him for the rest of my life. I was going to become a mage in my own right, a force to be reckoned with, and the other mages would have to respect me.
“Is it just me, or are we swaying a little?”
Annia’s voice startled me out of my thoughts, and I realized that my lapses in concentration were pulling the balloon in the wrong direction – a side effect of letting myself get caught up in my emotions.
“Sorry,” I muttered, reining myself in. The balloon steadied again as I straightened out our course. “I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Do you need me to take over?” Fenris asked, sounding concerned. “It’s important that you maintain your focus and control, Sunaya. We don’t want to wreck the balloon.”
“No, no, I’m fine.” I waved Fenris away as he started to stand up. “I’ll be good for another hour at least.”
“Very well,” he said, settling back in with Annia. I turned my attention back to the landscape, which was so very, very far below us. It had been six hours since we’d left, with at least another four to go until we crossed the border into Mexia. Right now we were hovering over the state of Aziana, the craggy, reddish-brown landscape peeking through the clouds below us. Mostly canyons and desert, with the occasional green patch of forest. I’d heard they had cacti there the size of trees, with arms sticking out to the sides and up, like a man holding up both hands in surrender. I wondered what the people there were like – I’d traveled all over Canalo on Enforcer business, but never to other states, and it made me realize I knew very little about the rest of the Federation.
If we ever get out of this mess, and I ever get some time off, I’m going to travel, I decided. From coast to coast, so I can see what this country is really like, and after that to other continents.
I steered the balloon for another hour, then with Fenris’s help landed it in a sheltered valley so we could make camp. The sun was setting, and none of us were keen on trying to steer the balloon through the night. Without light it would be tough to land safely, and the charm could well lead us to a forest or down a canyon. Also, my bladder was full to bursting – we’d had a bucket on board to relieve ourselves, of course, but I’d stubbornly held out until we landed.
“You two make camp,” I told Fenris and Annia once we’d secured the balloon. “I’m going to see if I can scrounge up some dinner.”
“Why?” Annia asked, frowning as she held up a sack. “We’ve got provisions.”
“We shouldn’t use them if we don’t have to. Besides,” I added, grinning a little, “I could use the exercise.”
“Suit yourself.” Annia turned away to unpack the small tent we’d bought. It turned out that she’d brought one of her own, so we had two shelters if the weather got rough. Thankfully it didn’t seem like that was going to happen – the air here was dry and warm. Almost swelteringly so, especially considering that we’d been freezing our asses off just a little while ago. I hoped things cooled off a little bit, or I was going to have trouble getting to sleep.
Putting the worry out of my mind, I closed my eyes and reached for my inner beast. She sprang forth eagerly, and a white light enveloped me as uncomfortably hot tingles spread through my body. I stretched and changed shape, muscles, skin, and bones reforming, and when the white light faded, I was crouched on all fours, my tail swishing back and forth. Digging my claws into the reddish-brown dirt, I stretched and yawned, muscles rippling beneath my black fur. It felt good to be back in beast form again.
I spared one last look at Annia and Fenris, then bounded forward, heading up into the tree-dotted hillside. Dirt and rocks shifted beneath my paws as I ran, and I opened up my senses to the wilderness. Birds twittered overhead, branches rustled as a squirrel hopped from one tree to another, and the scent of deer droppings mixed
“Is it just me, or are we swaying a little?”
Annia’s voice startled me out of my thoughts, and I realized that my lapses in concentration were pulling the balloon in the wrong direction – a side effect of letting myself get caught up in my emotions.
“Sorry,” I muttered, reining myself in. The balloon steadied again as I straightened out our course. “I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Do you need me to take over?” Fenris asked, sounding concerned. “It’s important that you maintain your focus and control, Sunaya. We don’t want to wreck the balloon.”
“No, no, I’m fine.” I waved Fenris away as he started to stand up. “I’ll be good for another hour at least.”
“Very well,” he said, settling back in with Annia. I turned my attention back to the landscape, which was so very, very far below us. It had been six hours since we’d left, with at least another four to go until we crossed the border into Mexia. Right now we were hovering over the state of Aziana, the craggy, reddish-brown landscape peeking through the clouds below us. Mostly canyons and desert, with the occasional green patch of forest. I’d heard they had cacti there the size of trees, with arms sticking out to the sides and up, like a man holding up both hands in surrender. I wondered what the people there were like – I’d traveled all over Canalo on Enforcer business, but never to other states, and it made me realize I knew very little about the rest of the Federation.
If we ever get out of this mess, and I ever get some time off, I’m going to travel, I decided. From coast to coast, so I can see what this country is really like, and after that to other continents.
I steered the balloon for another hour, then with Fenris’s help landed it in a sheltered valley so we could make camp. The sun was setting, and none of us were keen on trying to steer the balloon through the night. Without light it would be tough to land safely, and the charm could well lead us to a forest or down a canyon. Also, my bladder was full to bursting – we’d had a bucket on board to relieve ourselves, of course, but I’d stubbornly held out until we landed.
“You two make camp,” I told Fenris and Annia once we’d secured the balloon. “I’m going to see if I can scrounge up some dinner.”
“Why?” Annia asked, frowning as she held up a sack. “We’ve got provisions.”
“We shouldn’t use them if we don’t have to. Besides,” I added, grinning a little, “I could use the exercise.”
“Suit yourself.” Annia turned away to unpack the small tent we’d bought. It turned out that she’d brought one of her own, so we had two shelters if the weather got rough. Thankfully it didn’t seem like that was going to happen – the air here was dry and warm. Almost swelteringly so, especially considering that we’d been freezing our asses off just a little while ago. I hoped things cooled off a little bit, or I was going to have trouble getting to sleep.
Putting the worry out of my mind, I closed my eyes and reached for my inner beast. She sprang forth eagerly, and a white light enveloped me as uncomfortably hot tingles spread through my body. I stretched and changed shape, muscles, skin, and bones reforming, and when the white light faded, I was crouched on all fours, my tail swishing back and forth. Digging my claws into the reddish-brown dirt, I stretched and yawned, muscles rippling beneath my black fur. It felt good to be back in beast form again.
I spared one last look at Annia and Fenris, then bounded forward, heading up into the tree-dotted hillside. Dirt and rocks shifted beneath my paws as I ran, and I opened up my senses to the wilderness. Birds twittered overhead, branches rustled as a squirrel hopped from one tree to another, and the scent of deer droppings mixed
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