“Lyall, how much do you know about Sakara and its people?”
“I stayed there with Alondo a few turns back–we were not there for long. Not much, I suppose.”
“Well, I have lived here all my life. It has been a free port for nearly two hundred turns. Sakarans have a unique way of life and they’re not going to give it up without a fight. Taking this city is one thing; holding onto it is going to be quite another. The thief gangs know the city inside out: water conduits, sewers, back alleys and long forgotten passages. Rumour has it that the Prophet’s soldiers haven’t managed to arrest a single Skipper.”
“Tell your people to be careful, Oliah. I know the Prophet’s minions and what they are capable of.”
“I will. Can I speak with Alondo now?”
“Of course. Give me a few moments.” Lyall started back toward their hastily erected camp. The cold, crisp air keened his senses. Breaths condensed in wisps in front of his face, curling and vanishing into the night. His mind chased implications. The reasons for the Prophet’s bold move were still unclear, but Lyall was convinced of one thing; somehow, they involved lodestone. That could indicate that the Prophet’s agenda was moving forward. They might not have much time left.
Yet danger walked hand in hand with opportunity. Occupying the port city was a major gamble; the forces at the Keep must surely be stretched wafer-thin. Something told Lyall that when the time came, the final confrontation would occur there. If so, then they might actually stand a chance of overthrowing the tyranny. Sakara might yet prove to be the Prophet’s greatest mistake.
~
Bleary eyes greeted the slate grey dawn. The tiny fire Keris had built from loose, broken timbers and odd pieces of driftwood had long faded to smouldering charcoal. Lyall passed around meagre rations of flatbread and freezing water melted from fresh snow.
Alondo had a haunted look. Speaking with Oliah the previous evening had drawn him out a little, but the situation in Sakara was a new worry. He heard the musician keep saying, “Make sure you’re safe…Keep yourself safe.” At first Alondo had insisted that she leave the city at once, but she had explained that there were troops blocking all of the exits. Eventually, he broke the news about Shann and Boxx, and as the Ring gently luminesced Lyall heard the faint sounds of weeping.
Patris had returned later that night and lain down, wrapping himself in a roughly woven blanket. No words were exchanged. At first light, he roused himself with the others and accepted a piece of bread in brooding silence.
Lyall looked around at the others. Keris, sitting on her haunches. Alert. Eyes flicking over the desolate beach, ready to spring into action in an instant. Alondo, huddled in a blanket, his carefree demeanour lost amid the worry lines creasing his forehead. They were a ragtag group of misfits–and he included himself in that description. Somehow he had to pull them all together. “It’s time to leave.”
“Where are we going?” Alondo asked from under his blanket.
“We are going to find the people of this world and introduce ourselves,” Lyall said lightly.
Keris rose to her feet in one smooth movement. “Are you sure that’s wise?”
“What do you mean?” Lyall asked.
“We know nothing about these people,” she declared.
“We know that they possess powerful machines,” Lyall pointed out. “That suggests they could be powerful allies.”
“Yes, but they could also constitute powerful enemies,” Keris said. “We should proceed with caution.”
Lyall frowned. “What are you proposing?”
“I suggest you all wait here. I will scout them–determine their location and strength. Then we can decide whether to make contact.”
Lyall nodded thoughtfully. “I appreciate your prudence, Keris, and if circumstances were different, I would probably go along with that. But the invasion of Sakara means that events are moving rapidly. We have to act quickly if we are to stop the Prophet’s scheme. That means securing these peoples’ co-operation, even if that entails some risk.
“We will travel together. When we find the inhabitants of this world, I will approach them alone. Are we all agreed?”
Patris rose to his feet and gathered his meagre belongings. “Go ahead and play Skipper over these people if you want. But leave me out of it.”
“Where are you going?” Keris demanded.
“Back,” he replied tersely.
“How?” Keris asked.
“I’ll find a way.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to split up,” Lyall reasoned. “We have no idea what dangers lie on this side. We should stick together.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.” Patris began walking up the beach. Lyall started after him, but Keris placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned and she shook her head. She felt his muscles sag in defeat. Patris continued walking until he was out of sight. He did not look back once.
~
The three of them picked their way across barren heath land. Slick stones, damp purple moss and patches of melting ice made the going treacherous. Alondo slipped and stumbled more than once. Lyall offered to carry the musician’s instrument, but he declined. “I think I should hang onto it. You never know when you might be in need of a song or two.” Lyall smiled inwardly. It was good to see him regaining some of his bonhomie. “I don’t see how anyone could survive here,” he continued.
“Me neither,” Lyall agreed. “Perhaps they simply remain in those machines of theirs.”
Alondo looked up at the leaden sky. His voice became wistful. “A machine that flies. I would certainly love to get a look at one of those.”
“If all goes well, then maybe you will,” Lyall replied.
Keris had been quiet for some time. Lyall knew better than to invade her silence and try to drag her out of it. The former Keltar would speak in her own way and in her own time. She chose now to break in. “And what if it does not go well?”
Lyall smiled. “Then it will be up to you and Alondo.”
Keris shook her head. “We cannot afford to lose any more people. Your plan is ill advised.”
“I agree with Keris,” Alondo said. “You shouldn’t put yourself at risk.”
“If we are going to get Annata’s machine working again and find the instrument she was talking about, we are going to need their help.” Lyall insisted.
“There is a better way,” she said.
“I told you,” Lyall said firmly, “we don’t have the time to observe them from afar. Besides, if they were to discover us spying on them–”
“I’m talking about the Chandara,” Keris cut in.
“The Chandara? What do you mean?” Lyall asked.
“At the Great Tree, Annata said that Boxx was the ‘key’ to using the instrument,” she began. “I don’t know want that means exactly. But she also said that if anything went wrong, then we should seek out the Chandara here. She said they would be able to direct us to where the device we need is concealed.”
Lyall extended a sweeping hand, taking in the desolate moor with its sparse vegetation. In the distance, snow-capped peaks rose up above a blanket of mist. “Where do you suggest we start, Keris? It’s a big world, and…” A low thrumming sound. “Do you hear that?”
Keris had already drawn her staff and was circling rapidly. Suddenly she pointed. “There.”
A silver dart swept in from the north, the note from its engines rising as it approached. The three of them stood, transfixed, as it grew rapidly. Heading straight for them. The sleek vessel loomed large, filling their vision. The moment had come.
The faces of those he had known swam before his vision: Rainer, courageous as a vara-cat; fair haired Wenda; Perata, Ennas’ two older sons, Mendar and Nefin–all lost at Persillan; his mother and father; and lastly Aune, his beloved sister, light brown hair framing an all too innocent face. He stepped forward, arms outstretched as if to embrace them all. A voice from behind. “Get down.” A blinding flash. Then the darkness closed over him
.
~
Keris watched in horror as a bright beam emanated from the front of the flying machine. It struck the ground next to Lyall, flinging him sideways to the ground.
As the craft passed overhead, the droning fell once more in pitch. Keris flung herself forward, getting her arm under Lyall and turning him over. He was alive, but his eyelids were fluttering. Idiot. His bravery was going to get them all killed.
She shot a look behind her. The machine was already banking, preparing to come at them for a second pass. Keris put his arm around her shoulders and pulled them both upright. Alondo looked as if he were in a trance. “Run,” she yelled at him–then started half-dragging Lyall across the slippery ground, away from the aerial attacker. Alondo awoke from his stupor and caught up to them, grabbing Lyall’s other arm. Keris and Alondo pounded across the moor as fast as their shared burden would allow.
The thrumming grew in Keris’ ears. She hazarded a glance behind her. The flying craft was bearing down on them once more. Suddenly, Keris swerved to the right, choosing a direction perpendicular to their pursuer’s course. Another beam struck the ground harmlessly to her left, kicking up a shower of earth, moss and slush. Evasion tactics. Change tack–don’t give them a clear shot. Trouble was, that would only delay the inevitable. They were caught cold, in wide-open country with no cover. There was no possible way they could outrun it. She recalled that Lyall still had one lodestone grenade left following their earlier battle with the Kharthrun Serpent. However, she would have to stop and search his pack to find it, and there was no time. In any case, it would take a throw of great accuracy and wild good fortune to do any damage to the chasing vessel, let alone bring it down.
The machine was coming up behind them again. Keris shoved to one side, pushing all three of them to the ground. A bolt of lightning struck the ground near her feet, flinging dirt over her. The smell of burnt moss assailed her nostrils. She got her feet under her and stumbled forward once more. Alondo was breathing heavily, and Lyall was little more than dead weight. If I don’t do something soon, we’re all dead.
She spotted a reflection out of the corner of her eye–water. A blanket bog had formed on the waterlogged ground. An idea came to her. There was no way to know how deep it was, but still…
The flying machine had not yet turned. There was no time to explain her plan. She pulled the other two in the direction of the fen. As their boots sloshed through the shallow water, she pushed them both down and threw herself flat. The icy marsh water penetrated her clothing; shocking, then numbing her skin. Keris thrust aside the discomfort, pulling Lyall and Alondo deeper into the marsh, checking to make sure that Lyall’s mouth and nose were out of the water, so that he wouldn’t drown.
She listened for the drone of the engines. The pitch rose and fell, but didn’t seem to be getting any closer. She put herself in the position of the pilot. Where did we go? He would be conducting a search pattern. Alondo started to rise, then grunted as Keris savagely shoved him back beneath the water. Her saturated clothing clung to her body, cold and clammy. An eternity passed. Give it up. At long last, the sound faded and was gone.
He could have landed to continue the hunt on foot. She stayed still, breathing slowly. The fetid water seeped into her mouth and nostrils. Lyall’s eyes were closed; she could not determine whether he was conscious or not. She turned her head and hissed in Alondo’s direction, “Don’t move.”
Keris slithered out of the bog, crawling with her stomach pressed to the ground. She turned, carefully scanning both ground and sky. The flying machine was gone and there seemed no sign of further threat. She stood cautiously, then bent down and grabbed Lyall’s arm. “Help me with him,” she instructed Alondo.
The musician rose with a groan and supported Lyall from the other side. Together, they stumbled out of the fen, freezing water dripping from their clothes. Alondo’s teeth were chattering. Keris cast about her. “We have to get out of the open–find cover.” She briefly considered returning to the ship, but dismissed the idea. It would be too easy for the enemy to track them there. There was a range of low hills to the southeast. “That way.”
The three of them set off together, insects creeping imperceptibly across the vast bleak moor.
~
Sadly, Keris’ expertise did not extend to healing skills. Her examination of Lyall revealed no obvious bleeding or contusions. But he remained unconscious, his colour was too pallid for her liking and his breathing was ragged and shallow. She wished she knew what that meant. If there was ever a time when they needed Boxx…
A line of barren hills rose before them. They looked scarcely more inviting than the moorland they had been trudging through. But hills meant valleys, overhangs, possibly even caves; places that would make them harder to find and provide shelter from aerial assault.
Alondo’s expression reflected his deep concern, but his healing ability was no greater than hers. They had unpacked a half-dry blanket and were trying to keep him warm. With no wood for a fire, it was proving next to impossible. Alondo had suggested scouring the area for something they could burn, but Keris rejected the idea.
“This is enemy territory. We can’t risk giving away our position.”
“You don’t know these people are our enemies,” Alondo protested. “We’ve not even seen or spoken to any of them yet.”
“They attacked us on sight,” Keris said, matter-of-factly. “I think they made their intentions clear.”
“Then what about the machine that came upon us at the beach? That one didn’t attack us,” Alondo pointed out.
Keris shrugged. “Maybe it simply didn’t see us. Or maybe it did and it reported our position to the second one. Either way, the result is the same.”
Alondo shook his head. “I don’t like it. We don’t know anything about them. Why would they just attack us like that? They don’t even know who we are. It doesn’t make sense.”
“We are invaders of their world. That may well be all the excuse they need.”
Alondo fell into a brooding silence. Keris got up and walked a little way toward the nearby foothills. “What was that weapon they used, anyway?” he called after her. “It was like a bolt of lightning. The inhabitants of this world must be far more advanced than us in machines. They could help us.”
“They could also destroy us as easily as swatting a mannatar. They have abundantly demonstrated that. Lyall tried to make overtures to them, and look what happened to him. No, we cannot trust these people…” She trailed off.
“What is it?” Alondo sounded anxious.
“Tracks,” she said.
“Tracks of what?”
“I’m not sure. I’m going to check it out.” Keris set off towards the grey hills. “Stay here, I’ll be back shortly.”
“You’re not going to kill anybody, are you?” Alondo asked.
Keris called back over her shoulder, “Not unless I have to.”
<><><><><>
Chapter 10
The structure sat in a natural hollow, embraced by the surrounding highlands; a simple two-story edifice made of smooth grey stone, with an angular roof. Guardhouse? Barracks? It was difficult to be certain. What immediately caught Keris’ eye, however, was the object to the left of the building–a flying machine, exactly like the one that had attacked them. Keris could not be sure that it was the same one, but she didn’t intend to take any chances.
She checked the perimeter one final time, then slipped out from behind the boulder she was using as cover and set out at a low run toward the structure, Keltar cloak fluttering behind her. She reached the sleek silver craft. It sat, quiescent, in stark contrast to the whirring contrivance that had spat fire at them earlier. Keris understood little of the workings of machines, but she figured she knew enough to put one out of commission. There was a tether linking the fuselage to a part of the building. Keris strode over to it, drew her staff and severed the machine’s umbilical cord with a single deft stroke. The cord sparked angrily, then b
ecame still. She walked over to the vessel and scoured its smooth surface seeking vulnerabilities.
Her fingers detected a tiny crack. She hefted her staff once more, wedging the diamond blade into the crack and using it as a lever. Crack. A panel sprang open, revealing an inner array of components. Keris hacked and sliced at them until there were broken parts hanging from the housing and littering the ground. Satisfied, she approached the building. A main door. She ignored it. There was no way of knowing what manner of creature or how many of them there would be inside. Shock and overwhelm–that would be the best tactic. She skirted around to the rear of the property. There was something that looked like a metal barrel, and she crouched down behind it.
Voices. They seemed to be coming from a large window just behind a first floor balcony. Keris blipped the lodestone layer of her cloak, detecting a lodestone deposit just behind her. She rose from behind the cylinder, fully extended her lodestone and sailed upward, landing lightly on the balcony, just to the left of the window. There were three…no, four voices, but she still could not quite make out what they were saying. Four to one, with the element of surprise–it should be simple enough. The most important thing would be to ensure that none of them had an opportunity to raise the alarm. If she could do that without hurting anybody, so much the better, but she and the others had already been attacked without provocation. I will do what I have to.
Steeling herself, she jumped once more, grabbed the upper lintel and came crashing through the window, feet first.
Four shocked expressions, frozen in an instant of time. Kelanni. It was the last thing Keris had expected. She had built up an impression of an aggressive soldier-like race, flying around in their aerial contraptions, blasting anything that dared to encroach on their territory. Yet these were her own people. Two of them appeared to be children. Of course, appearances could be deceptive.
She selected the largest–a male. In an instant, the diamond blade was at his throat. “Medicaments,” she growled. “Do you have any medicaments?” The three others looked at each other in confusion. The youngest–a girl–ran to the larger female and held her, whimpering. The woman stretched out a hand toward Keris and spoke something in a pleading tone. Keris relaxed her grip slightly and softened her voice. “I am with someone who is hurt. Do you have a healer here?” The woman looked perplexed. The man was trying to speak. Keris released him. He positioned himself in front of the others and began talking to her in an urgent voice. Keris listened intently, but could not quite make out what he was saying. There was something wrong here. Slowly, she sheathed her staff weapon and then spread her arms wide.
The Lodestone Trilogy (Limited Edition) (The Lodestone Series) Page 43