“Lady Kate,” said Elandra, “what exactly did you do prior to coming to Nah'Nua?"

  “I was a Prefect in our army," said Kate. She frowned, "That came out wrong." She turned to me, focused intently, and said, "Regimental Sergeant Major." I could hear the words in English. She turned back to Elandra. "Why do I have so much difficulty saying what I mean in…?”

  “Tariba,” said Elandra. “Your new bodies were given our language, which seems natural to you. But some phrases simply will not translate well.”

  “Great,” I said. “dumped into a new world with buggy software running in our heads.” Elandra stared at me, and I replayed what I had just said in Tariba. “You know what? Just forget that.”

  “Gladly.” She shuddered.

  “You were a soldier?” asked Rory.

  “Yes,” said Kate. He nodded as if confirming his suspicion.

  “And you?” asked Elandra, looking over at me.

  “That’s more difficult to explain,” I said. “I was an academic, studying how the universe works. My tools were largely mathematical. And when I was a student, I supported myself by—” I strained to translate ‘paramedic’, “—looking after injured people.” I studied her. “I think I see where this is going. I should have been the Mage, and Kate…”

  Elandra shook her head. “Were that it was so simple. Men cannot be Mages, since they lack the capacity to store and use mana. As for you, my Lady…”. She eyed Kate and shrugged. “Despite your obvious skill, I do not think you would fare well in a pitched battle. I do not mean to offend.”

  “None taken.” Kate said. “In my world, we use weapons that anyone can handle, rather than physical strength.” She smiled grimly. “They are wonderful force multipliers.”

  Elandra stared at us, and her face began to crumple. “I have failed,” she said.

  “Nonsense,” I said. “You’re forgetting the first rule when you lack a solution.”

  “Which is?” she asked.

  “Kick the problem upstairs,” I said.

  “I don't know whether this will work," said Elandra. She was sitting cross-legged on a thin cushion. Around her were grouped five candles, whose flickering flames eliminated the darkened room. Ranish and Summer stood in the background, holding her robes and a set of blankets. “I have spoken to my Goddess only once, and that was almost more than I could bear."

  "Just consider this," I said, "If we're as important as you think, then I'm sure she wants to communicate with you."

  Elandra nodded and sighed. "I will try," she said.

  I shook my head. "There is no try, only do," I said.

  "Those are wise words," said Rory.

  Kate moaned quietly and covered her face with both hands.

  Elandra nodded and closed her eyes. I expected hand motions or chanting, but instead, she was motionless. Blue strands emerged from her body, twisted, and formed a web around her. Her form became indistinct. And I thought I felt a wind blow through the room, even though nothing moved. The candles guttered and grew dimmer. The silence was complete.

  None of us moved. The minutes crept by, and Elandra remained as still as stone. Then, without warning, she collapsed and would have struck her head had not Rory lunged forward and caught her. The candles brightened, and the heaviness that had settled over the room disappeared. A small trickle of blood crept out of her right nostril. Rory picked her up effortlessly and carried her over to the sofa, gesturing to Summer, who brought over a blanket. They covered her, and we waited.

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  The sounds of Summer and Ranish clattering around in the kitchen roused me from a troubled sleep. There was a faint glow of daylight on the horizon. I washed my face and limped into the dining room.

  “Do those two get up this early every morning?” I groused.

  “They do,” said Rory. “Unless you prefer to prepare breakfast yourself.”

  I grunted and poured a cup of tea. Of course, Nah’Nua had no coffee.

  Elandra did not wake up until later in the morning. By that time, the suns were painting the wall with blue and yellow. She sat up in the sofa, blinked at us with bleary eyes, and with a muttered apology disappeared into the washroom. When she emerged, her face was clear and her hair was combed. She sat down at the table while Summer brought out breakfast for all of us.

  We waited while Elandra laid one item after the other carefully on her plate. She avoided our gaze. Finally, Kate could stand it no longer.

  "Well?" she said. "Did you talk with your boss?"

  “I spoke with my Goddess.” Elandra said. She poked at a piece of egg with her utensils.

  “And?” I said.

  “She agrees that you are a Mage and that Lady Kate is a warrior,” Elandra's ears were very pink, “and she did propose a solution."

  "Good," I said, "She's got some way of giving me a mana pool?”

  "Not exactly," said Elandra. She paused. “It's rather that she would move you to the source of the mana." She raised her eyes. "And she would gift Kate a warrior's body."

  I sat back in my chair and stared at Elandra.

  Kate was rubbing her chin in confusion. "Wait," she said, "That would mean—"

  "Mean what?" said Rory.

  "And this would be a permanent change?" I asked.

  "Well,” said Elandra, “the problem is that the transfer would be somewhat unstable.”

  “Unstable," said Kate flatly.

  “Without further intervention, the exchange would reverse the longer the two of you were close to each other.”

  "Define further intervention." I said, "Please."

  “The Goddess says," said Elandra, "that you will require intimacy with somebody else other than each other as quickly as possible. To stabilize your new bodies.” Her face was now scarlet.

  "I'm not sure I'm following this," said Rory.

  "Well, catch up soon,” I said. "I think we're going to need you."

  Kate and I stood outside. Today both suns were high in the sky, and it was only by shading their light with my hand that I could see the faint outline of the planetary arc. A shadow moved quickly across the field and trees, and I looked near to the yellow sun to catch a glimpse of a long slim body, bracketed by wings that must have spanned four meters.

  “If you look carefully,” I said, “You can see that the vegetation comes in two colours. Most of leaves are a pale green, with orange streaks down the centre. But a few of the taller plants are purplish or almost black. I think these colours reflect the absorption of radiation from each star. In fact, I bet that the photosynthetic pigments differ from one class to the other.”

  “Are you doing this science shit, so we don’t have to talk about changing sexes?” asked Kate.

  “Absolutely,” I said. “I’m terrified.”

  “Needs must,” said Kate. She examined me carefully.

  “Sure, go ahead and check out the goods.”

  She shrugged. “Gotta know what I’m getting into.” She smiled. “Literally.”

  I looked her over in return and nodded. “So,” I said cautiously, “How do you feel about this?”

  “You know,” she said, “I’m fine.” She jerked her chin at me. “I’ll be able do things with your body that are completely out of reach of this one now.” She pointed at herself and scowled. “Forty years of PE, wasted.” She paused a minute and reflected. “Also, I’m just not cut out for this magic business. I prefer…a more direct approach.”

  “And, um…”

  “Sex with Elandra?” she asked. I nodded, my face burning. “You must have guessed I’m gay by now. And unattached. And yeah, she’s gorgeous. Nope, no issues. You, on the other hand?”

  “I didn’t want to stereotype. Anyway, I just don’t know. I don’t really swing that way. And I’m not sure about Rory. There’s something haunting that poor guy.”

  “Might be.” She studied me. “Was there someone you left behind?”

  I scuffed the ground with my toe. “Nope. My dating life back home was nothing to brag about. My last girlfriend still won’t pick up when I call. A year later.”

  “Ooh, do tell. Did she catch you in bed with someone else?”

  “God no. I took her on a canoe trip.”

  “And?” Kate’s mouth was twitching.

  “It didn’t go well. I might have underestimated the number of portages. And their length. And near the end of the last one, there was this moose.”

  “They’re generally pretty shy,” said Kate.

  “Not during the rut. He, ah, took exception to our presence. So much so that we had to enter the canoe near the middle of the portage. Right into the rapids.”

  Kate’s shoulders were shaking.

  “Also,” I said, “she’s a non-swimmer.” I glared at Kate, who had tears running down her cheeks. “Look, I’m not totally irresponsible. She had a lifejacket. Which she needed, since the canoe dumped.”

  “Right.” Kate attempted to recover. “And what exactly did she say after you made it to shore?”

  “Not much. She hasn’t spoken to me since.”

  “You know, Charlie,” said Kate, “no matter what happens, I’m really glad I met you.”

  “Likewise.” I said. I looked over at the house. “And I desperately want to be a Mage. Let’s do this, shall we?”