The crowd was silent. Magnus glanced quickly at Rod; his father nodded. The young warlock turned to the crowd and said, softly, "I thank thee, my friends. I shall never forget thee, nor my delight in thy farewell." He looked around at them, then saw the tears on his sister's cheeks and caught her to him for one more brief hug, then stepped back and forced a smile for all his friends. "God be with thee."

"And with thee, Magnus!"

"Farewell, young warlock!"

"Farewell!"

"Yet hold." King Tuan stepped forth, face suddenly grave, and drew his sword. "There is a ceremony overdue thee by many years. I have long awaited thy petition, but it hath not come, so I cannot now accord thee the Vigil and the Bathbut I may still give thee the accolade. Kneel, Magnus Gallowglass d'Armand."

Everyone was silent, knowing the significance of his use of Magnus's true family name.

Magnus stepped forward and knelt before his king.

Tuan laid the flat of his sword on each shoulder, saying, "I, King of this Isle of Gramarye, dub thee Knight of the Realm, and charge thee ever to defend the weak and smite the wicked, wheresoever thou shalt go." He sheathed the sword, stepped forward, and struck Magnus on the cheek, saying, "Rise, Sir Magnus."

The crowd broke into wild cheering as Magnus rose and stood before his king. When the crowd could hear again, they heard Magnus saying softly, "I am thy man, henceforth and ever to be true to thee and thy queen, and the heirs of thy body, to defend thee in battle and serve thee in peace."

Then Prince Alain stepped forward to clasp his arm, and stepped aside for his brother Diarmid. At last, Queen Catharine stepped forward and offered her hand; Magnus bowed and kissed it.

Again the crowd cheered, and Tuan said, "Go now to thy father."

Magnus bowed and turned away. Gregory caught up his pack and ran to give it to him. Magnus took it and clasped his youngest brother on the shoulder. Gregory turned a shining face up to him and fell into step beside him, but Brom O'Berin caught his wrist and pulled him back gently, saying, "Nay. Let him go alone with thy parents for the moment."

And so he did, while the crowd melted as quickly as they had come, and Cordelia and her brothers welcomed the royal family into their home.

Magnus turned back at the foot of the ramp and said, "I shall come again, my father."

"I know." Rod clasped his shoulder, eyes shining. "Don't wait too long though, okay? We're not getting any younger." He raised his voice. "Fess!"

"Aye, Rod?"

"Here is your new master. Obey Magnus as you have obeyed me, until his life ends or he gives you leave." Magnus's face suddenly drained of all expression as he heard the age-old formula.

"I shall, Rod."

"But remember what I said about making sure he writes home a lot."

Magnus smiled, looking down at his father with affection. "I will, Rod."

Now, at last, Rod reached up and hauled the young giant down for an embrace. "Be careful, son, and always do your homework about customs and crooks before you make planetfall. There're a lot of mean ones out there."

"I shall, my father. Fare thee well!"

"But there are a lot of good ones, too." Rod stepped back, his smile still in place. "There will be times when you're tempted to forget that-so don't, eh?"

"Aye." Magnus smiled.

Gwen stepped forward for her embrace, murmuring, "Fare thee well, my son! Oh, fare thee well! And come back hale and whole to me, in heart as in body."

"As whole as when I left," Magnus promised. He kissed her cheek, then stepped back.

Fess gave him an out. "Traffic window assigned. Ship lifting."

They laughed, and Magnus stepped back inside the hatch, waving as the door rose and sealed itself, hiding him from view.

But Rod And Gwen kept waving, as the asteroid rose into the sky and dwindled, becoming a dot, a speck, a mere nothing.

Then Gwen turned and wept on Rod's shoulder. He held her tightly, his own eyes rather misty.

As they came back to the keep, Tuan and Catharine stepped forth. Without a word, Tuan embraced his vassal, and Catharine hugged Gwen, for the first time in their lives.

Aboard the ship, Magnus sank back into his couch, glad that the cessation of acceleration gave him a chance to go limp-and was suddenly aware of the huge ache of emptiness that rose up within him.

But as he sank rapidly down toward melancholia, a voice sounded in his mind. Magnus!

Magnus stilled, his face neutral. Then he answered. Aye, Gregory. Canst thou speak mind-to-mind even off-planet, then?

Aye, and we will now discover what range we have, shall we not?

Aye. Magnus smiled. I thank thee, brother. And 1 thee. Only, Magnus ...

Aye, my sib?

Wherefore must thou needs leave?

Magnus heaved a sigh and tried to frame the answer. For that I cannot be fully myself whiles I do dwell within my father's shadow, Gregory. Canst thou comprehend that? Nay.

I hope thou never wilt. But let me offer one facet of the problem, yet only one. 1 do not believe 'tis right to sway a people to the form of government thou dost prefer.

I see, Gregory answered slowly. And if thou dost stay on Gramarye, soon or late, thou must needs fight our father over that issue.

Thou dost comprehend quickly-and therefore must I leave.

Aye. But, Magnus ... Aye?

Is that the sole reason?

Magnus was silent a second, then sent, Thou art as acute as ever, my sib. Nay, 'tis not.

There are others, then.

One other, at least. But all conjoin to this course of action. Shall I have to follow thee, someday?

I cannot say yet I think thou wilt not. Thou art the youngest, and hast ever found the world of the mind more real than the world of the senses. I think thou shalt find room enough to roam, though thou dost never leave our little Isle.

I trust not. Gregory sighed. Well, fortune favor thee, my brother. Call me at need.

1 will, Magnus thought. With thanks.

Then Gregory was gone, and Magnus was alone againbut he did not feel quite so empty now.

"Thou shalt have need of stout warding for thine heart, where thou dost go," a voice said.

Magnus looked up, incredulous, and found the ragpicker sitting there in the second acceleration couch. " Thou? Even here, thou canst follow me?"

"Anywhere," the ragpicker confirmed, "for I am within thee, as I am within every man. What thou dost see is only the outward sign. Come, wilt thou have my warding for thine heart?"

Magnus just sat gazing at him for several minutes, evaluating the truth and validity of what the ragpicker had said. He could be a lying demon, of course-but was far more likely to be an hallucination. Magnus wondered what had gone wrong within his own mind, that he had begun to see apparitions so much sooner than his father had.

"A quarter of thee is truly of Gramarye," the ragpicker reminded him, "and thus doth incorporate what thou dost term 'witch-moss.' "

Magnus frowned. "Then, when we are far enough from Gramarye, thou shalt cease to manifest?"

"Mayhap. If 'tis so, thou must needs take my ward quickly, or not at all. Come, wilt thou have it?"

Magnus was silent, eyeing him and assessing. Then it occurred to him that the changes the Green Witch had made in his mind and body should protect him from any hurtful aspect of the ragpicker's "gift."

"Wilt thou have it?" the ragpicker pressed. "Wilt thou make thine heart invulnerable?"

"Aye," Magnus said at last, "I will."

The ragpicker's face broke into a grin. He clasped his hands, then parted them-and a translucent golden box rose from his cupped palms, with a large keyhole in its lid. Magnus stared at it, entranced, as it floated over to him, then suddenly plunged toward his chest. He cried out, and flinched away-but the box followed him, fading to a mere outline as it sank into his chest and disappeared. Magnus howled, clutching at his chest, expecting a stabbing pain-but there was only a mild sensation, as of something slightly shifting, then...