Titans of Chaos

Quentin, instead of answering, took a piece of chalk out of his pocket and uttered three wordsthat clanged like iron. The chalk, of its own accord, flew across to where Colin stood, fell to thedeck, and slid around him in a circle: once, twice, thrice.

Quentin knelt, tapped the belaying pin on the deck, pointed at Colin, uttered a command word insome language that hissed like fire in his mouth.

Quentin muttered to himself. Then he said, more loudly, "Therefore what humors and essenceswhich once touched Phobetor, shall now and always shall be of him, be with him, be obedient tohim. So mote it be. Quod erat faciendum."

Colin's face and features ran like wax, and black smoke boiled around him. Vanity lookedshocked, and I think I must have screamed.

A demon-prince stood there. His skull was long and narrow, like the face of a stag or fox, andinstead of a tongue, flame was in his mouth. His eyes were green lamps. Antlers tipped with silverglints, made perhaps of bone or ice, branched Up like a crown. His chest and torso were manlike,albeit much brawnier and wider-shouldered than any man. In one hand he held a mace of silver;in the other, an orb of crystal carved like a moon. Vast bat wings pebbled and patterned like theneck of a venomous snake rose up hugely from his back. He had shaggy goat-legs and narrowfeet, ending in split hoofs sharp as razors. His male member was appropriately large and godlike.

A scent like ambergris came from him.

"Oh, cool!" said the stag-headed demon-prince with his tongue of flame. Little electric sparksplayed around the fangs of his sudden smile.

The horned and narrow head turned toward me, the greenish dots it wore in place of eyes dancingwith unholy mirth. "Hey, flying squid-girl. You think your true shape is freaky? Check this out."

Quentin said, "Return to that form you wore on Earth, O Prince of Nightmares..."

"Hold on a sec," said Phobetor in Colin's voice. "My senses are sharper in this form. I can feeltrouble coming. I can feel the hate in the air. I can see... I can see dreams..."

"Fix me," I said to him.

He did not respond. His eyes were focused on something I could not see. "Hey, Leader! There is abig dream-storm coming."

Quentin asked, "What is a dream-storm?"

"Hell if I know. Looks like a tidal wave about to break over us."

"Can you fix me?" I shouted at him. The idiot.

"Hold on, sweet cheeks. There are also some singing fish women in longboats dreaming aboutstopping us___