Vandar
Kosmorn Gore

In which Cory and Miri say goodbye.

To have been able to leave their hero money behind for Hakan and Kem, Miri and Val Con must have been carrying it with them when Agent sig’Alda showed up. Which is not, on reflection, so surprising: we know already that pilots have a habit of carrying essentials with them at all times, which mercenaries probably share, and having made the decision to signal the mysterious aircraft it would have made particular sense for Val Con and Miri to start carrying anything they didn’t want to leave behind, in case they had to leave in a hurry once the pilot of the aircraft replied. It does seem like a lot of money to have been carrying around, but Val Con and Miri seem like they’d have known how to keep it hidden, and how to protect themselves from anyone who might have been of a mind to take it.

The novel ends on an oddly disquieting note, with Hakan and Kem faced with the fact that they’ve been part of something they can’t understand. They’re going to have a tricky time explaining where Cory and Meri went to everybody else. For that matter, even with the things they know that they can say only to each other, they’re going to have a hard time explaining it to themselves.

Tomorrow: “Quiet Knives”