Shann studied Rael. His face was a wooden mask. Finally, the wood cracked. “I... I d-don’t think I can do this, Shann.”
Feelings of ire flashed up once more within her, both at the quivering boy next to her, who had insisted in coming along because of some misguided feeling of attachment to her and who was now realising that he had bitten off more than he could chew, and at the dark-haired woman far below who didn’t seem to care if he killed himself in the process. She took hold of her anger and channelled it— used it to fuel her resolve. “Nonsense. We’ll go together.”
“W-what do you mean?”
She didn’t immediately answer, as the idea was only half-formed in her mind. At the start of their voyage to Helice, Keris had mentioned to Lyall something about training sessions in the use of the new red cloak. But then there was the growing tension with the drach, followed by their encounter with the colcachra, after which she had been unconscious for nearly a full day. Then just as they were approaching the island, the hu-man avionics attacked the ship... There had simply been no time or opportunity for them to fully test the capabilities of the new cloak. Until now.
“I’ll hold onto you from behind and use my flying cloak to steer us on the way down.”
“Will that work?”
“Of course.” Shann tried to sound a great deal more confident than she actually felt. Could one flying cloak support two people? She had no idea. During the descent into the Pits of Kharthrun she had leaped across a gap while carrying Boxx. Of course, Rael weighed a great deal more than the Chandara. However, in this instance, all she really needed to do was to control their downward flight. That might prove difficult if the boy had a panic attack on the way down. She briefly considered knocking him out, but decided against it.
“W-what do you need me to do?” Rael stammered.
“Nothing. It’s absolutely essential that you don’t do anything.”
“I... I don’t know, Shann.”
Shann hardened her voice. “Look. Do you want to stay up here for the rest of your life?” The flicker that passed over the boy’s face suggested he was seriously considering it. On the walkway far beneath them, Keris’s hand gestures were growing increasingly impatient.
Shann made her decision. She took up a position behind Rael, opened both the bronze and the new lower lodestone layer of her cloak, clamped her arms around the boy’s waist, ignoring his half-strangled cry of alarm, and shoved him off the network of ceiling girders.
With the black cloak, extending lodestone and bronze together would create a downward thrust which would be tantamount to suicide from this height. However, Alondo’s addition of a lower lodestone layer to the red cloak afforded rather more options.
As they fell towards the globes, the refined lodestone accumulated within the hu-man devices should push increasingly against the new lower lodestone layer. At the same time, the lower lodestone layer should push against the bronze layer above it, and the bronze should pull the lodestone, further slowing their descent. Finally, Rael’s new electrostatic boost feature should increase the power of the lodestone in her cloak, adding to both effects.
It all sounded fine. Trouble was, it was all theory. As far as she was aware, the red flying cloak had never been tested in this configuration before. As they began to fall through the air together, it occurred to her that she had just gambled both of their lives on a theory.
She turned the boost control on full. A sudden pressure on her shoulder harness threatened to wrench her shoulders out of their sockets. However, the globes were no longer rushing up to meet them. She felt Rael slipping from her grasp and threw her other arm around the boy’s slim waist once more, clasping him tight. Their descent slowed, until they finally hung suspended together in mid-air directly above the three globes. She glanced down and saw Keris gazing up at them with an expression of utter disbelief.
The boy in her arms made a slight whimpering sound, pulling her back to reality. They were starting to drift. How to get down from here? Several options presented themselves. Extending the upper lodestone layer gradually would create a downward pressure to overcome the existing balance of forces, but she was reluctant to introduce another force into the mix. She could try withdrawing either the lower lodestone or bronze layers, but she was not completely sure what effect that would have.
In the end, she reached for the boost control and started to turn it down incrementally whilst leaning forward and angling towards Keris’s position. She drifted down and landed adroitly on the walkway in front of the tall woman, releasing Rael. The boy sagged visibly, so that she thought that his legs were going to give way, but he somehow remained upright, though his face was set and pale.
Keris stared at them both for a moment, then seemed to gather her wits. She looked around, checking that the coast was still clear, reached into her pouch, and extracted something—a lime-green band, set with rectangular patterns of silver and gold.
She wrapped it around her wrist and walked slowly towards the globes, past a sign inscribed with unknown red lettering. Shann watched as the air began to crackle around the woman’s outline before closing behind her. Keris turned and walked back, the invisible barrier fizzling around her once more, giving her an oddly divine appearance. Clearly the bracelet worked. Perhaps the hu-mans never expected them to get this close to their devices.
“All right,” Keris said. “Shann, you go first. Set your component on the nearest globe and get back here as soon as it’s done. The boy goes next. Then I will set mine.”
“And then we go and free the others,” Shann reminded her.
Keris gave a single nod, removed the bracelet, and handed it to Shann. As their fingers briefly touched, Shann peered into the other woman’s eyes, but her sharply defined features remained as inscrutable as ever. The moment passed, and Shann turned and headed for the barrier. Flashing lights buzzed around her like angry insects, but she felt nothing as she passed through.
Shann moved rapidly over the bare iron walkway to where the first of the great globes sat silently. She ran her fingers over its perfectly smooth surface, as if trying to convince herself that such pure evil could really exist. Then, without further hesitation, she pulled out the pure white disc—the instrument of its nullification. She placed it firmly against the outer casing. When she took her hand away, it stayed in place. There was a high-pitched buzzing—almost inaudible. Moments later, the disc began to shine with a roseate glow. Shann left the disc where it was and returned through the barrier.
She pulled off the bracelet and handed it to Rael, half expecting him to begin yelling at her after the heart-stopping descent she had inflicted on him, but instead he simply said, “What do I do?”
She smiled reassuringly. “It’s simple. Just place your component next to mine on the sphere and wait till it turns red.”
The boy donned the bracelet and strolled through the barrier, gazing in fascination at the sputtering display of sparks that briefly enveloped him before continuing on towards the globes. Shann kept her eye on him, like an anxious mother watching her infant trying to walk for the first time. Soon he was back, with a satisfied smile. “All done.”
Keris held out her hand and he gave her the bracelet. Shann permitted herself a feeling of cautious optimism. After a couple of false starts, things at last seemed to be going according to plan. She hoped that Lyall and the others would not be made to suffer too greatly before she and Keris could free them. Hang on, we’re coming. Just a little while longer.
She watched the dark-haired woman disappear beyond the barrier. Shouts. She whirled around to see two figures in all-white coveralls hurrying across the floor of the building in their direction.
Rael swallowed. “What do we do?”
Shann drew her staff. “Stay low. Leave them to me.” They were already climbing towards the upper level, boots clanging urgently against the metal stairs. Shann advanced to a junction that blocked access to both the globes and her two companions, planted her feet, and p
repared to stand her ground.
They appeared at the top of the stairs. One pointed in her direction and yelled something she couldn’t hear; then they began bearing down on her position. Hu-mans. She could see their pallid complexion, even at this distance. She studied them as they approached. One was young and slight, with a dark, curly brush; the other was larger—chubby and somewhat flushed from his exertions. They glanced at each other nervously. Clearly, they lacked the self-assuredness of soldiers or guards. Workers, then. So much the better.
They skidded to a halt, a short distance away. The portly hu-man levelled a stubby silver instrument at her, but the other forced his hand down with a swift rebuke. Susan Gilmer had said that they would not be able to use their lightning weapons this close to the lodestone devices. Once again it seemed that she had been truthful. Shann bit her lower lip. If the woman’s intention all along was to sell them out, why volunteer such a critical piece of information? The smaller creature called out in a thin adolescent voice, cutting off her deliberations. “Kelanni. What are you doing here?”
Shann did not reply. Keep them guessing. No doubt Keris would return soon from setting her component and lend her assistance. Not that Shann needed it. She was sure she could handle these two. Stop them here. Now. Make sure they don’t get away to alert the others.
She sprinted forward, abandoning her post, and made straight for the two men in white. They traded expressions of alarm and backed off. Shann flared the upper lodestone layer of her cloak, leaped, and pushed off the lodestone accumulated in the globes behind her, sailing over the heads of the open-mouthed hu-mans and landing with a clang on the walkway that led back to the stairs. Cutting off their escape.
They turned back towards the inner walkway surrounding the bronze globes, where Rael was hunched down, out of sight. Oh no you don’t. She powered after them, drawing Saccath’s staff from behind her as she ran. The red-faced hu-man was lagging behind, his breath laboured. Grasping one end of the staff with both hands, she swung the darkwood and scythed his legs from under him. The man went down hard like a sack of moba, his head impacting one of the metal side supports. He lay still.
Curly-hair pulled up short, his expression torn between concern for his fellow and fear for himself. As he turned once more to flee, Shann hopped over the unconscious form of his companion and brought the flat of her diamond blade down on his shoulder, driving him to his knees; then she whipped her staff in an arc, so that it struck his temple. The hu-man toppled sideways and fell from the gantry with a dull thud. Shann went to the rail and leaned over. The crumpled form did not move. She felt an odd twinge of regret.
“Shann.” The voice was Rael’s. It held a note of urgency. “Shann,” he called again. She exhaled slowly and pulled away from the rail. The boy was standing straight and gesticulating with his long, ungainly arms. What now?
She trotted over to him. Her voice was tired and edged with impatience. “What is it?”
“It’s Keris,” he said, pointing urgently in the direction of the globes. “I think she’s trying to set off the hu-man devices.”
<><><><><>
Chapter 16
“She’s what?”
Shann peered across the short gap to where the huge bronze spheres lay, coddled in their network of iron supports. Keris was probing the surface of the nearest sphere with her diamond-bladed staff, attempting to penetrate a section of the casing.
“Keris... Keris,” she yelled. The woman’s face was strained, wholly absorbed in her efforts. She made no reply.
“She’s going to break the seal between the two pressurised sections. Once the two gasses begin to combine, it will create a chain reaction. No power in the universe will be able to stop it. The temperature of the reaction will increase without bound until... ”
“Until it explodes,” Shann finished off grimly. “How big will the explosion be?”
“Three devices that size going off together? My guess is that this island and everything on it will be obliterated. They could blow away half the planet.”
Why? Why is she doing this? “We have to stop her.”
Rael flapped his arms like a stranded bird. “How? The only way through the force barrier is to use the protective band. And she has it.”
Shann’s mind worked rapidly. She turned and bolted back down the walkway.
“Where are you going?” Rael called after her. Shann did not answer. She had no time for explanation or discussion. She reached the point where the chubby worker lay face down on the metal grille and knelt down beside him. A thin line of red blood trickled down the side of his face, but he was still breathing. She grabbed an arm and felt his wrist. Nothing. She snatched his other arm and pulled up the white sleeve. A telltale green band. Tearing it off, she clasped it around her own wrist and dashed back to where Rael still stood, nonplussed.
“Wait here,” she commanded.
“What are you—?”
Shann did not hear the remainder of Rael’s question. She was already moving through the invisible barrier, flashes of light fizzing and sputtering angrily around her.
~
“Stop what you’re doing.”
Shann was shocked by her own boldness. She had railed against the former Keltar on more than one occasion. Denounced her. Even challenged her. But never before had she attempted to give her orders.
The woman lowered her staff and turned slowly, and Shann got another shock. Keris’s cheeks were smeared and her eyes were puffy and half closed, as if she had been crying. Her voice was tinged with high emotion. “Stay back. Don’t get involved in things you don’t understand.”
“Rael says that if you succeed in setting off these devices, they could devastate this entire island.”
“Yes, they will,” Keris exploded. “I will die. You will die. Lyall. Alondo. Boxx. All the hu-mans on this island. But it will be over. The hu-man threat will be gone and our world will be safe.”
Shann forced herself to stay calm. “There’s no guarantee of that. Rael told me that if all three of these things go off at once, there’s no way to predict exactly what will happen. You could end up destroying the world.”
Keris shook her head firmly, as if trying to divest herself of the notion. “Nonsense. This island is surrounded by ocean. Nothing could reach that far.”
“Rael may not be much good with the cloak and staff, but he’s seldom wrong about these sorts of things. Annata gave us the instrument we need to disarm the weapons safely. Please, Keris, let’s use it.”
“Annata is dead,” Keris spat. “Her people are dead. She knows nothing of our world. Of necessity and sacrifice. Her scheme of using four component carriers isn’t tenable. It’s too complex. Too time consuming. Too many things to go wrong. The moment Susan Gilmer betrayed us, it was dead in the water. This...” She stared at the point of her staff weapon. “This is the only way. The only way to be sure. I’m sorry.”
Faces drifted through Shann’s consciousness. Lyall—the dedicated leader, eyes blue and hard as sapphires. Alondo—the entertainer and genius with machines, round-faced with a quick wit and a ready smile. Rael—the boy mathematician, awkward, shy, considerate, and thoughtful. Patris—the thief-sailor, quiet, clever, and resourceful. Boxx—the Chandara, with the wisdom of a sage and the innocence of a child. All of them had come so far. Sacrificed so much. Her heart welled up into her throat. “I can’t let you do this.”
Keris’s fingers flexed on the haft of her staff weapon. Her voice was as razor-sharp as the diamond-tipped blade. “You don’t have a choice.” Shann drew her staff in response and held it, point first, in attack posture. Keris blinked. “Are you going to fight me?”
Shann’s brow furrowed, but her voice held clear and steady. “If I have to.”
“You must know that I am well able to defeat you.”
The woman was right. She probably didn’t stand a chance. Keris possessed superior height, strength, and reach, not to mention vastly greater experience and training. Shann h
ad defeated her younger incarnation during the experience at the Dais. However, when she later came barrelling out of the grey mist and attacked the woman’s older self, the former Keltar had disarmed her as easily as if she were taking a toy from a child. During their voyage to the island, Shann had managed to inflict injury on Keris while under the influence of the colcachra, but she retained no memory of it and, as Lyall later pointed out, Keris had been deliberately holding back. Now, she had no reason to do so. The most Shann could probably hope for would be to delay her. I have no choice. I have to try.
Shann mapped out the field of battle in her head just as Lyall had taught her. Keris was situated between her and the accumulated lodestone in the bronze globes. Hers was the first move. Stay out of range—counterattack where possible. Shann pulled back Saccath’s staff and held it before her with hands outstretched, moving from an attack to a defensive posture. Keris nodded once. Approval? Respect? Her sorrowful features broke into a half-smile; then she sprang into motion, flared her cloak, and shot into the air, propelled by the power of the refined lodestone in the globes behind her.
Shann tensed as she kept her eye firmly fixed on the soaring figure high above her. At the apex of her leap, Keris whirled her staff and dived towards her, diamond blade aimed at her head like a lance.
Shann backed up rapidly along the raised walkway, forcing Keris to alter her line of flight. The strategy was a risky one. The farther she retreated from the globes, the more she reduced the other woman’s advantage, but the greater the probability that she would be driven back past the invisible force barrier. If Keris could then disable or destroy her bracelet, she would be able to return to the central area and complete her work, uninterrupted. Or she could just kill me. She might even take the view that that would be more merciful.
She came to a halt, knotted her muscles, and thrust out her staff to deflect the oncoming blade. Keris pulled back her staff at the last instant and whirled it around to meet Shann’s weapon. The vast interior of the hu-man facility echoed to the sound of darkwood clashing against darkwood. Shann was driven backwards. She could hear Rael beyond the barrier, yelling something at her, but she was preoccupied with trying to ward off the other woman’s blows. Any moment now, Keris would penetrate her defences with a timely thrust and it would all be over.
The Lodestone Trilogy (Limited Edition) (The Lodestone Series) Page 85