"Oh, sweet science, what have I done" she said. Then she wailed, "What has happened to my clothes" She tried to cover herself with her hands. One of the young satyrs snickered, but Papatragos quelled him with a look. Surplus, meanwhile, handed the goddess his jacket. "Pray, madam, don this," he said courteously and, to the others, "Didn't one of you bring a blanket for the victims of the fire Toss that to the ladyt'll make a fine skirt." Somebody started forward with a blanket, then hesitated. "Is it safe" "The patches we gave you will protect against her influence," Darger assured him. "Unfortunately, those were the last," Surplus said sadly. He turned the box upside down and shook it. "The lady Eris will be enormously tired for at least a day. Have you a guest room" Darger asked Papatragos. "Can she use it" "I suppose so. The place already looks like an infirmary." At which reminder, Darger hurried inside to see how Theodosia was doing. But when he got there, Theodosia was gone, and Anya and her mother as well. At first, Darger suspected foul play. But a quick search of the premises showed no signs of disorder. Indeed, the mattress had been removed (presumably to the wagon, which was also gone) and all the dislocations attendant upon its having been brought into the farmhouse had been tidied away. Clearly, the women had gone off somewhere, for purposes of their own. Which thought made Darger very uneasy indeed. Meanwhile, the voices of gathering men and satyrs could be heard outside. Surplus stuck his head through the door and cleared his throat. "Your mob awaits." The stream of satyrs and men, armed with flails, pruning-hooks, pitchforks, and torches, flowed up the mountain roads toward the Monastery of St. Vasilios. Where roads met, more crofters and townsfolk poured out of the darkness, streams merging and the whole surging onward with renewed force. Darger began to worry about what would happen when the vigilantes reached their destination. Tugging at Surplus's sleeve, he drew his friend aside. "The scientists can escape easily enough," he said. "All they need do is flee into the woods. But I worry about Dionysus, locked in his crypt. This expedition is quite capable of torching the building." "If I cut across the fields, I could arrive at the monastery before the vigilantes do, though not long before. It would be no great feat to slip over a back wall, force a door, and free the man." Darger felt himself moved. "That is unutterably good of you, my friend." "Poof!" Surplus said haughtily. "It is a nothing." And he was gone. By Darger's estimate, the vigilantes were a hundred strong by the time they reached the Monastery of St. Vasilios. The moon rode high among scattered shreds of cloud, and shone so bright that they did not need torches to see by, but only for their psychological effect. They raised a cry when they saw the ruins, and began running toward them. Then they stopped. The field before the monastery was alive with squids. The creatures had been loathsome enough in the context of the laboratory. Here, under a cloud-torn sky, arrayed in regular ranks like an army, they were grotesque and terrifying. Tentacles lashing, the
