The Lost Stone of SkyCity

by HM Waugh

  Together we race for the exit, hidden in the dark of the other side of the cavern. His light shines forward more strongly with every step, as if the murk and magic of the fourth Test is being left behind. Ahead, finally, a dark doorway looms.

  Praseep turns and flashes a grim smile at me.

  I guess we just passed Resilience.

  One more to go.

  Strength.

  My stomach is doing flips.

  Chapter 20

  I get the feeling we’re heading outside for the last level. Which means the strength they’re Testing is likely to be exactly what I thought it would be – strength of my power. Our power. The power of ice and the heart of snow.

  I’m more comfortable with this than I expected to be. This, at least, I know I’m good at.

  We race around a corner. Ahead of us is blue sky and blinding snow. We’re heading outside. The night has passed. How long have we been in there?

  Praseep and I pause, panting, at the edge of the tunnel. I look out. The opening is part way down the side of the mountain. A perfect carpet of white snow slopes up steeply to our right, and to our left smoothly plummets to the valley far below. The sky is a fierce shade of vivid blue, and the sun is bright.

  I squint into the glare. There is something ahead of us, lying next to a fluttering red flag, a good distance across the slope.

  Not something, someone.

  I can’t tell who it is from this distance. I can’t sense them either. What I can feel is the weight of the snow above us, the strain of the banks below, the ever-increasing impact of the strengthening sun.

  If that person isn’t a phantom like the others, then they’re in deep trouble. I’m already figuring that’s the aim of this final level. Saving whoever it is.

  Beside me, Praseep gasps. ‘No!’

  He makes as if to run out to the crumpled body, but I grab him. One more step and he’d blunder onto that precarious slope and set it all off. This whole mountainside is an avalanche waiting to happen. He is strong, but I’m terrified, so we even out and I manage to hold him back. Still, I think he would’ve got past me if his foot hadn’t slipped on loose gravel on the floor of the tunnel.

  He falls and I follow him, landing heavily on the cold stone, still gripping his hand.

  ‘Let me go!’ he cries.

  ‘No!’

  ‘That is my sister!’ He stops fighting. ‘That is my sister,’ he whispers.

  I’ve never heard Praseep call Rishala his sister before. He’s always used a formal title. But, more worryingly, Praseep was clearly not expecting her out there.

  ‘She might be a phantom …’

  ‘I know this Test, she is not a phantom. She is not supposed to be there. No one is supposed to be there. It is too dangerous. There is only ever a flag.’

  I shuffle sideways slowly, cautious that he might try to dash off again. He doesn’t.

  Careening out there will kill not just us, but the Princess too.

  We sit side by side, just inside the tunnel mouth, looking out. Sound of wind through rocks. Far-off cry of a storm bird. Ache of heavy snowdrifts. And the stillness of the Princess. She will be getting cold. We don’t have much time.

  I purse my lips. ‘How is it normally done?’

  Praseep sighs. ‘I never got this far, but I have heard something of what happens. The Applicant takes the flag, then must climb up to a ledge on the far rockface. It is supposed to be safe there.’

  I frown. It doesn’t sound that hard. ‘Can’t we all do that? All three?’

  He shakes his head. ‘I am not sure we will be able to carry her up, the ledge is very high. And anyway, there is barely space for one person on it. Do not think this is easy, that is how it tricks you. The reason I have heard about this Test is because an Applicant died here. He was a friend of Aji’s. Very powerful. We cannot underestimate this.’

  I stare at him, appalled, and he nods, then turns back to look at the Princess.

  ‘She is unconscious,’ he says. ‘Can you feel it?’

  ‘I can’t feel her at all.’

  He frowns, then shrugs. ‘I suppose you have only just met her …’

  The storm bird cries again. My bones hear the cry of the slope, a dangerous echo. It won’t stay as it is for long. Even without us walking across it, the sun’s heat will destabilise it soon enough.

  It will all come down. And the Princess will be wrapped up in the middle of it. Vilpur planned this well.

  Think, Sunaya!

  But this isn’t something I can do alone. I turn to Praseep again. ‘We can work together, you and I, like we did when we were seeking the Stone.’

  The slope outside groans. I hear it inside me. I hear it with my ears as well. My eyes meet Praseep’s. His have paled into glacial blue.

  ‘Let’s do this.’ I stand, reach down a hand to him. He stares at it. ‘Come on, together we’re strong, you and I.’

  He grins. ‘And clever.’

  He takes my hand and I haul him up after me. ‘Do you want to lead?’ I ask.

  ‘Are you sure?’

  I smile. ‘Absolutely.’

  His eyes bleach to white. His presence moves out to blanket the slope. He’s watching me closely, and I realise my eyes must now be changing to echo his. I follow his mind presence and let myself dissolve into him.

  We meld easily this time. The protests of the snow stall, comforted by our strength. His hand encased in mine, we leave the shadow of the tunnel together. The sun reflects off the snow like knives in my eyes. I use my other hand to shield the glare.

  We walk swiftly across the snow to the Princess. Our feet do not make footprints. The slope doesn’t even shiver at our passage. I feel a sense of comfort radiating out from it.

  I squeeze Praseep’s hand. ‘This is working!’

  When we reach the Princess, Praseep releases my hand and kneels beside her. He calls her name, shakes her gently, then more forcefully.

  But she doesn’t stir.

  And I feel the beginning of fatigue blur Praseep’s hold on the slope. My left foot sinks to the ankle into softening snow.

  I grip his shoulder. ‘Can you carry her back to the tunnel?’

  He answers by standing and picking her up. She dangles like a rag doll. Now we’re so close I can sense the life inside her, and it comforts me.

  My right foot sinks.

  The control we have over the snow is slipping. Acting on instinct, I push my mind forward into Praseep’s. I feel a pulsing power from my pocket, my turquoise helping me. There’s disorientation, like the after-effect of a somersault, and then I know I am the lead. Praseep’s power is with me, and I’m the controller.

  It feels weird. No wonder Praseep reacted the way he did the first time.

  I bolster the slopes as strongly as I can, and together we turn towards the safety of the tunnel mouth.

  I falter, heart stuttering. There’s someone there.

  Vilpur.

  But that’s not the worst of it. In his hand, something glitters blue.

  He’s got the Stone.

  I stagger backwards, feel the snow react to my loss of concentration, see Vilpur raise the Stone in his fist.

  He aims it at us.

  The blast is like an avalanche all of its own. I hold onto the slope we stand on with difficulty, but the snow between us and Vilpur collapses with a roar. Snow haze fills the blue sky, turning the bright day into murk. The ground shakes beneath my feet.

  I turn back to Praseep. ‘Run!’

  Princess Rishala hangs limply as he spins towards the relative safety of the solid rock on the other side. I stagger after him, reaching forward to hold the snow ahead as I abandon the spot we were just standing on. From the corner of my eye I see a blood-red flash as the flag is dragged into the avalanche.

  I always knew an avalanche on Dragon Mountain was bad luck.

  I run after the dim shape of Praseep, staggering as I feel our strength trickle away. The ground beneath my boots begins to slip.
I focus on the snow in front of me, in front of Praseep.

  I have to hold it.

  I run blindly forward. It’s getting darker. The roar of the avalanche is everything.

  Then I cannon into Praseep. He’s stopped. We’ve reached the far rockface.

  ‘Where is the Princess?’ I have to yell to be heard above the roar. I’m bolstering the snow in front of us, but I have no strength for anything more. I’m doing it alone, I realise. Praseep has dropped out of the merge. The two of us are clinging, panting, to the slick rock of the cliff.

  I can’t see the Princess anywhere.

  Praseep gestures wearily upwards. At shoulder height is a small ledge, and now I see Princess Rishala curled there where Praseep must have hefted her. I scream as the snow drops out from beneath us. We’re slipping down.

  I can’t hold it anymore.

  My left foot hits something solid. A tiny ledge in the rockface, barely the width of my toe. I do a desperate dance until both feet are safe. Beside me, Praseep is still falling, his legs getting dragged out from under him by the powerful snow. I grab at him, getting his cloak, making myself wobble on my precarious ledge. His hands scrabble for purchase. One foot manages to find a hold. The snow keeps slipping away, but he stays with me.

  He stays.

  The noise of the avalanche has retreated down the mountain and the particles in the air are settling before I’m brave enough to loosen my iron grip on his cloak.

  My fingers ache. Both on the hand that held him and the one clinging to the rock. His arm is around me, the fingers of his other hand white against a fissure in the rock.

  His eyes meet mine, disbelieving and very brown. I guess mine are the same. I don’t have any power left after that dash.

  Above us, Princess Rishala is still. I chance a look down. The surface is half a body length below us now, icy rock and shale with scattered chunks of old snow. The entire mountain side is slowly being revealed, grey and raw. Downslope is still encased in the cloud left by the avalanche.

  Praseep whistles shakily. ‘That was close.’

  I let out a breath slowly.

  And the rock splinters beside me. Praseep yells and falls backwards off the rockface. I feel the sting of tiny fragments across my cheek. Blue sparkles linger in the air. A second blast is all I need to decide to follow Praseep and drop to the ground.

  For a moment there, I’d forgotten Vilpur. I’d forgotten the Stone.

  But now I’m remembering. Because he’s coming at us, Stone held high, sending sparkling bolts of lightning like those depicted in the tapestry in the Queen’s audience chamber. Except the story isn’t going quite the way I’d originally interpreted it.

  I turn to Praseep, expecting to find him drawing his sword, but he’s barely got his eyes open, groggily staring at nothing. The icy slush is coloured red beside him. And I can’t see his sword.

  Vilpur is striding towards us, feet not even touching the ground. Walking on air and cloud and the breath of snow. Face twisted.

  This is not good.

  Chapter 21

  I’m watching Vilpur, searching for options, but all that comes into my mind is a memory of Aji, telling me the Test could kill. Well, she was right. Praseep can’t help. I’m drained. Not even my turquoise can help me find anything inside. Aji is on the other side of the mountain. I wish she hadn’t left us.

  There’s no time for wishing. There’s only doing. I won’t stand back and let Vilpur destroy us. I won’t let him win and take these lands for his own.

  I throw everything I have at him.

  Which is really just my turquoise. It hits his shoulder and falls to the ground with a tiny tinkle.

  Above me, the Princess groans, and I pray on the luck of the Mountain she doesn’t wake and roll off. I dredge inside me, every last shred of snow-sense I have, and direct it at the glittering particles of snow that dance beneath Vilpur’s arrogant stride. I will them to drop back to the slippery rocks below.

  And Vilpur stumbles.

  Instantly he regains his step, and his glare fixates on me. He may not have felt the turquoise, but he felt that. It buoys me.

  I’m not dead. I’m not even done for.

  Maybe I’m stronger than I thought. Stronger than Vilpur thought. Stronger in a different way, a way that listens and respects. I coax the snow again, reminding it of the comfort of the ground, the naturalness of falling. And I thread a plea. Help me, I ask it.

  Vilpur staggers, one leg dropping to the ground, slipping on the newly exposed rocks. He curses, and the words echo off the cold wall of stone behind me. I hear another noise from Princess Rishala’s ledge, and the need to protect the others helps me dredge more power. If I can just stop him, hold him back.

  Help me.

  My mind dances with the snow again. From the corner of my eye I see movement, Princess Rishala sitting up. Maybe she’ll be able to climb down and escape, if I can only keep Vilpur’s attention on me. He’s regained his balance.

  He’s looking directly at me. Which is good.

  He’s pointing the Stone at me. Which is not so good.

  I don’t have time to duck or the strength to parry. The world is blue sparks and I’m falling into them.

  But as I fall, I feel a surge of power all around me, encasing me. Protecting me.

  The feel is familiar.

  It’s not quite like Praseep. And it’s definitely not Aji.

  I don’t know who it is.

  And then everything goes black.

  Chapter 22

  Softness beneath my wakening fingers. A rug?

  A hint of warmth.

  Bleating.

  I’m lying down. Somewhere dry. Somewhere hard. Rock? My mouth is parched and I can’t open my eyes.

  Something wet touches my palm and I gasp, struggling to push it away. The air smells of incense.

  ‘She is waking.’ The voice is Praseep’s. He sounds relieved. ‘Hold still, Sunaya, it is only your clever gotal.’

  I try to ask what’s going on, but all I manage is something not dissimilar to a gotal bleat itself.

  A hand comes under my head. ‘Here,’ Praseep says, and I feel something cool come to my lips. I drink greedily.

  ‘What happened? Where are we?’ I ask as soon as I can.

  ‘We are fine, back under the mountain,’ he says.

  ‘What about Vilpur?’

  ‘He is dead.’

  I don’t want to feel happy about that, but I do anyway. I wonder how it happened? The last I remember was falling into a soft web of Protection … I lift my hand to feel my eyes. They’re crusted shut. No wonder I can’t open them.

  Praseep says, ‘You cut your temple. It is Healed and we’re cleaning the blood away now.’

  There’s only one question I want to ask. ‘Who?’

  ‘Me,’ says Aji, from close by. I feel the warm softness of cloth over my eyes.

  I shake my head, earning a grumble from Aji to stay still. ‘No, I mean, who saved us out on the mountain?’

  The cloth stops moving over my gritty eyes. Then it starts again.

  ‘What makes you think anyone saved us?’ Praseep asks.

  ‘I felt them.’

  ‘Did you recognise their feel?’

  ‘If I had, I wouldn’t be asking.’

  ‘Good. I mean. Oh.’

  ‘Oh?’

  Aji gives one last wipe of the cloth. I squint my eyes open, struggling into a sitting position to try and figure out what, by the Dragon itself, is happening. It’s dim in here. I’m on a bench, Praseep’s coat beneath me. He’s standing nearby, holding himself awkwardly, his hand against a stomach that seems distended. Hovering behind him is Danam, looking like he’s trying to see what’s going on without being too obvious. Next to me on one side is Aji, and on the other is ZuZu, her flanks sleeker now. She must have birthed. She butts my hand again and licks it.

  What is she doing here? How did she even get here?

  Heat balls hover around us. They hum wi
th the feel of Aji, but weakly. She must be tired. I’m still cold to the core of each of my aching bones. If I had any strength remaining, I’d make a heat ball and hug it. As if ZuZu knows what I’m thinking, she leaps up and settles on my lap. I put my arms around her. Her warmth seeps through my coat as her breath whiffs against my neck.

  ‘How did ZuZu get here?’

  Aji grins. ‘She just arrived. I think she knew something was wrong. That is one special gotal.’

  I hug her closer, feeling the loose belly folds. Softly, I ask, ‘Was there … did she …’

  Praseep comes forward. The lump on his side moves.

  And then it bleats, and a tiny golden gotal-head appears from under Praseep’s overshirt. ZuZu jumps up in response, her hard little hooves digging into my thighs as she nuzzles her kid. I don’t care, I’m so glad to see her little one is okay. My eyes meet Praseep’s and I break into a smile. He grins back, though it wobbles.

  And that makes me realise who is missing.

  ‘Where is the Princess?’

  Praseep’s face freezes, and Aji looks away.

  I stare at both of them. ‘Is she okay?’

  ‘She is fine,’ Praseep says.

  I am relieved. Confused. ‘Then what’s going on?’

  I look between the two of them, not missing the grimace on Aji’s face. There’s something they’re not telling me.

  Praseep sits next to me. ‘I think highly of you, Sunaya.’

  ‘We both do,’ Aji interjects.

  I frown. ‘And I you.’

  Praseep takes my hand. ‘Good. I am glad. We do not want to lie to you, so understand that we cannot answer your question.’

  ‘Which one?’ I have so many.

  ‘Any questions, really.’

  ‘One is easy to answer,’ comes the clear voice of Princess Rishala from a side corridor. She nods her head at my confusion. She looks completely fine. ‘I am here, and now it is time to head back.’

  Aji bows. ‘You go ahead, Your Highnesses, I will walk with Sunaya and Danam.’

  ‘Shouldn’t we stick together? I’m fine to go now.’ I stand up, to prove it, and though I wobble at first, my head clears. I nod at Aji.