Esrever Doom (Xanth) Read Online Free PDF Page A

subvocalizing, and in this magic land it was dangerous to name something lest it consider itself summoned. This looked like a demon, but it was cadaverous. He hoped it wasn’t hostile. “Hello. I’m Kody.”
    “How would you like to join me, Kody?” the demon said.
    “That depends on where you are going.”
    “It’s not a place, exactly, but a state of being.”
    “I’m already in a state of being. A dream state.”
    The demon laughed cavernously. “Ho ho ho! And in that state of death, what dreams may come?”
    Kody was not easy with this. “I think I’ll pass on your invitation, thanks all the same.”
    “It wasn’t an invitation. It was a threat. I am Demon Ceased. D Ceased for short.”
    “A demon pun,” Kody said. “I get it: deceased.”
    “Most of us are puns,” Ceased agreed. “D Mension contracts to provide the rest of us with length, width, and depth so that we can function here in Xanth.”
    “Dimension,” Kody agreed.
    “Not to mention D Mention,” the demon agreed. “But enough of this dull, boring, and pointless social chitchat. Now come along, Kody; I love company.” He reached for Kody’s arm.
    Kody snatched it away. He wished he had been given the talent of persuasion, so that he could talk the demon into departing peacefully. “I don’t really like threats.”
    “Now be reasonable. If I gave everyone his choice in the matter, who would ever keep company with me? I must insist.” He reached again.
    Kody summoned a reverse wood chip and flipped it at the demon. D Ceased caught it, having surprisingly fast reflexes for one so near death. And changed.
    Now a vibrantly alive man stood there, the reverse of the original. “What have you done?” he demanded. He did not seem to make the association with what he held.
    “Just given you a boost,” Kody said. “Have great time.” He walked on.
    But now a dragon appeared, the other creature he had inadvertently named. It was a large fire-breather; Kody could see the flickers of fire around its red-hot lips. It inhaled, ready to blow out a blast of flame. Kody knew that if he didn’t act swiftly, he would soon be toast.
    He conjured another chip and flipped it into the open mouth.
    The dragon closed its mouth, formed an O shape, and blew out a fierce volley of—
    Ice cubes. They struck Kody on the chest and bounced off harmlessly.
    The fire had been reversed.
    “Have a nice day,” Kody said, and walked on. He was coming to like his magic talent. But for it, he could have been dead twice in the past few minutes, or at least extremely uncomfortable.
    Soon the path led him to mountains. The first one abruptly rose up from the level ground, slanting at a steep angle toward the sky. It would be difficult for a man to navigate that slope, and worse for a horse.
    And there was his steed. He was somewhat like a deer, and somewhat like a bull, with a brown coat and rabbit ears. But there was something odd about him. After a moment Kody realized what it was: the creature was standing level on the slope. The legs on the upper side were short, and on the lower side were long, so that he was perfectly balanced. The blue line went right to him.
    “Uh, hello,” Kody said uncertainly. “I am looking for a steed.”
    The creature glanced his way, then nodded his head toward himself. He was, it seemed, the steed.
    “I’m going to the Good Magician’s Castle. Can you carry me there?”
    The creature nodded.
    “You made a deal with Princess Dawn to help me? Why?”
    The animal shrugged. Apparently he just liked to help people.
    “There’s supposed to be a guardian, too.”
    The creature flicked his head forward. Then he made a mooing call. In barely more than a moment there was an answer. “You found your rider, Guy? I’ll be right there.” It sounded like a woman.
    It wasn’t. It was a, well, it had the head and tail of a dragon, large wings, the body of a horse, silver hooves, and gold talons. And somehow it talked. Kody was ready to