We kept moving through the forest until the sun set and it was so dark that we couldn't see three feet in front of us. Neither of us felt much like sleeping, but we did, without even the light of a fire. Tuck and I awoke when the sun rose the next morning. Spike didn't.

"Beautiful, huh?" I asked, mesmerized by the glow ascending behind the trees.

"Don't stare at it," Tuck cautioned. "It's not good for your eyes."

We gathered up our packs, weapons, and puffan (I started out with her, which was all right because she was considerably lighter today), and got an early start. My legs and arms were sore, but I didn't mind anymore.

When we saw one, we tracked and killed a small bird called a stonehead, and stopped to build a fire, strip it, and cook the meat. Then we stored it in our packs, extinguished the fire, and started moving again. All practically without speaking.

I didn't know what was upsetting me so much, but it had obviously gotten to Tuck, too. Maybe I was feeling sorry for the soldiers who'd died in the explosion on that ship (if there had even been an explosion, I reminded myself). Maybe I was feeling guilty for sending the two Barons in the lifeboat to certain imprisonment after they'd survived such an ordeal. Maybe I was thinking about the poor Col soldiers who'd been exploded to death in that disastrous battle in the valley. Maybe I was afraid for myself, because of the mission behind which I now knew the truth.

Just wait until we find the Captain, I told myself. He'll know what to do.

Of course, trying to break a well-guarded War Captain out of a military prison deep in enemy territory would probably be more dangerous than searching for explosives.

As the forest thinned, Tuck turned to me suddenly and asked, "Did you ever wish you could fly?"

"Huh?" I asked, startled. "Well, I guess so. But everybody does sometimes, right?"

"Probably," Tuck answered.

"So?" I asked.

"So?" he asked.

"So why are you asking me?"

"I was curious."

"You're so weird."

"Thanks."

We continued through the now sparse trees, carrying Spike, for a while more. At least my train of thought had been shifted. I wondered for a second if that had been Tuck's purpose in asking if I'd ever wanted to fly, but he didn't seem the type to play psychological games.

I got my answer to that hypothesis when we reached the top of a large hill. I saw that it continued downward on a rather sharp slope, then ended abruptly at a cliff. I could hear the river rushing below. I'd been hearing it for some time, now that I thought about it, but hadn't paid it any attention until I saw it. It must have been a hundred meters below. Maybe more.

"What do we do now?" I asked Tuck, but when I looked at him he wasn't there. "I hate it when he does that," I muttered to myself as I turned and scanned the area for him.

When I found him, he was clearing leaves, cobwebs, and other debris off a�thing. I didn't know exactly what it was � I'd never seen anything like it before. It looked like some straight tree branches or trunks tied together with rope and covered by a sheet of dirty cotton material, like clothing. It had been hung among the last cluster of trees of the forest.

"Like it?" Tuck asked, holding his arms out proudly.

"What is it?" I asked, awed.

"A little device we call a glider," Tuck told me.

"What does it do?"

"It glides."

"It glides," I repeated. "Why are you showing it to me?"

"We're going to take a little ride."

"Why?" I asked. It didn't look to me like riding the contraption would be any quicker than walking.

"Because we can't fly. Put Spike in this little bucket we fashioned for her."

It took me a moment longer to understand what he was saying, and when I did, I felt my eyes widen in shock. "We're going to ride that thing over the cliff?" I cried in a whisper.

"You said you wanted to fly."

I really wanted to wipe that stupid boyish grin off his face. "You want us to jump off a cliff? And you expect that thing to hold us up?"

"It's fun." Tuck's voice took on a persuasive tone.

"What if it doesn't work?" I protested.

"It hasn't failed yet."

"How often do you use it?"

"You think we ever counted?" Tuck shrugged, his voice serious again. "Bryt, please trust me. This is our first shortcut. It's days around this thing. Our team's been using this glider for years. I promise it's safe. And you said you'd follow my lead."

"That was before I knew you were insane," I grumbled, sick at the thought of what I was about to do, but convinced to do it. "Jumping off a cliff. I don't believe it."

"So you'll do it?"

"I did say I'd follow you. I didn't know you were going to lead me off a cliff, but I'll follow you."

"Great. I'll show you how to strap yourself in."

I forced myself to pay attention as he demonstrated how to strap my shoulders and hips to the branches. It was a little awkward with my bow and arrows, but I could feel that the straps were secure. At least that's what I told myself.

We moved the glider completely out of the trees and into the wide open area at the top of the hill. "What if the Barons spot us?" I whispered to Tuck as he performed the same strapping procedure on himself.

"We have to chance it," he replied grimly. "Luckily we're pretty far out in the middle of nowhere. Ready to fly?"

I nodded, not ready at all. Tuck checked Spike in her little bucket seat one last time and said, "We're going to start running for momentum, and on the count of three, push off as hard as you can, and jump. Once we're in the air, don't squirm. At first we'll just drop, then we'll catch the air and glide across to the other side, so don't be surprised. You can close your eyes if you want, but I think looking down is the best part."

I nodded again. I took a deep breath, glanced at my teammate, and dutifully started to run. At least if we crashed I wouldn't have to worry about exploding.

"One�two�" We reached the hill's acme�"THREE!"

I pushed upward and outward with bent legs and felt them leave the solid ground. They just kind of dangled where they should have been resting on land. I gasped and seemed to lose all my breath as we dropped straight down. No, I panicked, this isn't supposed to happen. There's a hole in the material and we're falling! We're too heavy for the air and we're falling! Tuck's a madman and he's killing us both!

Just when I might have screamed, we stopped falling. Had we hit the bottom? I opened my eyes. NO! We were still in the air. Very, very far away from the raging white river below.

"Ha-HAH! See, Bryt! Isn't this great?" Tuck shouted joyfully. At least I think that's what he shouted. I couldn't hear that well.

One fact stuck out in my mind: he was happy! We weren't out of control; everything was going just as planned. Looking down at the same breathtakingly terrifying scene, but now knowing it was right, it didn't seem so terrifying. Just breathtaking. I could actually see why Tuck enjoyed it. I took a second to revel in the sheer joy of the fact that, well, I was flying!

Then another problem arose: landing. We were swiftly approaching the opposite cliff. I could see, by holding my head up to the bar and squinting against the violent wind, that we would have plenty of room to spare between the edge and out landing space. That was my greatest worry. I didn't know how to land, though, and we seemed to be moving terribly fast. Was I just supposed to put my feet down on the ground? Would my legs be dragged off or broken by the weight? I waited urgently for some shouted instructions from Tuck, but he gave none. It was too late � we were there.

Improvise, Bryt! Improvise! myself shouted at me.

I let my legs dangle down as best they could � now that we were over land that was easier. I felt my feet skim the ground for a second, then felt our weight transferred onto my legs and they held their ground, just for a fraction of a second. Then I fell forward, and was jerked to a halt with my head centimeters above the ground. The front bar of the glider had hit the side of the gentle slope under me. We were stopped.

I was afraid to move for a few seconds, then couldn't get out of there fast enough. Tuck was already out by the time I'd untangled myself.

"So how do you like flying, Bryt?" Tuck asked me, his eyes shining.

"It was amazing," I admitted, looking out over the gorge we'd just crossed.

"You know, you're a natural," Tuck said. "Not many people get their first landing right. I thought I'd have to land the thing myself."

"I was just improvising," I felt I had to say.

"And your improvising was great. You're a natural," he countered.

"Well, I did say I wanted to fly," I whispered.

Tuck heard me and laughed. "You should have been born with wings. Let's get this thing hidden up top for next time. Is Spike still asleep? It figures she'd sleep through the whole ride. Oh well � she doesn't like flying much anyway."

I was filled with leftover adrenaline and pure elation a the flight I'd just completed as we maneuvered the glider up to the top of the slope for our return trip, whenever that would be. That had been the most thrilling, most terrifying thing I'd ever done. I was massively relieved that it was over. And, I smiled to myself, I couldn't wait to do it again.