hem able to look down again at a blue world turning underneath them, a place both very old, and suddenly new. Nita and Kit glanced at each other. Now what Kit said. I guess we go home early, said Nita. Ponch looked at them both reproachfully. Not without my stick! Kit gave Ponch an amused look. We did leave some of our stuff down there, he said. The worldgates and so on. We d better go pack them up and bring them back with us. Yeah, Nita said. Come on, Ponch. They vanished, making their way back to an empty world. Dairine stared into the roiling fire, and at the empty spot in the wizardry across from her. We ve got to get him out of there! she shouted at the others. Filif and Sker ret looked at her, stricken. How Sker ret said anxiously. Filif s nearly out of energy. I can t retool the whole wizardry while we re in here. We ll never last! We ve got to get out, or we ll all No! Dairine gulped. There s still one thing we can try. Spot! Spot popped his lid up. We re not going to lose anybody in my solar system, she said. Not on my watch! Dhhairihn, Filif said, his needles all trembling, what are you I m going to get him out of there, she said. And turned What in the Powers names are you doing said a casual voice, infernally calm, intensely annoying. He came walking up out of the Sun, the way someone would come walking up out of the water occasionally slipping a little to one side or another, blown off kilter by the furious wind inside the Sun, but otherwise unhurt. And slowly the tachocline was beginning to calm. Dairine looked at Roshaun as he ascended calmly and regally back into the wizardry and locked himself once more into the matrix. We should get out of here as quickly as possible, he said, because there are about to be three or four CMEs in rapid succession, and anything in the solar atmosphere that s not Sun is likely to be smashed like an egg within seconds. He looked over at the Rirhait. Sker ret Sker ret said one word. The second after that, they were standing in the incredible darkness of a backyard in suburban Nassau County, and the wizardry that had surrounded them flickered and went out. Dairine staggered out of her place, snapping Spot shut and holding on to him, because if she didn t she would do something else. She was ready to weep with terror and relief, and was intent on not doing so. She lurched toward Roshaun, who stood several paces away from her, and stopped. Why did you do that she shouted at him. Or at least it was meant to be a shout: Her throat seized up on her and it came out as more of a squeak. Roshaun paused for several breaths. Because I didn t have to, he said at last. And he said it in the Speech, so it was true. But his eyes, which would not meet hers, told her that there was more to the matter than that. Still breathing hard from what she d been through, Dairine turned away and walked back to the house, slowly, and went into her room and shut the door. And only then did she allow herself, somewhat later, the very smallest smile. Eventually, Dairine heard the others make their way down into the basement, seeking out their pup tents. She let them do it undisturbed. The morning would be soon enough for debriefings. We ve had enough stress for one night, she thought to herself, as she got undressed and got into bed. But she lay awake in the dark for a long time, considering the annoying economy of the Powers That Be, Who hate wasting anything. And none of this was an accident, she thought. They saw the trouble coming. And we were sent exactly what we needed to prevent a catastrophe.. exactly the right tools for the job. An expert in solar dynamics. A tree who s afraid of any fire but that one. And a fixer par excellence…All crazy people, all with nothing to lose because it s not their world, not their star. And all personally committed beyond even their commitment to the Powers… … because of knowing somebody here. Dairine had no idea when she finally fell asleep. In the morning, the sunlight streaming in her window woke her up…and it was just normal sunlight, not something much more terrible. Spot sat on her desk with his lid open, showing her the SOHO satellite feed, which was showing three of the most spectacular CMEs anyone had ever seen, bubbling off the inward-rotating limb of the Sun in great splendor and fury. But they were decreasing in energy rather than increasing, and the speculation among the satellite people was that the Sun was in for some quiet times ahead. She got up and dressed. And as for me, she thought, maybe some less quiet times. Dairine grinned and went down to say good morning to the houseguests…to one of them in particular. * * * * Epilogue NITA AND KIT WAITED THERE a long while, in the darkness beyond atmosphere, to make sure everything was safe. But, finally, the lights in the sky died down, and there were no more of those fading cries of joy to be heard, no matter how they listened. Space s own silence, briefly jarred out of its ancient composure, reasserted itself. Come on, Nita said silently to Kit. They transited back down to the planet s surface and stood above the house by the sea, looking down at the thatched buildings, the warm lights still in the windows, the flying sheep in the pens, all gathered together; everything looked utterly normal, peaceful. Nita let out a long breath. Peaceful the place might be. But normal They heard nothing but a great silence. It was not merely a matter of sound, but of the effect of many minds that had been in that world but now were gone, gone off to do other business, to live other lives. They left behind them a world that was empty, and strangely innocent and clean: an old world made new. Quietly, the two of them went down to the house and moved through it, looking around one last time. Kit blew out the lamps. Nita went out to the little outbuilding that had been their bedroom and undid the worldgates from the wall, collapsing them. Then, she didn t know why, she folded up the coverlets they had been given and left each of them carefully at the foot of its bed. Afterward Nita went outside, having packed up the pup tents and worldgates, and found Kit over by the pen, letting the ceiff go free. Ponch charged joyously into the pen one last time. The ceiff flew up in a storm of wings, honking, and Ponch chased them down the beach, well into the distance. They ll be okay, Kit said. They were wild a long time before there were any more sentient species here to take care of them. I know, Nita said. They stood there, watching night fall on Alaalu. From Nita s point of view, this was a world she would not be coming back to for a while. It was too full of memories, and too empty now by comparison. And some of the stuff I heard here, she thought, I m going to be digesting for a while… I wouldn t have missed it, Kit said. Not for anything. Nita nodded. They re okay, anyway, she said. Kit laughed softly. Considerably more than okay, he said. Imagine it. Not needing bodies anymore. They ve got a whole world of new worlds to get used to. The silence fell again, and in it there were no whispers, no voices except the most ancient one the immemorial whisper of the tideless Alaalid sea, saying the single word it knew how to say, over and over again. Come on, Kit said. We should get back and see how things are at home. Yeah, Nita said. There was a pause while Kit yelled for Ponch, and Ponch came bouncing back along the beach. Is it time to go home Yeah. Oh, hoy, Ponch barked, dog food again! Kit threw Nita another of those looks that suggested he thought his dog was making fun of him. She rolled her eyes. If there was anything she knew about Ponch today, it was that she understood him even less than she thought she had the day before, but this wasn t necessarily a bad thing. So how do we route this, she said, now that we ve decommissioned the custom gates Kit shrugged. We still have return tickets for the Crossings in our manuals, he said. I guess we just go back to the drop-off point and call for pickup. After that, we route back home through Grand Central. And then he started to laugh. Nita stared at him. Kit was laughing so hard that he had to lean against the rails of the fence. What she said. What is it Oh, jeez, he said, and tried to speak, and then had to stop and give himself over to the laughing again. Nita rolled her eyes and leaned against the fence until he should get over it. Well she said. What Urruah said to us before we left, Kit said, and started snickering. Which was You don t remember He said a lot of stuff, Nita said, shouldering her backpack and starting to walk back up to the slope to where the worldgate from the Crossings had originally dropped them off. Kit walked with her. I m not going to tell you, he said. Strain your brain a little. Nita did her best to replay, in her head, their conversation with Urruah. As she and Kit got up to the top of the dune, where Quelt had met them that first day, and he got out his manual to call the Crossings for their pickup, all Nita could hear was Urruah s voice saying, Nice doggy. She got out her own manual, paged it open to where the worldgating pickup information would be…and as the page showed her the words Outbound/return transit approved, pickup imminent, please hold position, that was when she remembered. Try not to destroy your host civilization or anything … A pang went through Nita, but then she smiled. If there was anything they hadn t done for their host civilization, it was destroy it. It had become something greater than it had ever been before, something it had been destined for millennia to become. That they d been there at the time to help it along was…not luck. Nita knew better than to describe the Powers that sent wizards on errantry by such a name. It was lucky for us, though, she thought, and smiled one last time, not entirely sadly, at the thought of Quelt s face. A moment later, she and Kit vanished. Night came down on the Inner Sea of Alaalu. And not very much later, the keks came out of the water, up onto the dry land, and began at last to build, not models, not the plans for their new civilization, but the real thing, the civilization itself, in a world that at last had been vacated by its old tenants and was ready for the new ones. It took them some hours to get home. The Crossings was as busy as always, and Grand Central, too, was congested when they passed through. For Nita, getting into her backyard at last was a tremendous satisfaction, if a little strange. She came out of the sassafras trees into the backyard proper and stood there for a moment in the twilight. Softly she said to Kit, Look how close the horizon is. He nodded. Weird… Together they went through the yard, with Ponch bouncing along behind them. Down the driveway they went, and up to the back door of Nita s house. Nita pulled the screen door open, and they went in. Hey, I m home! she said. There was no answer at first. Then her dad came out of the living room, went over to Nita, and hugged her hard. I missed you! he said. And you! he said to Kit, and hugged him as well. Nita looked around her. The house seemed smaller than it had when she d left: cozier, somehow. But this wasn t necessarily a bad thing. How are things going she said. Her father laughed weakly. Uh, not too badly, he said. The past few days have been a little hectic… but let s not get right into it. Want some tea Wow, yes, Nita said. Kit You could convince me, Kit said, and sat down at the dining room table with a look of great pleasure. Nita went to put the kettle on. Where is everybody she said. Where s Dairine The boys are over at the mall, Nita s dad said. Dairine s having a shower. She ll be down in a little while. On the counter, her dad s cell phone rang. Hey, he said, that s the way it s supposed to work. And about time… What s the matter Was the network busy again Nita said. Her dad picked up the phone and answered it, shaking his head. Hello He listened for a moment, then shook his head again. Just a moment, please. He handed her the phone. It s for you. Uh-oh, Nita said. Her father was firm about not having Nita s friends call her on his phone. I m sorry, Daddy! Who is it He looked resigned. Someone on Mars. She took the phone and threw Kit a bemused look. Holiday s over, she said. Kit shrugged and went to get some tea. … And in the living room, none of them saw Spot crouching down in the middle of the floor, and whispering in a voice dry with dread and hardly to be heard: Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh…!