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.Peoplesurrounded them, but he seemed to be the only one in focus."You're alive! My most wonderful, clever, little savage!" He lightly tracedher face.She'd never seen him smile so widely.He blinked away a threat oftears, and glanced toward the waiting sekasha."I must go and fight, but I will be back.""Kiss me at least once," she complained."If I start, I will not be able to stop.""Bullshit." She grabbed hold of his collar and pulled him down to her level.He hadn't been exaggerating.Someone had to catch the light orb he let it fallin order to crush her to him and she had to finally push him breathlessly awayafter the third "dame zae, the oni" from the sekasha."Go," she said."Deal with oni.Come back to me."He kissed her fingertips and reluctantly left to chase after oni.Tinkerslumped down besidePony, quite willing to let them fight without her."Domi?"Pony croaked.Page 204 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html"Oh good." She took his hand."You're awake.""Yes." He frowned as she checked his attempt to get up."Is it over? Did wewin?""Yes, we've won."Hospice elves arrived, first-aid kits in hand."Domi, are you hurt?""No, no, see to him first," Tinker lied, motioning to Pony.There were, however, more than enough healers to treat them both.One inked ahealing spell onto her side and triggered it while the rest dealt with Pony.In the desperate fight, he'd been hit more times than she realized.As thehealers stabilized him, enclave elves moved into the forest to deal with theoni dead.Sparrow's body was found and carried to the enclaves, along with news of herbetrayal.Apparently in an effort to keep searchers from the Turtle Creek area, thefemale had planted evidence in the South Hills: articles of Tinker's clothing,items from Tinker's pockets, Pony's beads, scraps of paper with Tinker'shandwriting.Windwolf and his forces had been at the farthest point inPittsburgh from Tinker when she escaped, but the reports of gunfire at theconstruction site had brought Windwolf literally flying back, out ahead of hisbodyguard, to save her.The fighting had now moved far off, heading back toward Turtle Creek; Tinkercould track it from the sound of gunfire and the occasional bright strokes oflightning.That is so cool."I'm really going to have to learn how to do that."Or did she? Now that she was once again still, she could feel the feedback,definitely stronger.According to the models she ran, the orbital gate wouldsoon shake itself to pieces, permanently returning Pittsburgh to Earth.Which world did she want to be in?Earth? With Oilcan, Lain, all the neat gadgets, the Internet, colleges full oflike-minded people, and the possibility of returning to Elfhome anytime shedecided to build a gate back?Or Elfhome? With Windwolf and Pony, but no humans or techno toys, and the grimpossibility that even if she could find the supplies, she might be denied thepermission to build a gate back to Earth?On the surface, all logic seemed to say that she should get up and walk intoPittsburgh properbefore Shutdown.Go back to Earth.But it wasn't that simple.In truth, she'd never been to Earth.EveryShutdown, she'd clung to her scrap yard and waited for Startup.She dislikedthe dirty air, the noise, the confusion, and the crush of people that Shutdownbrought to Pittsburgh.Oilcan who knew her best predicted she'd hate Earth forthose very reasons.It was a foreign other place she always resisted visiting.Becoming an elf didn't make Elfhome her home it only strengthened her tie toit.She grew up praying to elfin gods, practicing elfin morals, andcelebrating elfin holidays.What did she know about being human besides beer,bowling, junked cars, and advanced science? On Earth, she wouldn't be a humanwith fancy ears; she'd be a displaced elf just like Tooloo had been.What's more, Pittsburgh was filled with oni disguised as humans, and by now,all of them knew she could build a gate.She'd never be able to trust anyoneagain; every new friendship would have to be endlessly questioned.Oilcan andLain would be in danger of being used as leverage against her."Oh this sucks." Much to the healer's dismay, Tinker started to pace.The feedback was becoming a hard pulse, as if the ground and the sky beat outthe word"decide, decide, decide."Page 205 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlThere was another crack of lightning, and she looked in that direction, but itwas already gone and all there was to see was the dark primal forest ofElfhome.Trees.Magic.Sekasha.Windwolf.That kind of summed it up.The world she considered home, the people shetrusted, and the male she loved
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