in a
rapid undertone "All right, relax. That will teach them not to work
resonance magic inside a protective ring; the egg knows how we could
have got through otherwise. Lucky we were trying at the right time,
though. The Satheri must be going crazy. Wait a minute, this tires the
fingers."

The man called Bork halted the series of rapid passes he had been
making, flexing his fingers with a grimace. The spinning egg began to
drop at once, but he let out a long, keening cry, adding a slight flip
of his other arm. Outside, something like a mist drew near and swirled
around them. It looked huge to Dave, but must have been a small thing in
fact. Now they began speeding along smoothly again. The thing was
probably another sylph, strong enough to move them in their present
reduced size.

Bork pointed his finger. "There's the roc!" He leaned closer to the wall
of the tiny egg and shouted. The sylph changed direction, and began to
bob about.

It drifted gently, while Bork pulled a few sticks with runes written on
them toward him and made a hasty assembly of them. At once, there was a
feeling of growing, and the sylph began to shrink away from them. Now
they were falling swiftly, growing as they dropped. Dave felt his
stomach twist, until he saw they were heading toward a huge bird that
was cruising along under them, drawing closer. It looked like a cross
between a condor and a hawk, but its wing span must have been over three
hundred feet. It slipped under the egg, catching the falling object
deftly on a cushion-like attachment between its wings, and then struck
off briskly toward the east.

Bork snapped the side of the egg open and stepped out while the others
followed. Dave tried to crawl out, but something held him back. It
wasn't until Bork's big hand reached in to help him that he made it.
When all were out, Bork tapped the egg-shaped object and caught it as it
shrank. When it was small enough, he pocketed it.

Dave sat up again, examining himself, now that he had more room. His
clothing was a mess, spattered with drying blood, but he seemed unharmed
now. Even the burning of the venom was gone. He reached for the arm
around his neck and began breaking it free from its stranglehold.

From behind an incredulous cry broke out. Nema sprawled across him,
staring at his face and burying her head against his shoulder. "Dave!
You're not dead! You're alive!"

Dave was still amazed at that himself. But Bork snorted. "Of cour