Knot Gneiss Page 5

  “I’m not sure I should go in,” Meryl said. “I’d have to fly, and that means bare. They might not approve.”

  Wenda saw her point. Still, she preferred to have her Companions with her, if only for moral support. What to do?

  “Can Jumper assume other forms than spider or man?” Dipper asked.

  Certainly, Jumper thought to them all, startling bird and mermaid. What would you like?

  “Maybe if I could ride, clothed,” Meryl said.

  “Like a horse?” Wenda asked, intrigued.

  Wenda felt Jumper jump off her hair. Then he manifested as a huge four-footed animal.

  “A unicorn!” Meryl exclaimed, delighted.

  “Solves the problem of clothing for them both,” Dipper remarked.

  That was true. A unicorn didn’t need clothing, and the mermaid could don her outfit and ride.

  Meryl promptly did. In a moment and a half she was perched sidesaddle on Jumper, fluttering her wings to maintain her balance since there wasn’t actually a saddle. She brought out a comb and fixed her hair, then used it to clear a small tangle from his mane. It seemed that mermaid and spider were becoming comfortable with each other too. It was all a matter of form.

  They moved through the orchard in style, Wenda on her bike, Dipper on Meryl’s shoulder, Meryl on Jumper. It remained an odd party, but now it was a proud one.

  Three girls appeared, about fourteen years old. “Hi, Jumper,” the first one said. Evidently they recognized him in any form.

  “Who’re your friends?” the second asked.

  “And what’s your Quest?” the third concluded.

  I’m not the Quester, Jumper thought. I’m a Companion. Wenda’s the Quester. You know her.

  The three put their hands to their mouths, covering triple O’s. “So we do,” the first said. “I’m Princess Melody.”

  “I’m Princess Harmony,” the second added. “We apologize, Wenda. We didn’t recognize you, whole.”

  “I’m Princess Rhythm. Welcome to Castle Roogna,” the third finished.

  “Thank you, Princesses,” Wenda said, half taken aback.

  That set them off again. “You didn’t say yew,” Melody began.

  “The Good Magician gave me a spell. Now I can’t even say would.”

  The three burst out laughing. “You sure sound funny,” Harmony continued. “Now you’re a wouldwife.”

  “You’re lucky Prince Charming didn’t notice,” Rhythm concluded. “He would have stayed awake longer than seven minutes.”

  Wenda looked sharply at her. What did this child know of that sort of thing? The princess met her gaze, and the answer was clear: too much. She wasn’t nearly the child she looked.

  “Princess Ida is expecting you,” Melody said, starting a new round. The three always talked in turns.

  “She’s all packed and ready to go,” Harmony added.

  “She’s hot for adventure,” Rhythm wound up.

  That seemed unlikely, but Wenda was not about to argue. “Then we shall go see her now.”

  They approached the castle. The drawbridge was down across the moat. As they started across, a huge serpentine head rose out of the water and eyed them.

  “It’s okay, Soufflé,” Melody said brightly.

  “It’s Wenda, Jumper, Meryl, and Dipper,” Harmony added.

  “They’re on a Quest,” Rhythm finished.

  Soufflé nodded and sank back under the water. Wenda was relieved; as a forest creature she was not completely comfortable with sea monsters. But she still did want one for her own castle moat.

  The three little princesses showed the way to Ida’s room. No one challenged the presence of a mermaid riding a unicorn in the castle; it almost seemed this sort of thing was routine. Jumper navigated the broad stairway with dispatch, his hooves finding secure footing. He knew how to handle multiple legs, regardless of the body.

  Ida was indeed expecting them; she stood outside her room, her little moon orbiting her head. She was a matronly woman looking fully as old as she was, with a substantial handbag. “Shall we go?” she inquired.

  “But—but we haven’t even been introduced,” Wenda protested, severely out of sorts.

  “Princess Aunt Ida,” Melody said. “Meet Princiss Wenda Woodwife Charming.”

  “And her friend Prince Jumper Spider, in unicorn mode,” Harmony continued.

  “And her Companions Meryl Winged Mermaid and Dipper Swimming Bird,” Rhythm finished. “They have a Quest.”

  “I am so glad to meet you,” Ida said graciously. “You seem like a fine group, including the handsome and talented bird.”

  “We’ll get along famously,” Dipper said, preening.

  “I am sure that will be the case,” Ida agreed.

  And that, Wenda realized, meant that it was true, or had become true when she said it. Because Princess Ida’s magic talent was the Idea. Any idea she approved was true, as long as it was suggested by someone who did not know her talent. Dipper evidently did not know it; the subject had not come up in their dialogue. Could that be why the Good Magician had sent him to join the party?

  “But there are one or two details to attend to first,” Ida said. “I need to notify my sister, King Ivy, so she doesn’t worry about my absence. And I will need to obtain transport, as I’m sure my elderly legs could not keep the pace of a unicorn or bicycle.”

  She had a point. “Could you use a bicycle?” Wenda asked.

  “I fear not. My long skirt would interfere.”

  Another point. Wenda wore a short skirt, and it stretched tight on occasion. A long one would be a disaster.

  They walked toward the throne room. “I haven’t been able to speak Human very long,” Dipper said. “I know very little about Human affairs. But I thought the King was male.”

  “The King is an office,” Ida answered. “Any qualified person can hold it. The qualifications are being human or close to it, and having a talent of Magician or Sorceress caliber. So when King Dor decided to retire, his elder child, the Sorceress Ivy, assumed the throne. She is thus King.”

  This intrigued Wenda. “I don’t know much about Human affairs either. But isn’t she married to Magician Grey Murphy? The father of the three little Princesses? Why isn’t he King now?”

  “He wasn’t interested,” Ida explained. “He would rather take over the Good Magician’s practice at such time as he retires. Besides, he is foreign born. He’s the Man from Mundania. That could complicate it. So that left Ivy.”

  They had arrived at the throne room. There was King Ivy sitting at a table buried in papers. She looked just like Ida. Her crown was being used as a paperweight. “Whoever thought there would be so much bleeping paperwork!” she exclaimed. Then she saw the visitors, and blanched. “Ooops.”

  “I’m sure I didn’t hear anything,” Meryl said, blushing.

  Ida cut straight to business. “Ivy, I am joining a Quest, because the Good Magician feels I can help. I wanted to let you know before I departed.”

  Ivy sighed. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather be King?”

  “Quite sure. Here are Wenda Woodwife, Jumper Spider, Meryl Mermaid, and Dipper Bird. I fear I will not be able to maintain their pace on the trail.”

  “Take a carpet,” Ivy said.

  “Thank you. I will hope to return it in good condition when the Quest is done.”

  Ivy stood, and the sisters embraced. For that instant the little moon orbited both of their heads. “Don’t lose your moon,” Ivy said with a smile.

  “I will keep an eye on it.”

  That was it. Wenda suspected that the parting was more emotional than either sister cared to show.

  They repaired to the supply closet. There was a pile of ordinary-looking carpets. Ida took the smallest one. She set it on the floor, then sat on it with her handbag between her knees. In a moment the carpet lifted to about waist height, carrying her with it, and hovered there. She neither moved nor spoke. Wenda realized that an experienced magic-carpet rider
could communicate directives without any outside indication.

  “We seem to be ready to go,” Wenda said, impressed. She realized another thing: the princess would have no difficulty getting down into the Gap Chasm, because she could simply float there. That would surely help.

  They moved out of the castle. As they crossed the moat, another huge monster head lifted out of the water.

  “Hi, Sesame,” Melody called.

  “Our visitors are leaving,” Harmony continued.

  “They’re going on a Quest,” Rhythm concluded.

  The monster head eyed Princess Ida questioningly.

  “I’m going too,” the princess said. She floated out and petted the head. “Thank you for your concern.”

  The head sank down out of sight. Obviously the castle was well-guarded. But how was it that the monster had changed?

  “Soufflé’s shift ended,” Ida explained. “So Sesame took over. They wouldn’t want to leave the castle unprotected.”

  “That makes sense,” Meryl said. “I’m a sea creature as well as a winged monster. I’ll make sure to introduce myself, if I ever have to come here alone.”

  “Now I trust you know where we are going, Wenda,” Ida said gently.

  “Yes. The Good Magician gave me a compass that points to it. But it doesn’t ensure that the way is clear or easy, so there may have to be detours. And we’re not supposed to let outsiders know about the Quest. Only folk we know and trust.”

  “Naturally,” Ida agreed. “This is why I am traveling incognito.”

  “Um, I don’t want to seem critical,” Meryl said, “but you don’t look very incognito to me. Your crown, the moon orbiting your head, and that magic carpet sort of give things away. Folk are bound to guess that if Princess Ida is along, it’s important.”

  Ida smiled. “Do you have a mirror?”

  “I’m female,” Meryl said. “Of course I have a mirror.” She dug a small one out of her purse.

  “Look at my reflection.”

  Meryl did, and dropped the mirror. “Oh!”

  “What’s the matter?” Wenda asked, alarmed, stooping to pick up the mirror, which was by the unicorn’s hind foot.

  “Look at her reflection,” Meryl said.

  Wenda did. There in place of the princess was an ancient old ugly crone with wispy white hair, gap teeth, and rags. Her tattered skirt fell to the ground; there was no sign of the floating carpet.

  Wenda held the mirror up before Jumper’s face so he could see too, and finally held it for Dipper. All were amazed.

  “I apologize,” Meryl said weakly as Wenda returned her mirror. “I forget you are a Sorceress.”

  “No need,” Ivy said. “You made a good point. It’s a masquerade spell my sister let me borrow from the closet. The four of you see me as I am, but strangers see only the illusion, as does the mirror. Similarly you hear my name, Ida, as it is, but others will hear it as Haggai, or Hag for short. The rest of you are already anonymous, not being well known.”

  But when we speak your name as Ida, won’t that give it away? Jumper asked.

  “It will still be heard by others as Hag. It’s a competent spell.”

  “Then let’s be on our way,” Wenda said, mounting her bicycle, which she had been walking in the castle.

  “No need to carry me farther,” Meryl told Jumper. “I can fly.” Then she paused, reconsidering. “Of course I have to do it bare.”

  No problem, Jumper thought. I’ll ride with Wenda.

  But Meryl didn’t get off immediately. “Jumper, I’m sorry your big spider and man forms freaked me out. I think that won’t happen again, now that I’m getting to know you. You carried me; would you like me to carry you? You could get quite a view of things, from the sky.”

  That would be interesting. If you don’t mind having a spider in your hair.

  “Not anymore.” Meryl spread her wings, lifted off him, and hovered.

  The unicorn vanished. Meryl put her head down low. Wenda couldn’t see anything, but then came Jumper’s thought. I’m on.

  Meryl flew upward. Dipper joined her. In two and a half moments they were high in the sky.

  That left Wenda on her bike and Ida on her magic carpet. “Perhaps this is just as well,” Ida said.

  “Just as well?” Wenda asked uncertainly.

  “We need to talk. I couldn’t do it while Dipper was with us.”

  “Dipper’s all right,” Wenda said.

  “Of course he is. I mean, he doesn’t know my talent. So he is free to suggest things I can make come true. That’s valuable, and I don’t want him to find out any sooner than is needful. As you know, only a person who does not know my talent can make a suggestion I can use.”

  “Oh. Of course. But he is sure to figure it out before long.”

  “Yes. Then there will be no one in our little party who can effectively suggest things. We will be limited.”

  “I suppose so,” Wenda agreed.

  “But there’s another matter,” Ida continued inexorably. “I am concerned that someone knows our mission.”

  “We haven’t told anyone,” Wenda protested.

  “Neither has anyone at Castle Roogna. But I have an intuition that news has leaked.”

  “Prince Charming wouldn’t tell. And neither would Demoness Eris.”

  “It may be that the number of folk who know it exceeds the critical number, so that a leak is inevitable. It’s a rule of magic the Good Magician espouses. It does not mean that anyone is telling, just that the secret cannot be contained.”

  “I suppose so,” Wenda agreed uneasily.

  “That means we must accomplish the mission as rapidly as possible, and be prepared for opposition.”

  “I wouldn’t know how to handle opposition,” Wenda said.

  “We shall simply have to avoid it. I merely wanted you to know it is to be expected.”

  “This is already more complicated than I expected!”

  “There is more. I have been provided with special magic that should help. But it may be awkward to apply.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “It is the humidor.”

  “The what?”

  Ida got off her carpet, rolled it up, put it in her handbag, brought out a small box and opened it. Inside were a vial of clear liquid and a glass tube with a sponge in it. “The humidor is a device to keep the interior of the box humid. The vial contains water. When the sponge is wetted, the humidifying action starts. The effect is temporary, but it should enable us to escape from a difficult situation.”

  “I still don’t understand.”

  “You will, in due course. If there is a crisis, and you see me opening the box, gather the rest of the party in close. This is important. Can you do that?”

  “I’ll try,” Wenda said bravely. She was thoroughly confused.

  “With luck, I won’t have to invoke the humidor.”

  But almost immediately the luck went bad. The first sign of it was the return of Meryl and Dipper.

  “Harpies!” the bird exclaimed. “A squadron!”

  “Carrying baskets,” Meryl said as she landed on her tail. “We don’t like the look of this.”

  Their minds are hostile, Jumper’s thought came.

  “Maybe they’re just passing by,” Wenda said hopefully.

  But they weren’t. “There they are!” one screeched. “Bomb them!”

  The flight zoomed low, passing just overhead. The harpies passed just overhead, releasing eggs. The eggs exploded as they struck the ground. Balls of putrid smoke roiled up.

  Jumper appeared as the giant spider. “We’re lucky their aim was bad,” he said. “But they’ll zero in next time. I’ll try to catch the eggs before they strike.”

  “There are too many,” Wenda said. “Some will get through, and hurt us.”

  Ida brought out her box.

  “Gather in close!” Wenda cried. “All together, right here!”

  The others didn’t understand, but obeyed. They g
athered closely around as the harpies turned in the sky, orienting for another pass.

  Ida opened the vial and shook a drop of water into the sponge. Immediately mist emerged, expanding into a fog that formed a ball around them. In the fog a door formed.

  “Open it!” Ida cried. “Go through it!”

  They piled through as the harpies dive-bombed again. Ida slammed the door behind them just as the bombs detonated. They were safe.

  “Where are we?” Meryl asked in wonder.

  Wenda looked around. They were on a sloping blue field. To one side was a stand of yellow trees. To the other was a red stream.

  “I don’t think we’re in Xanth anymore,” Dipper said.

  “We are on the world of Comic,” Ida said. “I’m sorry we had to come here, but those harpies were ruthless.”

  “Why were the harpies after us?” Jumper asked. He remained in giant-spider form, but Meryl was no longer freaking out.

  “They know or suspect our mission,” Ida said.

  “Then why not just go for the Knot? Why waste eggs on us?”

  “They don’t know where the Knot is. They were out to stun and capture us, so as to make us lead them to it.”

  “That’s not nice!” Wenda protested.

  “And they want the Knot Gneiss,” Jumper said, radiating a telepathic smile. “Though it’s not gneiss.”

  “So someone has leaked,” Wenda said.

  “Isn’t that a bad word?” Meryl asked.

  “Very bad,” Wenda said. “It means that someone who knows our Quest has told others, so that now there are wrong hands eager to have the Not fall into them.”

  “Who would do that?” Meryl asked, frowning.

  “Oops,” Jumper said.

  “Not you!” Wenda said sharply.

  “Not me. But when we passed Sesame Serpent, the moat monster, I caught an awareness in her mind. I think Soufflé told her, so she would know not to eat us, and she did not realize it was supposed to be secret.”

  “So it got out among monsters,” Meryl said. “And to the winged monsters. We do like to gossip.”

  “You call yourself a winged monster,” Wenda said, “but you’re beautiful.”

  “It’s not an insult. Dragons, griffins, rocs, harpies, fairies, winged centaurs, crossbreeds like me—we’re all winged monsters, and proud of it. We’re all beautiful to each other.”