Maggie lay on the bed, her eyes gritty from lack of sleep. She could not think straight. “No. I’m not coming.”
“Are you sure?” Orick asked. “They have some nice gifts.” Maggie’s curiosity was piqued, but she didn’t want to let it show. “And there’s something else. I guess I’d better break the news to you myself. Gallen is going with Everynne and Veriasse.”
“He is?” Maggie asked, pulling the covers down so that she could look at Orick. The bear stood on all fours at the head of the bed, his nose only inches from her face so that he could sniff her as he spoke, the way that bears will. She could smell fruit and dirt on his moist breath.
“No, I can’t go,” Maggie said.
“That’s a shame.” Orick turned away. “Gallen will be hurt that you didn’t say good-bye.”
“He doesn’t know what it means to hurt,” Maggie said.
“Hmmm …” Orick grumbled. “I suppose you’re referring to what happened last night? There’s a lot of folks out there giving guilty looks and shuffling their feet. Even a bear can figure out what’s going on.” Maggie didn’t answer. “Och, what are you thinking, girl? Gallen loves you! How can you believe otherwise?”
“He loves Everynne,” Maggie said.
“You humans are so narrow!” Orick replied. “He loves you both. Now, if you were a bear, you wouldn’t get so all bound up in trivial affairs. You would come into heat, go find some handsome young man if one was available-or an ugly old geezer if nothing better could be had-and you would invite him to perform his favorite duty in life. Then you would be done with it. None of this moaning and moping and wondering if someone loves you.”
“And what if someone else wanted your lover?” Maggie asked.
“Why, that’s easy!” Orick said. “You wait until he’s done, then invite him over. Just because a bear is interested in one female today, doesn’t mean he won’t want another tomorrow.”
Maggie found herself thinking of evolution, such a new concept, yet one her Guide had taught her much about. Human mothers and bear mothers had different needs. A female bear didn’t have to spend twenty years raising her cubs the way a human did, and bears ate so much that having a male bear around to compete for food just didn’t make sense.
“Of course,” Orick offered, “if you’re in a hurry to get a lover, you could just go bite the competition on the ass, chase her away.”
“I can’t do that, either. They’re leaving together. Besides, it’s not that easy with people.”
“Sure it is,” Orick said. “If you love Gallen, you’ll fight for what you want. Get mad! Oh, hell, what am I talking to you for? Don’t you realize that Gallen made his choice long ago when he rescued you from Lord Karthenor?”
Maggie watched the bear trudge away, his belly swaying from side to side. “Stupid people,” he grumbled. “Sometimes I don’t know why I bother. Maybe I’ve had things backward. Did my mother tell me to eat sheep and talk to people, or was it eat people and talk to sheep?” He wandered off.
Maggie tossed on the bed, angry at herself. Everynne, Veriasse, and Gallen would be leaving, and there was a strong possibility that they would be killed. Yet Maggie was lying here pouting. She steeled her nerves, threw off her covers.
Outside, the bright morning suns rose in an amber haze. The water had dropped during the night, revealing a vast beach, wet and gleaming. Already, the children were running out over the sand toward the rocky tidal pools to hunt.
Maggie found Gallen and the others just outside her door, sitting on stone benches in the plaza. Grandmother had three airbikes sitting in the open-machines that were all motor and chrome with a set of stabilizing wings both fore and aft. At Grandmother’s feet sat several packages wrapped in silver foil.
“Ah, Maggie, I am so glad you made it,” Grandmother said, clapping her wrinkled hands. “You are just in time for gifts.” The old woman smiled so graciously that Maggie could not help but believe Grandmother took great pleasure in her company. Indeed, they had spoken together for a long time the previous evening, but Maggie had become so distracted afterward that the pleasantness had been driven from her mind.
Grandmother looked through her packages. “First,” she said softly, “I have a gift for Lady Everynne, who is already rich beyond anything I can offer. Still, I was thinking last night that you will be going to fight the dronon, who esteem their Golden Queen higher than any other.” Maggie looked at the old woman in surprise. She had forgotten that, as a Tharrin, Grandmother had been apprised of Semarritte’s plans. “Since you will be our Golden Queen, you must look the part. I have for you some golden clothes and a mantle of gold.” She brought out two packages. Everynne unwrapped them.
The outfit included long gloves and boots, stockings and a tunic, all in brilliant gold. The small mantle was made of golden ringlets and fit over her hair. “You will find that the gloves and clothing are very tough,” the old woman said. “Almost as tough as symbiotic armor. Often, a dronon queen will defend herself if a Lord Escort chooses to do more than mar her. If you are forced to defend yourself, these clothes will help protect you. In addition, we have bonded a selenium matrix into the fists of the gloves and toes of the boots. A solid blow to a dronon body will let you crack its exoskeleton. “
Everynne thanked Grandmother, and the old woman turned to Veriasse. “For our Lord Protector, I doubt that we have anything on our world that could match the weapons you already bear. And so, I give you a special hope. It is a small thing, but perhaps it will carry you through a dark time.” She handed him a small package, and he opened it. The package contained a crystal vial. Veriasse took out the glass stopper.
Immediately a heavenly scent wafted through the air of the open courtyard, and Maggie was filled with such enthusiasm and a boundless sense of strength that she wanted to leap from her seat with a battle cry. Veriasse suddenly seemed to become a younger man-all the cares and worries that so creased his brow melted away. He threw back his head and laughed deep and easy. In that moment, Maggie had no doubt that Veriasse would slay the Lords of the Swarm. He was a powerful man; he could not fail.
Veriasse stoppered the vial, yet Maggie’s sense of boundless fervor was slow to diminish. From Maggie’s work with the aberlains, she knew that the vial must contain an extract of simple proteins-the chemical components of enthusiasm to act upon the hypothalamus, along with some type of airborne delivery system so that “hope” could be absorbed through the sinus membranes as a person breathed.
And yet, even having some idea how the hope was borne, she couldn’t help but admire the craftsmanship inherent in the gift. The artist had combined the hope with some exotic perfume and had probably taken great pains to mix the right proteins so that he could elicit the perfect response.
Grandmother looked over the little group. “For Gallen, the Lady Everynne has asked a special thing. He once asked for eternal life in return for his service. And even though he rescinded his request, he has more than earned his reward. She would like to begin payment.” She lifted a small packet from the ground, handed it to Gallen. “Inside, you will find six tablets containing a full set of nanodoctors. They will help heal your wounds, slow your aging, cure all ills. You have only to swallow the tablets. You will not be immortal, of course. You can be killed. But before you leave here today, we will take a template of your intellect and gather gene specimens. Then, if you should die, we can build you again.”
Maggie knew something of how valuable a gift this would be. Even in Everynne’s world, such things were reserved only for the most deserving. Yet Gallen took the small package, hefted it, then glanced into Maggie’s eyes. He tossed the package to her. “I want you to have this. I wanted it for you all along.”
Maggie sat with the package in her lap, too surprised to reply.
“Ah, a gift of true love,” Grandmother said, and Maggie realized that she was right. Gallen would only give such a treasure to someone he cherished. “I don’t know what to say,” she offered. “Thank you.”