"I sympathize, Visheral. It is unexpected, but Darmon's exposure to you and the other Masters has triggered development."

The azu had let go of Darm's hand and stood back, watching as he continued to float about eight inches off the floor. "You've set off flying ability - telekinesis of self - in him, but I'm not sure how far it'll progress. He tells me he's had the touch to move objects all his life. This is simply an advancement of it. Perhaps it is even late in coming.

"You said that you've felt light-headed far more often lately than you can ever recall, Darmon. These episodes were set off by stress, but they were also harbingers of dormant ability coming to the surface Your proximity to Sleg and Lunam may also have contributed."

Darm felt woozy enough right this minute that thinking about something else was high on the to-do list. He tried and tried to get his feet to settle to the floor, but nothing worked. "How do I get down from here?"

The doctor, Gibnarabi, and the Master, rolled their eyes at the same time. "Darmon," she said. "You move objects. At some point, you let them rest. Are you following me?"

He was so relieved to make the connection, embarrassment didn't have a chance. What he already knew came to his rescue and he lowered gently until he stood solidly on the floor. "So the dizziness just means I'm lightening? My sense of balance goes off due to the change in mass?"

"It's a little more complex than that, but for day to day, it will do. Remember that vertigo tells you to weight yourself sufficiently. Eventually, you'll learn to keep yourself from lifting unless you intend to." Gibnarabi was at the door, eyeing Visherel.

She headed his way, saying, "Ask Sleg to stay tonight. We'll discuss this in the morning."

Blast it all! He wanted out of here. The door closed behind his visitors and he flopped on the bed. What was the matter with him? He'd learned to fly and he was miserable? The little stone in the chain was heating up. No. He'd forgotten something. Something important. The warmth vanished.

The knocker slammed on the door again and he was off the bed like a shot. Sleg! He yanked it open, all smiles. "Visherel said we have to stay 'til tomorrow, but come in, come in!"

He backed up to let the daemon through. "I'm so glad to see you I feel like I'm - oh, what the blazes?" His head was swimming and he looked down. He was nearly two feet off the ground and Sleg's face was a picture of shock. He grinned nervously as he lowered himself to the floor. "Like I said, come in. And I'll try to explain."

"I think we'd better wait a little while," She said, pulling the door shut.

Darm found himself wrapped in her warm, soft wings. Nothing wrong with waiting a little while.

***

Darm floated slowly around the clearing, taking in how different things looked from when he walked. He'd better go back. Lunam wasn't happy and not knowing why was risky. He directed himself toward the daemon, and in a couple of seconds, he'd covered a distance that would've taken several minutes on foot. As he set himself down, he asked, "So what do you think?"

"I'm not sure. I don't understand why the Masters didn't keep you to investigate further. And I have this creeping sense that there's something out of place, missing. I can't seem to shake it. Which tells me I probably shouldn't try to. Let's go in. I want Sleg to join the conversation."

He wasn't thrilled with the idea, but he was sure Lunam must be picking up on the same thing that had been bothering him ... whatever it was. He followed the daemon in at a quick trot. "So there's something we've both overlooked," he said, as they sat down at the kitchen table.

Sleg had finished putting a meal together and set steaming plates in front of them. "There is something that's gone astray somehow," he said.

"I'm reminded of something Kiata mentioned, Darmon - your worry that the ghouls might not be permanently dispatched, that they could return."

He didn't touch the roasted carrots and potatoes. His appetite had faded to nothing. "That's it, Lunam. That's what's been picking my arse. How do we know? And even if they can't come back, we don't know where they've gone or what effects sending them might have."

The daemons had both laid their forks down. "So which one of us is going to see Visherel?" Sleg asked, with a glum look.

The big daemon heaved a sigh and got up from the table. "I'll go. And let's all hope we''re just too dense to notice what the Masters already do." He wandered away to his room, leaving most of his dinner behind.

Sleg got up and put the food away. "Maybe we'll be hungry later."

They sat in silence for a long time, then Lunam came out, asking, "Is there anything else you two can think of that might be of concern? It's so far to go. Let's be -"

The door slamming open interrupted him, and Kiata ran in. "We have ... to leave," she said, trying to get her breath. "The family of the preacher killed by the ghoul - they've riled up the policers -"

"Follow me," Lunam barked, walking to the cellar door. "We'll talk on the way. Darmon, get your things - hurry!"

He ran into the bedroom, grabbed his pack, and rushed to stuff it. Kiata had just disappeared from the top of the stairs as he came back out. Darm went after her, turning around to make sure he'd shut the door tight. There was nothing but a wall of stone where it had been.

By the time he caught up, the cellar had narrowed into a tunnel. He could hear rushing water and there was quite a bit of it dripping from the ceiling and running down the walls. "Where's all this water coming from?" he asked loudly. Too creepy -

"We're right beside the creek," Sleg said. "The soil around the tunnel is saturated and, the ground above isn't done thawing yet. It seeps in here - no where else for it to go. We'll soon be at my house. I just have to get something before we leave."

Darm shuddered. He wouldn't want to be down here in a few weeks. He listened in to Kiata and Lunam talking about the policers. It didn't sound like he'd have to worry about being here in the spring - or ever again ...

***

"My place is too small. And I have little patience with company."

Huai's whining had Darm's teeth on edge. Between the dark, damp tunnels and flying all night, he was still half frozen. If they couldn't stay here, he was sure there'd be more spelunking and high altitude shivering ... he nodded off, then startled, barely catching himself from falling off the chair.

"It's only until I come back from the Seventh City," Lunam said, obviously irritated. "Here." He held a handful of scrip out, and the old man's leathery face lit up, taking years off him. His turquoise eyes snapped to dark brown.

"A shopping trip! Why didn't you say so?" His hand darted out for the offered money and, with a spring in his step, he went to his room. In a few minutes, he was back, his beat-up robe replaced with stiff, new blue jeans and a loud, plaid shirt. His hair poked out the back of a bright green cap with 'Deere' stamped on the front. "I'll be gone for the day," he said, grinning. "You can catch up on your sleep." He pulled on a pair of sharp-toed boots and left, still smiling away.

Lunam wrapped his wings around himself and floated a little off the floor. Kiata had already curled up on the bed in the corner. Darm crawled in beside her and watched as Sleg followed the big daemon's example, rising a little way in the air, snoring softly.

He fell asleep thinking about bats ...

***

Voices seeped into his mind and his eyes slowly opened. Huai and a woman he'd never seen before were carrying bags in. Darm turned his head. Kiata must be in the can - and where were the daemons? He sat up, scrubbing his face with his hands, then made himself get up. Yawning, he asked, "Need a hand?"

"This is the last of it," the woman said, dropping a box on the table. "Dinner fixings."

Darm stared at her. She sounded so much like Kiata. Short, spiky blond hair, periwinkle eyes - didn't look related ... She was grinning at him -

"It's me, Darm. Kiata. But now you have to call me Gemma."

"Huh?" He blinked a couple of times. Must be still dreaming -

"My cousin told me that the preacher's family named me to the policers. They don't understand that the ghoul killed him a long time ago. They think I had something to do with his disappearance. So I'm disappearing - you see?"

He didn't, really, but the door swung open, and Lunam came in, followed by Sleg. "Let's eat," he said. "We have to leave as soon as it's dark."

Huai looked up from the bag of turnips he was unpacking, frowning. "You just got here!"

"You could come with us," Lunam said, sweetly, with a positively evil smile on him.

The old man dropped his eyes and started unloading again. "I won't have to shop for a while. I'd prefer to stay home, thanks."

Darm didn't blame him.