'Yes, there are already too many statues,' she agreed naively. 'My island is getting crowded.'
'The men must not come any more,' Humfrey said. 'They must stay at their homes, with their families.'
'Couldn't just one man come-and stay a while?' she asked plaintively.
'I'm afraid not. Men just aren't, er, right for you.'
'But I have so much love to give-if only a man would stay! Even a little one. I would cherish him forever and ever, and make him so happy-'
Bink, listening, was beginning to appreciate the depth of the gorgon's tragedy. All she wanted was to love and be loved, and instead she sowed a harvest of horrible mischief. How many families had been destroyed by her magic? What could be done with her-except execution?
'You must go into exile,' Humfrey said. 'The magic shield has been lowered by order of the King; you can pass freely out of Xanth. In Mundania your magic will dissipate, and you will be able to interact freely with the man or men of your choice.'
'Leave Xanth?' she cried, alarmed. 'Oh, no, I would rather die! I can not leave my home!'
Bink experienced a pang of sympathy. Once he himself had faced exile
'But in Mundania you would be an ordinary girl, under no curse. You are extremely lovely, and your personality is sweet. You could have your pick of men there.'
'I love men,' she said slowly. 'But I love my home more. I can not depart. If this is my only choice, I beg of you to slay me now and end my misery.'
For once the Good Magician seemed shaken. 'Slay you? I would not do that! You are the most attractive creature I have ever seen, even through a mirror! In my youth I would have-'
Now a little ordinary feminine artifice manifested. 'Why, you are not old, sir. You are a handsome man.'
Crombie stifled a squawk, Chester coughed, and Bink choked. She had made a gross exaggeration, if not an outright distortion! Humfrey was a good man, and a talented one, but hardly a handsome one. 'You flatter me,' the Magician said seriously. 'But I have other business.'
'Of all the men who have come here, you alone have stayed to talk with me,' the gorgon continued. 'I am so lonely! I beg of you, stay with me, and let me serve you always.'
Now Crombie squawked aloud. 'Don't turn about, fool!' the golem cried. 'Keep using the mirror!'
'Um, yes,' Humfrey agreed. The griffin's hearing must be acute, Bink thought, to detect the sound of the Magician's incipient turning! 'Gorgon, if I were to look at you directly-'
'You would feel obliged to go away, leaving only a stone memento in your likeness,' she finished. 'I do not understand why men are like this! But come, close your eyes if you must, kiss me, let me show you how much love I have for you. Your least word is my command, if you will only stay!'
The Magician sighed. Was the old gnome tempted? It occurred to Bink that it might not have been disinterest in women that kept Humfrey single, but lack of a suitable partner. The average woman was not interested in a wizened, dwarfish old man-or if she expressed interest, it was likely to be only because she wanted a piece of his formidable magic. Here was a woman who knew nothing of him but his appearance, and was eager to love him, asking only his presence.
'My dear, I think not,' Humfrey said at last 'Such a course would have its rewards-I hardly deny it!-and I would normally be inclined to dally with you a day or three, though love be blindfolded. But it would require the resources of a Magician to associate safely with you, and I am on a quest that takes precedence, and may not-'
'Then dally a day or three!' she exclaimed. 'Be blindfolded! I know no Magician would have interest in me, but even a Magician could not be more wonderful than you, sir!'
Did she suspect the magnitude of Humfrey's talent? Did it matter? The Magician sighed again. 'Perhaps, after my present quest is over, if you would care to visit at my castle-'
'Yes, yes!' she cried. 'Where is your castle?'
'Just ask for Humfrey. Someone will direct you. Even so, you can not show your face to man. You would have to wear a veil-no, even that would not suffice, for it is your eyes that-'
'Do not cover my eyes! I must see!'
Bink felt another surge of sympathy, for at the moment he could not see.
'Let me consult,' Humfrey said. There was a rustle as he rummaged through his magic props. Then: 'This is not ideal, but it will do. Hold this vial before your face and open it.'
More rustling as she accepted the vial that he held out over his shoulder. There was a pop as the cork came out, the hiss of escaping vapor, a gasp, then silence. Had the Magician executed her after all, giving her poison vapor to sniff?
'Companions, you may now remove your blindfolds and turn about,' Humfrey said. 'The gorgon has been nullified.'
Bink ripped off the cloth. 'Magician! You didn't-?'
'No, I did her no harm. Observe.'
Bink observed, as did the others. Before them stood a breathtakingly lovely young woman with hair formed of many small thin snakes. But her face was-absent. There simply wasn't anything there.
'I applied a spell of invisibility to her face,' Humfrey explained. 'She can see out well enough, but I regret that no man can look upon her face, since it is the loveliest part of her. But this way it is impossible to meet
