When next he opened his eyes, it was still day, but the color of the light had changed as it does in late afternoon. The air was cooler. Eve had curled up against him, slowly drawing closer as she slept, seeking his warmth. She had thrown one smooth thigh across his lap and it was now resting on his testicles and pushing his penis up against his belly. His penis had grown big and stiff and it was pushing back against the weight of her thigh with every beat of his heart. Those heartbeats came faster and faster, his body tensed, and he spilled white stuff onto his belly and his chest. This was accompanied by pleasure such as he had never known or even imagined. As he lay there in the aftermath he understood, in a drowsy and detached way, that he would never leave off pursuing such pleasure for the rest of his days. In consequence, the nature of his dealings with Eve would never be the same.

Darkness came gradually over the Land. The Red Web became discernible in the eastern sky as it rose beyond the gleaming Palace. So much light made seeing difficult in that quarter of the sky and so they looked into the west instead, scanning the horizon from north to south and back again. After it had become fully dark, they convinced themselves that dull reddish light shone in one area to the west, probably on the far side of the hills that they had noticed earlier. Mab soared high in the air above them and confirmed it. Wide awake and well rested, they descended the western slope of the hill and struck out across the plain of grass.

After they had walked for some while, the ground began to slope down before them and they smelled and heard trees. They paused at a place where they could gaze down into a broad valley that ran athwart their direction. At its bottom, a braided stream shone silver in starlight. On its other side the darkness was absolute, but a fringe of red light above told them that they were looking at the range of hills, which rose up above the opposite bank of the river.

As they stood there taking this in and thinking about how best to get across, they heard a sound that reminded them of the Garden: the song of a nocturnal beast, singing alone at first, but presently joined by another, and then another, and so on until the voices could not be separated. They got the sense, however, that the creatures were on the move, coalescing into a group that was moving up the slope toward them.

Mab rose higher, seeking better vantage. “They move on four legs. Their bodies are covered in gray hair. Their ears are pointy—as are their teeth.”

“Spring’s creations, coming to greet us!” Adam exclaimed.