Free Wings by E. D. Baker Page A

you!”
    “Good morning, Elder Squinch!” called a few more voices.
    “Much better!” he replied. “Welcome to the first day of Transmogrification, the class that will change your life! Now, who can tell me what transmogrification is?”
    A weasel goblin raised his hand. “It’s changing one thing into another.”
    “Close enough … What’s your name, boy?”
    “Sneal,” the goblin told him.
    Elder Squinch abruptly turned to two goblin girls sitting in the front row. Both members of the rabbit clan, they had long ears that peeked out of their hair and wiggled as they whispered to each other. The girls didn’t notice when the goblin hopped onto the stump and leaned down to peck them sharply on the tops of their heads.
    “Ow!” the girls exclaimed.
    “Listen, you two,” said the old goblin, “or you won’t know what’s going on.” His movements were quick and jerky when he hopped back onto his rock. “You there! Boy from the dog clan! We do not sniff our fellow students in class! And no lifting of legs either. That would get you an automatic detention in the Pit. Now where was I? Ah, yes … By the time this semester is over, I expect most of you to be adept at the art of transmogrification. However, today will be a different story. Now, to begin …”
    Jak craned his neck to see over the students in front of him while the old goblin disappeared behind the stump. When he came back up, he was holding a lump of something dull and gray. “First, you must be in contact with the object at all times. If you break contact, you’ll have to start all over again. Now, while touching the object, think about what you want it to become. Picture the new object … Believe in it … You’ll feel pressure buildingup in your mind. That’s the original shape asserting itself. When it reaches its peak—and you’ll recognize this because it makes the back of your head tingle—you want to push back—hard! Gather around for the demonstration, class.”
    “What do ya think he’s gonna make?” Tobi asked, quivering with excitement as they squeezed between other students to a place where they could see.
    “As long as it isn’t birdseed!” snickered Plite, a porcupine goblin. Jak, Tobi, and Bella found room to stand far from his quills on his other side.
    “This,” said Elder Squinch, patting the gray lump, “is lead. I want to turn it into gold, so I close my eyes to cut down on outside distractions, and think about the gold I want it to become. That’s it, nice and shiny. Lovely color. It’s in my mind … I’m feeling the pressure … and now!”
    “Ahh!” breathed all the students at the shiny lump of gold he held in his claws.
    Elder Squinch looked pleased with their reaction. “Yes, indeed. Works every time once you know what you’re doing. Sneal, come up here beside me.” Sneal scurried up to the old goblin, his eyes bright with interest. “Here’s another piece of lead. Set your hand on it, yes, that’s it. Now close your eyes and do what I told you. Imagine the gold … Can you feel it resisting? Wait for the tingle … Now push as hard as you can!”
    With a mighty shove, Sneal pushed the lump of lead so that it shot off the stump, ruffled the fur on the top of a dog goblin’s head, flew between Plite and Bella, and smacked into the boulder behind them.
    “No, you idiot!” squawked Elder Squinch. “With your mind, not your hand! You didn’t listen! Now, who else wants to try? You, raccoon clan, let’s see what you can do.”
    Tobi gave Jak a worried glance as he went to take Sneal’s place. His wrinkled forehead betrayed his intense concentration as he followed the elder’s directions. When the lead actually did turn into a pallid lump of some unidentifiable kind of metal that was definitely not lead, he beamed as if he’d performed the most wonderful feat in the world.
    “Not bad, but you need to focus more on what you want. You, porcupine clan, it’s your turn …”
    As Tobi