"That would be nice," he said.
Then she saw the thread, leading away from him. It had appeared when she made her commitment. Diamond saw it too, or perhaps smelled it.
She followed it back along the path he was making. When she was out of his sight, the thread abruptly stopped.
She stared at its end. What did this mean?
"It means it jumps, bird," Metria said, reappearing.
"It jumps what?"
"Ignorant, stupid, idiot, moron, dumbbell--"
"Dodo?"
"Whatever," the demoness agreed, for once not crossly.
Cube realized that she had indeed been stupid, and not just for forgetting that the thread could seem discontinuous at times. She hadn"t needed to ferret out the precise insult when she already had the meaning of the main comment. "Very well. Get in the pouch."
Metria slid into the pouch. "You too, Diamond," she said, holding it down for the dog. Diamond slid in paw-first. Then she put her hand in. "Centaur."
Karia emerged. "I need to go to the portal to Mundania," Cube said.
"Readily accomplished," the centaur agreed. "Mount."
Cube got on her back, and soon they were in the air. Cube admired the clouds and landscape, as she had before; this was too novel an experience to ignore. She saw the huge Gap Chasm, not looking nearly as formidable from this height. While they flew, she caught Karia up on recent developments.
"That is remarkable," the centaur said. "A ghost, an exchange, and now a physical visit to Mundania."
"It is where the thread leads me. It seems to be a good deal more sophisticated than I first thought."
"I wonder. I don"t think the Princesses were trying for anything fancy. It must be that their magic enables them to do a magic thing right even if they don"t fully understand it."
"That must be it. When I think of it, I realize that generating a full-size castle from air requires a great deal more knowledge of detail than seven-year-olds can be expected to have. Maybe there is a store of information they draw on without realizing it. So the thread may have similar sophistication. But I dread going out into Mundania on my own, and not just because I"m no Sorceress--and it will have to be alone."
"I see no real problem. Get Turn Key to help you."
"Who?"
"He"s the gatekeeper there, a nice older man, I have heard. Ask him how to proceed, and he will surely give you good advice."
"I"ll do that," Cube agreed, somewhat relieved.
Soon they came to the southeast sh.o.r.e of Xanth. "It looks golden!" Cube exclaimed.
"That"s the Gold Coast. No Name Key is not far from it."
"Why didn"t you groan?"
"Groan?"
"You hate the puns."
"What puns? The Gold Coast is called that because that"s its nature, and they must simply never have figured a name for the key."
"I suppose that"s right. I suppose not everything in Xanth is built on puns."
"Fortunately," Karia agreed.
They glided down to the string of keys. These were shaped like the keys to a.s.sorted locks, but were of course considerably larger. They were rather pretty. "What"s that huge one?" Cube asked looking south.
"That is Centaur Isle, where the centaurs live," Karia said.
"Oh, you must like to visit there."
"No."
"But--"
"They are all grounded centaurs," Karia explained. "No wings. It requires magic for a creature our size to fly, but ground-bound centaurs don"t approve of magic for themselves. In fact they consider it obscene. So they don"t a.s.sociate with the winged monster branch of the centaur family."
"But you"re no monster!"
Karia turned her head back, smiling. "It is a broad cla.s.sification that unites all winged creatures. We regard it as a signal of unity, not as an affront. No winged monster is supposed to attack another, outside of the normal predator/prey activity. I am proud to be a winged monster."
"That"s nice," Cube said, taken aback. "You mean a dragon wouldn"t attack you if it came by now?"
"Not normally. Of course if I were intruding on its nest, trying to steal its treasure, that would be a different matter. Still, it is best not to take chances. I have my bow, and the threat of a well-aimed arrow can be persuasive even to a hungry dragon."
"Sort of the way my nickelpedes discourage robbers," Cube said.
"Yes. When you are beautiful, you may find them even more useful as protection against aggressive men."
Cube laughed. "I think I would find it hard to object to a man who found me attractive." But she remembered Yorick.
"Perhaps," the centaur said. "Ah, there"s Big Pine Key."
Cube looked down. Sure enough, there was a towering pine tree rising from one of the larger keys. It was amazing that the giant tree had enough room for its roots. Perhaps they extended down more than out.
Karia avoided the tree and glided down to land on a largely featureless isle. "And here is No Name Key."
"But there"s nothing on it! Where is the gateway?"
"On the Mundane side. They set larger store by buildings than we do. There should be a picture here. Ah, there it is."
They walked to a picture on an easel. It showed the interior of a fair-sized building. That was all. "But there has to be more than a picture."
Karia smiled. "Just step through it. But perhaps I should return to the pouch first; that way I"ll be with you when you need me again. I would not be comfortable in Mundania."
That made Cube think of something worrisome. "Magic things can"t exist in Mundania. What about this magic pouch?"
"I suspect it is crafted to endure. After all, it was fashioned by a Mundane, Sofia Socksorter. But you will not be able to bring any of us out of it there. Take care that you do not mislay it."
"Mislay it!" Cube said in horror. But the centaur was already sliding into it. It had been humor. She hoped.
Now she stood alone before the painting. Step through it? How could she do that? Well, if it was similar to the pouch, or the Phaze picture, it might work.
She put forth a hand to touch the picture. The hand found no resistance; it entered the scene. She pushed her arm in, and then lifted a foot to climb on in.
Suddenly she was standing in the building. She turned around. Sure enough, there was a picture of No Name Key behind her, hanging on a wall.
She heard footsteps. A portly man entered the chamber. "What may I do for you, sir?" he inquired.
"Uh, I"m a woman. My name is Cube."
He looked again. "Why so you are. I apologize. I am Turn Key, the gatekeeper for this portal. What may I do for you, miss?"
"I am on a--a private mission. I need to reach a Mundane person and bring her back to Xanth."
"Naturally. What is her ident.i.ty?"
"Kim Mundane. She--"
"Of course. She won the game contest and a fine magic talent. She is allowed to visit Xanth at any time, but has elected to make her home in Mundania, incredible as that may seem."
"Yes," Cube said, somewhat off-balanced by his ready understanding. "How can I reach her?"
"The readiest way is via Com Pewter"s Xanth Xone connection."
"Who? What?"
Turn Key frowned. "Perhaps another time. I suppose you could telephone her, but she has an unlisted number."
"Do what?"
The man took visible stock of the situation. "You have no idea of the protocols of Mundania?"
"Well, I visited there recently, but only--" Cube remembered using the phone when she was in Silhouette"s body. Numbers were magical, but she had none. "Yes, I have no idea."
"You will need the help of a native. Do you know any Mundane?"
"Only Silhouette."
The man fetched a big bendy book. He opened it and turned the pages. "Tampa Bay area?"
"I don"t know. I was near the North Village when--"
"That"s confirmation. Let me see if I can reach her." He took a phone--now she recognized it, having seen it in her memory of Mundania--and punched some little b.u.t.tons on it. He listened, then spoke into its mouth-piece. "Miss Silhouette? Do you know a woman named Cube?" He listened, then handed the instrument to Cube. "She remembers you."
"Uh, h.e.l.lo," Cube said.
"Cube! Where are you calling from?"
"No Name Key. It--"
"I know where it is. I will come and pick you up in an hour. I want very much to meet you."
"Uh, thanks. I--I need a favor. Someone I have to find in Mundania."
"Have no fear. Keep an eye out for our helicopter."
"Your what?"
But the woman had already hung up.
Cube returned the phone to Turn Key. "She says to keep an eye out in an hour for their he--hel--"
"Helicopter," Turn Key said. "Obviously she is eager to meet you. May I inquire the nature of your prior encounter?"
Cube decided it was safe to explain about the ghostly exchange. "So I was able to do her a favor," she concluded.
"A considerable one," he agreed. "No wonder she wants to meet you physically."
"I hope she can help me find Kim."
"I will give her the address, which I do have. She is, it seems, a rather wealthy woman. She should have no trouble."
"Yes, she lives in a mansion, and people work for her."
"And you have an hour to relax. I am glad it is going well. Let me show you around our station while you wait."
The hour pa.s.sed swiftly. Then they were waiting outside the house. A huge noisy whirling machine came chugging through the air and landed on the lawn. A woman emerged.
Turn Key stared. "You did not exaggerate about her appearance! That is the most beautiful woman I have seen in a decade."
Then Silhouette spied Cube and came to her. "I am so glad to meet you in person, Cube! I owe you everything."
"All I did was--"
"I trust you have the number or address of your party?"
"Here," Turn Key said, giving her a piece of paper.
"Thank you so much." She gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then, leaving him stunned, she took Cube by the arm and led her to the whirling machine. "Phil is piloting it. You met his father."
"You did decide to--"
"You were right, Cube! He is the man for me. He is strong and capable and kind, and he loves me. I"m sure I will love him soon. I simply lacked the wit to orient on him. I was horribly foolish."