It seemed to be a complete little land in itself, with fields and forests and even a trickling stream coming from the hill on which the castle perched. The path picked up where it had left off, wending its way toward the castle.

  "Uh, Jumper," Dawn said. "Maybe for our purpose you should turn human again. Whoever this innocence is for, I suspect he or she would not properly appreciate your natural form."

  She was being diplomatic, which was another human quality. She was reminding him that he needed to set up for the standard white lie of his humanity. She was surely correct. A truly innocent human person could freak out at the sight of a giant spider.

  He took a vial and gulped down the elixir. In barely a moment he was human.

  And there was a girl. "Hello, visitors," she said brightly, "I am Sati Sfaction, here to welcome you to Dust Isle. We have a feast in preparation for you."

  Dawn stepped forward to give the girl a friendly hug. Jumper knew Dawn was actually seeking physical contact so she could learn everything about her. Such as whether she was really friend or foe. "I am Dawn, and this is my friend Jumper."

  The girl looked directly at Jumper for the first time. "Ek," she screamed faintly, blushing, not even managing to squeeze out two E's.

  Then she swooned.

  For Jumper was naked. In the distraction of the island, in the absence of Wenda, they had forgotten to put clothing on him.

  "Quick, spin yourself some clothing," Dawn said. "Not that it really matters."

  This made him pause. "What?"

  "Sati isn't really an innocent girl. She's something else. I can't tell what."

  He spun silk and quickly wove it into a pair of shorts, which he donned. "But you can tell anything about any living thing."

  "Yes. She's not a living thing. Not exactly."

  "Then what is she?"

  "The minor Demoness Sharon," the girl said, sitting up. Obviously she had not freaked out, and had faked her swoon. "We are neither living nor dead; we're eternal entities."

  "Sharon!" he exclaimed, now seeing the resemblance. "You always appear as someone's sister."

  "This time I'm someone's daughter. I have a role to fulfill, so for now I'm Sati. I can sense ghosts, and even lend them a physical body, for a while."

  "You would like our friend Phanta," Jumper said.

  "A role?" Dawn asked suspiciously. "You're Pluto's minion, trying to mess up our mission."

  "Yes. But there are parameters."

  "There are whats?"

  "Parameters. Variable guidelines that shift with the situation. I am confined to limited devices of corruption."

  "Such as?"

  "Such as making Jumper fall in love with me, so that he will give up the mission in order to win my return love."

  That put it out into the open. "But demons, capped or uncapped, have no souls," Dawn said. "They can't love."

  "But we can make deals," Sharon said. "If Jumper makes the deal, I will put on such an emulation of love that he won't be able to tell the difference."

  Which meant that he could not afford to love her. She needed to be limited to a stork object. "Let's get on with the delivery," he said gruffly.

  Sammy had been loitering. Now he moved smartly along the path toward the castle, and they followed.

  "To do that," Sharon said, "you will have to play the part." Her countenance changed subtly, and she was the girl Sati Sfaction again.

  "I'll play my part," Jumper said impatiently. He was annoyed with himself because he still hoped for a session alone with her, corrupting as it might be.

  "Then I must introduce you to my father, King Belial," Sati said. "I love him, of course, but he's a domineering man who constantly spies on me. He has the talent of creating, controlling and banishing creatures of dust."

  "Dust devils," Dawn said.

  "Sort of. These aren't real ones, just his artificial ones. But you can't tell their nature from seeing them."

  "I can tell dust from a living creature," Dawn said.

  "Can you? What about that?"

  They looked. A fat piglike creature was coming toward them, bearing an array of sharp quills. It emitted an odor of pine trees. "That's a porkypine," Dawn said. "A cross between a pig and a pine tree. They're rare."

  Then the porkypine dissolved into a cloud of dust and fell apart.

  "One of Belial's dust creatures," Sati said, having made her point.

  "He uses them to watch me. He's afraid I might meet someone manly and do something I shouldn't."

  "Would you?" Dawn asked.

  "Of course. I'm a naughty girl."

  "Well, we have our own chore to complete, regardless," Dawn said. "We have to restore a girl's lost innocence."

  Sati laughed somewhat harder than strictly necessary. "Lotsa luck!"

  "It does seem unlikely," Dawn agreed. "Nevertheless, that's our mission."

  "I think it's impossible. Apart from that, I'm the only woman in the castle who is even theoretically innocent, and no spell will restore me to my pristine state, if it ever existed."

  "Maybe it's for a man," Jumper said.

  "Such as my father Belial? Forget it. You have a bum lead this time."

  "Sammy doesn't think so," Dawn said, evidently nettled. Indeed, the cat was still sedately leading the way.

  Sati shrugged. "Well, what will be, will be."

  They came to the castle gate. Sammy went right on in, and they followed. He led the way up a huge winding stone stairway. A mouse peeked at them from a crevice, then dissolved into dust. The proprietor was watching them.

  "I am getting curiouser and curiouser," Sati said. "This is where my father's bedroom is. There's been no one innocent there in generations."

  The cat drew up at a massive closed wooden door. "What we want must be beyond that door," Dawn said.

  "Then you want my father." Sati knocked.

  In half a moment it opened. There stood a solid but still handsome older man. This was obviously King Belial. "The feast is downstairs," he said gruffly.

  But Sammy walked right by him, and up to a closed closet door. He sat again, waiting.

  "That closet is private," Belial said.

  "But that's where we have to go," Jumper said.

  "Too bad. The door is locked, and only I know the magic password to open it. Go down to the banquet hall, feast, spend the night if you wish, then go home. There's nothing for you here."

  "You can't—" Jumper started.

  But Dawn put a hand on his arm. "Why don't you let Sati give you a tour of the grounds while I reason with Belial? Perhaps I can persuade him of the logic of our case."

  Jumper was about to protest, uncertain what kind of persuasion she had in mind. But Sati took his arm. "This seems reasonable," she murmured. "We have marvelous sights to show off." She guided him out the bedroom door.

  Jumper glanced back. That was one of the awkward things about this human form: he couldn't see behind him without turning his head, so that everyone knew what he was looking at. Dawn was also taking the king by the arm and guiding him toward the bed. She was going to show him her bra, or worse!

  Sati didn't take Jumper outside, but to her own bedroom suite. "You know I can't let you go without indulging in some intimate dialogue," she said, closing the door behind them.

  "But we aren't even at our destination," he protested. "This is just a stop along the way."

  "A pleasant stop," she agreed, stepping out of her clothes.

  Which was surely what Dawn was doing with the king. Well, when push came to shove, he realized that Dawn was a princess, and of an age to do what she liked. She wanted to have her share of the free fun the dream realm offered, if only to match what her sister had done.

  "You pause to think too much," Sharon said, pulling him close to her. "It slows the narrative." He discovered that his silk shorts were off; she must have removed them during his distraction. They landed together on her bed.

  Then the rest of the dream realm faded out of his awareness as he became lost in the ever new and exciting wonder of her eager body. How he wished that such an affair could be real, instead of just a diversion to prevent him from completing his mission! She was such a fine woman, even if she wasn't really a woman, but a Demoness. She had said that she wanted to make him fall in love with her, so that he would give up the mission to win her return love. But a Demoness couldn't truly love, so his wish was foolish. Even so, he was well on the way to that folly.

  "A punny for your thoughts," she said as they lay surfeit for the moment.

  "What?"

  "Did you hear the one about the quarter pounder? It's a sledgehammer used to pound quarters."

  "Who would want to pound residential quarters?" he asked, perplexed.

  She laughed. "Oh, Dawn is right! You are such a delight."

  Then he realized that it was her pun. He had walked right into it, and now was required to share his thoughts.

  He sighed. The human form was good for that. "I was wishing for the impossible."

  "That I would love you for real, instead of in pretense?"

  "Yes."

  "Let me tell you something, Jumper. There are fundamental laws of magic that apply even to Demons. One is the rule of marriage. When a mortal marries a D/demon—that is, capped or not—half the mortal's soul goes to the demon. That changes the nature of the demon so that she develops a conscience, and is capable of love."

  He stared at her. "If you married me—"

  "My love for you would become real. I would be constrained by the same ethical guidelines as a mortal woman, though I would remain immortal. Your wish would be granted."

  He was amazed. "Then—"

  "All you need to do is marry me."

  Then he saw the catch. "But of course you would never do that. It would be too limiting for you."

  "Jumper, if that's what it takes to stop your mission, I'll do it. All you have to do is ask me."

  "Ask you?"

  "To marry you. In return for abandoning your mission."

  "I can't do that!"

  "Too bad. If you married me, not only would I be perpetually loyal to you, I'd do it with you every day. Every hour, if you chose."

  "Do it?" he asked blankly.

  "This." She took hold of him and led him into another fantastic sequence of lovemaking.

  "But I'm a spider!" he protested when he recovered his breath after the siege.

  "And I'm a shape changer." Suddenly she was a giant spider. "I am your best match, Jumper. For a price."

  She was indeed. But he refused to pay her price. "I won't ask you," he said.

  She reverted to sexy human form. "You don't know what you're missing."

  "I do have half a notion," he said with deep regret. "But I made a deal, and I will honor it."

  "You and that stupid ogre," she said. "Chained by your souls. Now that I think of it, I would really hate to be bound by honor. It leads only to mischief."

  "Yes." He got off the bed and put his silk shorts back on. It was time to see what kind of a deal Dawn was fending off.

  "You should dress better than that," she said. "The servants would freak out if you attended the banquet in that." She got lithely up and went to a closet. In half a moment she brought out a nice human suit. "Don this."

  He didn't question how it was she had a male suit in her bedroom closet. This was, after all, the dream realm. He donned it, and it fit perfectly.

  They returned to the king's bedroom. Belial lay exhausted on the bed, while Dawn was just snapping her bra back together. There was no need to inquire as to the nature of her reasoning with the man.

  "But our mission?" Jumper said, afraid she had made the same deal he had turned down.

  "Continues," she said. She walked to the closet and put a key to the lock.

  "Oh, bleep," Sharon said. "You sold it for the key."

  "He couldn't resist the deal," Dawn agreed. "He's a man. You know how it is."

  "And you're a woman," Sharon agreed. "You know how to use it."

  Jumper realized that Belial was supposed to tempt Dawn from the mission. Instead she had tempted him from his key. She was a princess and a Sorceress, but also some woman.

  Dawn turned the key. The lock clicked. The door opened. Beyond it was a swirling blankness.

  "I'll be d**ned," Dawn breathed, emulating the harpy's word blotting.

  "Yes, it's a secret portal to Mundania," Sharon said. "Your mission evidently takes you there."

  Sammy got up and walked into the swirl.

  "Let's go," Dawn said, grasping Jumper's hand.

  They followed the cat into the unknown.

  And landed in the room of a young Mundane girl. She was sitting on her bed, sobbing piteously. Beside her sat an ornate little box. Sammy settled down by her feet for a nap. This was definitely the person they were looking for.

  "Uh, hello," Jumper said.

  The girl looked up. Her face was streaked with tears. "Who are you?"

  "I am Jumper, and this is Dawn. And that's Sammy Cat. We're from the Land of Xanth. We're here to restore your lost innocence."

  The girl burst into renewed tears. "No one can do that!" she cried. "I am Dora, beset by the Drums of Dole, and have fallen into a Blue Funk.

  There is no hope for me."

  Dawn approached her, extending the Unicorn Symbol, but it shied away. Something was preventing the restoration of her innocence.

  Dawn touched Dora's head. "You need to visit Xanth," she said, fathoming more about the girl. Jumper realized that Dawn now knew how Dora had lost her innocence, and what to do about it.

  "Where?"

  "Come with us. And bring your box." She took Dora's hand and led her to the closet.

  Jumper and Sammy followed, trusting Dawn to know what she was doing.

  They passed through the blank swirl and emerged in King Belial's bedroom. Belial and Sati/Sharon were standing there, still surprised by the party's passage through the portal.

  "This is Dora," Dawn said. "Short for Pandora. She opened her box, when she shouldn't have, and all the evils of Mundania were loosed, making it a horrible place. Those evils cost her her innocence. But Xanth is new to her, so she can start over, with renewed innocence."

  Dawn extended the unicorn symbol again. This time it sank into the girl. "Oh!" she cried with innocent delight.

  "Now open the box again," Dawn said.

  Dora did. Something flew out, swirled around the room, touched Jumper, then sailed on out the window.

  Jumper's eyes and mouth opened in awe. "Suddenly I have Hope!" he said. "Hope to complete our mission despite the barriers yet to be overcome."

  "Yes, the one thing left in the box was Hope," Dawn said. "It seems that was what you needed, Jumper. Now it is loose in Xanth, so anybody will be able to share it."

  "But what about me?" Dora asked.

  "You have a private portal to Xanth," Dawn said. "You will be able to visit here whenever you want to. I'm sure these nice people will help you start your innocent exploration of it."

  "Why should we do that?" Sharon demanded.

  "Because if you don't, you will anger Jumper and me," Dawn said decisively. "Then you will have absolutely no hope of achieving your mission. You can't afford the risk."

  Sharon exchanged a glance with Belial. Then she extended her hand to Dora. "We'll start with our magic gardens," she said. "They have wonders galore."

  "Time to return," Dawn said. She addressed the cat. "Sammy, this time show us the direct route, not the scenic route."

  Sammy was up and in the air, leaping out the window. Jumper hesitated, but Dawn didn't; she scrambled out after the cat. So Jumper did also, though hardly sanguine about it.

  He found himself suspended from a hook that somehow caught the back of his neck without hurting him. He saw that Dawn was similarly hooked, and holding Sammy in her arms.

  "These are not narrative hooks," Jumper said.

  "We have hooked up," she explained. "These will transport us where we are going."

  Oh. There were still surprises in this larger realm.

  But as they swung along below an invisible line, proceeding rapidly across the variegated terrain of dreamland, Jumper saw that Dawn was pensive. "Is there something wrong?" he asked, concerned.

  "There is," she agreed. "Maybe you will be able to figure out a way to handle it."

  "I will try."

  "You know how these dream episodes have seemed scripted? We figured out that Demon Pluto was involved, using his minion Sharon to distract you while the men charmed our girls."

  "Including you?" he asked.

  "Including me. King Belial turned out to be quite a man. I must confess I loved being with him as we seduced each other. But did you wonder why I was so eager to do it? It wasn't just to win the key to the portal."

  "The other girls had their turns; you wanted yours."

  "Yes. But more than that, I wanted to get close to one of those men so I could use my talent to really study him, to fathom the riddle of these settings. To ascertain exactly how Pluto plans to balk us, even if we don't get corrupted. Because I was sure it couldn't be as simple as just charming us, or you."

  "But isn't Belial a minor Demon too, like Sharon? So you can't truly fathom him?"

  "Yes. But I am after all a Sorceress, and my power goes beyond the ordinary. Those men may be dream emulations of living men, but that emulation enabled me to pick up some information. Being as close to Belial as I was, for as long as I was, I was able to glean a fair amount of information. And that's the problem."

  "You learned more? But that's good!"

  "That's better than ignorance, yes. But not good. I learned that we have understood only the upper layer of the deception. The next layer down is worse."

  "What ever it is, we'll tackle it together," Jumper said. "Now that we have a fair Hope of success."

  "Maybe. The top layer was the series of lost things to be returned.

  That Challenge was all scripted by Pluto. The next layer will challenge our unity as a team. That may be more difficult."

  "I think I am not properly understanding you."

  "Here is what I found: those were not six different men employed by Pluto. They are Pluto."

  "Pluto himself?" Jumper said, surprised.

  "Pluto himself, playing six different roles. Seducing six different girls. Including me."