As powerful as a full grown Shedu might be, the one before me was still just a baby. No bigger than a small housecat, there was no way that it would be able to help me get out of here. Watching the cat sleep peacefully, though, I couldn’t help but smile. “We’re going to get out of here,” I said quietly. “I promise.”

The first order of business was getting out of the cage. The bruisers, obviously not well acquainted with any magicians, had left the ring of keys hanging by the doorway. Well out of reach from anything residing in a cage, but absolutely reachable through magic. Concentrating, I willed the air below the keys to move upwards. The keys wobbled a bit as the air gently blew upwards. Increasing my strength, I willed the air to push the keys off the hook. Suddenly, my mother’s warning of control played through my head. “The key to air magic is precision,” she had said. Right. Precision.

A sudden image played through my head. My air magic, with way too much force behind it, shooting the keys into the ceiling and making enough of a racket to wake the dead. Despite the situation, a grin spread on my face as I thought of the absurd scene. Turning back to the task ahead of me, and with greater caution than before, I slowly commanded the air to lift the keys. With a slight jingle, the ring began to levitate above the hook, held in place by my magic. Fist pumping to myself, I willed it towards me. Keys in hand, it was a simple matter to unlock the doors of the cage.

The rattling of the keys must have awoken the lion, because it slowly opened its eyes, looking at me blearily. Opening its mouth in a colossal yawn, it stretched itself out before sauntering out of the cage. With a swift leap, the little lion jumped first on the cage, then onto my shoulder, where it promptly curled up and went back to sleep.

“I could have used a bit of help here, you know,” I asked quietly, a bit aggrieved. Shrugging my shoulders – actually, shrugging one of my shoulders, the other one was taken by a lion – I sat down and began to ponder my next step. Getting out of the cage was easy, but it wasn’t supposed to be that hard. The reason that the slavers were so lax on security was because there wasn’t really a way out of the building. We were on the third floor, and there was only one staircase down, which was presumably always guarded. There was a window, but even if someone was willing to risk the three-story jump, it was locked shut. I could break the window, but if I did, I wouldn’t have long before they came rushing out to follow me.

“No way I can fight my way out of here,” I said to the shedu. Of course, there was no response, but it felt nice to be able to speak to something anyways. “So, first things first, lets see if we can get this window open.” Upon closer inspection, however, I realized that there was no way to open the window without smashing the glass. The slavers weren’t stupid, and the padlock that prevented the latch from opening was brand new. There was no rust or signs of damage, and the high-quality steel refused to melt from the tiny little fires I could summon.

Taking a seat on the ground, I began to think. I would have to break open the window; that was certain. Then, I would have a couple of seconds to get to the ground, without injuring myself, where it would then be a footrace between me and the slavers. I knew the way back to the inn my parents were staying at, but it was quite a distance. I didn’t want to place my trust in any passersby helping me, and anyone out at this time of day would probably be up to no good anyways. Could I beat them in race of speed? I had to try.

Winding up my air magic, this time abandoning any attempt at control or refinement, I prepared to break the glass. The blast of air shot forward, shattering the windowpane and sending shards flying outside the building. Outside my door, I could hear the weedy guard snap awake, cursing profusely. The little lion on my shoulder started awake, claws digging into my shoulder in surprise as it mewed with exasperation.

“Sorry for waking you, little buddy,” I said to the baby shedu, patting it lightly on the head. “Hang on, we’re getting out of here.” With the little lion clutching my shoulder, I vaulted out of the frame of the broken window.

As the ground drew closer and closer, I was struck with a sudden thought. If my plan didn’t work out, I was in for a very, very painful landing.