“That’s not so far,” Claire offered.
“Yeah, we could totally make that,” Estelle agreed. She tugged at Buck’s arm. “Take us there, Buck! Pleeeeeease?”
He made a skeptical sound in his throat. “I thought you were all tired.”
“I’m not tired!” Archie yelled, bouncing to his feet. “I’m not tired at all! I can walkloadsmore!”
“Yeah! We all can!”
“Miles and miles!”
“I am surrounded,” Ignatius said in tones of wonder, “byidiots.”
Despite Ignatius’s suspicions, there was in fact something to see over the promised ridge. Ten minutes of revitalized hiking brought them out into a broad mountainside meadow, carpeted in waving wildflowers. On one side, the ground fell away sharply, offering a spectacular view onto Thunder Lake. On the other, a small stream tumbled over a cleft in the rocks, forming a leaping, glimmering waterfall.
“Keep the kids occupied,” Buck murmured to her. He shrugged off his pack, unstrapping a shovel from one side. “I need a while to get set up.”
Honey was dying to ask him how all this fit into his mysterious master plan, but there was no time. The kids had, of course, immediately gravitated to the side of the clearing that could kill them. She hurried over to supervise.
“Not too close, Archie,” she said, catching the back of his pants as he leaned perilously over the edge of the cliff. “Bears can’t fly, remember.”
“I can see my house!” Beth said, for once sounding just as young as her actual age. “And yours, Rufus, look! And there’s your mom’s horse ranch, Estelle.”
“Our cabin!” Flora exclaimed, pointing. “There it is, look, right there! There’s the whole camp!”
Rufus leaned forward, eyes narrowing. He pointed at the lake shore.
“Really?” Finley squinted, then shook his head. “I’ll have to take your word for it. I can’t make people out at this distance at all.”
“Hellooooo!” Estelle yelled, her voice echoing from the mountainside. She waved both arms above her head. “Hello down there! We can see you! Well, Rufus can, at least.”
“I bet there are great thermals here.” Beth said, looking longingly into the great void of air. “Can we shift now, Honey? Please?”
Honey hesitated. She glanced back at Buck, but he was busy clearing a space in the grass with his shovel. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, kids.”
“Please, Honey?” Flora begged. “We haven’t shifted all morning.”
“Someof us haven’t,” Beth muttered, casting a pointed glare at Archie.
She knew it would be safer to refuse and distract them with some other activity. After all, the more the kids were in animal form, the higher the risk that they might start pestering her to join them. But she was only going to be at camp for a few days… and really, when else was she going to have a chance to play with a group of magical shapeshifters?
“Well… all right,” she said. “But you have to promise that you’ll all stay nearby, okay? I don’t want anyone going out of my sight.”
“Can I go over there to get changed?” Flora asked, pointing at some large boulders. “I can’t shift with my clothes on, and my moms say it’s not polite to show other people my human butt.”
“That’s fine,” Honey told her, and the girl trotted off. “Boys, you can use those bushes over there.”
Archie, already kicking off his shoes, gave her a puzzled look. “What for?”
“Forprivacy,” Beth told him.
“Oh, I don’t need that,” Archie said cheerfully. He plopped down to pull off his socks. “I don’t care if anyone sees my butt.”
“We know,” Beth sighed. She made a point of turning her back on Archie. “Do you want to fly with me, Rufus?”
Rufus eyed the long drop and shook his head.
“Oh, come on,” Beth wheedled. “You’ll never get better unless you practice, you know.”
