The Warlock Rock by Christopher Stasheff
Authors: Christopher Stasheff
Tags: Fiction, General, Science-Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction - General, Fiction - Science Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fantastic fiction, Rock Music, Gallowglass; Rod (Fictitious character)
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Gallowglass children had landed and were prowling around the edges of the mob, staring, fascinated, for the crowd of children was in constant motion, pulsing like some huge amoeba. On closer inspection, the pack proved to be composed of smaller groups, each doing something different—skipping, dancing, tossing a ball—but each child was making every single movement to the beat of the music that twined all about them, throbbing and swooping.
"What hath set them to moving all together so?" Cordelia wondered, nodding her head in time to the beat.
"In truth, I could not say," Geoffrey answered, his hand beating time.
"Why, then, let us ask them." Magnus reached out to tap a six-year-old on the shoulder. The child looked up, nodding to the beat, but his eyes didn't quite seem to focus. After a moment, he turned away and, on the downbeat, tossed a ball to another six-year-old ten feet away.
"Hold! I would speak with thee!" Magnus cried, tapping him again; but the child only looked up once more with unseeing eyes.
"What dost thou?"
Magnus looked up to see a ten-year-old step up behind the smaller child. "I do but seek to speak with him."
The ten-year-old shrugged, head and shoulders bobbing, and spoke with the beat. "He is young, and hath not yet caught the trick of speech."
"Trick of speech?" Geoffrey was puzzled. "Why, how is this? A child hath learned that much by the time he is two!"
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"But not the knack of speech in time," the nodding boy answered. "He cannot therefore speak, till he hath caught the rhyme."
"There may be rhyme to thee, but no reason! Nay, then, do thou tell us—how dost thou come to all move together so?"
"Together?" The boy frowned, looking about him. "We do not move together. I move as I wish, and they as they wish!"
"Yet thou dost all make thy movements of a piece, at the same instant!"
"Why, how else can one move?" the boy asked, surprised.
"I do not understand."
"Then thou art dimwitted," a twelve-year-old said, stepping up. "Cease to pester my brother, and let him return to his jackstraws."
The children watched, astonished, as the ten-year-old knelt down in three separate, rhythmical stages, picked up the jackstraws on one beat, settled them on another, and dropped them on a third.
"Can he not move between beats?"
"What beats?" the twelve-year-old countered.
Geoffrey's face darkened. "Dost thou seek to mock me?"
The other boy's face hardened. "Have it as thou wilt."
Geoffrey's arm twitched, but didn't swing—only because Magnus had hold of it. "He doth not realize there are beats to the music about him."
Geoffrey was totally dumbfounded. "Dost thou not hear the music?"
"Aye! Why else would we have come?"
"But is not the music everywhere?"
The boy shook his head—in time to the beat. But his attention wandered, and so did he. Geoffrey leaped forward to catch him, but so did Magnus, catching Geoffrey. A twelve-year-old girl stepped in front of him, smiling. "What seekest thou?"
Her smile was radiant, and for a moment, Geoffrey was motionless, gazing at her. Then Cordelia giggled, and he flushed and said, "We did but ask the lad if this music is not everywhere."
"Oh, nay!" The girl laughed. "Our grown folk did gather up all the rocks, and hurl them hither! They cannot abide these sounds!"
"I cannot blame them," Gregory muttered, but Geoffrey said, "They do not come hither?" Page 36
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"Nay—and therefore may we here do whatsoe'er we please."
"They allow thee?"
The girl shrugged, her attention drifting. "We did not ask…" She remembered her purpose and turned back to Geoffrey. "Wilt thou dance?" He shrank back, horrified, and she gave him a strange look, then shrugged again. "Thou art so offbeat." She danced away, her whole body bobbing with the rhythm.
"So then—they have come to the music, with no care for
"What hath set them to moving all together so?" Cordelia wondered, nodding her head in time to the beat.
"In truth, I could not say," Geoffrey answered, his hand beating time.
"Why, then, let us ask them." Magnus reached out to tap a six-year-old on the shoulder. The child looked up, nodding to the beat, but his eyes didn't quite seem to focus. After a moment, he turned away and, on the downbeat, tossed a ball to another six-year-old ten feet away.
"Hold! I would speak with thee!" Magnus cried, tapping him again; but the child only looked up once more with unseeing eyes.
"What dost thou?"
Magnus looked up to see a ten-year-old step up behind the smaller child. "I do but seek to speak with him."
The ten-year-old shrugged, head and shoulders bobbing, and spoke with the beat. "He is young, and hath not yet caught the trick of speech."
"Trick of speech?" Geoffrey was puzzled. "Why, how is this? A child hath learned that much by the time he is two!"
Page 35
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
"But not the knack of speech in time," the nodding boy answered. "He cannot therefore speak, till he hath caught the rhyme."
"There may be rhyme to thee, but no reason! Nay, then, do thou tell us—how dost thou come to all move together so?"
"Together?" The boy frowned, looking about him. "We do not move together. I move as I wish, and they as they wish!"
"Yet thou dost all make thy movements of a piece, at the same instant!"
"Why, how else can one move?" the boy asked, surprised.
"I do not understand."
"Then thou art dimwitted," a twelve-year-old said, stepping up. "Cease to pester my brother, and let him return to his jackstraws."
The children watched, astonished, as the ten-year-old knelt down in three separate, rhythmical stages, picked up the jackstraws on one beat, settled them on another, and dropped them on a third.
"Can he not move between beats?"
"What beats?" the twelve-year-old countered.
Geoffrey's face darkened. "Dost thou seek to mock me?"
The other boy's face hardened. "Have it as thou wilt."
Geoffrey's arm twitched, but didn't swing—only because Magnus had hold of it. "He doth not realize there are beats to the music about him."
Geoffrey was totally dumbfounded. "Dost thou not hear the music?"
"Aye! Why else would we have come?"
"But is not the music everywhere?"
The boy shook his head—in time to the beat. But his attention wandered, and so did he. Geoffrey leaped forward to catch him, but so did Magnus, catching Geoffrey. A twelve-year-old girl stepped in front of him, smiling. "What seekest thou?"
Her smile was radiant, and for a moment, Geoffrey was motionless, gazing at her. Then Cordelia giggled, and he flushed and said, "We did but ask the lad if this music is not everywhere."
"Oh, nay!" The girl laughed. "Our grown folk did gather up all the rocks, and hurl them hither! They cannot abide these sounds!"
"I cannot blame them," Gregory muttered, but Geoffrey said, "They do not come hither?" Page 36
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
"Nay—and therefore may we here do whatsoe'er we please."
"They allow thee?"
The girl shrugged, her attention drifting. "We did not ask…" She remembered her purpose and turned back to Geoffrey. "Wilt thou dance?" He shrank back, horrified, and she gave him a strange look, then shrugged again. "Thou art so offbeat." She danced away, her whole body bobbing with the rhythm.
"So then—they have come to the music, with no care for
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