Astrid stepped up and touched his arm. “I’m sorry, Dulindir. I keep forgetting this used to be your home. But it’s in such a ruined state. Would you ever truly want to return to this place?”
Dulindir looked at her, took a breath, and smiled. “No. Not anymore.” He lifted his gaze to Teofil. “I promise to never return.”
“So be it. The vines will—”
A number of thick vines slithered beneath the gliders and lifted them into the air. They all took steps back and watched them rise up through the branches of the tallest tree. Thaddeus let out a shout of surprise when a vine wrapped around his midsection. As it lifted him off his feet, he kept one hand on the canteen at his belt and clutched the vine as he rose higher and higher into the trees. He was really glad Teofil had suggested they gather their things first. Thaddeus resisted looking at the ground, focusing instead on tipping his head back and forth to avoid being scratched by the branches of the tree as the vine lifted him.
Higher and higher they rose through the branches. Minutes later, Thaddeus grabbed the uppermost branches of the tallest tree and held on tight as the vine unwound from his waist and dropped away. His palms were damp with sweat, and his scalp tingled with fear as he made slight adjustments to his stance. The branch swayed beneath him, but he put that out of his mind and looked up to where the gliders rested above the leaves, just out of arm’s reach. He would have to climb the last few feet, but they were almost there. He couldn’t back down now. This was for his father.
“Thaddeus!” Teofil called.
Thaddeus looked around and found Teofil clinging to a branch not far away. He smiled and pointed toward the gliders. “Climb up!”
With the agility of a squirrel, Teofil climbed into the uppermost branches of the tree and began strapping himself into a glider.
“Show off,” Thaddeus muttered. He took a breath, let it out, and coached himself. “Okay, here we go. You can do this. Your father is depending on you. Your mother is depending on you. You are a wizard who can generate balls of light. Get moving.”
Slowly, so very slowly, Thaddeus climbed toward the gliders. His sweaty palms were slick on the thin, rough branches. Astrid and Dulindir had climbed up already—more showing off—and Thaddeus could hear them talking with Teofil about the seating arrangements in the gliders. The leaves around him stirred in the strong wind, the tree swayed gently from side to side, and every now and then the gliders shifted above him, as if eager to lift off. This crazy plan might actually work, if he could only climb the last little bit without losing his grip and plummeting to his death.
That kind of thinking wasn’t going to help him one bit.
He focused on lifting his foot, then reaching up for the branch above. Step by step, branch by branch he climbed until, finally, Thaddeus poked his head up through the last of the leaves and looked around. The sun was bright above the forest, and he blinked in its light and warmth. The wind blew strong and steady along the tops of the trees, rustling the leaves all around him. He drew in a deep breath of the fresh air and then saw Teofil.
“Hi,” Teofil said. He’d already strapped himself into one glider and his face was flushed with excitement.
“Hi.”
“Can you make it up the last foot?”
Thaddeus noticed Dulindir strapped into the glider beside Teofil. “Oh, we can’t be together?”
Teofil shook his head. “You and I are the heaviest. We didn’t think of weight distribution down on the ground. Astrid’s waiting for you in the other glider.”
Thaddeus looked over and saw Astrid reaching out to him from the second glider. “Give me your hand, Thaddeus. I’ll pull you up.”
He released his grip on the thin branch and extended a hand to Astrid. The branch he was using to support himself cracked, and Thaddeus’s heart pounded as his blood turned to ice. For the span of a few heart-stopping seconds he felt weightless, poised hundreds of feet above the forest floor, and then Astrid clasped his hand and steadied him.
“I’ve got you,” she said. “You’re okay.”
With Astrid’s help, Thaddeus climbed on the glider. She held tight as he maneuvered into the loops on the underside, his feet extended toward the tail like a hang glider pilot. Once he’d gotten into position next to Astrid, he checked each rope three times, verified the canteen was firmly attached to his belt, then pulled his compass from his pocket and clutched it tight in one hand.
“I’m ready.”
She smiled. “You’re going to love this.” Astrid called out, “We’re ready. Go ahead and take off.”
Teofil smiled at Thaddeus, and Dulindir smiled at Astrid, then the two of them pushed off from the top of the tree. The wind got underneath the wings and Thaddeus watched them go, marveling at the grace of the glider as it floated over the tops of the trees.
“Wow, they’re really flying,” he said with a smile. “We built actual gliders.”
“Our turn. Hang on.”
She released the branch she had been holding, and they pushed off with their feet. The wind slipped beneath the wings of the glider and pushed them aloft. The fronds rattled in the wooden frames but held, and Thaddeus caught his breath as he watched the trees fly by beneath them, only a foot or so away.
“This is amazing!” Astrid shouted. “Here’s to Flora!”
Thaddeus laughed. “To Flora!”
They caught up with Teofil and Dulindir and pulled alongside, all of them laughing together as they adjusted their rudders and gently turned the gliders west, into the setting sun and back to Thaddeus’ father and Miriam.
As the wind ruffled his hair and clothes, Thaddeus couldn’t help thinking about the dream he’d had about flying with his father. He didn’t want to consider any symbolism or premonition from the dream; he just hoped they weren’t already too late.
Chapter 14
The treetops swayed beneath them as Thaddeus and Astrid soared above. Astrid held the stick in the center to control the rudder, and they both held on to support pegs to either side of them. Thaddeus checked his compass now and then to make sure they were headed in the right direction. Just ahead, Teofil and Dulindir shared the second glider, cruising along above the trees as they all headed for the plains.
Thaddeus could see the bottoms of Teofil’s boots ahead of them, as well as the rounded swell of his butt inside his trousers, and his dark blond hair waving in the wind. A pleasantly nervous squiggle of attraction and anticipation went through him. It felt weird ogling Teofil while he lay stretched out alongside Teofil’s sister, so to distract himself he looked away, down at the leafy treetops beneath them.
“Isn’t this amazing?” Astrid asked. “I’ve never flown like this before.”
Thaddeus was about to ask her how she had flown prior to this, but then movement to his left caught his attention. A large bald eagle coasted along on the breeze beside them. Wind ruffled the bird’s white-feathered head, and its long wings stuck out at least five feet across. Thaddeus stared at the raptor floating in the air so near. He was stunned. He’d never seen an eagle up close before.
“Look!” Astrid said.
Thaddeus looked in the direction she was pointing. A large area of leaves off to their right had turned black, and Thaddeus squinted as they flew past. Just beyond the patch of blackened leaves, bare branches reached for the sky, stripped clean.