Epilogue

  They did not see the last explosion of that mad night, for the fortress was by then hidden from view by the cliffs. But the thunder was so loud that it must have been heard even in the valley on the other side of the gorge. The ground shook, and somewhere there was a cracking sound of falling rocks.

  - Three bombs couldn't have gone off like that, - Master Carlon said indifferently, not even bothering to turn round. - There must have been explosives in those boxes in the cellar. The whole tower must have collapsed....

  Halfway to the agreed place, Sergeant Dallan met them. The short warrior seemed as impassive as ever, but there was no need for her to ride out to meet the group. She glanced round at her companions and asked only:

  - Who?

  - Charcoal, - Valria replied dryly. - Gotech and Minerva, not for sure. Maybe Jana, too. Look at Maria, her arm need treatment.

  The horses, sheltered in a dense grove, greeted them with quiet snorts and clattering hooves. Armando approached Gotech's war stallion, a gift from Queen Octavia. He patted the horse's neck and sat down on the ground beside him. The others were in no hurry to get ready for the journey. Without collusion, the group waited. A quarter of an hour, half an hour, three quarters of an hour. An hour. No one else came to the quiet mountain grove. At the beginning of the second hour of waiting, Captain Valria rose and shook her head. De Gorazzo met her eyes. Convulsively drawing air through his teeth, he called aloud for some reason:

  - Lady Jana? Lady Jana, are you here? Lady Jana, show yourself, please!

  There was no answer. The golden lights of the lynx's eyes did not light up in the darkness, nor did a slender silhouette in silver armour over a blue uniform weave itself out of the air. And then Don Armando de Gorazzo, the former royal bailiff, wept. He had cried before. Most recently over the Queen's body. But then it was a brief outburst, the tears dried in seconds. Now Armando was crying hard, covering his face with his hands and hunched over - as he had rarely allowed himself to do, even as a child. It must have been a long time - de Gorazzo could not remember. But at some point he felt a palm on his shoulder. Armando opened his eyes - in front of him stood Dallan. The sergeant suddenly put her arm around his shoulders and pulled him to her. The brim of her cuirass poked Armando in the chest.

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  - Hey!.... - Captain Valria exclaimed resentfully, but said nothing more. Dallan said quietly:

  - We don't know what's happened with your friends, Armando.

  - Yeah... sure... maybe they are....

  - But we know for certain that Donna Vittoria is alive and well. We know where she is. You must be near her.

  - Yes, - De Gorazzo sobbed one last time, his nose against the girl's warm neck. - You are right.

  - You can't go to her now. We have to get to the Empire. And from there, you'll go back for her. Maybe with the entire imperial army. Even if not, with me.

  - With you?

  - Yes, Armando. I'll come back with you, I promise. And I'll help in any way I can. We will find Donna Vittoria together. And the others, if they're alive. Even if I have to take leave of Valria.

  - You wish, - the elf snorted. - You've already taken a holiday once in your life. We'll go together.

  Armando pulled away from the sergeant, looked at the pointy-eared girl with gratitude. He was still shaking, but the tears were no longer streaming, his throat no longer spasming.

  - Breaking the portal eliminated new problems, but the old ones are still with us, - the captain continued, now addressing everyone. - A network of outsiders with nowhere to retreat to. A usurper in Daert. Two dozen atomic bombs. Nothing's over yet. Forget about resting. We leave to gather our strength and return. And when we do, we'll save everyone we can and avenge everyone we can't save. Saddle up. We have work to do.

  “...but if it is his fate to see his friends and to reach his well-built house and his native land, late may he come and in evil case, after losing all his comrades, in a ship that is another's; and may he find woes in his house.”

  "The Odyssey," book nine.

  The end.