'I thought it was my imagination,' Bink agreed. 'Maybe there is some residual magic down here.'
They moved on, more rapidly. Bink couldn't help wondering: if the tangler was coming back to life, and the glow was getting brighter, could that mean that magic was returning? The implications were-
Suddenly the passage debouched into-a palace chamber so large he could not readily compass it with his gaze. Jewels sparkled on every side, hanging brilliantly in air. A fountain of scintillating water spread out upside down, its droplets falling back toward the ceiling. Streamers of colored paper formed whirls and whorls that traveled as if by their own volition, tilting sidewise or curling into spirals, only to straighten out again. On every side were fresh wonders, too many to assimilate; in all it was a display of the most phenomenal magic Bink had seen.
There had been no cave like this in this region before! Cherie looked around, as startled as he. 'Is- could this be the work of your Demon Xanth?'
As she spoke the name, the Demon X(A/N)th materialized. He sat in a throne of solid diamond. His glowing eye fixed on Bink, who still bestrode Cherie, while the foal pressed closely to her side.
'You are the one I want,' X(A/N)th exclaimed. 'You stupid nonentity who threw yourself and your whole culture into peril, for no likely gain to either. Such idiocy deserves the penalty it brings.'
Bink, awed, nevertheless tried to defend himself. 'Why did you return, then? What do you want with me?'
'They have changed the nomenclature system,' X(A/N)th replied. 'They are into differentials now. I shall have to study that system for an eon or two, lest I apply it with gaucherie, so I am returning to this familiar place for the moment.'
'An eon-moment?' Bink asked incredulously.
'Approximately. I brought you here to ensure that my privacy will be preserved. Every entity of this world that knows of me must be abolished.'
'Abolished?' Bink asked, stunned.
'Nothing personal,' the Demon assured him. 'I really don't care about your existence one way or the other. But if my presence is known, other vermin may seek me out-and I want to be left alone. So I must abolish you and the others who are aware of me, preserving my secret. Most of you have already been eliminated; only you and the nymph remain.'
'Leave Jewel out of it,' Bink pleaded. 'She's innocent; she only came because of me. She doesn't deserve-'
'This filly and her foal are innocent too,' the Demon pointed out. 'This has no relevance.'
Cherie turned to face Bink. Her human torso twisted in the supple manner he remembered of old, and her beauty was back to its original splendor. Magic became her, without doubt! 'You freed this thing-and this is his attitude? Why doesn't he go elsewhere, where none of us can find him?'
'He's leaked a lot of magic here,' Bink said. 'It is quiescent without him, but so long as magical creatures like dragons and centaurs remain, we know it hasn't departed entirely. The whole of the Land of Xanth is steeped with it, and this must be more comfortable for him. Like a well-worn shoe, instead of one fresh from the shoe-tree that chafes. The Demon is not of our kind; he has no gratitude. I knew that when I freed him.'
'There will be a brief delay before I terminate you,' the Demon said. 'Make yourselves comfortable.'
Despite his immediate peril, Bink was curious. 'Why the delay?'
'The nymph has hidden herself, and I do not choose to expend magic wastefully in an effort to locate her.'
'But you are omnipotent; waste should have no meaning to you!'
'True-I am omnipotent. But there is proportion in all things. It bothers my sensitivities to use more magic than a given situation warrants. Therefore I am minimizing the effort here. I have amplified your persona. She loves you-I do not pretend to know the meaning of that term-and will come to you here, believing you to be in a danger she can ameliorate. Then I can conveniently abolish you all.'
So the return of magic to the Land of Xanth meant the end for Bink and his friends. Yet the rest of Xanth profited, so it was not a total loss. Still-
'I don't suppose you would be satisfied if we simply promised not to reveal your presence, or took a forget-potion?'
'No good,' a voice said from Bink's pocket. It was Grundy the golem, back in form with the restoration of magic. He climbed out to perch on Bink's shoulder. 'You could never keep such a promise. Magic would have the truth out of you in a moment. Even if you took a forget-potion, it would be neutralized, then the information would be exposed,'
'A truth spell,' Cherie agreed. 'I should have trusted my original judgment. Magic is a curse.'
Bink refused to give up. 'Maybe we should reverse it,' he told the Demon. 'Spread the word to all the land that you are down here, and will destroy anyone who intrudes-'
'You'd encourage ninety-nine nuts to rise to the challenge,' Cherie pointed out. 'The Demon would be constantly annoyed, and have to waste his magic destroying them one by one.'
The Demon looked at her approvingly. 'You have an equine rear, but a sapient head,' he remarked.
'Centaurs do,' she agreed.
'And what do you think of me?'
'You are the absolute epitome of obscenity.'
