Sagan left Maigrey's side, came to stand before heaven, alone.

The radiant being looked down on him from a great height.

"My lord, you have done wrong. Not uncommon in mortals, but in you I see no repentance. I hear no plea for forgiveness."

Lord Sagan made no response, did not lift his eyes to look into the bright light.

"You knew the will of God, my lord."

"I did," Sagan replied.

"You deliberately thwarted it."

Sagan pressed his lips together, was silent. Fire flickered in the dark eyes. Then he said, "I did."

"No, he didn't!" Maigrey protested. She started to take a step forward, to come to his side. "My lord didn't thwart God's will! He sacrificed his life-"

"But I did." Lord Sagan halted her with a warding, upraised hand. And now he lifted his gaze, regarded the being grimly. "You see, my lady, Dion was meant to die."

"That can't be true," Maigrey faltered, staring upward.

"It is," Sagan said. "That was the portent of the test. Flaim, a king. Dion, a martyr. That was the plan."

"But why?" Maigrey demanded.

"And do you ask God to explain His ways to you?" The personage was severe, implacable. "My lord, we might take a merciful view of this matter, if we were convinced that you acted out of compassion, selfless love, loyalty-as did Lady Maigrey. Since you have kept your heart deliberately concealed from our view, you are the only one who knows the truth. Was it this which led you to defy God?

"Or did you act out of pride, out of arrogance, out of a need to demonstrate your own power? Did you thwart God's will, my lord simply to show Him that you could?"

Sagan smiled dark, twisted. He made no other answer.

"Which is it, my lord?" The personage was stern.

"Whatever you want to believe of me," Sagan answered.

The radiant being gazed down at him in sadness. "I offer you, my lord, one more chance. Confess, repent, be redeemed."

Sagan stared straight ahead. He did not lift his eyes. Or lower them.

The personage sighed a second time.

"Very well, then. I have no choice but to deem you guilty.

"Lady Maigrey, come forward. You deliberately broke your covenant with God. You crossed from this blessed realm to the physical. You interfered with the living and thus you, too, thwarted God's will. Do you repent, my lady? Do you ask for forgiveness? Think well before you reply. Recall the terrible punishment you face."

A portal opened before her.

"Look into it, my lady. I repeat here what I said to you once before. Into that dread world you will be cast. You will not be permitted to return to this blessed realm, except by a path that is long and difficult and filled with pain. Many are those who have perished on it, to live in dreadful torment and agony, bereft of all hope of comfort, peace, redemption. That is the fate you face. And you face it alone."

Maigrey stared down the path that led from light into darkness. At the terrible sight, defiance seeped out of her, like her heart's blood flowing. Her eyes lowered; she could not face it. Her head bowed. Her hands clasped together, holding tightly to her fast-diminishing courage.

Sagan, too, stared down that path and, strong as he was, he blenched, paled. But he stepped forward, came to stand by her side.

"She will not go alone," he said.

"Is that your choice, my lord?" the radiant being asked.

"It is."

"And is this your choice, my lady? Or will you repent?"

"How can you ask that of me?" She raised her eyes. "I would go to him again, if he needed me, though all hell barred my way."

"You may well face that test," said the personage sadly.

"Then go with him now, my lady. And you go with her, my lord. This much mercy We will show. The way back is open to you. The path is dark and dangerous, but it is clearly marked. If you look for it, you will find it. But the road will not be easy. May God go with you."

"He needn't bother," said Sagan.

He turned to Maigrey. Bowing, he extended his hand to her. "My lady?"

She placed her hand in his. "My lord."

Neither looking back, the two entered the darkness, together.

"At least," said the radiant being to the Immortal Watching Eye, "we've accomplished that much."

The portal closed behind them. The personage descended from the throne. He was stopped, at the bottom, by a thin man with a careworn face.

"Yes, Platus? What is it?"

"They saved Dion's life. They kept a cruel and heartless man from becoming king. How is this wrong?"

"Thousands of years ago, a man was crucified by cruel and heartless men. What would have happened if someone had intervened to save him?"

"I don't know," said Platus softly. "Perhaps he would have lived an ordinary, happy life."

"But that was not the plan."

Platus shook his head. "I don't understand."

"Of course, you don't, child," the radiant being said kindly. "God is the beginning and the end. You are only the middle."

Acknowledgments.

I am pleased to acknowledge the use of invaluable notes written by Gary Pack, noted physicist, who was the first to discover and explain the anomaly of the strange dark-matter creatures.

Many thanks also to Nicole Harsch; Mike Sekuta; Janet Pack; Gary Pack; Captain Richard Dhur, Royal Canadian Artillery; and Captain Don Perrin, retired, Royal Canadian Artillery, for staging the last battle scene.

I would like to credit an editorial written by Richard Brookhiser, senior editor, National Review, that appeared in Time magazine, November 11, 1991, titled "Why Not Bring Back the Czars?" for inspiration.

Many, many thanks to Steve Youll for wonderful cover art and for his support and encouragement. I'm thankful he gave up his career as a starship pilot.

To David Cole-there should be an award for great copy-editors. You'd get my vote!

And finally, to Amy Stout-my editor at Bantam/Spectra for many years. We miss you, Amy. Maigrey and Sagan and Dion and Tusk and XJ and I all miss you. God bless.

About the Author.

Born in Independence, Missouri, Margaret Weis graduated from the University of Missouri and worked as a book editor before teaming up with Tracy Hickman to develop the Dragonlance novels and the Deathgate books. Margaret lives in a renovated barn in Wisconsin with her teenage daughter, Elizabeth Baldwin, and two dogs and one cat, where she is working on a new novel. She enjoys reading (especially Charles Dickens), opera, and snow-shoeing.

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