“That pale, honey-haired, wide-hipped cow? I'll claw her damned eyes out! By the Great One, Charles, if you gave her your seed there is no place in the wide green world she will be able to hide from me!”
He caught her hand as it rose to strike. “No. I didn't.” He looked into her eyes, and she saw the truth of his words. Even as she did, he was struck by a revelation.
“You're afraid,” he whispered. “For me.”
“Of course I'm afraid, you fool!” she shouted. “You're going away. Thousands of miles, and I cannot protect you. Mother Atlantea is old and capricious, and any prayer I make to her on your behalf is unlikely to be answered.
“Stay here, Charles,” she said. Her voice was pleading. “All that waits for you over there is death and horror.”
“My death?” His voice could not hide a quaver o
