mount, and even had I the fastest dolphin in existence, it could no more get out of this lake than I can. No, the matter is lost. I shall linger here, despairing, while songs are sung up and down the Sword Coast of my sad fate, and-'
The girl, whose eyes had been wandering about the lake during this peroration, suddenly interrupted. 'Why don't you ride a horse?'
Thraxos stared at her, dumfounded by her stupidity. Then, in the voice he might use to address a simpleton, he said patiently, 'I cannot ride a horse. I have told you, I am a merman. How would I mount? Besides, a horse would travel far too slowly. I must be in water every hour or so, or I will die. Breathing is difficult for me after even a few minutes. You see-'
The girl shook her head impatiently. 'No, no. Not a regular horse-a flying horse. They travel much faster, and you could see lakes from the air. You could take a bath in them and feel ever so much better.'
Thraxos snorted. 'And where, pray tell, would I get a flying horse?'
The girl nodded solemnly. 'Wait there a minute.' She dashed over to the wreckage of the wagon, dived beneath a jutting spar of wood, and rummaged energetically.
Thraxos remained where he was, grumbling quietly to himself. An unnatural rustling in the leaves a hundred yards away startled him, and he wondered if the robbers might have come back.
The girl returned, something long and slender clutched in her chubby fist. 'It's Daddy's magic rod,' she said calmly. 'He used it to make a horse when ours died.'
Thraxos glanced at the wagon where the corpse of a slaughtered animal lay between the traces. The girl followed his gaze and shook her head. 'Oh, no, not that one. We bought that one in town a long, long time ago. Last tenday, I think. But it wasn't a magical horse.'
In spite of himself, Thraxos was impressed. 'What happened to the magic horse?' he asked.
'It went away, but I can make another one.'
'Was your other magical horse a pegasus?' He saw her brow wrinkle in puzzlement and amended hastily, 'A flying horse?'
'No, but watch.'
She took the rod between both hands and pointed the end toward a dear spot of grass nearby. Thraxos saw that the rod was smooth, wooden, and had some sort of metal wire binding both ends. The girl closed her eyes and bowed her head in concentration. After a moment, Thraxos fancied he saw the end of the rod begin to glow. In another moment he was sure of it.
With a startling suddenness a beam of white light shot from the end of the rod and spread across the grass. It brightened to an intense flash, and Thraxos blinked, spots swimming before his eyes.
When he blinked, the spots went away. In their place was an enormous hedgehog, standing on the grass with an expression of vague surprise. From its shoulders sprouted two slender wings. They resembled those of an emaciated bat and were obviously inadequate to bear the animal's considerable weight. The hedgehog stretched its snout over its shoulder and subjected its unusual appendages to a prolonged snuffle. Having exhausted whatever interest they held, the creature examined its surroundings, grunted cynically, and set off for the woods at a gentle, though earth-shaking trot.
Thraxos looked at the little girl in exasperation. 'For goodness sakes, child, be careful. Objects like this usually have a limited number of charges. We cannot afford to waste any on foolish mistakes.'
She stared back, her lower lip thrust out in a pout.
'Well, it's not my fault,' she said. 'I've never used it.' She turned her back on him.
The merman put out a hand. 'Never mind. Better give it to me. Perhaps I'll have better luck with it.'
'No! It's mine! It belonged to my daddy.' He could hear tears trembling at the edge of her voice.
Thraxos made a careful effort to keep his voice calm.
' Did your dadd-father tell you how many charges the rod contained?' — — .:
She thought a moment, then said, 'Three. That was it. He said we could use it three more times.'
Thraxos winced. 'Very well, but you've already used one, so only two remain. Try again, and please try to get it right this time.'
She nodded and held the rod out before her again. This time Thraxos turned his head away as the light emanating from the rod grew brighter. When he turned back to the patch of grass, a magnificent white horse stood on it, quietly champing at the meadow. Folded along its back were a pair of the finest wings the merman had ever seen, surpassing even those of the pegasi that occasionally dipped and swooped above the skyline of the City of Splendors.
The girl approached the animal without any trace of fear. It watched her with liquid eyes and bent its graceful neck toward her. She stroked it, patted its mane, and whispered softly in its ear. Then she looked at the merman.
'Well, come on.'
He asked, amazed, 'How do you know what to say to it?'
She looked puzzled for a moment, then replied, 'Whoever summons the creature controls it. That's what my daddy said.' Daddy was evidently an oracle whose words were unquestioned.
All the elation Thraxos had felt at seeing the magical appearance of this mount dissolved in an instant. He shook his locks despairingly. 'How can I mount? How could I hold on for such a flight?'
She considered the question gravely, then went back to the rubbish around the wagon, dived into a pile, and came up with a length of rope. With fingers remark ably sure in one so young, she twisted it into a rougl halter, which she cast about the unresisting pegasus She led the animal next to the rocks on which Thraxoi rested his arms, and handed him the end of the rope.
'Catch hold of that and hang on.'
Before the merman had time to reply, she slappec the animal's rump. It backed suddenly and Thraxos was drawn in an instant from the water and lay flop ping absurdly on the dry, hard ground.
The girl laughed, and Thraxos felt the blood rising to his cheeks. No merman feels more helpless than or dry land, and Thraxos was no exception.
'What are you doing?' he shouted irritably at the child. Raising himself on his arms, he began struggling painfully back toward the inviting, cool waters of the lake.
'No, no!' The girl caught him by the shoulder 'Wait.'
She looked at him critically, from his majestically muscled torso, to his long, brilliantly scaled tail. Turning back to the pegasus she busied herself with the rope, hiding what she was doing with her body.
Thraxos felt his lungs contract painfully. The sun scaled his tail, used to the cooling waters. He flicked il across the dry ground and marveled that humans and others could manage to exist on anything so unpleasant.
There!'
The girl stood back, and Thraxos could see she had fashioned a kind of rough harness that was suspended across the beast's side. He felt a sinking sensation in his stomach as he asked, 'What is that for?'
'For you, silly!' In obedience to the girl's command, the flying horse trotted over to Thraxos and knelt beside him. 'Now,' said the girl, 'catch hold of that rope'-she touched a dangling line-'and Freyala will pull you up. Ill bind the harness around you so you won't slip, and well be off.'
There were so many objections to this scheme that Thraxos had no time to voice them. The girl placed his fingers firmly around the rope. The pegasus-when had she named the damned thing, Thraxos wondered-rose, and Thraxos felt the lines of the harness gather around him, supporting him. The girl pulled another rope and the harness tightened around him.
'There,' she said triumphantly. 'Comfy?'
It was hardly the word Thraxos would have used. He had never been caught in a fisherman's net, but he imagined the sensation was similar.
The girl ignored his growls of discomfort. She walked over to the bodies of her parents and tenderly drew blankets over them. Then, without further ado, she picked up a lantern, opened it, and poured the oil over the corpses. She searched until she found flint and tinder, struck a spark, and stood back as the fire took hold. Watching the flames for a moment, she gave a keening cry in some language Thraxos did not understand. Then, resolutely turning her back on the pyre, she climbed nimbly up the side of the horse and grasped the improvised reins.
'Let's go,' she said. Without further command the horse sprang into the air, spread its wings, and soared away.
