Thieves World 4 – Storm Season by Asprin, Robert

sky was hurled alight by heat lightning bright as day. . .

that surrounded Vashanka utterly, that was Vashanka, as his bellow of rage and

pain was thunder and lightning. Pierced, he went flying backward as if by

smashing impact, and the wind of his passage was as the gale of a storm booming

in off the sea. And on he went, until he was so distant to the staring,

squinting Hanse that he was tiny, and then that tiny Vashanka vanished.

Us appeared before Hanse then, radiant. His face was that of the statue in the

destroyed temple.

At that, Hanse wondered; he saw the radiance and yet dimly. Why was it darker;

why was his god not all triumphant in pure lambence?

Why can’t I move my damned head, damn it? “m the end,” Ils said, “he was right

and yet not wise enough. He said true in that he cannot be slain by weapons of

this plane. But the knife flew true, the mortal knife off its proper plane here

on the Plane of Infinity, and it struck him a killing blow, so that he began to

die. But that was not possible. Thus a paradox existed. That is against the

nature of things, Hanse, for the God of Gods who created all existence-aye, and

who created Me-that god is Reality. Since my cousin’s son Vashanka could not be

slain by weapons of your plane, this dimension, he could not die in this chamber

of the House of Infinity that is the domain of Lord Reality.”

Of course Hanse said, “I don’t understand.”

“Hmp! I am sure you don’t! It’s heady stuff for a god! Explanations for all

this won’t be discovered by your kind for thousands of years, Son of Shadow.