Jack L. Chalker Dancing Gods 4 Songs of the Dancers

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smashed the bottles, we'd liberate the souls but that would just allow them to
pass on.
The only way to restore them would be to* catch each one of them and stick the
bottle down his or her throat, the way Ruddygore did with you. The trouble
with that is, like Ruddygore, we'd have no way of knowing who was who, and the
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zombie we were trying to save would be trying to kill us for it. No, face it,
it's back to back and belly to belly at the zombie jamboree and we got to
run."
"Huh?"
"You're too young. Zombie Jamboree: The Song That Killed Calypso by Lord
Invader and his Three Penetrators. Never mind. It's just my grave sense of
humor coming up in a hopeless situation."
"Look!" Mia cried in an excited whisper. "Someone's coming out of the meeting
place!"
Several figures, in fact. The distance was far enough that even with the
Kauris'
super nightsight and eaglelike telescopic vision it was hard to make them out.
"The big guy in black's got to be Sugasto, the old Master of the Dead
himself!"
Marge told them. "The others are probably his aides and military leaders but
who's that long-haired sexy broad with him? I can't quite get a fix on her."
"I can't, either," Joe replied. "We need to get closer, and, right now, that
would set off every alarm they have with them outside. Man! What I wouldn't
give for a telescopic rifle right now! Just a couple of shots and it would all
be over!"
Marge wasn't listening. "Whoever that girl is, she's hanging all over Sugasto.
Funny, I never thought he'd be interested in that kind of thing. I oh, my
God!"
It was said so sharply that it almost triggered the other two's escape
instincts. Joe calmed down, noting that a Kauri heart beat just as hard as a
human one when scared. "What?" he managed.
"That girl with Sugasto! It's Mahalo McMahon!"
"Can't be," Joe responded. "The Dark Baron was " It hit him. " in the body of
Ma Oh, my God!"
"They are together!" Marge added, stating the obvious. "For some reason, the
Baron's still in her body!"
"Could be he no longer knows how to get out of it," Joe suggested, staring. It
was the Hawaiian's body. That was clear now. "Maybe Sugasto thinks it's in his
interest to keep the Baron like that, too. Who knows what Rules came into
play?"
"Perhaps," Mia suggested, "the Dark Baron has found that he likes being a
young and attractive woman."
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%...%204%20-%20Songs%20of%20the%20D
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"The Baron had as much interest in sex as a grapefruit does,'' Joe replied.
"But if that's still him in that body, then it doesn't matter about the rest,
just as it doesn't matter if the old bastard's a coequal, Sugasto's mistress,
or his spiritual advisor. What it does mean is that the best mind in the
history of sorcery is coupled with an incredibly powerful sorcerer. And our
two most hated enemies are united and we're walking right into their lair!"
"Uh-oh! Watch it!" Marge yelled, and all three took off as suddenly a beam of
blinding yellow light emerged from the black-robed sorcerer and headed right
for them.
The ledge on which they'd been standing a fraction of a second earlier
exploded with a loud bang, throwing fragments of rock all over the place.
They weren't waiting around to find out what came next, plunging rapidly over
the other side toward the lowlands below.
"Look out behind and above!" Marge warned them, although they could barely
hear her. From behind them, over the cliff wall, emerged a shimmering web of
gold and crimson magic strings, woven tightly like a net, yet expanding like
some gigantic firework. It descended rapidly now, continuing to fan out as it
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did so, and none of the three were sure they were going to make it when the
thing finally got to their level.
Joe felt a burning sensation on his feet and legs but the thing barely brushed
him, then dropped on past. Still, he felt suddenly terribly weakened, drained
of energy, and was forced to the ground. He looked around, suddenly exhausted,
and watched it drop just behind him and contract, singeing the ground a bit as
it did so.
The other two were ahead of him; they had to have cleared it. But, man! What a
hell of a piece of sorcery that was, and all extemporaneous! That guy has
gotten good! he thought angrily. Too good. He looked down at the petite Kauri
leg that had been just missed and saw an angry-looking welt, the kind he'd get
from pressing his real leg against a hot stove.
That was the one trouble with the were curse, he thought grumpily. Only silver
could really kill you, but whatever was tried still felt like the real thing
and hurt like hell.
He tried to fly, but made it only a few yards before coming down again. He
just didn't have the energy. That thing, whatever it was, had drained him. He
tested the leg, but even though it hurt like hell, he thought he was able to
walk. How far was that place from town? Twenty miles, maybe, but that was air
miles. And how far had they gotten away? He looked back at the cliff. Maybe [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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