"You'll tell Earth that you don't need any of their technology. But you have something that Earth needs. Because Earth has forgotten things, things about people, that you guys still remember."

"Do you really believe that?" Kira asked, her voice soft.

"Yes. They're not better people on Earth, Kira. I know you guys aren't perfect, but you're as good as they are. Better in some ways. They don't have anything on Earth you need to envy."

Kira looked at the stars, thinking. "You told me that on Urth they could have saved my brother's life. And helped my mother have other children."

He paused. "Yeah. I'm sorry. The medical thing is big. I didn't mean to sound like that wasn't important. I guess I take it for granted."

"That's all right. There are things we all take for granted. Until we need them and don't have them. Jason, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For not being able to say 'I love you' back to you. I might, someday. I don't know."

"Only a jerk would demand that you make up your mind now," Jason said, "and I'm told that I'm not a jerk."

"I do remember somebody saying that," Kira said. "Rest well."

She lay on her back, gazing upwards, trying to concentrate on the lessons that would help her hide her presence from Mages. Other Mages. When had that happened? And how? Her parents were worried about it. Everybody who knew was worried about it, even Jason who didn't know enough to know he should be worried about it.

There was nothing she could do, though, except hope that her Mage skills would be enough to do what Jason thought could solve their problem.

One of their problems, anyway.

* * *

The flight across the Sea of Bakre was long and hard, angling the long way over the waters, the Rocs pushed to their limits. But Mage Saburo and Mage Alber brought them safely to from Dorcastle to Marida.

People arriving on Rocs tended to get a lot of attention. When they proved to be the daughter and her husband, the only Master of Mages, the attention multiplied fast. Before Alain and Mari could reach the waterfront they had a police escort, and by the time they saw the harbor before them a military escort had arrived as well. "Taris," Alain said. "The name of the ship includes the word Taris."

"We know the one," a port official announced. "This way, Sir Mage."

The Son of Taris was tied up at a pier, but plainly preparing to get underway soon. Those preparations halted when a score of Marida's soldiers rushed up the gangplank as the crew were getting ready to haul it in. Alain and Mari followed, he studying the ship as they went aboard. A common enough merchant ship, neither large nor small, with nothing to distinguish it but the fact that it had appeared in Asha's vision.