Skeleton Key (The Xanth Novels)

There’s no dancing around a demonic threat in the fantasy world of Xanth in the New York Times–bestselling series.
 
Squid, the alien cuttlefish, is getting an upgrade: a boost to her shape-changing talent so she can lead a mission against a foreign Demon who’s stirring up trouble in Xanth. At Squid’s side are her rescued siblings and one very special child—Larry, a girl in a boy’s body, who will act as a secret host for their adoptive mother, the Demoness Fornax.
 
Aboard the Fire Boat, they form a plan to disguise themselves as a traveling dance troupe. Each child is paired up with a native Xanthian. But it’s the friendship that blossoms between Squid and Larry that will power their quest, and they’ll have to do some fancy footwork to avoid the trials and tribulations that await them.

Piers Anthony is one of the world's most popular fantasy authors and a New York Times bestseller twenty-one times over. His Xanth novels have been read and loved by millions of readers around the world. In addition to his bestselling Xanth books, Anthony is the author of a series of historical fantasies called The Geodyssey, that makes the broad sweep of human history into very personal stories. Piers Anthony has a devoted fan following, and he daily receives hundreds of letters and emails from them. Piers Anthony lives in Inverness, Florida.