"So she left him."
"Seen it happen before, have you? Yes, she left him, but Job still wouldn't cry out against the King of Heaven—and the demon acknowledged defeat. He had to admit that human ideals have something more to them than just reward and punishment."
"But what of this Job? Did he learn why he had been so accursed?"
"He didn't need to; the King of Heaven just sent an angel to tell him that sometimes He does things for reasons that people don't understand."
"And that was enough for Job?" Monkey stared.
"That was enough," Shea confirmed. "Once he was reassured that the King of Heaven was there, he had faith that there was a reason. All he really needed was to be reassured."
Monkey frowned at him, then bowed his head so that his chin rested on his chest, and was silent. Chalmers fidgeted in an agony of impatience, but kept his peace.
Finally, Monkey looked up. "There is merit in what you say—and I, who know personally that Buddha does exist, am a blind fool to doubt Him, am I not?"
"There is that possibility," Shea agreed.
Monkey gazed at him, brooding.
Then, suddenly, he leaped to his feet, slapping his thigh. "Come! I will return to the monk; I shall make my apologies. Perhaps, in time, he will convince me of the merits of humility. I doubt there are any, but I will give him his chance to teach me. Let us go!" He whirled about and struck the collection of twigs with his staff; the result was instant toothpicks, and the iron cage disappeared from around Shea.
Chalmers stared, horrified.
So did Shea, feeling suddenly very vulnerable. "You could have done that any time!"
"Why, so I could have," Monkey agreed, "but I was too angry to think of it. Let us go!" He beckoned, and suddenly a cloud swooped down from a clear blue sky.
"Wait a minute, now!" Shea backed away. "What do you mean, 'we'?"
"Why, the two of you as well!" Monkey gestured, and the cloud shot in against Shea's legs, and Chalmers'. They both yelped with surprise as they tumbled onto its surface. Monkey grinned and leaped aboard. "It is you who have inspired me—so you must come to see the fulfillment of your plan!" He looked back over his shoulder, and his grin turned menacing. "If it ends in disaster, so shall you."
"But my wife!" Chalmers cried. "What happened to Florimel?"
"Oh, the barbarian woman?" Monkey shrugged. "I sent her further on her travels. This world was not the one she had intended to visit, so I bade her tell me of the one she sought—a world ruled by a queen without a king—and sent her there. But enough! Come now, awav!"
Chalmers moaned.
"Travel by cloud isn't all that bad, really, Doc," Shea said bravely, "once you get used to the idea that it's a magic cloud, and a lot more like an innerspring mattress than a patch of fog."
"Perhaps," Chalmers groaned, "but I didn't think to bring my Dramamine."
Then they were both crying out in alarm, as the cloud tilted down sharply. A few seconds later, Monkey hopped off, crying: "Master! Forgive me!" and the cloud disappeared completely, dropping Shea and Chalmers with a very unceremonious thump. Shea pushed himself upright, massaging an aching sacroiliac, and saw a young man in a saffron robe sitting cross-legged—no, in the lotus position, without the slightest sign of discomfort! He looked a little nervous, and he had a robe of a rich red in his lap, with a matching hat that had a band of gold around its rim.
Monkey was bowing deeply before the monk. "I have erred. Master, in presuming to refute your teaching! If this is the Way of the Buddha, I shall learn it! Only forgive, and be patient with me!"
The young man nodded gravely. "You are forgiven easily, Monkey, for Buddha's mercies are manifold. In recognition of your spiritual progress, I give you this robe and hat, as signs of your advancement."
Shea frowned—how had Tripitaka known Monkey was going to be coming back? He was about to raise the issue, but Monkey caught up the red robe with a glad cry and pulled it on, strutting to and fro. "How well it looks on me! And just the right length, not quite to my knees! Master, you are a genius of observation!" He grabbed the hat and clapped it on. "Now! Do I not look like a king?"
"Like a jester!" Tripitaka's tone was suddenly stern. "You prance and caper with vanity! Really, Monkey, if I had known you would behave so ..."
That was as far as he got before Monkey turned on him with a roar, charging with his cudgel held high.
Tripitaka shouted out some words that Shea could not catch at all.
Monkey stopped dead in his tracks, howling in agony. He fell on the ground, tugging at the cap. "Take it off! Take it off! It binds about my temples like a clamp! It sends agonies through my brain! It will break my head!" The cloth ripped away, but the headband remained and would not budge.
Tripitaka only waited, face impassive.
"It was enchanted!" Shea gasped.
Chalmers nodded. "A trap!"
"Forgive me, Master!" Monkey cried. "I was wrong to lose my temper, to turn against you! I apologize!"
"Will you swear to do whatever I tell you?" Tripitaka demanded.
"I swear, I swear!" Monkey cried. "I will obey you in all things! I will never lift my hand against you! Only make the agony stop, Master, make the agony stop!"
Tripitaka gestured, reciting another short verse which somehow eluded Shea completely.
Monkey sagged with relief. "Thank you, Master! Oh, thank you! Where did you get that wondrous hat?"
"From the Bodhissatva Kuan-Yin," Tripitaka answered. "From Kuan-Yin! But she is the Goddess of Mercy! "Of mercy, certainly—but the Taoists are mistaken in thinking she is a goddess. She is a Bodhissatva, a person who has attained Enlightenment but postponed passing to Nirvana so that she may guide and instruct those of us here on Earth."
"Oh yes. Master! A Bodhissatva, not a goddess! Of course, Master!"
"But she is, as you say, the patron of mercy," Tripitaka rejoined, "so you can be sure that she must have a merciful reason, for so binding you to my authority."
Monkey stilled, half-risen. Then he lifted his head "Perhaps it is even as you say, Master. In any event, I have sworn to obey you, and I will."
"It is well." Tripitaka looked massively relieved.
"Why, he was as loath to hurt Monkey, as he was afraid of him," Chalmers hissed to Shea.
Shea nodded. "Exceptional young man, here. Maybe one of the ones who justified monasticism."
Tripitaka looked up, alert. "Who are these you have brought to join us, Monkey?"
Monkey looked up at Shea with blood in his eye. No, not blood—the little monster's orbs were actually beginning to glow with fire! "These? Why, they are the barbarian sorcerers who persuaded me to return to you, Master! This one is Xei, and that one is Chao-mar-zi."
Shea did a double take, but Chalmers only opened his eyes a little wider, then bowed politely. He had become accustomed to hearing his name mispronounced.
"They have a strange appearance." Tripitaka frowned. "But they must be wise, even magical, if they could have persuaded you. What did you tell him, barbarians?"
The "barbarians" was beginning to chafe on Shea, but he tried to ignore it. "Just a parable showing him the virtues of patience and respect for authority, Your Highness."
"I am only a monk now," Tripitaka protested. "I have forsworn worldly titles with all other vanities. If you are so wise and patient as that, I doubt not that you would be a great help on our quest. Do you wish to learn the Way of Buddha?"