"Me! But I have no idea how-"
Breanna stuffed a spinach cookie into his mouth. "Shut up and listen," she said.
Justin shut up and listened, and what Sim squawked and Che said slowly came to make sense. He could after all make the case, for whatever it was worth.
They finished their snack and made themselves comfortable around the edges of the chamber. The timer reached zero and bonged, then winked out of existence.
Nine figures were in the chamber. They appeared to be human in body, wearing voluminous robes, but their heads were rotating spheres. They stood in place, neither moving nor speaking. They were evidently emulating mortal status.
Justin realized that they were waiting to hear his presentation. He plunged in. "Salutations, Demons," he said formally. "We are six mortal creatures from the lands of Xanth and Mundania who wish to enlist your help on a mission to rescue the Demon Earth from captivity. We have obtained the Rings of Xanth and the Swell Foop, and learned how to operate it." He lifted the stone with its six Rings.
Now there was a stir among the visitors. One with a small hot head glided forward, reached out to touch the Foop, and did not. "True." Then, as Justin wondered who that one was, print appeared on the robe: MERCURY.
Simultaneously, names appeared on all the others. The Demons were all named after the planets, or were the planets; Justin had never been quite sure about that. EARTH was missing, and there was one he didn't recognize: NEMESIS. Odd that he hadn't heard of that planet, or seen it in the night sky during his decades as a tree. But obviously it existed, or its associated Demon would not be here.
Well, on with it, before they lost patience. "We know that the Swell Foop will generate emotions in you, and thereby control your actions. But we don't wish to aggravate you. Rather we want to enlist your cooperation in our effort to save the Demon Earth from captivity. We believe that it is to your interest to save him, because his force is gravity, and we all need at least some of that on occasion."
He paused. There was no reaction. That, he hoped, was good news. So he continued. "We doubt that even with the Foop we'll be able to rescue Demon Earth ourselves. We need the formidable power and expertise of Demons. That way we may be able to arrange a challenge for status with the captor Demon, proffering terms he will not care to decline. If we win, we will restore the Demon Earth to his accustomed place, and gravity will not be lost." He did not speak of losing; that was not expedient at this point.
Still no response. "Because Demons are not accustomed to emotions, we believe that a liaison between Demons and mortals will be expedient. In that manner the formidable emotions generated by the Foop will be filtered and modified by creatures who are accustomed to them, giving our team an advantage."
They just stood there. Was he making sense to them, or washing out? Now he would find out. "To have a fair game, one that the captor Demon will wish to participate in, the stakes must be conducive. We must be able to offer something the captor Demon desires. I am unable to say what that might be. Here I need your input."
"A second Demon," the Demon Nemesis said. His head was the largest of all of them, a dense brown sphere.
"Will that be sufficient to induce him to play?" Justin asked.
"Two Demons," the Demon Neptune said.
There was a pause. "The two of you are volunteering?" Justin asked.
They nodded. "I am the least apparent yet most influential of our number," Nemesis said. "My associated planet is beyond the sight of the others, but is more massive than all of them combined. The captor will desire my ambiance of Dark Matter."
"I am not the largest or prettiest member of our group," Neptune said. "But my Higgs boson particle field generates mass itself, without which none of the others could exist, and my aspect of energy moves all things. The captor will desire that too."
Justin was amazed at the significance of these two obscure Demons. Indeed, Dark Matter was invisible yet most pervasive, a phenomenal mystery, and mass/energy was the fundamental building block (as it were) of existence. "And this would bring the other Demon in?" he inquired, to be absolutely sure, for there was no certain predicting what motivated Demons. Now the others nodded.
"Then if you will choose from our number to align with, we can institute the challenge," Justin said, privately amazed that this was falling into place so neatly. They had thought it should, but knew that with Demons nothing was sure. Demon Xanth had communicated with them on a Demonly level, so they readily understood the situation, but was that enough?
This time there was a long pause. Justin felt quite nervous. Which Demon would choose him? What would such an association feel like? What would the contest itself be like? None of them had ever been involved in anything like this before.
Demon Mars, with a small red head, floated toward Sim, then veered and went to Che. The Demon walked right into the centaur and disappeared. He had Chosen.
Demon Jupiter floated toward Sim-and faded into the big bird. He too had Chosen.
Demoness Venus floated to Breanna.
Demoness Saturn floated to Cynthia.
Only Justin and Jaylin remained. They waited, but no other Demons came. Instead, they faded out. This, it seemed, was it: Four Demons were playing, two were stakes, and three were not participating. "But what about us?" Justin asked somewhat plaintively.
Chlorine reappeared. "You have not been neglected," she said. "One of you is needed to animate the Demon Earth, and the other to animate the enemy Demon."
"The enemy Demon! But we oppose it!"
"It must be given the same situation as the rest," she explained. "A mortal body. If it plays, it will choose one of you. The other will go to the Demon Earth."
Oh. That did make sense, he supposed. "But how could it choose me, when I oppose it?"
"The game will not be that straightforward."
Somehow that did not reassure him. "Well, what is the next step?"
"Use the Foop to locate the Demon Earth."
Oh. Yes. "I will now, with the acquiescence of those participating, use the Swell Foop to orient on the Demon Earth."
There were no demurrals. This business of nonresponse was eerie.
Justin picked up the Foop. "Demon Earth," he said, concentrating on the identity.
He felt nothing. But that might simply mean he wasn't facing the right way. He turned, slowly, holding the stone.
As he completed his circle, he felt a slight warmth in the stone. He focused on that, turning back and forth, but there was no further heating.
Then he tried lifting it-and felt more warmth. The direction was up, not around! He set it on his shoulder and turned again, verifying the orientation. "That way!" he cried, pointing.
"Where is it?" Jaylin asked.
Che tilted his head, calculating azimuth, elevation, and chronology. "Fornax," he said.
Justin's jaw dropped. "But that's no planet! That's a foreign galaxy!"
"Fornax," Che/Mars repeated angrily. "This is worse than any of us anticipated."
"Worse?" Justin asked, dreading the answer.
"That is the region of contra-terrene matter," Neptune explained grimly. "That has the potential to destroy all of us."
"Contra-terrene matter!" Justin exclaimed, appalled. "But mere contact with that is lethal!"
"Not in the presence of the Swell Foop," Breanna/Venus said. "Its magic protects us. So that is where we must go to engage the foreign Demon."
"And if we lose that encounter?" Justin asked.
There was no answer. That was more than enough answer.
CHAPTER 12
FORNAX
Cynthia saw the Demoness Saturn approach her. She feared this aspect, yet knew it had to be. She stood her ground, and the daunting entity floated right into her.
Then it was like a soft explosion of change. Broad flat rings seemed to surround her, and a series of moons of varying sizes. Her body seemed suddenly possessed of enormous size, but also much vapor. A dread awareness permeated her ev
ery nook and most of her crannies. The perspective of the Demon was at once vast beyond any possible understanding, and limited, for it had no feeling, only consciousness. And Cynthia knew that only one percent or less of that consciousness was tuning into this situation. Even so, the power of that mind was awesome.
"Saturn?" she asked absurdly. She did not speak aloud, but phrased it as a question in her limited mind.
"This is mortality." It was not quite a question, not quite an observation, just a phrased thought.
"This is mortal existence," Cynthia agreed. "We live and die in the course of a variable span of time, and accomplish whatever we are going to in that limited span."
"Curious."
There was no further response, so Cynthia returned her attention to the scene before her. She saw Che, Sim, and Breanna standing somewhat slack-jawed, and knew they were making similar adjustments. Only Justin and Jaylin remained normal. Justin was holding the stone that was the Swell Foop and turning slowly around in a circle. The girl was just watching; all this was obviously a bit much for her. Small wonder; it was a bit much for Cynthia too.
"Fornax," Justin said. "That is where we must go to engage the foreign Demon."
"Fornax!" Cynthia repeated. "But isn't that a constellation?"
"A small foreign galaxy," Che clarified. "Now it is clear why we require the cooperation of other Demons. Only they can travel the immensity of nonmagical space."
"True," Sim squawked. "The Demons are beyond time and space. Our realms are but specks on their horizons."
"How do we get to Fornax?" Jaylin asked. "Is there even any air there for us to breathe?"
"I hope so," Justin said. He looked around. "I think we are ready to depart."
The universe swirled. Stars whizzed past, starting small, growing huge and hot, and retreating back into dots of light. Huge clouds of dust loomed, squeezing together to produce new stars, then compressing into dense dark holes that sucked spirals of living stars in after them. The spirals formed patterns of rotation that shaped into lighted galaxies. But they were only a tiny part of the much larger scope of the cosmos. Cynthia gazed at the mind-bending extent of that universe and was mesmerized. She had never imagined such material or structure or pattern. It was beyond awe-inspiring.
Then she was gazing glassily into another castle chamber. They had arrived somewhere. There did seem to be air to breathe; either it was natural, or the Demons had conjured it for this setting. No sense wasting their mortal hosts before the game started. Was that her thought, or Saturn's? Did it matter?
In the center of the chamber was a scintillating alien presence. Cynthia knew it could only be another Demon.
Justin stepped shakily forward. "Demon Fornax, I presume?"
There was no response.
"May-maybe if you assumed human form, or something," Jaylin said hesitantly. "So we could-could relate to you."
The scintillation became a robed human figure, too well covered to suggest age or gender.
"Thank you," Justin said. "We have come to rescue the Demon Earth. Will you play a-a game?"
"No."
"We have the Swell Foop," Jaylin said. Justin held up the stone. "We can employ it to give you emotions. This could complicate your situation in adverse ways."
Cynthia marveled that they dared to threaten a Demon. But Saturn's thought reassured her that Demons, having no genuine emotions, saw threats as mere aspects of bargaining. The position of the visiting group was stronger than Demon Fornax had judged.
"Terms," the figure said. It wasn't exactly a voice, but more of a projected thought. Fornax had decided to play after all, feeling no shame in the reversal. The Foop was showing its usefulness.
"Yes, of course," Justin said. "We offer two Demons to join your cause, against the single Demon you have acquired. Is this a satisfactory stake?"
"Affirmative." Evidently Demons both domestic and foreign understood such things, and needed no explanations or amplifications. Cynthia caught the edge of a passing Saturn thought and realized that the verbal interchange was only the audible portion of a larger dialogue; like the universe, most of it was not apparent to human senses. Probably some of the other 99 percent of the Demons' attention was being used in that hidden interchange.
"Then we must agree on the rules of play. We suggest that our company of mortals engage in a contest, limited to mortal perceptions and abilities."
This too was standard; Demons often wagered on the outcome of seemingly random mortal interactions.
"Dull." Demon Fornax preferred an interesting game.
"With this novel aspect," Justin continued. "Each mortal associates with a Demon who may proffer advice but not make decisions, prime players excepted, the advice based on no more than the mortal's perceptions. No omniscience or omnipotence. This reduces the Demons to mortal limitations."
"Curious." That was what Saturn had thought of mortal existence. Demons evidently were intrigued by curious things. But that reaction fell short of complete commitment. It was interesting watching the bargaining; evidently Demons were quite careful about the rules of engagement.
"And the Swell Foop will apply a mortal emotion to each Demon, for the duration of the game or beyond."
The Fornax figure scintillated for a moment before settling back into dull format. Its interest had been evoked. "Details."
Justin spread his hands. He had reached the limit of his information.
There was a flash of information in Cynthia's mind. Suddenly she understood. "Each mortal figure will touch the Swell Foop, and it will apply an emotion to the Demon associating with that mortal. Emotions will not repeat; each Demon will have a different one. Because actions and expressions will be governed by the associating mortal, the emotions will not overwhelm the Demons. But the mortals will be affected by them to a limited degree, and so will any other mortal and Demon that is physically touched by those mortals. In this manner, mortals and Demons will be able to share their emotions, to an extent. This can complicate the interactions and render the outcome of any specific encounter doubtful, and therefore complicate the outcome of the game similarly."
The Fornax figure scintillated again. There was definite interest here. "Choice of mortals."
Saturn flashed again, and Cynthia spoke her thought. "Four mortals are committed. Two remain. Choose one, and the other will be assigned to captive Demon Earth." She faced the two. "Justin. Jaylin. Present yourselves."
The two exchanged a nervous glance. Then Justin spoke. "I am Justin Tree, so called because I was for many years in the form of a tree. Now I am in human form again, and about to be married to Breanna of the Black Wave. Assuming we recover the Demon Earth."
It was Jaylin's turn. "I am Jaylin of Mundania-the region Demon Earth normally associates with. I'm-I'm an ordinary fifteen-year-old girl who got into this by sheer accident. I don't know much of anything about anything."
Fornax scintillated again. "Setting?"
"We suggest a medieval castle similar to the kind that existed a while ago in Demon Earth's terrain: fashioned of stone, with many chambers, high turrets, dungeons, passages, features of opulence, and armed guards."
"Challenge?"
"The rescue mission will start outside the castle, and will have to enter, steal a set of door keys, locate the prisoner, and conduct him outside within a day and night. Ten guards to defend against such accomplishment."
"Mechanism?"
More information flooded Cynthia's mind. "Players and guards will be deactivated by a touch on the torso. Touches accomplished by the tips of extremities: hands or feet. Remainder of limbs used to defend against touches. Deactivated players to remain in place, inert until the game is finished. Prime players Earth and Fornax may not be deactivated, only partially nulled. If either is deactivated before the completion of the game, the game is null and must be replayed. Only the escape of Earth determines the outcome."
"Nuances?"
Once more Cynthia received a flash, and spoke.
"These will be facilitated by the assigned emotions, which may cause players to do illogical things."
"Which?"
"Emotions to be randomly selected, and announced as assigned, so that all know the guiding drives of each."
Now Fornax demurred. "Assigned by hidden compatibility, anonymously."
A flash of something like pleasure passed though Demoness Saturn: the joy of negotiating for advantage. This was close to the essence of every Demon. Fornax was bargaining. Cynthia looked around, and the others met her gaze briefly, and meaning was transmitted between their occupying Demons. "Agreed."
Fornax scintillated again. "Done. Begin." The figure moved across the chamber and abruptly merged with Jaylin. The girl looked startled, then understanding.
Justin, still holding the Swell Foop, looked around. "I have no Demon associate. I am unclear what I am supposed to do at this point."
"Hold the stone out," Fornax said. "Each of us will touch it. Thereafter you will follow the guard to the cell where Demon Earth is confined. He will merge with you and touch the stone. At that point the game will commence."
Justin held out the Swell Foop. The Demon Mars, as Che Centaur, approached, laid a hand on it briefly, and walked on. After that Breanna touched it, and Sim, and Cynthia herself. She received a phenomenal infusion of the same emotion she had just almost had: joy. This was so strong she felt like leaping into the air and clicking all four hooves together. But she controlled the urge, masking her emotion so as not to give it away to Jaylin/Fornax, who was watching closely. No sense in yielding any possible advantage to the opposition. She walked on and turned back to watch Jaylin.
Jaylin touched the stone. An odd expression crossed her face, then was quickly smoothed into neutral. Fornax had been jolted-but by what?
A guard stepped forward and paused near a doorway. Justin nodded, and went to join him, carrying the Foop. "Until we meet again," he said, perhaps a bit nervously. They departed the scene.
Then Cynthia and the others were outside the castle. It was a huge edifice, constructed on an outcrop of rock hanging over a violently heaving sea. The only land entrance was a single winding road that followed a ridge up to the castle gate. The few windows were small and barred. It looked forbidding indeed.
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