Part 2 (2/2)

They had hardly reached the first field of flowers before there was a figure in the sky. Gwenny put on her spectacles so she could make out what it was. It was Chex, Che's dam, flying down to intercept them. She landed lightly on her four hooves and folded her wings. ”Gwenny, I have what may be bad news. Your mother is here.”

There was a pause. Then the three young folk burst out laughing. They knew Chex didn't mean it the way it sounded. All of them liked G.o.diva Goblin despite her adult tendencies.

But in a moment they sobered. G.o.diva would not have come here without good reason, and that was indeed likely to be bad news. ”Did she say-?”

”No. But I think you had better talk with her immediately.”

”I'll hurry back to the house!”

”I will take you.”

”But Che and Jenny-”

”We shall get back on our own,” Che said quickly.

So Gwenny climbed onto Chex's back, and Chex flicked her with her tail, making her feather light. Then Chex spread her wings and leaped into the air. They were airborne.

Gwenny still thrilled to this experience. She hung on to Chex's mane and peered down as the centaur circled to gain elevation. There were Che and Jenny, waving. Jenny was holding her little orange cat, Sammy.

Then Chex straightened out and headed across the forest, not far above the treetops. It seemed almost like walking through waist high bushes, looking down on them, only these were frill trees.

Soon they landed in the yard before the house. G.o.diva was there, her flowing black hair forming a cape about her body.

Gwenny jumped off-and sailed high into the air, because she had forgotten how light she was. Chex reached up with a hand and caught her ankle, bringing her down.

She set Gwenny gently on the ground. It took a while for the lightening effect to wear off.

Gwenny walked-carefully-to her mother and hugged her. ”My dear, you have lost weight! Have you been eating enough?” G.o.diva exclaimed. Of course it was humor, because she understood the centaur magic and could see that Gwenny, far from being underfleshed, was now a rather pretty figure of a gobliness. She was, after all, fourteen years old, which was just about old enough for a goblin girl. Naturally no adult would tell her what she was old enough for. Adults could be real pains at times.

”Why are you here, Mother?” Gwenny asked.

G.o.diva became extremely serious. ”Your father is dead. You know what that means.” She did not pretend any grief; Gouty Goblin had been a typical male, which meant that he had few if any endearing traits, and had done his best to eradicate those.

Gwenny felt a sudden chill. Indeed she knew what this meant: that her idyllic time with the centaur family was over, and perhaps her life itself. For she was the next in line to be the chief of the goblins of Goblin Mountain the first female ever to aspire to that role.

”Mother, I'm not ready!” she said.

”I know that, dear. I had hoped that your father would hang on a few years longer, to give you time. But he was un.o.bliging even in this. It is now or never.”

”But the spectacles-I can't wear them at home, and I can't see well enough without them to do anything. That would disqualify me immediately.”

”I know that too, dear. But there are other ways. We must find you some magic contact lenses.”

At this point Chex cut in. ”We have been searching for a suitable lens bush for two years, but there seems to have been a blight on them.”

G.o.diva sighed. ”I was afraid of that. Then there is only one thing to do: we must take her to the Good Magician to find out how she can nullify this liability.”

”Wait, Mother,” Gwenny said. ”You mustn't do this for me.”

”But, dear, time is short. There is only one month before the ascension of the new chief. Only the Good Magician can possibly know where contact lenses may be obtained immediately.”

”I agree, Mother. But I must go to him myself. If I am unable to do that much without adult help, how can I ever be chief?”

”She is correct, G.o.diva,” Chex said. ”She must rise to her own challenges, now. They will not allow you to a.s.sist her at Goblin Mountain, and the challenge of reaching the Good Magician is surely less arduous. She must have practice in the intervening time, little as it may be.”

The gobliness was silent in an appalled way. Centaur logic was impossible to refute.

”But I think it would be legitimate for her companion to accompany her,” Chex continued.

”But Che is even younger,” G.o.diva said. ”The danger-”

”The winged monsters will protect him as one of their own.

G.o.diva nodded. ”We have seen the manner of that protection.”

Gwenny knew it was all right, then. Recently she had been coming to understand some of the nuances of adult dialogue, which were sometimes more subtle than children appreciated. The centaur had in effect said that the winged monsters would take care of Che and his companion, which was Gwenny herself. Chex herself was a winged monster, and she had been taking care of both of them all along. G.o.diva had acknowledged it: she was complimenting Chex on it.

So they would allow Gwenny and Che to travel by themselves to see the Good Magician. If anything really bad threatened, the winged monsters, all of whom had taken an oath to protect Che, would intervene. That intervention could be formidable; they had at one time almost destroyed Goblin Mountain itself when they had thought Che was captive there.

”We'll start tomorrow,” Gwenny said. ”We can use the magic paths and Grandam Chem's map.” Actually that would be a copy, for Chem Centaur's maps manifested in air. They were extremely accurate.

So it was decided. G.o.diva Goblin agreed to stay the night, and in the morning they would go their separate ways, for the nonce. G.o.diva had to keep an eye on things at Goblin Mountain, until the new chief took office. With luck and management, that chief would be Gwenny.

Che and Jenny Elf arrived back from the field. Gwenny explained about her need to go to see the Good Magician, and how it was all right for Che to come along.

”But what about Jenny?” he asked.

Gwenny hadn't thought of that. Of course she didn't want to leave Jenny Elf behind! Jenny had been Che's friend before he came to Goblin Mountain, and she had been Gwenny's friend too. ”Jenny, too, if she wants to come,” she agreed.

”Of course I want to come!” Jenny said. ”I'd like to see the Good Magician's castle when I'm not distracted.”

”Maybe he can tell you how to get back to the World of Two Moons,” Gwenny said.

”Yes, maybe he could,” Jenny agreed. But she did not seem completely excited by the prospect.

In the morning they bid farewell to Che's sire and dam, and to Gwenny's mother. Then G.o.diva took one path, heading east toward Goblin Mountain, and the three of them took another, heading south toward the Gap Chasm and the Good Magician's castle. The copy of Chem's map showed that they could use the invisible bridge to cross the Gap and then go right on down to the castle. Then they would have three challenges to surmount before they could get into the castle, and after that ”oops,” Gwenny said. ”I will have to give a year's service to the Good Magician, for his Answer to my Question, but I have only a month before I must be chief.”

”Then I will ask on your behalf,” Che said.

”No, I will,” Jenny Elf said. Her cat, Sammy, was riding in her backpack. ”You two must stay together.”

”But-” Gwenny started to protest. Then she realized that this was help she needed, and that perhaps Jenny had looked ahead and realized that their juvenile friends.h.i.+p could not endure beyond the settlement of the chiefs.h.i.+p.

Gwenny would then either be chief, with its pressing responsibilities, or dead. In either case, she could not truly be with Jenny. So their separation was coming, regardless. It was not as if service to the Good Magician was onerous; the word was that often it was as beneficial for the person as for the Magician. ”Thank you, Jenny.”

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