e guns an awful lot lately, " Lita said

airships that can go even higher. We've got to im

l celebrations. Surely if the outsiders had wanted to invade, they would have done so by now. Better to dismantle the ugly things. Make room for a m

ul air. People floating about in those ugly machines. Keeping them out is the only thing that

as during one of the few authorized trade visits, or else by sneaking off and trading with black marketers as Drew did. Everything she knew about the outside was based on hearsay and rumor. It was said that their technology was far beyond that of Caldera, with swift airships that could cross the

own airmen into the sea for th

omething wron

owering her teacup to the table. Her hand

of your mind, " she said, rubbing

worse, isn't i

t didn't get very much

ents been helpin

aid, holding out her hand as the tremor began to

s Disease. It was rare, no more than three cases had been recorded in the history of Caldera, but the prognosis was well-known. Shakiness was just the first symptom, but it had already robbed her of the precision necessary to honor her muse.

rissa as she cleared away the emptied dishes. "Josh and Lita ha

The academy wants me to select

ing on the mantle. It was littered with vases, statues, sketches, and paintings, as well as a large handmade clock of Nita's father'

the

r?" she answered, sha

of a deer from the mantle. It was skillfully made from clay, b

paused to settle down to a chair. These days she couldn't spend more than a few minutes on her feet. "Tell me

ery fulf

n the clay or with a chisel in my hand. There isn't anything I wouldn't give to have just one of those hours back again. Just one more day that I could hold a brush and know that the line I paint would stay straight