“Severe frostbite at the very least,” Elgren muttered. “The damned fool, running off like that with his wife about to bear—” At the same time, he and others found that their moods were lifting. They had needed relief from the house and barns. The excitement of the rescue and its success would make them heroes on their return. Still, Elgren was anxious. He urged the horses on: Josef had been out in the cold far too long. He frowned, cursed under his breath, and kept rubbing Josef’s hands, while sipping brandy to keep himself warm. Now and then he forced some more down Josef’s throat.

The brandy, Josef thought, was excellent. “Where did you get this?” He held up a heavy mug and grinned. “It’s fit for the gods,” he said, while Oversoul Seven looked on anxiously. Josef shrugged. “I thought I felt a cold draught of air, and this really warms me up. But how could I have felt a chill? The air is warm as summer.”

“Just your imagination,” Seven said.

“I almost heard voices, too,” Josef said. Some brandy trickled down his fine brown mustache. He wiped it off with his hand. “Do you hear voices?” he asked.

“It’s just the breeze,” Seven said quickly. He didn’t want Josef to return to his body again until it was thawed out, yet even he could hear Hosentauf’s raucous shouts, the horses’ gallop—horseshoes now and then breaking through the crusted snow—one horse’s forehoof sore. Seven caught himself just in time and closed out the images before he landed all three of them back there with the Hosentauf sleigh.

Lydia, now in blouse and slacks, sat down dejectedly. “I was so excited at first, seeing these mountains. I thought of Mount Olympus. But most likely there’s really nothing real up there. Yet why is that scene so tantalizing?”

She stared: The warm bright lights splashed down the summer night hills. “Those are Olympian hills,” she said moodily. “My God, the universe is vast.” She felt as if she were going to cry.

“Don’t worry about it,” Josef replied. “All of this has to be a dream to begin with.” The soft wind enveloped him. He felt full of vigor, and he eyed Lydia with more than just a touch of appreciation. “Let’s go sit down beneath those trees,” he said, his moustache quivering with his sudden gleeful duplicity.