Then Rhythm spun in place. Suddenly she stopped, facing Cube. Cube, realizing that she was in the way, stepped aside.
And Rhythm turned to face her again.
"He"s not beyond you, he"s with you," Becka said, surprised.
"He can"t be," Cube said. But then she thought of something. "Unless--" But she couldn"t finish, because her idea was that the man had been sent into the pouch she carried. That would explain his disappearance. But how could she tell them that, without giving away the nature of her Quest?
Becka caught on. "You can"t tell what the Good Magician is making you do--why you need Companions," she said.
"Companions," Melody said. "That"s right--you need some."
"So maybe Brusque has been made into a Companion," Harmony said.
Becka"s face froze. "I don"t want to be a spoilsport, but--"
Cube understood why she didn"t want her boyfriend going off on a Quest with another woman, even a plain one. He could be away for a long time. "Maybe not that, but just--just hidden with the others," she said.
"Others?" Rhythm asked alertly.
Too much was coming out. "I--have some, but need more."
Becka resolved the issue. "All Quests require Companions. Everybody knows that. I was once a.s.signed to be a Companion. We don"t need to know where you are going. Just whether Brusque is with you."
She was right. Cube brought out the pouch. "I keep them in here. So that I can seem to be traveling alone. If Brusque is in here, I can bring him out."
She put her hand in the pouch. "Brusque," she said.
No hand gripped hers.
Oh, no! Just when she thought they had it worked out, it wasn"t. "He"s not here."
Becka was not pleased. "If the Princesses say he"s with you, he"s with you. Where is he--inside you?"
This was awful. "Can--can you do a more specific search?" she asked the Princesses.
"Sure," Melody said.
"A detail Find," Harmony agreed.
"Like this," Rhythm concluded.
They hummed, played, and beat again, and this time Rhythm pointed right at Cube"s chest. Her finger almost touched the pen in the pocket there.
"The pen!" Cube said, taking it out. As she did, Rhythm"s finger moved to follow it. "He"s in the pen!"
"That"s why it was lying there by the door," Becka said. "He was transferred into it, so it dropped; he couldn"t carry it and be in it at the same time."
Cube pulled off the cap, but there was nothing under it except pen. She screwed the pen open, but there was nothing but a sleeve of ink. "He doesn"t seem to be in here, unless he is the ink."
"See if it works," Becka suggested.
Cube brought out her notepad and wrote on it: "Where are you, Brusque?"
The pen worked perfectly, except for one thing: it oinked as it wrote.
"It"s a pig pen!" Becka said, disgusted. The three Princesses chortled, loving the pun.
"I should have known," Becka continued. "He always has these punny little things. He thinks they"re funny."
"They"re great," Melody said. "He gave me my pocket watch." She reached into a pocket of her dress and drew out a little creature with big eyes. "It watches everything from my pocket."
"He gave me my water moccasins," Harmony agreed. She stamped one little foot, and her slipper splashed.
"And he gave me my elbow," Rhythm concluded. She touched her hair, and there was a green bow, matching her eyes. It was in the shape of the letter L. An L-bow.
"That doesn"t solve the problem of exactly where he is," Becka said, her voice sounding slightly strained.
"He--he must be the pen," Cube said.
"Transformation!" Melody cried.
"We can fix it," Harmony agreed.
"Right now," Rhythm concluded.
They hummed, played, and beat. The magic intensified. The pen wiggled in Cube"s hand, then expanded explosively. Suddenly a man was standing there. He eyed Becka. "What took you so long?" he asked with a smile.
"I thought it would do you good to oink a while," she replied.
Then they kissed. "OooOooOoo!" the Princesses Oooed.
"Oh, put a sock in it," Becka said as they disengaged.
"I"m glad it worked out well," Cube said. "Now maybe we should get out of your way."
"We"d like that," Becka agreed, squeezing Brusque"s hand.
Melody nodded. "It"s time."
"Since we have a mission of our own," Harmony agreed.
"Joining Cube"s Quest," Rhythm concluded.
"That"s nice," Cube said. "So let"s return to Castle Roogna, and then I"ll be on my own way."
Then it hit her. "You"re doing what?"
The Princesses laughed together. "Put us in your pouch," Melody said.
"Then check with Mother," Harmony added.
"She"ll insist on an adult Companion," Rhythm explained.
They didn"t consider Cube to be adult? But she had an answer. She reached into the pouch, murmuring, "Karia."
Out came the winged centaur. "There"s a problem?"
"These children need an adult Companion," Cube said. "They want to join the Quest, and they didn"t even know about the reward."
Karia turned her gaze on the three. "Oh, my! The little Princesses."
"You"ll do," Melody said.
"Centaurs are always good," Harmony agreed.
"Mother will approve," Rhythm concluded.
Becka shook her head. "I fear you are in for more of an adventure than you antic.i.p.ated," she said to Cube.
That was Cube"s thought.
Chapter 5: Dragon.
Before you go back to Castle Roogna," Becka said, "There"s something--maybe you won"t want to consider it--"
Cube, still giddy from the sudden enlistment of the Princesses, who would add phenomenal power to her Quest, and maybe mischief too, was ready to listen. "I"ll consider anything."
"Your Companions--I"m sure the Princesses can handle any problem you encounter. But for straight protection without using special magic--would you consider a dragon?"
"Don"t tell me you want to join!"
Becka laughed. "Not at all! I"ve had my Quest, and I"m satisfied with my role here. I just want to get alone with Brusque before something else happens to him. But I know another dragon who is really a nice person, but, well, he"s sort of a pariah."
"A pariah? Dragons aren"t usually popular in human society anyway."
"Among his kind. Other dragons won"t a.s.sociate with him, so he"s lonely. He--I think he"d like to be part of a group that might accept him. And he could protect you. Very well. Maybe too well."
This was becoming intriguing. "A friendly dragon, protecting too well?"
"Well, I have some trouble relating to dragons, because I"m a half-breed. Drek"s a fullbreed, but they still don"t like him. Because of his, well, breath."
"Bad breath?"
"When he"s happy, it smells of perfume."
Cube laughed. "No fire, smoke, or steam?"
"You can see why other dragons don"t respect him."
"Yes. But how can he even stand up for himself, let alone protect anyone else?"
"When he"s angry or upset, he breathes an awful stench. No one can stand it."
Cube was coming to understand. "So he protects by driving other creatures away."
"Yes. It"s very effective. You"d get used to it, but would never enjoy it. Maybe it"s a bad idea."
"He"s really an ugly dragon," Cube said.
"Yes, in the way that counts with dragons."
"I"ll consider him. Where is he?"
"That"s another problem. He"s hiding, and I"m not sure exactly where he is now. But the Princesses should be able to locate him."
"Sure we can," Melody said.
"Same way we located Brusque," Harmony agreed.
"Just as soon"s we get Mother"s permission," Rhythm concluded.
"Then I think that"s settled," Cube said. "Thank you, Becka. We"ll ask Drek."
"I hope it works out," Becka said. "He"s my friend, and he"s a nice dragon. I"d like to know he is happy."
"Time for us to conjure us back to Castle Roogna," Melody said.
"Perhaps not," Karia said.
The three looked at her. "Why not?" Harmony asked.
"Because if you wish to present me as a suitable adult Companion, which I am, and protect the secret of the Quest from the knowledge of others, I should arrive in an evident manner, rather than being drawn out of the magic pouch."
Cube realized that she had a valid point. "Then maybe it is time for me to ride in the pouch. You can fly to Castle Roogna, carrying the three Princesses."
"Oh, goody!" Rhythm exclaimed. "We"ll love it."
"I thought you might," Karia said.
They went outside the castle, leaving Becka and Brusque inside. Then Cube handed the pouch to the centaur, and put her foot in. Suddenly she was sliding into it, as if her body were greased. She found herself inside, surrounded by cloth. She was able to see fuzzily between the threads.
Karia tucked the pouch into the top of her quiver. Then she lay down so the three Princesses could mount. When they were there, she flicked them with her tail to make them light, and flicked herself. She trotted along the ground, spread her wings, and took off. Cube was aware of all this as much by motion as sight, because she couldn"t see much from the quiver, and that was looking back. So she closed her eyes and relaxed.