Looking over to the side, Mari saw the other Roc with Alain lying on its back. Alain looked back at her and raised one arm, waving in a pattern she recognized. The unseen drone of the Urth people was still following them, pacing the Rocs somewhere behind. Mari bit down a curse of disappointment. She had been hoping that the Rocs would be something the Urth people couldn't match, a means to counter the Urth ship without directly confronting them.
She lay there, suspended between the world below and the stars above, but her thoughts kept going to somewhere ahead of her, to wherever Kira was now. The daughter was the most powerful person in the world, but even the daughter could do nothing but hope that her own daughter was all right, was using every skill and trick taught her, and above all was trusting in herself enough to make the right decisions. It had been painful seeing how little Kira thought of herself, a problem that had gotten worse in recent years, but no matter what Mari and Alain tried Kira continued to measure herself against some impossible standard that she thought represented her mother's abilities.
And her mother, all too human and all too aware of her own failings, had found the words that might explain remained locked inside of her. Unable to do more, she could only hope that Kira would finally believe in her own competence and inner strength. If that inner strength really was there, if Kira didn't bear some internal flaw that would cause her to crack under pressure. .Mari believed in her daughter, but she knew that no one could be sure of the strength of their own inner self until tested. She had hoped that Kira would never have to face such a test, but fate had had other plans.
After an all-night flight, the morning was well along by the time Danalee came into view. The two Rocs winged their way over the city before beginning a spiraling descent toward an open square inside Danalee, not far from where Alli and Calu lived and worked
As Hunter came to a halt and settled down, Mari slid off the Roc, feeling gratitude that her feet were resting on solid ground again.
"Elder," Mage Saburo said, "this one has learned."
Mages volunteering information was unusual, even Mages as familiar to Mari as Saburo. "What is it?"
"Hunter tells me the thing followed. Hunter can feel the thing. Hunter wants to know if the thing is prey."
"The thing?" Mari looked to Alain as he walked up. "Is Hunter talking about the drone from the Urth ship?"
"The Roc must be speaking of that," Alain said. "How does Hunter feel the thing, Mage Saburo?"
"The wind," Saburo said. "The thing cannot be seen, but Hunter feels the thing move the wind and the wind move around it. Hunter does not…like the thing."
Mari nodded. "That's good to know. Mage Saburo, we might need to ask Hunter to strike the thing. It is well that you told this one. Hunter is a mighty Roc."
They saw Alli and Calu and began walking toward them. "You have learned how to speak to Mages in ways that mean the most to Mages," Alain commented to Mari.
"And for the Mages who create Rocs, that means saying nice things about their imaginary, giant birds," Mari replied. "Even though the first Roc I met tried to kill me."
"That was a long time ago."
"Not long enough," Mari said. "Hey, Alli. Anything new?"
She shook her head, uncharacteristically subdued. "Just more and more people coming out of the woodwork claiming to have seen those kids."
"Those kids? You mean Kira and Jason?"
"Yeah."
"Alli, what's the matter?" Mari asked, ignoring Calu making warning gestures behind Alli.
"What's the matter? I'll tell you what's the matter. The next time your daughter points a weapon at one of my sons I'm going to give her a lesson that even a kid of yours will remember!"
Mari, worn out from the long flight, fought down an urge to respond with equal heat. "I understand why you're unhappy, Alli—"
"Unhappy?"
"Angry. But you know Kira wouldn't have done it unless—"
"Unless? There is no excuse—!"
"Shut it, Alli!" Mari growled, day after day of frustrations and worries boiling over. "I am trying to save not one world this time but two! My daughter is out there where every enemy I've made can get at her, in the company of a boy whose bad attitude is the only characteristic that stood out, while people with weapons far beyond what we have become increasingly threatening! Can we please put off this discussion until I am only dealing with one world's worth of potential warfare?"
Alli was about to fire back, her expression furious, when Calu stepped between them. "Alli, Mari, please. You two have been best friends for almost all your lives. Our kids are best friends. And I am really scared to be standing between you two right now but I'm going to stay here until you both cool down."
"You are an idiot," Alli grumbled.
"I love you, too, dear."
"All right. Truce, Mari."
"Truce," Mari agreed. "I'm sorry, Alli. Kira must have been scared, but that's no excuse."
"She could have done worse," Alli conceded. "Gari noticed that when she laid down on him she kept her finger straight along the guard instead of on the trigger. At least she had the sense to do that so she wouldn't accidentally fire without even knowing who she was aiming at!"
"She had a good teacher," Mari said.
"Oh, so it's my fault!" Alli pushed Calu aside and embraced Mari. "I'm sorry, too, your daughterness. I know you're under a lot of pressure and scared for Kira."
The term "daughterness" usually aggravated Mari, but this time she took it only as a sign of affection. "Thanks. Is anything going on besides the people reporting sightings?"
"Several of those drone things wandering around," Calu said. "Here, along the rail line to the east, and over Julesport. Gari didn't tell anyone besides us about seeing Kira and the boy sneak onto that freight, but the picked lock and the open door on one of the freight cars attracted a lot of attention, especially since other people saw them entering the rail yard. How did Kira learn to pick locks?"
"I did not teach her," Alain said.
"It's a family tradition," Mari said. "Passed on from mother to daughter for two generations now."
"Why aren't you worried about that, Mari?" Calu said. "The Urth people are searching Julesport, and while the great majority of Confederation citizens are refusing to act against your daughter, enough are joining in for the promised reward or because they hate you to make things ugly. Plus the government feels obligated to send out search teams to keep the Urth people from blaming them, and because they're worried about Kira, so there are also ground soldiers and cavalry scouring the areas east of here."
Alli shook her head in admiration as she looked at Mari. "You're not worried because Kira didn't go toward Julesport, did she?"
"I don't think so," Mari said. "She left too many clues that she was going there. She has had very good teachers."
"Kira went north? She's going to have an awful time getting through Dorcastle without being recognized," Calu said. "Your twin on the wall there means everyone in Dorcastle knows exactly what you look like."
"My twin on the wall looks even more like Kira than I do, since the twin never ages," Mari said.
"I still think we should call the twin Mara," Alli remarked.
"Not funny."
"Neither is this." Calu offered a sheet of paper.
Mari took it, frowning at the lifelike image of the Urth boy. "The Urth people remembered what paper is. That's Jason. And the text repeats the offer of a reward for finding him. Did you read this? The reward is for 'return of the boy.' Not 'safe return' or 'unharmed.' How could the Urth people have been so careless in their wording?"
"Maybe they weren't careless," Calu said. "Maybe they want the boy back more than they want him safe."
"You remember the Senior Mechanics we had to deal with," Alli said. "They managed to rationalize doing just about anything, because so many of them never questioned their own motives."
"How many of these notices are there?" Mari asked.
"The Urth
drone dropped hundreds over this city. They're probably doing the same elsewhere."
"Hopefully not in Dorcastle yet. Excuse me. Here come the city leaders. I need to—"
"Lady!" called out one the city officials hurrying toward them. "The ship from Urth! It has come to rest in a field just outside of Danalee!"
"Our plan is working," Alain said. "The attention of the Urth people remains on us."
"Great. I hope it's helping Kira."
By the time Mari reached the field where the Urth ship had come to rest, troops were pouring in to control a large crowd that was getting larger by the minute. As she walked past the crowd, Mari heard the same old cries of relief, the same cheers, the same confidence that the daughter would handle this problem. And she felt the same old determination to do her best, tied to the same old feelings that these people should not have so much faith in such a fallible person as her.
She and Alain were still walking up to the ship when the opening appeared in its side and Talese Groveen descended the ramp to confront them. To Mari's surprise, the woman from Urth was smiling in welcome, her attitude that of someone greeting a friend. "I'm glad that you're here, Lady Mari."
Mari smiled in return despite the tingling of her nerves as she wondered what Talese Groveen was up to. "Welcome. What brings you to Danalee?"
"We should be able to help your search. I know how concerned you are about the fate of your daughter and deeply regret any hasty actions that might have contributed to her facing such serious danger."
"Thank you," Mari said.
Groveen looked toward the city. "You came here by an interesting means of transport. Would it be possible for one of the Mages who, uh, create such things to demonstrate for us?"
Mari kept her smile in place. So Talese Groveen wanted an opportunity to "scan" more Mages doing their spells, probably in the hope of being able to duplicate the data on the drive that Jason had taken. "I'm sorry, but those Mages who brought us here on their Rocs are exhausted. It will be some time before they are recovered."
"Oh. Unfortunate. Perhaps later." Groveen's expression shifted to earnest sympathy. "We have monitored some transmissions indicating how serious the danger to your daughter is. There is a way we can assist in the search for her far more efficiently and effectively, and it requires only the tiniest assistance from yourself."
"What is that?" Mari asked.
"If you agreed to provide us with a genetic sample, we could use that to help spot your daughter's location. Our drones could be provided with the necessary biometric data. I know you are worried about her safety and would want to do everything possible to help locate her. It would be terrible if something awful happened to your little girl because we were unable to locate her in time."
Tired and worried, Mari hesitated. She knew this was a transparent attempt to gain the genetic material from her that the people from Urth wanted, but as far as she knew it would also help in the search.
She didn't trust Talese Groveen at all, but the woman's self-interest lay in finding Kira because that would mean finding her son and the device he had taken.
Millions of lives. But those were abstract, a possibility in the future, in a place very far from here. One life was in real peril here, the life of her only surviving child. Mari knew how much she had given to this world, how much she had risked and lost. Was it too much for a mother to want in return the safety of her girl?
Alain was beside her, leaning close, his voice a bare murmur. "What would Kira want? She is our daughter. What would you want her to do if your roles were reversed?"
Mari looked down, breathing slowly. "My Mage, you know I'm only human. Not the perfect, wonderful daughter of Jules that everyone else wants to see. And you know what I would want in Kira's place, because I have made decisions like that, no matter how much they hurt. Do you think Kira would forgive me if the worst happens and we someday meet again in the dream beyond this that you speak of?"
"Kira is our daughter. She would forgive and understand. Mari, we want her to believe in herself. That means we must also believe in her, and show that by our actions as well as our words. And lest you doubt," Alain added, enough pain entering his voice that Mari could hear it clearly, "I do not wish to make this decision. I do not want Kira harmed. But we must believe in her, or doom her to the insignificance she already fears is her fate."
Mari nodded, knowing that if something happened to Kira her next words would forever echo with inner guilt. She looked at the woman from Urth again. "I am sorry, but that is not possible."
"Not possible?" Talese Groveen sounded puzzled.
"I am aware of why you want my genetic material. Using the danger to my daughter as leverage to pry that from me is cruel."
"How could you…?" The Urth woman's eyes narrowed, her outward appearance of sympathy and friendship vanishing. "My son told you something? Whatever he told you, he lied."
"As I have told you," Alain said, "Mages can see when someone speaks the truth, as your son did. And when someone does not speak the truth."
"You're clearly withholding information," Talese Groveen said, ignoring the clear implication of Alain's last statement. "Where is my son?"
"We're looking for him," Mari said. "Surely you've seen the extent of the search activity underway."
"The appearance of search activity, perhaps. Why haven't you broadcast an order to your daughter to turn in herself and my son to the nearest authorities?"
"Your ship has been interfering with my attempts to use far-talkers," Mari replied. "I'm also still trying to understand why my daughter would have left with your son," she added.
"Are you really that naïve?" Talese Groveen asked.
"Not at all," Mari said, trying not to lose her temper again. "Because I know and trust my daughter. She's not the problem, in any event. We wouldn't be facing this if you hadn't lost your son to begin with. Why is your son trying to hide from you?"
Groveen waved a dismissive hand. "Adolescent rebellion. Mindless, unthinking, hormonally driven attempts to circumvent adult authority."
"Do you often refer to your son as mindless and unthinking?" Alain asked.
"When it fits! I believe in holding people accountable for their actions and for their failures. You would do well to remember that, especially since my patience is rapidly running out."
"Calling someone mindless does not hold them accountable," Alain said in impassive tones. "It excuses their failures by assuming they can do no better if given responsibility and advice. If your son is as incapable as you suggest, even the best efforts of our daughter could not have kept them from being found before now."
"Blaming your failures on my son's efforts? Pitiful. I understand he was on a train but somehow no one intercepted him at the train's stop!"
"He and Kira were not aboard when the train arrived," Mari said. "They must have jumped from the train while it was moving."
"You do think I'm a fool! My son? Jump from a moving train? Something that requires skill and bravery? He couldn't do anything like that, not even with your daughter goading him on, doubtless feeding his hopes of physical reward—"
"Did you actually just say that?" Mari's voice was sharp enough to halt Talese Groveen's words. "Is Urth really such a backward place that they believe girls exist solely to use their bodies to tempt boys?"
"Of course not!" Groveen insisted. "But in this case—"
"If you knew as much as you think you do, then you'd know that I was accused of doing the same thing to Alain when we had first met! I am not sympathetic to charges that my daughter is trying to seduce your son!" Mari took a moment to calm herself. "I repeat that we are trying to ensure the safety of my daughter and your son, and that any actions you take are likely to further imperil both of them. I request that you refrain from further interference in the affairs of this world."
The Urth woman's eyes went to the space before her face, her hands moving before her. "I have been very patient. There are laws governing these situatio
ns. If you have not produced my son by this time tomorrow, I will be forced to initiate active measures in defense of his life and the security of the other citizens with me."
Active measures. That sounded bad, the sort of phrase used to cloak actions that no one wanted to openly talk about. "I ask again," Mari said, "that you refrain from actions that might worsen the situation and further increase the risk to your son."
"You have until this time tomorrow," Talese Groveen repeated. She turned and walked imperiously back into the ship from Urth. The opening vanished, leaving Mari and the others facing a solid surface, their distorted reflections visible amid the silvery sheen.
Mari turned away from it. All around, people were looking at her. Waiting for her to lead them. She felt incredibly tired.
Calu stepped close. "A message Mage just passed word to us. Things have been happening in Dorcastle."
"What things?" Mari said. "Is Kira all right?"
"We don't know."
* * *
Kira thought the air inside the crate was getting worse, but couldn't be sure. She did know that if there wasn't enough air getting in, she would get confused and then pass out.
There had been more noise around them as the rest of the cargo was loaded, then vague noises elsewhere, shouts hard to make out clearly, and the lurch of the ship leaving the quay. The ship had shifted about as it wended its way through the harbor, then Kira felt the ship's motion change to a long, twisting roll endlessly repeated and knew that they were in the open sea.
"Kira?" Jason whispered. "What are we going to do?"
"I'm still working on that."
"How did you do what you did back in the alley? Take down those three bam bam bam?"
"Muscle memory," Kira said. "I've been taking self-defense lessons since I was five years old, and my teachers really pushed me."
"Do you think you could show me some moves?"