Anthony, Piers - Xanth 28 - Currant Events

VIP免费

2024-12-07 0 0 672.38KB 377 页 5.9玖币

CURRANT EVENTS - PIERS ANTHONY - V2.2 - Jan 2005
color -1- -2- -3- -4- -5- -6- -7- -8- -9- 
Text Size-- 10-- 11-- 12-- 13-- 14-- 15-- 16-- 17-- 18-- 19-- 20-- 21-- 22-- 23-- 
24 
 
file:///H|/eMule/Incoming/Anthony%20-%20Xanth%2028%20-%20Currant%20Events%20V2.2.htm (1 of 377)15-8-2005 22:30:16

CURRANT EVENTS - PIERS ANTHONY - V2.2 - Jan 2005

Piers Anthony

TOR®

A tom doherty associates book new york

file:///H|/eMule/Incoming/Anthony%20-%20Xanth%2028%20-%20Currant%20Events%20V2.2.htm (2 of 377)15-8-2005 22:30:16

CURRANT EVENTS - PIERS ANTHONY - V2.2 - Jan 2005

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this novel are either fictitious or

are used fictitiously.

CURRANT EVENTS

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

A Tor Book

Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

175 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10010

www.tor.com

Tor* is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Anthony, Piers.

Currant events / Piers Anthony.-1st Tor ed.

p. cm. - (Xanth ; #28) ISBN 0-765-30407-4 EAN 978-0765-30407-0

1. Xanth (Imaginary place)-Fiction. 2. Endangered species-Fiction. 3. Historiography- Fiction. 4.

Historians-Fiction. 5. Dragons-Fiction. I. Title.

PS3551.B73C87 2004 813'.54-dc22

2004048039

First Edition: October 2004

Printed in the United States of America

0987654321

Contents

1. Clio

file:///H|/eMule/Incoming/Anthony%20-%20Xanth%2028%20-%20Currant%20Events%20V2.2.htm (3 of 377)15-8-2005 22:30:16

CURRANT EVENTS - PIERS ANTHONY - V2.2 - Jan 2005
Dragon World
Drew & Drusie
Dragon Net
Three Curses
Sherlock
Getaway Golem
Demon Wave
Elf Elm
Dream Man
Bad Dreams
Counter Xanth
Understanding
Conspiracy
Storm
Spancel
Litho
Garden
Author's Note
1
Clio
Clio was tidying up her office, as she did every century or so even if it didn't 
file:///H|/eMule/Incoming/Anthony%20-%20Xanth%2028%20-%20Currant%20Events%20V2.2.htm (4 of 377)15-8-2005 22:30:16

CURRANT EVENTS - PIERS ANTHONY - V2.2 - Jan 2005

really need it. Dust did tend to collect, along with dried bugs, apple seeds, and

lost wisps of fog. Then she paused, which was easy to do during a dull chore like

this. There was a volume on the shelf she didn't remember. That was odd,

because she had an excellent memory. She had to, to be a competent Muse of

History.

She lifted it up, noting the clean spot of shelf beneath it. She blew off the dust

and looked at the title. She couldn't quite make it out, so she opened the volume

to the title page. That was written in her handwriting, but was somehow blurred.

It might be CURRENT EVENTS, but could also be GETTING EVEN. Neither

one made much sense, as she did not handle either contemporary news or

revenge plots. Her specialty was history, past and future. The present bored her.

She turned the pages. They had all been filled out, and definitely in her

handwriting, but she couldn't read a word of it. She blinked to clear her vision,

but it didn't help; every word was fuzzed. The pages might as well have been

blank.

She stood there, bemused. How could she have written a volume of history that

she herself couldn't read? It didn't make sense. Was she losing her sight?

Alarmed, she set the volume down and picked up the one next to it. That one

was clear enough: PET PEEVE, with a picture of a disgruntled bird. That was

incomplete, because it hadn't happened yet; she was working on it. So she

checked the prior volume: CUBE ROUTE, which was complete. That was the

story of a girl with gumption, and the text was quite clear.

So it wasn't her eyes, which was a relief. It was the volume. What was wrong

with it? And why couldn't she remember writing it? How could she be writing

the following volume, and remember its details, while being fuzzy on this one?

Fuzzy: her memory of it was as fuzzy as its print. There was definitely

something strange here.

file:///H|/eMule/Incoming/Anthony%20-%20Xanth%2028%20-%20Currant%20Events%20V2.2.htm (5 of 377)15-8-2005 22:30:16

CURRANT EVENTS - PIERS ANTHONY - V2.2 - Jan 2005

She considered for a good three and a half moments. She seemed to have two or

more unenviable choices: principally to let the riddle be, or go to Good Magician

Humfrey for advice. Humfrey could surely unravel the enigma, but would take

obscene pleasure in her predicament. She hated giving him that satisfaction. But

she knew the mystery would bug her until it became a downright nuisance.

She sighed. She would stuff her pride into her nonexistent handbag and go to see

the Good Magician.

Humfrey's castle was some distance away from the home of the Muses, so Clio

got transportation. She walked down Mount Parnassus and out to a babbling

brook and spoke to it. "May I have your attention for a moment?"

The brook ceased babbling and formed a swirling eye. It looked at her,

recognized her, and formed a mouth. "So good to see you, Muse," it bubbled.

"I need to pay a call on the Good Magician. Do you suppose I could prevail on

you to transport me there swiftly?"

"Gladly, Muse. I owe you favors from way back."

That was true, but she hadn't cared to put it that way. "Then I should be obliged

if you would run me there now."

The water humped up into a shape like that of a centaur without a human

forepart, standing in the riverbed. "Immediately," it agreed. "If I can make it past

the fish."

"The fish?"

"Recently there have been so many fish they clog my channel. It has never been

this bad before; normally the water dragons eat them."

"The dragons must be off their feed," she said. That was humor; dragons were

never off their feed. Still, it was an oddity.

Clio stepped close to the bank, glanced around to be sure no one was watching,

file:///H|/eMule/Incoming/Anthony%20-%20Xanth%2028%20-%20Currant%20Events%20V2.2.htm (6 of 377)15-8-2005 22:30:16

CURRANT EVENTS - PIERS ANTHONY - V2.2 - Jan 2005

then lifted one leg and swung it over the centaur's back. Skirts were not the most

convenient clothing for riding, but they were required for her gender and age.

She caught hold of the liquid creature's flowing mane and drew herself fully onto

it. "I am ready."

The legs of the water horse went into instant motion. It galloped down the

riverbed, following its twisting channel. It had to, because it was unable to run

anywhere else. But the running water was so swift that it would soon reach the

Good Magician's castle regardless of the indirectness of the route.

She looked down through the horse's translucent substance. Sure enough, the

channel was packed with fish so thick it was almost solid. She looked across the

landscape around the river channel, and saw rabbits in similar number; in places

they were like a gray blanket covering the ground. That was another oddity;

were the land dragons similarly off their feed?

She looked in the sky, and saw clouds of crows harassing the other flying

creatures. Where were the flying dragons? Normally crows were hardly in

evidence, because dragons toasted them on sight. Only in Mundania did they

really flourish, normally.

Soon they were in sight of the castle. There was a stream access to the moat that

enabled the water horse to reach it. In hardly more time than it took to see it,

they were there, splashing to a halt.

The moat monster was snoozing, hardly expecting any intrusion from this

direction. It lifted its head and gaped menacingly. Then it recognized the visitors,

nodded, and returned to its snooze.

"I thank you kindly," Clio said, dismounting. The water horse had stopped

beside a steep bank so that her foot could readily reach it. "Your swiftness was a

real pleasure."

The horse nodded, dripping with pleasure. Then it galloped back the way it had

file:///H|/eMule/Incoming/Anthony%20-%20Xanth%2028%20-%20Currant%20Events%20V2.2.htm (7 of 377)15-8-2005 22:30:16

CURRANT EVENTS - PIERS ANTHONY - V2.2 - Jan 2005

come. Running water could never pause long, or it lost its definition.

A sad young woman was walking away from the castle, staring at the ground.

"What's the matter?" Clio asked. "I'm Clio; maybe I can help."

"I'm Cayla. I came to ask the Good Magician what my talent is, because I haven't

found it yet." She twiddled nervously with a wooden twig she carried.

"That's something you usually just have to find out on your own," Clio said. "It's

almost impossible to guess."

"Yes, I've tried guessing," Cayla said. "It doesn't work." She twiddled some

more; the twig was taking a beating. In fact there were two twigs getting

intertwined.

"So did the Good Magician have the Answer for you?"

Cayla burst into tears. "No! I never got to see him. In fact I flunked the first

Challenge."

Clio was morbidly curious. "What was it?"

"It was a big square park set on its end. That is, one corner was toward me as I

came to it. I thought the challenge was to get in, but when I got in nothing

happened. There was a ball flying around in there, but I had no idea what to do

with it. I finally gave up." She blew her nose into a handkerchief, then returned

to twiddling the twigs.

A square park, set on its end. "A diamond!" Clio said. "A baseball diamond. You

weren't supposed to get 'in,' you needed to get an 'out.' By catching the ball."

Cayla looked at her. "I don't understand."

Clio realized that this would be complicated to explain. "It's only a guess." Then

she noticed something. The two twigs were not just intertwined, they were

knitted together. "Do you knit?"

"Yes, when I have wool."

file:///H|/eMule/Incoming/Anthony%20-%20Xanth%2028%20-%20Currant%20Events%20V2.2.htm (8 of 377)15-8-2005 22:30:16

CURRANT EVENTS - PIERS ANTHONY - V2.2 - Jan 2005

"Have you tried knitting other things?"

"Of course not. Why would I do that?"

"Look at those twigs."

"Oh, these are nothing. I'm just frustrated and nervous."

"They are knitted together."

Cayla looked. "Why so they are. But I don't have knitting needles."

"Try something else," Clio said. She looked around and found several bricks.

She picked two up. "Try these."

"Bricks? That's crazy!" But the girl took them and put them together.

The bricks twisted and merged. They were getting knitted together. "That's your

talent," Clio said. "You can knit wood and bricks. Maybe other things. Maybe

anything. You'll have to experiment and find out."

"Oh!" Cayla said, thrilled. "So I don't need the Good Magician after all!"

"You don't," Clio agreed, pleased. This was her first personal interaction with a

human person in regular Xanth in some time, and she was glad it had been

positive.

"Thank you so much! I was so sad; now I'm so happy." Cayla ran on along the

path.

Clio walked toward the drawbridge. This was the obvious way to cross the moat,

as she didn't wish to get her feet or skirt wet. But as she approached it, it lifted

off the bank, being drawn up by its chains.

"Halt!" she cried. "I wish to use you."

The bridge halted.

She arrived at its resting spot. "Now if you will just drop back down to the bank,

I shall be happy to set foot on your sturdy surface," she said.

The bridge started to drop, but a chain snarled and it got hung up. It was stuck a

file:///H|/eMule/Incoming/Anthony%20-%20Xanth%2028%20-%20Currant%20Events%20V2.2.htm (9 of 377)15-8-2005 22:30:16

CURRANT EVENTS - PIERS ANTHONY - V2.2 - Jan 2005

small but inconvenient distance above the ground.

Clio considered it, an unbecoming suspicion hovering at the fringe of her

awareness. It wasn't like the Good Magician to have flawed mechanisms. Was it

possible that this was not a malfunction? That she was being subjected to a

Challenge for entry?

No, of course not; she couldn't believe that of her old friend Humfrey. So it must

be a rare glitch in the mechanism.

"Hello the castle!" she called. "You appear to have a problem. The drawbridge is

stuck."

There was a little shed associated with the near side of the drawbridge. Now the

bridge tender emerged. "Harold the Handyman here. What can I do for you?"

"I am Clio, the Muse of History. I wish to confer with the Good Magician

Humfrey, but am unable to cross the moat. Can you fix the connection?"

"Sure, I'll be glad to lend a hand," Handy said, extending his right hand.

She took it. "Excellent. The lines seem to be snarled, so—EEEEEK!" Her

scream was a full five E's, and would have been six, had she not run out of

breath.

For the man's left hand had just reached around and goosed her right through her

skirt.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Harold said, hastily retreating. "I forgot to warn you. I have

two hands."

"I appreciate that," she said somewhat coldly as she rubbed her indignant bottom.

"I mean, they're different. My right hand helps others, but my wrong hand roves.

I can't stop them."

She saw his problem. "Perhaps the Good Magician can help you with that

problem."

file:///H|/eMule/Incoming/Anthony%20-%20Xanth%2028%20-%20Currant%20Events%20V2.2.htm (10 of 377)15-8-2005 22:30:16

文档加载中……请稍候！
如果长时间未打开，您也可以点击刷新试试。

下载文档到电脑，查找使用更方便

5.9 玖币 0人已下载

立即下载 VIP免费下载

摘要：

CURRANTEVENTS-PIERSANTHONY-V2.2-Jan2005color-1--2--3--4--5--6--7--8--9-TextSize--10--11--12--13--14--15--16--17--18--19--20--21--22--23--24file:///H|/eMule/Incoming/Anthony%20-%20Xanth%2028%20-%20Currant%20Events%20V2.2.htm(1of377)15-8-200522:30:16CURRANTEVENTS-PIERSANTHONY-V2.2-Jan2005PiersAnthony...

展开>> 收起<<

Anthony, Piers - Xanth 28 - Currant Events.pdf

共377页,预览10页

还剩页未读，继续阅读

声明：本站为文档C2C交易模式，即用户上传的文档直接被用户下载，本站只是中间服务平台，本站所有文档下载所得的收益归上传人(含作者)所有。玖贝云文库仅提供信息存储空间，仅对用户上传内容的表现方式做保护处理，对上载内容本身不做任何修改或编辑。若文档所含内容侵犯了您的版权或隐私，请立即通知玖贝云文库，我们立即给予删除！

Anthony, Piers - Xanth 28 - Currant Events

相关推荐

开通VIP享超值会员特权

作者详情

相关内容

热门标签

举报选择: