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"It's only big enough for one of us," he'd said.

"Leave the beast," she returned. "If we succeed, maybe someday we'll come up river again. If not..."

He'd waited till it was certain that she wouldn't continue. "What about you?"

"Keep the book by your side, in the boat. I'll be inside it, reading." She'd hesitated a little. "Man?"

"What?"

"Until I'm sure I've got all I can from the book, until I come out of my own accord,don't open it. Don't call me, either. You'll have to handle anything you encounter alone, till then. But I'm sure you can manage."

He'd looked at her, trying to understand what she wasn't saying. "But suppose we get where we're going, before you get what you want from the book. Then what?"

"I don't think that's going to happen, Man. I think wherever this river is taking us, it's going to be a very, very long way away."

"How will I know when I get there?"

She'd laughed, the first time in longer than he cared to remember. "Oh, you'll know, Man. You will know."

It had been hidden behind a bend in the river, so that by the time he noticed it the boat was already fairly close, and he had to make a quick decision whether to steer for the bank or to pass it by. A quick look at the book gave no solace. It lay inert as it had since he had laid it down by his side.

In the moments that were left to him before it would be too late to change his mind, he took in the edifice. The black stone blocks of which it had been made had tumbled into a shapeless ruin, but there were still walls standing, and between them he could see the red light reflecting off pillars and polished stone.

"Damn, demon," he muttered between his teeth. "What should I do now?"

His hands had already made the decision for him, pushing the paddle into the blood to shift the boat awkwardly shorewards. Some of the stone blocks had fallen into the river, forming a barrier to the flow and a tiny harbour, so it was not as difficult to touch land as it might otherwise have been.

Clambering out of the boat, he pulled it up on the stone. It was heavy work, and left him straining with the effort, but he had a sudden fear that if he left the boat in the river he would never see it again. Besides, there was the book.

Slipping it under his chain mail, where it lay heavy against his skin, he turned towards the ruin.

There was someone watching him. He had realised this before taking three steps towards the nearest standing wall. Someone was standing behind the wall, just out of sight, watching. He could see the shadow.

"All right," he said. "Whoever you are. Come out and show yourself, or I'll come in with my sword swinging."

There was a moment's pause, and she came out.

He stopped where he was, and if he had been holding the book or the sword in his hands he'd assuredly have let them fall.

She was silver and gold and magic and moonlight, and she was everything he'd ever yearned for, everything he'd remembered and forgotten.

"Here I am," she said, spreading out her hands. "As you wanted. Are you happy?"

"Lady." He worked his tongue in his mouth to free it. "Lady -"

"Where have you come from?" she asked, taking a short step closer. "I have waited in this horrible place, so long, waiting for someone to come, anyone. I've waited until I could no longer bear the wait, and still no one would come. Where have you come from? Are you real?"

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