Out of Phaze

They moved southwest. Fleta showed the way in bird form, and Mach charged along as rapidly as he could. When they came to a clifflike formation that would have taken time to skirt, Mach managed to conjure some rope, and used it to swing himself down, drawing on a skill developed for the Game. In this manner they made | good progress, hoping to get beyond the range the goblins would search.

They succeeded. By nightfall they were painfully tired, but there was no evidence of pursuit. They snatched fruits to eat and found some soft ferns to sleep on.

“And now it be tomorrow,” Fleta murmured, snuggling in close.

“What?”

“When I did say ‘Let’s do it again,’ thou didst reply Tomorrow,’ “ she reminded him.

“Oh.” Mach was so tired that this had entirely slipped his mind.

Then she laughed, and slept. She had indeed been teasing him. It remained largely a game to her. “But if you try that tease tomorrow ...” he muttered as he faded out.

But in the morning the goblins were casting closer, knowing that the prey was somewhere in the vicinity. Mach and Fleta hardly got moving before they were spied.

Fleta changed to unicorn form and Mach jumped on her back. She galloped past the goblins and on down and out of the mountains at a rate the goblins could not match. But as they emerged on the southern plain beyond the mountains, the goblins were not far behind. A broad wave of them advanced, preventing any possible cutback to cover.

Then ahead a new shape appeared. “Oh, no!” Mach breathed. “A dragon!” He remembered that in Proton the dome-city of Dradom was in this region. That meant this would be the Dragon Demesnes in Phaze. If there was one thing worse than goblins—

Fleta slowed, wary of the dragon. It was a huge fire-breather; they could tell by the plume of smoke drifting up from it. The monster was winged, so it would be able to go after them in the air; they could not avoid it or outrun it. The only escape would be straight back the way they came—and there the goblins waited, in a giant cup-shaped formation. The goblins obviously believed that the quarry would choose to turn back and be captured, rather than proceed forward and be toasted and eaten.

But Mach knew that though he might be spared, the goblins had no such intent for Fleta. She would be raped and/or eaten by the army of little monsters. He couldn’t allow that.

“Let me try magic,” he said to her furry ear as she slowed her running. She twitched the ear, acknowledging.

Mach concentrated, humming a tune to build up his magic. He was gradually getting the hang of it. Music, concentration, and a firm notion of exactly what he wanted—these were the important elements. That firm notion was perhaps the most vital part of it; he had to really want it, subconsciously as well as consciously. Thus his effort to conjure a comb for the harpy misfired, because it was a minor matter to him, while his spell to generate his own potency had worked, because he had really known he needed it. The sung rhyme mostly triggered the magic, somewhat the way one told a computer to “execute.” He had to be sure everything was right before he sang the rhyme; any sloppiness ruined the result.

The dragon was getting close. It was licking its giant chops. Fleta fluted nervously—and that gave him another idea. “Play a tune!” he cried to her. “I’ll sing to it, when I cast the spell!”

She played. She was worried, but her music, as always, was lovely. He listened for a moment, enjoying it, getting the feel of it, trying to attune himself to it to the maximum. Then he sang: “Make our flight be out of sight!”

Fleta vanished. Mach found himself riding along above the plain. She was still there, but she was entirely invisible. He glanced at himself, and found nothing. He was invisible too. This time the spell had really worked!

“We’re completely invisible,” he told her. “I suppose we can be heard and smelled, so we’d better shy away from the dragon, but no one can track us by sight. I think.”

She swerved, and the dragon did not. The dragon seemed confused, its head swinging this way and that as it peered about, trying to spot the prey it had seen a moment before. The wind was from the west, carrying their scent east, so Fleta swerved to run east. But her hooves kicked up sand, so she slowed to a walk. Now they were truly invisible.

They walked sedately away from both dragon and goblins. They circled back to the mountains, recovering the protection of the trees at the base. Mach did not dare dismount lest he lose track of Fleta, or she of him, so he continued to ride. But at this pace it was no strain on her.

In the afternoon they came to the river that emerged from the range. ‘This must be the one the dragon is in, upstream,” Mach said. “Maybe we can spend the night here, since no one can see us.”

Fleta fluted agreement. “If we get separated, make some music and I’ll come to you,” he said, walking to a tree for some fruit.