Part 23 (1/2)
He realized she was right. Xanth did not follow Mundane rules. ”What kind of magic?”
”Well, once I met two brothers. One could turn himself into ice The other could turn anything else to ice. Maybe those brothers live in the mountains.”
”Maybe so.” he agreed. That seemed just crazy enough to suit this magic land. ”But you know, there seems to be an awful lot of fortunate coincidence in Xanth. Like the way certain people meet.” Without moving his head, he flicked his eyes in the direction of the youth and the woman in the center of the boat.
”For sure I've thought about that. I think maybe the Land of Xanth is female, so she does nice things for her people.”
”But the Demon X(A/N)th is male.”
”Yes, mostly. Actually demons are any gender they want to be. But the Demon is not the Land. The Land is more like his daughter.”
Edsel nodded. ”Now that makes sense. Maybe that's why marriages last forever in Xanth.”
”For sure. It you could arrange to stay in Xanth with Pia-”
”I don't think so. We have obligations in Mundania, and these are borrowed bodies. But sometimes it rubs off on people. Dug and Kim are just as much together now as they ever were, and they don't spend much time in Xanth.”
”Maybe they drank some love elixir.”
”If that's magic, it shouldn't work in Mundania.” She nodded.
”Maybe not. Still, it might be worth trying. If we pa.s.s love spring, you might save some of its elixir, and try it on her. I hear that diluted love elixir and a finder spell can enable a person to find her true love.”
They came to the lake. ”Oh, wonderful!” Alexandra exclaimed. ”I'm so dry.” She jumped out of the boat, ran to the water, and dived in. As she struck the water her clothing disappeared and her body became roughly fishlike. She had a.s.sumed her dolphin aspect.
Gabriel ran after her. ”I love to swim,” he said.
”But there might be sharks or serpents in that water,” Breanna warned him.
”They won't bother me,” he said, pausing at the edge to rip off his clothing. ”Not with a dolphin friend protecting me.”
”He's got a point.” Breanna said.
”You're not supposed to look.” Edsel said, smiling.
”I meant-” She paused. ”Oh, you're doing it again. You rogue.”
Para moved to the lake, and into it without pause. Now there were three of them swimming: dolphin, boy, and boat.
”Our turn!” Ted said. He was now in trunks, and Monica had a shower cap.
”No, wait,” Breanna said sharply. To Edsel's surprise, they obeyed.
”There's a shark!” Pia cried. She was especially nervous about them, since one had snapped at her hand.
Then the sleek dolphin circled, intercepting the shark before it could reach the boy. The shark veered away, it knew better than to tangle with such a foe.
”Isn't she great?” Gabriel called. ”What a creature!”
”I think this is going to work out,” Breanna said ”you can swim,” Breanna told the children. Even as she spoke they were leaping off the side, making small cannonball splashes. ”But not close to the boat.”
Para paddled joyfully around, then moved back toward land. A centaur stood there.
”h.e.l.lo,” Justin called as they walked out on land ”Are you the centaur Magician?”
”I am,” the centaur replied. ”My name is Rempel, My talent is to know the talents of others.”
”I thought all centaurs had names with CH sounds.” Edsel said.
”That is the custom, not the rule,” Rempel said. ”We who are outside the norm do not necessarily follow it.”
”Outside the norm?”
”Conventional centaurs do not have magic talents.” he said. ”Let alone strong ones.”
”They consider personal magic obscene,” Breanna murmured. Something moved through the gra.s.s. ”What's a shark doing on land?” Pia cried, alarmed.
Rempel looked. ”Those are a variety of shark called skates,” he said. ”They are harmless to ordinary folk, unless stepped on.”
Now Edsel saw that the creatures were forming hoops and rolling along the ground. ”Skates?” he asked.
”Roller skates.” He should have guessed.
The boat halted by some sweet smelling rose bushes The roses were all colors. Breanna had hauled the children in; now she got out and went to smell a brown one-and suddenly floated into the air above it. There was a shrill of laughter from Ted and Monica.
”Beware,” Rempel said ”Those roses have the talent of levitating things their own color.”
Edsel went and caught Breanna's flailing arm. He drew her away from the rose, and she fell back to the ground. ”I'm getting in trouble, l.u.s.t like a Mundane.” she muttered. ”Maybe it's contagious.” Edsel said.
Breanna looked around. ”What's that? It doesn't look quite like a centaur.”
Edsel recognized the creature immediately, but decided not to speak.