The Sorcerer's House by Gene Wolfe Page B

ring."
    I did, without much difficulty.
    "Right. Everything that's on the middle ring is on the outer ring, and a few more."
    (Winkle was between us, and bent over the triannulus with as much interest as I.)
    "Tell me something you want," Emlyn instructed me, "and we'll use this to try to find it."
    "Stationery," I said.
    He looked up. "What's that?"
    "Writing paper and envelopes. I've been writing my brother from time to time, and I've only a little left."
    "That's terribly trivial, and I'm certain it's not on the inner ring. What we want now is something that's on all three."
    "What about money? I need money badly."
    Emlyn nodded. "That's on all three, I believe. Yes, here. It's on the inner, so it must be on all three. We'll line them up."
    At this point, George, I recalled my fish; but I said nothing about them then. Each of the glyphs he aligned showed three small circles of varying size. I suppose they represent coins.
    "Now move the pointer so it points to them. You're the one who wants money, so it will be better if you do it."
    I did. "Does this mean I'll get it?"
    "Not yet. You have to light the longlight."
    I had obtained several folders of matches at the Lakeshore Inn. Producing one, I struck the match.
    Winkle sniffed and backed away.
    "That's a good trick." Emlyn's voice was icily calm. "A good trick but a bad spirit. Snuff the flame."
    I blew it out.
    "There's still a coal or four in there." He pointed toward my fireplace. "Puff them, and light the longlight from one."
    I did.
    "Good. Now listen carefully. The longlight must burn until you get what you want. If it goes out before then, you will acquire numen. Do you want it?"
    I said, "I don't even know what you mean by it."
    "That trick with the little stick made me think you might want it."
    "Numen? Is that what you said?"
    He nodded. "I've got it already because of you, and I think you've got it, too. We're both dangerous--dangerous to ourselves and to each other. Sorcery is the power wielded by a sorcerer, someone like Father. Do you know what a sorcerer is?"
    "Yes, I think so."
    "Good. For an object like this to work, it must have numen. The making of it endows it with numen. If it fails to, the object is useless. When it's used, its numen creates sorcery and directs it. Directs it mechanically, I ought to have said. Not intelligently, unless the device possesses intelligence. Intelligence is very rare."
    I nodded. "I know."
    "When the object is a triannulus, lighting a longlight begins the process and snuffing out the longlight ends it. I assume you know about swords? Lighting the longlight is like drawing a sword and snuffing out the longlight is like sheathing that sword."
    I was not sure I followed that, and I said so.
    "You mustn't draw a sword too soon, and sheathing it too soon is even worse. That's all I meant. Suppose--"
    "Wait!" I can be forceful when I want to be, George, and I was forceful then. "There are fish on there. Fish on all three rings. Suppose I lined up the fish, and moved the pointer, and lit the longlight to read by."
    "That would be very foolish."
    "But say that I did it. Then, before I'd gotten any fish, a neighbor came to the door and gave me an oil lamp, then blew out the longlight. What would happen then?"
    "Is that what happened?"
    I nodded.
    "I want to blame you," Emlyn sighed. "I want it so much I'm going to do it. You should never, ever, have toyed--which is what you did--with sorcerous things you don't understand. It's all your fault! Everything's your fault and you deserve everything that happens to you."
    Winkle barked and snarled at him.
    "Yes, he does! By marsh and mere, he's got it coming to him." Emlyn stamped. "He's a dirty donkey, and you know it."
    Winkle shook her head.
    Emlyn turned back to me. "My own disaster is your fault, too, Bax. You got into my father's house and came upstairs with your blinding torch and made me drop the longlight. It went out, and that's how I acquired numen I'm too ignorant to