keli had advanced on Stave: naked and inviting. If the creature succeeded in seducing him, would that make Nona herself culpable? Because it was her likeness that accomplished it? She wished the rabble woman had assumed some other form, or had abandoned this one.

Darius accepted the woman’s embrace. Nona marveled at that, because she knew that Darius did not have the power of illusion; he could not fool the woman into ignoring him, and he could not render himself effectively invisible. But she surely could extend her arms and legs the same way as Keli had, and could snare him with them. It was dangerous to embrace her. He surely knew that. So why did he do it?

Then Nona saw the doll in his hand. An icon! This was the mechanism of power for his magic. He had made several of them, which he kept with him at all times. This might be the one for Colene, which he could remake to address Null-Nona. More likely it was a new one. He needed to have the body, water, and air of a person for his icon, and he had to get close enough to obtain those things. He was preparing his defense, even as he seemed to yield to her blandishment.

Darius plucked a hair from Null-Nona’s head. Intent on him, she did not notice. She lifted her face to kiss him, while he used his fingers to apply the hair to the icon. There was the essence of the body.

Darius kissed her. It was a long, deep kiss, most passionate and moist. She thought he was being affected, but he was not. For when it broke, he lifted the icon and put his mouth to it touching it with her saliva. There was the water.

“Breed with me,” Null-Nona breathed ardently. But all Darius did was hold up the icon so that her breath bathed it. There was the air. He had completed his icon of her, and she did not know its significance. Nona herself would not have known it had she not had experience with his magic. The rabble woman was about to lose this duel, because she thought Darius was just another surface man. She thought his magic was illusion.

Darius put away the icon of her and brought out another. That must be his own. “Let me show you something,” he said, lifting his doll.

For the first time, the woman noticed the icon. She gazed at it with perplexity. A doll was the last thing she had expected to contend with here!

Darius gestured. He was making a designation: this is here, that is there. Then he moved the icon—and jumped himself, from here to there, away from the woman.

Null-Nona’s mouth dropped open. She turned to stare at Darius, who now stood across the dais from her. He waved. “Magic!” she said, in much the way Keli had, and there was a similar murmur from the audience. That seemed to be so rare a quality here in this nether world that it awed those who beheld it. All of them were desperate for some of that for their offspring, and Nona could not blame them. They believed that they were subhuman, and that only conventional magic would enable them to escape their status as well as their confinement. The truth was that they were bound mainly by their belief; they had little need to escape.

“Catch me if you can,” Darius told her.

She tried. She fetched the ribbon and stretched it out, advancing on him. She did not look strong enough to tie him, but the rabble, like the ribbon, might be stronger than their assumed forms looked.

Darius waited until the woman was almost in reach. Then he moved his icon again. Again he hurtled from one spot to another, leaving the woman gazing at nothing. She too seemed happy to tackle the challenge, for this was the kind of magic she wanted her offspring to have.

Null-Nona advanced on Darius again. This time he brought out his icon of her, and invoked it and moved it—and she found herself back across the dais. This surprised her anew; his magic worked on her. But it did not faze her. She simply resumed her advance from afar.

This time she threw a loop of ribbon, surprising Darius and managing to snare one of his arms. The ribbon had not seemed solid enough to hurl that way; the woman knew how to use it, so had won the advantage of surprise. Immediately, she hauled on it, tugging Darius off-balance, as she ran into him. In this manner she caught him in another embrace, and this time it was clear that she did not intend to let him go. In fact her arms were extending into bands that wrapped all the way around his body and clasped behind her own back, and her legs were doing the same.

Darius conjured himself away. But when he landed, the rabble woman was with him: he had in effect carried her along. So he conjured her away—and she carried him along. She had found a way to nullify his magic; he could use it, but it did not free him from her.

Yet merely clasping him was not enough; Nona had learned to her dismay how a man might rape a woman, but that did not seem feasible in reverse. For one thing, Darius was clothed. How was the rabble woman going to proceed?

That was already becoming clear. The woman locked her legs around him, and unlocked her arms enough to manipulate the ribbon. She was slowly tying him up, so as to be free to do whatever else she wished without letting him go. At the same time she was drawing off his tunic. She surely knew how to finish what she had started, now that she had him helpless.

Indeed, her effort was not limited to the physical aspect. “Whom do you love?” she demanded, her thought coming clearly through to Nona.

“I love Colene,” he replied. As he spoke, he formed a mental image of the girl, cute and with evident intelligence and drive. Perhaps he thought that this would discourage the woman. But it did not. Instead Null-Nona started to change to someone else. She did not release him.

But Darius was not yet defeated. He struggled to move his hands, and though he did not have a lot of leeway, he did manage to bring up the Null-Nona icon. How could that help? All he could do was move them both together, as he had already demonstrated.

He brought the doll figure to his other hand. Then he seemed to invoke it and touch one of its little arms. What was he doing?

Null-Nona had been busy tying him, ignoring the small motions of his hands. Now she stopped. Then, unwillingly, she began to unwind the ribbon. She was freeing him!

Then Nona understood. The icons had effect on the people they represented when they were invoked. Normally they were used for large movements, such as conjuring from one spot to another. But it seemed that they could be used for small movements too. He was moving her arms and hands, forcing her to do his will instead of her own. He had reversed the ploy.

Slowly the woman untied him, and then tied herself as well as she was able. Darius helped at the end, directly instead of indirectly. She was now helpless.

Almost. Her change of form was now complete. She looked exactly like Colene.

“Come to me, my love!” she cried in Colene’s voice. She had picked even that up from his mental image. It was just as if Darius’ girlfriend were bound before him. Would that make him succumb?

Darius stared down at her. Then he lay down with her, not putting his tunic back on. He embraced her, both of them naked.

Nona’s heart sank. The man knew that this wasn’t Colene, yet he was doing it! What was wrong with him? Was the likeness everything, and the reality nothing?

But Darius was not doing anything. He merely lay there, embracing the tied woman. She was as confused as Nona was. “But my love—” she said.

“My love is Colene, whom you now resemble,” he told her. “I am lying with you as I lie with her.”

“But is she not willing?”

“She is willing and eager.”

“But—”

“She is underage, by the standard of her culture.”

Nona understood the woman’s confusion and amazement. She had thought she had won, then lost, then thought she had managed to win another way, and now learned that this too was a loss, for a reason she had not anticipated. It had been a mistake to emulate Colene, for Colene was sexually forbidden by his code.

Now it was Seqiro’s turn. The horse and the mare approached each other. They sniffed noses, and then tails.

Then Seqiro turned away. She is not equine, he thought. I have now reached far enough into her mind to learn her nature.

“Not a mare?” Nona asked. “But isn’t she as much a horse as the others are human? Isn’t she in heat?”

She is coming into heat. But her species is not mine. She is a horse-dragon crossbreed, assuming the form but not the nature of a horse. I breed only with my own species.

Nona was pleasantly amazed. She had thought this contest lost, and instead it was won. “But how did you not know this before?”

I had not focused fully on her mind while dealing with the others. She seemed like a horse and smelled like a horse. But I require also the mind of a horse, and her mind is alien. Her odor has no further effect.

Bel was not ready to be spurned. She advanced on Seqiro. He avoided her, stepping aside as she came to him. She turned to encounter him again, only to find him moving away again. He could read her mind; he knew what she was doing, and avoided it at the same time as she did it. She could not close with him.

She gave up on the equine form, and shifted to what seemed to be her natural one. It was indeed somewhat dragon-like, with a solid tail, short legs, clawed feet, and a large head with endless teeth. A fighting form.

I can not fight that, the horse thought.

“You don’t have to,” Nona said. “Call her bluff.”

Seqiro was surprised, but then read the concept in her mind. He stopped avoiding the dragoness and stood still.

She came at him with her jaws wide. He didn’t flinch, knowing what was in her mind. She stopped, threshing her tail in annoyance.

It didn’t matter, because hurting was not permitted in this contest. The visiting surface folk were too valuable. Bel might bite Seqiro to death, but she couldn’t force him to breed. She could not tie him up and make him do it, because he would be potent only when the smell and species were right. He had won, really, by default.

But another day they will have a true mare here, Seqiro thought warningly.

“We will tackle that problem when it comes,” Darius said. But Nona felt his concern. They were winning today by illusion and novelty. It would not be enough in other circumstances.

Now it was Nona’s turn. Unfortunately she could not simply decline the honor. She could use neither illusion nor self-conjuration to defend herself.

But she could use her magic, and now was the time.

Null-Darius advanced on her. She decided to take no chances; once he caught hold of her, she would have to do something desperate to escape, and if she hurt him she would be declared the loser, which would surely mean something she didn’t like. Of the several types of magic available to her, most would not be effective here. Transformation of objects would not help when there were no objects to transform. The same went for conjuration of objects, and she couldn’t do it with living people. Healing would not enter into it, because nobody was supposed to be hurt. Expansion or compaction—maybe she could do something with the ribbon, then transform it. But for right now, illusion and levitation seemed to be her choices, and illusion probably would not be very effective, because Null-Darius had seen Darius use it.

So as the man reached for her, she sailed up into the air and hovered above him, out of his reach. He gaped up at her, and there was another murmur of awe from the throng. They really appreciated true magic!

But a commotion developed. Surprise was becoming confusion. What was bothering them? They were beginning to look at Darius and Stave, and showing anger.

Then she realized that even here in the nether realm they had to know that only despot men had such powers of magic, not theow women. They thought that a man was helping her to duel. If so, they would declare her to have forfeited. That could not be allowed.

“No,” she said. “I am the one. I am the ninth of the ninth. I am hiding from the despots.”

The rabble whose minds Seqiro had penetrated understood her. They spoke to their companions, and in a moment there was a babble throughout the throng as the news was relayed. Her secret was out, but there had been no way to avoid it.

Then Null-Darius spoke. “You may be that, but that is nothing to us. The change of animus does not affect the rabble. You still must breed. After you have finished with us, then you may return to fulfill your destiny.”

“Unless I defeat you,” she replied evenly.

He shrugged. He walked to the edge and fetched a coil of ribbon. He returned, hefting a loop of it. The material looked thin and light, but she had seen how strong it was, and knew that it had enough solidity to be thrown.

He hurled the loop up at her. She flew up higher, avoiding it. He could not catch her that way.

“But how long can you hover?” he asked.

There was the problem. Levitation might look easy to those who had no magic, but it required as much energy as running, and she was already breathing rapidly. Those who had practiced it all their lives, like Angus, could float for a long time, but Nona had not had that opportunity. She could remain up for a while, but not for a day and a night. When she had to come down, tired, Null-Darius would be there.

She could not depend on avoiding him. She had to incapacitate him. That meant tying him up.

But he was larger and surely stronger than she. He would remove any loops she threw about him as fast as they came. Unless she found a way to tie him quickly and effectively.

She considered as she hovered. Then she thought of a way. She was not sure it would be effective, but it was worth trying.

She conjured the other coil of ribbon to her. It was not easy performing two types of magic simultaneously, and it tired her more rapidly, but she could do it. Then she formed a loop and used the expansion magic that Angus had helped her to discover. The loop became enormous and heavy. She could not hold it up, and had to drop it. But she re-formed it into an open-bottomed cage, and guided it to land on Null-Darius.

It trapped him nicely. While he stared at it in surprise she transformed the bottom edges of it into a flat plate that closed it under the man. Now he was sealed in.

She landed, breathing hard. Had this not worked, she would have had to come down anyway, and he would have had her.

The man took hold of the bars of the cage, but she quickly hardened them into steel-like strength, and he could not budge them. He felt all around it, but it was tight, having been adapted from one piece of ribbon. He was fairly caught. She had won.

He took it philosophically. “I would really have liked to breed with you,” he said. “Not only are you a real human creature, you are beautiful. But the magic that makes you so wonderful also makes you unconquerable.”

“So now we are free,” she said, satisfied. “All of us have won our duels.”

“Until tomorrow,” he agreed.

“Tomorrow?”

“When your next duels begin. You have won only the right not to breed with us whom you have defeated; the remainder of your thousand have not yet been decided.”

Nona was appalled, but the confirmation was coming in from the others. The man spoke the truth. Indeed, this had been clear throughout, and others had remarked on it. She just had not let it register for her own situation.

They had always said that the requirement was a thousand breedings for each of them. That meant that they were still trapped here for a long time. They could fight it every day against new opponents, or submit to it without resistance, but they would not be able to leave the nether world to complete their mission. The only way they could have the freedom to leave their duel-daises for parts of the day was to breed early, so that no further contests were necessary. In short, to capitulate.

What were they to do?