He wished he could discuss the matter with Agape. To what extent was there merit in the proposition that the two frames were separate, and that a man could have a woman in each? Stile and Blue, as alternate selves, had different women. But Mach and Bane, as alternate selves, already had different women. For each to have two—that seemed too much of a stretch of ethics. Yet the temptation existed. Now he realized that Tania could be useful. He knew a lot about the one in Proton, because of his experience with the one in Phaze. He was sure he could get her help, if it could be done covertly. Perhaps she had been involved in Flach’s action in sending the message; she was there with Fleta in Phaze, now, because the Adepts suspected her of trying to let Flach escape the net. The boy would not have known what to do about the threat against his mother, but Tania’s more cynical mind could have handled it. Still, he could not see the boy confiding in her, so that matter remained in doubt. Could he trust her?
He reached Tan’s office. Tania was there alone; the pro vocative serf secretary was absent.
He decided to gamble on her. “Tania,” he said without preamble, “I need thy help.” He knew that this was private; the office was always sealed off from unwanted intrusion.
She was surprised. “What, no sneer today. Bane?”
“Swear to me that thou willst betray my confidence not, and I will tell thee much that interests thee.” Her eyes assumed the look of those of her other self, though they lacked the magic power.
“You want me to do something for you, and not tell, and you will tell me what I want to know? I believe I am safe in assuming that you are not think ing of asking me for sex.”
“Aye. I promise naught more, but I think it be enough.”
“I don’t trust this. Bane. You never gave me the time of day before.”
“I ne’er had need, before.”
She walked around the room, considering. Bane, accustomed in youth to the clothing of Phaze, had never completely adjusted to the nudity of Proton serfs. She looked exactly like her other self, except for her lack of clothing, and he found that illicitly fascinating despite all the deliberate glimpses her other self had proffered. In Phaze he had a spell to ward off her seductions; here he did not. “I won’t kill anyone, or do anything against my side,” she said.
“It be against thy side.”
She laughed. “And why would you suppose I would do that?”
“Because, an thou didst, I might pursue thy case with Mach.”
She halted abruptly. “You’re serious!”
“Aye.”
“Listen, Bane—if I go against my side, I can wind up dead!”
“An they learn o’ it, aye. But things be changing, and mayhap the other side would protect thee.”
She stared at him. “Are you changing sides? What of the covenant?”
“Swear, and we deal.”
She paced again, and he watched her breasts and buttocks moving. She had been foolish to go after Mach, when she could have had any other man she chose. But perversity was evidently her basic component. She was fascinated with the notion of Phaze, and of magic, and with the notion of power; thus Mach became the object of her interest. Had there been any other available male with similar connections, she would have been as interested in that one. Indeed, her other self pursued Bane, because of his connection with Proton. Then she nodded. “I’m a fool. I swear.”
“In Phaze thine other self hast spent the past four years seeking to seduce me, just as thou hast done with Mach. Thine actions have been parallel. But with her the ploy turned; instead of corrupting me, she fell in love herself, and her nature changed. She be in bad grace with the Adverse Adepts, because she tried not hard enough to capture the lad Flach, Nepe’s other self.”
Tania nodded. “So you believe I am similarly vulnerable, and ready to help you.”
“Aye.”
“Aye,” she echoed ironically. “Damn it, I know it’s true; I felt her emotion. I echo it. I do want Mach—and Phaze, as she wants you and Proton. We are locked in this foolishness, letting a man rule us instead of the other way around. And you—you gave her no more satisfaction than Mach has me!”
“Aye.”
Those eyes bore on him again. “But did you wish to?”
Bane was silent.
“You promised to tell. Bane! I need to know.”
“Mach gave me a spell to ward her off. I ne’er touched her.”
“You still haven’t answered! Did you want to?”
“Aye,” he said reluctantly. “When I returned here to Agape, at times she teased me, assuming her likeness.”
“My likeness! And you had sex with her like that?”
“Aye,” he said, even more reluctantly. “But I knew it was Agape, else ne’er would I—”
“You desire me now!” she exclaimed triumphantly.
“I love thee not!”
“Again you haven’t answered! You desire me!”
“Thou knowest I may not answer that.”
She nodded, satisfied. “And Mach would wish to—?”
“Aye.” That much he could fairly answer.
She nodded again. “You were right. This interests me. If I help you, Mach may have reason to treat me more compatibly. And, judging by you, he would also have the desire.”
It was his turn to nod.
Then she glanced at him sharply. “And what of you, if Mach is dealing similarly in Phaze?”
“I would have to talk with Agape.”
“Who might not understand,” she said, smiling.
“Who might understand too well.”
She laughed. “What do you want me to do?”
The worst was over. “Make a reservation for departure from this planet.”
“You could do that yourself!”
“And yield that berth to Agape.”
She sobered. “Then you know.”
There was his confirmation that Agape was similarly threatened. “Aye.”
“But she can’t just walk out, you know. The moment she steps beyond her suite—”
“Aye.”
“And the child. She won’t leave the child behind, after losing her for so long.”
“That be a separate problem.”
“And you. You had better be gone the same time.”
“Aye.”
“And me. They’ll know as soon as it happens, and I’ll be finished.”
“Thou must go to Blue for asylum.”
She faced him squarely. “If I do this, and Mach does not settle with me, you do.”
“I can not!”
“I am not putting my life and career in jeopardy without that promise. I save Agape, one of you owes me, and you know how. In fact, Mach never settled for his prior debt to me, and this makes two. Both of you owe, now. No loop hole.”
He had not even come to terms with what Mach might commit him to in Phaze, and now he had to deal with it in Proton. But he knew her, and knew she would not yield. She wanted what she could get of Phaze, and she was used to hard dealing.
He thought of Agape, and knew he had to do it. “Aye.”
She went to the desk and checked the screen. “Do you care where she goes?”
“Nay, I care only that she not be suspected. She will assume thy likeness. Once away, she may change her route.”
“Of course. Then here’s a ship to ConGlom; I go there on occasion for relaxation. It’s fun to be able to wear clothes, oflplanet; I have a trousseau there she may draw on.”
“An they catch on, they will seek that planet. She dare not use thy trousseau.”
She shrugged as she touched a button. “Reservation made; that ship leaves the port in two hours. I will go there, and if she doesn’t board, I will, to cover my complicity. Tell her to meet me in a privacy stall—let’s say number four hundred and one. Can she get there fifteen minutes before boarding?”