Five Portraits (24 page)

“Not me,” Squid said.

“Or me,” Win said.

They all looked at Myst. There she stood, with a guilty crumb of cookie on her lip. She was obviously the one. “I'm sorry,” she wailed, tears streaming down her face. “It just looked so good.”

Firenze tried the door. It was tightly closed and locked. He looked at the windows. They were barred. They were caught inside.

“Now it says CASTLE GUILTY,” Santo said, reading the words on the inside of the door.

“How do we get out?” Squid asked.

“THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY OUT,” the castle voice said. “YOU MUST CONFESS YOUR MOST GUILTY SECRETS.”

Oh, bleep!
Astrid thought.
It's a trick to unmask your participation, Fornax.

So that's why the dream! One of the Demons must be suspicious.

Astrid considered that.
Not Nemesis?

He would not dare, knowing that I have his number. We'd both get called up on charges.

Can we stop this?

Not without giving away the secret. It's a cunning trap for more than the children. We shall just have to watch, and hope.

They watched, and hoped.

“Can we Commune?” Win asked.

The children linked hands and Communed. It seemed that they could do this even in a joint dream.

“Wow!” Myst said.

“I don't know,” Firenze said.

Santo considered. “Let me just say something that possibly is only a passing thought. If I knew a secret, such as maybe there being an ugly wart on a certain lady's bottom, and I had to choose between saving myself and betraying her, but I really liked her, I think I just wouldn't want to disappoint her. And I think that if anyone wanted me to betray a friend, well, that would not be anyone I wanted for a friend. So I'm not telling anyone anything.”

I really like that boy
, Fornax thought.
And I don't have a wart on my bottom.

He was being careful not to give away the real secret while making his point
, Astrid thought.
He's a smart boy.

He is. I'm sorry I can't keep him.

And that of course was the problem. Astrid and Fornax had both come to love the children, but could not keep them. They could not even touch them, really. Others would have to adopt them so that Xanth could be saved. Astrid knew they were doing the right thing, but sometimes it was harder than it looked.

Santo's discussion decided it for the children. “Me neither,” Squid agreed.

“Even if we have to stay here forever,” Win said.

“But I'm the one who did it,” Myst said tearfully. “So—”

“No,” Firenze said firmly.

“We're together,” Santo said.

“We all make mistakes,” Squid said.

“Any of us could have done it,” Win said.

Myst just cried tears of gratitude.

“So let's see what we can do,” Firenze said.

“I'll make a hole,” Santo said.

“No need,” Squid said. “When we Communed, we learned what this is.”

“A dream,” Win said.

“To make us Tell,” Myst said.

Firenze nodded. “So all we have to do is wake.”

“I'm not quite ready,” Santo said. “I'm mad at this fake castle.”

“So am I,” Squid said.

“Let me have the honor,” Win said.

“Sure,” Myst said.

They got together again, holding Win in place. Then the wind started. She aimed it up, and it quickly intensified, blasting at the ceiling. It got worse, until the ceiling blew away, crashing up against the roof. The wind swirled, seeking a way out. Then the roof blew off and went sailing across the sky. Then the walls blew out, and the castle collapsed into rubble around them.

Outside, the five day mares were staring. But the wind flew out to blow away their costumes, and they were revealed as night mares. This had not been a nice daydream, but a nasty nightmare. Then they too were blown away.

“Now we can wake,” Firenze said, satisfied as he gazed at the wreckage.

The dream lost the last of its cohesion and dissipated into foul mist as they woke.

They were lying as they had been, with Santo and Squid on either side of Fornax, Win and Mist by Astrid, and Firenze alone. Dawn had not yet come.

The two adults lay silently, as if still asleep. Would the children tell them of their dream?

One by one the children dropped back to sleep, perchance to dream of something else. None spoke of the Communal dream.

Everyone had secrets.

Fornax turned over, as if in her sleep. Her ghostly hand fell across Santo's hand and remained there. He did not pull his hand away.

When true dawn came, they all got up and went about the morning routine. Then they resumed the walk toward home.

Chapter 12:
Firenze

“They're back!” Kandy cried, rushing to hold her breath and hug Astrid. Then they were all there. Metria hugged Santo, Kandy hugged Squid, Tiara hugged Win, and Merge hugged Myst. No one hugged Firenze. That bothered Astrid, so she hugged him, briefly.

Then came the long narration of their adventure, omitting only the detail of who had folded up the Playground with them inside; the point was that they had found their way out, and recovered the Playground. Fornax would settle privately with Nemesis when it suited her convenience. The others were duly amazed, especially by the phenomenal development of the children's talents, and their joint maturity in the crisis.

That night Astrid got private with Art, who had built up a lot of unrequited passion during her absence. She was glad to oblige it. She loved being with someone who could freely touch her without endangering his health, and who desired her without wanting to rape her.

I envy you that
, Fornax remarked.
I too can't be really close to someone without exploding him to smithereens.

Astrid had come to know the Demoness well enough not to be bothered by her presence; it was part of her friendship. Fornax had after all been with them throughout their trek through Storage, unseen; she knew what was what. Art could not see Fornax, but since this in no way diminished Astrid's passion for him, it didn't matter.
You could indulge Nemesis,
she replied teasingly.

Sometimes I'm actually tempted. He's one who won't annihilate on contact with me; dark matter interacts too little with either terrene or ContraTerrene matter. That may explain his interest.

I doubt it; he just wants to get into your panties, like any male seeing a female like you, and figures he'll get there if he just keeps pressuring you long enough.
It's a male-type challenge.
Astrid could not have said that aloud in the vicinity of the children, but this was silent among adults.

To be sure. But I want it to be strictly on my terms, not his. I haven't yet figured out how to permanently bind him, so I can tease him unmercifully without any possibility of parole or release.
She formed a little image of herself in translucently straining bra and panties, hovering just barely out of reach of a desperately reaching Nemesis.

Well, I hope you figure it out
, Astrid thought. She had no desire to tease a man unmercifully, but she wasn't a Demoness.

All too soon Astrid put Art to sleep in the usual manner, then slept herself. It would take her days to fully unwind from the tension of the Playground sequence.

In the morning they held a meeting of all of them, including the children. “Now that we are all together again,” Astrid said, “we need to see about getting the five children suitably adopted so that Xanth will be saved. After the mishap of the Playground, we can see that delay can be disastrous. We suspect that there are those who don't want Xanth to be saved, who might try to interfere. So we need to move on with it without further delay.”

No one questioned that. “But these are not the most readily adoptable children,” Mitch said. “They are good children, but folk are apt to be wary of a girl who can fog out when they want to give her a bath, or a boy who radiates fireworks when annoyed, or a girl who is actually an alien creature.”

“I think such a girl would be fun,” Merge said, looking at Myst.

“But you're not an outside person,” Mitch reminded her. “Neither are you married.”

“I know,” Merge said regretfully.

“Outsiders simply do not know these fine children as we do,” Kandy said, looking at Squid. “So one is alien; is that stranger than becoming a board?” She became the board.

“An outsider might not want to adopt either an alien or a board,” Mitch said.

Kandy returned to woman form and sighed. “True.”

“So I think we have to look carefully,” Astrid said. “Somewhere in Xanth there must be couples suitable for these children. We merely need to find them.”

“There's the challenge,” Tiara said, looking at Win. “To find couples who will appreciate these children as we do.”

“Even if they don't yet know it,” Kandy said.

“We can help,” Firenze said. “We can put on a Play, in the Playground, and Commune, and get an Answer.”

“So you can,” Astrid agreed, relieved. “Let's do it. But this time we want to have someone guarding the Playground from outside it, just in case.”

“We'll all do that,” Kandy said. “No one should enter that Playground without having a guard outside.”

“Let's do it,” Santo said.

“Do we have a Play?” Squid asked.

They paused briefly. “Maybe could could dream up one,” Win said.

“A Day Mare Dream,” Myst said.

The children laughed, sharing a joke the adults didn't get. Astrid looked carefully blank, concealing her knowledge.

“They are clever children,” Fornax murmured appreciatively beside Astrid, audible only to her. “They don't waste perfectly good experience.”

Astrid nodded, because she couldn't answer aloud without seeming to be talking to herself.

The children trekked to the edge of camp, where Firenze unpacked the Playground. “I'll go in with them,” Astrid said. “Some of the rest of you should too, to make an audience for their play.”

“We all will,” Kandy said.

“But at least one person should stay outside,” Astrid said.

“I'll stand guard,” Art said, settling down by the edge.

“Thank you.” She kissed him on the ear, then followed the others in.

The adults took seats in the audience section. Fornax sat invisibly beside Astrid. “This should be amusing.”

Yes
, Astrid thought.

“The Bad Act. Scene One,” Squid announced. “Day Mares.”

The children mounted the stage and went right into their play, setting up four sawhorses in center stage. Astrid hadn't realized that there were sawhorses there, but somehow the children had known about them, in a supply section under the stage. Squid mounted one sawhorse and changed shape and color, making it resemble a real horse. The other children lay down opposite the sawhorses, then made motions of waking, washing, dressing, and going outside.

They paused, seeing the horses. “Who are you?” Firenze asked.

“We are Day Mares,” Squid said. “I am Doris.”

“What are you doing here?” Santo asked.

“We bring nice daydreams to people. But we have a problem. You can help us.”

“How?” Win asked.

Squid, as Doris, explained the problem, concluding, “Only innocent children can enter Castle Innocent.”

There was a chuckle in the audience when Doris explained how the Adult Conspiracy ruined people. They had all been there.

“Of course we'll help,” Myst said.

The four children mounted the four horses and made galloping motions. It almost did look as if they were going somewhere.

“They're good,” Tiara whispered. There was a general murmur of agreement.

“Scene Two,” Squid announced. “Castle Innocent.”

The sawhorses were rearranged to form a square in the center of the stage, with space for the entrance. “Look at that,” Firenze said. “A castle made of candy, with a tsoda-pop moat.”

“Don't eat any of it!” Doris called. “Or you won't get out.”

“Oh, blip!” Santo swore.

“We're hungry,” Win agreed.

They entered and started moving invisible boxes of dreams. Then Myst spied the cookie and made a motion of surreptitiously eating it.

“Fee Fi Fo Fum!” Squid called. “Someone done something dumb!”

The audience laughed.

“The castle's slammed shut!” Firenze said.

“We're trapped!” Santo said.

“Somebody ate something,” Win said.

Myst started to cry.

“Scene Three,” Squid said. “Castle Guilty.”

“How do we get out?” Firenze asked.

“Confess your guilty secrets!” Squid called.

“But we're innocent children,” Santo protested.

“Except for one of us,” Win said.

“Me,” Myst wailed.

“You were hungry,” Firenze said.

“We're not leaving you here,” Santo said.

“Let's Commune,” Win said.

The four linked hands. “Wow!” Myst said. “It's a dream!”

“So let's blow it apart,” Firenze said.

Win started blowing. The others knocked the sawhorses over, wrecking the castle.

“Look at the horses!” Santo said, staring at Squid on her sawhorse.

“They're night mares!” Win said. “This was all a fake to get us in trouble!”

Squid hunched over, riding guiltily away.

“Wow,” Myst said.

“So let's wake up now,” Firenze said.

“And that was the end of The Bad Act,” Squid concluded.

The audience applauded vigorously as the five children bowed. “That was a surprisingly original play,” Kandy said.

Astrid kept her mouth shut.

Then the children Communed for real. “The question is, how do we find good families to adopt us?” Firenze said.

They held hands and focused.

“Oh, blip!” Firenze said, speaking out of turn. “It starts with me. Aunt Astrid has to take me to the Panhandle, where there's a suitable couple.”

“I'll do it,” Astrid said. “If you know where to go.”

“I do,” Firenze said. “I know exactly where. That is, I know the direction and range. But not how to get there.”

“We'll figure it out,” Astrid said.

“The Panhandle?” Mitch asked. “Take the Trollway, so you can get there and back without taking forever.”

“The Trollway,” Astrid agreed, not entirely pleased. She knew the trollway trolls were different from the marauder she had encountered, but trolls were not her preferred company. But she didn't seem to have much of a choice.

“I'll go with you,” Art said.

The children shook their heads. “It's fastest and cleanest if just Aunt Astrid takes him,” Santo said.

Astrid sighed. “Then that's the way we'll do it.”

“But I can come along,” Fornax said. “Since I'm not really part of your group, but do have an interest in the welfare of the children.”

“That will help,” Astrid said gratefully.

Then suddenly, their way. They took an enchanted path to the nearest trollway station, which wasn't far.

“You will need to figure out a way to pay for your passage,” Fornax reminded her. “I can't do it without interfering, unless to counter another Demon's interference. But you—you know what they'll think of first.”

Astrid knew. Males took one look at her and thought of it. She wished she could turn it off. “Firenze, I think you will have to do some work,” she said.

“Anything you want,” he agreed.

“Now that you can control your fireworks, you can make an interesting display for an audience. That should earn our passage.”

“Sure.”

“I know you have no more use for trolls than I do. But for this we need them.”

“I understand.”

“You're very amenable. You're not like the surly kid I first encountered.”

“Three things about that,” he said, smiling. “First, you showed me at the outset that you would not take any guff from me, and you had the means to enforce it. I respect that. Second, I have come to know you as a really nice person, and I want to help you any way I can. Third, our Communion showed that this trip is important, so I have to do what I can to get it done.”

“And fourth, you have matured emotionally,” Astrid said. “You're no longer that ornery kid.”

“I suppose,” he agreed.

“You have,” she insisted. “You help with the other children in a responsible way.”

“I try. I'm the oldest and they expect it. But it's not because of maturity.”

“What is it, then?”

“It's that I think you're better than my real mother was, and I wish you were my mother.” He held up a hand to halt her protest. “My folks didn't want me; I was a burden. When my magic showed, they called me a freak, and wanted me even less. Our loving family was just a pretense. That's what made me ornery. You're not like that. You just wanted to help me. You accepted me as I am, including my magic. I—I feel comfortable with you. So anything you want me to do, I do. To try to please you. Without you I'd just be that hotheaded kid nobody can stand.”

Astrid was taken aback. “But I'm not even human. I'm a deadly animal nobody in his right mind will approach.”

He smiled. “Maybe that's why you understand difficult kids. We're like that.”

She had to laugh. But it was sad, too. “I can't even hug you without warning you to hold your breath.”

“I wish I could hold my breath forever.” He swallowed, and she saw that he was on the verge of tears. “But hugs are only part of it. You truly understand me, Aunt Astrid. I wish
you
could adopt me. If you wanted to.”

What could she do? “Hold your breath.” She paused in their walk and enfolded him, and kissed him on the cheek. Then she let him go, so as not to hurt him by her closeness. “I wish I could too.” There; it was out.

“You do?” He seemed almost reluctant to believe.

“I wish I could adopt all of you five orphans. I wasn't fooling when I said I loved you. I don't think you children were fooling either when you said you loved me.”

“We weren't,” he agreed. “You—you are what we all need, Aunt Astrid. We all saw that in Storage. You led us through. We don't think anyone else could have, or would have.”

“Aunt Fornax was watching. She would have.”

“We like her too. But she's not part of Xanth, so she can't take care of us.”

“I'd like to be your mother. But there seem to be multiple reasons why it can't be.”