“But you’re just a character in a story!” Jewel protested.
“I am so much more than that, thanks to you,” Idrin said. “I owe you everything.”
Jewel shook her head, not fully accepting this. So it was up to me to get to the point. “Can you show us the way out of here, Idrin?”
“Yes, but it is dangerous. It might be easier just to remain here.”
“No,” Jewel said firmly.
I knew that was that. My wife’s firmness was another person’s hard rock. “Can we trust her?” I asked Myrrh, whose telepathy was good for things like this.
“With your life,” Myrrh said emphatically.
Was I missing something? This was a fictional person, animated here in Hades; she couldn’t have much depth of character. Yet I trusted Myrrh’s judgment. “Do it,” I told Idrin.
The girl and the ifrit walked ahead of us, showing the way. They had similar figures, yet somehow the ifrit oozed sex appeal while the girl was merely a nice girl. Curious contrast.
Belatedly, I also noticed that we were not following a path, but rather were winding through crevices in the foliage. No path led out of the forest, but it seemed that there was after all a way.
We reached a kind of alley through the trees, where the ground was pressed flat and nothing grew. We paused.
“Here there be dragons,” Idris said. “They threaten to consume any souls who venture this way.”
Cerberus strode forward. “No, they have fire,” Sinbad warned. “You can't get close enough to chomp them.”
The big dog paused, accepting the caution.
“Duban?” I said. “Medea?”
Both of them stepped forward into the alley. Immediately the dragons charged from either direction, jetting fire. Duban held up his left hand, and the dragon on the left crashed into an invisible wall, painfully compacting its hot snoot. Medea held up her right hand and the dragon on the right encountered a scintillating curtain that electrified it; in fact for a moment its entire skeleton showed as a glowing internal framework. That was some shock!
We walked between the two defunct monsters and continued on our way as if nothing had happened. In due course we came to another alley. This one was patrolled by a giant ogre. It saw us and bared its yellow meat-chopper teeth. The women held Cerberus back. Duban and Medea stepped forth again, the ogre reached down, and received two water bombs in its ears. Or rather, acid bombs, because in moments its head melted. Disconcerted, the monster lumbered away, headless. Ogres were not smart; it would take it time to discover its loss.
“We work well together,” Medea remarked to Duban. “Perhaps some day we will have more of a relationship.”
“The Hades!” Jewel and Myrrh said together.
Medea merely smiled knowingly. I gritted my teeth.
Eventually we emerged from the forest and arrived at the outer wall. “How is it you knew the way out, when there is supposed to be no way out?” Jewel asked Idrin.
“No path out,” Idris said.
“I’d rather not say,” the girl said. “It’s awkward.”
“Oh, come on,” Jewel said. “If you don’t tell us, we shall have to find some way to repay you for your service to us.”
“Oh, no, no need for that,” the girl protested. “I would do anything for you. Anything at all. I owe everything to you.”
I was curious too, so I let Jewel proceed in her relentless way. What was the mystery of this invented girl?
“I have greater freedom than other souls,” Idrin finally explained, “because if I did not find the way out, there would be a paradox.”
“Paradox!” Jewel said. “How can such a simple thing be that?”
“Because you are destined to continue your life in joy and fulfillment as Queen for a long time to come,” Idrin said. “You could not do that if you did not escape Hades.”
“Yes, of course. But how does this relate to you, when you’re not even real?”
“I will become fully real in a few months, beyond Hades,” Idrin said.
“A few months?”
The girl blushed. “When you birth me. I don’t want to be born in Hades.”
Jewel stared at her, speechless. That very seldom happened to my wife.
“Yes,” Myrrh said softly. “Idrin is your daughter-to-be. That’s why she is doing her utmost to help you.”
Still wordless, Jewel hugged her, tears flowing. That, too, seldom happened to her.
Then Idrin disengaged and turned to me. I hugged her too, wordless and tearful. Beyond her I saw Medea, and I realized she had known. Instead of using it against me, she had honored our deal and used it on our behalf. It seemed she truly wanted our acceptance, apart from escape from Hades, just as Cerberus did.
“Mother, I must take the Key,” Duban said. “It is a rare and potent artifact that could be dangerous near a baby. Lamprey is trusting me to safeguard it for him.”
So that was what Lamprey had said to Duban. The boy was now a full magician, and could surely handle the dangerous artifact. Jewel handed over the Key.
Duban unlocked the Gate and we passed through. As we did, Idrin and Idris faded out. They were no longer in Hades. I wondered whether the ifrit would reappear after Idrin was born. I rather thought she would. After all, Jewel had made her too.
Somehow I knew already that Duban would now have the power to govern the Figurehead, and that we would have a safe sail home. I did not know whether Lamprey would defeat Hades, but was sure that Duban would find out when the time was appropriate.
I looked forward to being a father again. I liked Idrin already. As for Idris—I suspected she would be interested in being somebody’s royal concubine. Things were looking very promising.
The End
To be continued in:
Aladdin’s Odyssey
The Aladdin Series #4
Coming soon!
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OTHER BOOKS BY PIERS ANTHONY
Macroscope
Prostho Plus
Race Against Time
Rings of Ice
Triple Detente
Steppe
But What of Earth?
Hasan
Mute
Shade of the Tree
Ghost
Total Recall
Hard Sell
Balook
Firefly
MerCycle
Tatham Mound
Killobyte
Volk
Realty Check
Tortoise Reform
Alfred
Eroma
Pandora Park
The Sopaths
NOVELLAS
To Be a Woman
Shepherd
Odd Exam
SHORT FICTION
Anthonology
Alien Plot
Relationships
Relationships 2
Relationships 3
Relationships 4
Relationships 5
NON-FICTION
Bio of an Ogre
Letters To Jenny
How Precious Was That While
Piers Anthony’s Visual Guide to Xanth (with Jody Lynn Nye)
ATON SERIES
1. Chthon
2. Phthor
BATTLE CIRCLE SERIES
1. Sos the Rope
2. Var the Stick
3. Neq the Sword
OF MAN AND MANTA SERIES
1. Omnivore
2. Orn
3. Ox
CLUSTER SERIES
1. Cluster
2. Chaining the Lady
3. Kirlian Quest
4. Thousandstar
5. Viscous Circle
TAROT SERIES
1. God of Tarot
2. Vision of Tarot
3. Faith of Tarot
XANTH SERIES
1. A Spell for Chameleon
2. The Source of Magic
3. Castle Roogna
4. Centaur Aisle
5. Ogre, Ogre
6. Night Mare
7. Dragon on a Pedestal
8. Crewel Lye
9. Golem in the Gears
10. Vale of the Vole
11. Heaven Cent
12. Man from Mundania
13. Isle of View
14. Question Quest
15. The Color of Her Panties
16. Demons Don’t Dream
17. Harpy Thyme
18. Geis of the Gargoyle
19. Roc and a Hard Place
20. Yon Ill Wind
21. Faun & Games
22. Zombie Lover
23. Xone of Contention
24. The Dastard
25. Swell Foop
26. Up in a Heaval
27. Cube Route
28. Currant Events
29. Pet Peeve
30. Stork Naked
31. Air Apparent
32. Two to the Fifth
33. Jumper Cable
34. Knot Gneiss
35. Well-Tempered Clavicle
36. Luck of the Draw
ADEPT SERIES
1. Split Infinity
2. Blue Adept
3. Juxtaposition
4. Out of Phaze
6. Unicorn Point
7. Phaze Doubt
INCARNATIONS OF IMMORTALITY SERIES
1. On a Pale Horse
2. Bearing an Hourglass
3. With a Tangled Skein
4. Wielding a Red Sword
5. Being a Green Mother
6. For Love of Evil
7. And Eternity
8. Under a Velvet Cloak
BIO OF A SPACE TYRANT SERIES
1. Refugee
2. Mercenary
3. Politician
4. Executive
5. Statesman
6. The Iron Maiden
MODE SERIES
1. Virtual Mode
2. Fractal Mode
3. Chaos Mode
4. DoOon Mode
GEODYSSEY SERIES
1. Isle of Woman
2. Shame of Man
3. Hope of Earth
4. Muse of Art
5. Climate of Change
PORNUCOPIA SERIES
(adults only)
1. Pornucopia
2. The Magic Fart
CHROMAGIC SERIES
1. Key to Havoc
2. Key to Chroma
3. Key to Destiny
4. Key to Liberty
5. Key to Survival
TRAIL MIX SERIES
1. Amoeba
2. Beetle Juice
DRAGON’S GOLD SERIES
with Robert E. Margroff
1. Dragon’s Gold
2. Serpent’s Silver
3. Chimaera’s Copper
4. Orc’s Opal
5. Mouvar’s Magic
JASON STRIKER SERIES
with Robert Fuentes
1. Kiai!
2. Mistress of Death
3. Bamboo Bloodbath
4. Ninja’s Revenge
5. Amazon Slaughter
6. Curse of the Ninja
THE ALADDIN SERIES
with J.R. Rain
1. Aladdin Relighted
2. Aladdin Sins Bad
3. Aladdin and the Flying Dutchman
COLLABORATIONS
The Ring w/Robert E. Margroff
The E.S.P. Worm w/Robert E. Margroff
Pretender w/Frances T. Hall
Dead Morn w/Roberto Fuentes
Uncollected Stars w/Malzberg/Greenberg/Waugh (anthology)
Through the Ice w/Robert Kornwise
Caterpillar’s Question w/Philip Jose Farmer
If I Pay Thee Not in Gold w/Mercedes Lackey
Tales From the Great Turtle w/Richard Gilliam (anthology)
The Willing Spirit w/Alfred Tella
Spider Legs w/Clifford Pickover
Quest for the Fallen Star w/J R Goolsby and Alan Riggs
Dream a Little Dream w/Julie Brady
The Gutbucket Quest w/Ron Leming
SHORT STORIES
(e-published)
“Knave”
“Serial”
“Juliet”
“Lost Things”
OTHER BOOKS BY J.R. RAIN
The Lost Ark
The Body Departed
Silent Echo
VAMPIRE FOR HIRE SERIES
Moon Dance
Vampire Moon
American Vampire
Moon Child
Vampire Dawn
Vampire Games
Moon Island (coming soon)
SAMANTHA MOON NOVELLAS
Christmas Moon
Moon Shadow (coming soon)
SAMANTHA MOON CASE FILES
Vampire Blues: Four Stories
Vampire Gold: Four Stories (coming soon)
THE JIM KNIGHTHORSE SERIES
Dark Horse
The Mummy Case
Hail Mary
Clean Slate (coming soon)
ELVIS MYSTERY SERIES
Elvis Has Not Left the Building
You Ain’t Nothin’ But a Hound Dog (coming soon)
THE SPINOZA NOVELLAS
The Vampire With the Dragon Tattoo
The Vampire Who Played Dead
The Vampire in the Iron Mask
THE GRAIL QUEST TRILOGY
Arthur
Merlin (coming soon)
WITH PIERS ANTHONY
Aladdin Relighted
Aladdin Sins Bad
Aladdin and the Flying Dutchman
Aladdin’s Odyssey (coming soon)
WITH SCOTT NICHOLSON
Cursed!
Ghost College
The Vampire Club
WITH H.T. NIGHT AND SCOTT NICHOLSON
Bad Blood
WITH AIDEN JAMES
Temple of the Jaguar
SHORT STORIES
The Bleeder and Other Stories
Teeth and Other Stories
Vampire Nights and Other Stories
Vampire Rain and Other Stories
SCREENPLAYS
Judas Silver
Lost Eden
NON-FICTION
The Rain Interviews (2008-2011)
SHORT STORY ANTHOLOGIES
Vampires, Zombies and Ghosts, Oh My!
About the Authors:
Piers Anthony is one of the world’s most prolific and popular authors. His fantasy Xanth novels have been read and loved by millions of readers around the world, and have been on the New York Times Best Seller list twenty-one times. Although Piers is mostly known for fantasy and science fiction, he has written several novels in other genres as well, including historical fiction, martial arts, and horror. Piers lives with his wife in a secluded woods hidden deep in Central Florida.
Please visit him at www.hipiers.com for a complete list of his fiction and non-fiction and to read his monthly newsletter.
J.R. Rain is an ex-private investigator who now writes full-time. He lives in a small house on a small island with his small dog, Sadie, who has more energy than Robin Williams.
Please visit him at www.jrrain.com.
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