The Secret of Spring by Piers Anthony;Jo Anne Taeusch

Author:Piers Anthony;Jo Anne Taeusch
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Epic, Magic, General, Fantasy, Wizards, Life on Other Planets, Fiction
ISBN: 9780812564877
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2001-06-27T07:00:00+00:00

17

Fast Friends

Cling Ling had rushed them out the door and across the street where they stood by watching as he spoke to a shady looking Treeple. He accepted some merrygolds from the Vinese and motioned them to an old warehouse. The Treeple raised up the wide door and pointed inside.

Spring gasped in surprise. "A Turbocar. I didn't think any of those still existed!" She hurriedly explained to Herb that they were an outlawed conveyance used on hers and some other planets until recently. They were practically indestructible. It was their passengers that met early demise. A quirk of construction that enabled their great speed also crushed the inhabitants on impact since there was no safety device in the universe able to protect them in a crash at that speed.

They had all been recalled, but only speed reduction would correct the problem. Unfortunately, that was what had made the Turbos popular in the first place. Special destruction plants had been set up for the demolition. Evidently not all had met that fate.

"You are familiar with the operation of this machine?" Herb asked.

"Well, yes, but-" She hesitated. She did not like to drive a recalled vehicle. She looked around but saw the Treeple had already disappeared with his merrygolds.

"I think it wise to depart now, Miss Moon," Cling Ling said. "You see," he confessed, "this vehicle is not the property of the seller."

"A hot car," exclaimed Spring. That made sense because no one could legally own a Turbo.

"I arranged for transportation before we arrived. I felt we might require a fast means of escape with Lily. I did not know the nature of the vehicle, but it was all our friend could do on short notice. You are an offworlder. I thought you would be able to operate it." He climbed inside.

Herb had already taken the back seat. It was a four seater, one directly behind the other for the sleek line the fast Turbo was known for. It resembled a small rocket in more ways than one, as Spring demonstrated by turning the car about and shooting out onto the road toward the ship port.

The ship port was next door to the commercial lightport, so she needed only minimal directions. They careened down the narrow byways at breakneck velocity. She had succeeded in reaching the outskirts of the community when they heard a high pitched hum coming from a bright green vehicle she passed.

"That's the Patrol," cried Herb. "Slow down."

"This is no time to worry about speeding tickets. Hang on," Spring said, accelerating and pulling back all the way on the throttle. "I'm taking her out of second."

Herb shut his eyes. He had never ridden in anything so fast. The small vehicle seemed to almost glide on air. He opened his eyes cautiously and decided to peek back to see if the Patrol car was still there. It was. About thirty feet below them. And they were still climbing.

"Spring," Herb gasped. "We're flying."

Spring pressed a little harder on the pedal and suppressed a smile.

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