The raven cawed again. And then it rushed at her. She screamed, running backward, but in an instant, there were hundreds of ravens cawing and flying straight toward her. She screamed as their bodies connected with hers, and the cloud around her collapsed. Her scream turned shrill as she fell through the open sky. Seconds ago, she’d had complete control over the clouds and flying, and now, she could do nothing but fall.

She broke through the last cloud and realized she was plummeting toward a distant ground. Rolling hills and a far-off forest dotted the landscape she was hurtling toward. She’d never seen this before. She didn’t know where in Kinkadia this was. But she didn’t particularly want to find out what would happen if she landed. If she was injured in the spirit plane, would she die here?

She gasped and threw every ounce of air magic she had out to cushion her fall. It did nothing, of course. There was no magic in the spiritual plane. Nothing at all to save her.

Her fear clouded her mind, and the ground was getting closer and closer. She was going to die. Oh gods, save her!

No, she couldn’t go out like this. The ravens were still at her side. No longer touching her, but soaring toward the ground, as if this were completely normal. She remembered Gelryn’s words a year ago when she’d first entered the plane. If she was in the plane, it belonged to her. It listened to her command alone. This was her circus.

Kerrigan closed her eyes and drew in her magic, as she would in the physical world. Then, she pushed not with the air magic, but with the very essence of self. Something shifted, small but malleable. She drew on it until it became almost solid. Then, she grabbed it with both hands and pulled.

She jerked to a full stop. Her ears were ringing, and all of her hair whipped forward around her face. Her heart beat a staccato in her chest. Even though this wasn’t real, it felt more real than reality.

Slowly, she peeled her eyes open and found she was a mere foot from the ground, held aloft on her stomach by the spirit magic she had conjured out of thin air. She gasped, and the magic dissolved. Then, she clumsily toppled forward onto the ground.

“Ugh,” she groaned.

“Impressive,” a voice drawled.

Kerrigan stumbled hastily to her feet and found a woman standing before her. She was easily six feet tall with white-blonde hair, braided like a crown around her head. She wore sturdy, scholarly attire but of high quality with a crimson sash across her chest with three slashes across the front.

“Who are you?” Kerrigan demanded.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Kerrigan.”

The woman stared her down. “And are you the one making all the noise around here?”

Kerrigan blinked. “I… well…”