Anthony, Piers - Incarnations of Immortality 06 - For Love of Evil

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For Love Of Evil -- Piers Anthony
(Version 1.0 -- 12/12/2001)
PARRY
There was a knock at the door, so hesitant as to be almost inaudible. Parry opened it.
A giri stood without, huddled and childlike. Her flowing honey hair was bound back from
her face by a fillet: a narrow band of cloth that circled her bare head. Her frightened eyes
seemed enormous, me irises gray-green. "I am Jolie," she whispered, her hands making a tentative
gesture toward her bosom.
She had come! Suddenly Parry's mouth felt dry. He had known she would, yet doubted. He had
wanted her to, yet been afraid. Now the test was upon him.
"Please come in," he said, his voice sounding considerably more assured than he felt.
She gazed at him. Her face crumpled. "Oh, please, my lord, please let me go! I never did
you harm, or even spoke ill of you! I never meant to give offense, and if I have, I apologize most
abjectly! Please, please do not enchant me!" She put her face in her hands, sobbing.
Parry was taken aback. "I am not going to enchant you, Jolie!" he protested. "I have no
grievance against you."
Pwvs Assthoisy
Those marvelous eyes peeked from between her fingers. "No?"
"None. I know you have done me no harm. I want only to -- " He found no appropriate word.
"If you will come in, I will explain."
Her tears ceased, but not her fright. "The Sorcerer said I would not be hurt," she said
somewhat defiantly.
"My tamer spoke truly," Parry said. "I mean only to talk with you. Please come in; it is
warm inside."
She hesitated. A gust of wind tugged at her garment, and she shivered. It was evidently
her best dress, but it was some -- what soiled linen, given shape only by the cord at her waist.
It was inadequate protection against the chill of me fall evening. "You order me, lorel?"
Parry grimaced. "I am no lord, Jolie. I am the Sorcerer's apprentice. I am hardly older
man you. I cannot older you, nor would I if I could. I only want your company this night."
Her face crumpled again. "Oh, please, spare me this! To you it may be nothing, but to me
it's my life!"
Parry had realized mat there would be difficulty, but he had not properly appreciated its
nature before. The giri believed mat she was doomed if she set foot inside his house.
He could let her go. But mat would mean the loss of what might be his sole opportunity,
and failure in his first significant challenge. The Sorcerer had little sympathy for failure of
any type.
"How can I persuade you mat I mean you no harm?" he asked. "I swear to you that I will do
nothing to you without your leave, and mat I will not force mat leave-giving."
"Will you swear by the Blessed Virgin Mary?" she asked disbelievingly.
"I swear it by me Blessed Virgin Mary."
She watched him for some sign of disaster, but mere was none. He had not been smitten for
false swearing; therefore it must be safe. Still, her doubt loomed almost tangibly.
"Come in before you freeze," he urged. "I have a fire within."
That did it; her shivering was not entirely from fright. "Re -- member, you swore," she
reminded him nervously.
FORLOVEOFEVIL 3
"By me Virgin," he agreed.
She stepped in through the doorway, her eyes fixing on the fireplace within. There was
indeed fire, radiating flickering heat. He had banked it so mat it gave off little smoke and
warmed the chamber without depleting me air; it was one of me arts the Sorcerer had taught him.
Jolie knelt before it, extending her hands to the warmth. Now the threadbare nature of her
garment became evident; me light of me fire shone through, showing her thin arms, and there were
holes. But she was oblivious; for me moment that warmth was all that she craved.
Parry closed and barred me door against the wind. It was of stout oak, and chinked around
me edges, but some drafts still leaked through. He went quietly to his pantry, which was a niche
to the side, separated by a dark linen curtain. He brought out a loaf of bread, a cup of butter,
and a jar of blackberry jam. He set these on a tray and added a pitcher of goat milk and a knife
and two mugs. He brought these to the main chamber and set them on me wooden table.
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"I have food," he said.
Jolie tore her rapt gaze from the fire and turned to him. For a moment her eyes met his;
then she turned away without speaking.
"For you," he clarified, picking up the sharp knife.
She looked again -- and screamed. She lurched to her feet and ran for the door. She would
have been out and away, but me bar balked her.
"No, wait!" Parry cried, dropping me knife and hurrying to join her. "I meant -- "
Perceiving herself trapped, Jolie turned on him a stricken countenance, then fainted.
He caught her as she fell. It was no ruse; her body slumped in rag-doll fashion. He had to
transfer his hold from her shoul -- ders to her midsection as she sagged. She was so light she
seemed indeed like a doll; there was little flesh on her bones.
He tried to walk her to a stool, but couldn't make it work. Finally he picked her up and
carried her. He eased her down by me fireplace, propping her against the warm hearth wall, then
fetched pillows for comfort.
4 Piers Anthony
In a moment she recovered. Her eyes popped open, and she glanced about like a snared bird.
"You are safe, Jolie," Parry said quickly. "You swooned, but you are safe."
"The knife -- "
Then it burst upon him: the knife! He had been about to slice the bread, and she had
thought he meant to use it on her. No wonder she had spooked!
"I gave my oath," he reminded her. "No harm to you."
"But -- "
"I was cutting bread for you."
"But the sacrifice -- "
"My oath," he repeated. "By the Holy Virgin. You can trust that."
"Yes," she agreed dubiously.
"I am going to cut you a slice of bread," he said carefully. "Or you may do it yourself,
if you prefer."
"No..." she said, evidently afraid that the knife would turn in her hand and seek her
innocent blood.
Parry picked up the knife, slowly, and oriented on the hard loaf. He sawed through it,
severing a thick slice, and set down die knife.
Jolie's eyes remained locked on the knife throughout. She relaxed only when it left his
hand.
"Would you like butter on it?" he inquired. "Or jam?"
"Oh, my lord..." she demurred.
"I am no lord," he repeated firmly. "Call me Parry."
"Oh, I could not!"
Parry smiled, a trifle grimly. "Call me Parry," he said, touching the knife.
"Parry!" she cried, shrinking into her dress.
"That's better," he said. "You know I am only a year older than you. I see you as an
equal."
"But you are the Sorcerer's son!"
"Butter or jam?" he asked. "Or both?"
"For me?" She simply could not believe.
"For you. I will have a separate slice. Here, I will cut it now." He picked up the knife.
FOR LOVE OF EVIL 5
Again her eyes locked on it, and her breath became shallow. It was as though he were
torturing the loaf.
"I will put the knife away," he said as he finished. He earned it back to the pantry and
set it behind the curtain, safely out of sight. Only then did the girl's breathing revert to
normal.
He used a wooden spatula to spread butter generously on both slices of the coarse black
bread, then poured jam on each. He picked up the slices and walked to her, proffering one. "For
you," he repeated. "I will sit on the other side of me fire and eat my own."
Hesitantly, her tiny hand came up, as if ready to dart away at die first sign of menace.
Her whole arm was shaking. He set the bread firmly in it, then took his place on the other side as
promised.
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He had been uncertain how to proceed, but now he felt more confident. "Jolie, I would like
you to understand me. May I tell you my story?"
"Yes, lord," she said. Then, as his glance went to the table where the knife had lain,
"Parry!"
He smiled. "You learn quickly, Jolie. That is one of two reasons I asked for you."
"You gave your oath!" she cried.
"I asked only for your company this evening. Your father owed my father, and this is the
manner of the payment: your visit here. After this you will be free; we shall never require this
of you again."
"Oh, please -- I never homed you!"
"And I will not harm you!" he snapped. "Eat your bread and listen; then perhaps you will
understand."
She looked at the bread she held as if seeing it for the first time. "I -- really can
eat?"
"Slowly," he cautioned. "One small bite at a time. Like so." He took a delicate bite of
his own. "Chew it well before swallowing." He was aware that a hungry peasant tended to gulp good
rood, fearing it would vanish. He did not want the girl to make herself sick.
She took a bite, emulating him exactly.
"Fifteen years ago, me Sorcerer was preparing a major spell,"
6 PiersAwthony
Parry said.' 'For this he required a blood sacrifice. So he bought a baby. As you know,
such babies are for sale by poor families who have too many to feed already." She knew. She chewed
deliberately, watching him. "I was that baby," he continued. "It was my destiny to be cut and bled
on the altar, my life's blood lending substance to the potency of the spell. I believe it was a
weather spell; there had been a drought, and the Lord of the Manor feared for his crops and the
wild animals on his preserve. He did not want to suffer poor hunting. So he hired this service of
the Sorcerer, in the year of our Savior 1190. The sacrifice was to be private. because the Holy
Church frowns on human sacrifice."
He paused, glancing at her. She watched him as if mes -- merized, slowly chewing.
"But the Abbot somehow learned of it," Parry continued after a moment. "He showed up at
the site in person. 'What's this noise of sacrifice?' he demanded. 'You know it is forbidden to
cut a living human baby!' And naturally the Lord had to disavow it, because the Abbot could make
things very difficult for the progress of his soul to Heaven. 'No, no. Abbot, you misunderstand!'
he protested. "This is no human sacrifice! We have a fine sheep for that!' And he signaled his
minion to fetch a sheep from the herd.
"'Then what is mis human baby doing here?' the Abbot demanded, for he was no fool. The
Lord had to think fast. 'Why, this is the Sorcerer's newbom son,' he explained. 'But the Sorcerer
is not married,' the Abbot pointed out. "That is why he is adopting this fine baby,' the Lord
said.
"The Abbot looked at the Sorcerer, whom he didn't like because magic was, strictly
speaking, forbidden outside the auspices of the Church. But on occasion the community did need the
professional touch, as now, so the Sorcerer was tol -- erated. The Abbot saw a way to make the
Sorcerer really uncomfortable, and he pounced on it. 'I am very glad to hear that,' he said,
rubbing his hands together. 'Children are the Lord's blessing. I shall perform the ceremony of
adoption straightaway.' And the Sorcerer was trapped in this bed of thistles of the Lord's making;
he would have to adopt and raise
FOR LOVE OF EVIL 7
the sacrificial baby. Thus was my life spared, and I have not had occasion to regret it."
He looked again at Jolie, and caught her in a tentative smile. He smiled in return,
encouraging her. She was now halfway through her feast of bread, still chewing deliberately, as di
-- rected.
"The sheep arrived, and the sacrifice was made," he re -- sumed. "And do you know, the
weather did tarn, and rain came within the day. It seemed that the sacrifice had been effective.
The Abbot performed the ceremony of adoption, and I became the Sorcerer's son. I understand it was
difficult for the Sorcerer to mask his scowl, or the Abbot his smirk. Even the Lord, when he
pondered the matter, considered it a fine joke. But he remained neutral, for he required me good
offices of both the Abbot and me Sorcerer. He went so far as to guarantee a nominal stipend for me
care of die boy, so mat he might never be in want. The Abbot matched him by guaran -- teeing a
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proper and churchly education for the lad. Thus I received both material and spiritual blessings,
to the discom -- fiture of my adopted father. It was impossible for him to renege, or to dispose
of me privately; me Abbot watched like a hawk. Thus me joke became a fact, and I was indeed the
heir to me Sorcerer. But do you know, I somehow never did take a liking to the notion of human
sacrifice? I am not certain I ever quite figured out why."
Now Jolie could not prevent her laugh. Her face illuminated with me momentary pleasure of
it, becoming pretty. She had finished her bread, while Parry's had only one bite from it.
"Here, take mine," he said, offering it to her. "I find I would rather talk man eat; you
are a good listener."
She tried to demur, but she remained hungry, and her protest lacked force. She accepted
the bread, and ate it with better confidence.
"Then the oddest thing developed," Parry said. "I turned out to have a talent for magic.
It was as if God had chosen this way to provide me Sorcerer an heir mat he would never have chosen
for himself. The Abbot died when I was ten, and the Lord when I was twelve, but the need for any
coercion
8 Piers Anthony
had long since passed. My father now saw to my education and welfare with enthusiasm, and
indeed, I have never wanted for either. I have long known the trotfi of my adoption, and have no
resentment on that account; I know that had I not been sold for sacrifice, I would now be a
completely igno -- rant peasant, or perhaps dead of a fever. I believe Has Lead in his mercy and
discretion did intervene to make of my life what it could be. I was never in danger of death from
the knife; God knew that, if the others did not." He smiled again. "But you may be sure that when
I pick up a knife, it is to cut bread, and not to harm a visitor. Do you believe that now, Jolie?"
"Yes," she whispered.
"Will you have some milk? I have plenty."
She nodded mutely, seeming afraid to speak such greed aloud. He got up and went to the
table and poured a mugful. He brought it to her.
She took it, and sipped it carefully. He knew she was hon -- oring his cautions, which she
took to be meaningless; but he knew also mat she was far more likely to keep the food down if she
went slowly. She was a typical peasant girl in that she had seldom if ever been properly fed.
"And so I learned the disciplines of law and medicine and magic," Parry said. "Also combat
-- and the arts. The art of communication among them. I doubt you have had much dif -- ficulty
understanding me."
She nodded, her smile coming more freely now.
"But I suspect you are wondering why I asked for you."
The fear flared up again, and the remaining milk slopped in the mug. "I have done you no
harm!"
"And I shall do you no harm," he replied automatically. "I am fifteen years old now, and
in good health. I am becoming a man. That means I am ready for a woman."
Now the milk slopped over the brim. "Oh, please, lord -- "
"Surely you know that my father would have brought me any woman I wished," he said.
She nodded, her hands still shaking.
"Obviously I asked for you. Why do you think I should want an illiterate peasant girl one
year my junior?"
FOR LOVE OF EVIL 9
Her breathing was becoming labored. "Oh, please -- "
"Stop that!" he snapped. "Answer the question."
She took a shuddering breath. "Be -- because I am the only virgin without disease in die
village."
"No."
"But it is true, lord! No man has touched me."
"I know it is true, but that is not why I asked for you. Try again."
"Because my father owed -- "
"No! All the villagers owe the Sorcerer!"
She shrugged. "Then I do not know, Idd."
"Pany! Call me Parry! That's my name. I am tow-born, like you."
"Parry," she agreed faintly.
"I asked for you because I want the best woman I can get, and you are that one."
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Now she laughed. "You do ill to tease me so, lor -- Pairy."
"It is true that you are young, but so am I. You are poten -- tially the smartest and Ae
prettiest woman of the village. That is why -- "
This time her laugh was wholehearted. "I am the thinnest and dumbest waif in die village!"
she protested. "How can you pretend otherwise?"
Parry leaned forward, leaching for her. She shrank away, but he persisted, catching hold
of a hank of her hair at her shoulder. "Look at this," he said earnestly. "Golden nesses, like few
known here in the south of France. Look at your face:
perfect. Not even any scars from die pox."
"I have scars," she said, almost eageriy. "But they don't show."
"All you need is some feeding, and you will flesh out into sheer loveliness. You have die
frame already; I can see it clearly."
She drew her dress more closely about her, fearing diat her body showed. "You shouldn't
look!"
"Figuratively, I mean. I have learned to see folk for what d"ey are and for what diey can
be; my father taught me that. He had me took at tiae villagers whenever we were in die village,
and choose die best woman. Had I chosen
10 PiersAntlwny
wrongly, he would have served me as I deserved for my error."
She was not persuaded, but she was flattered, and curious. "How would that be?"
"He would have delivered that wrong girl to me."
Again she laughed. "And so he did!"
"No. I have no doubt of this. You are the one."
Her doubt remained, but she was beginning to accept the fact that he believed. "What will
you have of me, then?"
"Your love."
She looked stricken, having briefly dared hope for escape. "I dare not deny you. Parry."
"I said your love, not your body! I want you to love me."
"I fear you," she said. "Is that enough?"
"No. You must come to know me, and to love me."
She spread her hands slightly. "You promised never to sum -- mon me again, after this
night."
"And I shall not! You must come only if you choose."
"If (he Sorcerer chooses."
"No! It must be free. It shall be free."
"I do not understand you."
Parry got up and fetched a sheet of paper, one of the valuable supplies his father
provided him with. He took a stick of char -- coal and began to mark it, gazing intently at her.
"I have been trained also in the art of persuasion," he said. "This is my test: to persuade you.
If I prove unable to do so, then I will fail, and my father will be disappointed. I must not fail,
for there is no other woman as right for me as you. I must have you with me as I step out into the
worid as a sorcerer."
"I have no truck with magic!" she exclaimed with some asperity. "It is the work of the
devil!"
"No. Black magic is the work of the devil. White magic is die work of the Church. It is
white magic I am learning. It is beneficial to man and good for the soul."
She shrugged. "I wish you would let me go. I fear what sorcery you may work on me."
"Give me one more hour," he said earnestly. "If I cannot persuade you in that time, then I
will know it is not to be."
FOR LOVE Of EVTL 11
"You talk so foolishly! I am not to be persuaded! I am here to be -- " She hesitated, then
forced herself to finish. "Taken."
"Persuaded," he said firmly. "Just as I was given a far better life by the intervention of
the Lord God, so may you also be. I can offer you good food, better than what you have just eaten.
Good clothing, better than what you wear now. The warmth of the fire, every night. The respect,
even the awe, of the villagers -- "
"Why torment me like mis?" she protested. "I know none of it can be true!"
He set aside his charcoal and turned the paper to her. "What do you see?"
Her eyes rounded with surprise. "You drew this?"
"You saw me doing it. Who is it?"
"The Madonna!" she exclaimed. "You can draw! But you had no model!"
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"I had a model."
"But you were looking at me -- " She faltered. "It cannot be! She is so lovely!"
"It is you, Jolie -- as you can be. When properly fed and dressed. When your beauty
manifests to others as it does to me now."
"No!" she said, bemused and flattered.
"It is what you will be, if you come to me. If you love me, and let me love you. It is the
potential I see in you, mat I know will appear if it is allowed."
She stared at the sketch, fascinated. "You believe this?"
"I know this. Yet this is only the lesser half of it. Even as the soul is more than the
flesh, your mind is more than your body. You can be brilliant!"
"I cannot even read," she said. "Or figure."
"I can teach you these. I know you can learn. I believe you have the desire. Will you not
allow me to try?"
Her gaze became canny. "So I will return to you every night for your pleasure? You would
fool me with impossible prom -- ises, so that this night will be not the end, but only the begin --
ning?"
12
FOR LOVE OF EVIL 13
Piers Anthony
"Only the beginning," he agreed. "But not of delusion. All that I have told you is true --
or will be true, if you accept it. Please, I beg of you -- give me this chance!"
"You beg of me? You have no need to beg, only to com -- mand. You know that."
"A command is made to an unwilling person, without love," he said. "A plea is made to a
person one respects."
"Peasants are not respected!" she exclaimed.
"Jolie, I will offer you a job, so it is legitimate. To be my servant. I will pay you a
fair wage. I will give you a coin tonight, mat you can take home and show as evidence. Then will
you return?"
"But you said you don't want my body, you want my love. A servant doesn't love."
"It is only a pretext. I will not treat you as a servant. I will treat you as an
apprentice."
"An apprentice! To be a sorcerer?"
"And to be my wife."
"Blessed Mary!" she breathed, staring at him almost in shock.
"What more can I promise you?" he asked. "I want your love. I want you to know me and to
love me. I will do anything you ask."
She sighed.' 'I know my place. I am a poor, ignorant peasant giri. I know that none of
this is to be believed. I wish you would just do what you mean to do and let me go, so that I need
not fear evil anymore, because it will be behind me. You have no cause to mix up my mind."
Parry saw her slipping away despite his best effort. He could not let it happen. He
realized he would have to do what he had sought to avoid. He would have to enchant her.
"What do you fear of me?" he asked.
"I cannot tell you that! The uttering of it might make it come true."
"Do you fear that I will ravish you and cast you out de -- spoiled, so that your father
will beat you for being of lesser value on the marriage market?"
She nodded, agreeing without uttering.
"Do you not wonder why I have not done it long since, instead of talking with you?"
"I have been asking you that!"
"Can you not accept that what I am telling you is true?"
"I cannot."
"Then let me show you the nature of my power."
She tried to shrink back against me hearthstones. ' 'I believe it already!"
"Look at me, Jolie. Gaze into my eyes and do not flinch."
She nerved herself for the inevitable and obeyed.
Parry invoked the magic of mesmerism. He accessed her mind through her eyes and made it
responsive to his verbal commands. She would now obey any reasonable directive, and any
unreasonable directive if it were suitably couched to seem reasonable. Almost anything could be
done with a mesmerized person, if the sorcerer was sufficiently skilled.
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"Listen to me," he said. "Believe what I say. Do not question it."
She nodded, her eyes fixed on his.
"I am about to teach you to fly," he said. "Follow my instructions, and you will fly. Are
you ready to fly?"
She hesitated, obviously wishing to question this, but con -- strained by his injunction
against that. She nodded, ill at ease despite the power of the spell.
"Spread your arms," he said. She did so. Now the holes in her dress were revealed; she had
held her arms close to her body before, hiding the condition of the dress. Stitching had made up
much of the damage, but it was not enough; he could see a portion of her right breast through the
stitching. The breast was small, because she was young and because she was ill nourished; still,
it threatened to distract him from this dem -- onstration, so he forced his gaze away from it.
"You are now poised for flight," he said. "When you flap your arms you will rise into the
air. Be careful, because the space is limited here; you do not want to bang into the roof. Do it
slowly, and remain in control."
Still she looked doubtful.
"Flap your arms," he said.
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She lifted and dropped her arms, imitating the motion of the wings of a bird, awkwardly.
"You are now rising from the floor," he said. "Look down. What do you see?"
She remained on me floor, moving her arms. But her face as she looked down changed. Sheer
wonder showed. "I -- I am hovering in the air!" she exclaimed.
"I have taught you to fly," he said. "But you are as yet clumsy. It takes practice to do
it well. When you can do it well, we can fly outside. Now come down, carefully."
She changed her motions, men her knees bent and she almost lost her balance. She
recovered, and stood normally, her bosom heaving. "I am down!"
"The lesson is over," he said. "Do not attempt to fly again tonight. Fix this experience
in your memory. When I snap my fingers you will be free of my power."
He waited a moment, then snapped his fingers.
Her attitude changed. She looked warily at him. "You en -- chanted me!" she exclaimed.
"I enchanted you," he agreed.
"But I flew!"
"You did, and you did not. It is a matter of perspective. I made you seem to fly, but
later I can make you fly in reality. This is an aspect of my power."
She looked about the room. "It was so real! But I didn't really fly?"
"You had a vision of flying. It would not have been safe for you really to fly at this
time. You aren't dressed for it."
She glanced down at herself, and quickly pulled in her arms, covering the flaws in her
dress. "Why did you do this to me?"
"To show you the kind of power I have, taught me by my father, the Sorcerer. I appeal now
to your logic: if I can make you believe you are flying, do you understand I could make you
believe that you must undress and do whatever I ask of you?"
She considered. "Yes," she whispered, awed.
"Can you now believe that what I am telling you is true? That I value your person, and
want your love, not your en -- chantment?"
FOR LOVE OF EVIL 15
"Almost," she whispered.
"That I will teach you these things I know, that you may join me in the practice of this
kind of magic, for the good of the village?"
"Almost."
He saw that it wasn't enough. If she had this doubt imme -- diately after the experience,
that doubt would grow when she went home. His effort of persuasion had not been sufficient.
He had only one more thing to try. It seemed the weakest of his devices, but it was all
that remained. If it failed, then he would have to admit defeat.
"I will sing to you," he said. "Then you may go, your father's debt acquitted. But here --
I promised you a coin, in token of the employment I offer you. In token of all I ask of you. Take
it, and return to me if you will." He fetched me tiny copper coin from his pocket and gave it to
her.
"You are letting me go, without -- ?"
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"After my song.'' Then he breathed deeply, twice, and sang. He composed me words
extemporaneously, and the melody;
it was a thing he had always had a talent for. That was part of what the Sorcerer had
discovered in him. There was asso -- nance and meter in the language he used -- French -- but
those hardly mattered; the sentiment would manifest in any language. Yet the words were only the
lesser aspect of it, a convenience of the moment, tuned to this passing purpose.
The song filled the house, for it was buttressed by the sorcery he had mastered best: the
ethereal accompaniment. It was as if the finest musicians of the realm sat behind him, playing
their instruments in perfect accord, buttressing and amplifying his voice, making of it a sound no
natural human throat could issue. The power of that orchestra infused the building, making the
floor vibrate and the low fire quiver in resonance. There was, literally, magic in it.
Jolie! I sing of the beauty I see in you, Of the glory in you, waiting to be evoked, Of
the joy I would have of you, If only you could love me. If only you could love me.
16 Piers Anthony
Jolie! I sing of your elegance to come, Of the envy of those who once knew you, Who will
take you for an Abbess, If only I may love you. If only I may love you.
The girl stood as if transfixed, listening. Her tresses seemed to waver with the sound,
and faint washes of color crossed her eyes. She was indeed beautiful, and intelligent; only the
pov -- erty of her situation had masked her qualities. With food and care and confidence she would
be a woman to reckon with. Parry had not deceived her in that; she deceived herself. He did want
her love, for he knew her to be a treasure. Her name meant "Pretty," and that she was, in many
senses. His com -- prehension of this infused his song with passion; he loved her already.
He finished. He said nothing; he walked to me door and lifted the bar, and stood aside,
waiting for her to leave.
Dazed, she clutched her dress about her and walked out.
She hesitated just outside, afraid of the night, shivering with its chill. Parry took a
cloak from a hook and carried it to her, and set it on her shoulders.
Still she stood. He realized that she was concerned for the creatures of the darkness. The
village dogs knew her and would not attack, but they were not out now, which meant that wild
animals could encroach. The village was some distance from Parry's house. It could be dangerous
for a woman to walk alone.
He took down a cloak for himself, and fetched a stout staff. Then he joined Jolie. Without
a word he set out for me village.
She followed, grateful for the protection. He slowed, en -- couraging her to catch up.
Then they walked together, silently. The distance had seemed formidable; now it seemed short. No
animals encroached.
When they came to her house, he stopped. She paused, glancing at him, then removed her
cloak; it was not hers to keep. Gravely, he accepted it. Then he turned and walked away.
FOR LOVE OF EVIL 17
Would she come to him again? She had been moved by his song; he knew that. But how long
would the effect last? She was free now; she had paid her father's debt.
Parry slept irregularly. He had put himself across as an urbane young man of considerable
power, and he was that, but this was his first attempt to accomplish a major thing by himself. It
was his rite of passage as a sorcerer -- and it was something he truly wanted. Jolie was me best
possible woman for him in the region; with her he knew he could achieve happiness. There would be
a great deal of work to develop her, of course, but there would also be much pleasure in the doing
of it. He did not know what he would do if she did not come to him. He had at me moment no other
ambition than to bring her to his house and keep her.
He woke before dawn, and dressed and ate and performed necessary tasks, his mind
elsewhere.
The day passed with routine chores. One villager had chick -- ens who ranged too far;
neighbors had complained and threat -- ened to kill them for their own pots, but the hens were
undisciplined and could not be restrained. The man had paid the Sorcerer for a solution to the
problem, and the Sorcerer had given the task to Parry for practice. If he bungled it, me Sorcerer
would make it right, but Parry intended to handle the matter competently himself.
He pored over his text on law, and in due course found it:
a procedure covering exactly this situation. It was not known locally, but had been used
in other countries, and it had the force of common law. It was this: the owner of the hens had to
stand at the ridge of the roof of his house, and pass his right arm under his left, and reach up
and grab his own hair. Then he was to take a sickle by its point, in his left hand, whose motion
was at this stage restricted. He would fling the sickle as far as he could, and its landing would
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define the distance his hens could go with impunity.
It happened that this particular peasant was athletic and co -- ordinated; he would, with
a little practice, be able to fling the sickle quite far. That should give his hens enough room to
18 Piers Awtbony
range. The Sorcerer would advise die client of this, privately;
then, in a few days, present the procedure. It would be done in public, so that all the
villagers would see how the man vindicated his chickens. Once again, the Sorcerer would earn his
fee. The Lord of die Manor, seeing the matter settled amicably, would not interfere; he might even
come to watch the sickle-throwing himself.
Parry was well satisfied. But as evening approached he be -- came nervous. Would Jolie
come? He thought she would, but also he doubted. He had done the best he could to convince her; if
it wasn't enough...
The day waned, but the girl did not show. Parry's gloom deepened. He had tried so hard to
persuade her! What could he have done differently? He had a whole life to live with her, if only
she chose it.
He lit a fire on me hearth. The air was turning chill, but that was not what motivated
him. It was that he had had die fire going when she had come before, and she had sat beside it.
Almost he could visualize her there! But he stopped mat vision; a sorcerer had no business
succumbing to die illusions he foisted on others. A sorcerer had to deal in reality, whatever it
was, wherever he found it, being always undeceived. Magic, science, law and illusion were merely
tools to be understood and applied. Reality was his truest master.
Even die reality of a woman who chose not to come.
But he had pinned so much on mis! He knew she was right for him; he knew he could offer
her a better life man any peasant of die village could. But did she know?
The fire blazed up, and smoked, and gradually settled into place as the draft became
established. The average peasant cottage had no internal fire; it would have been dangerous for
the thatched roof. But Parry had been raised in comparative luxury -- a luxury he had hoped to
share wiui --
He stiffened, listening. Was that a knock? He doubted it, for me sound had been so faint
as to be coincidence, but he hurried to the door anyway and threw it open.
Jolie stood there. "Did you mean it?" she asked tim -- orously.
FOR LOVE OF EVIL 19
Parry opened his arms to her, realizing even as he did it mat he might be making a
mistake. He had asked for her love, but promised her only a job.
She stepped into his embrace. Her action, like his, was answer enough.
FOR LOVE OfEVIL 21
CRUSADE
There was not much more to it, that night. They embraced, then separated, aware that such
intimacy was premature. She had only come to inform him that her father had acceded to her
employment by the Sorcerer's son, and wanted to know the rate of pay. She would come in the
morning for work.
"Yes, of course," Parry agreed. He was so relieved that she had come that he had no
concern for the details. He guided her to the fire, and brought her bread and milk.
"I should do that," she said.
"Tomorrow you shall," he said, smiling.
"My father thinks I am to be your mistress," she confided. "He wants an extra coin for
that."
"He shall have it!" Parry agreed before he thought.
She averted her gaze. "Then it is true?"
"Only if you wish it. I told you before -- "
"You desire me?"
"Yes."
"But will not force me?"
"Yes."
"And if I do not wish it?"
20
Parry spread his hands. "I want only what you wish to give."
She shook her head. "I do not understand you. Parry."
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He tried to explain. "I could pay a village girl, and she would do whatever I asked,
because of the money. But she would not love me, only my money. I want your love, and that I
cannot buy."
"I wish I could believe."
"I wish I could make you believe."
She glanced sidelong at him. "I thought you would give me a reason."
He was puzzled. "What reason?"
"That you wished to catch a unicom."
He laughed. "And for dial I would need a virgin! I should have thought of that!"
"Is it true?"
"That you can catch a unicom only with a virgin? Yes, in a manner. It is possible without,
but the animal is killed in me process."
"I meant, that this is why you want me?"
He spread his hands. "No. I could have gotten an ugly or stupid virgin for that. You are
neither."
"But you could make me feel safer with you if you tell me that it is for me unicom."
"It is an assurance I cannot give you."
"Then why do I feel reassured?"
"Because you realize I am telling you the truth, and that is more important than a facile
rationale for your presence."
She considered. "Am I really neither?"
"Neither what?" he asked, unable to follow her thread.
"Ugly or stupid."
Ob. "Yes."
"You could take me now, and I would not protest."
"Do you love me?"
"I fear you."
"I will wait for your love."
"But I fear you less than I did."
"That is good." He liked die fact that she spoke her mind
22 FOR LOVE OF EVIL 23 Piers Anthony
directly. Some in the village evidently took that for social
ignorance, but he took it for innocence. "I must go home now. But I will return in the
morning." "I will walk you home."
"No. It is not fully dark yet, and I must conquer my fear." "Then let me give you a spell
to ward away bad animals." She considered again. "Yes, mat would help." He gave her a pouch that
exuded a foul odor. "Open this
at need. Hang it outside your cottage, or it will drive out your
family."
She tittered. "Bad animals!"
He nodded. "The smell is versatile."
She departed, and he clenched his hands together in an
expression of sheer joy. He would win her!
Jolie came me next morning, and the morning thereafter. He prevailed on her to wash
herself; she was distrustful of this peculiar requirement, but acceded and became clean in the new
dresses he provided. Her hair became lustrous, and her skin as smooth as milk. But when she went
home each evening, she donned her old garment and smudged her face with dirt, so as not to cause
suspicion.
She was, as he had judged, a bright girl, and Parry used mesmeric techniques to teach her
more rapidly and fully, just as the Sorcerer had used them on him. There was an enormous amount to
leam, for sorcery was mainly a matter of knowledge and experience in the correct lores; true magic
could be mas -- tered only by those with special talent and dedication. Pew folk had me cleverness
or the patience to do it well; most who claimed to be adept were to some degree charlatans,
buttressing their minimal magic with illusion. She learned to read, and to fight, and the arts, so
that she could study on her own or defend herself from molestation or play prettily on the little
harp he gave her. Her flesh quickly filled out, because of the good feeding, and she became the
woman of his picture: not the Madonna, but as beautiful.
This progress did not pass unnoticed in the village, despite her effort to conceal it.
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file:///F|/rah/Piers%20Anthony/Anthony,%20Piers%20-%20Incarnations%206%2-%20For%20Love%20of%20Evil.txtForLoveOfEvil--PiersAnthony(Version1.0--12/12/2001)PARRYTherewasaknockatthedoor,sohesitantastobealmostinaudible.Parryopenedit.Agiristoodwithout,huddledandchildlike.Herflowinghoneyhairwasboundbac...

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