“Let’s go back down to the ground!” Michael shouted at once. “We can have more stable footing!”

Megan shook her head, though she was sure the movement wouldn’t be noticed in the dark sky. “He won’t go low enough for us to hit him, and he can attack from the air! Either that, or he’ll just monitor us until his backup can come!”

Michael cursed, but was forced to admit she was right. On stable ground with guaranteed footing, he was certain that he could take on whoever was chasing them. In the air, as they were, using his least favorite method of transportation, he was significantly less confident. He couldn’t use his sword like this, and he couldn’t be sure that his spells wouldn’t hit one of his friends. He cursed again, and clumsily withdrew a scroll from the satchel that he carried slung over his shoulder.

Rachel was already working a spell, moving her hands without uttering a word. Bright light flared from her fingertips as the mana came to lie, and a tiny golden net of energy formed between her hands. It expanded rapidly as she threw it over her shoulder, easily spreading out for thirty feet from side to side. Their pursuer made his Stravia dive, dodging the huge projectile with ease. Now he was coming up on the side, where Michael was.

Micheal unleashed his signature triple barrage of electric bolts, each one swinging wide with the speed of their movement before arcing in and racing towards their target. It was a safe spell given the situation, as it locked on to one target, and had much more accuracy. But Megan’s heart sank as she saw the flash of mana from their pursuer that could only mean one thing. He was proficient enough at magic to conjure a shield. And he did it so fast that she barely saw the movement involved.

A streak of fire flashed across her field of vision, partially blinding her and panicking her mount. They were rentals, and unaccustomed to combat. In addition, the attacker was clearly aiming for her mount, hoping to disable it and send her plummeting to her death several hundred yards below. She sawed on the reins to bring her mount sharply to the left, away from the stranger, bringing it back under control. But she had no chance to counterattack.

Jordan tried to swipe their opponent out of the air, but the Black Hand avoided the attack with ease. Their big friend let out a growl of frustration, and his eyes glowed brightly in the dim lighting. Rachel sensed the next attack coming and quickly swerved out of range, only just in time. Red-orange flames erupted from Jordan’s mouth, and their attacker was lost to view. Megan brought her mount up higher with a quick tug of the reins, making sure that her friends were following.

A reckless idea came over Megan, one that would surely kill her if she failed. But the Black Hand would be back soon, and they had to stop him if they were to make a clean getaway. Taking a few quick breaths to steady her nerves, she reached down and started unbuckling her legs from the saddle. As she did this, her lips moved in prayer to Arcana, asking for his guidance and protection.

“What the hell are you doing, Megan?” Michael shouted at her. “Strap your legs back in!”

She ignored him, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to react in time. “Stay close to me! We’ll catch him as he comes at us!”

Michael forced his Stravia closer, his hand already reaching out to catch her. But she pushed free of her mount too quick, and his fist closed on empty air. She immediately entered a freefall, feeling the wind whip her hair into a chaotic dance as she started to fall. Then her mana flared to life around her and she stopped, hovering in mid-air, quite alone, too far from the ground to make it out.

Now her allies were circling back and rotating protectively around her. She started to gather mana in her hand, her senses as sharp as she could make them, waiting. Waiting. If she got this wrong and was hit by an attack, she would almost certainly die. There was no way her friends could spot her falling that fast. Her timing had to be right.

Just as happened in her combat training with Samuel and in her classes, she felt as though time were slowing down around her. The darkness almost seemed to part before her eyes, revealing the enemy diving towards her. In that brief moment before contact, she could make out more details of his face, thanks to the light of the fire coating his hand. She was sinking even as he dove for her, hand stretching out, for the Levitation spell couldn’t keep her airborne more than twenty feet up.

She let the mana charging in her hand fly at her opponent as soon as she saw his face, and immediately followed up with a bolt of destructive mana directed at the spell forming in his hand. She knew that both spells had found their mark before they landed, and his own barrier came up a fraction of a second too late to stop them. The flames sputtered and died, plunging them into darkness, just as the Blindness spell took effect for him. She felt his mount shoot past her, the scales of the beast actually scraping her robes.

“Jordan!” She cried out, and her friend was there in a flash, his large hand reaching out to pluck her from the air. She landed on the saddle behind him with a grunt of pain.

Somehow, Rachel and Micheal already knew what to do. With their opponent blinded, they had a much greater chance of striking. Michael yanked back on the reins, bringing his Stravia to a temporary halt and firing a barrage of lightning, just as Rachel threw another net. The bolts of lightning slammed into the Black Hand’s back, stunning him and dealing quite a bit of damage, and then Rachel’s net enveloped both Stravia and rider, pinning the animal’s wings to its side. They heard the scream of the man as he plummeted, quickly carried out of earshot.

Now Jordan was racing away, towards Milagre at a sharp downward angle. The stamina of the Stravia was starting to run dangerously low, and the added weight of a second passenger didn’t help. Now they were in a race against time, hoping to reach the ground before the Stravia transformed back, while also putting enough distance between themselves and the sight of their mid-air battle.

It was a close-run thing. No sooner had the scaly feet of Jordan’s mount hit the grass slope, than it shifted back into its horse-like form. The abrupt change in size and shape upset its balance, and it crossed its forelegs and stumbled as it attempted to stay upright. The violent movement sent both Jordan and Megan tumbling over its neck. The air was forced out of their lungs as they hit the hard earth, but they were uninjured.

Rachel and Michael landed their mounts soon after, bringing their Stravia to a sliding stop before dismounting, their faces white with shock and concern. Surprisingly, Michael was the first to reach Megan, grabbing her arms and hauling her to her feet. “What the hell were you thinking? That kind of move could have killed you, you idiot!”

“It was the only thing I could think of,” she said raspily, coughing and retching as her lungs desperately refilled themselves. Her robes were smeared with dust from her tumble and had a large tear in the side where the enemy’s Stravia’s scales had made contact. “It worked, didn’t it? Let me go.”

Michael did not let her go but shook her roughly. “There were other options! I’m the fighter! You shouldn’t put yourself in danger. That’s my job!”

Megan, having regained her breath, shoved her hands against his chest, forcing him away and breaking his grip. “You’re not the only one who has to be prepared to risk their life!”

Rachel was between them before Michael could retort, her arms held out to keep them separate, as Michael was scowling and Megan was ready to hit him. The adrenaline of the fight was still in their systems, and neither was thinking clearly. Megan realized this, of course, but it didn’t make her anger feel any less real.

“You may be a better fighter than me, but don’t think that you’re the only one capable of beating your enemy!” She threw over Rachel’s shoulder. Then she wondered why she was arguing the point so vehemently. Didn’t she hate exactly the same thing she’d just done? “Besides, it worked. We’re all alive and unharmed. Think about that before you try to order me around.”

“You’re the only one acting like they can order us around,” Michael retorted with a snort. “You think that gold trim on your robe makes you the leader?”

“Michael!” Rachel hissed, turning to face him with a glare. “Archmage Bragg told you she was in charge. Her move was risky, sure, but it worked. Now drop it.”

Michael looked as though he wanted nothing more than to shout at Rachel too, but something in the girl’s eyes made him think twice about that. Then Jordan was there putting a calming hand on his shoulder. He looked up into his distant cousin’s eyes, and read the silent warning there. Calm down. He snorted angrily and turned away.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Megan demanded at once. “We need to keep moving.”

“I’m going to find firewood!” he snapped back. “We can’t go anywhere until the Stravia get some rest. A leader would know that!”

Megan let out a sound that was half angry snort, half exasperated sigh. There was no reasoning with the idiot. Turning away herself, she stomped over to the saddle of Jordan’s Stravia and retrieved a wooden whistle. It had been sold to them with the creatures and was specifically made to recall them if they were lost. She blew it, waited a minute, then blew again. She really couldn’t afford to lose the mount.

Her Stravia came down from the sky in a slide, showering her with even more dirt as it came to a stop. The beasts were naturally athletic, and without an inexperienced rider to hamper it, it had no problem in the maneuver. She patted its neck with a sigh of relief and began changing the saddle back to a more comfortable position as it shifted back. She had to admit, grudgingly, that Michael was right. If they wanted to get back to Milagre in any reliable time, they had to let the Stravia rest.

They set up a basic camp where they’d landed, letting the Stravia lay down to rest as they conjured a basic wide tent in case of rain. It was a low structure but had more than enough room to let three of them sleep comfortably next to each other, with one keeping watch. Michael returned with an armful of logs, dumping them in the pit that Jordan had dug. He and Megan offered each other muttered apologies, and the four of them ate a simple meal around the fire.

“That really was a crazy move,” Michael said, seemingly unable to help himself. As Megan lifted her head to retort, he offered her half a smile. “But it was pretty cool. I had no idea you’d gotten so good at magic.”

She hesitated, a little taken aback by the comment. She shared a quick glance with the smirking Rachel and shrugged. “Samuel’s been working me like a dog, I’ll have you know. If you’re not careful, I’ll pass you up soon.”

“As if,” he said with a laugh, and they all chuckled. “Shame the four of us can’t all participate in the Exchange as a team.”

But of course, when they returned to Milagre with the news that Megan had for Samuel, the Archmage explained to her that he’d learned a great deal about the students who were attacked. Two of them had been selected to participate in the Exchange, and their slots had to be filled. Megan was sure she knew exactly who he had in mind, and sure enough, she had more news for her friends.