"Fracto," Grundy said. "Should have known! He must have seen the activity and wants to interfere."

Cumulo Fracto Nimbus, the worst of clouds! The last thing she wanted to encounter at this stage. There was little doubt, now, that he had spied her, for he was swelling up like the gaseous toad he was and sending out ugly vapors. He might not know why she was flying south, but he intended to mess her up regardless. The worst thing was that she was tired; she doubted she had the strength to fly straight through him.

"Maybe go to ground and trot a while," Grundy suggested. He didn't want to get blown out of the air any more than she did.

"That will take too long," she replied fretfully. "It's deep jungle there, not even any magic paths. We could run afoul of ground monsters. If I don't dare fly because of the storm, they could be a real problem, as well as slowing us."

"True," he agreed. "I could ask the local plants for the best route, but it would still be slow." He pondered a while. Fortunately he was small, so his pondering was short. "And just as bad trying to fly around Fracto," he said.

"I'm afraid so. He can expand at a great rate. In fact, he's doing it now."

"Then that leaves us only one route, if you're up to it."

"I'm up to anything that will get us safely through!" she said. "What's your notion?"

"Fly over the cloud. He may not have much strength up where the air's thin."

Chex glanced up, suddenly uncertain. "What about us, where the air's thin?"

"It doesn't get that thin, does it? Didn't you fly to the moon when you married Cheiron?"

"The honey side of it," she agreed, remembering it with fondness. "But there's a channel there; the air clusters around the moon, especially when it's low in the sky."

"Well, it's low now," he said. Indeed, the day was late, and the moon was venturing out into daylight. "Even if you didn't make it too high for the cloud, you could land on the moon and rest for just long enough to get your wind back. Fracto won't hang around the moon much, because he knows he can't blow it out of the sky, and he doesn't like to look silly trying."

"Could be." Certainly no better prospect offered.

Chex flicked herself again, making her body so light that it just about floated up by itself, and pumped her wings strongly. She rose. She hoped it would not be necessary to fly as high as the moon. That route would be faster than the ground route, but it would be best if she could make it though without stopping.

Fracto saw her climbing. He swelled up even more rapidly, his cloud face forming eye patches and a frowning mouth region. He blew out a wet gale, trying to mess her up.

"Try that again, cabbage-breath!" Grundy called.