Free Swell Foop by Piers Anthony Page B

himself, so that they were light enough to fly. Then he spread his wings and took off.
    "Oh, it's nice up here!" she exclaimed, exactly like a tourist. "I seldom have the chance to fly. That is why I wanted to go with you or Cynthia: to have that chance."
    "This is a serious mission," Che reminded her. "Not an entertainment jaunt."
    "I know it. Nevertheless, I can appreciate the wonder of flight better than most zombies, being better preserved, and probably am less onerous for you to carry."
    She had a point. Che prided himself on being open-minded, but contact with far-gone zombies did not especially appeal. Now he appreciated the Land of Xanth anew as it spread out below them, seeing it through her eyes, as it were.
    Indeed, it was beautiful, with green and yellow forests interspersed by blue and silver lakes and brown and red fields—and here and there an old gray mountain poked its head up, surrounded by its child mountains who did not yet reach its height. They would surely get there in time; mountains were slow to achieve maturity. Overhead the sun floated serenely on, radiating rays of contentment. It was a nice day.
    "What is that?" Zyzzyva inquired.
    Che looked. There was a small cloud to the side, moving swiftly to intercept their flight path. "A mischievous juvenile cloud, I think."
    "That's interesting. I have a much clearer view of it from up here." Zyzzyva twisted around to get a better view. Her body was fit and firm; she was a warrior lass, and he could feel it as she moved. He wondered whether she had been killed in battle; if so, she must have given a good account of herself. "Are those pigtails?"
    Che looked again. Sure enough, there were two vapor streamlets trailing behind, with misty bows at their ends. "It's a girl cloud."
    The cloud got before them and began to huff and puff into a gray glob. There was an internal rumble, and lightning flashed. "She's trying to block us off," Zyzzyva said indignantly.
    "Now I think I recognize her attitude," Che said. "A chip off the old cloud block."
    "What block?"
    "Fracto. He caught and married Happy Bottom, a storm from Mundania. They stay mostly in the Region of Air, but this one must have sneaked out of the nursery."
    "Oh, yes—that encounter happened while I was still alive. The Land of Xanth almost got blown away."
    "Fortunately Fracto decided to help."
    A face formed on the cloud. It looked at them. Then the mouth opened, sucking in air.
    "She is about to blow us away!" Zyzzyva said, alarmed.
    "Fray!" Che called loudly. "Does your mother know where you are?"
    The cloud choked on her breath, and her pigtails flounced. She scudded hastily away, leaving tiny balls of vapor behind.
    "They're so cute when they're little," Zyzzyva said. "I hope I can get the stork's attention soon."
    "Surely you will," Che said encouragingly.
    They reached the Good Magician's Castle. Che was heading in for a landing on the roof, but unexpectedly lost elevation. He must have recovered too much weight, and was falling. He flicked his tail repeatedly to lighten his body, but it had no effect. Something was wrong.
    "Hang on!" he cried. "Crash landing!"
    Fortunately there was a large pillow bush growing beside the moat. He was able to steer for it, and landed with a dull whomp! Zyzzyva slid off his back, but seemed to be all right. Zombies were hard to hurt, even the well-preserved ones; it was part of their magic.
    "I don't know what went wrong," he gasped. "Suddenly I lost my power of flight."
    "No harm done," she said. "We can cross the bridge."
    But as they approached the drawbridge, a group of five men appeared. They were bright colors, and were armed with assorted weapons. They arrayed themselves before the bridge in militaristic manner.
    "That's a defensive platoon," Zyzzyva said. "We'll have to fight them."
    "But I didn't come here to fight!" Che protested. "I just want to find the Ring of Earth."
    "Maybe we can reason with them, then." She walked ahead, approaching the group.