Raphael kissed his sister and then stole to the window. Could he fly in these white pajamas? They belonged to the Sorcerer. Was Gæa still looking after him or had he lost her friendship through his lack of faith?
‘My dear boy,’ said a voice in the doorway, ‘come away from that window and climb into bed. You’ll catch your death of cold.’ It was Mechanus himself.
Raphael gave a startled cry and dove head first through the window. He was very frightened and beat the air frantically with his hands. Slowly he checked his fall and righted himself. He could fly. Gæa still watched over him.
He heard laughter from the window and the voice of the Sorcerer. ‘Bravely done. When you get tired of your animals, come back. We shall expect you in a day.’
He had escaped. The Sorcerer had let him go. Raphael wondered why. He felt vaguely uncomfortable.
In his clumsy fashion Raphael flew across the city of Mechana to the fields nearest the hill on which he had left the animals. He lit heavily and walked on in the moonlight as rapidly as he could. The smell of green things and rich earth refreshed him. Suddenly a rabbit scurried across his path.
‘Hullo,’ said Raphael. But the rabbit did not stop. Raphael was more troubled when he saw a fox slink from behind a bush and drift into the woods.
The boy hurried on, anxious to reach the meeting hill. He was almost at the summit when he heard the snarl of wolves fighting. The path led through a spruce thicket and then out to the open crown of the hill. There the sight that met his eyes made him cry out.
Ten or twelve gray wolves stood crowding and jostling about something that lay still upon the ground.
‘Stop it! Stop it, I tell you!’ shouted Raphael as he ran forward. ‘You curs! You beastly curs!’