On a Pale Horse Read Free

slipped under like a scurrying insect.
    Surprised, Zane angled his foot so he could see the worn sole. There was a penny stuck to it. The star had settled on this, clasping it.
    Zane pried the penny off. Immediately the star returned to the big sapphire.
    The spell had worked. The star had led him to money no one had known about. Not a lot of it, but of course there would not be much loose change in a shop like this. It was the principle that counted, not the particular amount.
    The horizons opened out before him. A Wealthstone—what would that do for his situation? Money coming in, abating his debts, making him comfortable, and maybe more than comfortable. It could save him from starvation and bring romance, for that was easy for a rich man to come by. To be free at last of the burden of poverty!
    “How much?” he asked, afraid of the answer. “I know the price isn’t money.”
    The proprietor smiled, at last assured of his sale. “No, not money, of course. Something of equivalent value.”
    Zane had a suspicion he wouldn’t like this. But he did want the Wealthstone. The prospects were dazzling! He hardly cared that it might be an illicit black-magic item. Who else would know? “What equivalent value?”
    “Romance.”
    “What?”
    The man licked his lips, showing an unprofessional nervousness. “The Lovestone showed you have romance commencing within the hour.”
    “But I’m not buying the Lovestone. I won’t be zeroing in on that romance.”
    “But someone else could.”
    Zane looked at him tolerantly, recognizing the man’s lust for an ideal woman. “You own the stone. You could do it. You don’t need anything from me.”
    “I do need you,” the proprietor explained, speaking rapidly. “I told you I don’t use the stones myself. It would ruin my business if I did. But even if I did—in my own near future there is no romance. I am well established in my profession and I have a long life ahead, but my sociallife is strictly indifferent. I would give a great deal to have a meaningful relationship with a good woman. One who was not a gold digger or desperate. One I could trust. A woman such as the one you are fated to encounter—were fated, had you purchased the Lovestone and used it properly.”
    “You claim you have not used the gems yourself?” Zane asked skeptically. “You seem to know a lot about your own future.”
    “There are other avenues of information besides my gems,” the proprietor said, a trifle stiffly. “I have had horoscopes and divinations and readings of many types. All show I am destined for success in business, not in love.”
    “Then how can my romance do you any good? You already know you can’t have it.”
    “On the contrary! I can’t have
my
romance, but I can have
yours
—if you permit it. In that manner I can bypass this one aspect of my fate. The woman is destined for you, but would settle for me. I can tell by the way the stone reacted for you that she would do for any number of men, of whom I am one. Her appeal is very broad. It would not be as good for me as for you, since I am not reduced to your straits, but it remains highly worthwhile. Even a match not quite made in Heaven can be excellent.”
    “It’s your stone,” Zane said stubbornly. “You can zero in on her yourself. So maybe that will ruin the rest of your business; if you want romance that badly, it should be worth it to you.” He was uncomfortable, suspecting that he was losing out on something important. Perhaps he should change his mind about trying to buy the Lovestone. If what awaited him was that good …
    Of course, that was what the proprietor wanted him to think, so he would be compelled to make the purchase of the expensive stone and sign himself and maybe his future wife into debt for the rest of his life. Realizing that, he resisted the devious sales pitch, overtly playing along with the proprietor’s supposed need for romance. Zane did have a certain affinity for intellectual