Human Company | Page 6

arms and legs all the way to the bottom.
But the harness was sound: it just had a little slack was all. So I didn't fall; instead, Flasher's wings bit into the air, and I was pushed tight against the cushion. Then when we leveled off, I was released to the rush of the wind and the rhythm of her wings.
We climbed towards the same mountain that Apogee had circled. Flasher wheeled around in the same tight circle, giving me a good view of the rocks and scrub brush that covered the peak. Then she started the shallow glide back to the garage.
Not yet. Already my hands ached from gripping the strap, but we had work to do. "Up, Flasher, Up," I commanded.
She surged upwards, taking me over the garage, over the crater with the lake. I could see the mechanicals lying around the water and looking up at us.
We rose higher, soaring above the mountains until I could feel Flasher struggling with the altitude. I turned her back to the east and let her glide as I surveyed the land.
I had been taught about Snowshoe, about how life clung to a narrow band of warmth around the equator of the planet, but now I could see it. When I looked left, I could see the approach of the Northern Winter, see the snowfield spread across the northern horizon as it made its annual invasion of the forest. When I looked ahead, I could see the forest, see it stretch eastwards across the badlands to the Rincon Mountains. And when I looked right, I could see the Sea of Storms, see the thin band of blue green color that now flowed free from the grip of the retreating Southern Winter.
I looked below me. We crossed high over the garage and soared out over Haven Valley. A patchwork of yellow and brown marked where the women had cut their fields from the forest. As we lost altitude, the farmhouses and, eventually, the animals in their corrals became visible.
When we wheeled around at the far side of the valley to head back towards the mountains, I spotted the caravan route, a thin brown line wandering from the sea towards Farhaven. We followed the route and dropped slowly towards the castle.
I could see the fair. In the field between the castle and the village, a circle of tents formed an arena where the girls were competing. I made Flasher dive faster. We streaked between the castle and village, brushing the tops of the tents.
I heard shouts. What did they say?
A thump. Did we hit something?
A hill loomed ahead. We soared up and over.
Now Flasher had to work hard again, beating her wings against the air as she spiraled upwards towards the mountaintops. Once again she wheeled around the peak and began the glide into the garage. When the black cave mouth loomed before us, she spread her wings and flared to a landing on the ledge.
"Are you okay?" Tiny asked as she untied me.
"It was great." I slid off Flasher, then grabbed Tiny's arm. "Wow. The ground's moving."
After I recovered my sense of balance, we led Flasher back to the crater, stripped off her harness, and sat on the bank while she cooled off in the lake.
"I never had so much fun," I told Tiny. "We were so high I could see the sea. Did you see us at the castle? We were so low that I was looking up at the tower."
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Axeblade's face flushed red. "You've gone too far this time," she said.
My flight over the fair had caused a commotion. Frightened horses had bucked women from their backs, and cattle had stampeded out of the corrals and charged about the fairgrounds. Outraged, the mechanics had rushed up the mountain and marched us back down to the castle.
"And you." Axeblade pointed an accusing finger at Tiny. "I trusted you."
"She didn't do nothing," I said. "I made her help me."
"Be quiet. You're fired Tiny. Get out of my sight."
Poor Tiny. She kept her dignity, bowing to Axeblade and keeping her head up as she left the court. But I knew she was upset: she didn't say anything at all.
I glared at Axeblade. "That wasn't fair."
"I'll do the lecturing here," she said. "We have a responsibility to protect the mechanicals. Your actions... "
I stared at the floor. When you argued with her or tried to explain, she went on forever.
"Blame yourself for getting Tiny fired. If... "
I discovered that if I turned my foot just so, my toes almost perfectly matched the outline of one of the floor stones.
"I blame myself," she said at last. "I've been thinking of you as a child, but you've grown. It's plain you need to be courting."
I looked up. "A warrior company?"
Her lips turned up in a cynical smile.