Key to Chroma

by Piers Anthony

  "I have a dragon seed."

  He whistled, knowing what it was. He had encountered dragons and other creatures, and learned to get along; she felt his experience coursing through his awareness. “Few even know of them, let alone possess them. You had to have made friends with a dragon, or caused it to have incurred an obligation of honor—no easy task."

  "Havoc and I were children. He—"

  "King Havoc?"

  "I told you: I am the king's mistress."

  "The king has many mistresses. He can take the lovely bath girls if he wants."

  "He did,” she said, smiling ruefully. “But I'm not one of those. I am his fiancée, Gale."

  He was appalled. “That's considerably more than a mistress. You are his beloved. And I had sex with you! The King will have my head."

  "No. He can have mistresses; I can have masters, as it were. We give each other freedom, knowing we can never marry."

  "But if you know each other of old—"

  Yet again she considered evading, and again got buzzed. “We are both changelings, closer than brother and sister. We did not know this when we betrothed. It would not be healthy for us to beget babies together."

  "Changelings! No wonder you are so lovely and talented. I should have realized."

  "I did my best to mask it. But the point is that we are trying to wean ourselves away from each other sexually, so as to be able to remain close without wanting to marry. We have not yet had the gumption to sever our betrothal, but it must come in time."

  Dour shook his head. “If I were betrothed to you, I would find it impossible to sever.” Then he realized what he was saying, and flushed. “Do not misunderstand me; I mean—"

  "I do not misunderstand you. Havoc is as appealing to women as I am to men, and we do love each other. We hate the pass to which we have come. But now you know you have done no wrong. I sought a no fault relationship, and you are enabling me to accomplish my mission."

  "I thought you had done me a singular favor with your temporary companionship. Now you have done me another with your information. I do like to know the full situation, and tend to work most effectively when I know it."

  "The seed told me to break off our activity, and I had to obey. It also told me to tell you, in its fashion".

  "So there must be reason. I will do my absolute best for you."

  "Thank you.” Still, she wondered why the seed had required her to be so candid with him, when secrecy should have been better. And why it had balked their union, when it had never objected before. It was not like it to be inconsistent.

  They continued across the sea, the red demons making no further efforts of distraction. “I do not trust this,” Dour murmured. “They should be increasing in intensity as we approach the cone."

  "It is not far, now?"

  "Correct.” Then something occurred to him, but instead of speaking, he thought it, phrasing it as clearly as he could: You are reading this thought?

  She glanced at him and nodded.

  The demons are not intelligent in themselves, not the way we are, but neither are they inert. They will seek other ways to stop our progress, and are probably considering these right now. They will try one thing, and another, seeking what works. If we have communication without speaking, we may be able to mask our immediate plans from them, and perhaps deceive them. Could this be why your dragon seed prompted you to inform me of your telepathic ability?

  Suddenly it was making more sense. His knowledge did open a private channel of communication. She nodded again.

  And the dragon seed will guide you infallibly. I should be guided by you when my own ability is balked.

  More sense yet! Now that he knew of the seed, he could indeed be guided by it, and that could make the difference between success and failure.

  "Tell me more of your life, while we travel,” Dour said aloud. And if the dragon seed gives warning, let me know.

  "Well, it's really pretty dull,” she said. “But if you are interested, maybe it will help pass the time while we slog laboriously onward. Havoc and I were mere villagers, satisfied to remain so. He would be a teacher of martial arts, and I a teacher of music, and we would marry and start our family. We already had tacit understandings about on which lovely wench he would sire her fourth, and which smart man would sire mine. Then the King's man came."

  "They came for you?” This was a diversionary dialogue, but his interest was real; she felt it in his thoughts.

  "For Havoc. We did not know it, but he had been selected to be a contestant for the office of King. He did not want to go, but the King's man stripped his mother and tied her to a whipping post, and whipped her every hour until Havoc submitted. Havoc was absolutely furious, but he had to do it. He went with them."

  "That is the way of the King's men,” Dour agreed. “They do not brook defiance or evasion. I know a number of them; what was the name of this one?"

  "Throe."

  "King Deal's bodyguard!"

  "And now King Havoc's bodyguard,” she agreed. “But at the time he was doing dirty duty, as punishment for failing to keep King Deal alive, though he really was not at fault."

  "I knew he remained bodyguard,” Dour said. “But surely, if he beat King Havoc's mother, he should be dead now."

  "Havoc concluded that Throe was merely doing his job. So he sent him to apologize to his mother, and to bring me in. And I found Throe to be a good man."

  "You—he?"

  She laughed. “No fault? No! He merely brought me to Havoc, exceeding his mandate in no way. I respect Throe, and I trust him, because we can read each other's minds. In any event, his romantic interest is elsewhere."

  "Elsewhere? Who?"

  "Havoc's secretary and oath friend Ennui."

  "I don't know of her. She must be remarkably appealing."

  "Negative. She's of my mother's generation, and quite ordinary apart from that."

  "Then why—"

  "Apparently they find each other compatible."

  He came to a stop. “We have reached the cone. The site of the coordinates are within its fringe."

  "Within it?"

  "Surely a cave. There will be access."

  "Lead on."

  He led, tapping with the staff. Suddenly the red demons were back in force. This time they didn't bother with water; they presented monsters. A giant snake slithered toward them, hissing, and a huge predatory bird dived from the sky, screaming. Large insects buzzed at them, making Gale flinch. Red six-legged rats swarmed out of crevices; those bothered her just as much. She was a village girl, used to vermin, but these were eerily bold, with glowing eyes.

  "There is too much resistance,” Dour said. “We shall have to retreat.” But his mind thought otherwise: Demons are not smart. If we face away, they will think we are departing.

  "Retreat?” she demanded. “After we have come so far?” But she turned around, facing the way they had come.

  Use your staff to feel your way behind. “Yes. We can't handle so much opposition."

  They proceeded backward, and the assorted red monsters faded. The demons really were being fooled. That made it easier, because the water faded also, allowing the natural terrain to show. As long as they seemed to be going the the right way, out the demons were making it easy.

  Here is the nearest cave entrance to the site. The demons will not pursue us inside. Step backwards into it.

  The dragon seed buzzed in Gale's ear. “No,” she murmured.

  The dragon seed warns you?

  "Yes."

  He did not question it. That was, she thought, one advantage in traveling with a Cartographer: he had experience with such things, or at least knew of them.

  They felt their way around the curving, sloping side of the cone, still proceeding backwards, coming to another aperture. I don't know this one, Dour thought. It is new.

  The dragon seed did not buzz, so they entered this cave. What remained of the demonic illusion faded, allowing the red stone walls to show. D
our turned around, producing a small hooded light. “We can go directly to the site, now, if this passage connects."

  "Let's do it as swiftly as possible,” she said nervously. She did not quite trust this.

  The passage led to a room-sized chamber. Beyond it was another passage. The intangible feel of intense magic was almost suffocating. “That one should take us to or near the site,” Dour said.

  Gale stepped forward—and the seed buzzed her. “No."

  "But there seems to be no other route."

  "I received a negation. The specific application of these warnings is not always clear."

  "Does it mean you are not supposed to reach the site?"

  "I doubt it. But something about my approach must be wrong."

  He gazed at her, frustrated. “What would you have us do?"

  "I don't know."

  "Could it be dangerous for you, but not for me?"

  She shrugged. “The seed won't warn me of danger to you, unless it directly affects me. We can't assume you are safe."

  "It is your decision."

  "Maybe this chamber has a danger we don't see.” She looked around it, seeing no threat. “Or maybe just a part of it does. Let me explore."

  Dour stayed back, while Gale explored the invisible barrier. Wherever she tried to enter the chamber, the dragon seed warned her off. Then she thought of another angle: maybe her thoughts were giving her away, triggering some dangerous defensive mechanism. But she could hide those, to a degree, if she had to.

  "We'll probably have to give it up,” she said. “Wait for me to consider.” She couldn't tell him exactly what she had in mind, because if what she suspected was true, his thoughts would betray them both.

  "As you wish,” he agreed. He realized that she was testing the limits of the threat with the dragon seed.

  She pictured herself turning around and facing the way they had come, making ready to depart though still undecided. Meanwhile she retreated her real attention to her hidden mental cache, the one Havoc had taught her to develop. A mind reader could not read that part of her mind, so if someone or something was tracking her thoughts, it would not find this.

  While her open thoughts continued to toy with departure, her secret focus did the opposite. She stepped cautiously into the chamber—and there was no buzz. She had found the key!

  She took another step, and another. Now she was in the center of the chamber.

  There was a horrendous roar, and a giant red bear charged out of the far passage, directly toward her. But the seed did not buzz, so she stood her ground. It was illusion.

  But Dour, caught by surprise, thought she was in real physical danger. He dropped the light and leaped into the chamber to challenge the bear, bringing his staff around.

  The bear faded away. Dour and Gale faced each other, almost touching in the glow of the fallen light. Gale felt a sudden overwhelming urge to embrace him and make love to him. She threw away her staff, and he did the same.

  The dragon seed buzzed. But the desire was on her, and she could not resist. She picked up a similar desire from Dour's mind; he wanted to possess her immediately, and it blotted out all other considerations.

  They came together in the center of the chamber. The seed was buzzing continuously, but Gale could not help herself; though she die for it, she had to have this culmination first.

  Another presence flitted through her mind. Gale! Gale! Don't do it!

  "Negation,” she muttered, brushing it aside. “Wonder. Desire.” She kissed Dour, who was embracing her passionately.

  It's Swale. You are being possessed by a passion demon. Both your souls will be forfeit. Fight it!

  Now Gale recognized the succubus she had befriended. This was Swale's area of expertise; she had to be correct. Such demons sucked out a person's soul with the climax. It would be effective death to yield to their passion.

  Even as that communication occurred, the demon reacted. OUT it roared, driving Swale violently away. Here in its stronghold it had far more power than the intruding spirit, and in an instant Swale was gone.

  But she had given fair warning. Now Gale understood the true nature of the trap. That was why the dragon seed was warning her, and why it had stopped her before: the moment she climaxed, her soul was forfeit. And Dour's. Outside the cone of the red volcano the demon's power was less; it had encouraged them to copulate, but could not make them. Here in its home chamber it could indeed make them do it. How cunningly it had struck with illusion to get Dour in here with her, because it needed the two of them together to perform the act. The act that would cost them everything.

  She muscled her mind back down into her protected recess, fighting off the desperate desire. But that did not stop Dour. He remained hostage to the demon, and was frantically clasping her, his mouth on hers, his strong hands holding her close, his crotch striving against hers. She understood his passion, for she shared it, but she had to make him stop.

  "No,” she said. But sound came, the roaring of the invisible red bear, drowning her out. The demon had the wit to cut off her verbal communication.

  She put her hands against his chest, trying to push him away, but he was too strong for her. She tapped him on the shoulder, trying to get his attention. When he looked at her face, she mouthed “No.” But the visual illusion returned, making him look like a bear, and she knew from his mind that she looked like another bear. Visual signals were being blocked too. Again, the power of the demon this close to the cone was greater than it had been farther out.

  She had to get away from him, but she didn't want to hurt him. It wasn't his fault that he was being possessed by the demon. How could she escape his amorous grasp before they both lost their souls to the demon?

  Maybe a ruse would fool him and the demon. She tugged at his shirt as though to remove it. After all, passion was best vented naked. He responded, addressing her clothing similarly. Soon they were both naked.

  She leaped for the far passage as the last of her clothing fell. But he dived for her, catching about the waist. He—or the demon—must have remembered her prior escape, and been ready to prevent it. They rolled on the floor, their bodies shoving the two staffs on out of the chamber.

  She lifted her bare legs and clamped her thighs about his neck. He tried to draw free, but she got him in a headlock. Havoc would have known how to break that immediately; he would have tickled her in the crack. But Dour wouldn't, so this should stymie him. They could not complete the sexual act if they were unable to get their genital regions together.

  But the demon inspired him. He put his hands on her knees and hauled them apart. She locked her ankles behind his head and clamped down harder, but he was able to pry her knees just far enough apart to allow his head to slip free.

  That, however, meant that for a moment he was not holding on to her body. She twisted around so that his hands could not hold, and scrambled for the far passage. He pursued, catching one foot, but she was able to get the rest of her body into the passage, dragging his arm along. He advanced farther, getting a grip with both hands, in the process joining her in the passage.

  And the passion was off them.

  "Dour!” she cried. “It's a demon of lust! It will take our souls! That's why the dragon seed warned me off!"

  He stared at her. “The bear—illusion,” he said. “The passion—a succubus!"

  "Worse. It's a sexual demon inciting both of us—and it will take both our souls. The moment we climax."

  "I should have realized.” He let go of her. “Go!"

  She scrambled away from him, picking up her staff. Why the passion effect was limited to the chamber she didn't know, but this was the opportunity she needed.

  The passage led directly to another chamber, but this one had no illusory defenses. There was simply a red stone altar carved from red tuff, with eighteen round buttons on its top surface.

  As she contemplated it, she felt the intensity of magic increasing to an almost tangible level. Trouble was building; sh
e had to fetch the item and get out of here before it struck.

  She hesitated no longer. She grabbed the first button and pulled. A lid came up, uncovering an empty hole. She didn't trust that; there had been too much illusion. She nerved herself and reached in, feeling around the hole. Nothing.

  At least she hadn't gotten bitten or stung by some nasty creature. She checked the other spots, and soon found a small red statuette of a nude woman in the fourteenth pocket. She took it, but also checked the remaining holes, just in case the ikon was a decoy. There was nothing else.

  "I've got it,” she said. “Let's get out of here."

  Dour came to join her. He had a small light; evidently he kept more than one available. She discovered from his thoughts that he had kept it bound in his hair. He had also had the wit to use his staff to recover their clothing and equipment from the passion cave, only the larger light being beyond its reach. “I don't want to pass through that chamber again."

  "If we do it separately, the passion demon can't make us do it. It seems it is chained there as a guard, not allowed to enter this storage chamber."

  "I don't trust the illusion. It could make the first person think he was through, then bring the other in, thinking the same."

  She nodded as she dressed and donned her knapsack. “Then what about the other exit?” For there was another passage out.

  "That must be the one your dragon seed warned you against."

  That made her pause, but the magic was suffocatingly concentrated. “We'd better try it anyway. Seed's not buzzing now."

  They set off down the tunnel. But in a moment the seed buzzed. “Now it is,” Gale said tightly.

  Dour looked around. He shined his light around the passage. Then he poked his staff into the ceiling just ahead. “Vulnerable point. Stand back."

  The ceiling collapsed. Red rock crashed onto the floor. Had they been a few steps farther along, it would have crushed them both. “Now we know why it warned us,” Gale said. “A purely physical trap, surely triggered from the other side."

  "Should be safe now.” He started climbing over the mound of rubble.

  "Let me go first,” she said. “The seed will warn me."