Christopher Stasheff - Warlock's Last Ride

"We have, Rod. We stand atop the sea-cliffs."

Rod looked into the setting sun—and saw a form emerging from its glare. He frowned, shading his eyes, trying to separate sun from object. "What's that coming toward us—a ship?"

"It is far too large to be a ship, Rod."

"No, nor tall enough either, not considering how wide it is."

The object seemed to swell, separating itself from the sun-glare, and Rod stared. "Fess! It's a floating island!"

"Surely only an illusion, Rod."

"If it is, it's a mighty convincing one! It's not just floating, it's sailing—and its coming right at us!"

It did indeed. The island loomed larger and larger, swelling till it filled half the horizon, then three-quarters, then blocked all of the western vista, becoming a whole land of its own, its cliffs crowned by a meadow of thyme and lavender. Behind it rose a forest—but surely no forest like this had ever existed, not in any world Rod had visited. The trunks of its trees were of silver and ivory and gold, and the leaves that adorned them were all the colors of the rainbow; the fruits that hung from them were crystals and gemstones. Birds fluttered among their leaves, birds of extravagant and gaudy plumage, like birds of paradise only far more various.

And a human form moved among those trees, moved and came forward, stepping through lavender as though it scarcely touched the earth, drifting closer and closer until it revealed itself as a woman.

Rod stared, spellbound, and his heart began to ache.

Then she was only thirty feet from him, for the island had drifted closer still until only a yard separated its cliffs from Gramarye's, and the woman paced closer still, smiling and reaching out toward Rod.

"It's Gwen," Rod breathed. "It's Gwen as she was when I met her, Gwen not yet thirty!"

"I see nothing, Rod," the robot's voice said in his ear.

"I do, and that's all that matters! Fess, I've found it! I've found Tir Nan Og, the Land of Youth—and Gwen!"

"Do not lose yourself in illusion, Rod. That has been your abiding struggle."

"Fess, this is no illusion! She's there, she's real!"

Gwen's smile was radiant.

"Let's go!" Then Rod paused, frowning. "No, that's not right. Once I cross that gap, I can't come back. Not that I want to—but I have no right to take you with me."

"Where you go, Rod, I will bear you."

"But you don't belong to me, you belong to the family! Magnus should inherit you after I've left!" The heartache sharpened, and Rod pressed a hand to his chest. 'They'll have need of you, all the kids—and their children, too!"

"They shall endure, Rod." Fess turned his head to look at his master. "If nothing else, Magnus has the computer Herkimer, who guides his ship—and has all my memories."

Rod gave him a quizzical look. "You want to come with me, then?"

"Gwen has been my friend, too, Rod, for thirty years— and the more my friend because she has made your life joyous."

Rod smiled. "Then let's go see her."

He gazed at Gwen and everything else seemed dim and unimportant; she was Tir Nan Og, a wonderland in which he could lose himself. His heart twisted as he gave the robot a nudge with his knees. Fess paced forward to step across the gap into Tir Nan Og, and Rod rode with him. For a moment, there was resistance that gave way, a searing pain in his chest, and a feeling as of a tearing veil; then Tir Nan Og was all about him, its colors even brighter now that he was a part of it, and Gwen was lifting her arms and he was swinging down from Fess's back and running the last few steps to sweep her up and whirl her about. As he did, he saw his hands, and they were unwrinkled and young again, as he knew his face and all his body were. Desire hammered hot and strong within him, and as Tir Nan Og once again moved away from the world of the living, he found her lips. They were soft on his, they tasted like the sweetest wine, and he drank deeply, as he would do forever.

WORD CAME TO the High Warlock at his seat in Runnymede, and Magnus d'Armand came to the western shore to gaze upon the body of his father where it lay broken on the shingle above the tide line. Nearby stood Fess, as faithful as he had ever been, but when Magnus spoke to him, he could not say what had happened, and he seemed changed. The robot was never the same again; there seemed to be something missing in him, as though he were indeed only a machine.

Then his brothers appeared about him, his sister came spiraling down from the sky and with one touch read the massive heart attack that had taken Rod's life before his fall. Together they knelt by their father, each immersed in his or her own thoughts and prayers. Then together they lifted up his body and bore it away.

"SO WE ARE bereft of mother and father in the same year."

"It's not supposed to happen this way. Papa wasn't supposed to die until we were in our fifties, and Mama was supposed to outlive him by ten years."

"I was prepared to console her and help her out of her grief, but not for this!"

"We will have to help each other, then," Magnus said gravely.

No one said anything. The silence was enough for him to feel the tightening, the resentment of his seeming assumption of authority, especially after his long absence. Then the mood relented, and Cordelia allowed, "At least we have each other—and there are more of us."

"There are," Magnus agreed, "but for this first night, perhaps we each need to be alone with our grief, to take the first step in coming to terms with it." He rose and turned away to the door. "Good night, my sibs."

"Good night," several voices said.

Alea stared at Magnus's back, turned a questioning glance to Cordelia, who could only shrug. Exasperated, Alea rushed to catch up with Magnus.

"What was that all about?" she demanded.

"I'm not one to stay where I'm not wanted," he answered.

She could hear the hurt and anger in his voice. "But she's your sister! They're your brothers!"

"I think it will take a few years for us to re-establish our relationships," Magnus said. "After all, when I left home, I was still the font of wisdom to Gregory, and Geoffrey was still testing himself against me."

"And Cordelia?" Alea was glad she asked, because the question brought a smile, albeit a small one.

"Well," Magnus said, "Cordelia and I were always squaring off as to which had the authority—unless someone attacked us, of course. Still, she does seem to resent my coming back." He came to a stop, frowning into the darkness. "Perhaps that's it. Perhaps I'd be welcome as a visitor, if they could be sure I would leave." His face darkened. "And perhaps I should." He began to walk toward their suite again.

"Perhaps not!" Alea hurried to catch up with him. "Perhaps you should stay and wait until, inch by inch, they've moved over and made room for you again!"

"Perhaps," Magnus admitted, but didn't sound as though he believed it.

ALTHEA PUSHED ASIDE her peasant bonnet to ask Raven, "Do you really trust any of them?"

Raven cast a quick glance at the VETO agents carrying sacks of provisions into the kitchen of Castle Gallowglass and said, "Not for a second. They'll turn on us the moment we've finished executing the Gallowglasses."

"Then why did Durer call the Mocker for help?"

Raven shrugged. "Common enemies. We both need to eliminate the Gallowglass family if we're to have any hope of taking over the government—but the second the brats are dead, start shooting the VETO agents."

Althea started to say that the totalitarians must be planning the same fate for them, but she shivered too badly at the thought.

Dressed as peasants and carrying sacks of provisions, the SPITE agents trooped into the castle beside the file of VETO agents.

THE AMUSEMENT AT dinner was muted, but the Gallowglasses and their spouses were managing to smile and enjoy the reassurance of one another's company.