Heaven Cent

by Piers Anthony

  He jumped into the ditch, searching frantically. Then he saw her, struggling weakly in the water, barely keeping her head out of it. He reached down and picked her up. "Oh, Nada!" he breathed.

  She was weak but all right. He held her up to Turn. "Meet Nada Naga."

  Turn's eyes widened. "Uibu't op mpdbm toblf!" Then he did a doubletake. "Zpv nfbo uibu't zpvs gjbodff?"

  "My betrothed," Dolph agreed. "Nada is a princess of her kind, but she can't take human form here. So she came as a snake, to keep an eye on me."

  Turn nodded, finally understanding despite the unintelligible words. They returned to the lab. There Dolph thanked him again for his help.

  Turn seemed to have some further doubts, but he did not express them. "Well, let's get you back to the gourd, and I wish you well in your Quest."

  They returned to the gourd, where Dolph removed his clothing. There was no point in wearing it, since he always lost it when he changed form. Then he saluted Turn with a gesture of appreciation, and jumped into the peephole, holding Nada.

  Chapter 14

  Isle of View

  Back in Xanth, Dolph told the story, giving Nada credit for bringing him the key to the lab so he could try to escape, but not telling how she had gotten caught in the ditch. He remembered how Draco Dragon had preferred that Mela Merwoman not be made unhappy by being told that her husband had been killed because of a misunderstanding, and he realized that sometimes mere was no good purpose in telling of another person's mistakes. In short, on occasion the Adult Way made sense, though it galled him to concede this.

  "So now we know how to find the Heaven Cent,” he concluded. "This watch has an eye that looks toward it."

  "Most interesting," Marrow said. He and Grace’l seemed oddly satisfied; Dolph wondered what they might have talked about while they were alone together. "But does it work in Xanth?"

  "Yes. See, it is watching now!" He held up his wrist, and sure enough, the eye was looking north.

  "Amazing," the skeleton said. "I would have thought a Mundane amulet would be inoperative here."

  "That's what Turn Key thought. But I'm glad I kept it. Now we can go right to the Cent and find the Good Magician!"

  "Perhaps so," Marrow agreed, but he looked doubtful. Adults were often doubtful without reason, so Dolph wasn't worried.

  They traveled north along the west coast of Xanth, suffering only routine adventures. When a dragon threatened, Dolph assumed the form of another dragon, growling it off. When a sand dune wanted to incorporate them into itself and make beautiful fossils of them, Dolph became a Bigfoot monster and carried Nada across; in this form his feet were so big that the sand could not swallow them. When a tangle tree threatened, and the jungle was too thick to allow them to pass around it, Dolph became a roc and carried the others over. Of course he could have carried them the whole distance, but was afraid of overshooting the Cent, because he couldn't use the watch while he was a roc. So they did it the slow way, he and Nada traveling in naga form, and that was nice enough. He now knew her in all her forms, and liked them all; she was such a nice girl now that the Eye Queue effect was gone. He was well satisfied to be betrothed to her.

  Thus they traveled for a number of days, and no one complained. Marrow and Grace’l walked side by side, following the two naga, and seemed just as satisfied with each other's company as were Dolph and Nada.

  Now they were approaching Castle Roogna from the south. Could the Heaven Cent be there? But first they had to find the Skeleton Key, and certainly that wasn't there!

  The eye of the watch veered, taking them to the coast instead of inland to the castle. Dolph was privately relieved; he really wasn't quite ready to face his mother or to try to explain about the betrothal. Of course she surely already knew, having watched in the Tapestry; even so, he did not relish the encounter. He knew that she would be prepared with all sorts of Reasons why it was Not a Good Idea, Dear.

  They came to the beach. There was a hypnogourd and a lovely purple flower, with a little memorial plaque set up beside them:

  BY HEAVEN SENT BESIDE THIS AMARANTH

  FORTY YEARS PAST

  EVIL MAGICIAN TRENT

  LANDED HERE IN XANTH

  KING AT LAST

  They stared at this. What could it mean? "Grandpa Trent isn't evil!" Dolph said. "In the past—" Marrow began.

  "What a pretty flower!" Naga exclaimed.

  "—Magician Trent was known as evil, in contrast to the Good Magician Humfrey," Grace’l continued. "However—"

  Dolph glanced at the two skeletons in surprise. They were getting very close to each other!

  "—once Trent became King, he was no longer evil, by definition," Marrow concluded. "He had been called evil because he opposed the prior King, not because he was a bad man. Indeed, he was not a bad man, as became apparent."

  "How strange that this flower hasn't faded in forty years," Nada said.

  "That is the nature of this flower," Grace’l explained. "It never fades."

  Suddenly something registered. "Heaven sent!" Dolph exclaimed. "This must be it!"

  "You spell as your father does, don't you," Marrow remarked. " 'Sent' is not the same as 'cent’."

  "But it's Heaven Cent!" Dolph protested. "I don't care how it's spelled! The watch brought us here!"

  "Say, he's right!" Nada agreed. "The eye pointed this way, and—"

  "Let us verify this," Marrow said, in the manner that adults temporized in awkward situations.

  Dolph held up his wrist. "See—the eye is pointing right toward the plaque!"

  "Try walking to the other side," Marrow said.

  Dolph walked around the plaque. The eye hardly wavered; the watch was looking in the same direction it had been. "See!" Dolph said. "It—"

  "Is now pointing out to sea," Marrow said. "Or to that island we see. The plaque was merely in its route."

  "Uh, yes," Dolph agreed, chagrined.

  "Pure coincidence," Grace’l said.

  Dolph was silent. He found that he did not much like coincidence. That was a term they used in Mundania to account for magic, because they refused to believe in magic. He was sure there was good reason for the plaque being on their route; he just could not quite figure it out yet.

  "That seems to be the last of the keys," Nada said. "Maybe it is the Skeleton Key. Anything you search for is always in the very last place you look; everyone knows that."

  That made Dolph feel better. Nada was always a comfort. He liked her better than anyone he had known, and never wanted to be apart from her.

  He paused, thinking about that. His betrothal to Nada was political, but now he realized that he really did want to marry her, when the time came. Because then she would never leave.

  The skeletons formed into their boat, and they sailed across the water to the final key. A sea monster spied them, and swam over to investigate, but Dolph changed momentarily into a gargoyle whose supremely ugly puss gave the monster hiccups. That was enough; embarrassment caused the monster to retreat.

  They landed on a pleasant beach, and kicked the skeletons back into shape. The island was quite pretty, with a high central ridge. The skeletons elected to walk around it, while Dolph and Nada rose to the challenge of the ridge. When they mounted to the top, the view was impressive; they could see far across the sea. There was another sign providently displayed at the apex. "What does it say?" Nada asked. "I've got a bit of dust in my eye; I can't read it at the moment." Indeed, her eye was tearing; she had to change to girl form in order to have hands to try to clear it,

  Dolph's reading was better than his spelling. "Isle of View," he announced.

  Nada paused, gazing at him with her watery eye. "What?"

  "Isle of View," he repeated.

  She burst into tears—genuine ones, not dust-mote ones. "That's what I thought you said," she sobbed.

  Dolph went to her. "Nada! What's the matter?"

  "I wish you hadn't said that," she said. "Why didn't you just read the sign?" />
  "I did read the sign! It says Isle of View. What's the matter with that?"

  "You're teasing me! That's not nice!"

  "What's not nice about Isle of View?" he demanded, baffled.

  "Because I don't love you," she sobbed.

  That set him back. It had nothing to do with the subject, but it was not welcome news. He had come to like her so well that he was wondering whether love was an appropriate term. Of course he had never spoken of this to her, fearing embarrassment. Why had she brought it up so abruptly?

  "'And I feel so guilty," she continued. "You're such a fine young prince, and—" She lapsed into further sobbing.

  "I don't know how we got into this," Dolph said. "But I guess we'd better figure it out. Are you breaking our betrothal?"

  "Of course not!" she flared. "Why would I do that?"

  "I don't know. But if you feel guilty—"

  "Dolph, it's an arranged betrothal, you know that. It's the price my father charged to help you. You have been very good about it. I am sure we can make it work. But love need be no part of these arrangements. Why did you have to bring it up?"

  "I didn't bring it up!" he protested.

  "Yes you did! You said 'I love you.' "

  "I did not! But now that we're discussing it—"

  "I asked you to read the sign, and instead of that you said 'I love you.' Out of the black."

  "The black?"

  "Or the blue. Whatever."

  "The sign says 'Isle of—' " At that point something finally registered. "Are your eyes clear now? Read it yourself."

  Nada blinked her eyes clear and looked at the sign. "Isle of— " she echoed. "Oh, no!"

  "It sounds just like—"

  "Just like—oh, Dolph, I'm so sorry! I thought—"

  He tried to laugh, but it didn't come out. "But if I had meant to say that, it might be true. I know I'm young, but so are you, and—"

  "Oh, Dolph, please! I wish this had never—"

  "I know we're only children, but if you like me the way I like you, maybe in time we could call it—"

  "Dolph, I never wanted to hurt you! I didn't know you—I thought it a harmless deception, necessary in the circumstances."

  He was gradually coming to understand her point. "It is an arranged betrothal, as you say. We never met before it. We might have hated each other, and it would still be a good liaison. I am a prince; I understand about these things. My Grandpa King Trent did not love my Grandma Queen Iris; he married her so she would support the throne and provide an heir. My mother Irene hated my father Dor when they were children, but she wanted to marry him so she could share the throne."

  "Yes," Nada agreed faintly.

  "But then Dor and Irene fell in love anyway. So sometimes it does happen. My parents were both in their teens I when it happened to them. It could happen with us. We may be too young now, but when we get older—"

  "No," she said, the tears starting again.

  "I realize that you don't—like me now, but if—"

  "Oh, Dolph, I do like you!" she exclaimed. "I think you're wonderful! But I will never love you."

  "How can you know how you'll feel when you're in your teens, and I am too? Maybe then—"

  "I am in my teens," she said.

  He gazed at her, puzzled. "But—"

  She took a breath, braced herself, and spoke firmly. "I never wanted you to know, but now it means too much, and I won't lie to you. I am fourteen years old."

  Dolph was stunned. "That can't be!"

  "I can assume my natural age in girl form, if you wish, so you can judge. I can revert to a younger form, because I've been through it, but I can't assume an older form than I am."

  "Uh, yes," Dolph said. What he meant was that he understood about that sort of limit; he had never been able to assume an adult human form or adult animal forms, just big juvenile forms.

  She understood him to mean that he wanted her to assume her natural age. She changed to naga form, then back to girl form.

  Dolph stared. She was a completely developed young woman, not as well fleshed as Vida Vila or Mela Merwoman, but certainly old enough to communicate with the stork. In fact, she was very like his big sister Ivy.

  He turned aside, appalled. He could not have imagined a more complete betrayal. She had been that age all along!

  "Dolph, Dolph!" she cried. "At least let me tell you why!"

  He walked away from her, numbed. "Your father needed the liaison, and you were the wrong age," he said coldly. "I understand."

  She followed him. "Oh, Dolph, I beg of you, please don't break the betrothal! I'll do anything you ask, if only you don't do that!"

  He turned on her. "I may be a child, but I am also a prince. I gave my word. We made a deal. Your folks did their part. I won't break it. We are betrothed until you break it."

  She sank to the ground, her tears still flowing. "Oh, thank you, Dolph! I am so grateful."

  His heart felt like a stone. He hated seeing her like this, in tears, prostrate, and adult. It embarrassed him, apart from the pain of the betrayal. "Please don't do that."

  "Oh yes!" she agreed eagerly. "I will resume my younger form, and be your companion, anything you want! I am so happy you—"

  "You are as miserable as I am, right now," he said. "Why do you want to please me so much, when you don't even like me?"

  "I do like you, Dolph! I told you, I just don't, can't love you, and now you know why."

  "Yes." She had really made her point, showing the impossibility of it. What mischief had come from the name of the isle, so innocently read!

  "But if you are a prince, I am a princess. I must do what is best for my- family and my folk. We need the help of your folk, and I must not fail in my part. It is not the part I would have chosen, but that is not the point. I must and shall fulfill it. The goblins—"

  Dolph nodded. She was indeed a princess. He understood that aspect perfectly. She could afford to be herself only when it did not conflict with the duties of her station. The same was true for him. He had been foolish ever to think that the two of them were just children. They were royalty. Commitments were more important than feelings.

  "There is no further need for you to pretend to be what you are not," he said. "Be what you are; it is better that way."

  "But, Dolph, I don't have to rub your nose in—I can keep my younger guise, if you want."

  "It has become a matter of indifference to me," he said curtly, and walked away again. This time she did not pursue him.

  Dolph held his head high and his gaze straight forward. He came to a copse of trees that formed a concealed natural bower. He entered this, as if seeking a place for a private function. He looked around, making sure that no one could see him. Then he sat on the ground, put his head in his hands, and wept.

  In due course the two skeletons completed the circuit of the isle. "There seems to be nothing of significance here," Marrow said. "Was there anything on the ridge?" Then he saw Nada approaching, and did a double take. "Who is that?"

  "That is Nada, in natural form," Grace’l said. "She is older than she appeared."

  "But—"

  "Best we not comment," Grace’l said.

  Dolph realized that she had known about Nada before, while Marrow had not. It made him feel closer to Marrow. But he said nothing about this. Instead he held up his watch and walked in the direction the eye was looking. The others followed.

  The eye wavered and looked in a new direction. They were finally getting close! But when it showed by its motions that they had found the spot it was eyeing, they were chagrined. There was nothing there but brush and sand.

  Dolph walked around and around in a circle, but the eye continued to watch only that one bare place. What could this mean?

  They sat in a circle and discussed it. Nada assumed her naga form for this, as it was better in sand. Dolph tried to treat her as before, neither staring at her nor ignoring her, but it was difficult. If only she had been what she seemed to be, a ni
ce girl of his own generation! If only he had not learned, the hard way, that all girls were alike!

  "Could the Heaven Cent have been here, and been moved before we got here?" Grace’l asked.

  "Then why didn't the watch follow it to its new location?" Marrow asked in turn.

  "Maybe it couldn't."

  "Then why does it seem so certain?" Dolph asked. "It seems to think the cent is right here."

  "Maybe—" Nada said, then hesitated.

  Dolph looked at her. She was still pretty, in whatever form. He looked away.

  "Maybe because you got it in Mundania," Nada said. "We thought it was using magic, here, but that's really not its nature. If it is still using science—"

  "The cent is in Mundania!" Dolph exclaimed. "This part of Mundania!"

  "Yes!" she exclaimed. For a moment their eyes met, as they shared the momentary joy of discovery. Then Dolph averted his gaze again.

  "That does seem to make sense—uh, to be reasonable," Marrow agreed. "However—"

  "—we may have a problem reaching Mundania from here," Grace’l concluded. "Perhaps we shall have to seek another Eye Queue vine to enable us to figure out the answer."

  Dolph remembered how Nada had used the vine before. Now he remembered a fact about the vine: it often did not generate true intelligence, but only a pseudo smartness that quickly became evident as worthless. For an example, an ogre who used it might think he was brilliant, but others would still see him as a dunce. One ogre had indeed used the vine to become smart, but that was Smash Ogre, who was actually half human; the vine merely invoked his smarter half, rather than creating intelligence from stupidity. Nada's human heritage had been evident all along; what had accounted for her increased intelligence, then?

  He remembered how she had struck him at the time as like his big sister. That had turned him off, but his knowledge that her visit to Mundania would wipe out any magic not inherent had consoled him. Indeed, she had reverted to normal thereafter, becoming nice instead of obnoxious. But now he knew that the vine had in fact invoked her true nature, the know-it-all attitude of the fourteen-year-old girl. He should have taken warning then. But like the child he was, he had ignored the signal, fascinated with the notion of a girl who was not like all the others.