Reclamation

Eric shook badly, but he stood. They leaned against each other, gripping each other's arms for support and stumbled toward the archway. A blur of scarlet markings caught Aria's eye and she stopped in her tracks. Someone had painted a pattern across the tabletop.

"What's that?" she asked.

Eric looked at her incredulously. "You can't read?"

Aria giggled. "Only Skyman's languages. There's a fine irony for you."

Eric gave a dry chuckle. "It's a message from Heart. He's gone for help."

"Good." Aria managed to straighten up an extra inch. "Let's make sure he can find us, then."

They staggered out into the corridor. Weaving and tottering as if they were a pair of drunkards, they made it to the first shaft.

Aria looked up the ladder. "Do you think you can climb that?" she asked.

"I don't think we have to." Eric laid his hand against the wall. Overhead, the frozen platform began to sink toward them until it was level with Aria's waist. She crawled onto it and sat hunched in the center. Eric collapsed beside her and pressed his hands fiat against the platform.

Some vague echo of her connection to the Mind let her feel his power gift reach inside the platform and set it into motion. It rose steadily to the top of the shaft and then glided sideways down the corridor to the second shaft. Even then it didn't stop. The walls held on to it as it rose again. Aria lifted her hands to shelter her head as they reached the hatchway. The momentum of the platform pushed it away.

When the platform was level with the top of the shaft, it stopped. Eric didn't move.

"Come on, Teacher," Aria said. The dome was a shambles. Everything had been overturned. Great rents in the fabric walls let in the fresh, warm wind. It was daylight again. Aria inhaled a lungful of air and felt her head begin to clear.

Eric still hadn't moved.

Aria left him on the platform and staggered through the room, searching the stew of debris. After a little bit, she found a packet of ration squares and a can of some kind of beverage. She tore the packet open and gobbled one of the squares. Then she took the other and the can over to the platform. She sat in Eric's line of vision.

"Eat." She held up the square.

Eric crawled to her and clutched the square with both hands. He ate it in four bites. Aria pulled the top of the can open and took a swig of the juice. It was too sweet and there wasn't enough, but it was better than nothing. She passed the can to Eric and he drank deeply.

When he lowered the can from his lips, his eyes were less wild.

"Thank you," he said. After a moment, he added, "Do you think you will ever get tired of rescuing me?"

"I hope not." She felt herself smile. "You need to be rescued so often."

"Yes, I do, don't I?" he swirled the dregs of the juice around. "Why do you suppose that is?"

"I would say it's because my Lord Teacher spends too much time thinking about what he's supposed to be and not enough time dealing with what he is."

He looked out through one of the rents in the dome. "I thought we could leave when this was done," he said. "I thought we could get the Unifiers to get us all out of here."

Aria had no answer for him, so she let them both sit in silence and tried to just enjoy the feeling of some of her strength returning to her.

"It's all still out there," he said eventually. "The Realm, and the laws of the Nameless, and the Teachers, and the Vitae. The whole Quarter Galaxy is still out there. And you're still a Notouch and I'm still a Teacher." He handed her the can of juice. "You finish that." He paused. "Your sister is still on the other side of the World's Wall."

"We'll get her back. The Mind is looking after her." She swallowed the last drops. "Then we're going to need to get those arias out of the Temple vaults and see if the Mind has a way to identify who they belong to. Then we have to find those people and see if they're willing to learn how to be Eyes. I think that should be my job, and Trail's when we get her back." She cocked an eyebrow at him. "So, Eric Born kenu Teacher Hand kenu Lord Hand on the Seablade dena Enemy of the Aunorante Sangh, what will you do about all this?" She waved toward the dome's tattered wall. "About what is still out there?"

He didn't say anything for a long while. Aria waited. He looked down at his naked hands. They trembled slightly and she knew he wanted to reach for the Mind again. She did too. Parts of her soul were still down there, rejoicing in the freedom of her power.

She couldn't do anything for him if he decided to give in to that false joy.