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couldn’t tell if he was scared or not. It went on like this for an hour. Hercules wondered if he would ever be able to go to sleep. He was on guard so much, sleep seemed all but impossible.
    But then he heard the strange plants outside begin to rustle very loudly. Then he smelled their fragrance. It was sweet—but very thick. He heard XL snort and Geekus sneeze.
    Then Hercules leaned back and drifted off into sleep.
    A very deep sleep.

Chapter 7
Three Days Gone
    When Hercules woke again, it was light outside.
    But something was wrong. There were golden rays of sunlight coming through the cave opening. Gold to him meant an afternoon sun. But how could this be?
    He sat up. The sun was in his eyes and the cave opening faced west. This could only mean it was afternoon. And that could only mean he had slept a very long time!
    What happened?
    He looked over at XL. He was lying on his side, motionless. Hercules felt his chest tighten. He turned toward Geekus. The boy was sprawled on the cave floor, too. He was not moving, either.
    Hercules quickly crawled over to Geekus and started shaking him. He was sure the boy was dead. But then he heard a sniff and a sneeze and Geekus finally woke up. He’d been asleep for a very long time, just like Hercules.
    Hercules was so obviously relieved that Geekus was alive, it showed on his face.
    â€œYou . . . you were worried? About me?” Geekus asked him, straining to talk through his perpetual wheeze.
    Hercules snorted. The boy was awake and alive—and still very Geekus.
    Now Hercules scampered over to XL. The massive horse was breathing, too—thank the gods! But he was not moving at all.
    This was not good. Hercules pushed him, and eventually he stirred a little. He pushed him again, even harder, and suddenly XL leapt to his feet, nearly knocking Hercules over. The steed was a little spooked and took some soothing to calm down. But finally he settled himself.
    Then he looked at Hercules, his eyes wide. XL was a smart horse. He knew something was wrong. It was almost as if he were asking Hercules,
What happened?
    Hercules retrieved Geekus and marched him to the front of the cave opening.
    He pointed to the sun.
    â€œIt’s setting, right?” he asked him.
    â€œYes, it is,” Geekus replied.
    â€œThat means it’s afternoon, right?” Hercules asked.
    â€œYes,” Geekus replied.
    â€œBut how can this be?” Hercules wondered aloud.
    The plants
,
he suddenly heard Brooma’s voice say on the wind.
    â€œWhat about them?” Hercules asked out loud.
    They have been cursed. They put you to sleep. You slept for a long, long time. . . .
    Hercules felt his chest tighten again.
    â€œHow long?” he asked the wind.
    Three days
,
came the reply.
    â€œThree days!” Hercules yelled.
    â€œ
Three days?
” Geekus yelled back.
    Hercules tried to calm down—but he was both angry and shocked.
    â€œBrooma, what happened, exactly?” he asked the wind.
    Those weird plants outside contained an enchantment to send sleeping pollen into the cave. Stuka and the Amazons have their sorcery after you. It’s everywhere. . . .
    Hercules just couldn’t believe it. If they had slept for three days, this meant that the full moon would be rising the next night!
    And if that happened, and Xumonia didn’t have her crown back, she would die.
    It was as simple as that.
    â€œBrooma?” Hercules asked. “Are you sure we were asleep for so long?”
    Yes. I was so worried. I used everything I knew to try and raise you—but I couldn’t!
    Hercules felt sick to his stomach.
    How could they possibly make it to the Castletop in time now?
    There’s only one way to do it,
Brooma was saying.
    â€œAnd how is that?” Hercules asked.
    Brooma’s reply was slow in coming.
    You have no choice,
she finally said,
but to travel the road at night. . . .
    Meanwhile, back in Zim, it got dark very early this day.
    The sun