And the boy she was holding-half-grown, he was, and dressed in a strange kind of robe-his eyes were shining, too.
"The mark on his face-" She Who Knows said. "Do you see? The skyfire sign! You know who that child is. Where is Red Smoke At Sunrise? Look, Red Smoke At Sunrise, the Goddess has brought back your lost son Skyfire Face!"
"But Skyfire Face was only a little boy. And this one is-"
"The mark, though! The mark on his face!" "Skyfire Face! Skyfire Face!" The shout went up on all sides.
Yes, Silver Cloud thought. Skyfire Face. It had to be him. How happy he looked! He was smiling, waving, calling out to them. In just a few weeks he had grown years older-some miracle of the Goddess, no doubt- but beyond question it was Skyfire Face, truly returned to them. Where had the boy been? Why had he been brought back now? Who could say? It was all some great and wondrous deed of the Goddess.
"Look," Keeps The Past whispered. "The Other Ones are coming."
Silver Cloud glanced around. Yes: the enemy was practically upon them, he saw. But not to make war: he could see that in their faces. Not only the warriors of the Other Ones were advancing up the hill, but all of them, the women and children and the old ones, too. And they all seemed as stunned by the appearance of the Goddess as were the People themselves-just as awed, just as humbled by this divine vision.
The Goddess stood waiting, holding the boy Skyfire Face still in her arms, and smiling. A golden light seemed to stream from them both.
Silver Cloud fell to his knees before them. Joy flooded from them in waves, bringing strange tears to his eyes, and he had to kneel to give thanks. Goddess Woman knelt also, and She Who Knows; and then he looked around and saw that the others too were dropping down to worship Her, both the People and the Other Ones. Everybody side by side, all thoughts of warfare forgotten, one by one kneeling in the snow, looking up with wondering eyes to pay homage to the shining figure with the smiling child in her arms who stood in their midst like a harbinger of springtime and peace.
About The Authors
ISAAC ASIMOV was the bestselling author of over four hundred and seventy books, on topics ranging from science to Shakespeare. He was best loved for his SF sagas, which include the Foundation and Robot series.
ROBERT SILVERBERG has written over seventy SF novels, including the Majipoor Chronicles and Wilentine Pontifex, in addition to several hundred short stories.