On a Pale Horse Read Free Page A

games; he was much more of a thinker than an actor. He had had a decent education, before things soured, and enjoyed art andpoetry. However, he had largely wasted his education, and his thoughts seemed generally to get him into trouble.
    “My stone, but your romance,” the proprietor said with every evidence of sincerity. “Even if I were willing to sacrifice my business for romance, which I am not, I could not use this stone to tune in on an encounter fated for you. It simply would not register for me. The set lines of fate are not readily reconnected. So I would hurt my business for nothing. Literally nothing.”
    “That is unfortunate,” Zane replied noncommittally. His sympathy for those who had money and wanted romance as well was slight. Everybody wanted both, of course!
    “But
you
could orient on it, using this stone. Once it is evident who the woman is—”
    “But I can’t afford the Lovestone!” Zane was not going to be trapped into any such commitment!
    “You misunderstand, sir. You will not purchase the stone. You will use it only to point out the woman. Then I will proceed to the encounter. I will have your romance.”
    “Oh.” Zane assimilated that. Could the man be serious, after all? He was inclined to play this out and discover the catch. “I suppose that would work. But why should I do any such great favor for you?”
    “For the Wealthstone,” the proprietor said, gently taking it from Zane’s hand.
    Now at last Zane understood. He had been sidetracking himself, misunderstanding the thrust of the sales pitch. “You will sell me this money-gem—for an experience! I want wealth, you want romance. I can see that it would be a fair exchange—” He paused, as a piece of the puzzle failed to mesh. “But will the Lovestone work that well for me, if I don’t actually own it?”
    “It works for the holder. It knows nothing of ownership; that is a convention among people. In any event, none of this can have legal binding. But I assure you, I will give you a bill of sale for the Wealthstone, if you turn over the potential experience. This is not something money can bring. It is an opportunity that may occur for me only once in this life.” The man scribbled out a sales slip.
    It seemed like a bargain to Zane, if everything were as represented. He could have the Wealthstone in trade for a romance he had already turned down. He had an impulsive—some would say volatile—nature. “Agreed.”
    In a moment the sale was signed—one Wealthstone for private consideration, delivery after receipt of that consideration. Zane pocketed the sales slip, then took the Lovestone, watched it glow within its blueness, and followed the brightest spot out of the shop and onto the street.
    Zane stood for a moment, blinking his eyes in the dazzling sunlight. In a moment his vision adjusted, and he found himself focusing on the store’s sign: MESS O’ POTTAGE.
    He rechecked the gem, turned it about until the glow was brightest, and walked north as indicated. The proprietor followed. But then the stone faded. Zane turned about, but the gem only glimmered. “I think the scent is cold.”
    The proprietor was unalarmed. “This is not a purely directional thing. It is situational. You have to do what you have to do to make the intersection. As you do, it guides you.”
    “But if it doesn’t
tell
me what to do—”
    “Start walking. Watch the stone for reaction. There are only so many options available.” The man’s voice was controlled, but there seemed to be a slight edge of concern. The whole deal would fall through, of course, if the woman could not be located.
    Zane turned right and walked. He passed a penny arcade, where teenagers cranked old-fashioned movie-machines as they peered in the scopes, chuckling evilly. Zane judged from their reactions that it was no Dimwit Dick comic they were viewing. The arcade’s name was TWO TO TWAIN, theoretically a pretension to literacy but actually a code name for