Wizard

But now it was coming in handy after all.

Trini saw the plane when it was still quite a distance away by the glare of its landing lights. She heard the high whine of its tiny jet engine much later. She was not sure she approved. Cirocco's equipment had not yet arrived when Trini took up her vigil at Refuge Eleven; she had blimped in as a decent person should. One of the reasons she had come to Gaea was to escape the pressures of mechanical civilization. Like most humans in Gaea, she viewed any but the simplest technology with deep suspicion. But she understood the Wizard's reasons. Cirocco was waging all-out war on the buzz bombs, and Trim did not doubt they would soon be wiped from the skies.

The plane crawled through the last meters before touchdown, its exhaust raising clouds of snow. Ophion did not look like a promising landing field, hummocked as it was with drifted snow, yet the little plane made it easily in less than thirty meters of runway. The low gravity and Gaea's thick atmosphere provided a lot of lift, making the plane spry as a butterfly. It had transparent wings of plastic film. When the snow settled, Trini could see dark shapes embedded in them and assumed they were lasers or machine guns. It was a six-seat puddle jumper modified for aerial combat.

Cirocco got out from the pilot's seat, and someone else, about her size, from the other side.

Trini went back to her tiny stove and turned up the gas burner under the coffeepot. She had volunteered for the duty-though she and all the other humans in Gaea owed no allegiance to the Wizard-when she heard Cirocco was looking for human help for a rescue mission involving Robin of the Coven. Trini had not been able to stop thinking of Robin since the day she left, and thought waiting in the refuge was more in keeping with her talents than going down the stairs to see Thea. She had been brought in with crates of food, blankets, medical supplies, and bottled gas to prepare the long-abandoned way station for occupancy should any of the missing people show up. Cirocco had helped her get the beacon working again, but aside from that, there had not been much to do. The structure was still sound, and it kept out the wind. She had spent her time at the window, reading, but had been away from it when she felt the tower vibrate slightly with the sound of someone climbing the ladder.

Now it was vibrating again, more noticeably, as Cirocco and the other person hurried up outside. She opened the door for them. Cirocco went immediately to Robin, who was sleeping beneath a big stack of blankets. She knelt beside her and touched her face, looked back with concern.

"She's awfully hot."

"She drank some broth," Trini said, wishing she could say more.

Cirocco's passenger was a familiar figure to Trini and anyone else who had spent time in Titantown. He was Larry Ollara, the only human doctor in Gaea. Nobody cared that he was there because he was barred from practicing on Earth, and nobody asked why. He probably wasn't much at open-heart surgery, but could set a bone or dress a burn, and he charged nothing. He carried a genuine black bag without a gram of electronic equipment in it. This he now set down while removing his fur coat. Beneath it he was a big man with a black beard and rosy cheeks, more of a lumberjack than a surgeon. Cirocco stood back while he made his examination. He took his time about it.

"She may lose those toes," he a

"Nonsense," Cirocco said, which struck Trini as a fu

She really looked at the Wizard for the first time and was surprised to see she was wearing what she had always worn for as long as Trini had known of her: the faded brick red Mexican blanket with a hole cut in the center. It draped carelessly around her body, reached to the knees, and was modest enough when she stood still but not when she moved. She was barefoot. Snow still clung to the sides of her feet but was melting rapidly.

What was she? Trini wondered. She had known for a long time that Cirocco was different but had assumed she was still human. Now she was not so sure. Perhaps she was something more, but the differences were subtle. The only visible one was something she shared with Gaby Plauget. All the dark-ski

At last Larry turned away from her and took the mug of coffee Trini offered him. He smiled his thanks and sat with the white mug warming his hands.

"Well?" Cirocco asked.

"I'd like to get her out of here," he said. "But I don't believe we should move her. I don't suppose I could do much more for her back at Titantown, at that. She's got some frostbite, and she's got pneumonia. But she's young and strong, and that Titanide drug I gave her is hell on pneumonia, and she should make it all right, with the proper care."

"You'll stay here to see that she gets it," Cirocco a

"Impossible. I have a practice in Titantown to take care of. You can care for her, or Trini can."

"I said-" Cirocco stopped herself with an effort that was visible on her face. She turned away for a moment. Larry looked interested; no more. Trini knew he was impossible to talk into anything. Once he had decided what his duty was, he would do it and not even bother to argue with you. Whatever had happened to him on Earth, he took his medical oath very seriously in Gaea.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you," Cirocco said. "How long can you stay?"

"As much as twenty revs, if need be," Larry assured her. "But really, I can tell you what to do for her in ten or fifteen minutes. The treatment's as old as the hills."

"She was talking a while ago," Trini offered. Cirocco turned to her at once, and for a moment Trini thought she would grab her shoulders and shake her. But she restrained herself, while her eyes bored into Trini.

"Did she mention any of the others? Gaby? Chris? Valiha?"

"She wasn't really awake," Trini said. "I think she was talking to Thea. She was afraid, but she couldn't let Thea know that. It was jumbled."

"Thea," Cirocco whispered. "My God, how did she get past Thea?"

"I thought you expected them to," Trini said. "Or why else did you have me stay here?"

"To cover all the bases," Cirocco said, distracted. "You were a backup to take care of a low probability. I don't see how she found her way through all that, much less got past..." She frowned, and her eyes focused on Trini.

"I didn't mean that the way it sounded, I hope you-"

"That's all right. I'm glad I was here."

Cirocco's face softened, and she smiled at last. "So am I. I know you've been here a long time, and I appreciate it. I'll see that you get-"

"I don't want anything," Trini said quickly. Again those eyes bored into her.

"All right. But I won't forget it. Doctor, can we wake her up?"

"Call me Larry. You'd better let her rest for now. She'll wake up in her own time, but I don't promise she'll make any sense. She's got a high fever."

"It's very important that I talk to her. The others could be in trouble."

"I realize that. Give her a few more hours, and I'll see what I can do."

Cirocco did not wait very well. Not that she paced or chattered; in fact, she said nothing and never got up from her chair. But her impatience filled the room and made it impossible for Trini to relax. Larry had had a lot of practice at waiting. He spent his time reading one of the books Trini had finished during her long vigil. Trini had always liked to cook, and the refuge was filled with food she had had no chance to use. Robin had been able to take no more than a few sips of broth. For something to do she cooked eggs, bacon, and pancakes. Larry appreciated them, but Cirocco waved it away.

"Thea!" she said at one point, prompting the others to look up. "What am I talking about, Thea! How the hell did they ever get past Tethys?"