“Don’t push me,” I said. “I’ve agreed to let you come with me, for Alkippe as much as for the aegis of Necessity, but that doesn’t mean I like you or want anything more to do with you than I have to. And afterwards you’ve agreed to abide by Father’s judgement.”

Gla glared at me.

Arete began to read aloud.

When she had finished, I looked at Jathery. “That seems possible,” I said.

“This is what Athene and I prepared, for the two of us to go,” Jathery said. “How did she do it alone?”

“I’ve read you all she wrote,” Arete said.

“She obviously didn’t want us to know that, and did want us to work together,” I said.

“Well, we can do that,” gla said, scowling. Gla face was much more flexible and human than any normal Saeli face could be. It made me wonder how much time gla had spent around humans, and with Athene.

“I know you can do it. What I’m worried about is you getting back,” Arete said, and her voice quavered. She dashed away tears from her eyes and hugged me. “See you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow evening,” I said.

Arete nodded. “I’ll talk to Porphyry, if necessary. But I hope very much to see you instead.”

We stepped out of Hilfa’s sitting room and out of time.

I’m not going to tell you the details of Athene’s instructions for how to get out from Avernus. She went to a lot of trouble to hide them, and for extremely good reasons. We followed them, and they worked, and we found ourselves … out there.

Where time and space are all and one, and self

Is smeared out over every where and when,

And memory, and soul, and stars, and dust,

Future and past and I and now and then

All merge, all melt together, beautiful,

Impersonal, and yet a point of view,

All greatness of the universe at once

Impinging, blossoming, becoming true.

So everything that’s ever been and done

Is now, encompassing, and truly whole,

All happening, all past, all that’s to come,

Each atom’s heart, each world, each grain, each soul.

Each planet spiralling around its sun,

Each quark, and growing leaf, and galaxy,

Each word, and molecule, and falling stone,

And every mortal choice and destiny.

Where I am all, in all, all is in me,

Timeless, entire, all suns, all life, all love,

All words and music one, the endless dance,

Reflecting, knowing, here, below, above.

And art and consciousness reflect, engage,

When spread across all time and space as one

Subjective, glorious, a strange bright joy,

A vaster wonder, and a deeper fun.

Only one soul emerged to being here

To be the point of view the atoms need

To be the consciousness that knows itself,

To be awareness, the essential seed.

Our Father’s soul, diffused across the void,