I FOLLOWED THE silver thread of the Undine south through the woods, the same path I’d followed with Liz, Soheila and Diana only three days ago. I remembered slogging through the underbrush, pushing thorny vines out of the way, and swatting insects. Now I soared smoothly through the sky, effortlessly threading through low-hanging limbs. Not only could I clearly see where the limbs were, I also felt them blocking the flow of air. All I had to do was follow the wind. I remembered that Soheila had told me once that the first incarnation she had taken as a wind spirit had been an owl. I understood why now. I was a master of the wind! I was faster than the deer that ran beneath me. Faster even than the beautiful doe and the great stag I’d seen last night, which looked up at me with fear when I swooped low over their heads. I was master of the forest too!

I dipped up and down on my great silent wings, my eyes taking in every detail of the forest floor. I saw every twig and leaf, every field mouse in the underbrush and tadpole in the stream. I felt like my eyes were truly open for the first time in my life. Was this my power unblocked? I felt stronger than I ever had before and … unfettered. Not just by the bounds of gravity, but also by the qualms of conscience I’d felt moments ago over Lorelei’s fate. She had threatened me and hurt me. She was my prey. When I found her, I’d swoop down on my silent wings and dig my talons into her slimy flesh. We’d see who ate whom!

But first I’d have to find her. It made sense that she’d be near the water, but as I sailed through the woods I realized that the Undine wasn’t the only water in the forest. My new eyes, which seemed to turn night into day, spotted flashes of water everywhere. Springs bubbled up from beneath rocks, still pools were scattered like silver coins under the trees, and swampy marshland stood in the low places. As much water as I saw, though, I could hear even more. It was percolating deep below the earth in hollow caverns and running in underground streams. The whole forest was a honeycomb channeling water through a thousand secret passageways.

And the streams were full of plump trout, their gills iridescent with Aelvesgold. My mouth watered at the sight of them. It took all my willpower not to dive down and spear one with my sharp talons and tear into its raw flesh.