Man From Mundania (71 page)

just might mean—

"Oh, here you are," Ivy said. "Did you find a way for

us to make it in time?"

"I found something else, by pure coincidence," Grey

replied, excited. "I—we may not have to go!"

"Not have to go? But in another day Com-Pewter—"

"Is this book the ultimate authority?" he asked. "I

mean, is there anything else that overrules its Answers?"

"No, nothing, of course. The Good Magician was always

the ultimate authority on anything. He was the Magician of

Information, after all. So his Book of Answers—why do you

ask?"

"This says that service to the Good Magician takes pre-

cedence over any other service, no matter when that other

service was undertaken. By the Custom and Law of Xanth.

Which seems to mean that until I complete my service to

Humfrey, I can't serve Com-Pewter. If that's true—"

"But he said he might never return!" she protested.

"You'd be stuck with serving him all your life, and maybe

never even get an Answer!''

"No," he said, understanding dawning like sunrise on

the millennium. "I've already had my Answer. I just didn't

understand it, before. Now I must serve, if need be, for

the rest of my life—right here. Doing this. And do you

know—"

"It's no bad thing," she finished, her confusion bright-

ening into awe.

"No bad thing at all," he agreed.

Man from Mundania
       
329

Then they were in each other's arms, hugging and kiss-

ing and crying with relief.

Grey's eye caught sight of a magic mirror on the wall.

He hadn't noticed it before, but now he saw that it was

tuned to the evil machine's cave. Pewter had been watch-

ing all the time! But on the machine's screen were the

words CURSES—FOILED AGAIN!

What an amazing coincidence, that he should happen

on this very passage in the Book of Answers, after Dolph

had by sheerest mischance broken a feather, so that—

Coincidence? Mischance? No, it was more like magic!

The one thing, or series of things, that could have gone

wrong with the evil machine's long-range plot to conquer

Xanth—that thing had occurred, because of the nature of

Murphy's curse on Corn-Pewter's ploy. It was perhaps in-

cidental that this also accounted for Grey's lifelong hap-

piness with Ivy. Perhaps.

Grey knew better, now.

"Thanks, Dad," he murmured.