Titans of Chaos

Victor said in a voice as calm and gentle as ever I was to hear him use, "Reality consists ofscarcity: No tool is of unlimited use, no good supercedes all other goods, no power is so powerfulas to overwhelm all else; otherwise the universe would long ago have been reduced to that onepower, with that one tool to that one good."

"What's that mean?" I said to him. Maybe I shouted it.

"It means nothing is perfect. Every rule has exceptions. Every atom in motion has a swerve."

I said tearfully, "It means I will never get away from Boggin?" To Quentin I said, "Why didn't itwork?"

Quentin said, 'The wording of the oath. You would never do anything to make him ashamed. Ifyou undo his spell, on which his whole reputation and honor depend-he took quite a risk in lettingus at large-then he will be shamed indeed. I cannot undo the moral obligation, because the veryact of unweaving the obligation is shameful. It is almost as if you took a second oath not to breakthe oath."

Vanity looked worried. She whispered something to Colin. Colin took me by the elbow andlowered his lips to my ear. "Amelia, don't you even think about trying to sneak away from us, tolead Boggin away. I am not going to let that happen. I want you too much."

Well, that gave me something to think about. The conclusions I came to were not so pleasant.

Why wasn't Victor here, keeping Colin away? I turned my head. Victor was standing, simplystanding, in the prow of the ship, looking out into the snowy darkness, the surging waves, his facethoughtful.

As if he had already resigned himself to the idea that I would run away.

The Bubble Bath

The magnificent Hotel del Coronado looks out upon the blue Pacific across beaches astawny-white and perfect as no beach in Europe can be. It is summer here, in Southern California,eternal summer. The sea breeze is always cool and crisp and fresh, and the palm trees are alwaysas green, and know no wintertime.

When ancient poets dreamed of mansions on Olympos, in the aether high above the storms andsnows of Earth, they sang of untroubled climes and unchanging seasons, not knowing that theparadise they feigned was here on the West Coast of the New World.

The hotel itself is roofed in sun-baked red tile, topped with cupolas and adorned with quaintarchitectural flourishes. A dozen white dormer windows peer out from under the frowning brow ofa titanic conical dome. Inside, the furniture and decor are stately and Victorian, but here andthere are traces of Spanish ornament.