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The rapport was so thorough that he had mistaken her thought for his own! He had never anticipated
success like this! Why had she even been concerned about-wait, whose thought was this? His or hers?
Does it matter?
Confused, Mym disengaged. They lay there, both their bodies radiant with the experience, assimilating
the enormous impact of the prior few moments. Truly, they had known each other for an instant.
Now Mym discovered that he could recollect greater detail in Ligeia's memories than he had been aware
of before. He seemed to have acquired part of her mind.
"It was right to let Rapture go, though you still loved her," Ligeia said.
"You share my memories?" he asked, knowing it was so.
"Your memories become you," she said. "You are a decent man. I can see why you are wary of the
demoness; that business with the talking head-"
"I had no idea that the phase would be that complete, Li!"
"I know, Mym, I know," she said.
"How well we know each other so suddenly!"
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r r
"It was worth it."
"It was worth it," he repeated.
"I think we shall very soon be in love."
"Very soon," he agreed.
"For the first time in my Afterlife, I am glad I went to Hell."
"I know." He kissed her. The acquaintance that should have taken months had been accomplished in
seconds.
Now, secure in their knowledge of each other, they slept.
Ligeia did know her way generally about Hell. She had found a map of it in a book Satan had shown
her. The book described the various regions and tortures available; the showing of it had not been any
favor to her, but a threat. She had been terrified by the threat, but she had remembered the pretty map.
"The River Lethe originates near the center, and that is where Satan's private retreat is," she said. "So we
should discover its source spring near here."
"Lethe-the water of forgetfulness?" he asked. "My mythology is not yours, but I seem to remember
that."
"True. If we thirst, we had better not drink that water, for we will not even remember our mission
thereafter."
They walked along, and the snake followed, and they found the spring, and thirst smote Mym, but he
knew he could not drink. The clear water bubbled up from the white sand below, forming a lovely pool
surrounded by rich vegetation. There were several canoes on a rack beside it. This was evidently a
wilderness retreat.
"Odd that such a thing should exist in Hell," Mym remarked.
"It's a trap. Unwary souls who flee the work gangs find their way here and choose to boat and swim in
the water, and-"
"I see. Satan does love to torture insidiously."
"But we can use a canoe," she said. "It doesn't matter if we get splashed, as long as none of it gets in our
mouths. Of course it might not be smart actually to swim in it."
"Not smart at all," he agreed.
"The rivers lead to every major section of Hell. Some of them are pretty nasty. That's why there isn't
much traffic on them."
They lifted a canoe and turned it over. It was made of aluminum-or whatever passed for it in the
Afterlife-and was light. They set it in the water and climbed carefully in. The snake joined them. There
were two aluminum paddles with it, too. It floated very nicely on the water.
"I would hardly need to drink the water to forget," Mym said. "This is such a pleasant place."
"Appearances can be deceptive," she said.
They paddled. Mym had had experience with this sort of thing and had the rear seat; he kept a straight
course by sculling, while Ligeia paddled on either side in front.
They guided it to the outlet, where the flow of the river commenced. The water was calm; only the
slightest current was felt. The vegetation grew richly up to the shore, and trees overhung, so that the
stream seemed to be passing under a green canopy. Small fish swam below, and turtles were at the
fringe. It was hard indeed to remember that this was Hell!
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r r
But soon the stream entered a marshy region where water plants encroached. The plants seemed
innocent-hyacinths-but Mym was cautious. This was, after all-Hell.
Sure enough, as they glided close, he saw little feelerthreads writhing out from the plants, reaching [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]