Wizard sHoliday DIANE DUANE Book 7 of the Young Wizard series * * * * Unending stairs reach up the mountain above you, And you keep climbing, while the welcoming voices Cheer you along. They make the long climb easier, Though the gift you re bringing may to you seem small. Don t worry, it s what they need: For all the cheering, See how empty the streets are Take your time. Make your way upward steadily toward what waits, Through day s blind radiance to the city s pinnacle, And fall up the last few steps into empty sky…. hexagram 46, Sheng Onward and Upward With me, a change of trouble is as good as a vacation. David Lloyd George (1863-1945) What, can the Devil speak true William Shakespeare, Macbeth, I, iii * * * * That Getaway Urge IT WAS THE FRIDAY AFTERNOON before the start of spring break. The weather was nothing like spring. It was cold and gray outside; the wind hissed unrepentantly through the still-bare limbs of the maple trees that lined the street, and in that wind the rain was blowing horizontally from west to east, seemingly right into the face of the girl, in parka and jeans, running down the sidewalk toward her driveway. Except for her, the street was empty, and no one looking out the window of any nearby house was close enough to notice that the rain wasn t getting the young girl wet. Even if someone had noticed, probably nothing would have come of it; human beings generally don t recognize wizardry even when it s being done right under their noses. Nita Callahan jogged up her driveway, unlocked the back door of her house, and plunged through it into the warmth of the kitchen. The back door blew back and slammed against the stairwell wall behind her in a sudden gust of wind, but she didn t care. She pushed the door shut again, then struggled briefly to get her backpack off, flinging it onto the kitchen counter. Freedom! she said to no one in particular as she pulled off her jacket and tossed it through the kitchen door onto the back of one of the dining room chairs.