"Because of the metal girl? You mortals do put inordinate stress on relationships."

"You do have her hostage? You weren't just telling us that to cause more mischief?"

"We do have them both. Remember, I was with you when you deserted them; we knew exactly where they were. We couldn't abduct you, because we wanted your help, but when you left them behind, they were ready prey. They thought we were actually rescuing them, at first, but then they realized who we were, and the girl started crying and saying your name. It was quite amusing."

"d.a.m.n you!" Esk repeated.

"We've been through that before," she reminded him.

Esk shut up. She was still baiting him, when she had opportunity. He was already committed to help her cause; there was no need to give her extra satisfaction.

Night fell, and he lay down and slept, carefully facing toward the wiggle nest. The demoness stroked his hair in the manner Bria had, using a flap of her sheet, but he refused to curse her again. Tomorrow he would be with Bria again; that made it bearable.

By noon the next day the wiggles had cleared, and it was safe to fold up the Void. Esk did so, and Metria gave him a final goose and separated from him. He had failed, as she had predicted, and now had a new ch.o.r.e to tackle.

The Vale was in shambles. The dikes made by the demons were rubble, holed so many times they had collapsed. The trees were tattered and many would die. The water had spread out, pa.s.sing through the holes, and formed a great messy marsh. The whole region was deathly quiet.

Esk, about to fold up the Void, paused. "Metria-do you notice anything?"

She formed in her natural guise. "I notice you have ruined the Vale for vole and demon by your foolish exercise. It will be a real ch.o.r.e to rebuild those dikes."

"Why rebuild them?"

"To get rid of the hummers, of course."

"Listen, Metria. What do you hear?"

She listened. "Absolutely nothing. It's eerie."

"What about the hummers?"

She was so surprised that she dissipated into vapor, and then reformed. "They're gone!"

Esk had been thinking fast. Now it burst upon him in much the way the sun burst out of a smothering cloud. "Don't you see, demoness-it is the environment that sp.a.w.ns the hummers! The spread of the water evidently stifles them. There used to be a lot of water in the Vale, because of the way the Kiss-Mee River meandered. Then you channelized it, and the land dried out, and the hummers increased. Maybe they need stagnant pools such as the ones you left in the cutoff meanders; flowing water washes them out. I don't know the exact pattern, but I'm sure now that it involves the disruption of the natural river. Now the hummers are gone -but if you channelize the river again, they will return worse than ever! That's the answer to your problem-to restore the Kiss-Mee River, and keep every meander!"

She seemed stunned, which was unusual for a demon. "When we straightened the river-the hummers got worse. Now they're gone. But we can't leave the Vale in a stew like this; even the voles wouldn't be able to use it. Demons and voles need dry land to camp on."

"You can have the dry land," Esk said warmly. "Just make it natural land. Let nature take its course. That means meanders, and occasional flooding. It may be inconvenient for you, but it must be devastating to the hummers, who probably need still, stagnant water to breed in, like that in your holding ponds, and dry land to forage on, like the Vale the way you made it. Let the river change its level as it wishes, and the land alternately flood and dry out, and you should have very few hummer problems. I'm only conjecturing, of course, but doesn't it make sense to you?"

She listened again, and heard no hummers again. "It does make sense to me, mortal. Let me consult with my kind." She vaporized.

Esk folded the Void carefully, and wadded it into a fist-sized ball. They would have to return it to the gourd, but one of their number who had not yet invoked the pathfinder spell could do that, perhaps Marrow. He, Esk, would have to remain here until the demons were satisfied about his solution to the hummer problem, but that was all right; he didn't have any other pressing destination.

As he walked slushily out of the Vale, Metria reappeared. "We'll give it a try, mortal. We'll even help the voles restore the river. Meanwhile, we'll release the hostages; they're a bother to keep anyway."

And there at the edge of the forest was Marrow-and Bria. The bra.s.sie girl rushed down to fling herself into his arms. "I was so afraid you had fallen and drowned!" she exclaimed. "The demons wouldn't tell us anything!"

"They're demonic," he agreed. "But I think I have solved their problem with the hummers. They are going to help restore the Kiss-Mee River to its natural state."

Then there was a flurry of discussion, as things were worked out. Wilda Wiggle, having pa.s.sed beyond her reproduction cycle, was now ready to settle down with a male for fun and companionship, and she still liked Volney. The two were conversing by the shattered riverbank, and it seemed that some of the water's affection was returning, for they were touching noses in a fashion that was surely the volish kiss.

Marrow was going to return the Void, then see what else he could do to become real; he thought the folk at Castle Roogna might be able to use his services in looking for the lost Good Magician. Latia was returning to her people, her mission completed; that success would ensure proper respect for her during her retirement. Xap and Crunch departed together, evidently friends now. And Chex- "I believe I have a date with a winged centaur," she said, spreading her wings. "I don't think I need to be concerned anymore about the acceptance of my species. I mean to generate my own species." She flicked herself with her tail and took off, and her happiness seemed to spread out in ripples.

A shape appeared in the sky. For a moment Esk thought it was Chex returning, but instead it was her sire Xap. He landed before Esk and squawked.

Esk could not understand the winged-monster language, but he thought he might guess. "You say you have a message from my grandfather, Crunch Ogre, that I have performed an act of ogreish destruction, absolutely ruining the Vale, so I am now considered an adult in the ogreish mode?"

Xap squawked agreement, and took off again. "Tell him I appreciate his news!" Esk called. "I never would have guessed, otherwise!"

Xap's final squawk sounded very like laughter. Evidently the hippogryph's sense of humor was more liberal than his centaur filly's.

"I shall have to stay here awhile," Esk told Bria. "I promised the demons, and of course I'd like to see the Vale of the Vole restored to its original beauty, and the Kiss-Mee River to its former affection. So if you-"

"Speaking of affection," she murmured, "let's go somewhere private and try out that accommodation spell. Now that your grandfather says you are adult, you should be able to handle an adult relationship."

"Uh, I meant, if you want half my soul now-"

"That, too," she agreed. Then she hugged him, and he knew that it didn't matter what was done in what order; they would be together.