Part 31 (1/2)

And, of course, it was. Now she could see the faint shadow-outline of her friend, running beside Chem.

”I thought you knew,” Chem said. ”Imbri joined us several minutes ago.”

”I'm not as alert to her as you are,” Irene said, disgruntled. ”You share your soul with her.”

”True,” Chem agreed. ”But it is you she has the message for, except that she doesn't want to call it that.”

”Well, let's have it!” Irene cried. ”By whatever name!”

Now she was fully alert, and the day mare couldn't communicate with her directly. Chem had to translate, for the centaur's soul--affinity gave her a special understanding.

”Imbri says Hugo and Ivy and Stanley are safe, but--”

”Stanley?”

”Remember, Glory and Hardy told us. The rejuvenated Gap Dragon. They are safe, but need help. They're going after the wiggle nest directly.”

”That's impossible!” Irene protested. ”No one can approach a wiggle nest!”

”So we thought,” Chem agreed. ”But Imbri says they are using a forget-whorl as a s.h.i.+eld, and plan to use the whorl to wipe out the nest. We must promise not to reveal that she told us this, because she's not supposed to--”

”I promise!” Irene exclaimed. ”But how--a forget-whorl--”

”I believe that could be effective,” Chem said. ”If the whorl does to the wiggles what it does to most creatures, they will forget how to zap, and cease to be a danger to the rest of Xanth. I suspect this is a stroke of genius, though how they ever thought of it--”

”No one can even see a whorl!” Irene protested.

”It is amazing,” Chem agreed. ”Imbri says Hugo is locating the whorl by using flying fruit--”

”But ail Hugo's fruit is rotten!”

”Not any more. Not according to Glory Goblin or Brontes the Cyclops. Imbri merely confirms that Hugo has perfected his talent, and is now a good deal smarter and handsomer than before. A woman has to be responsible.”

”Or a little girl,” Irene agreed. ”I keep forgetting how much power Ivy seems to be manifesting.”

”And the little dragon is fanning the whorl forward with his wings--”

”But the Gap Dragon's wings are vestigial! They're hardly noticeable! They can't--”

”They seem to have grown. I suspect your daughter has something to do with that, too.”

The rest of the light dawned. ”Only the talent of a Sorceress could account for all the changes we have noted!”

”A Sorceress,” Chem agreed. ”She was perhaps too close to you, so you didn't realize. Ivy will one day be King of Xanth.”

”When my generation pa.s.ses,” Irene murmured, awed by the vision of it. This was more than she had hoped for!

Then common sense prevailed, ”Three children can't take a risk like that!” Irene said. ”We can't allow it! Those wiggles are the most deadly menace in Xanth! We've got to get them out of there!”

”We can't,” Chem said. ”Imbri reports the wiggles are so thick where the children are that no one else can approach.”

”But--”

”All we can do is fight the wiggles where we encounter them, and hope that Ivy and her friends get through by themselves.”

”But Ivy's only three years old!”

”And a Sorceress.”

Irene stifled her reply, as it could only have debased a long friends.h.i.+p and would not have rescued her threatened child. She wanted a live daughter, not a dead Sorceress!

They had been moving along rapidly, covering much more distance in an hour than the children could have done. Guided by Mare Imbri's indication of the location of the children, Irene knew they were now very close.

They reached a gra.s.sy knoll. There stood a small flying dragon, a drake, somewhat bedraggled. Chem whipped her bow forward, arrow nocked; she knew better than to take any dragon for granted. If the drake launched itself in her direction, she would send a shaft through its eye before it got fairly aloft. Irene also reached for a seed; its effect would be slower than Chem's arrow, but as potent in the long run.

Zzapp!

Chem and Irene froze, trying to locate the wiggle. The drake lifted its head, spied the worm, and bathed it in fire. The burned husk dropped to the ground.

”I think we're on the same side,” Chem said, but she kept her bow ready.

”We have intersected the swarm,” Irene said with a sinking sensation. ”And we haven't caught up to Ivy.”

”And Imbri says we won't. The children are ahead, very close to the nest itself. A short distance geographically, but an immense one in the practical sense. We must fight the wiggles here, and hope for the best.”

Zzapp!

Irene dismounted, perturbed. ”I suppose so. But I don't like it. Those children--”

Chem found two stones and clapped them together experimentally. ”You have to crush them hard,” she said. ”And quickly. We're going to be very busy now.”

Irene dropped a seed. ”Grow,” she said in a no-nonsense tone.

The seed sprouted into a hairy toad plant. The hairy toads goggled their eyes about, looking for bugs. ”Snap up the wiggles,” Irene told the plant. The toads grimaced and threatened to croak, apparently knowing how bad wiggles tasted, but seemed ready to obey.

Irene found stones of her own and waited for the next zap. Chem was right; there was nothing else to do at this stage. She had done most of what she could do when she sent Grundy off to notify Parna.s.sus. Now they just had to hold the fort, as it were, until competent help came.

The incidence of wiggles increased. The swarm was expanding, and it was obviously a large one. Chem and Irene found themselves retreating. They had to stay abreast of the outer perimeter, for any single wiggle that got past could start a new nest, in due course.

Yet Irene knew they were dealing with only one tiny part of what had become a huge circle. The wiggles were moving out everywhere, not just here. ”We need help!” Irene exclaimed. ”A lot of help, and soon!”

”Imbri has gone to notify King Dor,” Chem said, stalking a wiggle. ”She's decided this is so important she can justify breaking the rule about day mares and communications.”

”And how fast will Dor be able to get here? It will be nightfall before this campaign gets truly organized, and then--”

”We won't be able to see the wiggles,” Chem finished. ”And by morning they'll be spread so far, we'll never get them all. I suspect that at some stage, some of them drop out, stop zapping, and settle down to hibernate; we have very little chance to catch those. So the battle may well be lost by morning, even if we do exterminate every wiggle that's still zapping. We can only hope Grundy gets help from the Simurgh.”

”If only we could summon others here directly!” Irene exclaimed. ”We--” She paused. ”I'm a fool! We can! Didn't Haggy Harpy give you a--”

”Whistle!” Chem cried. ”How could I have forgotten that!” She brought out the feather whistle and blew a resounding blast on it. ”The harpies will be able to notify the goblins, too, and perhaps put out the news on the mouth organ.”