And Eternity by Piers Anthony Read Free Book Online Page B

here? What was the point in turning a nice young woman into a brutish man? Was it a joke? It certainly wasn’t funny!
    Near the bottom of the pit they encountered another hazard. It was cold here, the heat of the prior session gone as if it had never existed. Ice appeared-but it did not stay in place, it moved. Glaciers were developing in the angles between facets, flowing as if liquid, but they were solid. Ice was coming down behind them and wedging together ahead of them. They tried to climb over it, but it was slippery and numbingly cold.
    “Damn it!” Orlene exclaimed, slamming a fist into it. A slight patina of cracks appeared at the point of contact, signaling the power of the blow, but that was all. “What is the point of this interference?”
    She perceived the external threats but not the internal one! “Nox is playing with us,” Jolie said. “Incarnations can be cruel.”
    “Well, I want to tackle her face to face!” Angrily, Orlene invoked the wand.
    When the cloud cleared, they were almost at the peak. The bushes surrounded a small bare region. That was all.
    Orlene was now completely male; no vestige of femininity remained, except for the tattered and incongruous clothing. She even had a light beard. But she, Jolie found that designation anomalous, but refused to concede the inner reality of the change, still refused to acknowledge her situation.
    Orlene tramped on up to the top. “Well, at least there’re no monsters this time,” she muttered with rough satisfaction. “But where’s Nox?”
    Jolie followed. “She may not be here at all. This may merely be her diversion for us, a dream sequence that expends our energies but leads only to futility. The Incarnations can have unusual ways to-”
    “Don’t give me that noise! I came here to see the bitch, and I’m going to see her! Where is she?”
    What an ass her companion had become! But it was pointless, and quite possibly dangerous, to dally here longer. They were in Nox’s power, and if they affronted the Incarnation, things could get much worse.
    “Nox won’t see us unless she chooses to,” Jolie said carefully. “I think we should accept the fact that she’s not interested, and get off this mountain before we annoy her.”
    “Listen, doll, whose side are you on?” Orlene demanded. “I didn’t come here just to quit! Where the hell is Nox?”
    “This isn’t wise!” Jolie said pleadingly. But Orlene turned with masculine arrogance and gestured at the sky with a fist. “A pox on Nox!” she bellowed. “Get your ass down here. Incarnation!”
    Horrified, Jolie grabbed at Orlene’s arm. “You mustn’t!”
    Orlene turned, trying to shake her off, but Jolie clung.
    She had to get them away from here before something terrible happened!
    Then Orlene’s eye fell directly on Jolie. Her mouth pursed appraisingly. “Say, I never realized what a piece you are. C’mere, girl.” Her muscular arm came around to catch at Jolie’s free arm.
    Suddenly Jolie was being hauled in and lifted by a body much stronger than hers. “What-?”
    “Gimme a kiss!” And their faces were together.
    “Stop that!” Jolie cried, amazed and dismayed. She fought to get free, and managed to twist one arm away.
    But Orlene didn’t stop. She grabbed again, this time catching at Jolie’s skirt. Jolie tried to spin away, but the hold on the skirt inhibited her motion, and she fell.
    Orlene went down with her, pinning her to the ground. There was no longer any question about the hidden anatomy: it was male and functioning. Jolie realized that the situation was already beyond protest; she was unable to dissipate in ghostly fashion here, and she had either to fight free or fail to. Why hadn’t she taken warning when she saw the changes occurring in her companion?
    She could, of course, revert back to her drop of blood. But would Orlene come with her, and if so, would she revert back to her original form and nature? Jolie didn’t dare risk it. She fought, but