Nothing compared to the feeling of flight. It didn’t matter whether it was on a flying carpet or a sky ship. Standing on the deck of the Flying Calamity as it sailed through the air over the mountains filled Wil with a sense of awe that took his breath away. Standing at the railing, knowing one clumsy move could send him hurtling over the side, made Wilbur McKenzie feel wonderfully small and helpless.

In truth, he was neither. Out of the hundred and something people on board, he was probably the most dangerous. If one didn’t count his pet.

“Master McKenzie,” Captain Nesbitt barked, shaking him from his thoughts. “Please get control of your animal.”

Wil sighed and turned around. Captain Nesbitt pointed straight up. Although the ship had no use of sails, there were still three large masts with enchantments carved into the wood and stations for the crew to conduct maintenance and keep the weatherproofing charms active. On the mainmast the wampus cat Isom crouched, peeking at the sailors at work.

The fae predator’s tail flicked violently behind him like he was stalking birds, and in seconds would pounce. Isom looked to be having the time of his life, until Wil whistled sharply and ruined his fun.

“Get down here, Isom. I told you to stop scaring the crew. C’mon, we talked about this!” Wil snapped his fingers and pointed to the deck.

Isom let out a grumble Wil could hear over the ever present woosh of the wind flying by. He let himself drop from the mainmast, disappeared and then reappearing back on solid wood at Wil’s feet. He cocked his head to the side, favoring the wizard with his one eye.

“What else am I supposed to do, then?” Isom demanded. “There’s nothing to hunt. No one I’m allowed to chase or scare. You’re not scared and I’m not allowed to bother the prince. It’s boring.”

Wil took a deep breath. He wasn’t mad, or even annoyed. It took a lot to push Wil into a bad mood, and his new pet wasn’t likely to do it. Mostly, he was amused. “It’s been two days, Isom. Are you really going stir crazy from two days of not being allowed to maul something?”

The poor wildcat nodded. “And you’re not even letting me poke around and have fun.”

“Yes, that would be a breach of privacy and would be a bad thing to do to our friends and allies,” said Wil, reaching down to scratch behind the wampus cat’s ears. Isom pretended not to enjoy it.

‘But they’d never know,’ Isom’s voice whispered in Wil’s mind. ‘I can just listen in for the juicy gossip. C’mon, if I can’t gnaw on anything, at least let me have this.’

Wampus cats gained a quality of anything they ate, and Isom's most recent meal had given him the ability to sense and read thoughts.

“I said no,” Wil said with a bit more force. “If you can control yourself and behave, we’ll get you a snack. Gods, you eat more than Bram and me combined when you’re bored.”

As soon as the word snack left Wil’s lips, Isom threw himself against Wil’s leg affectionately and then padded his way over to the door, waiting to be let inside. Together they went through and down the stairs until they got to the floor with the dimly lit galley. Between Isom and Sylano, they spent a lot of time there.

Syl was waiting for them on the center table, surrounded by a few scattered crew members, listening to him tell a story. He had a mug in his hand, half empty and getting emptier with each second as he gesticulated wildly.

“...so then my father takes umbrage to that, right? These guests just got me hurt and spit in his face, basically. So he calls on satyr magic to -- “

“What can satyr magic do?” one sailor blurted out.

Syl pointed in his direction. “A lot! In this case, he lured them in for drinks, making each one more potent than the last. A satyr has a strong connection with the mind, and with all kinds of indulgence.”

“And what about fauns?” Wil asked. “What’s the difference? I’ve been meaning to ask.”

Syl grinned at Wil. His mostly human, goat-like face was still bruised and puffy from the beating he’d taken just a week before, but he looked worlds better.

“Another excellent question! The short answer is time, mostly. Fauns become satyrs, who become silenii with age. Not unlike how a nymph will go from maiden to mother to crone. My father is stronger magically than I am, and has the wisdom of the ages. All at the cost of being slower and more tired, unable to keep up with…the endurance of youth.” He waggled his eyebrows at the nearest sailor. She didn’t seem to mind the attention.

“So what happened next?” the blushing sailor asked, taking a swig of her own drink.

“One drink turned into ten, and before too long they were out. Slept so long and hard they overstayed their stated welcome, which let us drag their unconscious forms out into the pasture. The lucky ones were woken up by a cow licking them.”

“And the unlucky ones?” Wil asked.

“The cow’s other end.” Syl made a theatrical surprised face as the crew laughed.

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He continued with, “If you ever find yourself in Faerie, never spit in the face of hospitality. Be a good guest, and know when’s a good time to leave. We fae will rarely make the first move, but we’re more than happy to bide our time and punish those who get cocky.

“But if you do go to Faerie, you go as friends of the prince, and that should count for something. Just don’t mess it up.” Syl winked, one golden eye with square pupils practically glowing with mirth while his long tongue lolled out.

“Boring,” Isom grumbled, pushing past Wil and going up to the counter where the cooks worked tirelessly night and day to provide meals for the entire hundred something crew. “Feed me!”

The cook backed up against the stove, fear and annoyance plain on his droopy face. “Master McKenzie, please.”

Wil whistled again and pointed to the table next to Syl. Isom slinked away from the counter, letting his tail run across it until he sat at the end, curling up. He kept one eye balefully staring at the man.

“I’m sorry, you won’t have to put up with him for much longer, I promise,” said Wil. “But until then, do you have some beef I can give him? I swear, every time he eats beef he gets a little kinder.”

The chef chewed on his lip. “At this rate, we’re running low. Sure we’ll be arriving today, but it’s still coming out of our supplies, and -- “

“Bill me for it,” said Wil. “Anything we need that isn’t covered by being a normal passenger or honored guest, you can charge it against me and we’ll square up when we’re in town.”

The chef capitulated. “Cooked or raw?”

Wil looked at Isom.

“Cooked,” said the cat, licking his chops. “And with some of that tangy sauce you put on it. That was good.”

Finally the chef relaxed. “And for you?”

“Water.” He got his drink and joined Isom and Syl at the table. “Do you mind a bit of space, fellas? We’re coming up to port soon and we need to talk about a few things.”

“Oh, I love when he gets serious,” Syl said, finishing his drink and getting off the table. “That’s when you know we’re in trouble or he’s about to do something stupid.”

Wil waited for the faun’s laughter to die down, and for the table to clear. It took a minute of grumbling and moving food and drink to the other tables, but then it was just the three of them. He had their attention, but there was no telling for how long.

“The ride to Manifee City has been shorter than I expected. I was a little lost in my head yesterday, and didn’t think to give you guys some warnings and pointers for while we’re here. I need you both to listen very carefully to me and don’t fight me on this. Am I understood?”

The two fae stayed silent, a sign Wil took to be a good one. He opened his mouth to speak, but then the chef came out with beef ribs on a platter, slathered with a smoky sauce the wampus cat had become addicted to. Wil waited for the cat to start gnawing on a big bone before he continued.

“Where we’re going, there are a lot of wizards. Manifee City in particular is basically the magical capital of Calipan. And as we’ve seen from Hugo, it’s not uncommon for us to have massive chips on our shoulders. When we’re there, you need to be careful not to be insulting or invite anyone to show off or want to lash out against you. Wizards are…we get a lot of leeway in our behavior, if we’re valuable.”

Syl nodded with understanding. “People with power don’t tolerate much from people they see below them, or as a threat. And humans view my people as a threat. When they’re not insistent that they can destroy us without trying.” The faun didn’t try to hide his lingering bitterness.

“If anyone tries anything,” said Isom with a mouthful of meat. The sauce all over his face looked like old blood. He swallowed and continued, “I’ll eat them too. No one’s going to hurt you, Wil.”

“No, they won’t,” said Wil patiently, “because we’re not going to give them a reason to. We’re going to go along, keep our heads down, and answer questions about what happened. Each of us has a key perspective on what Hugo did when he cracked, and two of us can corroborate that Twist and Grimnar are no longer in power.

“We really need to keep our stories straight and make us look like a group of reasonable people who are willing to talk things out. Well, two reasonable people and one homicidal housepet.” He nudged Isom with his foot.

The wampus cat bared his teeth. “I’m a fierce predator,” he said, before turning back to his food.

Syl drummed his long, spindly fingers on the table. “What are we to do when someone tries to pick a fight with us? You going to talk at them and hope they’ll cooperate?”

“I’ll shut it down,” said Wil. “Anyone who tries anything will find themselves taking a nap or forgetting how to see for a little while. The important thing is, no permanent damage. We’ll stick by witnesses and get through this and be back in Harper Valley as quick as possible. But we must not give them any reason to detain us for longer than necessary.”

Silence descended as Isom ate and Syl thought through Wil’s worth. He eventually grumbled his acknowledgement, then turned serious. “How worried are you that they’ll punish you? We both know you did nothing wrong.”

Wil burst out laughing. “That’s not even close to true. I ran off to Faerie to try to fix things so they wouldn’t find out about what happened with the leyline. And now I’m going to have to answer for that as well as everything Hugo did, and then forcing the peace treaty through. And now I have to hope they won’t arrest me and charge me with something.”

Isom looked up again. “I thought you said that wizards have a lot of leeway from your chiefs.”

“That’s true,” said Wil, “as long as that wizard is producing more value than problems. From their perspective, I could be on the trouble end of the spectrum. Before all of this, I was a decent student but a bit of a disappointment for washing out of Mage rank. Literally no one else wanted Harper Valley.

“To them I was a nobody. Just a townie who came back to his farm to help the family. And now I’m going to face a lot of scrutiny. So please, please, please, behave and let me handle things. I’m begging you.” Wil smiled, but he didn’t try to hide his nervousness or desperation.

There was nothing more he wanted than to just stay home and stay that small town wizard. To just help out the little people and enjoy the seasons go by, spending the years making his loved ones’ lives better. That ship sailed.

A loud, piercing whistle made Isom bolt, disappearing from view shortly after.

“What’s that sound?” Syl asked.

“Port,” said Wil, stomach dropping. “We’ve made it to Manifee City. So get some water, sober up, and be ready to represent Faerie and Harper Valley with me.”