Free 01. When the Changewinds Blow by Jack L. Chalker

wearing flowing robes of crimson and gold, his face sporting a full snow-white beard that was trimmed oddly as if an inverted V-shaped notch was cut from it, and on his head was a crown from which arose two long, sharp, slightly curved horns.
    Sam gasped, knowing that this was the one she feared the most, her tormentor and would-be murderer. They were falling-or he was rising-at a rate that would bring them face to face in a matter of seconds.
    Suddenly there was an odd sound like a giant spring suddenly uncoiled at great speed, and between them and the horned figure there appeared a thin, transparent pink barrier.
    "That will hold him only for a minute or so," said a familiar voice nearby. They turned and saw another figure, this of a small man with long, unkempt white hair, a bulbous nose and oddly chubby cheeks, like a doll's, dressed in similar fashion to the Horned One, only in robes of silver and emerald green. This, men, was the voice from the car radio. "I'm going to have to face him down," he told them. "I don't think he wants a full calling out right now, so I can stall him long enough to get you down to someplace neutral and out of the way. Trust Zenchur. He's a scoundrel but he stays bought and he'll be expecting you and know what to do, and he speaks English."
    Bom of them were beyond shock at this point and it brought a curious clarity of mind, almost like this was normal. "But what's this all about?" Sam called to him. "And where are we going?"
    "What's the difference? You're going there anyway," the man in green responded pragmatically. "He's through the barrier already. Stand by. When I divert him you'll get a real sudden push."
    The Horned One raised a hand and the barrier vanished, and he continued until he was level with them, perhaps ten feet away from the girls. The one in green, however, stood suspended in the maelstrom between them and their immediate nemesis.
    "Enough!" said the Horned One impatiently in that sinister, terribly cold voice Sam had heard in the dreams. "This is not your affair, Boolean. You are out of your league here. Stand aside. She is mine," he said emphatically, holding out a thin, almost skeletal hand and pointing, clearly, not to Sam but to Charley!
    This is nuts, Sam thought, thoroughly confused. This is my nightmare, not Charley's! And, just as suddenly, she realized what was going on. There was a fair resemblance between the two of them, and the Horned One knew he was seeking a girl. Whatever power or sense he used to track his prey, the two of them, together, touching hands, confused it. Charley was also still pretty well covered with mud, but her hair and dress made it very clear she was female, but Sam looked like a boy and with the very short hair . . .
    He thinks Charley is me!
    The man in green, who clearly knew different, did nothing to correct the impression. Instead he said, "I am making it my business. Do you want to have it out now over her? You think you're ready for me? You think you can finally beat me in something?"
    The comments clearly infuriated the Horned One, but he hesitated. "You would fight me for her? Risk everything?"
    For an answer, the small man in green raised his hands and there was a pyrotechnic light show that was almost blinding in its brilliance. At the same moment, both Charley and Sam felt a tremendous push on them, forcing them suddenly and very quickly down and away from the duo. It was so sudden and forceful that it took their breaths away in spite of the green one's warnings, and it was no longer an eternal floating sensation but more the feeling of going down the biggest hill on the roller coaster.
    The walls continued to close in until there was no more space between and they were inside the clouds themselves.
    Lightly but very suddenly and unexpectedly they hit the ground and rolled, letting go of one another's hand in spite of themselves, tumbling to a stop.
    Wherever they had been going, they had now arrived.
    3
    The Mother of