The previous night’s work as a wizard’s lackey had put me through the proverbial ringer. What woke me was the sensation that I was lying on top of something big and strange. I sat up and twisted about trying to see what it was that had roused me from my richly deserved slumber.

A mass of crumpled sheets was all I saw on the bed. Waking up a bit more, I saw there was an odd shadow cast on the bed, and a whooshing sound in my ear. Hoping for feline agility, I leaped at the unknown something that was casting the shadow, only to be confronted by myself in the mirror…with wings.

That damned wizard had assured me there was no possibility of thaumaturgical interference. He swore there would be no side effects attached to assisting him on the spell. No wonder he packed his cart and left as soon as the spell was cast.

The mage has got eight hours head start.

I’ve got magical wings, morning breath, a vicious alchemical hangover, and an itchy trigger finger. I wonder what he’ll say when I find him.