Piers Anthony - The Source of Magic

"What is it you know, that we don't?" Bink asked anxiously.

"I know the nature of demons," Beauregard said.

"Oh, we don't plan to bother you here! We're going on to-"

"Bear with me, Bink." Beauregard brought out a fancy little bottle, uttered an obscure word, and made a mystic gesture. The cork popped out, vapor issued forth, and formed into-Good Magician Humfrey.

Amazed, Bink could only ask: "But where is Crombie?"

"Back in the bottle," Humfrey said shortly. "It would help if you recovered your fumble promptly."

"But if Beauregard can rescue you-"

"I have not rescued him," the demon said. "I have conjured him. He must now do my bidding."

"Just as you once did his bidding!" Bink said.

"Correct. It all depends on who is confined, and who possesses the controlling magic. The Magician has dabbled in demonology; he is now subject to our humanology."

"But does that mean-"

"No, I shall not abuse the situation. My interest is in research, not ironies. I merely make this demonstration to convince you that there is more to magic than you may have supposed, and that the possible consequences of your quest may be more extensive than you would care to risk."

"I already know something is trying to stop me," Bink said.

"Yes. It is some kind of demon-and that is the problem. Most demons have no more magic than most humans do, but the demons of the depths are something else. They are to ordinary demons like me as Magicians are to ordinary people like you. It is not wise to venture into their demesnes."

"You're a demon," Chester said suspiciously. "Why are you telling us this?"

"Because he's a good demon," Jewel said. "He helps people."

"Because I care about the welfare of Xanth," Beauregard said. "If I were convinced Xanth would be better off without people, I would work toward that end. But though I have had doubt on occasion, so far I believe the species of man is a net benefit." He looked at the Magician. "Even gnomes like him."

Humfrey merely stood there. "Why don't you set him free, then?" Bink asked, not wholly trusting the demon.

"I can not free him. Only the holder of his container can do that."

"But here he is! You summoned him from your bottle!"

"My magic has granted me a temporary lease on his service. I can only evoke him briefly, and can not keep him. If I had his bottle, then I could control him, since he was so foolish as to confine himself in that manner. That is why you must recover that bottle, before-"

"Before it breaks!" Bink said.

"It will never break. It is an enchanted bottle; I know, for I occupied it, and made sure it was secure. No, the danger is that your enemy will recover it first." Bink was appalled. "The enemy!"

"For then that enemy would control the Magician, and all Humfrey's power would be at the enemy's service. In that event, Humfrey's chances of surviving would be poor-almost as poor as yours."

"I must get that bottle!" Bink cried. "If only I knew where it is!"

"That is the service I require," Beauregard said. "Magician, inform Bink of your precise location, so he can rescue you."

"Latitude twenty-eight degrees northwest, longitude one hundred and-"

"Not that way, simpleton!" Beauregard interrupted. "Tell it so he can use it!"

"Er, yes," Humfrey agreed. "Perhaps we'd better put Crombie on."

"Do it," the demon snapped.

The griffin appeared beside the Magician. "Say, yes," Bink said eagerly. "If we have him point out your direction from here, I mean our direction from there, we can reverse it to reach you."

"Won't work," Beauregard said. But Crombie was already whirling. His wing came to rest pointing directly at Bink.

"Fine," Bink said. "We'll go that way."

"Try walking across the den." Beauregard said. "Griffin, hold that point."

Perplexed, Bink walked. Crombie didn't move, but his pointing wing continued aiming at Bink. "It's just a picture!" Bink explained. "No matter how you look at it, it looks right at you."

"Precisely," the demon agreed. 'This conjuration is in a certain respect an image. The same aspect appears regardless of the orientation of the viewer. To orient on the conjuration is useless; it is the original we require."

"Easily solved, demon," Humfrey snapped. "Crombie, point out the direction of our bottle as viewed from the locale of the conjuration."

How simple! The conjuration was here, so this would give the proper direction to there. But would it work?

The griffin whirled and pointed again. This time the wing aimed away from Bink, and downward.

"That is the way you must go," Beauregard said gravely. "Now before I banish the image, have you any other questions?"

"I do," Chester said, "About my talent-"

Beauregard smiled. "Very clever, centaur. I think you have the mind of a demon! It is indeed possible, in this situation, for you to obtain the information you seek without incurring the Magician's normal fee, if your ethics permit such exploitation."

"No," Chester said. "I'm not trying to cheat! Magician, I know my talent now. But I've already served part of the fee, and am stuck for the rest."

Humfrey smiled. "I never specified the Question I would Answer. Pick another Question for the fee. That was part of the agreement."

"Say, good," Chester said, like a colt with sudden access to the farthest and greenest pasture. He pondered briefly. "Cherie-I'd sure like to know her talent, if she has one. A magical one, I mean. Her and her less-magical-than-thou attitude-"

"She has a talent," Humfrey said. "Do you wish the Answer now?"

"No. I might figure it out myself, again."

The Magician spread his hands. "As you prefer. However, we are not insured against accidents of fate. If you don't solve it, and Bink doesn't find my bottle before the enemy does, I may be forced to renege. Do you care to take that risk?"

"What do you mean, before the enemy does?" Bink demanded. "How close is the enemy to-"

"That is what we were discussing before," Beauregard said. "It seems the Magician can not be protected from his own information-talent. He is correct: that bottle has been carried very close to the region your enemy inhabits, and it is very likely that the enemy is aware of that. Thus this is not a routine search for the bottle, but a race against active opposition."

"But what is the nature of the enemy?" Bink demanded.

"Begone, Magician," Beauregard said. Humfrey and Crombie converted into smoke and swirled into the bottle. "I can not answer that Question directly, other than to remind you that the enemy must be some sort of demon. Therefore I spare myself the embarrassment of confessing my ignorance in the presence of my human counterpart in research. Professional rivalry, you might say."

"I don't care about professional rivalry!" Bink retorted. "The Good Magician and Crombie are my friends. I've got to save them!"

"You're loyal," Jewel said admiringly.

"The thing you must understand," Beauregard continued, "is that as you approach the source of magic, the magic of the immediate environment becomes stronger, in a function resembling a logarithmic progression. Therefore-"

"I don't understand that," Bink said. "What have logs to do with it? Is the enemy a tree?"

"He means the magic gets stronger faster as you get closer," Chester explained. Centaurs had excellent mathematical comprehension.

"Precisely," the demon agreed. "Thus we demons, being more proximate to the source, tend to be more magical than you creatures at the fringe. But in the immediate vicinity of the source, the magic is far stronger than we can fathom. Therefore I can not identify your specific enemy or describe his magic-but it is likely that it is stronger magic than you have encountered before."

"I've met pretty strong magic," Bink said dubiously.