Part 2 (2/2)

That was true. The three of them were about to fly back when the roc's huge form lifted into the air, and joined them in a single wingbeat. She had powers of flight beyond those of any ordinary roc. Actually, she had more; she could command the cooperation of any of the leading figures of Xanth, when necessary to safeguard Sim. But she had never needed to invoke such authority. ”You spoke my name?” she squawked.

”We need to go to the Simurgh,” Che said. ”Something has come up.” He had some authority in his own right, because every winged monster was sworn to protect him. That was one reason why Roxanne had been able to be low-key. He was also destined to change the history of Xanth, but no one knew whether this related to his tutoring of Sim or some other thing. Sim hoped it was the latter, because tutoring was so, well, mundanish.

Without further squawk the roc hovered in air and extended her monstrous claws. They formed an enclosure into which the three of them flew. They settled, and Roxanne accelerated.

Xanth pa.s.sed below in a blur of mixed magic color. Then they were over a complicated range of mountains whose colors were pure: blue, red, green, pink, yellow, white, and black. ”The mountains of Qaf,” Sim squawked happily, recognizing them. ”Each a different color of beryl. The green is emerald, which is fairly common, but the red is bixbite, which is rare, and of course black beryl is not encountered elsewhere. No one other than Mother or Roxanne or me can fly here.” That was literal; all other winged creatures found themselves magically grounded. Not even small d demons could conjure themselves here without special permission.

Roxanne hovered over a white peak and opened her talons. They slid out to land on a level platform. Roxanne glided across to a blue peak and settled.

The Simurgh approached. Her wingbeats were like waves of mist, and as she landed on a red peak her feathers showed like light and shadow, with a crest of fire on her head. Sim knew himself to be the most beautiful bird in Xanth, scintillating with twice the colors of the rainbow, but the sheer splendor of his mother awed him. WHAT IS IT, SON? Her voice was in their minds, a dauntingly powerful thought.

”Cynthia must rescue the Demon Earth,” Sim squawked. ”She needs to know how.”

THIS REQUIRES DIALOGUE. Then the scene changed. Sim found himself and the others in a lush garden with vegetables and fruits of many colors. There was yellow corn, white turnip, blue berries, black berries, red strawberries complete with straws for drinking, green melons, and pink lemonade. But it was not a meal; it was a display. Sim himself was a handsome navy bean. ”Squawk?” he inquired.

”The Simurgh has rendered us into an illusion scene for more comfortable dialogue,” another navy bean said in Che's voice.

”A lovely display of garden produce,” a cute chick pea said in Cynthia's voice.

”But I'm a real chick,” Sim squawked. ”Why am I not a chick pea?”

”The term has a colloquial as well as a literal meaning,” Che-bean explained. ”It refers to a pretty girl. Navy beans are symbolic of virile seafaring men.”

Oh. Suddenly he was satisfied to be a bean.

”Now let's hear more about your mission,” a brightly s.h.i.+ning sunflower said, turning her light on the chick pea.

”Magician Humfrey requires me to rescue the Demon Earth,” Cynthia said. ”He says this matter is not in his Book of Answers, so I am on my own. I desperately need advice.”

”This is true,” the Simurgh said. ”Only another Demon could incapacitate a Demon. Since all other Demons are therefore under suspicion, the matter must be handled by mortals. This is a considerable Challenge.”

That seemed to be a more than considerable understatement to Sim. The power of any Demon was virtually absolute in his realm. All of the magic that made the Land of Xanth what it was stemmed from the incidental leakage from the surface of the body of the Demon Xanth. Similarly all of the natural forces of the Land of Earth derived from leakage from the Demon Earth's body. They might as well be ants trying to govern invisible giants.

”Is it even theoretically possible for a mortal centaur to accomplish such a mission?” Che asked.

”Yes. But it is neither easy nor direct.”

”There is a way?” Cynthia asked, eagerly surprised.

”Yes. You must acquire the use of the Swell Foop.”

There was a brief silence. ”I don't believe I am familiar with the term,” Che said, embarra.s.sed for his ignorance.

”Unsurprising. It is an uncla.s.sfied device that was lost several centuries ago.”

”Lost!” Cynthia exclaimed. ”Then how-”

”You must find and recover it. To do this you must first obtain the Six Rings of Xanth, for they are the only artifacts capable of handling the Swell Foop. That will be a considerable challenge of its own.”

”But if this wonderful Foop is lost, how can anyone use it?” Cynthia asked. ”What use would it be to get the Rings, if there is nothing for them to handle?”

”The Rings will also enable you to locate the Foop. When they are stacked and aligned, a person who sights through them will be able to see the Foop-if the stack is pointing the right way, and if it is the person destined to use it.”

”How will we know who that person is?”

”It will be one of the holders of the Rings. Perhaps the one who is first able to spy the Foop. I am not sure.”

There was a startled pause. None of them had ever imagined the Simurgh not knowing something.

”Let me summarize, if I may,” Che said. He had a very organized mind.

The sunflower seemed to smile. ”You may.”

”Cynthia needs the Swell Foop to rescue the Demon Earth. She needs the Six Rings of Xanth to find the Foop. If I infer the implications correctly, the Rings are not easy to obtain, and each must have a separate holder. This will necessitate a party of at least six.”

”Correct.”

Sim cut to the essence. ”Where are the Rings?”

”Because they are so powerful as to be dangerous in the wrong hands,” the sunflower said, ”they are well hidden. No living person knows the location of any of them.”

A silence hovered above the group, then slowly settled on it. But Sim had a faint notion how his mother thought. ”You did not exclude nonliving persons, such as the demons.”

”No demon knows, either.”

Sim was chagrined. He thought he had made a smart observation, for he was supposed to be a very bright bird.

”Maybe a ghost,” Cynthia said.

”No ghost.”

Then a tulip bulb flashed over Che's head. ”Zombies!”

The sunflower nodded. ”Only living persons may use the Rings. Only the zombies know where the Rings are hidden. This is a precaution to make it unlikely that their power will be abused.”

Sim nodded. Living folk did not like to a.s.sociate with zombies, so seldom got close to them or asked favors of them.

”But what do the Rings do, aside from locating the Swell Foop?” Cynthia asked.

”They control the six known Regions of Xanth. Any one has absolute power over its Region; the six together would have power over all Xanth rivaling that of the Demon Xanth. It is felt that such power should not be invoked casually.”

”And the ma.s.sed power of the Rings is required to handle the Foop,” Sim squawked. ”That must be an extremely potent device.”

”It is no ordinary foop,” the Simurgh agreed. ”It is an almost perfect one. That makes a difference.”

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