cb.imajica1-第95部分
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her went down shouting at the water that was bubbling up around him； the last sight of him his gun； held high and still firing。
AH the torch carriers had succumbed now； and the only illumination was from the cliff top； where soldiers who'd had the luck to be left behind were training their beams on the massacre； throwing into silhouette the figures of N'ashap and the other three survivors； one of whom was making an attempt to race towards the solid ground where Gentle； Pie； and Huzzah stood。 His panic undid him。 He'd only run five strides when silvery foam bubbled up in front of him。 He turned to retrace his steps； but the route had already gone to seething silver。 In desperation he flung away his weapons and attempted to leap to safety； but fell short and went from sight in an instant。
One of the remaining trio； an Oethac； had fallen to his knees to pray； which merely brought him closer to his executioner； who drew him down in the throes of his imprecation； giving him time only to snatch at his rade's leg and pull him down at the same time。 The place where they'd vanished did not cease to seethe but redoubled its fury now。 N'ashap； the last alive； turned to face it； and as he did so the sea rose up like a fountain； until it was half his height again。
〃Lady；〃 Huzzah said。
It was。 Carved in water； a breasted body； and a face dancing with glints and glimmers： the Goddess； or her image； made of her native stuff； then gone the same instant as it broke and dropped upon N'ashap。 He was borne down so quickly； and the Cradle left rocking so placidly the instant after； it was as though his mother had never made him。
Slowly； Huzzah turned to Gentle。 Though her father was dead at her feet； she was smiling in the gloom； the first open smile Gentle had seen on her face。
〃The Cradle Lady came；〃 she said。
They waited awhile； but there were no further visitations。 What the Goddess had done…whether it was to save the child； as Huzzah would always believe； or because circumstance had put within her reach the forces that had tainted Her Cradle with their cruelty…She had done with an economy She wasn't about to spoil with gloating or sentiment。 She closed the sea with the same efficiency She'd employed to open it； leaving the place unmarked。
There was no further attempt at pursuit from the guards left on the cliff； though they kept their places； torches piercing the murk。
〃We've got a lot of sea to cross before dawn；〃 Pie said。
〃We don't want the suns ing up before we reach the peninsula。〃
Huzzah took Gentle's hand。 〃Did Papa ever tell you where we're going in Yzordderrex？〃
〃No；〃 he said。 〃But we'll find the house。〃 She didn't look back at her father's body； but fixed her eyes on the gray bulk of the distant headland and went without plaint； sometimes smiling to herself； as she remembered that the night had brought her a glimpse of a parent that would never again desert her。
29
The territory that lay between the shores of the Cradle and the limits of the Third Dominion had been； until the Autarch's intervention； the site of a natural wonder universally held to mark the center of the Imajica： a column of perfectly hewn and polished rock to which as many names and powers had been ascribed as there were shamans； poets； and storytellers to be moved by it。 There was no munity within the Reconciled Dominions that had not enshrined it in their mythology and found an epithet to mark it as their own。 But its truest name was also perhaps its plainest： the Pivot。 Controversy had raged for centuries about whether the Unbeheld had set it down in the smoky wastes of the Kwem to mark the midpoint between the perimeters of the Imajica； or whether a forest of such columns had once stood in the area； and some later hand （moved； perhaps； by Hapexamendios' wisdom） had leveled all but this one。
Whatever the arguments about its origins； however； nobody had ever contested the power that it had accrued standing at the center of the Dominions。 Lines of thought had passed across the Kwem for centuries； carrying a freight of force which the Pivot had drawn to itself with a magnetism that was virtually irresistible。 By the time the Autarch came into the Third Dominion； having already established his particular brand of dictatorship in Yzordderrex； the Pivot was the single most powerful object in the Imajica。 He laid his plans for it brilliantly； returning to the palace he was still building in Yzordderrex and adding several features； though their purpose did not bee apparent until almost two years later； when； acting with the kind of speed that usually attends a coup； he had the Pivot toppled； transported； and set in a tower in his palace before the blood of those who might have raised objections to this sacrilege was dry。
Overnight； the geography of the Imajica was transformed。 Yzordderrex became the heart of the Dominions。 Thereafter； there would be no power； either secular or sacred； that did not originate in that city； there would be no crossroads sign in any of the Reconciled Dominions that did not carry its name； nor any highway that did not have upon it somewhere a petitioner or penitent who'd turned his eyes towards Yzordderrex in hope of salvation。 Prayers were still uttered in the name of the Unbeheld； and blessings murmured in the forbidden names of the Goddesses； but Yzordderrex was the true Lord now； the Autarch its mind and the Pivot its phallus。
One hundred and seventy…nine years had passed since the day the Kwem had lost its great wonder； but the Autarch still made pilgrimages into the wastes when he felt the need for solitude。 Some years after the removal of the Pivot he'd had a small palace built close to the place where it had stood； spartan by parison with the architectural excesses of the folly that crowned Yzordderrex。 This was his retreat in confounding times； where he could meditate upon the sorrows of absolute power； leaving his Military High mand； the generals who ruled the Dominions on his behalf； to do so under the eye of his once…beloved Queen； Quaisoir。 Lately she had developed a taste for repression that was waning in him； and he'd several times thought of retiring to the palace in the Kwem permanently and leaving her to rule in his stead； given that she took so much more pleasure from it than he。 But such dreams were an indulgence； and he knew it。 Though he ruled the Imajica invisibly…not one soul； outside the circle of twenty or so who dealt with him daily； would have known him from any other white man with good taste in clothes…his vision had shaped the rise of Yzordderrex； and no other would ever petently replace it。
On days like this； however； with the coid air off the Lenten Way whining in the spires of the Kwem Palace； he wished he could send the mirror he met in the morning back。to Yzordderrex in his place and let his reflection rule。 Then he could stay here and think about the distant past： England in midsummer。 The streets of London bright with rain when he woke； the fields outside the city peaceful and buzzing with bees。 Scenes he pictured longingly when he was in elegiac mood。 Such moods seldom lasted long； however。 He was too much of a realist； and he demanded truth from his memory。 Yes； there had been rain； but it had e with such venom it had bruised every fruit it hadn't beaten from the bough。 And the hush of those fields had been a battlefield's hush； the murmur not trees but flies； e to find laying places。
His life had begun that summer； and his early days had been filled with signs not of love and fruitfulness but of Apocalypse。 There wasn't a preacher in the park who didn't have Revelation by heart that year； nor a whore in Drury Lane who wouldn't have told you she'd seen the Devil dancing on the midnight roofs。 How could those days not have influenced him： filled him with a horror of imminent destruction； given him an appetite for order； for law； for Empire？ He was a child of his times； and if they'd made him cruel in his pursuit of system； was that his fault or that of the age？
The tragedy lay not in the suffering that was an inevitable consequence of any social movement； but in the fact that his achievements were now in jeopardy from forces that…if they won t
