Cube Route (34 page)

    Then something strange happened. Time froze around them. Cube and the horse stopped falling, remaining in stasis at weird angles. So did the cloud, which now looked horrified. There was an awesome scintillating environment of magic power much greater than anything the little Princesses had worked.

    GOTCHA!

    Cube looked where she sensed the exclamation. There on the frozen bridge stood a ludicrous striped donkey-headed dragon. He winked at her.

    Then cloud and dragon vanished. The amazing plasma of magic faded. Cube and Charles were back on the bridge, exactly as they had been before the cloud appeared. The air was calm. They proceeded somewhat numbly on to the end of the bridge.

    Cube realized that the Demon Xanth had been waiting to catch the Demoness Fornax in the act of interfering with the Quest, and finally nailed her. This was the Land of Xanth, where he had supreme power. Fornax would have an awful time getting out of this mess. She had been caught meddling in Xanth's business, a no-no for Demons.

    There would be no more interference of that nature.

    Cube's knees were weak, but she was exhilarated. She realized that the Demon Xanth hardly cared what happened to a lone mortal woman or horse, but perhaps his consort Chlorine did, and he had been looking out for them for his own reasons. She had seen Demons in action, opposing each other, and survived the experience. That alone was mind blowing.

    But she still had her Quest to finish. She quelled her galloping heart and focused on that. She was back on her own.

    The thread did not continue north beyond the Gap. Instead it turned east and angled down the face of the cliff. She stood at the brink, daunted. How was she going to go there? She didn't have the ability to walk down the cliff as if it were level. That applied to only certain parts of the Gap Chasm, and this wasn't such a part.

    “You look as if you have a problem,” a voice said from just below her. Cube was so startled she almost jumped, which could have been disastrous.

    In most of a moment she saw that there was a man on the cliff below her. He had been in shadow so that she had missed him. “Why don't you fall?” she asked.

    “I have sticky hands and feet,” he explained. “It's my talent.” He pulled a hand away from the stone, and there was a faint snapping sound as it unstuck.

    She nodded. “I could use that.”

    He climbed up to the top and stepped over, joining her. His hands and feet looked normal, but she had seen them in action. “You have to go down there?”

    “Yes.”

    “And your horse?”

    “Yes, of course.”

    “I can show you a way.”

    Could he really? “Can we make a deal?”

    “What do you offer?”

    A pretty woman would have only one acceptable answer, but Cube didn't have that problem. “I can summon nickelpedes. I could give you some tame ones.”

    “Tame nickelpedes? I never heard of that.”

    “I never heard of someone with sticky hands and feet. It's my talent.”

    “Let's see.”

    She summoned a nickelpede. It perched on her hand, looking around. “What's your name?” she asked.

    “Ray.”

    She addressed the nickelpede. “This is Ray. He is a friend. Go with him and protect him.” Then she proffered the bug.

    Ray, understandably hesitant, slowly put out his hand. The nickelpede crossed over and perched there, not attacking. The man stroked it with a finger, very gingerly. It still did not attack. “Maybe it's in a stupor,” he said suspiciously.

    “Threaten it with a stick,” Cube suggested.

    Ray bent down to pick up a small stick from the ground. He struck at the nickelpede. The nickelpede's claw whipped across and cut the stick in two by gouging out a nickel-sized section of its center.

    Ray nodded. “How many?”

    “Three.”

    “Done.”

    She summoned two more nickelpedes, attuned them to the man and gave them to him. They perched amicably on his shoulders and head. “Now where's the way?”

    “This way,” he said, stepping over the brink. But this time his feet did not stick to the visible surface; they sank into it. Knee-deep in rock, he turned back to face her. “There is a broad ledge here, leading down, masked by illusion. Try it.”

    She tried it, and found it was true. The way had been there all along--right where the thread was. She should have had more faith in the thread.

    She walked down the gradually sloping ledge, scuffing with her feet to ascertain its extent. It was indeed broad enough for the horse. “Come on, Charles,” she called.

    The horse followed. She saw his front legs disappear into the seeming stone, then his rear ones.

    “It goes down to an old deserted building,” Ray said. “It's a good place to hide.”

    “I'm sure it will do. Thank you.”

    “Thank you for the bugs.” He scampered away across the face of the cliff.

    Soon they were entirely covered by the illusion, and could see the stone ledge as it was. It tracked down the cliff, covered by what looked from below like a tarpaulin. This was really interesting; who had set it up, and why?

    They came to a building set into the vertical stone, reminiscent of the city of Petra. There were a number of cubic chambers, all empty. Cubic--as if waiting for her, Cube. Was this coincidence?

    The thread led into the center of the main chamber and stopped. It didn't go into the rock, it simply ended in mid air. That suggested that it truly ended here.

    But this was obviously not Counter Xanth. Her route had not ended. So what did this mean?

    “Time for a consultation,” she said aloud. She put her hand to the pouch. “All.”

    All her Companions slid out and stood around her. “Don't go outside yet,” Cube warned them. “This is a house on the wall of the Gap Chasm.”

    “Wow!” Metria said, sailing out to look.

    “But it is not Counter Xanth,” Cube continued. “The thread ends here.”

    The three little Princesses investigated. “She's right,” Melody said.

    “It stops here,” Harmony agreed.

    “And goes directly to Counter Xanth,” Rhythm concluded.

    “So how do we get there?” Karia asked.

    “Sidestepping,” Cory said.

    “This must be the proper avenue for it,” Tessa agreed. “The most feasible route between the two lands.”

    “Before we blithely go there,” Karia said, “there's a matter that disturbs me. I understand that this land was won from Demoness Fornax, who is the mistress of contra-terrene matter. So Counter Xanth is surely of that nature. As I understand it, normal matter is incompatible with contra-terrene matter. So how can we go there, regardless of the Route?”

    “It must be possible,” Ryver said, “or the Good Magician would never have set up this Quest.”

    “And Mother would never have let us go,” Melody said.

    Metria popped back in. “That's why there's no direct land route between the two,” she said. “They'd both go up in a quasar.”

    “A what?” Harmony asked.

    “Explosion, detonation, ka-boom, blast, eruption--”

    “Total conversion of matter to energy?” Rhythm asked.

    “Whatever,” Metria agreed crossly. “Hey--how can a little tyke like you come up with such language?”

    “A little what?” Melody asked.

    “Child, tot, kid, juvenile, brat--”

    “Princess?” Harmony suggested.

    “Whatever. How--”

    “I made it up,” Rhythm said smugly.

    “Nevertheless,” Karia said firmly, “She has a point. There can be no direct contact between the two, lest mutual destruction result. Sidestepping must enable us to transfer from one to the other without suffering that fate.”

    “Are you sure?” Ryver asked.

    “No.”

    Silence settled in about them as they pondered that. This time Cube broke it. “I'll go alone. If I am destroyed, no one else need follow.”

    For a space between an instant and a moment, all eyes focused on her. Then Karia spoke. “Are we agreed?”

    There was a chorus of nods, including even Charles Horse. “Then we'll all return to the pouch,” Ryver said. “Except for Cory, Tessa, and Cube.”

    “But I don't want to leave the pouch behind,” Cube protested. “I never want to risk losing it again.”

    “We're going with you,” Metria clarified. “Except for Charles Horse, who will guard this important site.”

    Charles nodded.

    “With something to eat,” Melody said. A bale of hay appeared.

    “And drink,” Harmony agreed. A bucket of water appeared.

    “And something for comfort,” Rhythm concluded. A pile of pillows appeared.

    “There's something else,” Cube said. “The Demoness Fornax tried to blow us off the bridge over the Gap Chasm, but the Demon Xanth stopped her. I don't think Demon Xanth would let us go to destruction after that.”

    They were obviously impressed. “Tell us about it,” Karia said. So Cube did.

    “So we were right,” Ryver concluded. “It was Fornax.”

    “And she would not have needed to act, if Counter Xanth was going to annihilate us anyway,” Karia said. “That is reassuring.” The others nodded.

    Then they entered the pouch, leaving only Cory, Tessa, and Cube. It was time to go on to Counter Xanth, whatever happened there.

    Cube was both nervous and proud. “We'll return soon, Charles,” she said.

    “This is new territory, in more than one sense,” Cory said. “We shall have to go slowly and carefully.”

    “I wouldn't have it otherwise,” Cube said, dry-mouthed. The new land might not destroy them, but it was bound to be different from their experience.

    The two women linked hands and stepped backward, setting up the route. Then Tessa caught Cube's hand, bringing her in. There was the thread, leading out of the chamber and back up the ramp to the surface. That was a relief; at least they knew they were going the right way.

    They reached the brink of the cliff, with Xanth stretching out before them to the north. It looked subtly odd. “Is this really the same?” Cube asked, as they stepped out of the sidestepping channel.

    “It's empty,” Cory said. “Except for plants.”

    “Because Xanth will get to colonize it,” Tessa said. “There are no people.”

    “That must be it. It was an easier crossing than I expected, after the deviousness of the thread's prior route. I'll bring out the others.”

    Cory and Tessa didn't answer. Cube didn't notice for a moment; she was busy bringing out the others. In a moment they all stood around her.

    “What is that?” Karia asked, staring south.

    “The Msahc Pag, of course,” Cube replied. Then she paused, startled. “What did I say?”

    “Look south, Ebuc,” Ryver said.

    Cube turned around. And stared. The chasm was gone; in its place was a towering mountain range. The peaks reached so high they scraped the clouds and were white with snow. “But--the Pag was here a moment ago,” she protested somewhat inanely.

    “Perhaps not,” Cory said. “When we reached the surface, we emerged in Counter Xanth. The mountains are where the Gap Chasm is in Xanth.”

    “The Gap Chasm,” Cube echoed. “But I said something else.”

    “What is your name?” Karia asked.

    “Ebuc.”

    “Which is Cube spelled backwards,” the centaur said. “I believe we are experiencing the effects of reversal. My name is now Airak, not Karia. And the great gulf has become a great ridge. I suspect the mountains of Xanth will be depressions here, perhaps lakes.”

    Cube realized that it must be true. “Demoness Fornax is the Demon of contra-terrene matter,” she said. “Antimatter. The opposite of what we have, though I understand it looks the same. So things are similar but opposite.”

    “Which could be fun,” Metria said. “At least we didn't detonate.”

    “Didn't what?” Melody asked.

    “We covered this ground before,” Karia said sharply.

    “Awww,” Harmony said.

    “And we do have more important things to do,” Ryver agreed.

    “True,” Rhythm concluded. All their names were all right as long as no one tried to say them.

    Cube looked around. “I think we have found what we sought. But I'd like to explore it enough to be able to make a competent report. There could be other surprises.”

    “Agreed,” Karia said. “Lead; we shall follow.”

    Cube stepped north, walking toward one of the odd trees. The others followed in single file. The air smelled pleasantly clean.

    The tree turned out to be a fruit tree, but of no kind Cube knew of. The leaves were brown and rolled up. The fruits were large and blue, with pale pink stripes. She picked one and bit into it. The flavor was different too, but not unpleasant.

    “There's something really weird about this,” Metria said. “Something's missing.”

    “This land seems quite nice,” Karia said. “It doesn't irritate me.”

    “That's it!” Ryver said. “No puns!”

    “That is it,” the centaur agreed. “Strange geography, strange fruit, but no puns, egregious or otherwise.”

    “If that's the worst of it,” Ryver said, “I'm sure there will be folk willing to colonize.” Then he stared past Cube to one of the other members of their party. “Who are you?”

    “I am Asset, of course,” the woman replied.

    “But you're taller than I am!”

    The others looked. It did look like Tessa, but she was now the tallest member of their party. Beside her stood a much shorter woman. “Yroc?” Cube asked her.

    “I'm short,” Cory replied, astonished.

    Now it was apparent: the two had exchanged heights. “It's another reversal,” Karia said. “But why didn't it affect the rest of us?”

    But it had. When they looked more carefully, they discovered that Cube was now taller than Ryver, and the three little Princesses were now three big Princesses, though they looked just as young as usual. The centaur seemed to be a bit taller, and Drek Dragon was shorter. Tall had become short, and short had become tall, with those in the middle changing less.