Eighth Circle

They ran towards him with open arms.

'We shall bathe you and find clean garments. The weather has been so inclement. You are cold and will suffer numerous infirmities if we do not rid you of these wet clothes.'

They led him to a large pool. Tom was impressed by the magnificence of his surroundings. Everything was arranged to perfection. Warm water trickled over smooth boulders. Tropical plants grew beside them and colourful birds sang in overhanging trees. It was a tiny piece of paradise, enclosed in an immense dome. He had seen such domes when the orcas were taking him to shore and guessed he was inside one.

'We were told you were coming in disguise, Professor.'

The girls began to undress him.

'We shall soon have you out of these unseemly garments.'

They eased off his tunic and undid his belt.

'Tonight is party night and we shall all be wearing fancy dress.'

That was a term Tom recognised from his former realm and it was cheering to hear it again. No one in the Seventh Realm would have the slightest idea of what fancy dress meant. People like Balduur went around with severed heads hanging from their chariots and thought nothing of it.

Another thing he liked about his new realm was the abundance of hot water. It flowed from the mouths of marble beasts and kept the pool pleasantly warm. In the Seventh Realm, where Balduur lived, water was heated in copper caldrons and bathers were confined to wooden tubs which soon went cold.

And, the girls were of normal size. In the Seventh Realm, everyone was small and he was considered to be a giant. He was big by the standards of the Sixth Realm, where he came from, and wondered if he would be considered big here.

The girls had him fully undressed and were massaging his lower body. Blood flowed back into his extremities and he began to relax. He turned to a one of them, keen to get an answer to that important question.

'Do you think I'm big?'

'Oh. Most definitely, Professor.'

She fondled his exposed parts and he realised his question had been misunderstood.

'Not that!' He smacked her hand. 'I'm talking about my height.'

'You are tall compared with most men,' the girl said.

'And younger,' another added.

'And much more handsome,' a third chipped in.

'And such muscles ...'

They showered him with praise. Tom was left with no doubt that he was younger, stronger, more handsome and far bigger than any other male they had ever encountered. They ran out of words and returned to the subject of the evening's festivities.