Bleep! It did interest Vinia, who had long been frustrated by the Conspiracy. But this was treacherous. She could not afford to let this enemy man subvert her willpower. “No,” she repeated.

  “Ah, but it is not your prerogative to decline, precious girl. That decision belongs to Prince Ion.”

  This was getting rapidly worse. Ion did like Vinia; in fact, he loved her. Could he tolerate this rogue’s abuse of her without capitulating?

  Then she realized that to do anything with her, the man would have to take her out of the cage. She might be able to escape.

  Volney produced a key. He put it to the lock on Vinia’s door and opened it. Then he reached inside, caught Vinia by an arm, and drew her outside, maintaining a firm hold. He was strong; there was no way she could wrench free and escape. A part of her did not even want to.

  Vinia knew he was testing her, maybe on several levels. To ascertain the extent of her resistance, and to force her to use her telekinesis so he could judge its power. And to make Ion capitulate, to save her. And maybe even to subvert her to his cause. He was making more progress than she dared acknowledge, even to herself.

  What was her best course? Probably nonresistance, so that the man would be able to judge neither her physical nor her talent strength. She would have to submit to his kiss. What bothered her most was the fear that she would like it.

  He turned her around to face him and slowly drew her in to him, as if she were his girlfriend. She yielded with only token resistance. He was doing it slowly in order to give her plenty of time to resist, one way or another. Also, to give Ion time to speak.

  And in that slow-motion time she got an idea. They were standing right beside the needle. She marked its spot exactly so she could fix on it with her tele.

  He put his face to hers and kissed her lips. She did not bite him or make them mush; she submitted to the pressure of it. In fact, she returned it slightly, as if involuntarily warming to his charm. That ruse was surprisingly easy to perform. She was a girl, not a woman, but she did know how to kiss, from her practice with Ion. She could feel his surprise; he had expected resistance or apathy, not cooperation. Maybe he liked it, too, though that plainly was not his purpose. Or was it?

  And, during the Volent’s momentary distraction, she lifted the needle telekinetically and stuck it in the inside of her skirt where it would not show. With luck the watching Volents were also distracted by the show and had not seen the slight movement of the needle.

  Volney drew back and paused. “Now I know you’re not flirting with me, servant girl, appealing as you are despite your age. What is in your mind?”

  Vinia thought fast. “Sometimes my body reacts on its own,” she said. “Despite my annoyance.” Was she fooling him? The truth was that despite her suppressed outrage, she had enjoyed the kiss.

  “You are verging on maturity. Let’s try it again.” He drew her in and kissed her again. This time he also put a hand on her bottom and squeezed.

  She froze in shock. A man could kiss a child, but he never fondled her bottom. This really was Conspiracy stuff! How far was he going to go? Did he mean to force her to resist physically, or to break down and weep? Or to relax and enjoy it? Or to use her talent to try to foil him? Which alternative was the worst?

  She decided to continue with nonresistance, to give him no satisfaction on any front. Or little satisfaction, anyway; he did seem to like what he was doing. He was not being rough with her at all. She held the kiss and let him squeeze. She hated to think how Ion was reacting, but she knew that he couldn’t afford to give in. That would cost them everything.

  Volney drew back again. “No apparent reaction from you or the prince. I am disappointed, despite my pleasure in the contact. I fear I am going to have to proceed to stage three.”

  He was not going to do further adult mischief with her? That was a relief. Not just because it could be a real problem to her innocence, but because she feared that she would continue to like it. She could not remember the details of what she had briefly known when Ghorgeous had made her adult, but the Volent would have made them clear. What was Ion thinking, seeing her getting kissed and squeezed like that? Was he good at suppressing his reaction, or was he not really jealous? That bothered her in another manner.

  Whatever could the next stage be? Apparently Volney was not a molester of children, whatever he might imply. She gazed at him with unfaked apprehension. “Stage three?”

  “Get back in the cage, girl. I think you knew I was not going to take you to the limit. You have admirable nerve. I think you are already more woman than child.” He turned her loose.

  Vinia did not try to bolt for the carpet, suspecting that he expected that. Instead she walked sedately to the cage, passing by Hilda’s cage and teleporting the needle to the inside of Hilda’s dress without looking, knowing that Hilda would be aware of its arrival. She reached her own cage, entered it, and pulled its door closed. A Volent came to lock it again.

  Vinia had suffered some indignity but had accomplished something useful with the needle. And Ion had not cracked. This was not exactly a game, but so far, they had kept the score more or less even.

  “Heed me, all,” Volney said. “I am going to explain to you what is in store for the four of you if you do not cooperate. Then I will give you the night to consider.”

  They were silent, knowing that this was going to be ugly.

  “As you may know, we have in our possession a virus that causes infected women to become completely submissive to the wishes of men. We are using it on the Lips women we capture, making them delightful girlfriends and wives. They retain their power to render men into love slaves but are careful never to use it, because they know the men do not wish it. Their kisses become normal. But it doesn’t work on children, which protects you two girls, and of course not on boys. However, we also have an aging spell we can use to make children mature rapidly. If we use it on you girls, you will become women, subject to the virus. Do you understand?” He paused.

  The four of them gazed at him with dismay. That combination was feasible and would destroy any resistance the girls had. He really did have a viable strategy, which their lack of cooperation could not prevent.

  “However,” he continued when the pause had been used up, “Two of you are boys. So we will utilize the gender-changing spell we also have to change you to girls. Then we will age you and infect you, and you will become obliging women for our troops. Your magic will be used on our behalf, because it will be your wish to do so when we ask. Do you understand?”

  What was the use in pretending? “We understand,” Ion said.

  “Then I will leave you to your night of consideration,” Volney said. He and three of the Volents departed for wherever their camp was, leaving one to guard the cages. That one sat down next to the bag of vials, picked it up, and gazed at it.

  The four children circulated a glance. Vinia had had in mind hauling the bag telekinetically to Ion, who could then release a vial of metal softener to get him and the others out of the cages. But the Volent was accidentally messing that up.

  Or was it accidental? This could be part of the enemy plan, to make Vinia show her power. She needed to use it, but not while the man was paying attention. Just as Hilda needed to use hers, and Ion his. They needed to distract the guard. Hilda or Vinia could have done it by flirting with him, but then they would not be able to focus on their efforts for escape.

  Benny stepped into the breach. “Hello, Volent,” he said.

  “Shut up, goat boy,” the man said irritably.

  Benny laughed, taking no offense. “I once had a job entertaining tourists. I learned some things along the way. Such as the meanings of names. In Mundania they may be random, but here in Xanth they usually are descriptive. You can test me on this. What’s your name?”

  The Volent paused, considering. Then he answered “Vol.”

  “Now I doubt that’s short for Volent,” Benny said. “Members of a tribe tend to have alliterative names, so yours naturally begins with a V. So you must mean Vol as short for your larger name, which I am guessing is Volusian.”

  The man grimaced. “You’re pretty smart, goat face,” he said irritably.

  “Not smart. Social. I know how to interest people.”

  “Well, you’re boring me, goatee. So shut up.”

  Meanwhile Hilda had brought out thread from a hidden pocket and seemed to be sewing a cord. Vinia wasn’t sure she would be able to use it on the guard, but at least it was something.

  “Ah, but I haven’t finished,” Benny said smoothly. “Names have meanings. The magical powers that be surely had a reason for giving you that name. Do you want to know what your name means?”

  “No, butt head,” Vol snapped. But he was listening.

  “It means ‘bad-tempered.’”

  “Oh, piss and conniption! You do know it.”

  “But you have reason. Who wants to be stuck with guarding four children, and you can’t even touch the girls because you’re not a squad leader, you’re just a common grunt. It’s a demeaning chore.”

  Vol mellowed. “You’re pretty sharp. What’s your name?”

  “I am Benny. It’s not short for Benedict or Benjamin or Benton, all of which are respectable. It’s just Benny, meaning nothing in particular. I didn’t rate a good name, because I’m a crossbreed, the lowest of the low.”

  Vinia was interested despite her focus on the bag. She had known and liked Benny for years, but it was true that there was a general prejudice against crossbreeds. He had found a way to relate solidly to Vol. He really was socially competent.

  “Yeah,” Vol agreed. “Me, too, on looking down on crossbreeds. Sorry about that. You seem like a good guy.”

  “I get along. Sometimes I look at the girls and wish they were nannies. A doe Caprine crossbreed can be sexy as Hades. In my goat form I can really appreciate that.”

  “Uh, I hate to say it, but you’re scheduled to become a doe yourself.”

  “Oh, bleep! I forgot. I don’t suppose I could talk you into letting me out of this cage so I can get away before they do?”

  Vol shook his head. “Sorry, can’t do. They’d replace you with me, and I don’t want to be a slut any more than you do.”

  Their dialogue continued, but now Vol had forgotten the bag in his hands. Vinia tugged at it telekinetically, but the man’s grip remained unconsciously tight. Bleep!

  Vinia glanced at Ion. He made a little hand gesture as of opening something.

  Okay. Vinia focused on working the bag ajar and wedging out the topmost vial, whatever it was. She pried it open. A thin vapor emerged, forming into a sticklike figure. Then it firmed into a brightly colored cane. What was it?

  “Bleep,” Ion muttered. “A co-cain.”

  Suddenly Vol became aware of it. “What’s this?” he demanded, dropping the bag and grabbing it.

  “A cane,” Vinia said quickly. “Maybe it got blown in by the wind.” There was no wind, but she couldn’t think of anything better. “Probably better to leave it alone.”

  “The bleep I will! I caught it, and it’s mine.” He stood and put the cane to the ground, leaning on it. “Hey! This feels good! Almost like flying.”

  Then his feet left the ground. He was flying.

  Alarmed, he dropped it. It floated away. He crashed back to the ground.

  Meanwhile Vinia retrieved another vial from the bag and opened it, hoping it would be more effective in distracting the Volent from his duty as a guard. Ion could have selected effective vials, but these were random. Hilda now had a fair length of her cord.

  Vapor issued from the second vial, forming into another cane. This one was numbingly dull. Vol saw it and grabbed it.

  “Oh, it makes my hand numb,” he said.

  “Nova cain,” Ion said. “Don’t bang it, lest—”

  Vol banged it into the ground. The cane exploded into a mighty burst of light and disappeared.

  Vinia tried to move the bag away from Vol, but he saw it and grabbed it back. Another vial squeezed out, so Vinia opened that one. It formed into a third cane, with a spiral red-and-white pattern decorating it.

  Vol caught the cane, dropping the bag again. This time Vinia snatched it away and flung it toward Ion. Fortunately Vol was focused on the cane. “This one looks good enough to eat.” He put his tongue to it. “It is good enough to eat! It’s a sugar cane!” He sat down again, biting into the cane with delight. He had quite forgotten the bag.

  Now Ion had the bag of vials. He quickly opened one. Vapor emerged and clouded around the wires of the cage. They dissolved, and he was free.

  Meanwhile Hilda had completed her cord and sent it snaking like a living thing to the connected derrick. It pulled a handle, and the cage heaved up on its rope, pulling free of the ground and freeing her.

  The two of them came to the remaining cages. Hilda used her rope to pull the handle to Benny’s derrick and lift his cage away, while Ion blew a bit of vapor on Vinia’s wires and puffed them into smoke. The two couples hugged. Now they all were free.

  Vol looked up from his candy cane. “Oh, no! I let you escape. They’ll crucify me!”

  “Not your fault,” Benny said consolingly. “We’re pretty slippery characters. All the same, they may not understand and could blame you. Maybe we should take you to some other Volent community where you can be anonymous.”

  “You’d do that?” he asked, amazed. “I’m one of the bad guys.”

  “But we’re good guys,” Vinia said, kissing him on the cheek. “We’ll do it.”

  “Dam,” he said, using that irrelevant river-blocking term. “I wish you were grown, girl, and liked me.”

  “We managed to escape that fate,” she said. It was an evasion but would do. She did not really like him, but recognized that he was not a bad sort, for his kind.

  They went to the carpet. Hilda checked it carefully before they boarded, just in case, but it seemed clean. It had been left untouched, as bait. “All the same,” Hilda said, “I am going to sew a stasis trap detector, so we won’t be caught that way again.”

  “You can do that?” Vol asked, amazed.

  “She’s a Sorceress,” Benny said proudly. “She can do just about anything with her needle and thread.”

  They took off. Vol was amazed but appreciative. He directed them to another community where he thought he would be safe, and they dropped him off there. “Uh, if we ever meet again—” he started.

  “We won’t know each other at all,” Vinia said.

  Vol nodded. It was mutual protection. Neither side would approve of fraternizing with the enemy.

  They ascended into the night sky. “Thanx Officer of the Hour,” Vinia said to the ring.

  In about one-seventh of a moment a buzzing sounded. “Turn on your translator, Beetrix,” Benny called.

  The buzzing became the bee. “Sorry,” the bee princess buzzed. “How are you folk doing?”

  “Well enough, considering,” Vinia said. “We got caught by the Male Volents, twice, but managed to escape unharmed.” She explained briefly about that.

  “That’s scary,” Beetrix buzzed. “Grown and submissive, just like us.”

  “Our next stop should be with Apoca. If we can talk her into helping, you will be submissive no more.”

  “That would be nice.” She disconnected.

  “There’s the rub,” Ion said. “Apoca didn’t sound very accommodating before.”

  “But face-to-face, maybe we can persuade her,” Hilda said.

  Could they? It just didn’t seem promising, but none of them wanted to say that out loud. What would they do if it didn’t work out? Vinia had no idea and feared that the others had even less.

  It was time. Vinia nerved herself. “Apoca,” she said to the ring. “Vinia here. We were caught by the Volents but escaped. May we come to you now?”

  The queen was amazed. “You escaped them? Without getting transformed?”

  “Without,” Vinia agreed.

  “Then you have more power or better fortune than I thought. Come on in.”

  A nod circulated. They were on their way. But an intangible cloud of doubt accompanied them. Could they really succeed? They had to, or all was lost. But could they?

  Chapter 13

  Apoca

  “I see that cloud,” Hilda said. “You’re doubting again, Vinia.”

  Vinia could not deny it. “Suddenly it’s too easy, again. She’s not just going to let us come in without challenge. Not with enemies like Volney Volent.”

  “He kissed you,” Hilda said shrewdly. “And you sort of liked it.”

  Vinia was unable to deny it. “I hated that I did.”

  Hilda nodded. “With Ion watching.”

  “I’m not jealous,” Ion said. “He was using you to get to me, and you knew it, so you had to go along with it, playing the part. And you used his distraction to get the needle to Hilda, and later the bag of vials to me.”

  “That is true,” Vinia agreed, relieved that they weren’t blaming her. “But honesty compels me to say that despite all that, I did sort of like the kiss. I’m sorry.”

  “He’s a handsome man,” Hilda said. “With maybe some magic in his approach to women. That’s probably his talent, to make them like it. I think I would have liked his kiss and squeeze, too, despite hating it.”

  Vinia saw Benny’s hand on the till tighten. He was jealous. So probably Ion was too. That was perversely reassuring.

  “But that doubt,” Hilda said. “We all feel it, but maybe you can clarify it. What is it, specifically?”