“Vala!” he said. “What are you doing here?” The question was rhetorical; he knew she must have also been trapped by their father. And now he recognized the man. He was Rintrah, one of his brothers. Vala, his sister, and Rintrah, his brother, had fallen into the same snare.
Vala smiled at him, and his heart sprang again. She was of all women he had known the most beautiful, with two exceptions. His lovely Chryseis and his other sister, Anana the Bright, surpassed her. But he had never loved Anana as he had Vala. Just as he had never hated Anana as he had Vala.
Vala applauded again, and said, “Well done, Jadawin! You have lost none of your skill or wits. That thing is dangerous, even if detestable. It cringes and whines and tries to gain your trust, and then, bang! It’s at your throat! It almost killed Rintrah when he first came here and would have if I had not struck it unconscious with a rock. So, you see, I, too, have dealt with it.”
“And why did you not kill it then?” Wolff said.
Rintrah smiled and said, “Don’t you know your own little brother, Jadawin? That creature is your beloved, your cute little Theotormon.”
Wolff said, “God! Theotormon! Who did this to him?”
Neither of the two answered, nor was an answer needed. This was Urizen’s world; only he could have refashioned their brother thus.
Theotormon groaned and sat up. One flipper placed over the bloody spot on his head, he rocked back and forth and moaned. His lichen-green eyes glared at Wolff, and he silently mouthed vituperation he did not dare voice.
Wolff said, “You’re not trying to tell me you spared his life because of fraternal sentiment? I know you better than that.”
Vala laughed and said, “Of course not! I thought he could be used later on. He knows this little planet well, since he has been here such a long long time. He is a coward, brother Jadawin. He did not have the courage to test his life in the maze of Urizen; he stayed upon this island and became as one of the degenerate natives. Our father tired of waiting for him to summon up a nonexistent manhood. To punish him for his lack of bravery, he caught him and took him off to his stronghold, Appirmatzum. There he reshaped him, made him into this disgusting sea-thing. Even then, Theotormon did not dare to go through the gates into Urizen’s palace. He stayed here and lived as a hermit, hating and despising himself, hating all other living beings, especially Lords.
“He lives upon the fruit of the islands, the birds and fish and other sea-things he can catch. He eats them raw, and he kills the natives and eats them when he gets a chance. Not that they don’t deserve their fate. They are the sons and daughters of other Lords who, like Theotormon, were craven. They lived out their miserable lives upon this planet, had babies, raised these, and then died.
“Urizen did to them as he did to Theotormon. He took them to Appirmatzum, made them into loathsome shapes, and brought them back here. Our father thought that surely the monstering of them would make them hate him so much they would then test the trapdoor planets, try to get into Appirmatzum, and revenge themselves. But they were cowards all. They preferred to live on, even in their stomach-turning metamorphosis, rather than die as true Lords.”
Wolff said, “I have much to learn about this little arrangement of our father. But how do I know that I can trust you?”
Again Vala laughed. “All of us who have fallen into Urizen’s traps are upon this island. Most of us have been here only a few weeks, although Luvah has been here for half a year.”
“Who are the others?”
“Some of your brothers and cousins. Besides Rintrah and Luvah, there are two other brothers, Enion and Ariston. And your cousins Tharmas and Palamabron.”
She laughed merrily and pointed at the red sky and said, “All, all snared by our father! All gathered together again after a heartrending absence of millennia. A happy family reunion such as mortals could not imagine.”