"Friends who shared an experience. We must put it behind us for now, without rejecting any part of the memory."

  "Put it behind us? Why?"

  "Because I think we are about to meet the Demon."

  He followed her glance. Button was hovering near a large stone door, and the door was slowly swinging open.

  12

  DEMONESS

  The ghost floated through the doorway, and Jumper and Phanta cautiously followed.

  And paused. For there lay a lovely freezing world of ice. There were mountains and valleys, plains and glaciers, crystalline trees and houses.

  And a handsome woman whose hair was a mane of ice fibers and whose skin was glassy ice. "Welcome, travelers," she said.

  "Uh, hello," Jumper said uncertainly. "We were looking for—that is—"

  "I am the Demon Eris," the woman said. "Or if you prefer, Demoness. Assuming roughly human form for your convenience. The seeming ghost you followed was my trace spirit identity, the only aspect of me able to escape confinement."

  "Button wasn't really a ghost!" Phanta exclaimed. "Yet he seemed like one."

  "The ghost of the hope of redemption," Eris said. "Sent to lead someone to my prison."

  Jumper was getting his bearings. They had assumed the Demon was male, because Button was, but evidently they had been mistaken. It was best to verify the rest. "Is it—is it true that you need to marry a mortal prince, or something, to escape?"

  "It is true," the Demoness agreed. "It is a standard ploy in our Demon wagers, because mortal princes are not a dime a dozen, and not many of those who exist would care to make any such commitment." She glanced at Jumper. "You don't happen to be a prince, by any chance?"

  He laughed, embarrassed. "No, I'm just an ordinary mortal male spider. But one of our party thought the Princess Dawn might be interested." Then he had to correct himself. "That is, we thought you might be male."

  "Lovely creature," Eris agreed. "She could be a real asset when dealing with mortals, because of her understanding of living things."

  "You know her?" Jumper asked, surprised.

  "In a manner. My spirit wisp is familiar with all the denizens of Castle Roogna, having been there for a century. Dawn certainly would do, though her sinister sister Eve is more intriguing. But it has to be voluntary, and male, which complicates things."

  "I suppose that would," Jumper agreed. "We came here in search of the origin and continuation of the Prophecy."

  "Of course. Come into my parlor and I will clarify it."

  Her parlor turned out to be an elaborate chamber in an ice palace, with ice couches that were surprisingly comfortable. Their cushions were made of snow, which was resilient, and somehow not cold. In fact he was not cold at all, and Phanta did not seem to be either. Jumper reminded himself that this was not an ordinary setting.

  "Let me start closer to the beginning of this incident," the Demoness said as they relaxed with drinks of iced tea and cold cakes. "Approximately a century ago there came an opening for a promotion to full Demon status. In this region the main contenders were Pluto and me, both Dwarf Demons eager for advancement. So we gambled: the winner would get the promotion, while the loser would be relegated to oblivion. Since Demon wagers must depend on essentially random or nonsensical events, such as those determined by mortals, we set it up for a mortal decision: which of our planets would the mortals choose to recognize first? I believed I had the advantage, as my planet was larger than Pluto's, with a larger orbit. Obviously it was more important."

  She paused. Phanta took advantage to insert a question. "Is your planet one we know about?"

  "No. That relates to the history of this incident. At the time we made the wager, neither of our planets was known to the mortals. They were bound to discover them in time. That was the randomness of it: we could not know which one. Naturally I did not leave it purely to chance.

  I asked my girlfriend Sharon to intervene on Earth."

  "Sharon!" Jumper exclaimed. "Your girlfriend?" This bothered him in more than one respect.

  "Yes. She's actually quite a woman." Eris paused, contemplating him. "I see you are disturbed, so I will clarify that Demons are not bound by the rules of mortals, and we may associate with each other in ways not all mortals would approve. Yes, she was my girlfriend. Because she was not a primary in this wager, she could do what Pluto and I could not: influence the mortals. She agreed to visit Earth under cover and guide one of their primitive astronomers to search their sky in the right vicinity, so he would discover my planet. That would give me the victory. What I did not know then was that she was Charon's sister, and Charon was Pluto's minion. It was my foolish fault for not checking her background. So she influenced the mortal astronomer to search Pluto's area of sky, and his planet was discovered first."

  "That must have ended your relationship," Jumper said, relieved in about one and a half ways.

  She sighed. "It did. And thus did Pluto achieve promotion to full Demon status, while I was banished a century ago to this nether prison, to languish until rescued by a mortal prince. It was a foul deal, and I curse the memory of the Demoness who betrayed me."

  A century! But of course time was different for Demons, who were eternal. "But wasn't she true to her brother?" Jumper asked, still not completely comfortable with this news.

  "Yes. And to her true lover, Pluto. That, too, I did not know at the time. She deceived me, and caused me to lose. She is not to be trusted. Not that I will ever have anything to do with her again."

  That was understandable. But it left a hole in Jumper's heart. He had somehow thought there could be something between Sharon and himself, maybe, possibly, if things worked out. Obviously he had been a fool. He was glad that he had never truly trusted her, yet grieved to have his cynicism vindicated.

  "Now about the Prophecy," Eris said. "I knew that I would never be rescued if I did not help myself to what ever degree was feasible. So I sought a way to alert the mortals to my situation. I could not address them directly, because of my confinement, but I could do so indirectly.

  My spirit wisp went out to spy on human events at the castle, which was as far as he could reach without extraordinary effort. Thus I learned the mortal language, and crafted the Prophecy. It was designed to lead a mortal prince to me."

  "But it was given to me!" Jumper protested.

  "Not exactly. You see, I made many Prophecies. The problem was getting them to individuals who could or would act on them. I tried sealing them in bottles and floating them down the river, but the river emptied into an isolated nether sea no one visited, so they were lost. I tried blowing them out into the air, but these were mostly destroyed in storms. Thus for decades I got nowhere. Finally I managed to stick one to a narrative hook that was swinging randomly about. You, it seems, were the one the hook caught, and the sticky Prophecy transferred itself to you. It was intended for a prince, but it seems the hook acted indirectly. It got the Prophecy to the attention of two princesses, perhaps somehow assuming that this equated to one prince. Thus it finally brought you to me. But perhaps we can yet save the situation, if you notify Princess Dawn of its true nature so she can locate a suitable prince."

  "But that Prophecy is guiding me!" Jumper insisted. "So I can repair the cable. That's the whole point of it."

  "That may be the way you or your Good Magician interpreted it," Eris said. "That was not its original intent."

  Phanta seemed to be no more pleased than Jumper. "You mean we have all been following a false Prophecy?"

  "Not false," Eris said. "Merely irrelevant to your particular mission."

  "Fighting monsters," Phanta continued. "Falling in love, struggling to win through to ultimate victory? when it didn't even apply to us?"

  "That is the case," the Demoness agreed equably.

  "It's an outrage!" Phanta flared.

  "How so?" the Demoness asked.

  "We were all betrayed by false love. Now we've been betrayed by the Prophecy itself. That's just as bad in its way. It leaves me seething."

  "I don't understand."

  Phanta looked fit to explode, so Jumper stepped in. "Demons don't have souls," he reminded her. "They don't have human emotions. All they care about is status among their own kind. You are being emotional.

  She is being rational, by her definition. The Prophecy accomplished her purpose, so she is satisfied. She doesn't care how it inconveniences eight mortals."

  "You are marvelously understanding," Eris murmured. "I admire that."

  For a moment it seemed Phanta was going to flare at Jumper, but she stifled it. "And do you care, Jumper?"

  "Oh, yes! I really liked Sharon, and I still like the rest of you, and I hate to see you hurt. I am also frustrated by the problem of our mission.

  I don't see how we'll accomplish it now."

  "You are halfway rational. Maybe that's best. Maybe we should address this rationally, the way Eris does."

  "Yes, of course," Jumper agreed. "We should bargain with her. But I don't see what we can offer her to make her complete the Prophecy to address our mission."

  "I do." Phanta turned to the Demoness, who was waiting with perfectly rational passivity. "You need to marry a mortal prince to abate your situation? It won't make you a full Demon, but will at least free you from your prison."

  "Correct."

  "And we have one or two princesses in our group who surely know some princes. Just one prince would suffice."

  "Correct."

  "And those princesses are just as angry at Pluto as I am, having suffered similarly."

  Jumper began to see where she was leading, thanks to his ability to appreciate human emotion.

  "Correct," the Demoness said.

  "And they will be just as mad as I am when they learn about the irrelevant Prophecy."

  "Correct."

  "Then why the bleep should either of them want to help you?"

  Eris was taken aback. "They would decline?"

  "Yes. Their foolish irrational emotion would make them tell you to go to hell."

  "Actually, Pluto governs Hell, or more properly, Hades," the Demoness said. "With his wife Persephone. I could not go there."

  "It is an established principle that princesses do not marry men they are mad at, or help women they are mad at," Phanta continued inexorably. "So the rational approach is to make them un-mad."

  "Correct. But what would un-madden them?"

  "Gee, I don't know." Jumper recognized irony there, and kept silent. "But it might help if the girls got their dream men back, this time for real, and found a way to complete the mission. That might not make them eager to help anyone, but at least they wouldn't be as angry as before."

  Eris turned to Jumper. "This seems to be manipulating emotional states. I do not understand emotion. Does this program make sense to you?"

  "Yes," Jumper said simply.

  "How might we achieve such details?"

  "Maybe if we all met together and discussed it," Jumper said. "The girls are reasonably smart. One of them might come up with something feasible."

  "Then let's meet, here and now."

  "There's a problem," Jumper said. "The girls are stuck at various places along our route, protecting it so we can return safely."

  "If we can negotiate a deal, and a princess finds a prince for me, I will no longer be confined, and the way will no longer be blocked. There will be no further need to guard it."

  "That's rational," Jumper agreed. "I will go back and tell them to come here."

  "There is no need. My ghost aspect can notify them and lead them in."

  "They may not believe him," Jumper said. "Unless he carries a credible message."

  "What would that message be?"

  Jumper considered, but didn't think of one.

  "Vengeance is ours," Phanta said. "Follow Button."

  "But that's not true," Jumper said. "We haven't negotiated any deal yet, let alone achieved any revenge."

  "We will," Phanta said. "Trust me."

  So they made a printed sign with those words, and Phanta touched it, ghosting it, so that the ghost Button could carry it. He took it and flitted back the way they had come.

  Belatedly Jumper thought of another complication. "Dawn—she's afraid of depths. She can't come here."

  "There is a more direct route," the Demoness said. "One that lacks depths. Button knows that route."

  Soon the girls started appearing, led in by Button Ghost. The first was Olive. "Coinroy is still marveling over Shep's fantastic coin collection. I doubt he even misses me. But what's this about?"

  "We will be negotiating with the Demoness Eris," Phanta said. "For our mission, and the return of our dream men."

  Olive made a moue. "Our phantom dream men? Tell me more." The two walked away, conversing.

  "You associate with pretty girls," Eris remarked.

  "Coincidence," Jumper said. "I did not choose them."

  "The Prophecy did. I did not wish to be rescued by an ugly prince."

  Jumper had to laugh. Then he had to try to explain why, because the Demoness did not understand laughter. It had not been all that long since Jumper learned it himself, but he made the attempt, and the Demoness seemed to be getting it. She seemed to be quite intelligent.

  Eve appeared. "What a castle!" she exclaimed. "Of course it needs more carpets on the walls, so it won't look so cold."

  Jumper introduced them. "This is the Princess Eve, a Sorceress. This is the Demoness Eris. As you surmised, she needs to marry a mortal prince."

  "You are wondrously lovely," Eris said, surveying Eve's nude charms.

  Eve paused part of a moment, amenable to flattery, then decided. "Sorry, I have another agenda."

  Oops. Eve thought the Demoness was hinting at something else.

  "But your sister?" Eris asked.

  Eve's lips quirked. "Maybe. That is for her to say."

  Jumper decided to keep his mouth shut.

  "Still, let's look around your castle," Eve said. "It looks worthy." They walked off.

  Jumper wondered what Eve's other agenda was. A Demoness would be a considerable catch, even for a prince.

  Haughty Harpy arrived. "Who would have thunk it," she said, her gaze covering landscape and castle. Jumper explained the situation.

  Maeve appeared. They caught her up on things. "How about some clothing?" she asked.

  They explored the bedroom area of the castle, and discovered a number of royal robes, evidently set up for the handsome prince the Demoness hoped some day to marry. Maeve tried one on, and it fit her perfectly, being gender neutral or, more likely, a magic gown. "I'm beautiful!" she exclaimed, surprised, as she gazed in a wall-sized mirror. She was correct.

  Wenda came. "Ooo, I want one too!" she exclaimed when she saw Maeve, though she was clothed. "Have yew another?" Soon she too was breathtakingly lovely in a royal gown.

  And finally Dawn appeared. She immediately knew the situation the moment she touched Jumper. "Well, we'll see," she said.

  Soon they were all gathered in the castle's family room. The girls were richly garbed, stunningly fair, for they had not only dressed, they had washed their faces and done their hair. But Dawn was noticeably fairer than the others, including her sister. Jumper realized that this was not accidental. Dawn, not Eve, was the one who might have considered marrying the Demon. Except that it had turned out to be a Demoness.

  Jumper wasn't sure what was going on in either of their minds.

  There was a silence. Jumper realized that someone had to conduct the negotiation, and he, being neither girl nor Demoness, seemed to be the one. He opened his mouth, and was overtaken by a pause.

  For there before him stood Sharon. She was breathtakingly beautiful, fully equivalent to the others.

  "What are you doing here?" Jumper demanded.

  "I believe I belong in this number," she said. "And I may have something to contribute."

  Now Eris showed some emotion. "You betrayed me, foul creature!"

  "And was in turn betrayed," Sharon responded.

  "That surely served you right."

  "Aren't you curious about the details?"

  "No." For she was a Demoness, and the details could not relate to any acquisition of power on her part.

  "But we are," Haughty said. She too had donned a bit of costume: a scintillating tiara. "You have been serving Pluto. What could have changed your mind, you scheming h*ssy?"

  "I am a schemer," Sharon agreed. "It comes with the condition of being female." She looked around, and only Wenda shook her head in denial. She had not yet had enough experience as a whole woman to properly develop that trait.

  "Get on with it," Haughty snapped.

  "I am Charon's sister, and was Pluto's lover. I did Pluto's bidding, in the hope that in time he would marry me. I enabled him to achieve promotion to full Demon status. But then he married that mortal upstart Persephone." She frowned. "A mortal! Can you believe it?"

  "Actually, yes," Dawn said. "It seems Demons have a taste for mortal princesses."

  "She was no princess!"

  "She was the equivalent," Dawn said. "She was the daughter of a god, and beautiful. What more could any male ask?"

  "A Demoness!"

  "Are you, or have you ever been, innocent?"

  "Of course not! No Demoness is or ever was."

  "As a mortal Persephone surely was. That appeals also."

  "Oh, damn, you're right," Sharon said, realizing. As an un-innocent Demoness she wasn't bound by limitations of vocabulary, and could utter uncensored words.

  "But didn't that happen a century or more ago?" Jumper asked.

  "Yes. She married him when he achieved full Demon status, and backdated the historic references. And I, fool that I was, helped him achieve it."

  "You know," Haughty said, "Sharon has a case. She is a woman scorned, like the rest of you."

  "But why did you help him against us?" Jumper demanded. "You should have been on our side."

  "I should have been," she agreed. "Especially since I found another male I could respect. But I was in denial about Pluto. I clung to the illusion that if he ever tired of Persephone, he would take me. So I helped him again—or tried to." She shook her head. "How wrong I was!"