Apoca glanced at Nolan, but he was staying clear, leaving it to her.

  “First things first,” she said. “What are you asking for your commentary?”

  “I mostly graze this fine field. But it has a fringe of excellent pies, or technically pi’s, that I very much like to ingest when I relax in the evenings. But recently there has come a pie rat that consumes them before I can. I want to be rid of that rat.”

  “Pie rat,” Gent said. “As in pirate, one who steals physical or intellectual valuables.”

  There was a muted groan from the group.

  “You said pi’s,” Nolan said. “What kind are those?”

  “They are number pies. They contain all the numbers of the pi ratio, in order.”

  “Um—”

  “The ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. It’s a magic number, invaluable. I love to digest the unique parts of it. I can’t do that if the pie rat steals the pies before they properly ripen. I have knowledge of many things, but this requires a physical process.”

  The group shared a confused glance. None of them understood exactly what she was talking about. Did it matter, really? The point was that she needed to be rid of the rat.

  “There are ways to eliminate rats,” Apoca said.

  “I do not want poison, as that could affect me also. Nor do I want strenuous mechanisms such as Mundane firearms. I simply want that rat quickly, cleanly, and permanently gone.”

  Apoca looked at Nolan. He shrugged. “Show me the rat.”

  “I must advise you that it is a cunning brute, with friends among the neighbors. If you chase it, it will lead you into trouble.”

  “I can handle trouble.”

  Apoca had seen him do it. But the rat was probably more devious than the maenads. She was not sure she liked the smell of this.

  “Over there,” Dolly said, pointing with her nose.

  Sure enough, there was a big rat foraging among the growing pies at the fringe of the field.

  Nolan transformed to his serpent form, becoming a big rat snake. His clothing disappeared, all but the pouch belt he wore around his middle. Now it was around the middle of the snake, seeming not to inhibit it at all. He took off after the rat, slithering with amazing rapidity.

  The pie rat saw him coming and scooted away. But the snake was gaining on it. Could Nolan catch the elusive creature?

  The rat sped up. The snake accelerated, closing the gap.

  The rat veered to pass close to a bush with silvery disks. The disks dropped off, developing giant pincers.

  “Those aren’t flowers,” Nimbus said. “They are resting quarterpedes. They are like us nickelpedes, only five times worse. Nolan shouldn’t mess with them; they’ll relentlessly gouge out quarter-sized chunks of his flesh.”

  There was a flash, and the nearest quarterpede jumped up, flipped over, and landed on its back, a scorched husk. The others immediately scurried away from the snake, who passed the bush unmolested.

  “What happened?” Apoca asked, surprised.

  “Let me check. Aurora and I have gotten to know each other. We are on the way to becoming friends, because of our unique associations with you flesh folk. We understand each other. We have established a telepathic rapport. I will ask her.”

  “You can do non-contact telepathy?”

  “Some friends can, though it is unusual between species.” There was half a pause. “Ah! Aurora fried it. She’s a fire ant, remember. The other quarterpedes got the message and skedaddled.”

  Apoca nodded. “She’s protecting him, the way you would protect me.”

  “Yes. She likes him, the way I like you. She even kissed him, after I did.”

  “He is kissable,” Apoca agreed.

  “You are falling for him.”

  “I suppose I am. But I have a way to go before I land.”

  They saw the rat plunge into a river. A number of colored fins oriented.

  “That water is infested by loan sharks,” Dolly said. “They’ll take an arm and a leg if you let them. The rat has a deal with them, sharing my stolen pi’s. The sharks love the numbers. So they will not bother the rat. But they will chew up Nolan if he ventures there.”

  “Maybe not,” Apoca said, remembering how he had scared off the maenads. The man had resources.

  The snake plunged into the water. The sharks converged. The snake changed as it splashed in, becoming something else. The sharks veered away.

  “What happened?” Dolly asked, surprised in her turn. It seemed that she knew a lot but was not clairvoyant.

  “Aurora says he transformed into a big fish. He has fish ancestry, so can assume the form. It’s not his talent, merely part of his makeup.”

  “But the sharks saw it happen,” Apoca protested, impressed despite her caution. “They know he’s a shape-changer chasing their rat friend. Why aren’t they attacking him?”

  Nimbus checked with Aurora. “Oh, my! He became a sell-fish.”

  “A pun on selfish,” Gent said. “A sell-fish doesn’t borrow, it sells, so the loan sharks can’t touch it.”

  “He can choose the type of fish he becomes?” Apoca asked, becoming more impressed despite her caution.

  “Yes. Aurora says he practiced as a youth, so he can do different fish, different serpents, and even different men, as long as they are part of his ancestry. They all have the same mass; he can’t become a whale shark or a sardine, the way a true transformer could, but it serves him well enough.”

  “That is impressive,” Dolly said.

  Apoca could only nod. She was determined to judge the man objectively, but he was swaying her feelings without even trying to. He was just naturally doing what he was equipped to do.

  “Oh, my!” Nimbus repeated. “He just changed forms again. Now he’s a rat fish, the kind that eats rats.”

  “I would like to see that,” Dolly said.

  “Let me see if I can put it on holo.” A three-dimensional picture appeared of a fish swimming through river water. “It’s not photographic, because Aurora is in the magic pouch with his clothing, peering out between the strands. All she can see physically is his fish belly. But she’s drawing on his mind, too, and his knowledge of the environment. So this is a composite mental image approximating the reality.”

  “It will do,” Apoca said.

  The rat fish closed swiftly on the swimming rat, coming up behind and beneath it. Then the fish leaped out of the water, jaws gaping, and came down on the rat. In barely a quarter of a moment the rat was chomped and swallowed, a meal for the fish.

  “That pie rat is history,” Nimbus said with satisfaction as the picture faded.

  “It is,” Dolly agreed. “You have covered my fee and will have my discussion.”

  Soon Nolan returned. “That was fun. That rat tasted of an endless string of non-repeating numbers.”

  “It would,” Dolly agreed. “Now, if the group of you will park yourselves, I will address each of you in turn.”

  “Oh, I am just concerned with the fulfillment of my mission to solve the problem of the repeating talents,” Nolan said as they formed a half circle before the llama and sat on the ground, or on their friends, or merely hovered in place. “The others are just my Companions in the Quest.”

  “Which is yours because it is the price of the Good Magician’s answer to your Question about the identity of your ideal woman,” Dolly said. “Therefore, Apoca is integral to the Quest, because without her it would not exist, or at least would not be for the eight of you. She even carries the name of this volume in the annals of Xanth.”

  “Eight of us?” Apoca asked.

  “Nolan, Aurora, Apoca, Nimbus, Gent, Vinia, Ghorgeous, and Baton. Eighteen syllables. Eight identities.”

  “She must have eaten some of those number pies despite the thieving rat,” Nimbus remarked.

  “The baton counts?” Apoca asked. “But it merely conveys the perspective.”

  “It is nevertheless a significant identity in its own right. It, or another of its type, has accompanied every main character since Xanth history began, though few of them knew it, and without it there would be no stories. Merely a confused mishmash of history, personalities, and devious interrelationships of little interest to anyone. The opportunity for compelling narratives would be wasted. It, too, is integral.”

  The baton nodded agreement.

  A half-perplexed gaze lapped the circle. The llama evidently had her own perspective.

  “Proceeding in reverse order,” Dolly continued, “Ghorgeous Ghost is considerably more than an incidental presence. All of you represent links in the chain of accomplishment, and without any of you, that chain would break. Technically all links are equally important, but nontechnically Ghorgeous is vital to the denouement. Do not allow her to leave the party.”

  “As if anyone could lock in a ghost,” Nimbus muttered.

  “Oh, I’m just here to help out incidentally,” Ghorgeous protested. “Because I can check things out invisibly, pass through solid walls, keep guard at night, and spook credulous creatures when necessary. Any ghost could do it. I’m really not important.”

  “Perhaps,” the llama said. There was an undertone fraught with hidden meaning.

  Apoca was reminded uneasily of the mock-girl Squid, who was called the most important person in the universe. She had dismissed that out of hand … until it proved to be true. What was there about the ghost that was so crucial? Ghorgeous seemed as doubtful as Apoca was.

  “Vinia,” Dolly said, causing the girl to startle. “A variant of the name Wivinia, meaning ‘of the quiet life.’ Her life has not been quiet; she was the protagonist of the last story.” She glanced at Baton, who bobbed confirmation. “A creature of two powerful talents, telekinesis and seeing colored paths to the future. They work together to make her a future princess. She is essential to this Quest, because only the paths can show the way safely through. Yet there are limits.”

  “Such as my having little idea what I am doing, here or anywhere,” the girl agreed.

  “But she is an excellent friend,” Apoca said, winning a smile of appreciation.

  “Gent, unkindly nicknamed Pun Gent because of the curse the Witch Craft put on him for inadvertently ruining her garden of witch grass. He thought it was a yard overrun by weeds. His talent is killing weeds. Since a weed is by definition a plant where it is not wanted, his better-defined talent is killing plants.”

  Gent sat up straight. “I never thought of that!”

  “Actually, the witch’s curse is not entirely what it seems,” Dolly continued. “She is not yet through with Gent, but must wait until Apoca releases him from love slavery, which she will do in due course.”

  “I never want to see the witch again!” Gent exclaimed. “She knew it was an accident, but she cursed me anyway.”

  “Perhaps.” Again the word was fraught, which made Apoca wonder. What was Dolly not saying?

  “Are we missing something?” Apoca asked.

  “Yes.”

  “What?”

  “I am unable to tell you that, because it might affect your future and make my commentary invalid.”

  “Oh, the way my paths change once I decide on the one to follow,” Vinia said.

  “Exactly.”

  “In fact, they are vague now, as if your comment is putting them in flux.”

  “Yes. Your decisions have to be your own.”

  “Then why are we here at all?” Nolan demanded.

  “Because my commentary will enable you to achieve your mission, if you handle it correctly. That is a crucial aspect of your unusual situation. Once you have properly explored your options, you may be able to succeed.”

  “May?”

  “No particular aspect of the future can ever be guaranteed. We exist in a realm of quantum fluctuations.”

  This was getting beyond Apoca’s comprehension again. She had never heard of the magic called quantum. “So we’ll just have to take your word for it?”

  “Yes. Perhaps someday you will comprehend.”

  The glance circulated again. “Then get on with it,” Apoca said with imperfect grace.

  “Nimbus Nickelpede, your companion and friend, is another link in the chain. She is enjoying this excursion, as it promises bloodthirsty action, and might deliver a suitable mate for her.”

  There was that “might” again. This time Apoca let it pass.

  “In fact, one of her contributions may be incipient.”

  “Oh?” Nimbus asked, surprised.

  “I don’t know what form it will take, but Nimbus is integral.”

  The nickelpede flicked her tail in a shrug.

  “And Apoca,” the llama continued. “She will have some serious kissing to do before the mission is complete. Both kinds.”

  So Dolly knew she could kiss a man into love slavery, and a woman out of it, or at least out of submissiveness. But it was not the kind of thing she ever did casually. “I’m not kissing Nolan that way.”

  “Nolan is already half-immune.”

  That made Apoca pause for another thought. Only natural love made a man immune. Did that mean that Nolan was falling in love with her? He was courting her, to be sure, but that did not necessarily mean love. Princes were notorious for marrying for political advantage while having a flock of prettier mistresses. She did not want that kind.

  “And Aurora Ant,” Dolly said. “She, too, is vital, and is close to an event now.”

  Aurora, back on Nolan’s shoulder, started. “I’m just scouting for a suitable foraging ground for my home anthill. I’ll help out where I can, but I am only an ant, after all.” Apoca heard her via Nimbus, who was now in chronic attunement.

  “You saved me a gouging by the quarterpedes,” Nolan reminded her. He was in similar touch via Aurora.

  “All part of the deal.” But there was an undertone. They were of wildly different species, but she liked him. That was why she occasionally flashed him with her human-girl dream image. It was fun flirting even if there was no realistic future in it.

  “I know how that is,” Nimbus said privately. “His kisses have power.”

  “They do,” Apoca agreed.

  “Finally Prince Nolan Naga,” Dolly said. “Whose handsome aspect enthralls all the females of this Quest.”

  “That’s not true!” Ghorgeous and Vinia said almost together. Then they looked at each other and shared a blush. Nimbus and Aurora were doing the bug equivalent. Only Apoca had both her expression and discomfit under control, though she felt the truth of it. The prince was making an incidental impact. Part of it was because it was clear he had no such intention.

  Nolan looked startled. “I never—”

  “They understand,” Dolly said. “His sole intention is to accomplish the mission.”

  “That is true.”

  “Fortunately this sort of thing is harmless,” the llama said. “But he will face more serious and less harmless temptations before the Quest is complete.”

  “I am not looking for temptation,” Nolan said. “I just want to save the babies and win Apoca, not necessarily in that order.”

  “The Quest is needfully complicated, because it relates to a Demon. A man once asked a Demon whether it was true that the ratio of a Demon to an ordinary mortal person was that of a galaxy to a grain of sand. The Demon replied that this understated the case. However, this is merely a Dwarf Demon, so the case is approximately correct. Nevertheless, this is no ordinary challenge. This is the point where you must decide whether to continue or to give it up.”

  “If we give it up, the babies may never again have individual talents,” Nolan said. “And my payment for the Good Magician’s Answer will be void.”

  “If you continue, you will be entering a realm of extreme danger to yourselves and those you hold dear,” Dolly said. She glanced at Vinia. “Such as your Prince Ion.”

  “Oh!” Vinia cried, stricken.

  The llama glanced at Apoca. “Such as the Queendom of Thanx.”

  That struck her like a Mundane safe falling on her head. Thanx was a marvelous feminist community, and Queen Demesne was her friend. She did not want anything ill to happen to it. “Mm.”

  Dolly glanced at Aurora. “Such as your home anthill.”

  The fire ant quailed as if drenched.

  She glanced at Nolan. “Such as the Naga Kingdom.”

  Nolan paled but stood firm. “What are the odds of our success?”

  “Approximately even, depending on chance and commitment.”

  He glanced around, evidently shaken but determined. “I mean to complete this Quest, regardless of the risk, but the rest of you are not obliged. I will proceed alone if need be. You are free to go home, but any who wish to join me will be welcome.”

  Apoca felt herself crossing the nebulous boundary between intrigue and love. This was a man to be respected. She appreciated the formidable risk but cringed at the thought of letting him take it alone. “I will join you, with a similar release of the others.”

  Gent spoke. “In that case, I too am in.”

  Oops. “You have no choice, being my love slave. I will free you for that.” She walked to him, held him close, and delivered the nullifying kiss she had used to free the women of Thanx of the submission malady. “Now you are free. You may go.”

  Gent considered as the power of the kiss took hold. “I am free!” he echoed. “I am no longer bound to you. You can no longer compel my unquestioning obedience to your slightest whim. In fact, I respect you, but don’t love you. You are not my kind of woman for romance.”

  “Correct. I enslaved you only because we needed your help navigating the pundemic zone. If the group dissolves, that need is less, and it is only right to free you.”