Free Well-Tempered Clavicle by Piers Anthony

otherwise.”
    Dawn stared at him with her flesh-filled eyes. “You’re right! No hostile monster can use these paths. So we’re all right, as long as we don’t judge by appearances.”
    “How does Midrange know about the monster?” Joy’nt asked.
    “It’s his developing magic talent,” Dawn said. “When Mundanes have been in Xanth a while, they start getting magic too. Middy’s seems to be awareness of coming problems.”
    “That’s interesting,” Joy’nt said. “I wonder what Woofer’s and Tweeter’s talents will be?”
    “We’ll know in due course. But they can take many years to develop.”
    They resumed riding the short distance to the camp.
    Three people were already by the shelter: two boys and a girl. “Do you want to share, Princess?” Joy’nt asked Dawn as they coasted in. “We can go on to another camp if we need to; it’s not that late.”
    “This is fine,” Dawn said. “But if you would, just call me Dawn, not Princess. I want to be one of the regular folk.”
    “ We aren’t regular folk,” Picka reminded her.
    “I will introduce you as harmless spooks.”
    “Accurate enough,” he agreed amicably.
    Dawn led the way. “Hello!” she called as she stopped and parked her bicycle. “I am Dawn. These are my friends Picka and Joy’nt. They are harmless spooks. Their family left the dream realm and no longer works in bad dreams.”
    “Oh,” one of the boys said. “Okay. I’m Tom. These are Aliena and Aaron.”
    “You’re not a boy,” Dawn said shortly.
    Aliena and Aaron looked surprised. They hadn’t known.
    Tom was surprised too, for a different reason. “How did you know?”
    “It’s my talent to know about things like that.”
    “You’re right. I’m a girl. But I’m adventurous and very good at emulating a boy, and it spares me the looks of panty hunters. So I generally travel as a boy. I don’t have two walking skeletons and a big dog to protect me.”
    “Oh, I forgot to introduce Woofer,” Dawn said. “He’s friendly. The bird is Tweeter, and the cat is Midrange.”
    “Oh, that’s great!” Aliena said. “May I pet them?”
    “Woofer yes,” Dawn said. “Midrange maybe. Tweeter no.”
    Aliena immediately petted Woofer. “My talent is to change the color of trees,” she confided. “See.” She gestured to a small nearby tree, and it changed from green to blue.
    “And mine is hot hands,” Aaron said. “I can even start a fire with them, if I concentrate.”
    “You do look hot,” Dawn agreed. But Picka could tell she was being cautious, because Aaron was looking at her with a bit more intensity than seemed proper. She was right: if it was a human male, it desired her.
    “Why don’t we take one side of the shelter, and you three take the other?” Joy’nt suggested.
    The three looked into her hollow eye sockets, and hastily agreed. Spooks might be friendly, but they remained a bit scary to strangers.
    They gathered pies from a nearby pie tree—pie trees were always to be found at enchanted camps—and Aaron used his hands to heat them until they were toasty. It was a nice meal.
    Then Picka talked with Aaron while Dawn, Aliena, and Tom washed up on the clean pond. That way he was sure that Aaron did not peek at any panties or bare bodies. This was important for living folk.
    After that, Aaron and Picka went to wash, though Picka didn’t really need it, while Joy’nt made sure no girls peeked. It was all part of the social courtesy of such camps.
    When they returned, Picka remembered something. “When does the monster arrive?” he asked Dawn.
    “Oh, I forgot about that,” Dawn said. “We should warn these three.”
    “Warn us about what?” Aliena asked.
    “There’s a horrendous monster coming. You may not want to stay here.”
    “Are you trying to get rid of us so you can have the shelter to yourselves?” Tom demanded.
    “Not at all,” Dawn said. “It’s just that this creature may make you uncomfortable.”
    “A likely story.