The salamander boy led them through the city, prancing this way and that around Lana and not stopping for a second in explaining her how she should visit him once he returned to their underground home with his "grouchy dwarf master". There would be a feast for her and her wizard friends, and she definitely shouldn't miss the chance to see the children of the rock drumming and the children of the flame dancing – a spectacle you could never forget in your life -, and the dwarves were actually pretty jovial company and great singers when food and beer was plentiful.

"Here we are," he eventually stated, sounding a little regretful, when they stopped under a sign depicting a steaming plate of food. "I better get back now. No, on second thought, I'll accompany you a bit longer. He'll be less grouchy if I bring something to keep the chill of the night away. Some hot mead should do the trick."

There was a woman of the Bird Clan cleaning the tables inside the restaurant. She had wings like a bluebird's and black hair with a tint of blue, tied in a loose bun. White feathers covered her arms and legs, just like Lana's, but she also had bird's feet. She stopped what she was doing when she saw them.

Their new friend didn't waste any time sauntering over to her. "One hot mead, please."

"Is it for Mr. Smith?" she asked. She seemed distracted, and her gaze continued to drift to Samantha, Alex and Lana.

"As usual." He shrugged. "I know the city rules. No alcohol for youngsters or elementals. But I'll take some fish buns if you have any left."

"I...I'll get them right away!" She hurried behind the wooden counter and through a curtain-covered doorway, presumably to the kitchen.

"Look, Grandma!" a small voice whispered behind the trio of children. "She has sun wings!"

Lana turned to look. An old woman with gray hair and wings folded around her shoulders sat in a chair by the fireplace, and on her lap sat a little girl probably a year or two younger than she was. She had pure white wings, just like an angel.

"Um...hello." Lana walked up to them with a shy smile. "I think your wings are very pretty too."

"Thank you!" she beamed. "But they're not special like yours." She twisted around to face the old woman. "Tell her about the sun wings, Grandma!"

"Oh, Sophitia...You don't know if you've been chosen until you grow up, dear. All children have white wings."

"She doesn't!" Sophitia protested. "I'm telling you she has sun wings!"

"Is that truly so?!" Her voice suddenly became agitated. "Please, child, come closer so I can see you!"

Lana obediently moved right in front of her. She gently took hold of one of her wings and pulled it closer while leaning forward, her eyes squinted. Then quiet tears started welling up. "It's a miracle!" she whispered. "Dear child, your prayers will save us..."

"Ma'am? Could you tell us more about that?" Samantha asked.

She leaned back and squinted her eyes again to get a look at the other two children. Samantha wondered if Ildathach didn't have technology for eyeglasses. She wasn't sure if the old lady could see them at all.

The woman smiled kindly. "Such a warm, wonderful feeling. What are heirs of Merlin doing here? And so young ones! Wait! Let me guess. You are with this young lady, are you not?"

Samantha nodded. "Yes, we are. She is my sister. But could you tell us what 'sun wings' mean?"

"Oh my, you don't know? The Tree of Life lets us know who she wants to pray for our world. When they become adults and their wings change color, it is the very color of the sun. There has not been anyone after Lady Ilyana died-"

"Mother! Please don't bother guests!" the woman from earlier interrupted her. "Those days you always long for won't come back anymore."

"But this child has sun wings-"

"No more! It is bad enough that you're filling Sophi's head with those stories. This is our life now." She turned to Samantha. "Now, what can I do for you?"

"We're looking for a place to stay the night, but we don't have any money. Could we work for a room or something?" They could always camp outside the city if this didn't work out. It clearly wasn't only the magical creatures living near Aunt Valeria's house. Something about them told everyone they were "heirs of Merlin" – and the reactions had been positive this far.

"We don't really have rooms for rent, but I wouldn't throw children out to the night. The little girl can stay in Sophi's room. For the rest of you, I'm afraid the best I can offer is a place by the kitchen stove."

"That's alright. We can sleep on the floor. But we'd like to stay together. There's room right here, isn't there?"

"That's-"

"I want to sleep with her!" Sophitia put in. "Can I?"

Lana smiled. Sophitia already felt like a little sister. And maybe she could teach her how to use her wings. Maybe she could learn to fly. "Please?" she asked the grownups too.

"Fine," Samantha conceded. "Just don't go anywhere without us. We'll never find you if you get lost."

"Hey! I can track her down anywhere!" Veka protested.

"You can sleep in my room too!" Sophitia announced. He looked so soft and cuddly.

The woman picked her up to stop her overexcited bouncing around. "Let's get you all something to eat before bedtime. It's getting very late."

~*~*~

"Lana! Wake up!" Sophitia's hushed whispers and insistent shaking woke Lana. They had gotten carried away talking long into the night, and Lana would have liked to sleep some more.

Still, she sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. The curtains were closed, and the room was illuminated only by a small lantern held by Sophitia's grandmother.

"You must go!" Sophitia continued. "My mom and dad are going to give you to bad people, so they don't have to give me."

"The Dragon King has been taking all children of the Bird Clan he can find for years, looking for a chosen one," the old woman explained. "You must reach the Sanctuary before he finds you."

Lana wasn't sure at all what was going on, but if the "Dragon King" was the man who had hurt Dad and Uncle Thomas – and, as Veka thought, wanted to hurt her -, she didn't want him to find her. She quickly got dressed, grabbed her backpack and strapped it on backwards. Her wings got in the way of carrying it on her back.

"Good, good. Now be very quiet, child," the old woman murmured. "We must wake your friends and leave before anyone notices."

In a few minutes, Samantha, Alex and Veka were also awake and dressed and had packed all their belongings. Sophitia led them through the dimly lit streets, eagerly following her grandmother's instructions where to go. The old woman walked with certainty, her hand in Sophitia's smaller one.

Eventually, they entered a large building in the shadow of the city wall. There was a large fenced, grassy area next to it. Inside, all kinds of large animals slept in their pens. There were white stags, hippogryphs, chimeras and several creatures the children didn't even know names for.

They stopped in front of a pen with two completely ordinary-looking horses. Certainly, they were very beautiful horses, one russet and the other cream-colored, with shiny coats and fabulous manes. But they still looked so...ordinary among the other beasts.

The horses noticed their presence, stood up and came to greet them. "Children, would you like to ride me?" an alluring voice spoke in their minds. "I can carry you anywhere you desire."

"Horses can talk here?" Lana marveled. "Can we ride them?"

"These creatures are called 'puca', child. You can ride them, but they are a mischievous lot and would love nothing more than to leave some hapless fellow to the ends of the world." The old woman looked around in vain. "There should be golden spurs to fit into your shoes somewhere here. Find them and you can control the pucas."

Sophitia hurried to the task and almost instantly returned with two sets. Then she helped Samantha and Alex to put them on, while her grandmother led the two pucas outside.

"We're going to my pack, got it? Other sky wolves," Veka told their steeds. "Do you know where they live?"

"Do not insult us. There is nothing we cannot find on this earth."

Samantha first lifted Veka up and then mounted the puca – with the help of a stool Lana and Sophitia carried from inside the stable. She had ridden exactly once in her life, and that had been a saddled pony in some fair when she had been little.

Veka didn't like being slung over the puca's back like a sack, but he did understand that there wasn't any other way for him to ride. Pucas were legendary fast – he could never keep up on his own feet.

Alex mounted the other puca with a bit less grace but a lot more enthusiasm. He would have really liked to ride a hippogryph through the skies, though. Maybe they'd get to do that on their next visit.

That left only Lana on the ground with Sophitia and her grandmother. "Will you be alright?" she asked them. "Won't the bad people come for you now?"

"It will be fine!" Sophitia announced, in loud enough voice that her grandmother had to hush her. "We'll hide," she continued more quietly. "And when you pray at the Sanctuary, they won't take anyone from their family anymore."

"Please remember us well, child. My son and daughter did not act out of ill will. They only wanted to protect Sophitia." The old woman patted Lana's head gently. "Sky wolves will help you. I know you will succeed. Then all our children will be safe too."

She lifted the girl to the puca's back and placed her in front of Alex. "May the Tree of Life protect you!"

Alex felt bad for thinking she was just some frail, senile woman. She was old and nearly blind, but by no means weak or insignificant. Actually, she kind of reminded him of the old man helping Link in the Legend of Zelda. "Thank you...Grandma. You too."

Samantha closed her eyes before pressing her heels to her mount's flanks. She could only pray that the pucas wouldn't decide to throw them off the moment they left the city.

The creature bolted forward, and the one carrying Alex and Lana followed. Their surroundings were a complete blur as they raced through Ildathach, surely faster than any car could go. Somehow, the ride was also completely smooth, nothing like they would have expected from riding horses – it was almost like the hooves of the pucas didn't even touch the ground.

Unfortunately, unlike horses, pucas could also make gigantic jumps like reaching straight for the skies. Samantha, Alex and Lana held on for dear life whenever that happened.

"Blergh..." Veka moaned as a wide river passed by under them during one such leap. The kids might have been at home in rollercoasters and such, but he had never understood their appeal.

Then, all of a sudden, both pucas came to an instant halt. Just to make sure that their passengers would not stay on, they also lowered their heads and curved their backs as they stopped. All four went flying, and by the time they hit the ground, their steeds were gone.

Alex and Lana landed on a heap in a bush that somewhat cushioned their landing. They were in the middle of a forest, and it was broad daylight again. Samantha and Veka hit something equally soft - but furrier – and bounced back to bare ground.

"Owwie..." Veka complained, having hit the ground face-first, before he noticed the large, white paw in front of him.

Samantha, having fallen on her rear, looked up to the canine face. It looked a lot like Veka, but this one was at least as tall at shoulder as she was standing up!

She had always thought that Veka had been a fully grown dog for many years. For an American Eskimo Dog, he certainly was of average size. But seeing another sky wolf in comparison, she realized that their pet was still only a child – probably no older than Lana.

"Um..." Veka rolled to his back and gave the bigsky wolf a sheepish smile. "Hi, Dad."