The gold dust was swirling. It might have been just a small funnel cloud, just a trick of the light. Then again, it might not be.
Mare walked a little way back up the path to see better. The dust seemed pretty well organized for a cloud. Crash called up, ‘Mare?’ and she closed her eyes and thought about the Great Big Rock up there. All those molecules, sitting up there for centuries. Heavy little suckers, too. Once she had them firmly in mind, she opened her eyes and watched blue sparkly mist swirl around the rock, little bits of green and violet in the mix. Pretty, she thought, and picked up the rock and held it over the gold dust. The Great Big Rock didn’t feel heavy at all, but when she dropped it on the dust, it made one hell of a thump and the gold poofed out around the rock and then fell down silent into the dirt.
‘Better,’ Mare said, and went back down to Crash and Py.
Crash nodded at her as she climbed on the back of the bike. ‘How long do you think that’s going to hold her?’
Mare wrapped her arms around him and put her cheek on his back. ‘Long enough for us to get to Italy.’
‘Works for me,’ Crash said, and carried them down the mountain.