Fifth spread his hands. "Whatever you wish."
She dropped several colored blocks on the table and sat down opposite him. She had tied her hair back so tightly that she looked almost mannish, and was garbed in jeans and a heavy shirt that effectively masked her breasts. This was no romantic tryst. "Eat."
He picked up a block and bit into it. It was some sort of condensed nutrient, chewy but tasty.
"You will carry my ikon." She gestured to a jar on the table. Within it lay a small amorphous blob. The ikon.
"But I carry Flame's ikon," he protested.
"Switch them."
Bemused, he obeyed, exchanging Flame's slime ikon for Voila's blob. He put the blob in his mouth, tucking it away in his cheek. Ikons were notoriously difficult to part with, but apparently such an exchange was easy.
"You evoked necessary information about the number one and number two recruitment targets of the machines," she said. "I am number one. I will consult with number two. The evocation provided an address. Warning: danger. You may decline."
There was a lot he might say, arguing the case either way. But to decline would bean to abort his month with Voila, and prevent the completion of his three-woman romantic test. He had to carry through. "Negation."
She nodded. Obviously she had seen the near future paths and had known of his decision before he did. But she wanted it on the record that he had been warned and given the choice.
"There will be way stations, as our route is not direct," she said. "We want to conceal the mission from the machines, if possible. We will pause brief or long times, as required by the routing. In those pauses I will be a girl to you, so that the experience is fair."
"Needless," he said gallantly.
She smiled, and suddenly she was winsome. "Flame is correct: you are likable." She got up, leaned down, and kissed him. She had not done that before, during the forced sex. It was potent; in that instant she was completely and disarmingly feminine.
He waggled a finger at her. "You're an actress."
"Pretend you don't know." She put her hand on his arm, and then they were elsewhere.
He looked around. It was a platform on a pedestal in some weirdly alien landscape. In the distance huge creatures grazed on mounds of moss. Three suns shone down. This was no world and no system he knew of. Odd that the air was breathable on such a different planet.
"Capsule," she explained. "Prepared for us by the Oomii." She reached out to touch the film wall, that became visible as it flexed.
A monstrous grasshopper loomed. Fifth lurched forward, foolishly ready to protect her from the threat. But she waved him back. "Appreciation," she said to the creature.
The thing nodded in a human-like gesture and retreated.
"Apology," Fifth said, relieved.
"They are on your list," she said. "Part of the galactic network opposing the machines, which we are joining."
"There are so many," he said. "I can remember only a few." He was privately amazed that the information had been used to rapidly; he and the Red Glamor had completed their survey only the day before. But of course the information had been going out steadily. Voila had evidently made immediate contacts. It was as if she had always known these creatures. "Next." She took his hand.
They were perched high in a massive fossilized tree overlooking a colorful canyon. Wafts of multi-colored mist drifted by below them. Fifth was dizzy with the exposed height. "I hope this is a brief stop."
"Negation."
He was becoming more than dizzy. "I think I am afraid of heights." He had never been before, but there was something about this location that wrenched his stomach.
"Distraction," she said. She stood before him, her feet on twin branches that extended over the gulf. She opened her shirt, baring her modest breasts. She drew his face into them.
Maybe it was a cynical ploy, but it worked. Her breasts were marvelously comforting. He kissed them, entirely distracted by their substance. Then his hands were on her taut bottom. Soon his member was out and finding her avenue as he kissed her face. This time the culmination was slow and easy, taking pleasant time.
She held him, responding to his kisses and his touches as if she really enjoyed them. She moved against him, facilitating his pleasure. "I know you will protect me," she murmured, and for the moment he believed it.
There, almost suspended in air, far over the chasm, they made love, and it was almost painfully sweet. She was in every seeming way the ideal girl.
It occurred to him that it was a good thing Voila did not really want him, because she was impressing him without even using her enormous Glamor power. Flame had said that the four Glamor children of Havoc had power to match that of all other Glamors combined, including their parents, and that Voila's power was greater than the other three combined. She could take what she wanted, even from another Glamor.
In due course they moved again, continuing their devious route. The machines were surely watching, Voila explained, as they had spies everywhere. But the machines were weak on the near future paths, so things could be fuzzed, leaving them without useful information.
This time the two of them appeared on the dance floor of a huge ballroom. All around them were alien couples of every description: animal-like, bird-like, fish-like, insect-like, and amorphous. Apparently this was an interspecies resort, where widely different creatures could interact without complications. He knew from his work with the Red Glamor that a formidable galactic coalition of living cultures existed; he hadn't realized that they associated socially.
The music stopped. The creatures drew back, forming a large circle, eyeballing the newcomers.
Fifth was uncomfortable being the sudden cynosure. "Question?" he whispered.
Voila was relaxed. "The price of admission is a new dance. They already know all the dances I know, so you must teach me a new one."
Fifth was reassured. One thing he was good at was dancing, and he did know some obscure ones. He had danced with Voila before, in Warp's play about Cielito Lindo. That was before he realized just how eerily powerful Voila was; she had seemed more like Flame's little sister then. "They can read my mind?" he asked her.
"Affirmation, within reason. Think clearly."
He focused on a tune of old Earth, "Love is Blue." Immediately the alien orchestra picked it up, and the lovely melody filled the hall.
Now he thought of appropriate costuming, and it formed on them both: a close-fitting dance suit for him, a lovely dress for her, complete with a tiara.
He turned to Voila. "This is the dance." He stepped out, tapping his feet to the music, swaying his body, then turning, pausing, and making a token bow in her direction.
She didn't hesitate. The second time he did it she was by his side, matching him step for step, perfectly. She was an excellent dancer, having lost none of her touch in the intervening five years; perhaps it came with being an actress.
Then as the routine ended, she turned to face him, paused, and bowed as he did, smiling.
They stepped back as the music played again and the entire group of creatures did it. They were not perfect, but clearly were enjoying the experience. The price of admission had been paid.
Thereafter the music changed, allowing any kind of dance. Voila nestled in his arms for a slow waltz. Now she was all girl, following his lead, fitting into him like a flexible garment, light and sweet. It was easy to imagine her being his girlfriend, and he felt closer to her now than he had when they were having sex.
"I promised," she reminded him.
She had indeed said she would be a girl to him. He had not really believed that, especially after the way she had manhandled him into instant sex. But it seemed that now they had time to relax, and she was doing so.
"Appreciation."
Between dances they had refreshments: cakes of something sweet, and cups of something cool. He decided not to inquire what they contained.