Lauren made a mental note to examine him in the morning. 'Keep an eye on him, Gary. Make sure he doesn't overwork himself. Everything we do revolves around him.'

'Sure.'

Lauren yawned. 'I'm tired myself. I think I'll hit the sack. Is Bill talking to Houston?'

'Yeah,' Gary mumbled, preoccupied. The United States had spent billions for them to come to this forsaken place, and he spent his time reading fiction.

'I kind of wanted to talk to Jim before I went to bed,' she said, mostly to herself. 'Gary? Did he say what the wind was up to before he lay down?'

'Seventy-nine miles an hour.'

'Is that dangerous?'

'If it gets any higher, yes.'

'What would we do then?'

'Leave,' Gary said.

The word had a nice ring to it. 'I have to admit I kind of miss old Earth already.'

Gary turned a page in his book. 'If we leave here, we just go to where the Russians landed. We just go there.'

'Oh. Yeah. I hadn't forgotten.'

Strong hands gripped her neck, choking off her air. She needed to scream but she couldn't breathe. They were smothering her!

'Don't touch me!' she finally managed to cry, bolting upright in bed. The relief was instantaneous. She had been asleep. Now she was awake. She was safe. Gary was sitting on her bed. Jim stood at his back.

'What is it?' she asked, dazed.

'I didn't mean to wake you so roughly,' Gary said.

Lauren noticed it was still dark. They had not turned on the light. Jessica was no longer in her bed. 'Why are you two up?'

'Listen,' Jim said.

Lauren couldn't believe she hadn't noticed the sound at first. Whatever she had been dreaming about had muddled her whole brain. It sounded as if the Hawk was getting sandblasted in preparation for a new coat of paint.

'How bad is it?' she asked.

'The sand has stripped away our exterior paint,' Jim said. 'Our communications are filled with static. I can't even measure the speed of the wind. We have to get out of here.'

'Can you do it, Gary?' she asked.

Gary stood, and paced uneasily in the cramped quarters. 'Not if it gets any worse. I would prefer to wait until it dies down, but Bill is worried that dust may filter into our engines. I see his point. If that happens, we'll never get out of here.'

'But can we blast off in this wind?' she asked. 'Won't we wobble?'

'Wobble?' Gary said. 'We'll have our guts twisted inside out.' He stepped to the door. 'I've got to start my checks.' He left.

Wearing only her underwear and her oversized Houston Oiler jersey, Lauren got up and followed Jim to the porthole. 'Where's Jessie?' she asked.

'Upstairs with Bill. He's trying to consult with Houston. He's not having much luck.' Jim checked his watch. 'Two hours before sunrise. Are you fully awake, Lauren? Gary had to shake you hard before you opened your eyes.'

'We Wagners are funny sleepers,' Lauren said, thinking of Jennifer. She pointed out the porthole. 'What about our equipment?'

'We have the jeep and Hummingbird aboard. The rest will have to fend for itself.' Jim shook his head. 'It's incredible, this storm. The Rover didn't detect winds one-fifth this magnitude.'

'How will the Tharsis region be?' Lauren asked.

'It's mountainous, it should be fairly well-sheltered. Of course, we won't know how extensive the storm is until we're in s.p.a.ce and looking down.' Jim pressed his face against the porthole. 'It's gone.'

'What?' Lauren asked.

'Our flag. Mars buried it.'

'Maybe the planet's trying to give us a hint to get out of here while the going's good.'

'Maybe,' Jim said softly. He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. 'Or maybe it's trying to trick us into going somewhere else.'

BOOK_THREE.

The Fire.

SIXTEEN.

Excerpts from Jennifer Wagner's Story.

The Sastra were losing. Six days they had battled the Asurians on the open desert, and already half their people were dead. Now the enemy was pushing into the mountains, from where they would be in position to sweep into the Garden and destroy them all. The Sastra were being overwhelmed by sheer numbers, and by a numbing poison the Asurians inflicted through rains of piercing darts. Of the children that still survived, many had been wounded, and carried back to the Garden, where Chaneen tended them with the powers of her mysterious touch. Dread weighed heavily upon her heart. She knew it would not be much longer before Kratine himself came forth and led his army to final victory.

Chaneen knelt by the body of a fallen warrior, her sister Janier standing silently at her back. During the first days of battle, they had cared for the wounded within the palace. But now there were too many. This man had been laid in a nearby meadow. He was unconscious, and his flesh burned with fever. He had a deep gash in his neck, where the Asurians were known to bite. His hastily wrapped bandage was soaked with blood. Worse, Chaneen saw that his right arm was dark and swollen. He had been struck by an Asurian dart. At first the name of the poison had eluded Chaneen. But now she recognized it as nothing more than Asurian water. Water that brought agonizing death to her children. - Chaneen put her right palm on the warrior's forehead and took his numb arm with her other hand. She closed her eyes, sensing the man's life ebbing away. Summoning her powers, she began to 'take on' his pain, and bring him back. But as his strength grew, her own weakness increased. Where he bled, she hurt. Her own right arm turned cold and lifeless. In her thoughts came the horror of the beast that had chewed at the man's neck, and the memory of how the Asurian, in turn, had perished from an arrow through his chest moments after attacking the man. But it was a scene Chaneen had suffered through too many times in the last few days, and she began to feel faint. Janier caught her in strong arms as she slipped to the ground, and removed her hands from the warrior. Chaneen felt momentary relief. Yet she resisted Janier's help.

'Do not stop me, Janier,' she said. 'He is near death. I must hold him, and bring him back to us.'

Her sister gave her no heed and moved her further away. 'You are weary, Chaneen. You must rest. It is too late for this man, anyway. He will surely die.'

Chaneen nodded weakly. 'But I must help him, if only to ease his pains.'

'Rest first, for a few moments.'

Chaneen sighed and looked to the west. The sky was filled with smoke, the mountain tops invisible behind clouds of ash. The sun could hardly be found. She had sent instructions to Tier to set fire to the trees, with the hope of gaining them more time. At first, instinctively, the Asurians had retreated, and the Sastra had been given a day's respite. But seeing that it was only the fire of man, and not the wrath of the Fire Messenger, they had re-attacked in earnest. At night the mountains burned with red flame, and watching from her palace, Chaneen would be reminded of Kratine's eyes. And every morning came news that the Asurians were closer.

'Has word come from Tier today?' Chaneen asked.

'No, and I worry for him, 'Janier said. 'It is said that he always fights at the front of the battle.' She knelt by Chaneen's side. 'Would it not be possible, my Queen, to be by his side?'

Chaneen touched the rings on her hand and wondered at the brightness of Rancar's. She was still searching for a meaning in his death. She knew there must be one. 'You wish to fight, Janier?' she asked.

I wish to be by my husband's side when the end comes.'

'But you wish to destroy those who a.s.sail us?'

'Yes. 'Janier bowed her head. 'Since seeing Rankar's finger, I have wished for nothing else.'

Chaneen thought of the reasons why she kept Janier close to her side, and then spoke some of them to her sister. 'We are of the same flesh. What power rests in me may also live in you, should I bring it to life. Still, our hearts differ. I do not desire the death of anyone, even the death of those who kill my children. It is the way I am.'

'The Sastra understand, Chaneen. We look for you to heal the scars of the war, not to fight it. None would have you touched by our enemy.'

Long Chaneen had debated allowing her sister to be the arm of the Fire Messenger's flame, recognizing herself as incapable of bringing the fire. But having only a choice between evils had caused her to hesitate. She would still be the ultimate cause of the Asurians' deaths.

Suddenly the wounded warrior opened his eyes. Chaneen moved to his side and took his hand. 'Chaneen,' he whispered. 'Help me! It's dark and cold. I'm so cold.'

'I am here,' she said. 'The cold is going, and the darkness cannot follow you. You are one of my children.'

The man gasped. 'Ami to die?'

And she had thought she was past tears. 'Yes.'

A tremor shook his body. 'I am afraid, Chaneen. Will you stay with me?'

I will always be with you. There is no end for us. We are of the light. The darkness cannot endure before us.' She kissed his numb arm, washing it with her tears. Her warrior relaxed and closed his eyes. Warmth flowed through his flesh. He smiled faintly.

'Then we will be triumphant, Chaneen?' he asked.

'Yes. There is no need to fear. In the end we will win.'

'Chaneen.' He began to cough. 'My name is...'

She put her ear to his bleeding lips. 'Yes?'

He was choking. I want you to know who I am. My name...'

He did not speak again, dying in her arms. Chaneen kissed his forehead and whispered, 'Don't worry, child, I know your name.' She sat back and closed her eyes. 'You truly wish vengeance, Janier?'

'With all my heart, 'Janier said.

Chaneen nodded. 'Come to me in the night, by the pool of waters. I will invoke the Fire Messenger. You will carry the flame I cannot wield. You will have your vengeance.'

The night was filled with filth. The stars labored through a thick smoke. The enemy was at hand. Their shouts could be heard even inside the palace.

Janier knelt by Chaneen's side while Chaneen dived deep into silence, forsaking the limits of her body. She drifted without center, in one place as much as another, hearing and seeing with her inner ears and inner eyes the music of the spheres and the deities of the worlds. Silently she invoked the presence of the Fire Messenger, and he came to her, alighting on the waters. He stood taller than the trees of her Garden, part man, part animal, radiant in her mind like an erupting volcano. Although Janier saw him not, his coming rattled the very foundations of their land.

He spoke, not with words, but with a sharing of thought. 'Chaneen of Earth, I have come at your bidding. What do you desire of me?'

Chaneen answered him in the same silent manner. 'Rankar has been stripped of his body by our ancient foe. Even now the Asurian army fights at my door. Many of my children are dead. More are dying as we speak. I have called you forth to beg for the alliance of your strength, and for the casting of your flame.'

'Why didn't you summon me earlier, before so many of your children died?'

Chaneen hesitated. 'I fear to be the cause of death to others.'

'The Sun would support your cause.'

'So Rankar instructed.'

'Do you still fear to seek my alliance, Chaneen?'

I have called you forth to ally with my sister. It is she who now kneels by my side.'

The Fire Messenger shifted his burning ethereal form above the waters, staring down upon Janier from a great height. 'She could not absorb my form. It would destroy her.'

I know that,' Chaneen said. I will keep you here in my being, resting in the Garden, while Janier goes into battle and draws your might from me, and through me.'

'The danger would be grave, for one such as her, to possess your power, and in turn, mine.'

I am incapable of wielding your flame,' Chaneen said. 'Our only hope is in the alliance I describe. Will you do it?'

For a long time the Fire Messenger studied Janier. Finally he said, I will stay with you, Chaneen, until the last of your enemy flees your land, but no longer. Then my fire will return to the source.'

'So be it,' Chaneen said. The Fire Messenger vanished from her vision, but Chaneen now felt his special power enlivened in her own self. She opened her eyes and turned to her sister. 'Janier, I have good news. The Fire Messenger has agreed to help us. He will stay with me as long as the Asurians walk on our soil. He will only leave when they have been beaten back.' Janier's eyes were wide. 'You will bring the fire, Chaneen?'

'No. You will bring it.' Janier was confused. 'How is this possible?'

'You are the same flesh as me. Your arm can be my arm, and my arm now holds the fire. You have but to desire where the flame shall fall, and it will fall.' Janier trembled with excitement. 'Can this be so?'

'Yes.'

'We will be victorious? They won't be able to stand against me?'

Chaneen was troubled. 'It is not from you they will flee, but from the gift the G.o.ds have bestowed upon us because they feel we have been wronged. Yet there is still danger. We can still be defeated.' Chaneen paused and touched the waters with her finger. She realized now why she had waited so long to invoke the Fire Messenger. Her sister was as dear to her as Rankar. The possibility of losing them both was unthinkable. 'Listen to me, Janier. You can command the power of the immortal Fire Messenger, but you are still human. Go to Tier and our warriors, and bring the fire. But if the Asurian king should come forth to lead his army, return immediately to the Garden. Even with the fire, you are no match for Kratine.'

Janier was concerned. 'Will he come?'

I don't know. He is shrewd. I can't fathom his mind, just as Rankar was unable to. But should you succeed in driving the enemy from our land, you must make no attempt to cross over into Asure. The Fire Messenger would depart, and even I would be unable to reach you there. Do you understand?'

I will follow the wisdom of my Queen,' fanier looked to the west, to the blazing sky, and added, 'None of them shall escape me.'

Chaneen shook her head. 'You don't understand. You are to defend the Sastra, no more.' Janier bowed her head. 'I hear you, Chaneen.'

'Good. Now be close to me. I have secrets to tell you. On the second world dwells another ally of the Sastra. She is unlike the Fire Messenger, but still of great value to us. She is the guardian of that joy which comes between a man and a woman, a parent and a child, a sister and another sister - when there is love. She brings people together. She makes them happy together. But she is here at this time of parting between us. I know you cannot see her, Janier, but I do. She stands before us on the waters wearing a resplendent form. She has jewels of starlight in her eyes, and in her hair shines the moon.' Chaneen removed her own ring and slipped it on Janier's finger. 'She stands as a witness to this bond I forge between us, Janier. No matter where you go, and no matter what dangers threaten you, I will always come to...'