Jack picked up the great sword and slung the amberhorn bow on his back. Corriwen had sheathed her knives. Kerry's short-sword was gone, lost in the battle, but he still had his sling. Rionna walked with Megrin's staff and they approached the Homeward Gate of Uaine.
Kerry stopped some distance away. Between the carved stone pillars the air twisted and shimmered like a mirage. Beyond them stood the Cromwath Ringstones, and home.
But Kerry walked no further. Jack already knew.
For a while he had been utterly alone with his thoughts, feeling he would die from loss and grief. He thought the pain of it would never stop. His heart felt as if it had been wrenched out of him. Corriwen, Kerry and Rionna left him to grieve and he sat for a long time on a hill beyond the forest, lost in his own memories.
Now he was facing a second loss.
"I need a break, Jack," Kerry had said, pleading for Jack's understanding. "Honestly I do. Back there, back home I'm just the bottom of the heap. Just the raggedy-arsed Irish rascal. There's nothing for me there."
Jack felt his stomach clench again. He wouldn't take losing Kerry too.
"But after all we've been through," he began. "You can't just…walk away."
"Who said I'm walking away? I never said that! I just want to sit down and not have to run or fight all the time. Jeez, Jack, we're not even sixteen. I want to enjoy myself for a bit."
"Why not enjoy it back home?"
"Because all the other places we've been, I've been somebody. Even if it was somebody everybody wanted to kill. Over there, I'm nobody."
"I spoke to Rionna and I want to see her place. Look around, you know? Spend some time fishing. Maybe have a picnic."
"But something else is going to happen," Jack said. "Some time. Who knows when? And I'll need you with me."
"I didn't say I'm quitting," Kerry assured him, eyes bright with tears that he brushed away angrily. "No way Jack. Just let me have some time to catch my breath where things aren't always trying to do me in. When you need me, I'll be right there."
Kerry grabbed him in a tight hug and held him close.
"You and me and Corrie. All for one and each for everybody else. Same as always."
"I'll come for you when the time's right," Jack said.
"I'll be there."
***
Jack Flint and Corriwen Redthorn stepped through the Homeward Gate.
There were thirteen standing stones and twelve gateways between them. They stood together inside the ring.
"It's that one," Jack pointed, preparing himself for this parting.
"I know where it is," she replied, eyes bright. "But that's not the way for me. Temair doesn't need me. You do."
Corriwen strode forward and held him tight.
"My place is at your side. I knew it from the start. Who knows when the next fight will be, the next quest. You need me at your back, and that's where I'll be."
She smiled at him.
"Always."