means of finding the Sammi in all that murk.
"--is that?" cried Mug, most of his words lost.
"The most popular toy from last Yule," shouted Meralda. "Part of a set. Comes with a tiny animated dragon. They fight."
Mug put an eye close to the tiny soldier.
"So they're latched? You can use this to find the other half of the set?"
Meralda smiled and spoke the words that unlatched her tracking spell.
I just hope the spell is strong enough to counteract the wind...
The toy soldier spun to a halt, his tiny sword aimed directly at the storm raging ahead. Then his sword swung upward and wobbled from side to side before going rigid and still.
Mug hooted in triumph. "Marvelous, Mistress! You've found them! We can follow --"
Lightning, blinding and close, arced out of the face of the storm, flashing across the Jenny by what seemed a hand's breadth. The flash blinded Meralda and sent the Jenny leaping forward, slamming Meralda back in her makeshift pilot's chair and sending the toy soldier flying from her hand, caught and carried away by the wind and the thunder.
When Meralda's ears stopped ringing, she could hear Mug shouting.
"I've got an eye on it, Mistress," he said. Through the spots that danced before her own eyes, Meralda could see one of Mug's eyes -- a red one -- pushed through his cage. "I won't look away. Take us up and straight ahead."
Meralda pushed the lever forward, sending the Jenny hurtling toward the storm.
Another great arc of ragged lightning hurtled past, below this time, but close, too close.
"It doesn't want us here," shouted Mug. "It's awfully hostile for a great mass of water vapor!"
"It's just a storm," Meralda shouted. But her words were empty, and they left her shivering against more than just the icy high-air cold. It is just a storm, isn't it? It doesn't want anything. It cannot. It's just wind and water, heat and cold, raging as it races toward balance.
Thunder roared again, and the blasts of lightning on the face of the darkness raged and crackled anew.
Now or never, thought Meralda, with a glance at her battery dials. The needles quivered well below the halfway mark, and were falling fast enough for their motion to be perceptible.
"Hold on, Mug!" shouted Meralda, as she pushed a lever further. "They're nearly out of time."
The sky went black, as if the sun had never shone, would never rise again. The thunder became a continuous roar, and the lightning a never-ending glare.
The Jenny hung there, just for a moment, suspended just beyond the black mass of the storm.
"Well, we're dead," piped Mug, cheerily. "Nice knowing you, Mistress."
Meralda slammed the lever home, and plunged her tiny boat full into the face of the storm.
* * *
The winds inside the boiling clouds were so fierce, the Jenny spent several awful moments sideways and then completely upside-down.
Meralda's pockets emptied themselves, and she wondered, just for a fleeting moment, if
some hapless farmer far below might soon be pelted with nine pence in loose change, half a
dozen torn theatre tickets, and the keys to her flat.
Meralda gritted her teeth and pulled back on the Jenny's throttle levers, bringing her to a near stop. The wind still swept by and the thunder still rolled, but at least I can hear, thought Meralda, and I'm no longer being stung by raindrops.
"I'm no airship pirate, Mistress, but we seem to be inverted," said Mug, from below her. The rope tied to his cage hung taut by her face. "Careful, though. I still have an eye on the spot your toy pointed out."
Meralda adjusted her levers. With a buzz and a groan, the Jenny righted herself, and Mug's cage came floating down to rest at Meralda's feet.
The air around them howled and keened, as the storm's internal winds raced and blew. Meralda looked about, but the view in all directions was the same -- dark upon dark, boiling clouds lit by flashes, or tortured by blasts of thunder.
There were layers within the dark, brought into sudden sharp relief by
"--is that?" cried Mug, most of his words lost.
"The most popular toy from last Yule," shouted Meralda. "Part of a set. Comes with a tiny animated dragon. They fight."
Mug put an eye close to the tiny soldier.
"So they're latched? You can use this to find the other half of the set?"
Meralda smiled and spoke the words that unlatched her tracking spell.
I just hope the spell is strong enough to counteract the wind...
The toy soldier spun to a halt, his tiny sword aimed directly at the storm raging ahead. Then his sword swung upward and wobbled from side to side before going rigid and still.
Mug hooted in triumph. "Marvelous, Mistress! You've found them! We can follow --"
Lightning, blinding and close, arced out of the face of the storm, flashing across the Jenny by what seemed a hand's breadth. The flash blinded Meralda and sent the Jenny leaping forward, slamming Meralda back in her makeshift pilot's chair and sending the toy soldier flying from her hand, caught and carried away by the wind and the thunder.
When Meralda's ears stopped ringing, she could hear Mug shouting.
"I've got an eye on it, Mistress," he said. Through the spots that danced before her own eyes, Meralda could see one of Mug's eyes -- a red one -- pushed through his cage. "I won't look away. Take us up and straight ahead."
Meralda pushed the lever forward, sending the Jenny hurtling toward the storm.
Another great arc of ragged lightning hurtled past, below this time, but close, too close.
"It doesn't want us here," shouted Mug. "It's awfully hostile for a great mass of water vapor!"
"It's just a storm," Meralda shouted. But her words were empty, and they left her shivering against more than just the icy high-air cold. It is just a storm, isn't it? It doesn't want anything. It cannot. It's just wind and water, heat and cold, raging as it races toward balance.
Thunder roared again, and the blasts of lightning on the face of the darkness raged and crackled anew.
Now or never, thought Meralda, with a glance at her battery dials. The needles quivered well below the halfway mark, and were falling fast enough for their motion to be perceptible.
"Hold on, Mug!" shouted Meralda, as she pushed a lever further. "They're nearly out of time."
The sky went black, as if the sun had never shone, would never rise again. The thunder became a continuous roar, and the lightning a never-ending glare.
The Jenny hung there, just for a moment, suspended just beyond the black mass of the storm.
"Well, we're dead," piped Mug, cheerily. "Nice knowing you, Mistress."
Meralda slammed the lever home, and plunged her tiny boat full into the face of the storm.
* * *
The winds inside the boiling clouds were so fierce, the Jenny spent several awful moments sideways and then completely upside-down.
Meralda's pockets emptied themselves, and she wondered, just for a fleeting moment, if
some hapless farmer far below might soon be pelted with nine pence in loose change, half a
dozen torn theatre tickets, and the keys to her flat.
Meralda gritted her teeth and pulled back on the Jenny's throttle levers, bringing her to a near stop. The wind still swept by and the thunder still rolled, but at least I can hear, thought Meralda, and I'm no longer being stung by raindrops.
"I'm no airship pirate, Mistress, but we seem to be inverted," said Mug, from below her. The rope tied to his cage hung taut by her face. "Careful, though. I still have an eye on the spot your toy pointed out."
Meralda adjusted her levers. With a buzz and a groan, the Jenny righted herself, and Mug's cage came floating down to rest at Meralda's feet.
The air around them howled and keened, as the storm's internal winds raced and blew. Meralda looked about, but the view in all directions was the same -- dark upon dark, boiling clouds lit by flashes, or tortured by blasts of thunder.
There were layers within the dark, brought into sudden sharp relief by
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