xanth 40 - isis orb Read Free

talent?”
    “To carve air into a solid mass. Like this.” He moved his hands as if slicing something invisible, then held them forth as if presenting something.
    Curious, Hapless put his hands out. There was a block of solid air, invisible but definitely there. “Nice,” he said, impressed.
    “We’re moving on,” Cylla said abruptly.
    Hapless returned the block of air and ran to catch up with her. “Why did you go? It’s a perfectly respectable talent.”
    “He’s an airhead.”
    Was that a pun? It certainly did not seem fair. Hapless decided not to challenge it.
    They crossed a meadow filled with flowers. Bees were servicing them. But one bee flew directly toward the two of them.
    “Get away!” Cylla cried, batting at it. Discouraged, the bee departed.
    “Why did you do that?” Hapless asked. “It wasn’t threatening us.”
    “It was a Wanna Bee. Anyone stung by one of those wants to be something else.”
    Oh. She evidently knew her local wildlife.
    As night approached, they came to a campsite. The enchanted paths were good that way, providing rest areas where needed. The idea was that travelers were safe on such paths, from danger, hunger, or serious inconvenience. They could sleep in comfort, wash in fresh water, and meet other friendly folk along the way. This greatly facilitated travel.
    Sure enough, there was a good-sized pond, a number of pie plants with freshly ripening pies, milkweeds with pods of fresh milk, and pillow bushes near a covered shelter. Just about everything travelers needed.
    They came to the shelter. “Um, about privacy,” Hapless said. “We can take turns bathing in the pond.”
    “We can bathe together.”
    “But I might get a, um—”
    “This is a problem?”
    “Well, um—” He knew he was blushing.
    “Hapless, we may be wrong for each other as life-mates, but we can enjoy ourselves as we travel. We can do or not do whatever we want. We are free.”
    Did she mean what he hardly dared think she meant?
    “Hello, travelers!”
    They looked at each other. They were not alone. That complicated things.
    The fellow traveler turned out to be an ordinary looking young man. “Why don’t you two get acquainted while I wash up,” Cylla suggested somewhat sourly.
    “Okay.” He would take the stranger’s attention while she had some privacy after all. It was amazing what a change a third person made.
    Hapless addressed the traveler. “Hello. I am Hapless, on the way to see the Good Magician, as is my companion Cylla. My talent is conjuring musical instruments, though I can’t play them.”
    “I am Eli, and my talent is also my curse.”
    “Curse?”
    “My powers change every day of the week. On Sun-Day I feel burnt out but can produce light and even start a fire. Monday, which happens to be today, I have no talent but also no curse. Two’s Day I see two of everything, but whatever I do is twice as effective. Wetness Day I am constantly rained on, but can control local wet weather. Thirst Day I’m thirsty but can quench anyone else’s thirst, literally or figuratively. Fry Day I can cook anything into something edible, but it’s so greasy it can be sickening. Saturn Day I am surrounded by rings of dust that separate me from others but I can also make them spin at high velocity to use as a weapon or defensive shield. Normally folk don’t like to travel with me. But I happen to be going to the same place you are, in the hope that the Good Magician can provide me with a good woman who can handle my changes.”
    Hapless digested that. This man had a daunting array of magic that might indeed make it awkward to associate with him for any length of time. But if he was going their way, it would not be easy to separate from him.
    “Yes, that’s the way with most folk,” Eli said, as if reading his thoughts.
    “Oh, I didn’t mean—”
    “What’s this?” Cylla asked from the entrance. She was clean with her hair loose so it could dry.
    “My, what a vision!” Eli said,