Human Company | Page 6

below the cliff edge.
Fortunately, Tiny was quick. She used straps on the harness to tie my
thighs in place and showed me a strap to grasp with my hands. "Hang
on tight," she said. "And just let her go out and come right back."
When Tiny scrambled off and raised her hand, Flasher stepped off the
ledge and we plunged downwards.
CHAPTER 2
-- FARMERS

The trouble with jumping off cliffs is it makes you scream. But it
wasn't my fault: the harness was too loose. For that first moment as we
fell free and the wind tugged me away from Flasher's back, I had this
vision of myself falling all alone down the cliff face, flailing my 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."
#
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.