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Venus, v. 1, issue 1, June 1944
Page 21
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-21- been open beneath his feet, realized how close he has come to falling into it. That mad ride through the forest -- bait for the trap! A soul-trap, baited with life and glorious freedom, but leading in the end to horror and everlasting death. "The pale woman!" The voice was like the sliding of a serpant over grass."We shall see, Mam, whether the pale witch in your heart is stronger than I!" The taut circle drew in closing solid ranks behind the wicked black-and-ivory beauty of the Centauress. Atla's blade hissed from its scabbard, and she laughed. "Yes, Man, a battle. But not with swords." The fires painted her naked body put lambent flames in her eyes. "The battle of the Half-world with the world of Man, the struggle of the Shadows with the Light." She moved forward. "You know nothing of the three Worlds, do you, Man? The World of Darkness, where the evil things flap and crawl; the World of Light, which is your own; and the World of shadows, which is ours? We live in a place of our own, taking something from both Light and Darkness but belonging to neither. We are not born as you are, but as the beasts are, from the raw life-stuff of the maiden earth. What prank of the gods it was that gave us form. I know not: but they gave us also a love of life that is a flame within us. We are brothers to the wind, sisters to the lightning! And we are not alone. There are the Satyr-folk, and the winged men of Kaaron, and the beings that swim in the sea. "We are alike in this; we must be free!" Beudag's breath was hot on Atla's cheek, her white breast heaving. "You men, you Children of the Sun, you crowd us from all sides. You build cities and roads, and fence the free land. You crowd us to our death. We fight you, but we are driven ever back, because you of the Light have something we lack. A nameless thing, a soul-force that conquers those who will be slaves, and destroys those who will not. Half the world belongs to you. The other half shall not!" "You cannot stop us," Atla said quietly. Beudag laughed. "But we can! You are the symbol, the first human to set foot on this land. If we can conquer you..." Atla shook his head. "Others will come. The Children of the Sun are men, and they will come." Beudag's eyes burned into his. "You do not understand I said men had a soul-force that we lack. a spark of the Light that created you different from all other creatures. If we of the Shadows can once tap that force can once capture that spark, to kindle as we will; if we can place the soul of a human symbol in bondage, Man can never quite overwhelm us! That much we have learned from the Darkness. "For the mystic forces would be a sword in our hands, a sword that could pierce any armor Man might wear. The Darkness has taught us how to strengthen that sword, how to sharpen it and forge it to an arm of might, until it is destructive lightning!" She drew back a bit and smiled, her lips red as cinnabar in the firelight. "That is why I tempted you with my kingdom. I want your soul, to build a wall against your fellows! The white witch has saved you so far. Let us see if she can match my power now!" Atla threw his dark head erect and smiled. The fear had left him now. There was something open to fight, and he knew where he stood. With a sudden motion he drew the point of his sword in a circle about him, baring raw earth under the grass, and gashed a simple cross within it.
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-21- been open beneath his feet, realized how close he has come to falling into it. That mad ride through the forest -- bait for the trap! A soul-trap, baited with life and glorious freedom, but leading in the end to horror and everlasting death. "The pale woman!" The voice was like the sliding of a serpant over grass."We shall see, Mam, whether the pale witch in your heart is stronger than I!" The taut circle drew in closing solid ranks behind the wicked black-and-ivory beauty of the Centauress. Atla's blade hissed from its scabbard, and she laughed. "Yes, Man, a battle. But not with swords." The fires painted her naked body put lambent flames in her eyes. "The battle of the Half-world with the world of Man, the struggle of the Shadows with the Light." She moved forward. "You know nothing of the three Worlds, do you, Man? The World of Darkness, where the evil things flap and crawl; the World of Light, which is your own; and the World of shadows, which is ours? We live in a place of our own, taking something from both Light and Darkness but belonging to neither. We are not born as you are, but as the beasts are, from the raw life-stuff of the maiden earth. What prank of the gods it was that gave us form. I know not: but they gave us also a love of life that is a flame within us. We are brothers to the wind, sisters to the lightning! And we are not alone. There are the Satyr-folk, and the winged men of Kaaron, and the beings that swim in the sea. "We are alike in this; we must be free!" Beudag's breath was hot on Atla's cheek, her white breast heaving. "You men, you Children of the Sun, you crowd us from all sides. You build cities and roads, and fence the free land. You crowd us to our death. We fight you, but we are driven ever back, because you of the Light have something we lack. A nameless thing, a soul-force that conquers those who will be slaves, and destroys those who will not. Half the world belongs to you. The other half shall not!" "You cannot stop us," Atla said quietly. Beudag laughed. "But we can! You are the symbol, the first human to set foot on this land. If we can conquer you..." Atla shook his head. "Others will come. The Children of the Sun are men, and they will come." Beudag's eyes burned into his. "You do not understand I said men had a soul-force that we lack. a spark of the Light that created you different from all other creatures. If we of the Shadows can once tap that force can once capture that spark, to kindle as we will; if we can place the soul of a human symbol in bondage, Man can never quite overwhelm us! That much we have learned from the Darkness. "For the mystic forces would be a sword in our hands, a sword that could pierce any armor Man might wear. The Darkness has taught us how to strengthen that sword, how to sharpen it and forge it to an arm of might, until it is destructive lightning!" She drew back a bit and smiled, her lips red as cinnabar in the firelight. "That is why I tempted you with my kingdom. I want your soul, to build a wall against your fellows! The white witch has saved you so far. Let us see if she can match my power now!" Atla threw his dark head erect and smiled. The fear had left him now. There was something open to fight, and he knew where he stood. With a sudden motion he drew the point of his sword in a circle about him, baring raw earth under the grass, and gashed a simple cross within it.
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