X35 Well-Tempered Clavicle by Piers Anthony

Author:Piers Anthony [Anthony, Piers]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, General, Epic, Fantasy Fiction; American, Xanth (Imaginary Place), Humorous Stories; American
ISBN: 9780765331342
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2011-11-22T06:00:00+00:00

12

CHAMELEON

Granola forged southward, pursuing her notion of a likely place, though they all knew it couldn’t be the first site she checked. But there wouldn’t be a next-to-last site until there was a first one.

The others tired of singing or playing music, but Dawn insisted that Picka keep practicing regardless. She was happy to explain to the others. “I love Picka, and he loves me.” She made a three-quarter smile. “It took some work in bed to convince him, and some magic, yet I finally persuaded him. But he needs to be worthy. So if he becomes the best musician in Xanth, he’ll be worthy, won’t he?”

The others, seeing the way of her thinking, agreed. So Picka continued to improvise, and had to admit to himself that he was improving. He could feel it. But would he ever be good enough? How could he or anyone else tell?

Granola came to a mountain. She found a route to climb it, carrying them upward. When they reached the top she set down the handbag so they could get out.

They were on a high level plain, a mesa, that dropped off sharply on the sides. “This is Mount Rushmost!” Dawn exclaimed. “The dragons’ retreat.”

“I just came where my muse led me,” Granola said.

“Caprice could have stopped here,” Picka pointed out.

“Woof!” Woofer was smelling something.

They looked in the direction his nose was pointing. There was a tent pitched near the brink. Someone else was here.

“Maybe we had better check this out,” Dawn said.

“Suppose they’re unfriendly?” Joy’nt asked.

“Picka will protect me,” Dawn said confidently, and started walking.

Picka hurried to catch up. “You have a lot of confidence in me.”

“You can wring the sheet of a ghost. You can surely handle ordinary folk.”

“You’re imperious!”

She glanced sidelong at him? “You just now realized that? What did you expect when you set out to love a princess?”

“I didn’t set out to—”

She kissed him on the noggin. “I’m teasing, Picka.”

There was an appreciative murmur behind them, including a woof and tweet. The others were following, of course. They could see that Dawn had already taken over Picka’s attention and existence, and was managing him in the standard manner.

A figure emerged from the tent, coming to intercept them. It looked like a girl with wings.

“Hello!” Dawn called.

“Hello,” the girl replied. “You don’t belong here. None of you do.”

Dawn paused, assessing her. “Who are you to say?”

“I am Mim Barbarian, a winged monster. This is Mount Rushmost, the sanctuary of winged monsters. No nonwinged monsters are allowed here without special dispensation. Please go away before I summon a guardian dragon.”

“We can’t do that yet,” Dawn said. “I am on a mission for the Good Magician, and it brings us here at the moment.”

“You don’t seem to understand. I see that three of you are monsters, but without wings; one has wings but is not a monster. You can’t be here.”

“You don’t understand,” Dawn said unevenly. “We have passing business here.”

“No, you don’t. Go, before I kick you off the mountain.”

Picka could see that Dawn was not taking this well.

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