Then the floor dropped, because there was nothing on it. The route disappeared.
She returned the pack to the floor. "Nada, take this off just before it gets crunched," Kim said. Then, as the floor rose, she ducked down and scrambled under it. "Come on, Bubbles!" she cried.
Nada seemed startled by the suddenness and daring of Kim's action, but she recovered in time to grab the pack.
"Now hurl it across to me," Kim said. "Before the floor subsides. I'll use it from this end to raise the floor for you."
The next chamber had a bone stair whose steps moved down when stepped on, so it was impossible to make progress. Kim finally managed to fool it by facing backward, so that it thought she was trying to walk down, and carried her back to what it thought was her starting place, the top.
In similar manner they wended their way through one chamber after another, avoiding any where the red string already crossed, until they were high in the castle. There seemed to be only one chamber remaining. Beyond it they could see a glowing golden chest. That had to be the prize!
But the intervening chamber had a sharply sloping floor, slippery slick. Anyone trying to cross it would be dumped into one of this castle's patented bottomless pits. What was the way through?
Kim gazed out the bone window. She saw that she was now three stories up, overlooking the lifted drawbridge. The landscape was just as gloomy as before. So why was she staring at it?
She analyzed her motive. She was foolishly hoping that the other Player, Dug, would show up. Because this was really the last chance, if she were to see him again. She had no idea where he lived in Mundania, so would be unable to locate him there, even if he had any slight interest in her.
Then she saw something on the horizon. Someone was coming along the dreary path! It was a small figure, chasing a smaller animal. That must be Jenny!
"Dug is coming," Kim said, excited.
"I can assume serpent form," Nada said. "I can grab onto a post with my teeth, and you can swing across on my tail."
"Sammy Cat must have found the way," Kim said. "Now they'll be here too."
"You must act quickly, before Dug gets your prize," Nada said.
But Kim dallied, watching the approaching trio. She saw the ugly fog roiling up behind them, herding them, and the palisades funneling them in toward the castle.
Then she did something absolutely foolish. She fished in her pack for a hankie and waved it out the window. Just as if she were a maiden in distress.
And Dug saw it! "Kim!" he cried faintly.
She thrilled to the sound. "Dug!" she called back.
"Wait right there! Don't do anything!"
What lovely words! "I'll wait," she cried gladly.
"What are you doing?" Nada demanded. "The prize is within your grasp, and you're letting him catch up?"
"Yes," Kim said dreamily. "I like him, and I won't get a chance to see him once the game is over. So if we can talk, if he's interested—"
"All he wants is to get the prize," Nada said.
"He can have it," Kim said. "I just want to exchange phone numbers before we leave the game. I was afraid he wouldn't get here in time."
As she watched, the little group below charged to the castle. The drawbridge was up, but that didn't stop them. Cat, elf, and young man plunged into the grimy moat and swam across. Apparently there wasn't a moat monster, or else Sammy knew that it was on the far side of the castle at the moment and couldn't get them. What an act of reckless daring!
"I was mistaken," Nada said grimly. "I believe he wants more than the prize. He wants me."
Now they were at the base of the wall. The cat still led the way, finding a section to climb, digging his little claws into the softening bones. There seemed to be handholds there that weren't closer to the drawbridge. In fact, it looked as if there were an inset ladder, making it much easier for them to climb the wall, avoiding all the hazards of the interior. Dug followed the other two, hauling himself along.
He tilted back his head, and saw her peering down. "Kim! Don't move from that spot! There's something I have to tell you!"
He wanted to tell her something. He was interested after all! "Oh, yes," she breathed. Then something registered. She turned back to face Nada. "What?"
"He chose me as his Companion because he liked my looks," Nada said grimly. "He wanted to see my body. But he was too sneaky about it, and almost got put out of me game."
"Yes, so he lost interest," Kim agreed. "But I'm not a princess, and—"
"By this time he will have learned that the Companions, too, are a challenge. A Player may do anything with a Companion he desires, if he is able to find the correct way. It is a matter of approach. If he treats his Companion with proper respect, he can earn her respect. He can force her cooperation, with the right words. So if he has found the appropriate manner to approach me—"
Kim suffered a sudden flare of jealousy. Dug could get at this beautiful, luscious princess? What the hell would he want with a nothing girl like Kim, then? "The prize—and you?" she said, appalled.
"I have no way to prevent it," Nada said seriously. "If he gets you to trade back Companions, and if he knows the key dialogue. So you must act swiftly, before he gets here. I will not be able to advise you, if you trade."
Kim, torn by doubt, gazed down again from the window. The cat was almost there, with Jenny not far behind, and Dug close behind her. "What do you want, Dug?" she asked.
"Nada!" he gasped. "I must trade her back from you, because—"
"Oh!" Kim cried, her lingering hope dashed. He was just another selfish, careless, horny teenage boy. She was tempted to throw her pack down on his head, but it wasn't handy. She turned away from the window. "Let's go for the prize, Nada!"
Nada immediately assumed serpent form and slithered from her clothing. She lunged at the bone beam above the tilting floor, and caught it with her teeth. Her body slid down across the floor, but in a moment she curled her tail up for Kim to grab.
Bubbles whined.
Kim hesitated. Was something wrong here? It occurred to her that she should have to solve the riddle of the chamber herself, rather than letting her Companion solve it for her. Yet she could appreciate why Nada did not want Dug to recover her as his Companion.
She glanced back, hearing something. The cat appeared in the window and jumped to the floor. Jenny Elf's head was next. "Wait, Kim!" Jenny cried.
Of course Jenny now served Dug, and would help him do whatever he wanted to do. Even if that meant getting herself traded back. Jenny could not be trusted while she was Dug's Companion.
Kim caught hold of Nada's tail, bracing herself for the sliding swing across the slanted floor. Would she be able to catch hold of the far edge and haul herself up to the golden chest?
Bubbles whined again, her tail curled ail the way under her body. The dog was really upset. "Don't worry, Bubbles," Kim said. "I'm not leaving you. I'm just crossing to the prize." But now she wondered: what would happen to the dog, when Kim won and left the game?
Suddenly she was overwhelmed by realization. "Oh, Bubbles, I don't want to leave you!" she cried, dropping Nada's tail so that she could hug the dog. "But how can I take you with me? What will become of you?"
"You can take her," Jenny said. "There's a way."
"A way?" Hope flared.
"I have a jar of bubbles. Like the one you got her from. I can give it to you, if you take me back as your Companion."
It was another ploy to make her trade! Furious, Kim caught Nada's tail again and stepped into the slanting chamber. She was starting to swing down—
Then Dug was there, tackling her around the waist before the serpent could take her weight. The elf had distracted her just long enough to get caught!
"Let me go!" Kim cried, struggling to twist out of his grasp so she could swing across. Half her body was hanging over the edge, while Dug's arms were wrapped around her thighs and waist. If she could just wriggle free—
But he hauled her back
and into him, using his strength to make her captive. "Kim!" he cried. "I've got to tell you—"
"I don't want to listen!" she cried, letting go of the serpent's tail so she could flail at him with her hands. "I was willing to let you have the prize, but no, you had to—"
"I don't care about the prize!" he said, pinning her arms. In any other circumstances she would have been glad to have him hugging her this close. "You can have it! I know that's what you came for. All I want is to tell you—"
"That you want Princess Nada Naga for more than just guidance!" she finished for him. "Oh, I hate you!"
He looked surprised. "No, I only want to talk to you, to save you from—"
"Me?" Foolish hope flared again. "It's me you want?"
"Yes. To explain—"
"Oh!" she exclaimed, overcome with opposite emotion. Her feelings were swinging like a pendulum. "Really?"
"Really. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to catch you before—"
"Oh, yes!" she cried. She lifted her head and kissed him hard on the mouth. It was the most wonderful sensation. "I feel that way about you, too, Dug! My number is area code Tee zero zero, 447-4377. What's yours?"
He looked confused. "I—I mean, I had to tell you that Nada's a False Companion. She was about to drop you down the hole. You can trade back, and Jenny will help you get the prize. It wasn't right to let you get torpedoed by what was meant for me."
She was stunned. "You—you came to warn me?"
He let her go. "Yes. I was afraid I wouldn't reach you in time. I'd never forgive myself if you lost your prize because of me."
She realized that it was true. There had been little things about Nada, and the way Bubbles had reacted—of course she was a False Companion! Dug had done the natural, decent thing, when he figured it out He could nullify Nada, knowing her nature. But he wouldn't bother, because he wasn't even trying for the prize. Maybe he'd just experiment, to see how far the princess would go before he got washed out of the game.
And Kim had assumed that it was something else. She felt the great-grandmother of all blushes washing over her face, turning it glaring red. She covered her face with her hands. "Thank you," she said in as controlled a voice as she could manage. "I will—I will trade back Companions."
"Good," he said. He caught Nada's tail with one hand. "Let go, Princess, and I'll haul you in. Unless you prefer to drop down the hole you meant for Kim."
The serpent let go of the beam, and Dug did haul it in. Then he turned his back. "Change and get dressed. I don't care if you shove me in the hole; you are my Companion now, and you can't touch Kim."
Nada changed, becoming a naked woman, getting quickly into her clothing. Kim suppressed a surge of jealousy for her splendid proportions and complexion.
"Now I will help you," Jenny said. "I have found a bubble maker that can make two bubbles. You can use the first bubble to float safely across. Then you'll be able to use the last bubble to go home." She showed the jar.
"Why, that's a regular bubble mix," Kim said. "Children use them to blow soap bubbles."
"No, these are magic bubbles, big enough to hold people. Sherlock is using them to carry the Black Wave to Lake Ogre-Chobee, where they will settle as neighbors to the Curse Fiends—I mean, Curse Friends."
"I'm glad that worked out," Kim said. "Those must be the same type of bubbles I found Bubbles in." She patted the dog.
"Yes. They are used to carry people or things where they want to go. So they are just what you need now."
"No," Kim said firmly. "I must find my own way to the prize." For one thing, it gave her something to focus on, so that she could try to forget her chagrin at her misunderstanding of Dug's motive. "I thank you, Jenny, but I want to do this myself."
"That's good," Jenny agreed.
Kim studied the situation. The floor tilted so sharply that a fly would barely be able to cling to it. The space was too wide for her to jump. She saw a notch where the floor would fit if it were level; evidently it was hinged. Maybe the last Player had stepped on it and been dumped when it swung down.
She reached down and around, finding the edge of the tilting floor. Sure enough, her hand found its underside. She pulled—and the floor came up. She was swinging it back to its proper position! It was surprisingly light.
In a moment she had pulled it level and clicked it into place. But she knew she couldn't trust it. How could she make sure it would support her weight?
"Go across it, Dug," Nada said. "You can still win."
"You disgust me," Dug said. "First because you are False; you're still trying to make me get dumped. Second because I wouldn't take that prize anyway; it's Kim's to take. She deserves to win that prize."
He really was a decent person, Kim knew. If only—
She cut off the thought. She felt around the notch—and found a swinging bone that would lock the floor into place. Now it could be used.
She looked at Dug. "I don't need that prize either," she said. "If you would like it, you can have it."
"You can take it. Dug," Nada said. "She doesn't want it."
He shook his head. "You know, we don't have the right attitude about this game. We're supposed to be scrambling madly for the prize."
Kim had wanted the prize. But that desire had faded after she met Dug. Now that she had thoroughly embarrassed herself in that respect, what else was there but the prize? "I suppose somebody should take it," she said. She stepped out on the chamber floor, half expecting it to give way and drop her into the hole. But it remained firm.
Kim paused and looked back. Dug was standing there, watching her. Nada was facing away, her head hanging. Jenny was about to follow Kim. There was something wrong here, but Kim couldn't figure out what it was. There was an expectancy, a tension, as if all hell were about to break loose. What was going to happen, and who knew it?
She started to turn back toward the prize. Then Nada moved. The woman flung herself toward the notch, with its fastener-bone. But Sammy Cat leaped there first, covering it. And Dug tackled Nada much the way he had tackled Kim before. The serpent princess was brought up short of the bone. "Get on across!" Dug cried. "Before she—"
Kim jumped forward and picked up the prize box, just as Nada became a huge serpent. Kim opened the box as the serpent slithered out of Dug's grasp and toward her.
Kim reached in to take the little globe inside as the serpent's head came up to knock the box from her hand.
Her hand glowed, painlessly. The globe had disappeared. The serpent saw the glow, and fell as if struck.
I am your Talent, a voice said in Kim's head. I am the Talent of Erasure. When you return to Xanth, you will be able to Erase anything you choose. Try me now.
Unsure how this applied, Kim reached out and stroked her hand across a section of the wall, as if erasing chalk on a blackboard. The wall disappeared behind her hand, showing the sky beyond the castle wall.
She stared. "Anything?" she asked.
Anything, living or inanimate. Use me wisely.
Wisely! She didn't want to use this at all! This was a destructive talent.
No, you may cancel my effect by reversing the stroke. Use the back of your hand.
Kim stroked her hand back across the open section, with her palm toward her, and the wall reappeared, except for one sliver her hand missed. Still, this power frightened her. She didn't want to be forever erasing innocent things!
Then she got smart. She willed the talent to turn off, then stroked her hand back across the wall. Nothing happened. She willed it on again, and touched the wall with one finger. A finger-sized hole appeared. She willed it off and stroked her backhand across the hole. Nothing happened. She willed it on and made the same reverse stroke. This time the hole filled in. She had it under control. This was a tool as well as a weapon, a talent of phenomenal power, when she learned to use it properly. But for now she didn't want to use it at all.
She returned her attention to the others. Nada had reverted to her normal form, that of a ser
pent with a human head, and was sobbing. "I didn't want to do it!" Nada said. "I didn't want to be False! But I had no choice."
"But why did you try to be False to me, when you were Dug's Companion?" Kim asked.
"Because he wanted you to win."
Kim looked at Dug, who nodded. But she wasn't satisfied. "There's got to be more of it than that. What aren't you telling us?"
To her surprise, Nada answered. "It really doesn't matter, now that the issue has been decided. I don't have to be False any more. I will tell you the whole truth."
"What's gone before was a half-truth?" Dug asked.
Nada smiled, becoming beautiful again. "Not even a quarter-truth, Dug. The Demon E(A/R)th was trying to take over this land from the Demon X(A/N)th. They made the decision in their normal fashion: they gambled. They set up the game, and chose characters. If X(A/N)th's Player won the prize, he won the wager. If E(A/R)th’s Player won, he did. But Earth used a devious ploy: he sabotaged his own Player, and arranged for him to have a False Companion when he returned. Then he had the two Players exchange Companions. In this manner he thought to ensure that X(A/N)th’s Player lost, even if E(A/R)th's Player did not reach the prize first. It would be at least a tie, requiring another game to settle the issue. When that ploy failed, because of the willfulness of Earth's Player, the False Demon made me act."
Kim was too surprised to speak. But Dug did. "What would have happened if the other Demon had won? If I had gotten the prize?"
"The magic of Xanth would have been lost, and it would have become just like Mundania." More tears squeezed from Nada's eyes. "Oh, I'm glad I didn't succeed! It was the most horrible thing! But I had to do everything I could to make you lose, Kim. I'm so mortified!"
Kim found her voice. "There was a whole lot more riding on this than I knew! Xanth without magic—" She couldn't finish.
"More than I knew, too," Dug agreed. "I just wanted to play fair." He looked at Kim. "Well, you better get on home with your prize. I guess you'll be a Sorceress next time you play."
"Yes, you must go," Jenny agreed. "The game is about to fade out, and we Companions will return to our normal pursuits."