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fate of the world at issue, he did not like that. But how could he improve the odds?
YOU CAN'T, she wrote.
He sighed. She was probably right. But he wasn't sure how she could help. He certainly didn't want her
getting involved with demons; she was too nice a girl. "I'll just have to try it by myself," he told her
firmly.
She started to protest, but he was firm. The memory of Orlene and her fate bothered him, and he was
determined not to be responsible for any more mischief to a mortal.
Agleh relented reluctantly. She wrote: COME BACK IF-
"I will," Norton promised, hoping he wouldn't have to return here. He squeezed her hand and left.
He was getting better at walking backward, though his leg muscles protested. Much could be done with
peripheral vision and careful attention to sound. By walking ahead of another person, he could be
reasonably certain there were no obstacles in the immediate vicinity, because in forward time he would
have been following that person, and the other naturally avoided problems of terrain. In any event, he
was now familiar with .this region, and that helped.
His plan was to get as close to the key room as he could without being observed and hide until the
proper moment. He would catch the demon just after it changed the capsule-which would be just before
in normal time-and douse it with the holy water before it retreated back to its association with his prior
self. Of course, that would not prevent it from rejoining him, but that was not the point; this would
prevent it from messing with the capsule. If he timed his action precisely, the watching demons from
this present time might not be able to balk him.
He backed to the shelter of a tree and paused there as if resting. A bird-dropping jumped up from before
him to rejoin its origin; good thing he hadn't been standing there! The other pedestrians continued on by,
retreating toward their homes without paying him any attention. It was early morning now; the sun was
no longer beaming down. When he believed no one was watching, Norton backed slantwise across the
lawn to another tree, and thence to a side gate into the Senator's estate. Now he was in a walled in
garden, a pleasant place. A child was there, just unpicking a flower; the stem became whole as she
placed the severed ends together.
What was she doing here at this hour? The flower wasn't even open yet; it was waiting for a direct ray of
sun.
",olleh ,hO" she said, becoming aware of Norton.
"Olleh," he replied, then essayed a question. "Ereh evil uoy od?"
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She glanced at him, her brow quirking at his odd pronunciation and emphasis, ".rotisiv a fo rueffuahc
eht fo rethguad eht m'l .oN"
Norton found this too much to assimilate, so he just smiled. He wanted to get away from her and into the
house. "Gnol os," he said, beginning to back away nonchalantly.
"!ynnuf er'uoY" she said.
Norton proceeded through the garden, handicapped by its unfamiliarity. He stumbled against the footing
for a potted tree. Well, now he was alone; he turned about and walked forward.
A man stepped out before him from an alcove in the estate wall. ".sonorhC"
Norton froze. This man recognized him! "Who-?"
The man only smiled. Then Norton saw his eyes. They were like glassy lenses, with dim red lights
behind. Demon eyes!
He had been caught by a demon lurking in human form. Now, in the immediate vicinity of Chronos, the
demon could interact somewhat on his terms. "SyortseD" it said and grabbed for Norton.
That was warning enough. Norton let his cloak spread out beyond his suit. The man-demon's hands aged
and weakened as they came into contact with that cloak. Hastily he hauled them back, cursing backward.
".olleH"
Both men turned. It was the little girl. She had followed Norton, perhaps curious about the odd man.
The demon leaped for her. The girl shrieked but was caught. "!lliK" the demon cried. He drew a wicked-
looking knife and held it poised near the child's face while his other hand held her by the hair.
Norton knew he would not be able to disarm the demon before the girl was stabbed. She was a hostage-
and the demon would not hesitate to kill her. True demons were minor incarnations of evil, serving only
the major Incarnation.
"What do you want?" Norton asked.
",ereh yats tsuJ" the demon said.
Stay here-until it was too late-or early-to stop the other demon's change of the capsule. Or until the last
power of the Hourglass gave out. Either way, Satan's victory. He could not tolerate that.
But if he acted, the child would die. He couldn't tolerate that either.
Time wavered-and that gave him a notion. He concentrated, or rather relaxed, letting time flow forward.
The demon put away his knife and let the girl go, bounding back to Norton's vicinity. This time Norton
grabbed the demon, his white cloak extended, and held him fast.
The demon screamed. "You're killing my body!" Indeed, the body was aging. The skin wrinkled; the
clothing rotted and fell away. In moments the shriveled body collapsed. It had died of old age.
Norton dropped it. The girl was staring, horror-stricken. "You dried him up!" she cried.
"I had to. He was going to hurt you."
"Say-you don't talk funny any more!" Norton remembered. He concentrated, reversing time again. It was
like picking up a monstrous load after inadequate respite.
"!erom yna ynnuf klat t'nod uoy-yaS" the girl exclaimed.
Norton took her by the arm and led her away. He knew the demon, now separated from the ambience of
Chronos, would not recover-except that that execution would be undone by the resumed retreat of time.
Avoidance was therefore best.
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r r
"!pu mih deird uoY" the girl cried, horrified.
Something nagged at Norton. It was the demon's last cry: "You're killing my body!" Of course that was
literally true; a demon could not take physical form on Earth. Only in very special circumstances did that
happen. The demons he had seen before were mere evil spirits, with no substance. This one had had
substance-because it had taken possession of a living being.
That meant the demons could act physically here. They could not hurt him, Norton-but they could harm
others. That made Norton vulnerable. They could take hostages.
This was too much for him to handle alone. He had dispatched one demon-or at least sent it back to Hell
by destroying its living host-but he couldn't afford to chance that again. He had rescued the child, but
there were too many other potential victims, and he knew that the minions of Satan would use them. He
didn't worry about destroying the living hosts, for he knew that a demon could enter a human body only
when invited, and that only the worst elements of society would ever do that inviting. But he couldn't [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]