The monk had remained a few yards back, in the relative safety of the main hallway, hands folded inside the sleeves of his red robe, waiting for the outworlders to finish their discussion. Tom walked to him now, towing Andi with him. “All right, if you’d lead the way to this passage, we’re ready.”
Saying nothing, the monk wheeled, moving at a rapid pace through the corridors, past the door to Tom’s sickroom then leading them toward the center of the plateau. The constant vibration in the walls and under her feet reassured Andi that the Ancients’ safeguard was still holding. Once the shield failed, the mob would waste no time constructing a temporary bridge, crossing the ravine, seeking them out in the monastery. At least the mysterious corridors might confuse them as much as the maze of twisting hallways confused Mitch and me last night.
A minute later, their guide stopped in the middle of a hallway that kept spiraling onward endlessly away from them, around the core of the building.
Pacing back and forth in front of a carved wall frieze, Tleer was impatiently waiting. As soon as he saw Andi, he fumbled in his deep pockets, first one then the other. Finding what he sought, he raised the little translucent urabu carving. Chanting in the long-dead language of Sanenre, the chief monk inserted the odd key into the wall, placing it like a puzzle piece into the depiction of yet another herd of playful urabu. Stepping back, still chanting, Tleer peered nearsightedly at the door.
Nothing.
Lords of Space, not another test of faith. I wouldn’t have the patience to be a monk. Andi sidled closer to the mural.
“Sir, we better have a backup plan.” Mitch shifted his stance, checking his blaster’s charge level, then looking the way they’d just come.
Tom waved him off.
A burst of mechanical whining from inside the walls took Andi by surprise, assaulting her ears and vibrating through all the bones in her face. When the sound stopped, a section of the wall in front of her had ceased to exist, like the black door had done the other night when they went to the healing chamber. Tleer gestured for Andi to hurry through the opening, stepping across the threshold himself, turning to extend a hand to her. As she walked in front of him, Andi could have sworn she saw the little stone urabu leap into his palm. Closing his hand into a fist, Tleer jammed the key into his pocket before she could be sure.
With a SNAP the wall reappeared behind them.
“Doors? Or illusions? This place could drive a person crazy,” Andi said.
“Thank the Lords of Space, you’re here, sir.” Cradling his blaster, Latvik emerged from the crowd of silent monks.
Andi counted off the rest of their party gathered in this circular room, along with monks of all ages. The chamber was crowded, hot and airless. Sadu cooed at her, happy in his backpack on Abukawal’s broad shoulders. The Shenti warrior held Lysanda within the curve of his arms. She looked as blank-faced as ever, locked in her own self protective shell, willing to go wherever he asked.
Latvik distributed gear to Tom and the others. Taking the pack he offered her, Andi shouldered it with a muttered curse. I sure didn’t miss hauling this burden around.
“Are you ready?” Tleer was as serene as ever. Any tension he’d been projecting had ebbed away as soon as the last door had slammed shut behind them.
Impatience written in every tense line of his face, Tom narrowed his eyes as he studied the room. “Where’s the passage?”
Examining the chamber as well, Andi couldn’t see any obvious exits.
“You’re standing on it.” Tleer pointed at the floor.
Taking a reflexive step backward, Andi stared. The floor under her feet, the entire center of the room, was a single circular disk of stone. The perimeter of the chamber’s flooring was a two-yard-wide band of variegated rock tile into which the central black stone had been set.
The monks were already moving away from them, taking positions pressed against the walls, standing shoulder to shoulder on the tiled band.
“How does this work?” Tom took a few impatient steps to his left then back to his original location, apparently anxious to get on with their escape. Andi sympathized.
“You must push this.” Tleer indicated, but didn’t touch, a small carving in the exact center of the floor. “You’ll descend through the passage to the base of the mountain and can escape to the river.”
Tom offered the chief monk his hand. “I can’t thank you enough for taking us in, for treating my fever—”
“It was foretold. You’ve given us the joy of prophecy fulfilled in our lifetimes. We must thank you.” Tleer shook his hand, bowing. “Now, be on your way, for our walls can no longer offer you sanctuary.” Walking off the black disk, the old monk joined his comrades, who scooted closer to each other along the wall to make room for him.
Andi glanced around at the ring of monks, an impassive yet excited audience. Some of the younger ones quivered with anticipation, apparently eager to witness the miracle of the escape device being utilized after sitting untouched for millennia. Even the more disciplined elder monks had an air of repressed excitement about the coming activation of one of Sanenre’s miraculous machines.
She was wrenched from her reverie as Tom gave crisp orders in his command voice. “All right, spread out everyone, and stay away from the edge.”
Leaning closer to the carving in the center of the floor, Andi had a flash of recognition. “It’s the Heart of Sanenre flower.”
“Nice to know, but how does it work?” Squatting beside her, Tom examined the metal flower from all angles. He tried moving it from side to side. No luck. The monks offered no suggestions. The entire congregation was chanting in a hypnotic rhythm. I wish they’d stop that. Andi fanned herself ineffectually with her hand. There’s no air moving in here at all.
Experimentally, Tom pushed on the top of the flower, increasing the pressure as it gave under his hand, until there was a decisive click. The flower blossom, folded, retracted into the carved stem, then the stem itself receded into the disk in one continuous motion. A small panel slid closed, concealing the flower.
Nothing else happened. Andi shut her eyes and bit her lip.
“These devices do have something of a delayed reaction.” Rahuna’s voice was tentative.
“You’re not responsible for whether it works or not, sir,” Andi said. Her pulse seemed to throb in time with the vibration in the outer walls again. Taking off her pack, she sat on the floor. Tom opened his mouth, but his words were lost in a sudden cracking, a great tearing noise. Andi scrambled to her feet again, pack hanging from one hand.
There was now a noticeable disconnect between the edge of the disk and the mosaic flooring around it. The gap grew an inch at a time.
“Not too dramatic an escape so far, is it?” Tom stood next to Andi. Bending over, he spoke next to her ear. “At this rate we’ll still be here when the enemy breaks in.”
“Captain, I think the descent is accelerating,” Mitch said in the next instant.
“Right.” Looking around, Tom gestured with his blaster. “Sit in the center and hang on to each other. It’s a long way down and no telling how fast we’ll fall.”
Andi swallowed. “Or how hard we’ll land. I wish there was something to hang onto.” As if her desire had been a command, small metal flowers shot up around the disk, leaves arranged to provide handholds for the passengers. Tom sat down behind her, caging her in his arms as he took a grip on the nearest sculpture. Gratefully, she leaned against his reassuring warmth and bulk.
The disk started falling faster and faster, straight into a fetid black hole in the plateau. Soon the platform was descending so fast Andi found it hard to breathe, despite the air rushing past the edges of the disk in a shrieking updraft. Tom kept her secure in his embrace. Wailing, Sadu indicated he’d had enough of this new experience, near strangling Abukawal in his distress.
“Maybe halfway by now.” Tom shouted his estimate. “Brace yourselves for landing.”
“Hang on.” Yelling, Tom curled one a
rm around Andi’s waist so tightly she felt cut in half. She turned around and clung to him with all her strength, grabbing his uniform shirt in clawed hands, getting an unbreakable grip ducking her head against his chest.
The disk came to a violent halt, knocking Andi flat, sprawling on top of Tom. Drifting like a petal the last two yards, their platform came to rest on the floor at the base of the passage. Other than water dripping incessantly somewhere, there was silence. Andi peeked at her surroundings, illuminated by dim light from some source off to the left. The passage they’d just fallen through had widened out into a vast cavern. I’m no structural engineer, but how can the mountain top support its own weight and the monastery, with such a void at the center? More ancient mysteries?
“Sir, I think my arm is broken.” Latvik sat wedged at an awkward angle. Trying to stand, he subsided with a grunt of pain. “Sorry, sir.”
“Rogers, you know how to immobilize a broken arm, take care of it. We’ll have to set the bone for you later, Latvik. Try not to make it worse, okay, soldier?” The young private answered Tom with a weak nod as the captain moved on to the next challenge. “Mitch, I need you to do a recon, on the double.”
The sergeant stood, staggering like someone who’d been on a boat in a rolling sea. Unholstering his blaster, he jumped off the disk into the clear space beyond. He shone his hand lamp around, revealing the mouth of a tunnel. “I hear fast movin’ water out there, sir.”
“The river, I hope. Check it out and report back.” As Mitch moved off into the gloom, Tom helped Andi to her feet. “All right, people, I see nowhere else to go except out to the river, so let’s get ready to move. For all we know, this disk is going to take a return trip to the top any second now.”
The mere suggestion was motivation enough for Andi to get herself and her gear onto firm ground. Then she turned to help Lysanda and Sadu make the transition off the disk.
“Where the hell is Mitch?” Peering in the direction the sergeant had gone, Tom drew his blaster.
“Here, sir!” Stepping into their small area, returning from the mouth of the tunnel, Mitch aimed his hand lamp at the ground. “It’s a short walk to the riverbank. Maybe a few yards.”
“What shall we do when we reach the river, Captain?” Rahuna asked. “The waters run deep and fast in the mountains, with sheer canyon walls on all sides. We can’t ford it, nor swim to safety.”
“It’s a bit late to be thinking about topography.” Andi knew she sounded grumpy.
“The monks didn’t give us much time to consider what this escape route might involve, did they?” Tom sounded thoughtful. “Maybe we overstayed our welcome.”
“The tunnel ends about six feet above a tiny beach. It’s a big, nasty river with the cliff face on both sides, just as His Holiness describes.” Mitch’s terse report was disappointing.
“Remember we have flotation devices in our emergency gear.” The captain pointed at the pack by Andi’s feet.
“Well, now I’m certainly happier about hauling this heavy damn pack all over hell and gone.” Andi lifted it up and set it down again, laughing. “What other surprises have we carted around?”
The ground under her feet rolled and pitched. Ominous rumblings came from the passage as rocks fell. Taking a few hesitant steps toward the daylight, Andi balanced carefully while the tremors continued.
“Into the tunnel—quick.” Tom shoved her in the direction he wanted her to go. Grabbing at Lysanda’s hand, checking over her shoulder to see that Abukawal had Sadu and was running behind them, Andi fled.
The captain and the injured Latvik were the last to reach the dubious safety of the underground passage, as a large chunk of rock came crashing from above, shattering the disk they’d descended on into a million pieces. Fragments of the black stone flew everywhere. A large piece exploded on the cavern wall near Andi, raining smaller shards on the floor. More boulders plunged down the shaft, driving the refugees into a headlong run through the passageway to the river, dust expanding into the space after them.
“Keep going. We’ve got to get outside,” Tom yelled.
Coughing, Andi needed no encouragement to run as fast as she could, Lysanda stumbling after her. First to exit the cavern, Andi was confronted by the massive Chikeeri River. As Mitch had promised, a small expanse of rocky beach lay below the lip of the tunnel, the river lapping against the sand. Deceptively calm water flowed past, but a few yards out, a violent torrent boiled and foamed. Releasing Lysanda’s hand, Andi half slithered, half jumped down to the beach. Turning, she encouraged the princess to make the descent.
“Don’t get too close to the lower part of the beach yet,” Tom said as he jumped, landing close to Andi. “Might be unstable, or slippery. Abukawal, keep a close eye on the baby.”
Another rolling quake shuddered through the beach under their feet. Dust exploded from the tunnel behind them.
“What do we have to do to make these boats of yours a reality?” Andi smothered a cough as the thick cloud swirled around them. “I’d like to get out of here before the whole mountain collapses on top of us.”
Holstering his blaster, Tom rubbed the back of his neck and tugged at his collar. “Well, not exactly boats. More like elaborate rafts.”
“Meant for night ops, for crossin’ a lake or something similar.” Mitch took the pack from Abukawal and dumped out the contents.
“Rafts?” Andi put one hand on her hip and pointed at the river with the other. “You want us to go onto that raging torrent on a raft?” She eyed the boisterous Chikeeri River, boiling and heaving its way to the far-off ocean.
“I don’t see any choices.” Tom indicated the dust-choked tunnel entrance. “We can’t go back to the monastery, and even if we could, sitting with the monks isn’t an option for the success of our mutual mission, you agree?”
“No choices. We must keep going forward and risking all.” Rahuna threw a small rock into the river. Raising his hands in a calming gesture, he turned to Andi. “Sanenre is deciding for us so Fortune will favor us.”
Sitting on her pack, Andi gave an unladylike snort. “Somehow I don’t find that reassuring at this stage.”
“We’ve managed so far,” Tom said. “All right, we have to lighten the load or the rafts’ll sink the minute they hit the water. These craft are rated for two fully kitted Special Forces operators, and we’re going to try transporting eight adults and a child, plus gear. Discard anything not essential to survival.” He turned back to confer with Mitch. “How’s it coming?”
“About ready to trigger the canisters, sir.” Setting two military-issue, black cylinders on the ground three yards apart, the sergeant made sure they were well balanced on the sloping rock beach. “I suggest you step back, ladies and gentlemen.”
He waited while Andi and the others got out of the danger zone, then pushed a button on the hand controller.
The transformation from cylinder to raft wasn’t dramatic, but it was fast. Andi watched closely as the two canisters morphed, section by section, into matching black rafts, high-sided, with bluntly V-shaped prows. All right, that does look like a sturdy design. Surely boats made for the Special Forces could take more punishment than a normal raft would ever be expected to endure. Military operators get the best gear available. Everyone knows that.
At the stern of each raft was a small, glossy black rectangle. Curious, she went to examine one more closely.
“Propulsion unit,” Mitch said when he noticed Andi eyeing the box. “The latest in military miniaturization of the standard ground vehicle power source. Top secret.”
“We need plenty of power to steer away from rocks and keep our way in the rapids.” Reassured, she breathed a sigh of relief.
“They have limited capacity. I hope we hit a smoother stretch of river soon.” Shading his eyes with one hand, Tom stared downriver. “Are there waterfalls?”
“Falls, no,” Andi said. “High potential for whitewater boating, yes. The Chikeeri was ranked as one of the most dangerous ri
vers in the Sector.”
The beach under her feet heaved in a series of moderate quakes. Andi struggled to stay upright on the slippery rocks. Abandoning the raft, Tom grabbed her. Gratefully, Andi clung to him while thunderous crashes echoed from the tunnel.
“Time to do this, people,” Tom said, releasing her. “I swear the whole place is self-destructing. All right—boat assignments. I’ll drive one. Mitch, you skipper the other. You’ll launch first. We’ll load Abukawal, Lysanda, Sadu and Rogers in with you.”
“At least the Chikeeri flows in the direction of the capital.” Andi made her voice light and happy in case anyone needed encouragement. “A boat trip saves us a lot of walking.”
“Yeah, that’s a positive, although I’m still hoping to find some transport.” Eyebrows knitted in a frown, Tom looked over his ragtag group. “Is Latvik’s broken arm set?”
Andi turned and saw the hapless soldier sitting against the embankment, white-faced and biting his lip. His broken arm was now encased in a protective cast, camouflage-colored to match his uniform. Giving his comrade a hand, Rogers reported, “He’s good to go, sir.”
“I’ll make it, sir, no worries.” Latvik’s face was set in grim lines, but he cradled his blaster in his good arm, ready for action.
“All right, then. No help for it,” Tom said. “We need to get going or starve to death on this beach. The most important thing to remember is pure and simple—hang on.” He stared over the foaming water. “The river’s going to try to drown us. Mitch and I’ll do our best to keep that from happening, but if you fall in, there’s not a whole hell of a lot we can do for you. You can’t fight the current, so if you do fall in, try to surf it.”
Andi watched the rushing river. There was quite a possibility of the boats coming to grief, particularly since they weren’t designed for whitewater. “What if the boat flips over?”
Tom grunted. He exchanged glances with Mitch, and both men shrugged. “Pray the boat doesn’t turn over, okay?” The captain bent to pick up one boat by the bow, Mitch moving to take the stern. As they trudged toward the river. Tom spoke over his shoulder. “All right, briefing finished. Let’s go.”
Nebula Nights: Love Among The Stars Page 160
