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DOWN THE DIM CORRIDORS Virga followed the blond man who had moments before ordered the execution of three a saw food and excres were allowed to run free They reached a narrow hallway that stretched on past a dozen closed doors Here and there the hallway turned off into huge rooh an area that had been decorated with elaborate Islaa saw the remnants of pictures, now shredded as if by maddened claws, and of bits of ancient and probably priceless pottery Now the once beautiful objects crunched beneath their feet

Virga felt alar in a hostile environ hih they never passed anyone or saw anyone He had felt, or rather sensed, the ominous presence that was part of this place The notion of so from the shadows at his back, was unshakable And he noticed, in the dankness of the hallway, things scrawled on the walls, on the floor, on the ceiling Triangles and circles and strange scribblings that made no sense to hiin to grasp He was tre and he hoped the otherelse An odor, a stench Part of it was the excrement smeared everywhere, even on the walls; part of it was rotted food But there was so around his head, clinging to his clothes as if it were a solid but decaying presence It was the stench of death, of so past death

"Are you also an Aa asked the man His voice echoed in the hallway

"I was born in Aa had hoped he would He wanted to see what it was up on the man&039;s forehead "What&039;s your name?"

"Olivier," the man said

"That&039;s all?"

"Yes That&039;s all"

Ahead the hallway ended at a pair of gold-orna were the sales and circles Centered directly above the doorway, Virga noted, was an inverted cross

The ain I&039;ll leave you now" He opened the doors and Virga stepped through, his eyes trying to pierce the gloom that leaped at him from the silent chamber The man fir of the door, a tre imprisoned in a place from which he had no chance of escape He shivered; it was actually cold in the roorew accustomed to the dimness he saw that he stood in a library of some sort Around him were shelves packed with books, thousands and thousands of the to betray his fear, he atte He checked his initial impulse to turn toward the doorway and retrace his steps, if that were possible, out into the sweet hot sun In this roo down on his back like the teeth of the snarling Doberled at the back of his neck, that he was not alone

He heard the breathing, steady and soft, froht was thrown through the narrow slit of aIt fell across the shoulders of a man

The man sat motionless, his hands folded before hi squares of a chessboard The two opposing calowered at each other across their battlefield Virga stepped forward He could not see the man&039;s face quite yet; it was covered by a broad band of shadow But he could see clearly the man&039;s hands, skeletal and white as if carved of either ivory or ice They never a approached he are of the htly, to watch hih he couldn&039;t see them at all He felt open and defenseless

Baal said softly, "Dr Virga?"

He was surprised Had theany closer He stopped where he was

"It is Dr Virga, isn&039;t it?" theHe gestured with a thin finger to the shelves of books "Your works are here I&039;ve read therunted Impossible

"Is it?"

He froze Had he spoken the word? Had he? The choking presence in the room made it difficult to think clearly Yes, he decided ue Dr Naughton," Baal said, "has told reat deal about you And of course your reputation as a hton? He&039;s here?"

"Of course Isn&039;t that why you&039;ve cohton? Yes, I think it is Dr Naughton is also a nizes opportunities and thus controls his destiny"

Virga was straining to see through the shadows that obscured the man&039;s face He had the ih cheekbones and narrow eyes "I&039;ve coa saw the teeth flash in an obscene gri oppressive radiated frohton has been working day and night on his research His book will be completed shortly"

"His book?"

"I believe he discussed it with you before he left America His book on the false messiahs that distorted the truth before I came to cleanse it His final chapter is devoted to my philosophy"

"I&039;d like to see him Surely you won&039;t turn me away after I&039;ve come all this distance He&039;s here, isn&039;t he?"

"He&039;s here," Baal said "But working"

Virga waited but Baal sat without speaking As a final effort Virga said, "I have a a had decided he would have to see Baal e of the chessboard

The power, the ered hiaze into them; he had to avert his own eyes They were dark and deepset with a cruel intelligence, a gliestion of raw physical strength in his wide firuessed that he was in his late twenties, possibly thirty but certainly no lish with no trace of an accent Indeed, his voice was as soft and soothing as the first wave on the shore of sleep It was only those eyes, those terrible things ave him the aspect of a death&039;s head

"You&039;re an Aa asked

"I am Baal," the a suddenly noticed the chess pieces, carved of a fine and lustrous stone The white pieces, on the side on which Virga stood, wererobes, demure nuns, somber priests, thin towers of cathedrals The queen was represented by a wo, a bearded i the Father On the opposite side, and Virga sa that the a barbarians, hunch-backed de figure with a beckoning forefinger and a woue of a snake

Baal had noticed his interest "You&039;re a chess player?" he asked

"Occasionally I see you&039;re attacking But you lack an opponent"

"Attacking?" he asked quietly He leaned forward His eyes were burning through Virga&039;s forehead "Oh no, not yet I&039; art"

"I have tia raised his eyes from the chessboard and looked into Baal&039;s face; he held his gaze as long as he dared "Tell me," he said, "who you really are Why have you chosen the naery and sacrifice?"

"My name is my name It has always been Baal; Baal it will always be And in this world, ery and sacrifice are the wine and bread of the true God"

"Then who is the true God?"

Baal sa could never hope to fathom "You have eyes You&039;ve seen the forces at work in this land, even in the entire world Now you can answer your own senseless question Who is the true God?"