Part 45 (1/2)
”Etcetera.” And on the table were not only sweet rolls and gla.s.ses of drink, but several cookies and pastries, together with a.s.sorted apples, bananas, and other fruits.
”Your talent!” Cube exclaimed. ”Et Cetera!”
”Exactly,” the girl agreed. ”Someone else has to start it, then I can add on to it. I can't do it purely on my own.”
”Talents often do have limits,” Cube agreed. ”Mine is summoning nickelpedes. I would rather have a more feminine talent.”
”Why?”
Oh. ”I'm a girl.”
Etcetera looked at her more closely, then blushed fetchingly. ”Oh. I thought--never mind.”
Cube knew she just had to get beautiful.
As they ate, a white rabbit hopped close. ”Oh, what a lovely bunny!” the girl exclaimed.
The rabbit's ears blushed flattered pink.
”He's probably just looking for sc.r.a.ps,” Cube said.
The rabbit's ears turned angry red.
Could it be? Cube decided to experiment. ”You're a pretty sorry example of your kind,” she said to the rabbit.
The rabbit's ears turned black with mortification. It was true: they changed color with the creature's mood.
”I'm sorry,” she said. ”I didn't mean that. I just wanted to see your ears change.”
The rabbit gazed at her, his ears slowly fading to neutral gray.
”Let's get him some nice cabbage,” Cube said.
”Etcetera!” And cabbage appeared, along with lettuce, carrots, and parsley.
The rabbit's ears turned happy white. He started eating the lettuce.
A wolf appeared at the edge of the forest. The rabbit's ears turned fearful yellow.
”A dangerous creature can't come onto the enchanted section,” Cube said. ”He can't get you.”
The rabbit's ears returned to white. He resumed eating. But then he paused, his ears turning green.
”Oh, some broccoli or asparagus must have gotten in there,” Etcetera said, chagrined. ”I'm so sorry.”
”Have a bite of apple,” Cube said, putting one down for the rabbit. That soon put the ears right.
When they finished their meal, Cube thanked Etcetera and mounted Charles to travel on. The rabbit's ears turned sad blue; he was sorry to see them go.
Then Cube saw another woman coming from the other direction. There was something odd about her. Her hair was moving in an unnatural manner. As she walked under a low-hanging ma.s.s of foliage, her hair lifted up to push it away. She had prehensile hair!
As Cube rode on, she saw the woman pause by the rabbit, then squat down. Her hair reached out to stroke him. The rabbit's ears turned white. He wasn't blue anymore. That made Cube feel better.
They continued north. Suddenly a cloud formed before Cube's face. ”My, you're an ugly one,” it said.
At first Cube thought it was Metria, but then remembered that the demoness was in the pouch. ”Look who's talking.”
The cloud formed into a handsome man. ”How do you like me now? Demon Lete, just drifting by.”
Cube thought she heard a groan. ”D. Lete,” she said. ”Why don't you subtract your presence?”
”I can't,” he said. ”I gave up my talent to be the prize that Kim Mundane won.”
Cube remembered that Kim had the talent of erasure. ”You didn't do that voluntarily.”
Lete looked abashed. ”I was in one of Demon Professor Grossclout's cla.s.ses, and I sa.s.sed him. Then he taught me a lesson I wouldn't forget. He deleted my talent.”
That was a pretty stringent punishment. Cube had some sympathy. ”I'm sorry.”
”Oh, I'm sure I deserved it.” The demon faded.
Cube made a mental note never to cross Demon Professor Grossclout.
In the evening they came to another campsite. This time there were two men there. Cube was slightly wary, but reminded herself that no hostile folk could get on the enchanted paths, and anyway, she had her nickelpedes, which she could surely use if she jumped off the path and summoned them. So she put a positive face on it. ”Is there room for one more?” she called.
”Certainly,” the older man replied. He looked to be about forty-seven. ”I'm Terry Tamagni. My son Jerry and I were about to swim in the pool. You're welcome to join us.”
Cube dismounted. ”I'm a girl.” She hated having to say that so often.
”Oh,” Terry said, embarra.s.sed. ”I--we're rather new here. Still finding our way.”
”In fact we're Mundane,” Jerry said.
That meant they were here without magic. They were worse off than she was.
”Nice horse,” Terry said.
”I changed my mind,” Cube said. ”I'll swim with you, if you don't mind.”
The two men exchanged a glance. ”No problem,” Jerry said. He looked to be about twenty-four, a nice age.
So they stripped and swam, and splashed each other, and it was fun. Then they dried and harvested a.s.sorted pies for dinner, and talked about this and that. Cube found that she enjoyed socializing with men as well as women, when it was just companions.h.i.+p. These ones were nice enough. She had never actually played with men before; there had always been the problem that they saw her as a woman--or didn't. With Mundanes it didn't seem to be a question. She was happy to answer their questions about Xanth, rea.s.suring them that it was a nice enough place to be.
In the morning the men continued on south, and Cube and Charles went north. In due course they came to the Gap Chasm. This time the thread led directly across it, straight from one side to the other, though the air.
Cube contemplated that. Then she put her hand to the pouch. ”Metria.”
The demoness appeared. ”No problem,” she said. ”It's the invisible bridge. Just walk on across.” She slid back into the pouch.
Invisible bridge. Cube nerved herself and reached tentatively forward over the emptiness with one foot. And found solidity. In fact there was a walkway there, and a rail for her hand. That helped.