Ianthina
Without looking up from her book she patted the settee and coaxed him over with a perfumed laugh. He tried to saunter but dropped his journal strewing papers all about.
A paper chase! She remained where she was closing an envelope into the novel to keep her place. You must find me desirable. What makes you think that? Wrinkling his nose overwhelmed by the scent he sat beside her like an effigy.
Ianthina did not answer instead she pointed to the sketch of the pel quintain now lying at her feet. When viewed from a certain angle it looked remarkably like a likeness of her smiling face. He reached out and plucked the drawing from the floor. She flung lassoes at him with her dark eyes while he smothered her with improvised lies. Encouraged by her transparent resistance Wilfrid caught hold of her hands heedless of the alarmed tourists waddling around them.
Ah! he exclaimed. Women know nothing about men. We live in these condemned bodies like butterflies trapped in killing jars. A woman’s life is simply a search for comfort safety and extravagance. A man must betray the world to keep death at bay.
Wilfrid despised the fear in her eyes as Ianthina freed her hands and hurriedly got to her feet.
Still bleeding she staggered away from the bed as the dead man immediately underwent a transformation. Leaving his body behind a shadow made of falling raindrops floated into the air. Ianthina’s remains underwent a similar change only her outline was full of blood instead of rain. These forms wandered out of the house and into the open countryside gliding above a footpath by the faint light of the moon. Behind the barren parched lands of the living was an endless realm of death overflowing with beauty and drenched in madness. The professor was astonished by the strange beasts who appeared to be enjoying themselves in some kind of mysterious game. His reason foundered. He thought of the long years spent avariciously adding to his hoard of worthless knowledge now it all slipped away as he was drawn into the game. The large beasts bounded about in pursuit of the shadow people who in turn chased the smaller beasts but as they all kept changing sizes things got very mixed up. One minute he was running from a trumpeting elephant like creature while trying to catch a leopard rat the next he was bolting after a little green hippopotamus while being followed by a great big porcupine looking thing. This went on and on like a bad dream until Wilfrid and Ianthina were driven violently mad. One by one they caught the beasts and tore them to pieces. The dawn found them glaring at each other. Then in the dangling sunlight they saw that the farmhouse had vanished and in its place stood a shipwrecked ship with burning sails flapping heavily against the mast. Too frightened for words they approached the ship. A winged man invited them on board.
