Part 27 (2/2)
”Oh, very well,” Arachid said gruffly. It brought its face down close to Jaylin's, and she saw its vampirish sucking teeth. She quailed. ”Cute face, nice dark hair, tender exposed neck. Ideal appetizer.”
”Look into her eyes,” the balloon wrote, though Jaylin wasn't sure how she could read it with the spider's horrible face in the way.
Then their eyes met. ”Well, swat me for a buzzing bug and wrap me in flypaper,” Arachid said. ”It's true.”
Jaylin managed to take a breath. ”I-I have come for the Ring,” she gasped.
Arachid sighed. ”And I have to give it to you and let you go. What a waste of edible fles.h.!.+” It reached into its own mouth and drew a band from a fang. ”Here it is.”
She tried to reach for it, but the la.s.so prevented her. The spider jerked it with one leg, and it loosened and sailed off her body, freeing her. Then she took the Ring of Void and put it on her little left finger, where it fit perfectly.
”I guess that's it,” she said shakily. ”Uh, thank you, Arachid. You have been a great help.”
The spider shook its head ruefully. ”And she's polite. She must be excruciatingly sweet to the palate.”
Jaylin felt almost-but not quite-sorry for it. ”Maybe a nice fat fly will come along soon,” she said.
”You speak as if you are unaware of the properties of the Ring.”
”I guess I don't know much about it, just that it's needed for the Swell Foop.”
”It controls the dream realm, and all that is within it. You can make the fattest of all flies come, if you wish, merely by invoking the Ring.”
”I can?” She lifted her hand and looked at the Ring. ”Fat fly, come here.”
There was a sudden buzzing, and a plane, no a bird, no a fat fly the size of a pig came zooming in. It crashed into the Web and got stuck. ”And that's only the beginning,” Arachid said as it hurried over to secure the morsel. ”You can rearrange the dream sets, summon all the night mares, or arrogate special powers to yourself. You can make of this entire realm a lucid dream.”
”A what?”
”A controlled dream,” Putre's speech balloon wrote. ”The Ring governs everything, even the local rules of magic.”
”Gee.” She considered, then addressed the Ring again: ”Give us the power of flight.”
Then she floated from the Net, and so did Putre. His front hoof stuck for a moment, but the stickiness stretched and finally popped back to the Web, freeing him. Neither of them had wings, but they were flying.
”This way,” the speech balloon wrote. The colt set off for the edge of the giant canyon they hovered over.
She flew after him. ”Say, this is fun!”
His speech balloon formed and drifted back to her. ”Dreams aren't bad when you control them.”
”I'll say! Usually when I dream I'm flying, I have trouble getting off the ground and there's a pack of vicious dogs snapping at my feet.”
”Yes, the night mares aren't in the business of bringing enjoyable dreams.”
They soon came to the edge of the chasm and flew through the leprechauns' forest. They could have risen above the trees, but Jaylin wanted to say goodbye to the little men, so she flew at about twenty-foot elevation, dodging the branches.
And there they were. ”Bye, leprechauns!” she called.
The little men looked up-and fell on the ground as if struck down by an unseen hand, staring upward.
Alarmed, Jaylin landed at the edge of the glade and walked back. ”Are you all right?”
The leprechauns picked themselves up. ”Aye, la.s.s,” the spokesman said, dusting himself off. ”Sure and you caught us by surprise. You should give a wee bit of warning before you fly over like that.”
”I'm sorry,” she said contritely. ”I guess it was a surprise. You see, I got the Ring of Void, and just learned how to fly. I didn't mean to startle you so badly.”
”That too,” he agreed.
”There's something else?”
He looked at her. ”You don't know?”
”Know what?”
He took her aside. ”La.s.s, here in the dream realm, and in Xanth proper too, a girl's underclothing has a special effect on men. Normally it doesn't show, but when you were above and we looked up-”
”You saw my panties!” she exclaimed. ”It freaked you out!”
”Aye, la.s.s.”
”Oh, I'm sorry! I never thought-I'm from Mundania, and-I apologize.”
”That's all right, la.s.s. Truth be told, we don't much mind such a view. But maybe be more careful in future, aye?”
”I will! Thanks for telling me.”
”And welcome.”
She took off again, this time flying very low until clear of the glade. ”I think I'm going to need a new outfit, if I want to do much flying.”
The speech balloon appeared. ”When we leave the dream realm, you will no longer be able to fly. But you will be able to conjure dream images.”
”It's scary, how much power the Ring has. And it's just one of six!”
”Yes, that is why the Rings of Xanth are normally well hidden. Their power must not be abused.”
”I'll try not to abuse mine. I just want to help the others do the job they have to do. But it sure makes me wonder what the Foop does!”
”I am not sure anyone knows, except the Simurgh.”
”Well, I guess we'll find out.”
Then they reached the portal that was the entry to the dream realm. They flew through it-and found themselves floating above the ground of ordinary Xanth, looking down at their two bodies lying beside the green gourd.
”I don't understand,” Jaylin said, alarmed. ”Are we dead?”
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