Heaven Cent by Piers Anthony Read Free Book Online

“Oh no you don't, fish-face!” the harpy screeched as a dogfish snapped at a bone finger. “These bones are mine to crack open!” She flapped upward, hauling the bone line after her.
    Crack open? Marrow was in trouble! He could not reassemble himself; he had to be helped, and the harpy certainly wouldn't do that. It was up to Dolph to save him.
    He became a small flying dragon. This gave him room enough to fly well, because he was not nearly as big as the roc, but also gave him fighting strength, because dragons were about as savage as anything. He launched himself at the harpy.
    She saw him and did a messy double take. “A dragon!” she screeched. “Where did that come from? Help, sisters!”
    Immediately there was an answering chorus of shrieks. The other harpies were coming! He had to get the bone line away from this one before they arrived.
    He flew at the harpy, but she would not let go of the line. Harpies were very good at snatching, but no good at letting go. He sent a jet of fire at her, but she ducked it and kept flying. A real dragon probably could have speared her with a single lance of fire, but Dolph was clumsy at it, and his fire wasn't very hot anyway.
    He closed his own talons on the middle of the line where the skull was. He pulled back on it, trying to snap the end out of the harpy's grasp. Still she would not let go.
    “I fear you will pull me apart,” Marrow said. “That would be unfortunate, for if I lost some of my bones—”
    Dolph was sure it would be bad. Meanwhile, the other harpies were arriving, each worse than the others. They would soon pull Marrow apart! What could he do?
    “Perhaps some smoke,” Marrow's skull said.
    Smoke! Dolph became a flying smoker dragon. It was a rare species, but he could become anything, rare or common. He inhaled, building up a bellyful of smoke. Then he breathed out a smoke screen that would have done credit to a real smoker. It formed a cloud that enveloped the bone line and the harpy at its end. He heard her coughing; she did not like the smoke. It was probably too clean for her.
    “She has let go,” Marrow's skull said. “Haul me away!”
    Dolph clung to the line and took off into the sky. But this carried him away from the cloud of smoke. The flock of harpies spied him and wheeled in the air to commence the pursuit. They wanted those bones! They screeched curses at him as they flew. Dolph was glad that his dragon form did not properly understand the human language, because his metallic ears were flushing. Those flappers had fowl mouths!
    “Sticks and stones will break my bones,” Marrow's skull remarked philosophically, “but names will never hurt me.” Nevertheless, there seemed to be a slight flush even on the bone.
    Dolph flew as fast as he could, the line dangling down and back. Marrow could not change back until kicked, and Dolph couldn't do that until he landed and changed form. He had to get away from the dirty birds!
    But that seemed impossible. The harpies were ranged behind, not catching up but not falling back either. They would close the gap the moment Dolph tried to land, and might snatch away the flying bones when he kicked them. That was no good!
    Maybe he could lose them in the deep forest. He veered to the east, where a forested mountain rose.
    And the harpies fell back. Dolph had to glance back several times to be sure that his dragon's eyes weren't getting confused, but there was no doubt: they were no longer following. They were hovering hi the air above an invisible line.
    “You'll be soo-ry!” they screeched in unison.
    Dolph made a questioning growl. Marrow understood his query. “Evidently something bars them from this region,” he said. “But this forest seems harmless, and certainly better than getting my bones cracked by those awful creatures. Find a landing place, and we can resume our trek on foot.”
    Dolph angled down. He searched, but found no suitable place for a dragon to land.
    “You may drop me, then