← Stories - Science Fiction
Stories - Science Fiction
Wizard - Laurence M Janifer
00:37:21
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- [00:01]
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Narrator / Storyteller
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Lowe's Advertiser / Bretzky
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- [01:24]
Narrator / Storyteller
visit your nearby lowe's wizard by larry m harris although the masquerade itself as a necessary protection against non telepaths was not formally formulated until the late years of the seventeenth century groups of telepaths in hiding existed long before that date whether such groups were the results of natural mutations or whether they came into being due to some other cause has not yet been fully determined perhaps but that a group did exist in the district of offenburg in what is now prussia we are quite sure the activities of the group appear to have begun approximately in the year fifteen ninety four but it was not until eleven years after that date that they achieved a signal triumph the first and perhaps the last of its kind until the dissolution of the masquerade in twenty one oh three excerpt from a short history of the masquerade by a milge crystal seven zero four five four three six eight produced twenty four forty jonas came over the hill whistling as if he had not a care in the world which is not even approximately true he reflected happily the state of complete and utter quiet was both foreign and slightly repugnant to him he was never more pleased than when he had a job in hand a job that involved a slight and unavoidable risk this time of course the risk was more than slightly why he thought happily it was even more for him to get killed and most painfully too with a great deal of pleasure he stood for a second at the crest of the hill his hands on his hips looking down at the town of spire as it baked in the may afternoon sunlight behold the tortoise he maketh no progress unless he sticketh out his neck but he maketh very little progress unless he pick the right time and place to sticketh out his neck which can be quite a sticky problem for a man in a medieval culture jonas did not in spite of his pose look like the typical hero of folktale or scribe's tome he was not even seven feet tall for instance nor did he have a handsome lovesome face with flashing blue eyes or a broad shouldered narrow waisted marvel of a figure he was instead somewhat shorter than the average of men in europe in sixteen oh five and for some time thereafter he had small almost hidden eyes that seemed to see a great deal but failed completely to make a fuss about the fact that and while his figure was just a trifle dumpy his face completed the rhyme by being extraordinarily lumpy the nose as a matter of strict truth was hard to distinguish from the other contusions swellings and marks that covered the head nor of course did he carry the sword of a great hero or noble jonas had no vaughn to stick on his name and he had never thought it worthwhile to claim one and accept the tiny risk of disclosure after all a noble was only a man like like other men and besides jonas knew perfectly well that he had no need of a sword his adventures too were a little out of the common run of tales jonas had he thought regretfully few duels to look forward to and he had even fewer to look back on and as a maid is won by face figure and daring and a wife by riches position or prospects there was a notable paucity of ladies in jonas's career all in all he thought sadly he was not a usual hero but he refused to let the thought spoil his enjoyment after all he was a hero though of his own unique kind there was no denying that and in his own way he had his reward he took one hand off his hip to scratch at the top of his head wondering briefly if he had managed to pick up lice in the last town he had visited and he took another look at the city spire seemed a lot better at first glance than some of the other places jonas had visited for one thing it had a full town hall built no less of honest stone and probably a relic of the roman times this was the parish church of course a good solid wooden structure and a collection of houses strung along the dirt paths of the town the houses of the rich were naturally wooden the poor built of baked mud there were a great many baked mud structures and only one wooden one besides the church the jonas could see the paths were winding but comparatively free from sloppy that was pleasing he told himself and the buildings themselves wood mud and stone clustered in the valley below him as if they were afraid and needed each other's protection which in a way they did jonas reflected on that a trifle grimly thinking of the holy inquisition with its hierarchy of priests and lay folk busily working in spire just as it worked in every other town throughout offenburg and throughout the civilized world ordinarily he would not have given it a thought because beyond a passing sigh for the ways of the world he had other business but now he grinned to himself and the grin turned to a laugh as he started down the hill the grislier methods of the inquisitorial process were well known to him by reputation and soon he might be testing them out for himself there was absolutely no way to be sure that thought pleased him greatly after all he told himself there was nothing like a little danger despite the boring business of living by the time he reached the bottom of the hill he he was whistling loudly he stopped at the first house a mud construction with a badly carpentered wooden door and a single bare window that looked out on the street it smelled but jonas went up to the door bravely and knocked there was no answer he went on whistling fortuna plango vulnera under his breath and after a time he knocked again this time he heard moving inside the house and nodded to himself in a satisfied fashion but almost a minute passed before the head of an old woman showed itself at the window she was really extraordinarily ugly he thought she wore a bonnet that did nothing whatever to enhance her doubtful wrinkled charms or to conceal them and besides it was dirty nobody's here she said in the voice of a very bonus toad go away jonas smiled at her it was an effort madam he began politely nobody's home she repeated drawing slightly back from the window you go away now ah jonas said pleasantly but but your home aren't you the old woman frowned at him suspiciously now she said vaguely well this is your house he said the house where you live never saw you before the old woman said that's right jonah said equably you come to turn me out she demanded her eyebrows which were almost as big and black as her ancient mustache came down over glittering little eyes i hold this house free and proper she said in a determined roar and and nobody can take it away from me it belongs to me and to my children and to their children and to the children of those children the catalog seemed likely to go on forever exactly jonas said hastily well then the old woman said and started to draw back jonas gestured lazily with one hand wait he said i am not going to take your house away from you madam i'm only here to ask you a question question she said you come from herrick nof i'm an old woman but i do no wrong and there is no one can accuse me of heresy i am in church every week and more than once i keep peace with my neighbors and there's none can say mystery about me the woman jonas thought was full to the eyebrows with words probably he told himself trying to be fair she didn't have anyone to talk to until a stranger came along he sighed briefly i do not come from the inquisitor he said truthfully nor is my question one that should cause you alarm the old woman pondered for a minute she leaned her elbows on the windowsill getting them muddy but that jonas thought didn't seem to matter to this creature apparently ask she said at last jonas put on his most pleasant expression madam he said i wish to know if there be any family in this town to give room to a wayfarer understanding of course that the wayfarer would insist on paying paying well he added the old woman blinked you looking for an inn she said an inn in this town the idea appeared to strike her as the very height of idiocy she covered her face with her hands and shook after a second jonas discovered that she was laughing he waited patiently until the fit had left her not an inn he said there is no inn here i know but a family willing to take in a stranger strangers are seldom here she said herr knuff watches his flock with zeal which meant jonas reflected that he was in a fair way to get himself burned as a heretic unless he watched his step carefully hair knuff's fame has reached my own country far away he said with some truth nevertheless a family which wait she said you have said that you will pay well yet you do not appear rich jonas understood fishing in his own pocket he withdrew a single shiny coin i also wish he said smoothly to pay for any help i may receive such as the answering of an innocent question a question in which the respected inquisitor knuth cannot have no interest whatever the old woman's eyes went to the coin and stayed there well she said it is said that the family called sharp has a house too large for them now that the eldest son is gone there is only the man his wife and a daughter it is said that the man is in need of money he would accept payment were it generous in return for sharing room in his house i would be most grateful jonas murmured he passed the coin over the old woman's hand snatched it and closed on it where might i find this family he said it is now late in the afternoon the old woman said perhaps they are at home you will see a path which takes you to the left follow it until you reach the last house knock at the door i shall jonas said and many thanks the old woman still clutching her coin disappeared from the window as if someone had yanked her back jonas turned with relief and got back on the path but it stank quite as badly as the house had it he endured the stench heroically sharp proved to be a barrel shaped man who was unaccountably cheerless as if the
- [10:49]
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- [11:14]
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- [11:52]
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- [12:14]
Narrator / Storyteller
dot com for details visit your nearby lowes structure had been carefully removed and then replaced by sawdust jonas thought even the offer of seven krona for a single week's stay failed to produce the delirious joy jonas had expected the money is needed sharp said in a dour bass voice staring off past jonas's left ear at the darkening sky and for the money you will be welcome i must take your word that you are not dangerous i can only pray that you do not betray that trust it was far from a warm welcome but jonas was satisfied with it i shall work to do you good he said and not evil stranger sharp said work for your own good do nothing for me this is an accursed family there is no good to be done to me or my wife or child jonas tried to look reassuring he thought of several things to say about the sunny side of life and decided on none of them my sympathy he began your sympathy may endanger you sharp said my son is gone i pray that there is an end to it jonas peered once into the mind of the man and recoiled violently but he had enough in that one glimpse to tell him the reason for sharp's misery and it was quite reason enough he thought her knuff we do not mention that name sharp said my wife has resigned herself to what has happened i am not so wise i promise you jonas said earnestly that you will be in no danger from me no more that i will help you out of your difficulties and ensure your peace then you are an angel from heaven sharp said bitterly there is no other help while the inquisitor remains and our sons become suspect to his rages jonas shook his head there is help he said and you will find it your son is gone accused questioned confessed and burnt but there will be no more sharp looked at him for a long time come with me he said at last and led the way into his mud house inside there was only one large room but it seemed spacious enough for four three pallets lay against the far white wall a single one against the left sharp went to the back of the house near the single bed this will be yours he said while you are with us it is poor but it is all we can offer i am honored jonas said here we are alone sharp went on his voice lowering my wife and daughter have gone to visit a neighbor for they have not yet closed us off entirely from all human contact he grimaced jonas peered into the mind again very gently but the mad roiling of pain and memory there was too strong for him and he returned if you have anything to say to me sharp said tell me now no one can hear us not herrick knopf himself to say to you regarding your plan sharp said surely you have a plan and if i may play any part in it jonas blinked plan he said of course sharp said you speak of an end to troubles an end to the inquisition and the buildings an end to the question and so you must have a plan for ridding us of her knuff one which you would tell me jonas shook his head i have no plan he said it means danger sharp pressed him but i do not mind danger in such a cause i am not vengeful but my son was no wizard yet the inquisitor took him and had a confession from him you know well the worth of such confessions and soon there will be others from when the curse strikes a family it does not stop with one member he tightened his lips it is not for myself i am afraid he said jonas nodded were there such a plan he said be assured i would tell you but there is none jonas said herknuff shall remain for all that i can do while the earth remains sharp opened his mouth shut it again and then shrugged i see he said at last you do not trust me perhaps you are wise i might talk foolishly i am an old man older in this last month than in all my years believe me jonas began ilet it be sharp said quietly i believe you if that is what you want i believe you he shrugged again moving out toward the door of the hut and in any case he said the money is needed for there are fines to pay and costs of the inquisition i understand jonas said helplessly sharp turned and looked at him full in the face in the man's big eyes bitterness and hopelessness glittered i am sure you do he said and turned again toward the door the others he met only briefly frau sharp was a little woman with the face of a walnut who looked as if she had never really been cheerful her son's death he saw when he looked into her mind had not come as a surprise to her it was one more unhappy event in a lifetime in which he had expected nothing else unhappiness she told herself was her portion in this life in the life above things would be different jonas had met the type before and was uninterested in going further but ilse sharp was something else entirely she did not say a word to him coming into the house that evening a pace behind her mother like an obedient slave she was about seventeen and her mind was as fresh and clean and pretty as her face and figure jonas started musing on heroes again but he never had the chance to make a move towards her she had a very nice smile and from memories in the other's minds he could hear the voice low unquiet and entirely satisfactory jonas sighed the job he told himself sternly came first and afterward though come to think of it there wouldn't be an afterward the evening meal was simple there was a single dish of meat and some sort of beans after it had been eaten and the darkness outside grew to full night it was time to retire jonas went over to his pallet removed his jerkin and shoes and lay down he heard the others readying themselves for sleep but he did not look into their minds soon they were asleep and breathing heavily but jonas stayed awake for a while it's really too bad we can't work this sort of thing at a distance clairton's voice said suddenly but then none of us has ever met the man and you can't read a mind if you haven't had some physical contact with the man who owns it it's too bad jonas agreed politely five hundred miles away clyde and chuckled and the linkage of minds transmitted this amusements to jonas you don't think so at any rate the director said you're having adventures and a fine time it's the sort of thing you like after all jonas shrugged mentally i suppose so he said i like to work on my own do my own job and it's got you into trouble before clayton said but you can't afford any mistakes this time i know the risk perfectly well jonas thought back clairton's thought carried a wry echo you know there is to yourself he told jonas and you've accepted that you rather like it as a matter of fact but you haven't thought of the risk to the rest of us and to the town you're in jonas sent a thought of uncertainty what clayton transmitted the entire picture in one sudden blow the chance that jonas would not be killed immediately but will be discovered the chance that the inquisitor would get from him the secret of the brotherhood that's impossible jonas said clarence allen resigned nothing's impossible he said and if the secret is let out why the brotherhood is finished finished before it's barely started because you can read a man's mind doesn't mean you can defeat him jonas but you know what he's going to do and if he's got you in a wooden house and he's going to burn it down what good does that your knowledge do you but you can transmit false thoughts and confuse him clairton said fine fine if you've ever met the man before and suppose you haven't then you can't transmit a thing to him you're trapped in the house remember and the fire started what good's your telepathy but it's a sense clairton said like any other sense but it isn't magic any more than your eyes are magic they're given by god if you like they grow they develop so the ability to read minds to transmit its thought is given by god no one knows why or how fifteen of us have developed it fifteen who are members of the brotherhood but there are others of course jonas thought impatiently i know all that you know a great deal clayton said which i sometimes find it necessary to bring to your attention i've done all right jonas thought sullenly clarence agreed of course you have he thought you're not the most careful of men and great care is needed the brotherhood must grow this new sense is of great value perhaps we can learn to teach it to others in time though we have had little success with that but at least we can maintain our numbers pass the gift on to our children if it is possible jonas said we must try clayton said and your job is enormously important i know that jonas thought wearily you have accomplished the first step clayton said do nothing rash of course not you will not accept help i will not jonas thought very well then clayton thought there was the ghost of another idea jonas caught it i know perfectly well that you wouldn't have sent me if there were any other available member he thought there is no need to remind me i'm sorry clayton thought he radiated caution worry patience jonas turned in the bed and cut off from the director with a grunt he was tired long distance linkages were a drain on the body's energy even when the person involved was easy to visualize but clairton had insisted on an intermittent contact if there was such a thing as total contact constant contact over a period of days jonas thought clairton would use me for a puppet a veritable punch among
- [21:39]
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- [22:41]
Narrator / Storyteller
manage procurement for multiple facilities every order matters but when it's for a hospital system they matter even more grainger gets it and knows there's no time for managing multiple suppliers and no room for shipping delays that's why grainger offers millions of products in fast dependable delivery so you can keep your facility stocked safe and running smoothly call one eight hundred granger click granger dot com or just stop by grainger for the ones who get it done he would override me and take me over the way a traveling entertainer rules his jointed dolls and that would be a fine thing for a hero wouldn't it he grimaced in the darkness constant contact was simply impossible any reaching out used energy and linking up for a long period simply burned the body up like a long starvation it was as bad as a penance jonas was thankful for that and for the rest well he thought resignedly what was a hero without a quest and what was a quest without someone to set it but that someone had to be clairton with his caution and his old woman worry jonas sighed and set about the business of falling asleep the days passed slowly with great boredom jonas made contact twice with clayton who told him over and over to wait to do nothing the next move is coming soon do nothing to hurry it you can only upset the natural course of events which is unwise jonas thought readily and risky and very probably impious as well as for the piety clareton thought i leave that to the priests and the women but wisdom and caution are my task gunas as they must be yours i you are a hero out on an adventure clarendon thought witheringly but set your course with sense travel it with caution you will the more certainly arrive philosophy for a dull plotter jonas thought philosophy for one of the brotherhood clairton thought back we are tiny as yet we have no force you can add to that force add greatly but you must be wise i must be slow you mean i mean what i have told you clairton thought and one more thing jonas yes the daughter clareton thought i have seen her in your mind ignore the wench is she worth what your task is worth i never then my caution is unnecessary clarton thought but in the unlikely case that she might tempt you to folly remember it jonas who disliked irony sighed and cut off that was the third night during the days he had done the things he had planned he did no work with the sharps but let them find him when they returned to the hut of an evening reciting strange words once he built a small outdoor fire and walked around it widdershins for several minutes then he put the fire out and went inside he wasn't sure whether or not anyone was watching him that time but sooner or later it had to happen and it happened as the onus suspected it would through the wife misses sharp came back to the hut early one day threw a frightened glance at jonas sitting in a corner doing nothing at all and left he hardly needed to see into her mind to know where she was going and twenty minutes later two men came to the hut they stood in the open doorway misses sharp behind them twittering like an ancient bird and jonas watched them boredly there were giants for this part of the world almost six feet tall with great hands and jaws one had black coarse hair on his head and a stubble about his face the other was bald as an egg that's him mister sharp said just a trifle hesitantly he's the one he came to stay with us and we didn't know the man with the black hair said uh grrr herr knuff said take him back the bald one added herr knuff jonas said entering the conversation with a light pleasant tone he's the misses sharp tried to get the word out and then pushed by the two men and came into the hut i didn't want to but there's something strange and we can't afford any suspicion and jonas realized slowly that she was crying as she looked at him it's all right he said uncomfortably you're i'll be perfectly all right jonas said he stood up this herr knoop he said he wants to see me he said bring you along the bald man told him the black haired man nodded very slowly grrr he said jonas sighed and went forward to meet with the two big men leaving misses sharp sobbing in the background the poor woman felt terrible he knew but there was nothing he could do about that then let us go he said and marched off feeling that one more effect wouldn't hurt he led the way to the town hall let them figure out how he had known just where to go he thought their minds were very very boring and quite blank her knuff jonas reflected might be a definite relief first there was the cell which was in the basement of the town hall it was damp and the air was not too good but there are compensations rats for instance jonas told himself after the first couple of hours that he simply wouldn't have known what to do without the rats trying to trap and kill them with no weapons beyond his bare hands even the eating knife he had carried in his jerkin had been taken away leaving him to the uncomfortable reflection that he was going to have to dine with his fingers was a pastime that occupied him for several hours on the first day on the second day the rats began to bore him by that evening they were annoying him and when the third day dawned bright and warm as near as he could tell from the tiniest little window at the top of his cell jonas was telling himself that any move at all was a move in the right direction he set up a shout for one of the guards the baldwin brought his meals every day but the black haired one was the man who checked his cell at night for once jonas thought he was lucky the bald man appeared after some fifteen minutes of screaming and cursing jonas was not at all sure whether the black haired man understood language and there was little trace of it in his mind and virtually nothing that might be called intelligence with the bald man at least he could communicate what's wanted the guard said sourly staring through the bars jonas smiled softly you know why i'm here don't you he said in a voice as close to silky as he could make it you the bald man said you're here in a cell that's right jonas said patiently he rubbed at his face do you know why i was put here you cast spells you make things happen that's right jonas said smiling again i'm a wizard a warlock that's what they say isn't it you make things happen the bald man said but he had the basic idea jonas checked that in his mind very well he said now i wish to see her knife the inquisitor calls you when he wants you the bald man said now jonas said when he wants if i'm a wizard jonas said i have powers strange powers i could make you he reflected for a minute i could make you into a beetle and squash you underfoot as a matter of fact i think i will he gazed reflectively at the bald man who gulped and turned a little pale you you are in a cell he said at last locked up do you think that will stop me jonas said he came to the bar door still smiling you would not dare why not jonas asked what have i got to lose he raised one hand clawing the fingers slightly he took a deep breath as if he were about to spit out an incantation his eyes glittered the smile broadened a long second passed i will tell the inquisitor you wish to see him the bald guard said jonas relaxed and stepped back i shall be most grateful he said formally the guard turned and started to walk away five paces down the corridor the walk turned into a run jonas watched him go and then sat down on his louse infested cart to await developments the minutes ticked by endlessly he thought of trying to reach clairton but decided not entirely with regret that the contact would use up too much energy and he needed all the energy he could conserve now the second step had been taken the fact that he sat in a cell in a prison was proof of that the third step the all important final step was about to begin georg nupf was a tall man with skin of the color and apparent texture of good leather he had a face like an eagle and his eyes were ice blue he moved his thin strong hands gently back and forth on the table that held his papers ink stand and pen and said in a voice like audible sandpaper you wanted to see me true jonas said pleasantly krupp was sitting behind the table jonas had not been asked to sit he remained standing and he was reasonably sure that his feet were going to hurt in a minute he tried not to let the thought disturb him the man's mind was like his office in the town hall sparsely furnished almost austere but with all the necessities laid out for easy access underneath the strength and iron of the mind jonas caught the spark glowing and nearly smiled in spite of the reports in spite of logic there had been a chance the brotherhood had guessed wrongly about this man now that chance was gone and the brotherhood was right again not many asked to see me culumph said in the same voice he went on looking at his hands there was bitterness in his mind bitterness that had changed to hate their pleas tend to be exactly the opposite i do not plead jonas pointed out it was necessary that i come to see you the question was he told himself exactly what were the inquisitor's real beliefs his public professions were well known jonas searched and found the answer cnuff was an honest man that of course made matters simpler necessary cnuff said looking up for the first time his gaze stabbed like a sword he was uneasy jonas knew with another mind probing his he could not help but be uneasy but he could not find a cause it would never occur to him and he controlled his feelings superbly you believe that i am a wizard jonas said knuff waited a bare second and then nodded i can do many things jonas went on it was necessary that i bring these to your attention and prove to you that they were not wizardly or magic many have told me cnuff muttered that their feats were natural it is a common defense so i have heard jonas said easily but i shall prove what i say i am under no compulsion to listen to you knuff said after a pause jonas shrugged his feet were beginning to hurt he realized he sighed briefly but there was no time or attention to spare for them i could only see you by having myself accused of witchcraft he said in that way you will be forced to listen to me you may listen now or later at a full hearing of the inquisitor's court am i to take my choice knuff said he smiled briefly his face remained cold the strong hands moved on the tabletop it is a matter of indifference to me jonas said but the wait becomes boring after a time knuff's eyebrows went up boring is hardly the word others would use i am not like others jonas said he wished for clairton suddenly but there was no way to reach him safely he had to make his move alone well he told himself that was what he had wanted i can tell you what is in your mind he said the words hung in the air of the room for a long time at last knuff nodded the devil grants too many his power of seeing the minds of men he said quietly this is not devil's work as i shall prove jonas said he shifted his feet but let me establish one point at a time in the most scholastic manner in if you will permit i permit knuff said there was interest in his mind overlaid with skepticism of course but interest all the same that jonas thought was a better sign than he had ever dared hope for very well he said think of a word think of any single word i shall tell it to you as any wizard might do who had the help of his lord the devil could have muttered do you expect this to prove one thing at a time jonas said knuff nodded a second pass jonas licked his lips the possibilities paraded before him on one hand success on the other there was the torture and death of the inquisition jonas took a deep breath there was no way to back out now heroism looked a little empty though he closed his eyes cabbages he said knuff neither applauded nor looked surprised as i have said he murmured that which the devil can grant he paused and looked down at his hands am i to take this as a confession he said do you wish to hurry your own death i am no wizard jonas said a stranger knuff said who enters a small city is seen of mysterious undertakings plucks words out of the center of a man's mind why the picture is a classic one del rio himself holzinger or any of the others could not describe better yet all this was done to draw your attention to fix it on what i have to tell you jonas said shifting his feet again i am no wizard but a man who may do certain things and here is my proof you may do the same yourself the silence was a long one and at the end of it knuff rose he walked to the door of the room and opened it and the bald headed guard came in he has tried to tempt me to pact with satan the inquisitor said but take him away someday jonas thought back in his cell there would be a method of controlling minds that did not require the willing cooperation of the two parties someday the man who reads minds will be more than a passive onlooker but the talent was new it needed practice it needed training the cell grew dark as night came and the dampness seemed to increase jonas heard squeaking and thought of the rats but he couldn't even summon up enough energy to try for them he sat cross legged in a corner of the cell and closed his eyes he sighed once deeply this is what a hero came to and told himself this was the end of heroics and playing a lone hand why if he had it to do over again he would you would do exactly the same thing clairton's voice said jonas grinned suddenly and sat straighter i should have known you'd be getting into contact sooner or later he thought i try to keep track of all our men clairton thought in a case like yours i try harder my foolishness jonas thought sometimes works to my benefit clinton's thoughts were dry if you hadn't gotten impatient and tried to hurry things his voice said in jonas's mind you wouldn't be back in your cell now there is a time and a place for your disclosure another day in here would have drove me out of my wits jonas thought better out of your wits than dead clayton thought jonas sighed however clairton went on there is still a way out for you i have read the situation in your mind and your next move will have to be rather more spectacular than usual so long as it works jonas said i will be satisfied it will work clayton said at least i think it will another day dragged by jonas put in his time alternately going over the new plan and feeling more frightened than he had ever believed possible clairton reached him once but the contact was weak and fleeting the director hadn't enough strength to reach him again at least not for a day or so jonas was exactly where he'd wanted to be on his own he hated the idea time passed somehow when morning dawned jonas awoke to find the door of his cell being unlocked the bald man and the black haired man were both there he looked up for them with distaste then he saw what was in their minds and the distaste changed to fear you have confessed the bald one said it is necessary that you ratify your confession come with us jonas knew what that meant ratification of a free confession took place under torture he wiped his face with one hand but he hardly thought of escaping he had to go through with the plan the two guards came into the cell and gripped his arms jonas allowed himself to be carried out into the corridor and down it to a great wooden door the guards opened it and dragged him through the torture chamber was brightly lit with torches and brackets along the walls that gave off by a small fraction more light than smoke in one corner the rack itself stood and there were other tools of the trade scattered around the room jonas found that he was sweating the guards brought into the center of the room could have was standing near him a perfectly frank expression on his face his voice was the same rough rasp but it seemed almost mechanical you have confessed to me he said your heresy nearly will be made to ratify your confession that done your penalty will be exacted and the penalty of course would be death death at the stake he forced himself to remain calm now was the time for his play he took a deep breath and felt the strength in him gather to a single point and flow outward the two men suddenly seemed to stagger there was a second of confusion and they had let him go he stood alone in the room he turned and walked to the door but he did not open it instead he leaned against it he forced his voice into the patterns of calmness and ease your men cannot touch me he said wizard no jonas said the confusion he was broadcasting kept the men from doing anything that required even a simple plan but he couldn't keep it up for long a man like yourself a man with a particular talent given by god the name of god i can say that name jonas told the inquisitor no wizard may say it it is a trick knuff said jonas shook his head not at all i will ask you to do nothing against the faith i merely ask you to test for yourself what i say you are a heretic knuff said stubbornly i cannot you can pray jonas said knuff blinked pray he said meditate on a prayer jonas said keep your mind open keep yourself ready for the gift of god it will descend on you knopf shook his head it is a trick he began a trick jonas said with the prayers of god and his church and that was the unanswerable question for no wizard could use the name of god no wizard could pray so the inquisition said so knopf said snow knuff had to say and so he had to believe slowly his mind opened and became receptive the prayer hung in the air of the smoky room yonas slipped in now he said quietly his control slipped the two guards came towards him overpowered and held him in a brief second wait the inquisitor said heavily wait release him and so clayton thought the job was accomplished naturally jonas thought clayton's thought had an overtone of weariness there is no need to be smug he told jonas after all you did not do the job yourself unimportant jonas thought the man is convinced he can be trained further and join the brotherhood it will take time clairton said a few years perhaps but in the meantime there will be no trials in speyer no trials jonas thought but oh i see of course clayton thought any man who considers himself a wizard will have his mind seen by the inquisitor and since there are no wizards at least none we have discovered the trials will cease jonas finished and the brotherhood has gained a new member clayton said a member with influence and power it is an important step forward jonas of course jonas thought disinterestedly yet you seem bored by the matter clarence thought puzzled i don't see oh i see the woman in your mind the daughter and and now stop it jonas thought stop it cut off after all he finished there are times when even a hero wants a little privacy postscript in sixteen oh five to sixteen oh six in offenburg there were no executions hc lee materials toward a history of witchcraft volume three page eleven forty eight end of wizard by larry m harris what's up baby it's
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