Heaven Cent

  "The answer the last one provided turned out to be risky," Marrow said. "Only Dolph could go there in his human form, and he did not speak their language. The help Nada could provide in her snake form was limited—"

  "In fact I fell into a ditch, and Dolph rescued me," Nada said. "I was a liability, not a help."

  "Dolph did not mention that," Grace’l remarked.

  "Dolph's a decent person," she said.

  Dolph fought against a surge of appreciation, reminding himself how angry he was with her. "Let's skip the Eye Queue vine," he said. "We should be able to figure it out on our own."

  They continued to discuss it, but got nowhere. The day was getting late, so they broke to find food.

  "I saw a pie tree during our circuit of the isle," Grace’l said. "I can show you where it is."

  "I'm not hungry," Nada said.

  Dolph wasn't very hungry either, but didn't want to agree with Nada, so he went with the skeleton to find the pies.

  "You know, Dolph, Nada didn't want to deceive you," Grace’l said. "She was very sad about it, but when her father told her she had to marry you—"

  "I understand," Dolph said shortly.

  "She cried at night, and pretended to be happy by day. She was never the child you took her for. But she was determined to make you happy."

  "So I wouldn't break the betrothal!" Dolph said, his anger coming to the surface. "I would never have made it in the first place, if I had known!"

  "King Nabob knew that. But the Good Magician had told them that one of his children had to marry what the dragon brought, so when you came, they knew they had to do it. Nada believed that an innocent deception for a good purpose was all right, but she would not deceive you about love."

  "She didn't," he agreed coldly.

  "She is in a difficult situation, but she's a good girl."

  "She is a princess." That said it all.

  "She is a feeling creature. You are being cruel to her."

  "What business of yours is it?” he flared.

  "You agreed to the betrothal because you needed the help of the naga to rescue Marrow. Marrow was in trouble because he needed the firewater opal to release me from hostage status. Thus you were betrothed because of me. That makes it my business."

  Dolph wasn't sure of her logic, but did not care to argue it. "I have to marry her. I don't have to like her."

  "She had to marry you. She didn't have to love you."

  Suddenly Dolph was crying, without reason, and it did not seem strange at all that Grace’l was holding him. Her bones were rounded so that they did not hurt. But nevertheless there was something strange about it, and in a moment he realized what it was. Her bones were not hard! "You're fleshed!" he exclaimed.

  Grace’l looked at herself. "Ugh!" she exclaimed. "I thought we'd left that illusion behind! Some of it must have followed me here!"

  "We were talking about deception," Dolph said, wiping his eyes. "Maybe that attracted it."

  "I must get it off me!" she cried, brushing at herself. The illusion was not quite as comprehensive as before, because it did not include clothing, but that seemed scant consolation to her. "What will Marrow think?"

  Dolph could not refrain from smiling. "He has to like you. He doesn't have to look at you."

  "Very funny!" she said severely. "This time it is worse than before; I can feel it as well as see it. Have you any notion what a turnoff something like this is to our kind?"

  "About the same kind that five years age is with our kind?" Dolph asked.

  "Well, I hope Marrow is more tolerant than you are!" she snapped. Then, immediately, she was sorry. "I shouldn't have said that! I apologize—"

  But Dolph, stricken, had to demur. "I shouldn't hold her age against her," he admitted. "But it sure is hard not to."

  "For her too," she reminded him. "That's why she can't love you."

  "Yes." Dolph still did not like the situation at all, but he was coming to accept it.

  They found the pie tree. It was a simple cherry tree, with no other kind of pie ripening, but that was good enough. Dolph selected two of the best and picked them. "Let's go back."

  "You aren't eating here?"

  "It is better to share."

  "Yes," Grace’l agreed. "Even when there are problems, it is better to share."

  Marrow and Nada were talking animatedly as they returned, but ceased. Marrow's hollow sockets stared. "What?"

  "It's me—Grace’l," Grace’l said. "With the grace note." She plinked her finger against her smallest extra rib, and it sounded musical even though the illusion made her look meaty. "I got caught by an illusion whorl and I can't get rid of it."

  "The key of G!" Nada exclaimed. "Could that mean—"

  "The skeleton key!" Dolph concluded. "We had it with us all along! Then, as the others stood amazed, he proffered Nada the second pie.

  "But—" she said.

  "I apologize for treating you cruelly, and ask you to accept this token of amend," he said in the best princely manner.

  Her gaze flicked briefly to Grace’l as she realized the skeleton's part in this. Then she assumed girl form and took the pie. "I accept your apology and the pie, though neither was necessary," she said in the best princessly manner.

  So they had officially made up. But the rift remained. They were incompatible, and no apologies could change that. How he wished it were otherwise!

  "But if Grace’l is the skeleton key," Marrow said, keeping his hollow gaze away from what, to a living man, would have been considered most attractive flesh on Grace’l, "then it is a music note instead of a key for a lock. How can that unlock the Heaven Cent?"

  "A magic lock that responds to music instead of to a physical key," Dolph said. "That must be what the Good Magician's message means. That Grace’l’s grace note in the key of G is what will lead us to the Heaven Cent. There doesn't really have to be a lock, just that key!"

  "But if the Cent is in Mundania, Grace’l can't play the note there," Morrow said.

  "We can reach Mundania the same way we did before, through the gourd. Maybe it is the exit from the gourd to Mundania that the note opens."

  "Yes!" Nada exclaimed. "That must be it!"

  "But we have no huge zombie gourd here," Marrow said. "If we made the long trip back to the zombie gourd, and entered that, I still would not know which gourd exited here. If you exited there, you would have to travel alone all the way here, and that does not seem good at all."

  "But there is a gourd just across the water, at the plaque to my grandfather," Dolph said. "We could use that—" He broke off, realizing that that would be a different matter. He could not physically enter that gourd, which meant that he would have to let his soul enter it alone, while his body remained frozen at the peephole. He did not like mat notion at all.

  "Also—" Grace’l began.

  "You are forbidden to re-enter the gourd," Marrow concluded, remembering. "So we can not use your note anyway."

  "But you know, she doesn't look much like herself now," Nada said. "Maybe she wouldn't be recognized."

  Grace’l shook her head, and her illusion curls flounced. Marrow winced, which was a good trick with his features. Dolph realized that Grace’l was now as distasteful to Marrow as Nada was to him, and for similar reason: too much flesh. But in Grace’l’s case it was illusion, while in Nada's case it was not. "I wanted so much to return to the gourd," she said. "The thought of continued exile appalled me. I had hoped to find a gourd, enter, and beg for pardon for my crime and try to make amends. But now that I have come to be satisfied with existence out here, and have no further wish to return, it seems that I must. If I am the skeleton key you seek, then I will do what I can to enable you to find the Heaven Cent."

  They pondered, considered, and discussed it, and decided that they would have to make the attempt. Marrow and Grace’l could enter the gourd physically, because they had originated within it; Dolph could enter it nonphysically. They knew where they were going: to Mundania
right here. If there was a way through the gourd, they would find it, and the Quest would finally be done. Nada, meanwhile, would stand guard here in Xanth, and snap Dolph out of it if anything threatened.

  They made the boat and sailed back to the beach on the mainland. There they went to the King Trent Memorial and picked up the gourd, which really wasn't part of it. Dolph reread the plaque, curious about its references. "By Heaven Sent, Beside this Amaranth ..." They said the spelling of Cent was different, but he wondered. The two terms were very familiar, and the two spots were very close together. The watch had taken them right past this spot. Who had set up this monument? Who had planted the amaranth flower? He could not shake the feeling that they were overlooking something important.

  "Does the amaranth grow in Mundania?" he asked.

  "Of course not," Nada replied. "It's magic."

  "But it might grow in Mundania, in a Mundane version," he persisted.

  "It seems pointless to be concerned about it," Marrow said. "Let's get this gourd across to the isle before darkness falls; we cannot be sure what monsters will appear in the night." He bent to take hold of the gourd.

  There was a sound from the monument, as of a bell ringing. "What is that?" Grace’l asked, startled.

  "An alarm!" Dolph and Nada said together. They had learned of this type of thing during their Mundane excursion.

  "What would that be for?" Marrow asked.

  "To prevent anyone from molesting my grandfather's monument, I think," Dolph said.

  "Then we should have nothing to fear," Marrow said. relieved.

  In a moment there was a stirring in the sea. Something was swimming rapidly toward them. When it came to the shallow surf, it showed as a huge ugly fish, with a tusked, piglike head. Then it heaved itself out of the froth to the sand, and Dolph saw that there were three big eyes set in its side, as well as those of its head. It had four short legs with flippers, and a set of curled horns. It proceeded toward them by bounding with considerable vigor, all four feet together.

  "That's an argus!" Nada exclaimed. "We have some in our cave waters. They are mean customers!"

  "But if the monument's alarm summoned it, it can't be completely wild," Dolph said. "I'd better check." He assumed the form of another argus.

  The incoming argus spied him and came to a sand-stirring halt. "Who are you, boar-face?" it demanded.

  "I am Prince Dolph, King Trent's grandson," Dolph replied in its language. "These are my companions."

  "Oh. Then you are not here to molest the monument."

  "No. We admire it. Who set it up, and who maintains it?"

  "That is a medium-length story, and probably uninteresting."

  "No, we are interested!" Dolph protested. "I am here on a quest for the Heaven Cent, and did not know of this monument. My grandfather never mentioned it. Please tell me all about it."

  "You are really interested?" the argus asked, amazed.

  "Yes. I want to know as much as I can about this region and this monument. Why does it have this amaranth, and why did our touch of the gourd sound the alarm? Surely the gourd is not part of the monument!"

  "Surely it is!" the argus countered. "Come, settle in the water where we can be comfortable, and I will tell you everything."

  "Gladly! Let me just advise my friends." Dolph resumed boy form, and told the others of the exchange. "Why don't you relax until I have learned the whole story," he suggested. "It may help us in our Quest."

  "But it is getting late—" Marrow said.

  "I think we shall be in no danger here, even at night," Dolph said. "And I really want to know about this monument."

  "It is his Quest," Nada reminded the skeleton. She was supporting him, as she always had, even in this hour of their alienation. Dolph noticed, and was unwillingly moved, but had no time to comment; he changed back to argus form.

  He bounded with the other argus to the shallows, where the white-foamed surf rolled in. Yes, it was far more comfortable here in the water; it supported and wet his body, and cooled it, and caressed it. With the extra eyes on his sides, he could see to both sides, and above and below the surface of the water. This was a nice form!

  "So you are a form changer," the argus said. "King Trent does it too, but he changes only the forms of others.”

  "Yes. Our talents are complementary." Dolph had learned that word because of that relation between the talents, and was proud of it. "Now, what is the story of this monument, and why doesn't my grandfather talk about it?"

  "Forty years ago Evil Magician Trent came to this shore, after being exiled from Xanth," the argus said. "He had been banished because he tried to take the throne away from the Storm King, who wasn't a very good king, I understand. Twenty years after departing Xanth, the Magician found his way back, in the company of two others, Bink and Fanchon. They—"

  "Who?" Dolph interrupted.

  "Fanchon. The woman Bink married."

  "But he married Chameleon, my grandmother!"

  "There must be some mistake," the argus said, blinking several eyes. "It was Fanchon who was with him, magnificently ugly but horribly smart."

  "That's Chameleon in her ugly-smart phase!" Dolph exclaimed, catching on. "She must have used a different name then!"

  "No doubt. At any rate, the three of them waded ashore here, very tired, and settled down to rest on the beach. Actually they settled in three different places, but we put the monument in the center, opposite the love-lies-bleeding monument on View Isle."

  "The what?"

  "The monument on the isle. The one that marks the spot where the dying maiden lies."

  "There's no monument there!" Dolph exclaimed. "We just explored mat isle, and it's bare."

  The argus sighed. "That's what happens when the warranty expires! That monument was supposed to be guarded for a thousand years, until a prince came to wake the poor girl with a kiss, but the guardian must have gotten time off for good behavior and left. Wouldn't you know some monster would steal the monument!"

  "We went there to find the Heaven Cent, but there was nothing."

  "Yes, the dying maiden has that. Too bad the monument's gone; the prince will have trouble finding her now."

  Dolph reined his excitement; already he was learning much of value! Maybe he would learn more in the course of the argus' story. "Tell me everything!"

  "Well, the three of them settled down, and naturally got into trouble, because this was a wild beach in those days. Trent looked into a hypnogourd and was hooked—apparently during his long absence he had forgotten about them, or maybe he hadn't encountered any. They weren't as common as they are today, and they mostly didn't grow where the human folk settled. Fanchon rested under a lethargy tree, and of course it made her so lethargic she couldn't move. Bink lay down in a patch of carnivorous grass, and it started rooting in him. It was only sheer luck that he woke in time, but he couldn't get up, so he started yelling. Naturally that brought every hungry monster in the area, including a harpy, a caloblepas, and me. We got into a big fight over the morsel, and Bink got away and rescued the other two. I never saw a man so lucky!"

  "But what about the monument?"

  "I'm coming to that. They moved on to Castle Roogna, which was then deserted, and Trent became King and restored it, and I think it's still functioning today."

  "It is."

  "Because this was where they landed, the Good Magician Humfrey decided that there should be a monument to mark the site. King Trent said not to bother, but Humfrey did it anyway. He used some of the magic he had collected to identify all of us who had attacked the trio, and he bound us to guard the monument."

  "But Humfrey's gone! Why do you still guard it?"

  "He's gone? His magic remains! We are granted life as long as the monument stands unmolested, so you may be sure we take good care of it. One day for each, the harpy, the catoblepas, and me. This is my day, and when the alarm sounds, I come quickly. The vegetables help when needed; the hungry grass and a land kraken are near, and the
gourd remains here. This is a very peaceful beach now; no visitor is molested as long as he behaves."

  "But what about the amaranth flower? There was no amaranth in that story."

  "That was borrowed from the other memorial. When I saw that it was no longer well guarded, I feared for the flower, so brought it here. Indeed, it seems I was justified in my caution, if that monument is now gone."

  "What do you know of that other monument?" Dolph had been genuinely interested in his grandfather's monument, but at the moment he was far more interested in the other one.

  "Oh, that's very simple. This wounded maiden lies bleeding in a casket, and she can not live or die until kissed after a thousand years or so by a prince. She will give the Heaven Cent to the prince who wakes her. That's all there is to it."

  "But how will the prince find her, if the amaranth no longer marks the spot?"

  "I wouldn't know."

  "How long has she been there?"

  "I think it's about eight hundred and fifty years, something like that. She has a way to go before she runs out of time."

  "Runs out of time? What happens to her after the thousand years are over?"

  "Well, that's the limit, you see. If no prince finds her and kisses her within that period, she will die anyway, and so will the amaranth. They are linked, you know. They live and die together. I'm sure it is an interesting tale, if anyone knows the whole of it."

  "I'm sure it is," Dolph said thoughtfully.

  "I had to rewrite the inscription when we borrowed the amaranth," the argus continued. "I'm a pretty good poet, if I do say so myself. I have an eye for scansion."

  "Yes, the inscription is very nice," Dolph said, realizing that a bit of flattery was in order. "But I am going to have to borrow the amaranth and gourd."

  "What? I just told you why they must remain here!"

  "But you see, I am a prince, and I must get the Heaven Cent, which means I must rescue the dying lady, and I think I can only reach her if I use the gourd, and I think I'll find her better if I have that amaranth."