Again Angus had a good suggestion. “When you travel the filament, you pass many worlds. Most are so small you can not even see them, but large ones are passed too. If you go to a world beyond yours, then return from there to the head of Oria, you may elude the ambush of the despots.”
Colene gazed up at him. “You are some kind of genius, Angus!” she exclaimed. “If you were my size, I’d kiss you.”
His image appeared before her, her size. “Really?” the image asked.
Colene tried to kiss the image, but her head passed right through without resistance. The image laughed.
Colene stepped back and reconsidered. “Nona! Seqiro! Give me an image.”
Obligingly Nona made an image of Colene, standing beside her, and the horse enabled Colene to identify with that image, so that she could control it directly. Now the illusion girl stepped toward the Angus image, embraced it, and kissed it resoundingly. “But I won’t go as far as Kara did,” her image said, laughing.
The Angus image shook its head. “It is hard to believe that you are unhappy,” it said, and faded out.
“It is getting late in the day,” Darius said. “We had better rest, and return tomorrow. We will still have an extended job of conjuring to do when we arrive on Oria, to get from the West Spike to the East Valley.”
“That should not be a problem,” Angus said.
“Not for you,” Darius agreed. “You could fly the length of that world in a day. But only Nona can fly, in our group; the rest must walk or be conjured from place to place, tediously.”
“No problem for me or for you,” Angus said. “Because of course I am coming with you. My service to Nona will not be complete until she ushers in the anima.”
Nona turned to stare up at him. “You will do that? Go to Oria and carry us?”
“This is the nature of my commitment,” Angus said. “As it was with Kara and Earle. The legend may not be technically accurate, but the substance is correct. I will help you in whatever way I can. So far I have done so with my mind, but I will do so with my body also. This is one advantage of not being your size.” He glanced down at Colene as if regretting that advantage.
Nona felt like kissing him herself. His presence on Oria would enormously simplify their problems there.
THEY had a comfortable night in a box with separate chambers for each, including the horse, and abundant pillows. Soon enough the others were asleep, but Nona lay awake. They had accomplished much, but much remained, and she feared that their future course would not be easy.
A man appeared in her chamber. It was the image of Angus. “Since you and I and Seqiro remain awake, let us talk,” he said.
Nona was glad for the company. “Sit beside me,” she suggested. She was conscious again of the marvelous magic of the horse, which allowed perfect communication between those whose languages would otherwise be a severe barrier.
Angus-image did. “Do not misunderstand my purpose,” he said. “I have not come to seek any favor from you, but to broach more serious subjects that occurred to me in afterthought.”
“Maybe those are what are keeping me awake,” Nona said.
“Your young man—Stave—what do you suppose is his situation now?”
There was the heart of it. Angus must have picked up her suppressed concern from the context of the thoughts the horse relayed automatically. “I fear for him.”
“With reason, if your despots are like ours. They will believe him to be guilty, because of his association with you. They may treat him unkindly.”
“No!” she said, meaning yes.
“But perhaps they will anticipate your return, having fathomed your nature,” Angus continued. “In that case they will keep him captive, hostage to your behavior. This is perhaps your gravest danger.”
“How can I do anything if he suffers?” she asked, dreading the answer.
“You can not, for you are of a gentle nature. But if you will consider the advice of one who is conversant with the despotic mentality, I can help you in this too.”
“Tell me what to do!”
“It is not for me to tell you, but for you to tell me. Here is my suggestion. Send Darius and Seqiro early to the region you suspect Stave will be held. Let the horse locate him with mind-talk. Then let the man remove him by living conjuration.”
“Yes!” Then she reconsidered. “But if I do that, instead of going to the anchor to help them through it, the delay may imperil my mission with the anima.”
“This is why I have approached you privately about this matter,” Angus-image said. “It is a decision for you to make alone. I will support you in whatever you choose.”
Nona considered. “No, I do not have the right. Stave is dear to me alone, not to the others, and they will be endangered. They are helping me to bring the anima, as you are. I can not work against them without their agreement.”
“Perhaps I can distract the despots, so that Stave can be rescued without delaying the others.”
“It is not right to ask you to endanger yourself for such a thing either,” she said. “I—I think I love Stave, but I fear I can not save him.”
Another figure appeared. It was Colene. “Don’t turn your back on Stave,” she said. “Do you think I want you near my man, if you’ve lost your man?”
“Oh, but I wouldn’t—”
“When Provos and I go through the anchor, that will leave you and Darius and Seqiro. Darius notices women. I’d feel a lot better if Stave were there too.”
Suddenly Nona appreciated the sense of it. Still, she wasn’t sure. “If saving Stave takes time, you may not get to go through your anchor. Then all will be lost, because we need that information.”
“It’s a calculated risk,” the girl replied. “I take them all the time. Save him.”
That seemed to be it. “Then I will do it.” Nona reached out to touch Colene, forgetting that she couldn’t make contact with an image, however real it seemed.
But her hand encountered a solid shoulder. Colene was physical!
“Seqiro woke me,” Colene said. “He figured it was my business, and it was.” She walked away, returning to her chamber.
Nona shook her head. She did not properly understand Colene, but she liked her. It was a great relief to try to save Stave.
“There is another matter,” Angus said. “In any event, the despots will be pursuing you closely, and their familiars will be watching every likely place. The site of the anchor will certainly be among them, even if they do not understand its significance. It may even be that the rescue of Stave will help distract them from it, as they will think that your interest is only in him. But you are unlikely to be able to gather at that site without very soon being pressed by despots. You may get the two people through the anchor, but then not have time to escape yourselves. Even if you conjure as a group to another place, they will be in hot pursuit. I could carry you away, but I will be plainly visible, and unless I take you off that world—”
“If we get them through the anchor, and the despots see, they’ll never stop watching that place,” Nona said. “Colene and Provos will be captured the moment they return.”
“I fear that is the case. So some other distraction seems warranted.”
“You have an idea?”
“Yes. If you can make it seem that the site is of no significance, and that you are merely passing it on the way to some other site, perhaps they will watch you instead of that place.”
“But it’s right by the sea. There’s nothing else there except—” Nona paused. “Except the instruments of the Megaplayers.”