Yesterday, Josh came back from the mall with the baby in time to see Varian and Justin sitting on the couch, absolutely glued to the television. Wells sat in a chair, leaning back with a slight frown. They were watching Felix Baumgartner jump out of the capsule beneath his balloon from the very brink of space.
The moment Josh realized what they were watching, he flung himself onto Varian’s lap, clutching him in terror. “No!” he cried. “Dragons can not go that high! They absolutely can not!”
“Shh,” Varian said, holding Josh, but not taking his eyes from the screen.
“He’s down,” Justin said a few minutes later as the man landed gracefully in the desert, ran a few steps, and then fell to his knees.
“Wow,” Varian said.
“No!” Josh said again, shaking Varian a little. “Don’t you even think it! Are you kidding me? You have bodily fluids that will boil! You need oxygen! You need air beneath your wings! And it’s too cold!”
“Yeah, but did you see the view?” Varian breathed.
“No!” Josh wailed.
“I actually think we were fairly close to that point,” Justin said quietly. “The first time we flew together.”
Varian nodded slowly. “I’m thinking that, too.”
“Are you insane?” Josh whispered.
“No,” Wells said quietly. “They have one thing no human will ever have.”
“Wings?” Josh asked.
Wells smiled. “Magic.”