Universe Twister - Keith Laumer [198]
"Of course he's still a little strange," Sisli burst out. "He hasn't fully recovered from the blow on his head!"
"Go away, Wiggy Hig," Lafayette called carelessly. "Or Higgly Wig. Your sour puss bothers me. The night was made for love. Especially tonight, up here in a treetop. Back home they'll never believe all this . . ." He waved a hand to include the paper lanterns strung in the branches, the gaily dressed wingmen and women fluttering gaily about, the high moon riding above.
"Back home? And where might that be?" the Visioner said sharply.
"It's just a figure of speech," Sisli said quickly. "Leave him alone, Wizner Hiz! He's not hurting anyone!"
"Neither did the others—at first. Then they started . . . changing. You don't remember, girl; you were too young. But I saw it! I saw Boolbo Biz start turning into a monster before our eyes!"
"Well, Tazlo's not turning into a monster," Sisli said, and took his arm possessively.
"Course not," Lafayette said, and wagged a finger at the old Wingman. "Just the same old me—whoever that is. Get lost, Wiz—I mean Hiz—" He paused as something fluttered past his face. Twisting on his wicker stool, he saw a large russet feather drifting down through the foliage below.
"Someone shedding?" he asked genially. A second feather followed the first. Something touched his arm: a third feather. He made brushing motions. "What's going on here?" he inquired as more feathers swirled around him. He stood, caught sight of Sisli's horror-stricken expression.
"Wha's . . . what's the matter?" he asked, and blew a downy feather from his upper lip.
"Oh, no—Tazlo, no!" Sisli yelped.
"Aha!" Wizner Hiz screeched.
"Grab him!" Vugli bellowed.
"Grab who?" Lafayette demanded, looking around for the victim. His question was answered as hands caught at him, clamped on his arms, dragged him to the center of the dancing pavilion, amid a cloud of feathers.
"What's this all about?" he yelled. "I've passed your test, haven't I . . ." His voice trailed away as he caught sight of his unbroken wing, held in the grasp of half a dozen wide-eyed Thallathlonians. Even as he stared, another handful of feathers came free to swirl away in a sudden gust of wind.
"Not quite, Mind-grabber," Wizner Hiz rasped. "Not quite!"
3
Four sturdily muscled Wingmen prodded at Lafayette with stout ten-foot poles, keeping him immobilized at the center of the cleared open-work pavilion. All around, the ranked population of the eyrie clustered in a circle, ten deep, all eyes on him. Sisli was gone, borne away weeping by her brothers. So far O'Leary as could tell, there was not a friendly expression in sight.
"Don't do anything hasty," he urged as the pole-tip poked him painfully in the ribs. "I can't fly, remember? I know it looks bad, but I'll think of an explanation if you'll just—ooof!" His appeal was cut short by a hearty jab to the abdomen.
"Never fear, we know how to deal with your kind," Wizner Hiz crowed. He rubbed his hands together, skipping about beyond the pole-wielders with the agility of a ten-year-old, shaping up the crowd.
"You there—back a few feet! Hold it! Now you, ladies—just move in here, fill up this gap. You—the tall one—move back! Now, Pivlo Poo, you and Quigli step in here . . . close it up . . ."
"This looks like . . . a public execution," O'Leary pushed the words out painfully. "I hope you're not planning anything so barbaric—"
"All together, now," Wizner Hiz commanded, raising his hands for silence. He whistled a shrill note—like a pitch pipe—and gestured. An answering note came from the massed voices of the eyrie.
"Choir practice? At a time like this!" Lafayette wondered aloud.
"It will be the last choir you'll hear in this world," Wizner Hiz shrilled, fixing Lafayette with a beady eye filled with triumph. "You're about to be Sung Out! Out of the world! Back to the dark spaces you came from, foul Invader!"
"Oh, really?" Lafayette smiled painfully. "What happens if I fail to disappear? Does that prove I'm innocent?"
"Never fear—the Chant of Exorcism has never failed," one of the strong-arm