Josie woke up. She had to get ready for the day. She cut off the alarm before it

  sounded. She grabbed her clothes and headed down to the bathroom. That was the

  best thing Jack had done since they got to the city.

  She showered and cleaned her clothes with magic before getting dressed. She dressed

  and walked to where the girls shared their space. She had to get them up and ready

  so she could drop them off at the Hall.

  She opened the door and shook them awake one by one. Beatrice would get the girls

  moving once she was moving.

  She went to the kitchen and magicked up some coffee. It was the one thing she

  missed from Earth. Maybe she could ask Mr. Warner to send her some real beans so

  she could make real coffee instead of whipping some up.

  She went up to the office and nodded at her map of Cairn. It still had a scry bird

  marked on it. The marker moved around. She assumed that Emily was doing the same

  thing.

  She shrank the model down and put it in a case. She figured Fass and his crew would

  be able to use the model to move faster. She put the case in her messenger bag. She

  made sure her poncho covered the bag.

  She needed to get the girls to the airship and fly down to the Hall. She hoped she

  could leave the girls at the Hall without Sir Harp supervising them. She frowned at

  Beatrice being able to hang out with her boyfriend, but she wasn’t there to make her

  ward miserable.

  She sent Fass a messenger to get his group moving so he could get to the Hall for

  pick-up. She didn’t want to wait that long once she got started.

  She thought she could get this rescue done and be back before the dinner. She just

  had to hurry. She hoped she didn’t run into dragons in the real world. That would be

  a pain to deal with while in the air.

  She went downstairs. The girls were slowly getting themselves together. She needed

  another cup of coffee so she could finish waking up.

  “Will you girls be all right until Sir Harp starts your lesson?,” said Josie. Where was

  Jack and Elaine? Did she really want to know the answer to that question?

  Elaine appeared. She wore a skirt and Jack’s Deadpool shirt. Josie felt her eyebrows

  go up at that. She noted the Ducklings were taking note also.

  “Good morning,” said Josie. She walked into the kitchen and made another cup of

  coffee for herself.

  “Good morning,” said Elaine. She poured herself a cup of water and looked around

  for the kettle and some tea packets.

  “I’ll fix that for you,” said Josie. She did another switch to Zatanna to make tea, then

  switched back. “As soon as the girls are ready, we’ll be on our way.”

  “All the invitations are sent, and I have to get food to be cooked,” said Elaine. “We’re

  going to try to eat at about sundown. Jack said he will have to put the table outside

  to accommodate everyone. Also Fass’s group is invited too if you can be done and

  back in time.”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” said Josie. “I want you and Jack to look at the model in the

  office. I think it will help us in the future.”

  “All right,” said Elaine.

  “Nice shirt,” said Josie.

  “Jack gave me a spare,” said Elaine. “I don’t think it suits me. I think I need

  something else.”

  “Let me know,” said Josie. “I can write a letter to Mr. Warner and see if he will send

  us something else for you.”

  “You have more shirts like these?,” said Elaine.

  “Massive looms make those by the thousands. Then the pictures are added,” said

  Josie. “Let me deal with this and I will see if I can make you a catalogue.”

  “Thank you,” said Elaine. She sipped her tea. “I have to put together a cart full of

  food and bring back here for Jack to cook up. I don’t think Jack knows what he wants

  to cook.”

  “He likes to improvise,” said Josie. “See if you can get him on his feet, and moving.

  He might be able to move food from the market to here with his stargate technology.”

  “Hey,” said Jack. He wore his Deadpool shirt and jeans He tried to smooth down his

  hair with a hand. “Any more coffee around?”

  “Yes,” said Josie. She got down a fresh cup and made coffee. She handed the cup

  over to him.

  “Excellent,” said Jack. He sipped the hot liquid. “Any word from Lori and Bob about

  our dragon?”

  “Not yet,” said Josie. “Let me herd the girls out to the quinjet so we can get started

  with our day.”

  “Six sixteen star on the pad,” said Jack. He turned his attention to Elaine. “That shirt

  looks good on you.”

  “Thank you,” said Elaine. “You don’t scream as loud as you said. We might have to

  work on that later.”

  “I’m out,” said Josie. She put her cup down on the sideboard. She went to the door

  and called, “Girls, let’s get going.”

  “I have to get ready and head to the market,” said Elaine. “Josie said there was a

  model she wants us to look at some point.”

  “I have to start thinking about moving the table outside,” said Jack. “I might have to

  enchant it so we have enough seats for everybody.”

  They heard Josie barking at her Ducklings and silently agreed to wait until the girls

  were gone before they got started with their day.

  Josie visually checked out her girls. They looked ready. Alicia made practice swings

  with one hand.

  “I am going to drop you off, and pick up Fass’s group,” said Josie. “You are going to

  have to wait for Sir Harp for your lesson. Can you walk home if Jack doesn’t pick you

  up?”

  “Elaine and Jack are wearing the same shirt,” said Matilda. “Can we get one too?”

  “I guess,” said Josie. “I will make you a catalogue to look through so you can get

  other things than Deadpool.”

  “Will Jack pick us up?,” asked Melanie. “Walking home is bad.”

  “I will ask him to do it,” said Josie. “If you guys will head to the quinjet, I will talk

  to Jack about it. You might have to help with the cooking.”

  “That would be great,” said Angelica. She smiled at the thought of slinging a knife

  around at a head of lettuce.

  “Don’t mention it,” said Josie.

  Laura put the passcode in to let the others use the stargate. They went through one

  If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  after the other.

  Josie walked back to the kitchen as heavily as she could in case something was going

  on. She reached the door. Jack and Elaine were still drinking their morning

  stimulants.

  “Could you pick the kids up, Jack?,” asked Josie. “I still don’t like them crossing

  the city by themselves.”

  “I’ll do it, Josie,” said Elaine. “I’m going to need help with the supplies if we are

  going to feed as many people as we think are coming. They are a big help

  sorting things, especially Angelica.”

  “We didn’t invite Lord Endwright and his crew,” said Jack. “We should have done

  that.”

  “We didn’t invite Lorelei or Bob either,” said Josie. “I’ll send them a letter in a

  minute as soon as I get the kids to their practice.”

  “Sounds good,” said Jack. “I guess we can be excused not inviting Endwright. He’ll

  still be on a liquid diet.”

  “I will be back as soon as I can,” said Josie. “If I’m not, save some cake for me.”

  “Have fun storming your castle,” said Jack. He waved his hand.

  Josie went back to the stargate. It had shut off. Maybe that was an automated feature.

  She would ask Jack about it later. She pressed the code for Earth into the pad and then

  the star key. The wall bubbled. She stepped into the cold stinging pipe and slid out

  in the hangar.

  “That was something,” said Josie. She walked up the gangplank and headed for the

  pilot’s chair. She inspected the girls in their harnesses as she went. The last thing she

  wanted was to flip the ship over and have them fall out of their seats. Bea sat in the

  co-pilot’s chair.

  “This is at once amazing, and so mundane,” said Beatrice. “I don’t understand any

  of these markings.”

  “Hopefully, I won’t crash when we come in for a landing,” said Josie.

  “That is not what I wanted to hear,” said Beatrice.

  “Don’t worry,” said Josie. She smiled at her co-pilot. “I will definitely survive if I

  have a warning.”

  “And I definitely didn’t need to hear that,” said Beatrice.

  “All right,” said Josie. “Let’s get this show on the road. First, we turn everything on.

  Check the energy pool. Open the roof. Open the belly jets so we can hover. Raise the

  landing gear. So the throttle is this lever here, Beatrice. You push it forward to

  pour power into the engines to lift you up. The roof has retracted. We’re going to pull

  back on the stick, and let the belly jets lift us off the cradle. Okay, we’re clear of the

  hangar. Close the hangar. Now we lift up to our maximum height and turn toward the

  city. Hit the lever to switch the jets to push and we start flying forward.”

  “All right,” said Beatrice. “Then what?”

  “We climb away from the trees and orientate on the city,” said Josie. “There it is. So

  we turn and fly over the wall. Looking for the Adventurers’ Hall is going to be a little

  difficult from the air but we should be able to put down on the yard in front.”

  “This is going to cause such a stir,” said Beatrice.

  “Tell them that your Uncle Jack is working on turning steam into locomotion,” said

  Josie.

  “Is that what is going on here?,” asked Beatrice.

  “Sort of,” said Josie. “It’s all a little timey-wimey, weebly-wobbley.”

  “Those aren’t real words,” said Beatrice.

  “Neither is supercalifraglistic but you don’t hear me complaining,” said Josie.

  “Throttling back. There is the yard. Switching to belly jets. Lowering landing gear.

  It’s probably a good thing no one is around. All right, throttling to a stop.”

  “The Guard will be losing their mind over this,” said Beatrice.

  “We’ll have to be quick with our trade,” said Josie. “Let’s get you girls off, and

  get Fass’s people on. Then I can take off and no one will know we were behind

  everything.”

  “Someone will know,” said Beatrice. She worked her harness.

  “As long as they don’t talk about it, that’s fine that they know,” said Josie. She freed

  herself.

  The two of them helped the younger girls unstrap and get to their feet. There

  was a rush to get to the gangplank that Josie lowered with a panel next to it.

  She should have lowered it from the cockpit, but had been worried more about

  getting the girls moving.

  “All right,” said Josie. She visually checked the girls. “Let’s go. We need to switch

  out and get the quinjet back in the air.”

  She spotted Fass and his group with a bunch of horses. She shook her head. They

  couldn’t take the horses.

  “Girls, take the horses,” said Josie. “Adventurers, get your gear that you need.

  Everything else has to stay. Beatrice, do you know where to take them?”

  “I’ll ask Sally,” said Beatrice. “She’s the clerk.”

  “If there’s a bill, tell whomever that I will pay it when we get back,” said Josie. “If

  you have to, call Jack. Tell him to come up with the money.”

  “Yes, Milady,” said Beatrice. “I think we can handle some smelly beasts.”

  “They will bust you wide open if you’re not careful,” said Josie. She watched from

  the bottom of the gangplank as Fass and his crew grabbed weapons and camping gear

  from their horses and started to come aboard.

  Another adventurer jogged up. He started talking to Beatrice about what was going

  on. After some exchanging of words, he pointed toward the back of the hall.

  “Have you guys got it?,” asked Josie. Alicia waved at her with a stolid face. “Clear

  away so we can leave.”

  The girls started walking the horses away from the impromptu landing zone. Josie

  watched them go, frowning the whole time. She didn’t want to leave them on their

  own.

  Some of the girls looked happy with the smelly beasts, but Beatrice talked to the

  single adventurer like she was breaking bad news.

  Josie walked back up the gangplank and directed the adventurers to stow their gear

  in cargo boxes Jack had rigged against the back wall. She led them to the passenger

  seats and showed them how to strap in. Fass joined her in the cockpit. She showed

  him how to strap in while warning him not to touch anything.

  “All right,” said Josie. “Hopefully, the kids will be all right at the Hall until Sir Harp

  shows up.”

  “I think the adventurers will look out for them,” said Fass. “No one wants to tangle

  with a witch with a bad temper.”

  “I’m not a witch, and I don’t have a bad temper,” said Josie. She set the map for Cairn

  with a little effort. “We’re lifting, guys. We should be okay as long as I don’t hit the

  wall heading out of here.”

  “What did she say?,” said someone from the back.

  “Then what is this, if not magic?,” asked Fass. He spread his arms out to take in

  the cockpit.

  “If you guys get to where you can harness science and machinery,” said Josie. “You

  will be able to field a ton of these any time you can get the metal together. Belly jets

  on. Landing gear retracted. Lifting to maximum height. Turning to line up with

  navigational line. Switching jets. Climbing and pushing the throttle open. I don’t

  know how fast this thing can go, but we’ll be at Cairn in a few hours.”

  “You don’t know how fast we’re going?,” said Fass.

  “I think the speedometer is broken,” said Josie. “It only says two.”

  “Two what?,” asked Fass.

  “I don’t know exactly,” said Josie. “We’re over the wall and out in the wild yonder.

  I wish I knew where the automated pilot was so I could let the quinjet fly itself.”

  “We didn’t think you would build something like this to help us,” said Fass.

  “Jack took it as a challenge, and killing two birds with one stone,” said Josie.

  “Eventually, we’re going to have quests out of the city. We’ll need some kind of base

  to get where we need to be fast enough to make a difference and since we already

  needed to get to Cairn to get Emily, Jack decided to put this together to get us there

  as fast as possible.”

  “So you don’t know how fast we’re going?,” said Fass.

  “When this center console becomes a picture of Cairn,” said Josie. “That’s when

  we’re going to need to look for a place to land unless you want to drop in the center

  of town and get out as fast as possible.”

  “We might be conducting a raid,” said Fass. “We should land somewhere and plan

  before we rush in and kill everything we can and get out.”

  “All right,” said Josie. She touched the center console and adjusted for a spot west of

  the town proper. She frowned at the speed of the details filling in on the map. She

  figured she would be near the landing spot soon.

  “I’m going to slow us down so we don’t overshoot,” said Josie. “Look out your side

  for a clearing we can land in.”

  “I see a couple ahead,” said Fass. “Can you slow us down further?”

  “Let me ease back on the throttle, switch to belly jets,” said Josie. She realized that

  she was still too high for the belly jets to hold her up. She let the ship sink as it

  coasted forward. “All right. I see a spot we can land in.”

  “This thing is faster than any horse,” said Fass. “The King would give his eyeteeth

  for this.”

  “It can only be fueled in certain ways, and Jack didn’t tell me how the parts worked,”

  said Josie. “If someone hits us with something big enough, we will hit the ground

  hard enough to turn us into burning jelly.”

  “That’s an unfortunate side issue,” said Fass.

  “Lowering the landing gear,” said Josie. She nodded at the familiar thump of landing.

  “We’re down a few miles short of the target.”

  “Let me get out of this and we can plan on the ground,” said Fass. “We couldn’t do

  this without you.”

  “We have to succeed first,” said Josie. She shut everything down. “I need to let Emily

  know we’re close enough to reach her. I also need to send a letter to Bob and Lori.

  Your guys are invited to dinner. Jack is putting something together for people we

  know. He said your party might as well come too.”

  “Why would he do that?,” said Fass.

  “I don’t know,” said Josie. “He’s like that sometimes.”

  Josie lowered the gangplank and unstrapped her harness. She got up and started

  helping the crew off the ship. She sat down on the ramp and pulled out her case for

  her model and some paper. She wrote her two letters and sent them off. She opened

  her case and took out the model of the town they were about to invade. She opened

  it up, and smiled.

  The mark for her bird was still in motion.

  “Emily is still alive,” said Josie. “So we still have a chance at a rescue.”