Xone Of Contention Read Online Free

the tree. Edsel turned to the other side—and there was the dragon's awful snoot. He was trapped before he even got started.
    “I want out of here!” he cried. And there he was back in the hall, standing before the picture, which now showed a dragon crouching by a tree. His heart was pounding. That had been one close escape.
    If this was illusion, he wasn't sure he would care to try the reality. He'd better tell Breanna the deal was off. He walked down the hall toward her Leaf.
    Then, bothered by something, he turned back to the picture. The dragon was now looking around, evidently having lost the squirrel. That was what Edsel had wanted to know: that the squirrel had escaped. He had not led it into a frying or chomping. He turned away again, relieved.
    As he approached the Leaf, it came to life. “Oh, there you are,” Breanna's face said. “Did you enjoy yourself?”
    “Not exactly,” he said, abashed.
    “I thought maybe you'd try the one with the mermaids in the pool. I hear they can be very friendly with human visitors.”
    “I didn't see that one,” he said, with real regret. He could have entered a scene with friendly mermaids? He had heard it said that a mermaid had all the good parts of a woman, and none of the bad parts. As if there were any bad parts.
    “Or maybe the one showing the Faun & Nymph Retreat. Naturally I'm not supposed to know how they celebrate all day, being underage, but I have a suspicion you'd find it interesting.”
    More than a suspicion, he was sure. He really should have checked out all the pictures before choosing one. “No, I got into one with a flying squirrel.”
    “That one? I hope you watched out for the dragon.”
    “I did run afoul of the dragon. It almost got me. A couple of those fire jets just missed me.”
    “Yeah, it's enchanted to just barely miss each time. To make it seem realistic. Even if the dragon scored on you, it couldn't hurt you, because it's illusion. A score that didn't work would ruin the effect, but a near miss can be scary.”
    “Yes.” So he had been taken in by illusion, when there was no danger. That gave him new respect for illusion.
    “'Sokay. I checked with Chlorine, and she says it's fine, except that I can't go to Mundania.”
    “You can't? But that's not fine, because you wanted to visit there, with Justin to—you know.”
    She shook her head. "No, it's okay. Really. Because I'm getting something better. I'll get to be your Companion in Xanth. And maybe, if there's some slack time, like camping overnight, if I try to stretch the Adult Conspiracy a little—
    “I won't even notice.” Edsel said quickly. “Or tell. It's your business, nobody else's.”
    “Yeah,” she said gratefully. “Chlorine understands, too. She used to be plain, before things changed.”
    “Chlorine? Where I come from, we put that in water.”
    “You aren't where you come from.” she said with half a smile. “You'll meet Nimby and Chlorine tomorrow. But there's more: they're going to visit Mundania, by switching bodies with you. They'll need Companions too. to show them around, because Mundania can be just as dangerous as Xanth for strangers. So can you dig up a reliable pair of Mundane Companions?”
    “Mundane Companions? I suppose we could ask Dug and Kim—”
    “Great! Bring them here this time tomorrow, and your wife, and I'll bring Nimby and Chlorine, and Justin, and we can work it all out This should be a great adventure.”
    Just like that? But of course Dug and Kim had had experience in Xanth, so should have good advice. What Pia would think of this he wasn't sure. But it was worth a try. “I'll do that,” he said.
    “Great!” Breanna repeated. “See you tomorrow.” Her picture reverted.
    Bemused, Edsel faced the O-Xone exit and walked. As he came to the marked portal, he saw it was a wall He did his hum-whistle, and suddenly he was out. He could tell, because he was looking at a monitor screen with a cursor blinking in front of him. The hall