The Mistress of Illusions by Mike Resnick

Author:Mike Resnick [Resnick, Mike]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy
ISBN: 9780756413873
Google: 2Qh_xwEACAAJ
Amazon: B07V534BCL
Publisher: DAW
Published: 2020-04-13T23:00:00+00:00

16

“Oh, shit!” muttered Raven as he adjusted himself on the large and very uncomfortable saddle.

“You’re surprised?” said his companion.

Raven sighed deeply. “Shouldn’t I be, Sancho?” he said. “That’s a windmill, I’m astride the ugliest horse I’ve ever seen, you seem to be a guy, and I’m Don Quixote, all set to grab my sword or my lance and charge the damned windmill.”

“Calm down, Eddie,” said Lisa, reaching over and laying what she hoped was a calming hand on his arm. “We know you’re not Don Quixote, and we know you’re not about to mistake a windmill for Matagoger.”

He frowned. “Matagoger?” he repeated.

“An ogre.” Suddenly she smiled. “Not to worry. Don Quixote never fought it in the book either.”

“I read the book in school but wasn’t really into it,” he admitted. “But I did see the musical, Man of La Mancha. Why aren’t you Aldonza or Dulcinea, whichever she really was?”

“Because I think you need a full-time guide and companion,” she replied. “And not to worry, I’ll look like a short, mustachioed, pudgy man to anyone we encounter.”

“If you’re the Mistress of Illusions, why not just remain the beautiful woman you are and tinker with their minds?”

“How do you know I didn’t tinker with yours instead?” she asked with an amused smile.

“Because you’re a woman back in Manhattan, and in Camelot and Sherwood Forest and everywhere else I’ve seen you. And if my mind isn’t the only one you tinkered with, I would anticipate every man we come across making a play for you.”

“Well, it’s good to see your brain’s still working,” she said.

“So what happens now?” asked Raven.

“Now we overcome whatever obstacles the Enemy throws in our way, and then return to Manhattan if we can.”

“If we can?” he repeated, frowning.

“Nothing’s as simple as it seems, Eddie,” she said. “Not for you.”

“You mentioned the Enemy,” said Raven. “Who is he?”

“What makes you think it’s a he?”

“Okay, who is he, she, or it?”

“The Enemy.”

“You’re driving me crazy!” he growled.

“Trust me, you’ll know everything you need to know when you finally do need it.”

“And this is another test?”

She grimaced and shook her head. “You’re not testing for a role or a position, Eddie. What you are was inevitable from the start. What’s happening now is that you’re being prepared for what lies ahead.”

“With Munchkins and white hunters and a crazy old man who goes to war with windmills?”

“When you were a Munchkin,” she said, “you learned how to function in a new body, how to manipulate events so you could meet the Wizard, and even how to manipulate him. When you were Alan Quatermain you learned how to stand up to a charging carnivore that was larger than you and wanted nothing more than to kill and eat you, and how to survive in a very unfamiliar and dangerous landscape. When you were Robin Hood, you learned how to escape from bondage with no weapons or tools. When you were . . .”

“Okay, I get the picture,” said Raven. “So do I

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