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on. They demanded a phenomenal ransom for her, even while the plane was still in flight-one billion
Eurodollars, release of all political prisoners, a public apology for misgovernment, that sort of thing. If
the King paid, they would land the plane in a neutral country and let her go; if not-
The King refused to acknowledge their demands. The money was easy, the release of prisoners
problematical, and the apology impossible, of course.
"Of course," Mym agreed, understanding perfectly.
The King approached the matter forthrightly. He put out notice that a reward would be given for the
severed heads of the conspirators.
They arranged to show their determination by putting her image on a magic mirror. They set up the
mirror, but Ligeia refused to perform; she would not demean herself by begging her father to buy her
freedom.
Balked for the moment and running low on fuel, the hijackers decided on a more direct demonstration.
They stripped her naked, and one of them prepared to rape her-on camera, as it were. It was evident that
they had had some such notion in mind ever since seeing her, for they were men.
"Not all men are like that," Mym protested.
"You don't desire my body?" she inquired challengingly.
Mym sighed. There was no respectable answer he could give to that.
Seeing that practically all was lost, and with the fell pirate almost upon her, Ligeia had screamed. After
all, submission to public rape was no more possible for a princess than a public apology was for a king.
In private, a different standard obtained. After a princess got married, both rape and apology were likely,
perhaps even necessary.
But not desirable, Mym remarked.
Every other person aboard the plane had lost consciousness. Ligeia, of course, did not know how to pilot
it. So the plane crashed, and all aboard were killed, including her.
"And so I found myself in Hell," she concluded.
"But you did nothing worthy of damnation!" Mym protested.
"That is my claim," she agreed. "Technically I did commit suicide-but it was to protect my virtue. And I
was responsible for many deaths-but it was self-defense, and they were evil men. I feel that if I could
only get a fair hearing, the powers who be should agree that I should go to Heaven. But it seems that my
scroll was charged with both murder and suicide, and so I was damned. Of course I would have been
damned had I submitted, too."
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"Damned if you do and damned if you don't," Mym agreed.
"And then Satan had the temerity to force me to-I tried to warn you away, but-"
"The thing to do," Mym said firmly, "is to turn Satan's trap against him. To get out of Hell. That would
serve him right."
"But I keep telling you, that can't be done!" she protested. "Only you alone can win free, if you know
how. I can only do it if I get my hearing, and Satan will never allow that."
"How can he prevent it?" Mym asked, nettled. "Doesn't God have anything to say about it?"
"God doesn't interfere in the affairs of mortals or with the Incarnations," she said despairingly.
"Well, I am under no such restriction," Mym said. "I shall get you out."
"That is exactly what Satan wants you to try," she reminded him.
"I am disinclined to disappoint him." Mym considered. "Do you think Satan is listening to us now?"
"Well, we're hiding from him-"
"It is in my mind that Satan permitted us to reach this place," he said. "He surely can tune in on us. This
is, after all, his domain."
"I hadn't thought of that," she confessed. "But Hell is a very big region. I'm sure he can't devote his
attention to every little detail all the time. Once he knew we were together, he probably went on to other
business."
"Probably," Mym agreed. "So we can consider our conversation private."
She shrugged. "I suppose so. But it doesn't matter. I can't get out and, as long as I prevent you from
getting out, I am serving his purpose. I don't like that, though I do like being with you."
She was probably correct, Mym thought. She had served as the lure to bring him in, and now served as
the chain to keep him here. Satan had no need to watch them.
Yet it was hardly unpleasant, being here with Ligeia. She was a nice girl, with compatible values, and [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]