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the walls were too steep, for them to reach. He considered lifting her up on his shoulders, but even so it
was too high. The cave was too narrow for her to spread her wings, so she couldn't fly out, either. They
were definitely stuck. "We've been here for maybe half an hour," he said. "I wonder why my folks
haven't come to check on me."
"That's true," she agreed, surprised. She glanced at the eye on her wrist. "In fact, an hour, I was so glad
to be with you again that 1 lost all track of time. Surely they would not depart without you."
"Surely they would not," he agreed, "It should have taken them maybe five minutes to realize I was
gone, and five more to check."
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"It is almost as if-yes! There it is!"
"There what is?"
"A thyme bomb. See, there's the sprig of thyme." She pointed to a dried-up leaf lying on the cave floor.
"Let me guess," Sean said. "In Xanth, thyme plants affect time, so when you get close to one-"
"Yes. Usually the living plants slow things down, and their seeds speed them up. But when leaves get
separated and dry out, their effect reverses, and they stretch time out, in the manner of the seeds. So time
expands explosively in their vicinity, and we call them thyme bombs. Usually they are harmless,
because all folk have to do is walk away from them. But-"
"But we can't," he finished. "So we're stuck in the fast lane."
"In a cave," she corrected him gently.
He didn't bother to clarify his reference. "So how do we get away from it, so we don't die of hunger
before anyone finds us?"
"Oh, I can nullify it," she said brightly, "I have a napsack in my purse." She produced a small purse and
rummaged in it, pulling out all manner of things: clothing, slippers, fruits, a mirror, a fancy hat, a
bedroll, and a collection of pretty stones. "Ah, there it is," she said, drawing out a strapped pack.
Sean was amazed. "How can all that fit in that little purse?"
"It's magic, of course. Don't Mundane women have purses?"
Sean remembered how much Mom could carry in hers. "Yes. But if you have a complete change of
clothing in there, why didn't you use it when we came out of the pool, instead of putting your wet things
back on?"
"I knew you lacked a change of clothing, so I did not wish to embarrass you."
"How do I love thee," he murmured. "Let me count the ways."
"I tried to count, but there were too many ways," she said. "Even though I know it's all just because of
the love spring." She opened the napsack and put the sprig of thyme in. Then she rolled up the napsack
and put it back in her purse. "That should take care of it."
"I don't understand," he said. "Why does putting it in there change anything?"
"Because anything in a napsack sleeps," she explained. "In fact, I seldom put it on, because then it
makes me take a nap too. But it is useful for storing perishable food, as it won't spoil while sleeping, and
the thyme bomb has little effect while napping."
Sean shook his head. "Knapsack-napsack. I keep forgetting how things work in Xanth. But if our time is
now normal, how come I don't feel any different?"
"We didn't change,", she explained patiently. "The time around us did. Now we are aligned with the time
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outside. Thyme bombs normally speed time up tenfold, so perhaps six minutes passed during our hour.
If it requires ten minutes for your family to find you-"
"Got it. Let's make our remaining three or four minutes count." He held her and kissed her.
"Hey, whatcha doing down there?" David called from above.
"Trust my little half brother to arrive at the least opportune time," Sean muttered, turning her loose. But
he was glad to have been found. "I'm kissing my girlfriend, punk!" he called up. "What's it look like?"
"Like making time with a strange woman," David called. "But it's too dark down there to see any detail.
Do you have your clothes on?"
"Yes, we have our clothes on," Sean called. "Now, go fetch some rope or something to haul us out of
here."
"Okay." The head disappeared.
He turned back to her. "Quick, let's finish our kiss."
Willow laughed and obliged.
Then the other members of the family were there at the cave entrance. "What happened?" Dad called.
"I fell in a hole with a girl," Sean called back.
"Gee," Karen called. "Is she pretty?"
"Yes."
Willow blushed.
Then Dad was letting down a knotted rope. "We've got it anchored. Can you climb?"
"Can you climb?" Sean asked Willow.
"Yes. I have recovered from my fatigue, and this is closer to my elm than we were before."
"Then you go up first. I'll wait till you're clear."
"Thank you." She kissed him again, quickly, and put her hands on the rope. He put his hands on her
petite waist and helped her up. He let go when she climbed beyond his reach. He looked up to be sure
she was all right, but realized that it was now possible to see under her skirt, and hastily averted his
gaze. In Xanth it just wasn't done, and he would never embarrass her in any way he could avoid. Even
though he had seen the whole of her before, and knew she didn't wear those forbidden panties. He would
look at her only when she wished him to. Because he loved her.
"Your turn," Dad called down.
Sean grasped the rope and hauled himself up. It was hard work, and he realized that Willow had climbed
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faster than he was. She had not been fooling about the way her strength increased near her tree; she was
probably stronger than he was, now, despite her delicate physique.
He heaved himself up through the hole, panting, and Dad caught him. The whole family was there, as
well as Chlorine and Nimby, the pets, and Sim. And Willow.
"What happened?" Dad asked.
"I love her," Sean said before he thought. "We washed in a love spring, back near the goblin dam." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]