The Muse Amuses Musically, Not My Muse swept into the office on a gentle breeze. She seated herself on the edge of my desk, brushing a pile of scrap papers off into the floor. "Every element introduced into a story must be addressed before the story is complete," she began. "Right," I answered, finishing the last of my mug of China Black, "And what does THAT mean?" "Well, you have incurred an obligation while writing a recent chapter of Macho Caballo. There is something you must include in your story, or you will be guilty of deceiving your reader." "Guess I can't do that," I admitted. Under duress. I am a guilt-driven person. I hate guilt. When I am happy, I feel guilty because I am not feeling guilty. Go figger. "What promise did I make?" "In chapter 28 you introduced the concept of a beast which Toc offered to Espuma to use against the Apache." "Yeah? So?" I was feeling a bit uneasy about this, unsure of where she was leading. "As I recall," I added, "I explained it away when Espuma got scared of it." "Uhmmm...." She traced a faint line of phosphorescence across the computer screen. "Espuma would not use it. But Toc might, when he goes for the pendant." I growled to myself. Forgot about that. Then I recovered and counterattacked. "He is much too proud to stoop that low," I said, "He even felt distaste when giving Espuma the Ice Age beasts." "He wants the pendant," she reminded me, "Do you know how badly he wants it?" "Only about one step below the Carthaginian SunStone," I admitted. "There you have it," she smiled, and she paused long enough to twist a lock of my hair into a curl, "We'll start soon on that phase of the story. Keep yourself in better physical shape. Those belly muscles are starting to sag, and you know how that interferes with production." "Nani?" I said, "But the Apache, versus a living, breathing raptor? How am I going to pull _that_ off?" "You'll think of something," she smiled sweetly, and vanished. I decided it was time to start sweating. |