Free Demons Don’t Dream by Piers Anthony Page B

she realized that there was plenty of Xanth to go yet.
    It was clouding up. A storm was building in the sky. “Oops," Jenny said. “Try to stay out of sight. That looks like Fracto."
    "Who?"
    “Cumulo Fracto Nimbus, the meanest of clouds. He always blows an ill wind. If there's anything interesting happening, he comes and wets on it."
    "Oh, pooh," Kim said, intrigued. Now she remembered Fracto, with contempt. "I'm not afraid of any cloud!"
    A vague face formed on the cloud. "I heeeard thaaaht!" Fracto puffed.
    "So what? You're just a bag of wind."
    "Ixnay," Jenny was murmuring. "Don't work him up."
    But it was too late. The angry cloud was swelling up like a toad with gas, looming over them. Already the first cold gusts of wind were coming, bearing the first fat drops of water. Fracto's mouth pursed and blew out a much fiercer wind, containing flecks of sleet. They were in for it
    "I'm sorry,"  Kim said, realizing that this could indeed be mischief. "I guess my big mouth has gotten us into another."
    "It's all right," Jenny said without overwhelming enthusiasm. "Let's see if we can maybe get up in a tree, so we don't get flooded out."
    "It's not all right,"  Kim said. "You've been trying to do your job. But I'm just—well, I know I'm no beauty, so I try to make up by being smart with my mouth. It's a defensive mechanism. Only sometimes I'm doing it when I shouldn't Like right now. And making it tough for you. So I'll try to watch it Okay?"
    "Okay," Jenny agreed, with an appreciative smile.
    Meanwhile, they had Fracto's rage to deal with. Jenny cast about for a suitable tree to climb, but all the trees in view were wrong in separate ways. Some had tall, featureless trunks not easy to climb, some had thorns, and many were too small. "Sammy, find us a close tree to climb," Jenny said to the little cat.
    Sammy bounded off. "Wait for me!" Jenny cried, chasing after him.  Kim followed. Her screen just seemed to go wherever she looked, exactly as if she were really in the scene, and much of the time she forgot that she wasn't. Kim heard a faint eerie music. It was enchanting, but too distant to be intelligible.
    They crossed an open area.  Kim saw a giant spreading acorn tree beyond, easy to climb and sit in. The cat knew exactly where to go. But Fracto chose this moment to strike with all his fell force. A solid—well, liquid—sheet of rain came down to smite them. The water smacked into her screen, blurring it; she wished she had windshield wipers.
    "Sammy!" Jenny cried, diving down. The cat had gotten swept into a sudden gully washer which was taking advantage of a gully, and he was getting washed away to the side. Jenny grabbed him, but then fell into the gully herself.
    More rain poured down, sluicing across the scene. Kim grabbed a handkerchief and tried to wipe her screen, but her hand just passed through it without effect How silly, to think she could affect a scene within the computer game!
    "KiM!" Jenny cried, being carried along by the rushing water. She was flailing, but couldn't get free, because she was holding the cat with one hand and water was coursing in from all around.
    There was a rumble of satisfaction from Fracto. He was succeeding in messing them up.
    Kim followed along, unable to do anything to help. She felt really guilty, because she was the one who had set off the irascible cloud, while Jenny was the one paying the consequence. "Jenny!" she called, knowing it was pointless
    But maybe she could help. She could go ahead and see if mere were any good places to get free of the gullywash. Then she could tell Jenny, and she could get out of there.
    But the storm just seemed to get worse, and she just couldn't see anything other than bits of overhanging branches and more water flowing in. All the world seemed to be water!
    Again she heard that eerie music. It was as if someone were singing, and playing a stringed instrument It was ethereally lovely, but still too faint to understand.  The gullywash