"If I'm not a ghost, why is that-that cat prancing through me like this?"
Killer demanded.
"Side effect," said Morwen. "An extremely opportune side effect, in fact. Eating that invisible dusk-blooming chokevine seems to have made you insubstantial."
"Shouldn't it have made him invisible?" Brandel asked.
"Not necessarily," Telemain said. "The pattern of interactivity among the various layers of enchantment affecting Killer is such that the precise effect of additional incidents is not subject to the usual predictive methods."
"Eeeeee-aaauugh!" Killer's wail of distress was louder and longer than any of his earlier complaints. "If I'm insubstantial, how am I going to eat?"
"We'll take care of that as soon as we return Mendanbar's sword," Morwen told him. "Telemain, if you're quite recovered, we should-Arona Michaelear Grinogion Vamist! Where do you think you're going?"
"Somewhere else," Vamist said. "You have no right to kidnap me like this!"
"And you have no business aiding and abetting the theft of important magical items from the King of the Enchanted Forest," Cimorene said.
"Besides, I'm a witch," Morwen put in. "Isn't it traditional for witches to steal people away?"
"Not people like me!" Vamist said. "Babies and princesses."
"Babies and princesses are of no practical use whatsoever," Morwen said. "Most of them, anyway. And the ones that are useful don't need to be kidnapped."
"That's not the point!"
"No," said Cimorene. "The point is that we have more important things to do right now. We'll deal with you later; until then, you stay with us. Telemain, can you take us to the castle now?"
"It will be simpler if you will all stand a little closer together," Telemain said. "That's better." He gestured, and the familiar mist rose around them.
When it cleared, they found themselves in a large empty area. Forty feet ahead of them, the enormous trees of the Enchanted Forest rose in massive splendor, but where they stood were only ashes and bare, blackened ground. For a moment, Morwen thought Telemain had made a mistake.
Then she turned her head and saw the castle, with its improbable towers and windows and staircases, shimmering inside a giant ball of golden light.
"Good heavens!" said Cimorene, speaking for them all. "What's happened?"
For a long moment, no one answered. Then Morwen said, in a voice that sounded grim even to herself, "The Society of Wizards happened. I just wonder where they've all disappeared to."
"Good riddance, wherever it is," Scorn said. "What a mess."
"Maybe they're inside the castle?" Brandel suggested.
"No," said a pleasant female voice behind them. "Outside the forest.
At least, that's what the dragons tell us. Hello, Brandel; it's nice to. see you again."
"Amory!" Brandel spun around, kicking up a small cloud of ash, and hugged the slender red-haired woman standing in back of him. "So Marli passed my message on."
"Yes, and we've certainly had an interesting time of it." The red-haired woman smiled over Brandel's shoulder at the rest of the group. "I'm Brandel's cousin Amory. You must be Queen Cimorene and the others King Kazul told us about. She wants to see you right away."
"I should hope so," said Trouble.
"What's been going on here?" asked Cimorene. "And where's Mendanbar?"
"Who?" said Amory.
"The King of the Enchanted Forest," Brandel said. "Her husband."
"Oh. I'm afraid I don't know anything about him. I think King Kazul does, though."
"Then take us to Kazul right away," Cimorene said.
Telemain took hold of Vamist's shoulder-the bald man had been trying to slip off again, although there was nowhere near to slip off to-and they followed Amory around the castle. As they walked, little eddies of ash followed everyone except Killer. The cats were very unhappy about the way the fine gray particles stuck to them; Trouble even tried to jump onto Killer's back to get out of the dust, having forgotten about the donkey's lack of solidity.
A quarter of the way around the castle, they saw the first few dragons walking purposefully along the boundary between the forest and the ashy area. As they went on, they saw more dragons, some walking, some flying above the trees. A number of red-haired people-presumably more of Brandel's fire-witch relatives-were standing guard near the edge of the glow that surrounded the castle. Amory nodded to them in passing and cut across the open area to the forest on the far side.
Kazul was just inside the forest, talking with another dragon and two more fire-witches.
"... and now it seems to have stopped growing completely, Your Majesty." The second dragon had a deep, clear voice that carried plainly to the approaching party. "Nobody's sure why."
"Well, it's a good thing, whatever the reason," Kazul said. "Send someone over to-" "Kazul!" Cimorene quickened her pace. "What's been happening? Where's Mendanbar?"
"I think he's still in there," Kazul said, nodding at the castle, which was partially visible through the trees. "I see you got the sword.
I'm glad something's gone right lately."
Trouble and Scorn ran ahead and jumped onto Kazul's tail, but Horatio hung back.
"Mrow?"
"If Kazul doesn't care, I don't see why you should," Scorn told him, and began to wash the ashes off of her back.
"You think Mendanbar's in the castle?" Cimorene paled slightly. "why don't you know? Kazul-" "Stop flapping your wings over it and let the dust settle," Kazul said.
"I'll explain in a minute. Marchak, send someone to notify the air patrol about this area, and tell them that if they find any other ashed-out spots they're to check whether the spots are stable before they report in. Let them know that Cimorene's back, with Mendanbar's sword."
"Right away, Your Majesty," said the other dragon. With a cheerful wave in Cimorene's direction, he walked off.
Cimorene took a deep breath. "Kazul, tell me right away. Is Mendanbar all right, or… or…"
"Mendanbar is not dead," Morwen said firmly.
"Why are you so sure of that?" Kazul asked.
"I've lived in the Enchanted Forest for a long time. I was here four years ago when the old King, Mendanbar's father, died. Believe me, when a King of the Enchanted Forest dies, the forest makes sure everyone knows it.
I didn't get a good night's sleep for a week, and neither did anyone else."