The Girl and the Stars

“But . . . You?” Yaz stood dumbfounded.

“Did you bring ’Theus with you?” Eular asked.

“Theus? No! I destroyed him.” Yaz looked between Regulator Kazik and Eular, still unable to understand.

Eular nodded. “A pity. You know, the city once told me that very long ago one of the Missing predicted that Prometheus, our broken ’Theus, would be the greatest of their kind. The one who made the prediction was part of the faction that rejected technology and styled herself a witch, but she saw the future better than any of them. She said he would ‘bring the fire,’ whatever that means. But in the end they persuaded, or forced, him to ascend with the rest of them, and left the unwanted pieces behind.” The old man pressed his lips into a thin line. “Destroyed, you say?” He shook his head. “Ah well.”

Yaz could hear the rattle of the approaching cage, very close now. “I don’t understa—”

“Sleep,” Eular suggested.

The exhaustion that Yaz had held at bay so long overwhelmed her. A black sea drowned her. And the last voice that reached her as she sank to the ice was Eular’s, though his words weren’t aimed at her.

“Let’s take her home, Kazik.” A pause. “Oh, and have them drop the cage.”