“Even though you know I’m a zombie.” She took a breath. “I wish … I could kiss you again.”
Oops. That had not been the kind of thing he meant. But what could he do? “Okay.” He took her in his arms and kissed her.
There was a soft explosion of something. She was surprisingly nice to kiss, but that wasn’t really it.
“Oh look!” she explained as he let her go. “A heart!”
Now he saw it. A little red heart was orbiting them. “That came from us?”
She nodded, blushing. “It means we like each other.”
So that, too, was literal, here in the magic land. There had been no heart when Princess Dawn kissed him, but there had been no prospect of romance there.
That made him pause. There was such a prospect here? That seemed unlikely. “Maybe we do,” he agreed. “Though of course we won’t be associating long.”
“Yes.” She was sad again, and the heart faded out.
Time to change the subject. “Now let’s see what the chessboard offers.” He brought the board out and unfolded it.
“I am not clear on exactly how it works,” Zosi said. “All I see are check hers pieces. It’s a naughty game.”
“Those are there too. Can you play chess?”
She shook her gray curls. “Chess is too complicated for zombies. We don’t have good minds.”
“There is another set of images,” he said. “We didn’t go into that with Dara, as she already knew. You have to refocus your eyes to look through them and see the pictures beyond. Each square has a different one.”
Zosi concentrated, frowning. “It’s not working for me.”
“Just keep trying. Once you catch it, you’ll know how. I had practice with 3-D pictures in Mundania.”
“With what?”
“Pictures that look flat until you refocus. Then you see them in three dimensions. They—” He broke off, because there was a commotion not far from the castle. In fact it was a female scream, and a loud squawking.
“A girl’s in trouble!” Zosi said. “We have to help her.”
“Of course.” They ran together toward the sound.
Soon they saw it: a young woman floundering in a bog, while a winged monster flew toward her. It would reach her before they could, unfortunately.
“Hey!” Kody shouted. “Leave her alone!” Not that he thought it would do much good.
But the creature paused, glancing at him. Then it settled for a landing beside the woman. It put its huge eagle head down to her flailing body.
She flung her arms around its neck and hung on as the monster jerked back. It backed away, but she clung to it, her feet dragging.
Then Kody and Zosi arrived. He summoned a reverse wood chip, ready to flip it. And paused.
The monster was not attacking the girl. It was simply standing there while she sobbed into its feathers. “Is this normal?” Kody asked Zosi.
“I don’t think so. That’s a griffin; I can tell because its hide is the color of shoe polish.”
“A griffin!” He recognized it now: a creature with the head and wings of an eagle, and the body of a lion. Like a greatly enlarged catbird.
“Normally it would dunk her in a clean pool, because they don’t like dirty food, then eat her. Maybe we are distracting it.”
The griffin looked at them and squawked negatively. Then its tail came around and rubbed against its own hide on the side. A word appeared: NO
“It understands us!” Kody said, amazed.
The tail moved again, finger-painting more letters in the polish. YES
“You weren’t attacking the woman,” Zosi said, as surprised as Kody was.
YES
“You were rescuing her,” Kody said.
YES
Now the woman recovered some of her composure. She had blond hair, dark eyes, and European features. She was lithe and slimly built. “Yes. I was stuck in that awful blog and was getting overwhelmed by its opinionations. I had mistaken its nature and thought I could simply slog through it. That was a stupid mistake, and I hate making that kind, because I am very intelligent.” She had a British accent.
Oops. That had not been the kind of thing he meant. But what could he do? “Okay.” He took her in his arms and kissed her.
There was a soft explosion of something. She was surprisingly nice to kiss, but that wasn’t really it.
“Oh look!” she explained as he let her go. “A heart!”
Now he saw it. A little red heart was orbiting them. “That came from us?”
She nodded, blushing. “It means we like each other.”
So that, too, was literal, here in the magic land. There had been no heart when Princess Dawn kissed him, but there had been no prospect of romance there.
That made him pause. There was such a prospect here? That seemed unlikely. “Maybe we do,” he agreed. “Though of course we won’t be associating long.”
“Yes.” She was sad again, and the heart faded out.
Time to change the subject. “Now let’s see what the chessboard offers.” He brought the board out and unfolded it.
“I am not clear on exactly how it works,” Zosi said. “All I see are check hers pieces. It’s a naughty game.”
“Those are there too. Can you play chess?”
She shook her gray curls. “Chess is too complicated for zombies. We don’t have good minds.”
“There is another set of images,” he said. “We didn’t go into that with Dara, as she already knew. You have to refocus your eyes to look through them and see the pictures beyond. Each square has a different one.”
Zosi concentrated, frowning. “It’s not working for me.”
“Just keep trying. Once you catch it, you’ll know how. I had practice with 3-D pictures in Mundania.”
“With what?”
“Pictures that look flat until you refocus. Then you see them in three dimensions. They—” He broke off, because there was a commotion not far from the castle. In fact it was a female scream, and a loud squawking.
“A girl’s in trouble!” Zosi said. “We have to help her.”
“Of course.” They ran together toward the sound.
Soon they saw it: a young woman floundering in a bog, while a winged monster flew toward her. It would reach her before they could, unfortunately.
“Hey!” Kody shouted. “Leave her alone!” Not that he thought it would do much good.
But the creature paused, glancing at him. Then it settled for a landing beside the woman. It put its huge eagle head down to her flailing body.
She flung her arms around its neck and hung on as the monster jerked back. It backed away, but she clung to it, her feet dragging.
Then Kody and Zosi arrived. He summoned a reverse wood chip, ready to flip it. And paused.
The monster was not attacking the girl. It was simply standing there while she sobbed into its feathers. “Is this normal?” Kody asked Zosi.
“I don’t think so. That’s a griffin; I can tell because its hide is the color of shoe polish.”
“A griffin!” He recognized it now: a creature with the head and wings of an eagle, and the body of a lion. Like a greatly enlarged catbird.
“Normally it would dunk her in a clean pool, because they don’t like dirty food, then eat her. Maybe we are distracting it.”
The griffin looked at them and squawked negatively. Then its tail came around and rubbed against its own hide on the side. A word appeared: NO
“It understands us!” Kody said, amazed.
The tail moved again, finger-painting more letters in the polish. YES
“You weren’t attacking the woman,” Zosi said, as surprised as Kody was.
YES
“You were rescuing her,” Kody said.
YES
Now the woman recovered some of her composure. She had blond hair, dark eyes, and European features. She was lithe and slimly built. “Yes. I was stuck in that awful blog and was getting overwhelmed by its opinionations. I had mistaken its nature and thought I could simply slog through it. That was a stupid mistake, and I hate making that kind, because I am very intelligent.” She had a British accent.
Similar Books
