I nosed up; the wheels left the ground; the great gate loomed directly ahead. Up! Faster! Faster! I held my breath. Would we make it? Responding perfectly, the light ship climbed almost vertically in the last few seconds; she sped over the top of the lofty gate with only inches to spare. We were safe!
Far below, the lights of Havatoo lay behind us as I turned the ship's nose toward the shimmering ribbon that was the River of Death—the River of Life to us—that was to guide us down to that unknown sea where, I was confident, we would find Vepaja.
Duare had not spoken. I felt her arm against mine trembling. I reached over and laid a hand upon it. "Why are you trembling?" I asked. "You are quite safe now."
"What is this thing we are in?" she asked. "Why does it not fall to the ground and kill us? What keeps it up?"
I explained as best I could, telling her that there was no danger that it would fall; and then she drew a deep, long sigh of relief.
"If you say that we are safe; then I am afraid no longer," she said. "But tell me, why are you making this sacrifice for me?"
"What sacrifice?" I asked.
"You can never return to Havatoo now; they would kill you."
"I do not want to return to Havatoo if you cannot live there in safety," I replied.
"But what of Nalte?" she asked. "You love one another, and now you can never see her again."