Part 23 (2/2)

Soon they took her to the airport. Sure enough, they were listed for pa.s.sage. David showed his identification, and showed a blank card for Breanna. She invoked the Ring of Fire, and the demoness made it look like a valid ID. They were allowed to board the plane.

Except that they had to wait an hour in a gradually filling waiting room. Then came an announcement: The flight was delayed half an hour.

”Something wrong?” Breanna asked, alarmed.

”Routine,” David rea.s.sured her. ”These days they figure it's an error if a flight travels on time. I hope we don't miss our connecting flight.”

”Connecting flight?”

”On such short notice, we had to take what we could get, the zigzag express. We'll change planes in New Orleans, Dallas, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. Some of those connections are pretty tight. We'll be lucky to make our schedule.”

”Oh.” Breanna wasn't pleased, but this was, after all, Mundania. She was remembering why she was glad to have left it. ”Well, whatever. Just as long as we get there.”

”We'll get there. I just can't say when.”

But after half an hour, the plane was in, and they did board. Their seats were in the rear, and not together. ”Maybe we can trade with someone,” David said.

”It's okay. Don't get off without me.”

He smiled. ”I won't, Princess Bre.”

That was right: She was a foreign princess, garbed in black. She took her seat, which was by a window. She liked that; she always liked to see where she was going. She buckled up. There was no leg room to speak of, and hardly any hip room; she was not a large person, in fact she was on the smallish side, but she would not have cared for a tighter fit.

A large man sat next to her. His thigh and elbow overlapped her s.p.a.ce, and his extra bag overlapped her foot room. This was annoying, but she wasn't here to quarrel, so she bore with it.

The plane took off and forged up into the clouds. She was fascinated; this was like being carried aloft by a roc bird! It pa.s.sed through a cloud with a faint swis.h.i.+ng sound, and emerged above it. From here the clouds were huge vertical ma.s.ses of mist, rather than the pretty m.u.f.fins they appeared from the ground. Unlike Xanth clouds, they were not cupshaped, with the cups filled with water; there was a more complicated mechanism for rain.

She became aware of something. The hand of the man next to her was touching her thigh. Her voluminous dress covered it, but still his fingers were somewhat too familiar. She realized that she was stuck in this little seat, cut off from escape. She didn't want to make a bad scene, but neither did she want to be handled by a stranger.

She lifted her Ring to her mouth. ”Metria,” she murmured.

”Got it,” the Ring replied in the demoness's voice.

Breanna let her arm fall across her lap so that her left hand was on her thigh near the man's hand. She nudged it closer, without actually touching.

In a moment his hand moved. It touched hers. A spark jumped from the Ring.

”Goof!” the man grunted, jerking his hand away. It must have been quite a shock.

Breanna turned wide innocent eyes on him. ”Is there a problem, sir?”

”No, no, of course not,” he muttered.

And by some odd coincidence, his hand did not stray again. ”Thanks, Metria,” Breanna said subvocally.

The Ring turned warm for a moment, just a pulse of acknowledgment.

Nut and cracker snacks were served, and drinks. Breanna enjoyed her first Mundane fizzle water in nine years. This trip really wasn't bad, so far.

The plane made up time on the flight, and was only fifteen minutes late landing at New Orleans. Breanna rejoined David, and they got off and hurried to the gate for the flight to Dallas. They just made it. This time they had seats together. ”What did you do to that guy?” he asked.

”Just burned him with the Ring of Fire,” she said. ”Nothing serious.”

”I'll bet,” he agreed, smiling.

But now there was weather. The plane went around it, but then was late, and was put in a holding pattern around Dallas. By the time it landed, they were an hour late, and had missed their connecting flight.

”We'll take the next one to Phoenix,” David said.

The clerk checked his listings. ”In twelve hours.”

”Twelve hours! There should be a plane every two hours.”

”All booked solid,” the man said. ”You should have taken the one you were scheduled for.”

”Our plane didn't even land until that one had taken off.”

The man checked his computer listings. ”True. In that case, we'll put you up for the night, compliments of MundaniAir. We like to have satisfied customers.”

”Satisfied cus-” But he broke off, for Breanna's hand was on his arm, cautioning him. ”Okay. Thank you,” he said insincerely.

Actually, the hotel room wasn't bad. It was small, but had a TV set with cable and an Internet connection. ”Say-can that thing reach the Xanth Xone?” she asked.

”Sure, if you have the magic code.”

”I have it.”

He used his credit card to go online, then turned it over to her. She typed the magic code and entered the Xone. Then as an afterthought she turned to David. ”Put your hand on my shoulder, so you have contact. Then you'll be there too.”

”Thanks!” He clasped her shoulder.

A lovely woman appeared on the screen. ”Why, h.e.l.lo, Breanna,” she said. ”Back so soon?”

”Hi, Mouse Terian,” Breanna said. ”No, I'm calling from Mundania.”

”And who is your handsome companion?”

”I'm David Baldwin,” David said.

”I'm sure you are.” Terian gazed at him speculatively.

”Hey-we're talking in sound!” he said, realizing.

”We're in the Xanth Xone,” Breanna reminded him. ”We're in three dimensions too.”

”We sure are,” he agreed, gazing raptly at Terian's decolletage, which was somewhat more revealing than she pretended to realize.

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