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her dugs bouncing. Agape willed herself to do likewise.
Suddenly she was flapping her own wings. But she was out of control; she went into a tailspin and
plunged back to the ground.
"Thou didst it!" Phoebe exclaimed, hovering. "Thou hast her hummingbird form! But why beest thou
not flying?"
Agape tried to answer, but all that emerged was a peep.
"Well, change back to girlform and tell me," the harpy said, coming down for another crash landing.
Agape tried, but nothing happened.
"Mayhap I shouldn't've messed. I fear thou art stuck in birdform, and know not how to fly!"
Agape nodded her tiny head affirmatively. Magic was definitely not for novices!
The harpy considered. "It be my fault; I told thee to try. Needs must I take thee to a shapechanger. The
werewolves be not too far, and methinks Fleta has friends among them. Come, bird let me carry thee
there, and we shall see." She reached for Agape.
Agape shied away, suddenly terrified. The claw was huge, larger than her whole present body!
Phoebe paused. "Aye, I see thou be afraid o' me now, and 'tis true my kind preys on thine, or at least on
true birds. But I mean thee no harm; remember, I be friend to Fleta."
Agape realized that she had to trust the harpy. She hopped toward her.
Phoebe reached out again, slowly, and closed her claws about Agape's body. That foot could have
crushed the life from her, but it did not; it merely tightened to firmness. Then the harpy lurched back
into the air.
She flew east, carrying Agape. The air rushed past, though the harpy did not seem like a particularly
effective flyer. Probably the flight was boosted by magic. Well, it was one way to travel!
As they moved across the plain, Agape wondered how it was that she had been able to change form from
a woman to a hummingbird, instantly. There was a question of mass: the woman had hundreds of times
the mass of the bird. Where had it gone? When Agape changed form, in her own body, she never
changed mass. Had she sacrificed any significant portion of her mass, she would have lost her identity.
She realized that magic was the only explanation. Magic took no note of the laws of science; it had its
own laws. Apparently mass was not a factor. But it was still a strange business!
"Uh-oh," Phoebe screeched under her breath.
Agape twisted her neck, which was marvelously supple, and saw lumbering shapes closing in. More
harpies!
"List well, alien," Phoebe said urgently. "My filthy sisters think I've got prey I mean to hide away, so
they mean to raid it from me. I can escape them not; must needs I hide thee till they leave off." She
swooped low. "Come to none ere I call to thee, for they will snatch thee and chew thy bones in an
instant! Now hide, hide!" And she let go.
Agape fell into the grass. It was less than a meter, and she was so small and light that no damage was
done. She half napped, half scrambled on down through the tangle, getting out of sight.
But another harpy had seen her. "Haa!" she screeched, and dived, claws outstretched.
Agape scooted to the side, and the harpy missed. But the ugly bird had not given up; she looped just
above the grass and came back, more agile than she looked. "Come here, thou luscious morsel!" she
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screeched.
Agape tried to scoot away, out of reach, but the harpy loomed over her, about to pounce.
"Mine!" Phoebe screeched, zooming in and colliding with the other, knocking her out of the way. Just in
time!
Agape found a mousehole and scrambled down it. She did not like going into darkness under the
ground, but it definitely was not safe above!
Then she heard the sound of scratching, or of excavation. A harpy was trying to dig her out!
Fortunately the mouse tunnel had been constructed with exactly such tactics in mind. It branched and
curved and extended forever onward. She scooted along it, hoping she didn't encounter the proprietor,
leaving the harpy behind. Then she settled down to wait.
When silence returned, she crept back the way she had come. She was not constructed for crawling, but
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