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breath she’d been holding and concentrated on Ravagin’s back. Never before in her life had she suffered even a twinge of acrophobia … but never before had she been five hundred meters up on something that had no business flying in the first place. Licking her lips, she tried another calming breath and kept her eyes away from the blue sky surrounding them on all sides.
    â€œHow’re you doing?” Ravagin called over his shoulder.
    â€œFine,” she said, too quickly.
    His head twisted around for a look. “Yeah, you look fine,” he growled, “Your profile said you didn’t have any fear of heights.”
    â€œThey never tested me on an open-air rug,” she returned tightly.
    He sighed. “You didn’t believe the info packet either, huh? Amazing how many don’t. All right: stick your hand over the edge of the sky-plane.”
    â€œWhat?” she said.
    â€œYou heard me. Reach out over the edge.”
    She opened her mouth to say no … and then clamped it shut. If she could fight her father, she could fight this, too. “All right.” She reached gingerly out … and right where the fringe began ran into a solid wall.
    An invisible wall, but no less real for that. She poked at it again and again, trying different spots along the side and rear edges of the sky-plane, eventually building up enough courage to put some real muscle into her jabs. Nothing.
    â€œYou can try kicking it, if you want to, or even poking my knife at it,” Ravagin offered when she finally gave up. “Wouldn’t bother the field at all—whoever designed these things had a healthy respect for safety. I’d have thought the lack of wind up here would’ve clued you in.”
    She frowned, realizing for the first time that the air around them was indeed perfectly still. “I … yes, I guess I should have noticed that. I’m sorry.”
    He waved a hand in dismissal. “Like I said, it happens a lot. Most visitors seem to have trouble believing in something they can’t see. Which can be a real problem when they get to Karyx.”
    â€œIt’s not just that,” Danae told him, feeling an obscure need to explain her reaction. “I did remember that sky-planes were supposed to have an edge barrier, but all the force-fields I’ve ever seen have been milky white or totally opaque. I guess I just made the assumption that this one was out of order.”
    â€œSky-planes don’t fly when something’s out of order,” he shook his head. “They go to one of the Dark Towers for repair, either under their own power or another sky-plane’s.”
    Danae grimaced. She was already feeling like a fool over the irrational fear that was only slowly ebbing, and Ravagin’s condescending attitude toward her was doing nothing to help. “I’m sorry I’m not perfect,” she snapped with more vehemence than she’d intended. “If you people would put together better information packets—or if you bothered to include some real photos—”
    His eyebrows went up, and she clamped down her jaw in utter disgust at herself. “Damn. What am I saying ?”
    Ravagin sighed. “Hey, look, just try to relax, okay? You’re right—the Hidden Worlds are a big shock and the packets don’t really prepare newcomers for them. So just settle back and learn. And don’t be afraid to ask questions.”
    She turned her head away from him, forcing her eyes to shift downward over the sky-plane’s edge. Passing a ways off to the right was a hexagonal wall surrounded by several large clumps of houses. “Is that Castle Numanteal down there?” she asked grudgingly.
    â€œRight,” he nodded. “Would you like a closer look?” Without waiting for an answer he turned back toward the front edge of the sky-plane. “Sky-plane: stop.”
    Obediently, the carpet glided to a halt and sat