The crew saw Ikky.

He began to struggle. She kept the cables tight, raised the graffles.

Up.

Another two feet and the graffles began pulsing.

Screams and fast footfalls.

Giant beanstalk in the wind, his neck, waving. The green hills of hisshoulders grew.

"He's big, Carl!" she cried.

And he grew, and grew, and grew uneasy...

"_Now!_"

He looked down.

He looked down, as the god of our most ancient ancestors might havelooked down. Fear, shame, and mocking laughter rang in my head. Her head,too?

"Now!"

She looked up at the nascent earthquake.

"I can't!"

It was going to be so damnably simple this time, now the rabbit haddied. I reached out.

I stopped.

"Push it yourself."

"I can't. You do it. Land him, Carl!"

"No. If I do, you'll wonder for the rest of your life whether you couldhave. You'll throw away your soul finding out. I know you will, becausewe're alike, and I did it that way. Find out now!"

She stared.

I gripped her shoulders.

"Could be that's me out there," I offered. "I am a green sea serpent, ahateful, monstrous beast, and out to destroy you. I am answerable to no one.Push the Inject."

Her hand moved to the button, jerked back.

"Now!"

She pushed it.

I lowered her still form to the floor and finished things up with Ikky.

It was a good seven hours before I awakened to the steady, sea-chewinggrind of Tensquare's blades.

"You're sick," commented Mike.

"How's Jean?"

"The same."

"Where's the beast?"

"Here."

"Good." I rolled over. "...Didn't get away this time."

So that's the way it was. No one is born a baitman, I don't think, butthe rings of Saturn sing epithalamium the sea-beast's dower.

The Keys to December