Two To The Fifth by Piers Anthony Read Free Book Online

in Xanth. Nothing can stand against their united magic. But they have to be within range to do it, and Ragna would illusion them from well beyond that range if he saw them coming. So caution is necessary.”
    “I see,” Cyrus said, awed. “I will of course be glad to help, but I don't see how I can. I have no separate magic that I know; I think my magic is merely to exist as a composite living machine. Ragna would have no reason to summon me.”
    “Himself will see to that,” Sofia said. “Wira, do you think he's ready now?”
    “I will check,” Wira said, hastening away.
    “Such a dear girl,” Sofia said. “Everyone likes her. That may not be surprising; her talent is to relate to animals. Human beings are merely another variety of animal.”
    “That makes sense,” he agreed.
    “Some time you must get her to tell you about her adventure with Princess Ida's Moons. It's amazing. But she's so modest she doesn't volunteer it.”
    “Modesty becomes a person,” he agreed.
    “Have some fruit.” She proffered a bowl of pretty colored greens, reds, yellows, blues, and oranges.
    “Thank you.” He picked up an orange.
    “Anchors aweigh!” the fruit sang.
    He almost dropped it. “It sings!”
    “Well, it's a Naval Orange.”
    A bell rang. “Battle stations!” the orange cried, rolling out of his hand. “All hands on deck!”
    “It's still got its naval conditioning,” Sofia said from the stove, where the bell had summoned her to turn off the oven, “Maybe you would be better off with a different fruit.”
    “Maybe so,” Cyrus agreed, bemused. He saw there were also some berries in the bowl, purple, orange, green, black and blue. So he took a blue berry, though it looked rather sad. “I am curious. Is there some set protocol about which wife attends the Good Magician? I know you have to take turns, but who decides who is when?”
    “We got together and voted on the order,” Sofia said. “We wives get along well when we meet each other. We have a common complaint.”
    “Complaint?”
    “Himself.”
    Oh. “I thought maybe it depended on the type of visitors anticipated.”
    “Not really. Well, we had to swap out once, when the Gorgon got annoyed. A querent had the talent of making mirrors appear. He flashed one in her face, thinking it would make her stone herself. It didn't, but she was so annoyed by the trick that she was ready to remove her veil and stone him. The Maiden Taiwan had to advance her schedule and finish the Gorgon's stint.”
    Cyrus smiled. “I appreciate the Gorgon's position. It was a dirty trick. I wonder what it would be like if all the wives somehow showed up together?”
    Sofia laughed. “Chaos! Someone should write a story about that. It would amuse all of us no end.”
    Wira returned. “The Good Magician will see you now.”
    Cyrus followed her through gloomy passages and up a narrow circular flight of stone stairs. They came to a small room packed with books. A gnomishly small man sat on a high stool poring over a huge open tome. This was the fabled Good Magician.
    “Father, this is Cyrus Cyborg, the querent,” Wira said.
    “Grumph.”
    “I need to know my true desire,” Cyrus said nervously. “My parents differ on what I should do, and—” He stopped, realizing that he had just asked the wrong question. Could he take it back? He really wanted to know whether there was any cyborg woman he might marry. “That is—”
    “You will be the master of thespians,” Humfrey said.
    This took Cyrus totally by surprise. “Actors?”
    “Your desire is to become a playwright and direct your plays. You will form a troupe and do that. The Designated Wife, what's her name—”
    “Sofia,” Wira filled in.
    “Will fill you in on your Service.” The tired old eyes returned to the book. Cyrus had been answered and dismissed.
    He had the Answer to the wrong Question.
    The weird thing was that it was a good answer. Suddenly he knew that this was indeed his desire. To be