Xone of Contention

by Piers Anthony

  "Justin and I can't afford to touch the Isle." Breanna said seriously. "We'll have to wait here on the boat And Para shouldn't touch either; he might lose his ability to float. So you'll have to go ashore on your own get good talents, return Teller, and come back here."

  Pia nodded. "That makes sense. But won't you folk be bored, wailing out here?"

  "Sure. So maybe we'll hold hands."

  "Breanna!" Justin said, blushing.

  "They won't be bored," Edsel murmured "How about you and I?"

  "Forget it." She wasn't mad at him; she just wanted to maintain control. He was ever the opportunist. Anyway, this was hardly the time.

  The boat drew up to a rock beside the water. Edsel stepped onto it, feeling his talent change, then braced himself and held out his hand to steady Pia

  They walked to the interior, searching for the teller's pedestal. "Before we leave it, we had better make sure we have good talents," Pia reminded him.

  He brought out the teller. "What's my Talent?"

  "You can modify or deflect other folks' talents."

  "That's worth saving." Pia said.

  "Yeah, I guess so."

  She took the teller. "What my talent?"

  "You can speak things real."

  "What does that mean'" But of course the thing didn't answer.

  "I guess you'll just have to try it to find out." Edsel said unhelpfully.

  "What am I going to do—speak of a mountain of chocolate?" A mound appeared before them. It was a small mountain of chocolate. She reached out and broke off a piece to taste. It was delicious.

  “But now I've used up the talent," she said regretfully. "I can't speak anything else real."

  "Sorry about that." he said, breaking off a chunk of chocolate for himself.

  Frustrated, she addressed the teller again. "What's my talent?"

  "To put wings on anything "

  She considered. "How useful might that be?"

  “I’m not sure." Edsel said. "There's no guarantee they could make anything fly. Take a person, for example: put wings on him, and he wouldn't be able to fly, because he would not have the muscle or the balance or the experience."

  She trusted his logic "Very well. I’ll throw this one away." She looked around, spied a rock, and willed it to have wings.

  Wings sprouted. Evidently startled, the rock flapped them wildly. It sailed up into the air and flew away.

  "Then again. I could be wrong." Edsel said.

  "Now he tells me." she muttered. But she doubted she would have wanted to keep that particular talent anyway. "What's my talent?"

  "To know what is inimical."

  "That will do." she said. "I won't invoke it now "

  "If Justin's right, once we get off the isle without the teller, our talents will stay."

  "Yes. Let's do it before we lose them."

  They found the pedestal and set the teller on it. This time it stayed. They walked carefully back, never jumping.

  In due course they reached the rock. There was the boat a little way out. Justin and Breanna were sitting in it embracing. Actually she seemed to be sitting on his lap, and one of each of their hands was out of sight. "They ate making progress." Pia murmured.

  "For sure." he agreed, smiling. "That little girl could hold my hand anytime."

  "Oh?" Pia inquired dangerously.

  "Look, Pia—you said we should be dating out. Of course I wouldn't touch Breanna, because she belongs to Justin. But someone else—" He shrugged.

  He had a point. If they were going to divorce, they needed to be trying other relationships "Sorry. You're right. You can hold hands with someone else."

  "How about a nude nymph?"

  He was testing her. "If you can catch her, you can have her." She masked it. but he had succeeded in making her faintly uneasy. He had always been faithful to her, and it wasn't comfortable to give him leave to be otherwise.

  They waved to the boat, and it paddled in. Pia braced against Edsel and stepped in first, then he followed. The boat moved out

  "So what talents do you two have?" Breanna asked eagerly

  "Knowing what's inimical." Pia said.

  "Modifying or deflecting other talents," Edsel said.

  "These are useful talents." Justin said.

  "You should have seen the one that got away," Pia said. "T made a mountain of chocolate."

  "And you left it behind9" Breanna wailed.

  "Not entirely." Edsel said, producing a big chunk.

  Breanna took it. "I love chocolate, especially black chocolate." She broke off a section.

  "She has a fondness for all things black," Justin remarked. He glanced at her. “So do I, now."

  Breanna looked at him. "So does that mean you want me or the chocolate?"

  "Both are surely delicious."

  She nodded. "Correct answer." She broke off a piece for him. then gave the main mass back to Edsel

  "This is supper. I think." Edsel said. "So we don't have to stop to look for a pie tree."

  They pitched in. demolishing the chocolate.

  "But we'd better test our talents," Pia said. "To verify, and make sure they don't fade." She looked around. "Anything maybe dangerous around?"

  "Deep water's usually dangerous, if there aren't mermaids in it." Breanna said

  Pia dipped her finger in the water. It tingled almost painfully She jerked it out. A big blue fish snapped at the spot her hand had just been.

  "Loan shark." Breanna said. "They'll take an arm and a leg if you let them."

  "I see," Pia said, shaken. "My talent did warn me, though."

  "Do you still have it?" Edsel asked.

  "Well. I hope so." She paused, gazing at her finger. "Oh—you mean the talent.”

  "That too."

  She brought her hand near the water. It didn't tingle. "I'm not feeling anything," she said, alarmed.

  "There may be no danger now." Justin said.

  "But suppose there is, and my talent's not working?"

  "That is an excellent consideration."

  Pia's concern for her talent overrode her caution. She lowered her hand and touched the water. Nothing happened. There was no shark.

  But after a moment the tingle started. She pulled her hand out, and saw a dark shape glide by below. "It's working." she said, relieved. "But why doesn't the shark go after the duck feet?"

  "I think Para's feet are magically protected." Breanna said. "He goes everywhere. even the deep sea, and his feet never get in trouble."

  "How do I test my talent?" Edsel asked. "I don't think I should try to mess with any of yours."

  "A sensible caution." Justin agreed. "There should be opportunity to experiment in due course."

  "So let's get the bleep on back to the enchanted path," Pia said. "I want to be able to relax."

  Justin frowned. "It is now nearing dusk. Even with this fine transportation, it will require several hours to pick our way through the jungle, and it will not be safe at night. We would do better to find a place to camp, and make the return trip by daylight."

  "I like traveling by night," Breanna said.

  "You are competent by night." he said. "In more than one sense. But we others are not. We would blunder and bring danger on our heads."

  She nodded. "Sometimes I miss my days of solitary wandering. Okay. let's find somewhere safe to camp."

  "I have an idea." Justin said "However, you may not agree."

  Breanna shot two glances at Pia and Edsel. "He's usually not fooling when he says something like that."

  "We'd better hear it. though." Pia said, curious.

  "We could explore that dark castle."

  Pia felt a shock. "You're right: I don't like it."

  "What's your reason?" Breanna asked him.

  "The phantom who led the two of them astray did not try to hurt them. The path did not lead to a tangle tree or dragon's lair. This suggests that the intention was not necessarily inimical."

  "And we can check inimical," P
ia said, catching on.

  "Yes. It might be that there is something of interest to us at the end of that path."

  "With our collected talents, we could try it." Breanna said. "And back off in a hurry if it looks bad."

  "But the castle's gone." Edsel said.

  "It should reappear at the crack of night," Justin said.

  Edsel shrugged. "If it does, let's try it. It's not nearly as scary to me, now that you folk are here."

  Pia agreed. The boat carried them rapidly toward the region of the castle as dusk loomed.

  They passed a pizza pie tree. "We'd better harvest some of those for supper." Breanna said. "We can eat as we travel."

  They paused and took a harvest break and rest stop. Pia, looking for suitable bushes, discovered a low wall or ledge, just the right height for sitting on. So on her return she sat on it—and suddenly all the knowledge in the world seemed to flood into her head. Alarmed, she jumped up and ran back to join the others. "Something—something—" she gasped.

  Soon the others were looking at the wall. Justin sat cautiously on it. "Why this is a know-ledge," he said. "It provides much knowledge to anyone who applies his posterior."

  "A seat of learning," Edsel said.

  "Exactly. I must mark its location, so we can return when we need further education."

  Meanwhile. Breanna was exploring the other end of the wall "There's a window in it," she called "It—OUCH!"

  They ran to join her "That is a window pain." Justin said. "Made from bad tempered glass, probably shattered in its childhood. It hurts anyone who touches it."

  "Tell me about it," Breanna said, holding her hand. But she was not injured.

  Then, with a boatful of assorted pizza pies, and several warm blankets and pillows, they rode on.

  "Does Para need to eat?" Pia asked.

  "Not that I know of." Breanna said. She tapped the side of the boat. "Hey. Para—want a pizza?"

  There was no response, other than a slight weaving from side to side. That seemed to be an answer.

  And as the sky cracked closed, shutting out the light, the castle reappeared. "There it is," Pia said, perversely glad to be vindicated. "There's the glow marking the path, too."

  "Is the path inimical?" Justin asked.

  Pia reached out toward it. "No. If my talent is working.”

  The boat got on the path and turned toward the castle. Soon the structure loomed large. It was on the top of a low hill, with a tiled stone avenue leading up to it. "Got to be illusion." Breanna decided. "Nothing solid could disappear so quickly."

  "But why would anyone go to the trouble?" Pia asked.

  "That's what makes us curious," Breanna said. "It's too much trouble just to gobble someone."

  "Beware," Justin said. "Those tiles are gobble stones."

  "I hope that's meant to be funny," Pia said nervously. The boat halted at the edge of the tiled surface; duck feet didn't want to be gobbled either.

  "No, that is really their type. But they do not seem to be active at the moment. Does your talent indicate malignancy?"

  "No. But I'm not quite sure my talent is working "

  Breanna looked around. "There's a snooping dmomite," she said. "Test it on that."

  Pia looked. "I don't see anything but darkness."

  "Oh. I forget—you can't see in blackness. Here. I'll lead you to it." Breanna jumped out of the boat.

  "But just exactly what is a dmomite?"

  "A reptile that blows up when annoyed. But don't worry; we won't annoy it. We're just checking your talent."

  Pia reluctantly climbed out of the boat and followed the black girl to the side. There were no glowing stones or fungi here, so she would have been lost by herself.

  "Here," Breanna said, putting out a hand to stop her. "Heat its breathing?"

  There was a sound like the crackle of a burning fuse. "Yes."

  "Reach toward it."

  Pia reached toward the sound. Her hand began to tingle. "It's inimical," she said.

  "For sure. So your talent works."

  "Yes, but—"

  "It's asleep," Breanna said. "I can see its eyes closed. Anyway, it wouldn't explode just for two innocent girls." She backed away, guiding Pia.

  "So what would it do, if it woke?"

  "It would merely chew us up and swallow us."

  "What a relief," Pia said. But her attempt at irony was lost amidst her shuddering Breanna had a nervy way of testing a talent

  “So now check those stones again, just to be sure."

  Pia reached toward the path. There was no tingle. She touched a stone. It was inert. "No problem." she said, relieved.

  They got back into the boat, and the duck feet waddled forward. The stones remained inert. "I conjecture that the stones become active only when there is a threat to the castle," Justin said. "We are obviously no threat. Most castles are capable of defending themselves when there is need."

  "Even illusion castles?" Edsel asked.

  "Evidently so." He paused. "But it just occurs to me that it the castle is illusion, so might be the approach. Those are probably not real gobble stones, merely the semblance of them."

  "Thai's right." Breanna said. "You're so smart, Justin "

  The man shrugged, pleasantly embarrassed. Pia was faintly envious; those two got along so well, despite their inexperience in romance.

  Breanna turned to Edsel. "You said that phantom knew your names."

  "Knew my name." Edsel said. "And yours, because she emulated you. But maybe not Pia or Justin's. I think I mentioned them first."

  "Knew I was supposed to be your Companion," Breanna said. "So you would do what I said, if I said it was an emergency. Maybe that was about all it needed."

  "Yes. I should have been more alert."

  "How could you know? We should have been more alert. But we were too busy holding hands."

  Which was a technique Pia had suggested. So she might have brought it on herself. "Anyway, we followed the spook. It was a one-way path; when we got suspicious, we couldn't go back."

  "And one-way paths aren't common," Justin said. "There is formidable magic here."

  Meanwhile the boat was climbing the easy slope of the hill. It was too dark to tell, but there seemed to be pleasant gardens surrounding the castle Pia's talent gave no tingle; this was not a hostile place. Yet its mystery remained: why had they been lured here?

  They reached the huge front gate of the castle The stones of its construction were outlined in faint glow. Breanna jumped out of the boat and approached the gate. She touched it. Her hand passed through. Sure enough: it was illusion.

  Then the girl walked into the illusion and disappeared.

  "Don't go alone!" Justin cried, pained.

  "It's okay," Breanna called back through the seeming wood and stone. "I can see clearly."

  "We'd better follow her." Edsel said.

  The boat moved slowly forward. The prow disappeared, and then the rest of the craft, as it moved on through. Pia was in the center: she flinched as the closed gate came at her. But the passage was painless; the thing about illusion was that she couldn't feel it.

  Inside, the castle was lighted. They were in a long hall leading to a large chamber. Breanna was ahead, approaching that room. Pia felt no hint of danger This was just an inanimate structure, illusion that it was. But what on earth for?

  The boat walked along the hall. Decorative statues of people and things lined it. and there were a number of plants, too. This was a nice building, for all that it didn't really exist. But what was its purpose?

  "I see a thyme being," Justin said. "Perhaps it is just as well that it is illusion."

  "Just what is a time being?" Pia asked.

  "It is a creature who occupies a patch of thyme plants, and is immune to their temporal influence. People will come to leave offerings, in order to obtain the being's help with their problems of time. Sometimes they have too much, sometimes too little. The being can fix that."

  They ente
red the chamber. It was enormous, with tall arches and a dome over the center. The floor was clear, laid out in diminishing circles of stone. In the very center was what looked like a large manhole cover with a ring in the center.

  They stopped here, looking down at it. "This appears to be an illusion intended to call attention to a subterranean cavity." Justin said

  "Then let's explore." Breanna said

  Justin and Edsel took hold of the ring and pulled upward. Slowly it came, lifting a hinged circular panel. Below it was a set of faintly glowing steps leading down into the ground.

  "This, then, is the reality beneath the illusion," Edsel said. “The whole path and castle are designed to bring folk to this spot. I just wish I knew why."

  "It is certainly a curiosity," Justin agreed. "It seems furthermore that it was you it wanted brought here, because the phantom knew your name."

  "It couldn't have known me from Mundania." Edsel said. "It must have listened as we walked, and picked it up."

  "Does it occur to you boys that the fastest way to find out is to head on down these steps?" Breanna inquired.

  “Suppose the manhole cover slams down, sealing us in?" Pia asked nervously.

  "Let me try my talent," Edsel said. "Maybe I can modify its magic. if it has any, so that it can't do that." He inspected the lid. "But this doesn't seem to be magic. It has no catch; it can't seal us in."

  "Unless someone slides a block over it," Pia said.

  "Who would want to do that?" Justin inquired.

  "I don't know. I just don't trust this business of going underground."

  They considered. "Maybe one of us should remain here." Breanna said.

  "I would not recommend that." Justin demurred. "But perhaps if we divided into two parties, it would be secure."

  "Which couple goes9" Breanna asked "Which stays?"

  "We can't let them go alone." Justin said "We are their Companions. We must not let them get separated from us again."

  "But then how can we make two parties?" she asked.

  "Split the other way." Edsel answered. "Breanna and I can go down, while Pia and Justin keep the rear guard."

  The other three considered that, surprised. They sent a glance around. Then a nod traveled the same route.