A Voyage to Arcturus Part 23

Maskull suddenly noticed a strange blue light glowing in the northern sky. It was from Alppain, but Alppain itself was behind the hills. While he was observing it, a peculiar wave of self-denial, of a disquieting nature, pa.s.sed through him. He looked at Oceaxe, and it struck him for the first time that he was being unnecessarily brutal to her. He had forgotten that she was a woman, and defenceless.

"Won't you stay?" she asked all of a sudden, quite openly and frankly.

"Yes, I think I'll stay," he replied slowly. "And another thing, Oceaxe--if I've misjudged your character, pray forgive me. I'm a hasty, pa.s.sionate man."

"There are enough easygoing men. Hard knocks are a good medicine for vicious hearts. And you didn't misjudge my character, as far as you went--only, every woman has more than one character. Don't you know that?"

During the pause that followed, a snapping of twigs was heard, and both looked around, startled. They saw a woman stepping slowly across the neck that separated them from the mainland.

"Tydomin," muttered Oceaxe, in a vexed, frightened voice. She immediately moved away from Maskull and stood up.

The newcomer was of middle height, very slight and graceful. She was no longer quite young. Her face wore the composure of a woman who knows her way about the world. It was intensely pale, and under its quiescence there just was a glimpse of something strange and dangerous. It was curiously alluring, though not exactly beautiful. Her hair was cl.u.s.tering and boyish, reaching only to the neck. It was of a strange indigo colour. She was quaintly attired in a tunic and breeches, pieced together from the square, blue-green plates of some reptile. Her small, ivory-white b.r.e.a.s.t.s were exposed. Her sorb was black and sad--rather contemplative.

Without once glancing up at Oceaxe and Maskull, she quietly glided straight toward Crimtyphon's corpse. When she arrived within a few feet of it, she stopped and looked down, with arms folded.

Oceaxe drew Maskull a little away, and whispered, "It's Crimtyphon's other wife, who lives under Disscourn. She's a most dangerous woman.

Be careful what you say. If she asks you to do anything, refuse it outright."

"The poor soul looks harmless enough."

"Yes, she does--but the poor soul is quite capable of swallowing up Krag himself.... Now, play the man."

The murmur of their voices seemed to attract Tydomin's notice, for she now slowly turned her eyes toward them.

"Who killed him?" she demanded.

Her voice was so soft, low, and refined, that Maskull hardly was able to catch the words. The sounds, however, lingered in his ears, and curiously enough seemed to grow stronger, instead of fainter.

Oceaxe whispered, "Don't say a word, leave it all to me." Then she swung her body around to face Tydomin squarely, and said aloud, "I killed him."

Tydomin's words by this time were ringing in Maskull's head like an actual physical sound. There was no question of being able to ignore them; he had to make an open confession of his act, whatever the consequences might be. Quietly taking Oceaxe by the shoulder and putting her behind him, he said in a low, but perfectly distinct voice, "It was I that killed Crimtyphon."

Oceaxe looked both haughty and frightened. "Maskull says that so as to s.h.i.+eld me, as he thinks. I require no s.h.i.+eld, Maskull. I killed him, Tydomin."

"I believe you, Oceaxe. You did murder him. Not with your own strength, for you brought this man along for the purpose."

Maskull took a couple of steps toward Tydomin. "It's of little consequence who killed him, for he's better dead than alive, in my opinion. Still, I did it. Oceaxe had no hand in the affair."

Tydomin appeared not to hear him--she looked beyond him at Oceaxe musingly. "When you murdered him, didn't it occur to you that I would come here, to find out?"

"I never once thought of you," replied Oceaxe, with an angry laugh. "Do you really imagine that I carry your image with me wherever I go?"

"If someone were to murder your lover here, what would you do?"

"Lying hypocrite!" Oceaxe spat out. "You never were in love with Crimtyphon. You always hated me, and now you think it an excellent opportunity to make it good... now that Crimtyphon's gone.... For we both know he would have made a footstool of you, if I had asked him. He wors.h.i.+ped me, but he laughed at you. He thought you ugly."

Tydomin flashed a quick, gentle smile at Maskull. "Is it necessary for you to listen to all this?"

Without question, and feeling it the right thing to do, he walked away out of earshot.

Tydomin approached Oceaxe. "Perhaps because my beauty fades and I'm no longer young, I needed him all the more."

Oceaxe gave a kind of snarl. "Well, he's dead, and that's the end of it.

What are you going to do now, Tydomin?"

The other woman smiled faintly and rather pathetically. "There's nothing left to do, except mourn the dead. You won't grudge me that last office?"

"Do you want to stay here?" demanded Oceaxe suspiciously.

"Yes, Oceaxe dear, I wish to be alone."

"Then what is to become of us?"

"I thought that you and your lover--what is his name?"

"Maskull."

"I thought that perhaps you two would go to Disscourn, and spend Blodsombre at my home."

Oceaxe called out aloud to Maskull, "Will you come with me now to Disscourn?"

"If you wish," returned Maskull.

"Go first, Oceaxe. I must question your friend about Crimtyphon's death.

I won't keep him."

"Why don't you question me, rather?" demanded Oceaxe, looking up sharply.

Tydomin gave the shadow of a smile. "We know each other too well."

"Play no tricks!" said Oceaxe, and she turned to go.

"Surely you must be dreaming," said Tydomin. "That's the way--unless you want to walk over the cliffside."

The path Oceaxe had chosen led across the isthmus. The direction which Tydomin proposed for her was over the edge of the precipice, into empty s.p.a.ce.

"Shaping! I must be mad," cried Oceaxe, with a laugh. And she obediently followed the other's finger.

She walked straight on toward the edge of the abyss, twenty paces away. Maskull pulled his beard around, and wondered what she was doing.

Tydomin remained standing with outstretched finger, watching her.

Without hesitation, without slackening her step once, Oceaxe strolled on--and when she had reached the extreme end of the land she still took one more step.

Maskull saw her limbs wrench as she stumbled over the edge. Her body disappeared, and as it did so an awful shriek sounded.

Disillusionment had come to her an instant too late. He tore himself out of his stupor, rushed to the edge of the cliff, threw himself on the ground recklessly, and looked over.... Oceaxe had vanished.

He continued staring wildly down for several minutes, and then began to sob. Tydomin came up to him, and he got to his feet.