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‘Is that it? I saw him fiddling with it earlier.’

Greg described it to Kao Chih, who confirmed that it was the device in question. Quickly Greg took it from Cat’s hand, placed it on the planked platform and brought his heel down on it repeatedly. When it was at last reduced to a scattering of shattered components and casing fragments, Cat took him by the hand and led him away from the scene of death to sit at the foot of the steps leading further up the Watchtree. As they did so, some of the local Uvovo began peering out from hiding places and woven shelters.

‘The transponder has ceased signalling, Mr Cameron,’ Kao Chih said. ‘The rescue shuttle has altered course away from Darien, towards the Hegemony fleet’s marshalling zone.’

‘How’s it all looking, Kao Chih?’ Greg said. ‘D’ye think the fighting’s over?’

‘All sides have suffered crippling losses. The remnants of the Hegemony armada still outnumber the other factions’ surviving vessels by more than ten to one, but High Mandator Azgemiron has made it clear to all sides that warlike behaviour will not be tolerated. None has violated this status. Also it seems like that the greater part of the Hegemony remnants will pull out, leaving behind a symbolic ship or two to keep an eye on developments.’

Greg sighed. ‘Well, I guess that’s something. Look, I’m signing off for a while, Kao Chih – if I don’t get some rest I think I’ll go off my head!’

‘Understood. We will speak again soon.’

He took out the earpiece and slipped it into an inside pocket. Cat moved in closer, put her arms around his chest and hugged him tightly.

‘Segrana … is dead,’ she said softly.

‘I saw the wrecked cyborgs. How … ’

‘Canna talk about it. Not the now.’ She was silent a moment. ‘What’s it like down on Darien?’

‘Last time I was there it was pretty bad, towns half-wrecked or half-burnt, deserted, inhabitants fled into the mountains and forests, just … bad.’

‘They’ll need folk like us to help with reconstruction, of course.’

‘Aye,’ he said. ‘Canny types who know which end of the hammer to hold.’

Another long moment of silence. Then Catriona shifted her head to look up at him.

‘How did you beat that slavery dust?’ she said. ‘What did he call it …?’

‘Blue Chain,’ Greg said. ‘Dunno. Perhaps there wasn’t enough of it in the end for Kuros’s purposes. Maybe it self-destructed – all I know is that I felt a sharp tingling all over and suddenly I was back in control … ’ He broke off, ambushed by a jaw-cracking yawn. Cat giggled.

‘There’s a nice hut upstairs where you can sleep, if you like.’

‘Nah, I just want tae sit here with you for a wee bit longer,’ he said drowsily. ‘Watch the sunlight move through the leaves while the Uvovo come out to play … ’

Which is what they did, resting there on the stairs, sipping from drinks brought by the Uvovo or nibbling berries and fruit. Not long after, the tall woman he had met down at the forest floor appeared at the other end of the platform, waved then headed off along another branchway. Later, as the sun dipped and shadows lengthened, and most of the Uvovo retired to their shelters, neither of them noticed when a single glowing mote emerged from the back of Greg’s hand, a bright point surrounded by a shifting corona. It drifted unseen through the air towards the immense trunk of the Watchtree and sank into its gnarled bark.

At one point Greg came out of his drowsy half-sleep all of a sudden, certain for a moment that he’d heard the voice of the Zyradin speaking to him. Then Catriona muttered something into his chest and he settled back while the silvery light of Darienrise shone through the branches, the first pure gleams of a future worth building.

EPILOGUE

THE EMISSARY

Three weeks after the defeat of the Legion and the destruction of the Godhead, a memorial was held on a hillside on Darien. Three funerals had taken place on Darien a fortnight earlier, while Robert Horst’s remains, recovered from the scene of the Godhead’s demise, had been shipped back to Earth where they were laid to