“Dean! How the fuck—?”
“Tell you later,” Dean cried, “but it’s good to see you again!”
There was no time for any more words to be shared before he was swept on by the tide of the Gate people, now propelling the companions toward the tent where Gloria—the queen of the Gate—held court.
“Wait till she sees you, man—she’ll be so pleased, sweets,” Tammy whispered to Jak, a big grin splitting her face.
Jak’s visage was as impassive as ever. It was rare for him to let pleasure or pain show on his face. But although he was about to encounter Gloria once more, it wasn’t joy that rilled his heart, rather, it was dread.
The nightmare of the mat-trans dream still haunted him, and a part of him was on triple red for the Gate queen to come from her tent and try to rip him to shreds, her body covered with the open sores of the pox.
He stood, all activity around him tuned out, waiting for Gloria to emerge. It was as though the Gate, his compatriots, the camp, the woodland—indeed, the whole world—were blotted out, and there remained only himself, face-to-face with his destiny.
The tent flap parted, and he could hear the husky, sweet tones that he knew so well.
“What the fuck is all this stupidworks noise about? Has everyone gone plain stupe or—” Gloria emerged into the open, straightening and staring the companions full in the face. She stood silent for a moment, her mouth open in surprise. She was still the same Gloria: whip thin, muscles glistening under her tan, the cut-off denims and shirt showing much of her taut skin, her eyes liquid under that mane of flowing red hair… and not a blister, pockmark or sore anywhere on her body. Jak breathed a mental sigh of relief, and relaxed, the pleasure at seeing her again now flowing through him.
Gloria broke the silence that had fallen over the tribe with a wild whoop.
“Glory be to Gaia! I never thought we’d see you again—any of you, but especially you, babes,” she added, throwing herself into Jak’s arms and kissing him full-on, her tongue expressing things that words couldn’t.
A cheering broke out from the Gate, and Gloria stepped back. “This is truly a miracle! Now then, this we’ve just got to celebrate!”
Ryan stepped forward. “Gloria, glad as we are to see you, we’ve been searching for you for a reason. We—”
He was stopped by a raised hand from the Gate queen, who—despite being tiny next to the one-eyed warrior—had the authority to silence even Ryan Cawdor without question.
“There is nothing so pressing that we can’t party down when the need arises. Tomorrow we will talk of what we’ve done and where we’ve been and even of what we have to do, sweets. But right now, we chill out and celebrate. Remember, honey, chilling out can stop you being chilled.”
Ryan stared at her for a second, but as her face cracked into a grin, the one-eyed man found himself following suit.
And so the celebrations began.
ALTHOUGH THE CELEBRATION didn’t end until first light, such was the restorative powers of the tribe that the companions found themselves roused shortly after noon, and while the rest of the tribe went about its business, Tammy and Jon joined their queen outside her tent in discovering what had happened to the companions after they had made the mat-trans jump. But first, Dean congratulated Jon on becoming the new Armorer of the Gate tribe. After Margia was chilled— albeit by her own stupidity—during the battle in the redoubt, it had been important for someone to take over the running and maintenance of the armory. As Jon had been Margia’s assistant, it seemed an obvious choice for Gloria to make, even though a male had never before been awarded such status in the tribe. The young man was almost bashful as he was congratulated, and invited J.B. to check the armory later and give him any advice he had to offer.
Getting to business, Ryan outlined to Gloria what happened to the companions since they had been parted by the mat-trans jump. He put forward the theory that the old comps had a fail-safe mechanism that changed the destinations of jumps, and told of how they had left the redoubt and traveled to Crossroads. He neglected to mention Jak’s dream, and a glance at the albino confirmed that Jak, too, had been reticent to mention this to Gloria. Perhaps it was as well. At this stage it could be counterproductive.