Shimmer bobbed its head and let out a command, and soon the entourage was soaring fast toward the window.

Fifer kept mostly hidden and protected behind the canvas hammock, and as soon as she got close enough, she began throwing handfuls of scatterclips at each person standing at the window. One by one they flew backward, banging into other dissenters and dragging them all the way to the opposite wall and pinning them there.

But it didn’t take long for the opponents to react. From all windows, they flung components at the approaching hammock, knocking a few birds down in the process. Fifer ducked and waited to see which plan Shimmer would choose. As she sat, she noticed a small rip in the hammock fabric that was large enough for Fifer to poke her finger through. Blindly she started sending freeze spells, knowing there was no wrong target and hoping she landed some of them.

“Spirrr!” cried Shimmer. The army of falcons shifted sharply as components pelted the outside of Fifer’s barrier. As she felt the birds rise, she pointed down, hoping she could knock out a few more dissenters. Moments later the birds continued forward through the upper window, and Fifer could see the elaborate mansion ceiling of the vast entryway not far above her. Gilded chains hung down with no chandeliers attached.

Fifer scrambled to her knees to peer over the edge of the hammock and send out a line of shackle spells, hitting several people from behind. “Did anyone get Kitten?” Fifer asked, but the birds were too preoccupied with navigating to respond. A few more of them were hit, and with each loss, the hammock dropped a little. With renewed fear for the birds as well as her own safety, Fifer shouted, “Hurry!”

Now, as the birds began to descend, the young mage pulled out her heart attack spells. She needed a serious spell that would also cause a distraction. She hated to use it on Artiméans because of how traumatic it was to experience, but she knew the people would be fine again in about fifteen minutes—as long as she didn’t use three or more of them in one throw. This time she aimed at the people nearest the scroll, shouting “Heart attack!” with each toss. Neatly she took several of them down, and they began shaking and shuddering. Those around them came running to tend to them.

“Now!” Fifer said in a harsh whisper as she fired off even more.

Shimmer gave the command. Fifer rose to her feet as the birds swooped lower. From all sides, the dissenters sent off a variety of components, but Fifer dodged and ducked, avoiding them. The birds weren’t so lucky, though—several more of them were hit by freeze spells. They fell to the mansion floor and dropped their ropes. Without warning, Fifer plunged down, hit hard, and rolled out.

With a frantic lunge, Fifer reached for the drawing and threw it into the hammock. Realizing she was too heavy for the few remaining birds, she commanded Shimmer to escape with the hammock. She put up a glass barrier behind her, which would stop some of the dissenters until they had a chance to release the spells. Then she released a component directly in front of her while dodging another round of fire. A green mossy carpet popped out before her. Fifer climbed onto it, commanding it to rise quickly, exit, and go to meet Shimmer in the jungle. The carpet shot forward and climbed up toward the upper windows while Fifer hung on to the edges for dear life.