The Lodestone Trilogy (Limited Edition) (The Lodestone Series)

by Mark Whiteway

  There was a pause as she allowed her words to sink in. It was Keris who spoke first. “The girl is right; she is the best choice.” Shann was a little surprised that the woman had caved in so quickly. Maybe Keris was even now formulating a plan to sabotage her efforts somehow. No matter. Shann had to get the machine and her cloak back. She would have to deal with whatever came.

  Boxx was looking from one to the other, as if trying to work out what was going on. Alondo appeared distinctly unhappy. Lyall fixed her directly with his steady blue eyes. “Are you sure about this, Shann?”

  She was ready for him. She drew herself up as tall as her slight frame would permit and met his gaze. “I’m sure. Let’s get on with it.”

  Keris had gathered the rope, and was making a loop. She looked Shann over and adjusted the size, before tying an elaborate knot. She then placed it over Shann like a lasso, pulling the running noose, so that the loop was around her buttocks. She spoke to Shann as she worked. “You’ve never done this before, have you?”

  Sure I have. Every day after we finished working in the kitchen, we’d go find a vertical drop and dangle from it. “No,” she replied.

  Keris jerked the rope experimentally, and Shann felt it tighten. She offered it to Shann who took it from her hand. Their fingers touched briefly and a distant part of Shann’s mind noted that in all the time they had been travelling together, it was the first time they had made physical contact.

  “Keep hold of the guide rope at all times,” Keris was saying. “Use the loop as a seat and face the cliff side, using your legs to push against it as you descend. Don’t push too hard, or you risk coming back and hitting the rock wall. Remember, we will be on the ledge holding fast the rope, so we won’t be able to see you from that angle. You will have to let us know when to let out the rope and when to pull you up. You must also let us know when you begin swinging, so that we can brace ourselves for the extra strain. Don’t be in too much of a hurry. Start with a small swing and when you reach the apex, push as hard as you can in the opposite direction. If you get into any sort of difficulty, let us know at once. Do you want me to repeat any of that?”

  The woman talks to me as if I were three turns old. Shann felt like telling her to take her advice and shove it. Instead, she simply answered, “No, I understand.”

  Keris examined her handiwork once more before turning away and nodding to Lyall and Alondo. The three of them took up the rope. She turned back to Shann. “Whenever you’re ready.”

  Shann suppressed the sudden desire to gulp. She grasped the rope and began to back slowly over the edge.

  “Please be careful, Shann,” Alondo called after her.

  She forced a smile for him. “I will.”

  The edge of the path cut off her companions as her legs bounced lightly down the side of the cliff. She could feel heat rising, a slight updraft against her back which ruffled the ends of her short dark hair. The side of the cliff was sandy brown, with occasional streaks of black and yellow. There were cracks and indentations in the surface, the wear and tear of ages past. Shann looked up. The taut line twitched as it eased her descent. “Hold it.” She turned her head to the right, scouring the side of the canyon. She couldn’t see the pack. Her heart sank. Maybe it dislodged itself already and fell to the canyon floor? Then she saw it, caught in a crack below and to her right. “I can see it. Lower me a little more.” She started down again with a slight jolt, keeping her eye on the position of the pack. “Slowly.” She passed below it. “Stop.” The rope juddered to a halt and she hung in silence for a moment. “I’m starting my swing.”

  She flexed her legs against the unyielding rock…left…right…left. A part of her wondered idly whether Gallar was perhaps wondering where she was and what she was doing right now. She tried to imagine how her surrogate mother might react if she could see her little Shann, swinging back and forth over a sheer drop. What have they got you doing? I’m sorry, Gal. I have to do this.

  The rope began to creak as she swung back and forth. The pack flew up and then away again. Almost there. Shann held onto the rope firmly with her left arm while her right arm was outstretched, seeking contact with her prize. The pack loomed into view once more and her fingers scrabbled for the strap, knocking it free. Her heart froze as the pack dropped and then jerked to a stop once more. I mustn’t fail. She swung away and back twice more, driving against the cliff face to widen her arc. The rope groaned with the strain, but she ignored it. As she drove herself up for the third time, she splayed the palm of her right hand. Her fingers closed firmly around the strap and she pulled it free. Got it.

  Shann bounced her legs against the rock to cancel her swing. She came to rest, clutching the pack to her as if it were a living thing. Then she called up in a voice that had grown hoarse. “I’ve got it. Pull me up.” The rope jerked once more and she began to ascend rapidly. As she crested the broken ledge, Lyall grabbed the pack from her and then he and Keris each took a hand and dragged her up onto the flat shelf. She got to her feet only to have the air crushed out of her lungs as Alondo dropped the line and rushed over to give her a desperate bear hug. He was still holding on tightly when she heard Lyall say, “Well done, Shann. Now let’s get down from here, shall we?”

  ~

  Alondo sat on the floor of the canyon with the hologram machine in front of him. Boxx sat opposite him, its head moving from side to side, as it peered into the device. Lyall and Shann stood off to one side. Inside Lyall, patience was fighting a hand to hand battle with concern. It was concern that finally won out. “Can you fix it?”

  Alondo looked up at him and shrugged. “I don’t even know that it’s broken.” He picked up the mechanism carefully and rotated it so that Lyall could see. “The casing is dented here…and here. Other than that, the unit seems basically intact. However, most mechanical devices don’t take kindly to being bounced down a hillside.”

  “What does Boxx say?” Lyall suggested.

  “Boxx knows how to operate the controls. But there’s a big difference between knowing how to operate something and understanding its inner workings.” He turned it once again. “This panel is the ‘on’ switch, and there’s a little light next to it which is supposed to come on. The light isn’t working.”

  “What does that mean?” Lyall asked.

  Alondo sighed. “I wish I knew. This technology is beyond anything I’ve ever seen before. Most of these components–I can’t even guess at their function… I think this orange object is a power source of some kind but if it is, no power is getting to the rest of the mechanism. There could be various reasons for that.” Lyall looked confused. Alondo reached over into his pack and drew out his water bottle, holding it up. “If my water bottle is empty, it could be because I drank all the water or it could be because there’s a hole in it.”

  “So what you’re saying is that it could be damaged, or just out of power.”

  Alondo nodded vigorously. “Exactly.” He steepled his fingers and rested his chin on them, scrutinizing the circular machine once more, as if challenging it to give up its secrets. This was the other side of Alondo. One was the carefree musician, the joker who kept others’ spirits up. The other was the natural engineer, the mechanical genius who could do anything from repairing a flying cloak to building the amazing vortex arm that he carried.

  “I think the device stores energy, which it uses up when the woman from the past communicates with us. That energy may be transferred by the link itself. Our best option may simply be to wait till the next appointed contact and see what happens.” When he looked up at Lyall and Shann once more, he had his familiar grin. “Maybe next time you talk to Annata, you could ask her for an instruction book or a plan diagram for this thing?”

  “The optimist of the group,” Lyall commented. “You’re assuming it works at all.”

  Lyall suddenly noticed that Shann was very quiet. He stole a glance at the slim, dark haired girl. Her face was like a thunderhead. She strode away without uttering a word. Al
ondo looked up at him questioningly. Lyall raised his hand in a leave it to me gesture.

  He followed her to where a tiny fumarole hissed and sputtered like a spiteful animal. They were a short distance from the canyon wall, where Lyall had declared a rest period following their tortuous descent into Kharthrun. Heat shone forth from the yellow and white suns far above. The floor of the canyon stretched off into the distance before being obscured by clouds of rising smoke and steam.

  She had her back to him as he walked up behind her. “Shann, what’s wrong?”

  “She broke it.” Shann’s voice sounded choked.

  “We don’t know that,” Lyall reasoned. “You heard Alondo. It might simply be out of power.”

  Shann was still facing away from him. “She planned this all along. She wants to destroy the machine and us.”

  Lyall wanted to take her by the shoulders and turn her round to force eye contact. He hung back instead. “I can’t see that makes sense, Shann. Why would she bring us the machine and then try to destroy it?”

  “I…I don’t know. Maybe…maybe she doesn’t want us to hear what Annata is going to say next? Annata said the instrument she is directing us to is dangerous and powerful. Maybe Keris wants that power for herself?”

  Lyall shook his head. “That’s no more than speculation, Shann…You know, I’ve been thinking about it. Apart from the one time when you saw her using her Ring out on the Eastern Plains, every other piece of evidence against her is circumstantial. She keeps to herself, she isn’t always good with people and she disappears off into the night on her own, but those things don’t make her guilty. The truth is that without her help and expertise earlier today, we wouldn’t be here now. I think there is definitely something going on with her, but I wonder if we are misreading the signals somehow. Are you absolutely sure you saw her using the Ring?”

  Shann rounded on him. Her thin face was streaked with tears. “I know what I saw.” He reached out to her, but she pulled away. “You don’t see it, do you? You don’t see what she’s doing to us?” She pushed past him and stormed back towards the others. “I’m going to show you. I’m going to show you, right now.”

  Lyall started to trot after her. “Shann, stop... Shann, come back here.” The girl did not turn or hesitate. Instead, she made a beeline for the place where Keris sat alone, checking and servicing the mechanism of her flying cloak. The tall woman looked up as she saw Shann approaching. She put aside her work and stood, her stately form towering over the diminutive girl. Whatever Keris was hiding, Lyall knew that she would have to be confronted about it eventually. Now that the moment had arrived, he was shocked to find that he was no longer in control. He could do no more than watch helplessly as the two women faced each other amid the rising smoke and steam and the rumbling fury of the Fire Pits.

  Shann’s arms were straight down at her sides. Her face was a mask of rage. “You destroyed it on purpose.”

  Keris frowned. “What are you talking about, child?”

  “The machine,” Shann spat. “You kicked it off the ledge. You destroyed it.”

  Keris looked at Lyall with an annoyed expression, then back at Shann. “That was an accident.”

  The girl stood her ground. “No, it wasn’t. You’re working with the Prophet and his people. You’ve been speaking to them through the Ring.”

  Keris’ face changed to one of shock. “What?”

  “I saw you.”

  Alondo and Boxx hurried over, drawn by the sounds of confrontation. They stood off at a respectful distance, watching the drama unfold. Lyall could see Boxx’s head moving rapidly up and down in an agitated fashion. “The Key, The Key…,” it was squeaking in its shrill voice. Lyall blotted out the Chandara from his mind. He did not have the time to deal with its banter. I have to defuse this situation right now.

  “Shann, that’s enough,” Lyall intervened. “I’m sorry, Keris. She’s confused and upset. She doesn’t know what she’s saying.”

  Shann turned towards Lyall, her eyes blazing. “I’m not confused. I know what I saw.”

  Lyall reached out his hand. “Shann, come along.

  “No. She’s been talking to her masters in Chalimar all along. She sold us out. Ask her if you don’t believe me. Go ahead, ask her.”

  “That’s enough, Shann.” Lyall’s tone was insistent. “Come with me now, please.”

  “The girl is correct.” Silence fell as all eyes turned towards Keris. The tall woman’s eyes dropped beneath their stares and then rose once more to settle on each of them. “I did talk to Mordal using the Ring, but not for the reason you think.” She paused. “Deep down Mordal is…was a man of principle. I had the thought that if I could explain things to him–convince him that all Kelanni were threatened by the Prophet’s plans–then he might call off the pursuit and become an ally. As it turned out, I…was wrong.”

  “Why did you not tell us what you were doing?” Lyall demanded.

  “Because I was afraid of exactly this reaction. I am not stupid. I am aware that you view me with suspicion.” Keris’ eyes settled on Shann, who immediately looked away. “But I was a Keltar for many years. I figured that the Prophet’s men would Ring ahead and set an ambush for us somewhere in the Distrada.”

  “What made you think that?” Lyall asked.

  Keris harrumphed. “Because it’s exactly what I would do in their place. The Distrada has been hit hard by the Keltar and the Prophet has many enemies there, but he also has allies, people who are drawn by power and the opportunities it presents. That’s one reason why I suggested travelling through Kharthrun instead of taking the usual route to Sakara. It’s also why I agreed to meet up with him in the Gilah, but instead of coming to look at the evidence, he tried to make me go back with him. We fought and he was killed. It was a mistake.”

  Lyall’s face was dark. “Yes it was. You realise how this looks.”

  “Yes, and I’m sorry for that. I have no way of proving any of this. I should have confided in you all, but … over the years, I have become accustomed to working alone. It is a difficult habit to break.” Keris stiffened. “If you wish me to withdraw from your company, I will understand.”

  There was an awkward silence. It was Lyall who finally broke it. “Do you wish to be a part of this group?”

  “Yes,” she replied. Then she added, “If you will have me.”

  “Then I require your solemn oath that you will never attempt anything like this on your own again.”

  As the others looked on, Keris drew herself erect. “I swear.”

  Lyall nodded once. “Very well, then. The matter is closed.” He turned slowly and walked away.

  Shann ran past him and stood in his path with her feet squarely planted on the pitted volcanic rock, forcing him to stop in his tracks. Her features were screwed up and her fists were clenched at her sides. “So that’s it?”

  “That’s it, Shann.

  “But you heard her. She lied to us. She’s been lying to us all along. How can you just let her off?”

  “Because I believe everyone deserves a second chance.”

  ~

  Mevan lit the oil lamp and closed the small glass panel. Yellow effulgence slowly filled the little croft, banishing the shadows to their dark corners. He placed the lamp down on a small table and settled himself on to a stool which lay next to the open hearth, to await his night visitor. His dark, lank hair lay flat against his back and the lamplight cast his tanned features in sharp relief.

  At length there was a single rap on the door. A tall figure entered without waiting for permission and closed the door behind him. The figure strode over the rough wooden floor to stand before Mevan. Mevan gestured towards another stool. The visitor responded by pulling up the stool to sit opposite him. “Good evening, Mevan. It has been many days.”

  “Indeed it has, Lord Saccath. Your duties carry you far from Chalimar, I see.” Saccath was clad in simple serge coat and black trousers such as a trader might wear. Clearly this was not an “offi
cial” visit. He did not wish to be identified as Keltar.

  “I am actually on something of a private mission,” Saccath confided. “Did you encounter the fugitive band?”

  Mevan nodded. “They arrived here, just as you predicted. They had a Chandara with them, of all things. I attempted to turn them away with a view to encountering them later on the road, where there would be no witnesses. Unfortunately, that fool Ernan intervened. He gave them shelter and supplies and conducted them personally to the Fire Pits.”

  Saccath leaned forward. “They went down into the Pits?”

  “It is true, I swear.”

  Saccath put his hand to his chin, deep in thought. The cragginess of his face appeared exaggerated by light and shadow. Finally, Mevan broke in. “I’m sorry; there was no opportunity for me and my men to intercept them.”

  Saccath roused himself from his deliberations. “Do not concern yourself. They will be taken care of.”

  “You are not going down into the Pits after them, surely?” Mevan protested. “I lost my own brother to the Pits. They are too dangerous for any right-minded person.”

  Saccath smiled thinly. “Your concern for me is touching, Mevan, but I assure you that I have no intention of chasing them all the way down there. There is no need. I am quite sure that the denizens of Kharthrun will deal with the insurgents most effectively. And in the unlikely event that any of them do survive to reach Sakara, I will be arriving there to ensure that that is the end of their journey.”

  Saccath stood up. “Once again, your loyalty and service to the Prophet’s cause have proven valuable. I think that the village of Pinnar would benefit from a new headman, someone with the vision and commitment to secure the peaceful cooperation of the people. I will speak to the authorities at the keep upon my return.”