Maggie studied his face. When Gallen O’Day took an oath, he’d keep it or die trying. She knew that much about him.
“Just promise to come back to me,” she said. Gallen reached out to her, stroked her jaw with one gloved hand. He made no further promises. She fell against his chest and began weeping. Gallen wrapped his arms around her and hugged her until it was time to go.
Orick spent much of the day sleeping, worrying about Everynne. He wanted to leave immediately, but Maggie insisted that they wait until dark to sneak away. Maggie and Orick were both exhausted, so he tried to rest.
In spite of his nervousness, he enjoyed the hospitality of the Cyannesse that day. Once again, the day ended clear and beautiful. He and Maggie ate a sumptuous dinner, and Grandmother announced afterward that an actor wanted them to watch a play he had written in their honor.
So when the campfires had burned low, they watched the actor perform the story of an old man who became lost in a magical wood filled with wise beasts.
The old man worked for a long time, searching for a path home, but by the time the beasts helped him discover that path, he desired only to stay in the forest forever. The old man was tremendously funny, and Orick enjoyed his performance, but the thing that impressed him most was the scenery. The play was set in an open amphitheater, and when a scene changed, an entire forest would grow up as needed, or a moon would rise and shine down on a glen, or a pool of water would begin lapping where only a moment before there was solid ground. The animals, too-the gossiping deer, the overbearing badger-would appear or disappear as needed.
When the play finished, Orick thought longingly of the woods at home, the sweet mountain grasses, the trout-filled streams. Yet when they got back to their room, Maggie asked Orick, “Did you enjoy the play?”
“Och, it was a grand play,” Orick said honestly. “My favorite character was the fox, most amusing.”
“But what of the message of the play? What did you think of it?”
“There was a message?” Orick asked, perplexed.
“Of course there was a message. The actor was asking us to stay. We are the people lost in their magic woods.”
“Oh,” Orick said. “Are you sure? It only made me homesick, thinking of the woods.”
But Maggie seemed sure. She sat on her bed, looking at the box of nanodocs that Gallen had given her, as if wondering whether or not to pack them. Orick asked, “Are you going to eat those?
“Not yet,” she said firmly.
“Why not?”
“Gallen might need them still.”
Orick studied her. She seemed deeply occupied. “If he died, would you take them?”
“No. I don’t think so.” She shoved them into her pack. “You had better get some rest. When the others are asleep, we can go borrow an airbike. There’s got to be one somewhere in town.”
“That would be stealing,” Orick said.
“We’ll bring it back, if there’s any way we can.”
Orick grunted, sniffed the floor, and lay down. He envied Gallen. Not every woman would choose to die if her lover died. No bear would ever do such a thing. The sense of romance behind it overwhelmed him until he almost wanted to laugh with glee. Instead, he lay down and rested.
Half an hour later, Maggie grabbed her pack and whispered, “It’s time to go.” She led him out into the night, under the red moon.
Grandmother sat outside the door, in the moonlight, wearing a deep robe to keep out the night air. “So, you are leaving us so soon?”
“I-” Maggie started. “Please don’t try to stop us.”
Grandmother smiled, her face wrinkling in the dim light. “I was once young and deeply in love,” she said. “And I could never have left the man under these circumstances. Gallen gave me this before he departed.” She handed Maggie the black coin purse. “He said there was a gate key in it, so that you could go home, but I found only a rock. It was not hard to guess who had taken the real key.”
“What are you going to do about it?” Orick asked.
“Veriasse made a map, telling you how to get home, but I am a Tharrin. I cannot stop you from going where you will, so I shall give you your gifts now,” Grandmother answered. She waved toward the shadows of a nearby home. An airbike sat beside the wall, and Grandmother escorted them both across the plaza.
Grandmother hugged Maggie, gave her a piece of bent metal. “I don’t have much in the way of weapons,” she said. “You are going into dangerous territory, and though I abhor violence, this gun might come in handy. Keep it hidden. Also, I have packed some meals for you to eat on the road. They’re in the container under the seat of the airbike.”
Maggie stifled her tears, thanked Grandmother graciously.
The old woman reached into the pocket of her robe and pulled out a large golden disk, perhaps a foot long. “And this is for you, Orick,” she said. She pushed on a latch. The disk opened, and Orick felt as if he were gazing into another world. Everynne stared out at him, and she smiled and said, “Remember, I’ll always love you.” Behind her, the oceans of Cyannesse lapped in early morning amber light. Orick could see Everynne perfectly, smell her. He reached up his paw, touching the image, but some soft gel would not let his paw through.
“Everynne had us record this just before she left,” Grandmother said. “This memento has captured her voice, her image, her scent. It will stay good for many centuries, and I hope that when you look at it, you will not only be reminded of Everynne, but of all of us here on Cyannesse.”
Grandmother closed the disk, and handed it to him. It was slippery in Orick’s paws, but he wanted to hold it for awhile. Grandmother hugged him and Maggie goodbye.
Maggie got on the airbike, asked Orick to straddle it. The airbike was obviously not designed for a bear. His legs were too short to reach the foot pads and his tail was crushed at a very uncomfortable angle. Still, he managed to get on, rest his front paws against Maggie’s shoulders. But he had to have Maggie put the huge locket in her pack.
Maggie pushed some buttons, and the thrusters roared to life behind his feet. He could feel the heat of the engines, and he feared that his fur would catch fire, but Maggie pressed a throttle and the airbike bucked under their combined weight, then lifted with a kick.
Orick looked back one last time at Grandmother, who stood straight in the darkness and waved good-bye. Maggie applied full acceleration. The airbike whizzed into the night, along the streets of Cyannesse until they reached the winding stair that led down to the beach, then she slowed. Still, the bike seemed to slide down, going faster and faster until they hit the sandy beach, bounced once, and then were off.
They drove straight through the night mists, out over a wide sea. The wind whipped in Orick’s face, and lantern fish with their luminous backs lit the water. In some places, it seemed that Maggie and Orick whisked over a road of green light. Tiny silver fish sometimes jumped toward the headlamps of the bike.
After a while, Maggie relaxed, and the machine carried them on until they reached land near dawn. There, Maggie stopped and they ate a short meal, stretched their legs, then rode the airbike up onto a large island, through some rough terrain.
Soon they spotted a gate gleaming gold in the morning. Maggie pulled out the key, thumbed some buttons. Orick was amazed that she could learn how to work such a thing, but ahead of them the gate began glowing white between the arches.
“Where are we going?” Orick asked.
“The planet Bregnel,” Maggie shouted. She slowed the airbike until they hit the light wall and were swallowed in the mists.
The airbike skated into profound darkness, into a world where the very air burned Orick’s lungs, then lay in them like a clot. The ground was thick with ash, and dead trees raised tortured black branches to claw the sky. Buildings towered above them on every side, like squatting giants, and the buildings too were blackened over every wall.