Rael held up a hand. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I can make a trip like that.”
“Why not?” she demanded.
“Because I am needed here. There’s the diametric drive project out on the flats, for one.” He went back to the map, drawing the route with his finger. “Three days to reach the location here. Say, a day wandering about in the wilderness looking for your Chandara friends. Then three days journey back. A minimum of seven days in all. I don’t think Hannath is going to release me for that amount of time. I…could ask him, I suppose.”
She shook her head. “No.”
Rael looked confused. “You don’t want me to ask him?”
“We can’t risk it. If he gets wind of the fact that me and Boxx want to leave, he could reinstate the drach guards and we might never get out of here.”
“But I can’t just leave, Shann. Besides, we would have to travel by avionic, and I don’t have access to one.”
“What about the one we’ve been using?” she suggested.
“That machine belongs to the Scientific Directorate.”
“Then we borrow it for a while.”
“What? Are you crazy? We can’t steal an avionic.”
She glared at him. “I’m going with or without you.”
“Impossible,” he protested. “The first hop is over the Cathgorn Peaks, southeast of here. It’s one of the most perilous and inhospitable places in all of Kelanni-Skell. Glaciers, hidden crevasses, not to mention some highly dangerous creatures that prowl the snow fields up there. You would never make it on foot. It’d be suicide.”
“And if I don’t go, we’re dead anyway. Besides, Boxx says the Chandara need our help. I’d rather die trying to do something than rot here, helpless.”
Rael’s face betrayed a storm of conflicted loyalties. She hated to have to do this to him, but it was the only way. He shook his head. “I can’t let you kill yourself.”
“Does that mean you’re going to help me and Boxx?”
He looked from one to the other. “You realise an avionic can only accommodate two people.”
“Then it’s going to be a tight squeeze,” she said.
<><><><><>
Chapter 14
For the first time in many days, Keris felt truly alive.
At daybreak she had struck out northeast from Kieroth across the snow-covered countryside. Beneath her jet-black Keltar tunic and trousers, she wore an insulating coverall made from a thin fabric, which she had acquired from their hosts. It hugged her wrists and ankles, making her body feel warm and secure. The cold still clawed at her extremities and a biting wind slapped her face in gusts, numbing her cheeks and bringing tears to her eyes. Still, it felt good to be out in the open and on the move.
Keris leaped over the ground, pushing off the available deposits of lodestone, moving rapidly. Although she had refrained from mentioning it to Lyall, while Alondo had been busy talking to the artisan community in Kieroth and losing himself in the new found wonder of their engines and other devices, she had conducted her own little side investigation into the whereabouts of the Chandara on this side of the Barrier.
Most of the young people she spoke to knew nothing of the forest dwellers and cared less. The older generation, however, pricked their ears as if it were a familiar name they had not heard in many turns. One grizzled Kelanni with thinning hair and skin like worn leather, who she found sitting alone in the corner of a dusty workshop, even claimed to have seen them. He also spoke her dialect, what the locals called Old Kelanni, although with a peculiar inflection.
“Candachra–the First Ones. Sure, I seen ’em. It were near a full turn afore the war with them hu-mans. Nastiest lookin’ people y’ever did see. Pale pink skin. Made ya feel sick just to look at ’em. And no tail at all. Made ya wonder how them creatures ever managed to stand upright.” He threw back his head until the tendons in his neck were taut and let forth a laugh, dry and cracked as old leaves. “Anyways, we in the Kieroth Militia had ’em trapped on the beach at Chanoch Bay. We had already trashed their three flying vessels, when–”
“The Candachra,” she reminded him.
“Oh…why sure. Well, they were the First Ones, ya know.”
“First Ones? What does that mean?” she asked.
The old man laughed his raucous laugh once more, then stifled a paroxysm of coughing. “You young-uns, I declare. I don’t know what them fancy educators teach ya these days. The Candachra lived here in this world long before we Kelanni arrived.”
Keris could not see how the old timer could possibly know that, but it didn’t seem pertinent to her inquiry, so she decided to let it slide. “I see. Tell me, when did you last see them?”
The old man’s eyes lost their focus. “I remember like it were yesterday. I were a logger back then. We worked on the edge o’ the great forest in the Atarah Lowlands. Back then, the forest stretched for a hundred met-ryns. At the centre, were a tree that were ten times bigger than the rest, wi’ branches that scraped the sky. There were where them Candachra lived–hundreds of ’em. In the morning they’d just appear outa the mist that covered the forest floor, makin’ them high chirpin’ noises o’ theirs. One time I recall, one o’ them came forward and spoke to Darvath. It carried a staff like an old, twisted branch. Said stuff like, ‘Take, Plant, Preserve The Wood’. Darvath pulled off ’is cap and scratched ’is ’ead till it were raw, but ’e couldn’t make no sense out of it. Still, they never interfered with the logging. Just stood there on there on their hind limbs, watchin’ us with eyes like black flames. Made some ’o the loggers nervous at first, but eventually we just got used to ’em.
“Then one day, they were gone.”
“Gone?”
“Yup. One mornin’ they just didn’t show. We never saw ’em again after that. Some ’o the lads said ‘good riddance’. Others swore it were ’cause some disaster were about to befall us, but nothin’ bad happened. Darvath wouldn’t talk about it. Just yelled at everyone to get back to work. Not long after, the war started, so we packed up and went back to Kieroth to defend our mates an’ young-uns.”
“Did you ever find out what happened to them?” she asked.
“Nope. I did go back to Atarah a few turns after the war, but the forest were dyin’.”
Keris’ eyes widened. “Dying? How?”
“No-one knows,” he replied. “The trees were goin’ bare as far as the eye could see. The massive tree that were their home were dyin’ too.”
“What about the Chand–the Candachra?”
The old man spread his bony arms wide. “Dead maybe. Or maybe they up stakes and went somewhere else.”
Keris was stunned. Could it be that the Chandara had all perished on this side of the Barrier? She shoved the thought aside. Annata would not have told her to seek them out if they no longer existed. They had to be here somewhere. The destruction of their Great Tree was a disaster, but at least it gave her a starting point. If the forest of Atarah was as large as this old-timer claimed, then he couldn’t possibly have searched it all. And if they had migrated, there might be clues as to where they had gone–maybe even a clue to the devastation of the forest itself. “Can you tell me how I would get to the forest from here?”
The oldster blinked. “Now why would you want to travel there?”
A number of convoluted and unlikely excuses flitted through Keris’ thoughts. However, there seemed little point in resorting to elaborate deception. If the old boy paraded through the streets trumpeting their conversation, she doubted whether anyone would take him seriously. So she plumped for something close to the truth. “I am investigating a situation that may be a major threat to our world.”
The old man leaned forward and his eyes narrowed, making his crows feet stand out. “Ya heard the saying, ‘mock an old man in ya youth, an’ they’ll mock ya when ya’ve na tooth’?”
She hadn’t, of course, but she had no interest in debating the homespun philosophy of this culture. “I’m serious.”
“What if I didn’t travel by avionic?” she asked.
“Why wouldn’t ya go by avionic? Ya scared o’ flyin’ or somethin’?”
“No,” she replied. “I…just never learned to fly one of those things.”
The old man’s face erupted into a toothless grin. “Me either. If ya go farther up the coast a ways, ya’ll come to the Meurig Divide. Cross there an’ continue north. Can’t miss it.”
Keris thanked him and turned to go. “One thing.” She turned back to see that he was frowning. “Just a little farther north o’ the forest lies Kynedyr, the ruined city o’the Ancients, abandoned at the Goratha–the dark time. Don’t ya go anywhere near that place.”
Her ears pricked up at the mention of Annata’s people. “Why? What’s there?”
“Strange things,” he said, “Things na man’d care t’see. Some say they seen spectres, images o’ them that went before. Make sure ya stay away.”
Keris thanked him and excused herself. Naturally, she wasn’t about to head out into open country on the word of a crazy old coot, so she had asked around some more. It seemed that the old boy’s directions were sound enough, although she put little store in his superstitious warning. Belief in spectres–that was for senile old men, children and the hopelessly ignorant.
Keris gradually retracted the upper lodestone layer of her flying cloak. As the ground rose up to meet her, she flexed her knees and came to a running stop. She shielded her eyes, gazed up at the early morning suns and took her bearings. The jagged peaks of the Cathgorn range loomed large to her right; to her left, a large circular field held a scattering of avionics, surrounding a squat grey building.
A low humming sound, rising in pitch. Shouts. The disturbance was coming from the direction of the sleek flying craft. Moments later, one of them rose into the air, wheeled around, and shot away in a southerly direction toward the town.
Keris adjusted her course away from the field. The ground was beginning to rise ahead of her. Keris slowed as she approached the crest of a rise. That same humming sound again, much closer this time. It was coming from directly ahead. Another silver shape suddenly appeared over the ridge–exactly the same as the one that had attacked them out on the moor. It was hovering right in front of her. Instinctively, Keris threw herself face first down into the snow. The wet snow chilled her cheek and the droning filled her ears. Then, without warning, the hum became a whine. She risked a glance upward. She could see the flat underbelly of the machine as it passed directly over her. Then its nose dipped slightly and it began to accelerate away in the direction of the previous craft.
Keris waited until the sound had died, then stood up and brushed off the loose snow. There was no reason to suppose that it had been the machine that attacked them. If it was, then either it had not spotted her, or its pilot was preoccupied with a different mission. Whatever the case, Keris was content to leave it as a mystery and accept her good fortune. Skirting the ridge, she resumed her solitary journey toward the Meurig Divide and the Great Forest of Atarah that lay beyond.
~
A score of avionics sat motionless, silver flanks glinting in the first light of dawn. At the edge of the field, a tall, awkward looking youth in brown furs scanned the surroundings. Behind him stood a slight female form, clad in an ebon cloak. Behind her was a small round creature, black eyes peeking out from beneath its shell. The cloaked figure was tugging at the youth’s shoulder.
“Don’t just stand out in the open, you idiot,” Shann hissed. “Take cover.”
Rael turned his head toward her. His expression was one of exaggerated patience. “The machines aren’t guarded, Shann. No-one ever steals them. Well, not until now, at any rate.”
“I don’t want to steal one,” she protested. “I just want to borrow it, that’s all.” She saw that he still looked unhappy. “You said it yourself. There’s no other way of getting across those mountains.”
He began threading his way between the silent machines. “It…it’s just that I’m not comfortable with all of this sneaking around. I should have told Hannath what I was doing. Hannath took me on as his apprentice and gave me a position of responsibility. I…I feel as if I’m betraying that trust.”
Shann gestured for Boxx to follow and trotted after Rael, trying to keep up with his longer stride. “From what I’ve seen, he just shouts at you and makes you do all the hard work.”
“He’s one of our greatest scientists,” Rael pointed out.
“Maybe he is,” Shann said. “But he doesn’t listen.”
“We Will Fly Now,” Boxx interrupted.
“That’s right,” Shann replied. “We are going up in one of those metal things.”
“Like At Kharthrun,” it squeaked.
Rael turned to look behind him. “Kharthrun?”
Shann smiled. “It’s a long story.” She turned back to the Chandara. “You can ride with me up front, all right?”
“All Right, Shann…We Go To See My People.”
“Yes. I hope they will be able to tell us the location of the instrument we need.”
“There Is Not Much Time.”
“I know,” she said. “Sakara has already fallen. We have to find it before he completes the weapon.”
“No,” the Chandara replied in its shrill, piping voice. “It Is I…I Do Not Have Much Time.”
“Time for what?” she asked.
“We Change. We Eat. We Remember.”
“What’s it talking about?” Rael inquired
“I don’t know,” she said. “It said the same thing shortly after we got here. I thought it was talking about some sort of spiritual belief. ”
“Maybe it’s referring to its death,” Rael suggested.
Shann ran ahead of him. “What?”
“I don’t know,” Rael continued. “It’s very, very old. Even you told me, it doesn’t seem to know how old it is. Maybe it senses that its end is near and it wants to die among its own people.”
Shann felt a flush of anger. These people, with their clever machines and superior ways, thought they knew everything. She rounded on him. “You don’t know any of that. You’re just guessing.”
Rael seemed unfazed by her outburst. “You’re right, I don’t. But nothing lives forever, Shann.”
He had led them unerringly to a machine close to the far side of the field. This aerial craft seemed to her to be exactly like the others. He climbed up to the cockpit and activated a control that moved the cover back. Shann picked up Boxx and lifted it. Rael took the Chandara from her and placed it in the front seat. Then he reached down one of his long arms to haul her up.
There was a cry from behind her. Rael froze. She turned to see an athletic figure in blue coveralls jogging towards them. Ravid. He came to a halt next to her. “Rael, what are you doing?”
“I…I need to take the avionic up. F-field tests,” he said.
“Field tests?” Ravid frowned. “I wasn’t told anything about it.”
“S-sorry,” Rael stammered. “Must’ve b-been a failure in c-communication.”
The avionics engineer ran a hand through his thinning white hair. “Well, you can’t take this machine up today. It’s already been booked by one of the Directors. He’s being taken on a tour of the launch facility.” He paused, as if suddenly remembering something. “Hannath already knows this. I don’t understand why he would–”
Rael kicked out with one of his long legs and caught Ravid squarely in the chest. The older man’s eyes bulged and he exhaled sharply as he was propelled backwards and fell sprawling on the snow. Rael grabbed Shann’s wrist and haul
ed her up. She clambered into the front seat, squeezing Boxx over to one side as the transparent canopy closed over her. Ravid had scrambled to his feet, and was yelling at them. His muffled voice was quickly drowned out by the rising hum of the engines. A moment later, she felt a slight downward pressure as the machine lifted into the air. As it banked away, she had a view of Ravid, arms waving frantically as he grew smaller and smaller. Eventually he was lost amidst the snowbound landscape.
<><><><><>
Chapter 15
Alondo stood back, taking in the view of the oddly shaped house on the snowy hill just outside the town of Kieroth. “This has to be it,” he declared. “The dome-shaped structure looks like nothing I’ve seen elsewhere. It’s just as Keris described it.”
“Right, then. Let’s see if we can speak to someone.” Lyall walked up and hammered on the door.
“Hold it.” Alondo came up and stood alongside Lyall. “Better let me do the talking.”
Lyall looked sideways at his friend. “And why is that?”
“Well, to be perfectly honest…you’re not very good.”
Lyall frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
“Do you remember the conversation you had with Soppora at the house this morning?”
“Certainly,” Lyall said. “I asked if she wanted help with breakfast.”
“No.” Alondo pointed out. “You didn’t.”
“I didn’t?”
“No.” They stood before the door a few moments in silence. “Although, on the plus side, I think she was seriously considering your offer,” Alondo added.
The door opened, saving Lyall from further embarrassment. A chubby woman in pale green work dress and apron greeted them. “Is this ‘observatory’?” Alondo asked in the local dialect.
“Yes,” she bustled. “Can I help you?”
Alondo smiled. “We are here to see Hannath the Scientist. Is he here?”
“Are you from the Directorate?” she asked.
Alondo looked at Lyall, then back at the woman. “No, we’re here to see Hannath on…a private matter.”
The Lodestone Trilogy (Limited Edition) (The Lodestone Series) Page 47