Free Geis of the Gargoyle by Piers Anthony

interested.   "It has a thousand tongues, and it doesn't let anything stand in its way, not even a naga or a boulder.   I wonder what kind of illusion will help you now?"
     
    "We shall see," Iris said.   She looked around.   "I see that this chasm offshoot is highly irregular."
     
    "That is the nature of gap radiations," Gary agreed, watching the beast nervously.   He had never been much concerned about such creatures when he was stone, but now in this feeble flesh manform he felt extremely insecure.
     
    "Let's get beyond that jag," she said.
     
    "Won't it just skirt the edge, as we do, and get at us with only a small delay?"
     
    "Perhaps not."
     
    They walked quickly around the jag, putting its depth between them and the monster.   Then they turned to look back.   Gary was surprised.   He had evidently misjudged the position of the jag, because they had not after all gotten beyond it.   "We had better move farther over," he said.
     
    "No, this will do," Iris decided.
     
    "But-"
     
    "Trust me, stone beast."
     
    Gary did not trust her judgment, but since it didn't make a lot of difference anyway, he settled down with her to wait for the arrival of the Blatant Beaste.   This was horrible, because of its noise.   It really did seem to have a mouthful of tongues, and all of them were shaping piercing screams.   It was definitely intending mayhem.
     
    It charged right toward them.   Gary gazed desperately around, trying to find something that this puny human body could use as a weapon, but there was only level dirt leading up to the edge of the chasm to the side.
     
    The Beaste's screams became deafening.   It was only three bounds and ten paces from them, and there was nothing to stop it, not even an illusion wall.   Yet Iris seemed unconcerned.   In fact, she even lifted her spread hand, put her thumb to her nose, and waggled her fingers at the creature.
     
    The Blatant Beaste became, if anything, even more baleful.   It picked up speed, charging straight across the level sand.
     
    And suddenly dropped out of sight.   There were only the continuing sounds of its screams rising from under the ground.
     
    Then Iris banished her illusion.   The jag of the chasm reappeared, right where Gary had first thought it was.   She had covered it with the image of sand, and the Beaste had been fooled and plunged headlong in.
     
    "Blatant Beastes aren't very smart either," the Sorceress remarked as she resumed walking north.
     
    Gary hadn't been any smarter, he realized.   It hadn't occurred to him that illusion could cover up something that wasn't there, as well as making something appear.   She had made an illusion chasm to the side and concealed the real one.
     
    As Gary walked, he found that he was uncomfortable in the midsection again, but this time he wasn't hungry, so he tried to ignore it.
     
    Soon they reached the bridge and crossed over.   The track continued wending generally west.   Apparently they had gotten beyond the dragon path and were now on a more established route.
     
    "I recognize this now!" Iris exclaimed.   "It's one of the enchanted paths."
     
    "Yes, we intersected the enchanted network at the bridge," Mentia said.
     
    "And here I was worrying about staving off more monsters.   Why didn't you tell us?"
     
    Mentia shrugged.   Her shoulders misjudged the range and went on up over her head before she thought to draw them back down into place again.   "Why didn't you ask?"
     
    Iris decided to ignore that.   "And just where along this is the golem residence?"
     
    "Just north of the Gap Chasm.   They live in a club house."
     
    "North of the Gap!" But again, she hadn't actually asked.   Gary had assumed, as Iris evidently had, that it was south.   Had they struggled to avoid monsters when they might have taken a more direct route and avoided them entirely? Gary made a mental note not to take the demoness on faith; it wasn't worth it.
     
    Meanwhile, Gary's discomfort of