Anthony Piers - The Secret of Spring.pdf - ENG - Chlorella

by P iers Anthony and Jo Anne Taeusch

A Tom Doherty Associates Book New York This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events

portrayed in this novel are either fictitious or are used fictitiously.

THE SECRET OF SPRING

to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

A Tor Book Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

175 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10010 www.tor.com Tor is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty

Associates, LLC.

Design by Lisa Pifher ISBN 0-312-86464-7

First Edition: March 2000

Printed in the United States of America 0987654821

This book is dedicated to the memory of my Mother, who loved life, laughter, and me.

-J. T.

Chapter 1 Playmate | Chapter 2 Secret | Chapter 3 Sharing | Chapter 4 Gabriel's Trump | Chapter 5 Palli

Chapter 10 Unsuitable Suitor | Chapter 11 Down the Hatch | Chapter 12 The Visitor | Chapter 13 Lies |

Chapter 14 And More Lies | Chapter 15 Double Trouble | Chapter 16 Lady Be Cool | Chapter 17 Fast

Friends | Chapter 18 Ant We Got Fun | Chapter 19 Time and Again | Chapter 20 Snow Job | Chapter 21

Inner Struggle/Outer Bruises | Chapter 22 Jasmine's Castle | Chapter 23 Child's Play | Chapter 24 Zygote

| Chapter 25 Truths | Chapter 26 Secrets | Author's Notes

Chapter 1 Playmate

Wiping the perspiration from his brow, Herb Moss looked with admiration at Holly, the beautiful, fresh

green Veganette resting next to him. She was a busty blossom, with luscious strawberry lips and long,

thick emerald hair that fell enticingly to her hips. It had been tied up out of the way for greater freedom

of movement, but the ribbons had worked loose with exertion. Now she was busy knotting a tighter

bow. Finishing up the small task, she whirled around to grace Herb with a winning smile. His heart

pounded faster at the flash of even white teeth.

Infertile pollination? Was that all life meant to him? And yet, why else had he travelled to this remote

and expensive resort? It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but like so many of his spontaneous

decisions, it had resulted in much less than he had anticipated. Herb knew he wasn't above a little

discreet Ip, given the improper circumstances. And Holly was more than another attractive girl, she was

quite a woman.

Her soft voice brought him back to reality. "Let's do it again!" she said breathlessly.

"Again?!" he protested. "Wasn't five times enough?"

"Oh, I know! But, you are so good, Herbie! The best! Why, I've never known anyone like you before!"

Herb flushed at the generous praise; he couldn't deny he was flattered, but a man could only go on for so

long.

He hedged. "Thank you, Holly. But aren't you feeling a little bushed?" He hoped!

"Me? Oh, no! I could go on like this all day! Just try me!"

Herb's hopes of an honorable out wilted in the hot afternoon sun. He sighed audibly.

This was Holly's signal to wheedle. She put her arms around his neck, heedless of the fine view of her

bust this afforded Herb. Herb was not heedless. He heeded for all he was worth.

"Please Herbie," she said with the sweet pout her lips formed with such expertise. Her fresh breath

tickled his ear, and his firm resolve melted down to a watery puddle that seemed to form in his knees. It

was all over.

"You win," he said weakly. "But this is the last time today-or at least until after lunch." He braced

himself. "Take your position!"

Holly squealed with girlish glee and scampered to the other side of the nets to retrieve her stringed bat.

"My serve!" she called gaily, giving the small yellow ball a swat. It bounced neatly up and across to

meet Herb's bat for a quick return. Their sixth match of the day was on.

Holly was one of several playmates Herb had met since coming to the city of Avocado for an extended

vacation. Elite Club Algae was a small resort spa by Sea Weed for the idle, rich, and bored of this part of

P#23. Herb added "the confused" for his category, for now that he was here, he hardly knew why.

The club had been touted in the colorful brochure as a hot bed for singles, but the actual selection, in his

opinion, left much to be desired. First there was Rosy, who had attached herself to him the first day he

arrived. While she was a sweet, friendly girl with a pretty face, she also happened to be there for the

serious purpose of dropping over a hundred and fifty pounds at the exclusive spa. Clearly, too much

woman for him.

Then, there was the dark exotic Flora, a winsome widow, who kept dropping hints of Ip. Tempting, yet

he had the uncomfortable feeling that she regarded the resort as a shopping center for husband number

four. Or was it five? And what had happened to the other three anyway? There was covert talk of poison

ivy. Probably just pool gossip, but why take chances? True, she was mysteriously attractive, yet there

was something in her eyes when she looked at him. Something unsavory that reminded him of the

hungry glance of a big garden spider patiently awaiting the right moment to pounce.

Most of the others he had met had been the usual garden-variety types one would expect to meet at a

singles resort. Just pretty, pleasant girls, hoping to meet a cute boy they could take back home to meet

their parents. They claimed to be there for the moment, for a good time, but Herb was not deceived. He

had seen that look before, on girls at home. On the face of one girl in particular. Those girls were just

like her. Herb was getting thoroughly disgusted with his big adventure. If he had wanted a "nice" girl, he

would have stayed at home and dated Lily.

He had left to find more. Whatever that was. Since his arrival a couple of weeks ago the wildest thing he

had swung with had been a gourd club on the neatly mown greens. Holly had been the most promising

of the group. Had been. Just his luck, that she had turned out to be a ten nets nut. These daily marathon

matches had to stop! By the time he satisfied her insatiable lust for the silly game he was too tired for

more pleasurable recreation. A thing like that could stunt a man's growth.

He had Ip with Holly only once after a long, romantic boat cruise beneath the misty tri-moons, and that

had been almost a week before. They had stopped into the Algae Bar afterward where she had quaffed

down more than a few drinks of distilled water before Herb had noticed the effect they were having on

her. Oh, they looked harmless enough with their carrot sticks and little umbrella trees, but cumulatively

they packed quite a punch.

By the time he realized what was happening, Holly was wilted. Like the gentleman he was, he had

guided her back to her own bungalow and put her to bed with every intention of fading quietly away

until morning.

Holly, however, had different ideas. Unused to strong drink, she implored Herb to remain until she fell

asleep, but somehow she never did, and eventually nature took a fascinating course. Herb felt only mild

guilt, which had soon faded to a fond memory, and progressed to outright lust as he looked forward to

more of her company. Not letting any grass grow under his feet, he called the next morning. They met

for a game of ten nets, and his beauty turned into a back-hand beast. There had been, regrettably, no

rematch of their night game.

Herb had come to the end of his rope, deciding to give it just one more day. If there were no

improvements, he planned to push on down the coast and catch the Party Grass Festival at New

Oleanders. There should be profusions of wild flowers there.

A ball whizzed by his ear, as his bat swished impotently in the air. "I win!" Holly exclaimed

triumphantly, crisscrossing through the nets toward him. "Got that one right past you!" Then she

frowned slightly. "Oh, you didn't let me win, just to be a gentleman, did you? I want a rematch!"

"Blight, no," Herb muttered, thinking how tired of the stupid game he was, in more than one way. "I

mean, of course I wouldn't do that, Holly. You won because you're a good player, that's all."

And because his mind had wandered. She was enthusiastic, but he had all the moves; a pity, considering

that she cared more about it than he did. Looking at her bosom heaving from the combination of

happiness and exertion, he was glad she was the winner. Herb watched that lovely structure quiver

beneath the thin material of her ten nets suit as she continued to bask in the glory of her victory.

"That's what I love about playing with you, Herb. You are a real natural at this game, and I knew if I

could beat you, I would really have accomplished something. So I said to myself, 'Holly, you are going

to play until you win, or drop.' "

Herb cursed silently. That was all it would have taken? He would gladly have thrown the match long

before if only he'd known.

But no, his male ego sprang up like an ugly weed, and what had happened? Nothing, that's what. How

was he to know she hadn't expected him to win all the time to impress her? She was always going on

about how great he was. Women. Did they never mean what they said?

Herb looked into her beaming eyes and felt a tinge of guilt. After all, men didn't always mean what they

said either. Hadn't he been the one to say how he loved ten nets, while in reality he wanted to play a

more intimate game?

"Con gratulations," he said wearily. "How about that lunch now? Nice cool melon?"

Holly ventured a coy smile, lowering her long green lashes. "Are you really hungry, Herb? I'm still so

excited over winning the game, and hot, too!" She stroked a manicured hand across her bust line.

"Before lunch, wouldn't you like to relax? Come back to my bungalow for a nice shower?"

A cold shower would be in order at the moment, Herb thought. What was going on now? He was

beginning to warm up from more than the game.

"On second thought, no shower. Why don't we make use of that hot tub? I'm paying enough extra for it.

It's cozy, but roomy enough for two," she said huskily.

Herb decided that the Party Grass Festival could wait another day. Maybe two.

Indeed, things finally were going right. This time Holly wasn't intoxicated on distilled water, but she

was actually more ardent. The excitement of the ball game translated nicely into enthusiasm for the

bedroom game as played in hot water, and Holly was a real delight.

"Too bad we didn't think to do this sooner," she murmured. "It's even more fun than balling!"

Herb didn't answer. His sentiments about timing were mixed. If only he had caught on to the key days

ago...

Later that evening, Herb Moss was a mildly contented being. He'd reluctantly put Holly aboard the last

transporter home. Her vacation was over, but she had left him with at least two nice memories.

There was nothing more for him at the resort, however. The time had come for him to move on. But not

to the Party Grass Festival. Whatever he had been searching for was definitely not to be found in yet

more places like Club Algae. The interlude with Holly had been fun, but he still wanted the elusive

"more." It was time to go home.

Snuggling down within the cool cotton sheeting, he drifted off to sleep with dreams of ten nets that were

more like hot tubs, and a most accommodating Holly. He did not dream that in less than ten days he

would become a pawn in a far deadlier game.

Chapter 2 Secret

Spring was perplexed. "Father, you want me to what?" Magician Gabriel made an ineffective pacifying

motion with his hands. "Just to help me test my equipment, my dear, as you have before."

"Your equipment is fine, father. Nothing's happened to it. Meanwhile, I have all these crystals to

catalog. Can't your routine tests wait?"

Gabriel looked pained. "I don't think they can, dear. Something has, um, come up." His hands twisted

together in the way they had when he was disturbed.

She looked sharply at him. "Father, is something wrong?"

"Oh, no, no, no, of course not, dear." But his hands continued to writhe.

Sprin g realized that she would have to humor him, and try to find out what was bothering him. She

loved her father deeply, even if he did annoy her on occasion. "Of course I'll help," she said.

"Very good." He sounded relieved, though his hands still quivered. "If you will just sit in the testing

chair, and I will adjust the helmet-"

She didn't remind him that she was well familiar with the routine; she had occupied this chair many

times before. She set aside her collection of crystals and took the seat. She looked around while he

somewhat fumblingly adjusted the helmet and connections. It was important that her emotions be neutral

while the monitors were being placed, or the baseline settings would be slightly wrong. So she

pretended that she was a first time client, to whom this was a novelty, and ran her father's job description

through her mind as if it were an announcement:

This was the office of the Magician Gabriel, one of Planet New Landers' more prestigious healing

practitioners. Not only did he enjoy a thriving local practice and the respect of his peers, but he had

recently received wide acclaim for his work in Crystallography from both magical and scientific

communities. His name was becoming known over the planet, and many new patients were arriving for

the special treatments they believed only he could provide. His was a most profitable practice, to say the

least.

Given the present circumstances he should have been a happy man. But she knew he wasn't. Because his

wife-oops. That would foul the setting for sure! So she carefully neutralized her thoughts again, thinking

of pretty crystals, and soon he had things set.

"Now it is ready," he said unnecessarily. "Except for a blip when you thought a naughty thought." He

forced a chuckle that only increased her concern. What was bothering him? It had to be pretty serious,

for he was not a temperamental man. "If you will just recite some ancient history of a routine nature-"

So he hadn't completely zeroed it in yet, and needed more ground neutral mental activity. Spring smiled,

and recited the ancient canon, using a singsong voice:

"Lightships, Freezers, and Floaters faded in the sunlight of a former ultra-society that existed in those

earliest of days when man had sown his seed from the Milky Way to the constellation Corona Borealis

and beyond to galaxies now unknown."

"Very good," he said. "The registration is perfect. Continue."

Perfect? Then why did she need to do more mindless recitation? The equipment should not take this

long to get tuned. But she smiled, and spoke the next paragraph of the standard history lesson. "Earth,

renamed New World at that time, had one great Central Government, utilizing the finest combination of

scientific minds available from all former nations. They banded together, achieving breakthrough after

phenomenal breakthrough. That union was in many respects, more feared than the gargantuan military

machine. For all their might, it was no secret that the real power of New World rested in the hands of the

super scientists."

"Yes, yes, excellent, excellent," Gabriel said, wringing his hands again. "Just a bit more-"

"Father-" she started, allowing some annoyance to show in her tone, though it was really concern that

motivated her.

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