Esrever Doom (Xanth) Read Online Free PDF Page B

imagination.
    Meanwhile, what was happening to his body back in the Mundane hospital? He still could not remember the accident. Maybe a rogue car had hit him, and he had never seen it coming, hence no memory. Just how bad were his injuries? The nurse and doctor had been singularly uncommunicative. That was not a good sign. Well, there was little sense in worrying about it, since he could do nothing. He would just have to wait and see. At least this Land of Xanth was not boring. Far from it!
    Hadi returned, carrying a package in her hands. She had four feet and two hands, in the manner of a centaur. Add in the wings, and that was eight limbs. Kody was pretty sure he had never imagined such a creature. So how could she be here in his dream?
    “I found an egg plant with assorted ripe eggs,” Hadi said, handing Kody a leaf folded into a bag. “Hardboiled, deviled, poached, fried. I hope you like them.”
    Eggs grew on plants? Evidently so, here in the land of puns. Kody looked into the bag, and the eggs did look good. “I’m sure they’re fine.”
    “And a boot rear float,” she added, handing him a leaf bottle.
    Boot rear. He had encountered that before, and knew to be cautious. He tried a small sip. The kick he received was so hard it made him sail up off the hoofer and into the air. Fortunately he floated, not coming down hard. He was able to scramble back into place. So when it was a float, it was literal.
    “And some cookies. But they may be too tough.”
    Kody tried one. But when he tried to bite it, it formed a little arm and fist and punched him in the mouth. It was indeed one tough cookie. He left the rest in the bag.
    “And for you, Guy, a barrel of crackers,” Hadi said, presenting a barrel-shaped feed bag to the hoofer. “Water, tsoda, but watch out for the—”
    A cracker exploded in Guy’s mouth, and smoke puffed out.
    “Fire crackers,” Hadi finished. “They’re not strong enough to do any damage, but they have a bang-up taste.”
    So it seemed. Guy looked startled but unhurt. He quickly bit into a water cracker, and the flood of water washed out his mouth.
    “And some more of those for me,” Hadi said. “They’ll help stoke my furnace.” She bit into a fire cracker herself, evidently enjoying it. “And I found some gin rummy we can play when we camp tonight. But we’ll have to watch it. You know how it is.”
    “I don’t. How is it?” Kody asked.
    “The more you play, the more drunk you get. Gin is strong stuff.”
    Oh.
    They moved on, and soon enough dusk approached. There did not seem to be much danger here on the conic mountains, perhaps because few creatures were comfortable on the steep slopes. The blue line led them to where a spreading butternut tree provided cover and buttery nuts to go with a nearby pot pie bush. The pies were in the shape of pots, of course, and hot and delicious. A nearby stream had clear, clean water. There was even a blanket bush with fluffy clean blankets.
    They played some gin rummy, with Kody dealing the cards for the others, but it was true: they all quickly became intoxicated and had to stop. Tongues loosened, they talked. Kody explained how he had found himself here in this extended lucid dream, now committed to finding a way to turn off the Curse affecting Xanth.
    “But it doesn’t affect you,” Hadi said. “That’s curious.”
    “I may have been selected for this mission because of my immunity,” Kody said. “If it’s not just chance. Princess Dawn implied as much.”
    Guy bleated.
    “He says he wouldn’t care what a female of his kind looked like,” Hadi translated. “But any that exist must be on mountain ranges not connected to this one, so he can’t meet them anyway. That’s sad. At least I have a chance to meet someone, if I find out where to look.”
    Kody washed, and settled down on a blanket for the night. Guy, in the manner of a horse, slept on his feet, and so did Hadi.
    Kody woke to see a small cloud hovering nearby,