Two hu-mans clad in all-white coveralls were advancing cautiously towards them, spurred on by Wang, who screamed orders at them from behind. The old Shann would have simply waded in, blinded by a red mist, with no thought of the consequences to herself or others. She would have honed in on the object of her hatred, hacking and slashing at anyone who stood in her way. The new Shann was more cautious—more analytical.
The most effective way to destroy a tyrant is to destroy the source of his power. The voice sounding in her head was Lyall’s.
She began running towards them. They halted and one of them raised a weapon identical to Susan Gilmer’s. His companion yelled at him and grabbed his wrist. A brief tussle ensued. Shann bent her knees and vaulted upwards, pushing against the lodestone in the massive orbs behind her. An incandescent golden beam sliced the air beneath her and impacted the section of walkway she had occupied a split second before, sending up a shower of sparks.
Shann touched down on the walkway in front of the two figures in white and spun her staff defensively in a figure of eight. They shared an expression of wide-eyed alarm, turned tail, and ran. The chubby-faced man bringing up the rear howled in rage.
Her self-satisfied smirk was short-lived. Across the floor, a large contingent of maybe fifteen hu-mans, most of them in cobalt blue uniforms, were headed her way. They bore larger, bulbous weapons and looked as if they meant business.
Shann retreated to Susan Gilmer’s position. The fair-haired woman’s gaze was still fixed on the creatures up ahead. “Marshmallows.” Shann regarded her curiously. Susan Gilmer smiled. “It’s a sweet food—soft and pulpy, just like those technicians. Now the guys in blue—they’re a different story.”
Shann nodded. “Soldiers.”
“Not exactly. They’re crew. Fiercely loyal to the Captain, and ruthless. Watch your back.”
Shann shot a look over her shoulder at Alondo, who was still down on one knee, tweaking the controls on his instrument. “Haven’t you finished with that thing yet?”
The musician did not look up. “Give me a few more moments, all right?”
“We may not have a few more moments.”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, I’m doing my best. Can you keep them busy for a little while?”
Two slight females against fifteen heavily armed crew and their fanatical Captain. Shann’s mouth was an ironic twist. “Sure, no problem.”
Susan Gilmer glanced at Shann and then at the silver sliver resting in her palm. “I can hold them off with this.”
Shann’s eyes narrowed, pensively. “No, I’d rather keep that as a last resort. They already let off one of their lightning weapons at me in spite of our proximity to the devices. If you fire at them, they may well be tempted to fire back, and we could all go up in a fireball along with half of this world.”
“The only other thing we have to defend ourselves with is your staff,” the hu-man woman pointed out.
“The walkway is narrow; there’s only room for two abreast—three at the most. If I pick my spot carefully, I should be able to hold back that many—for a while at least. Don’t fire your weapon unless you see me go down.” Shann set off at a trot in the direction of the approaching hu-mans.
Susan Gilmer’s voice rang in her ears. “Be careful.”
~
As her boots rang against the iron walkway, Shann caught the sounds of battle way off to her right. Somewhere out of sight behind the great bronze spheres, Lyall had intercepted the party that was sent to outflank them. You’re doing your job. Now it’s time for me to do mine.
She picked a spot on the gantry just past the first intersection. Anyone who wanted to get near the globes would have to retreat a long way and come at them from a different direction. Or they would have to come through her.
The party of hu-mans clanged up the steps and surged along the walkway towards her. She found their pallid complexion nauseating, although curiously, one of the blue-uniformed creatures had darker skin, the colour of baked soil. She glanced back to where the tense figure of Susan Gilmer stood ready to come to her defence in an instant. Apparently, not all hu-mans were the same either in appearance or in motivation.
The staccato ring of boots on metal died as the approaching group came to a halt behind their three companions. The deep blue uniforms were distinguishable from the Captain’s only by the lack of gold braid. They appeared to be mostly males. Good. If hu-man males were anything like Kelanni males, they probably suffered from an oversized ego, combined with a large streak of pride and stubbornness that would not countenance being turned back by one tiny female.
Wang’s voice cracked as he pointed at the lone Kelanni standing in their path and snapped orders. The creatures in white stood aside, allowing the crew to pass. A party of half a dozen moved determinedly towards her, preparing to sweep her aside.
Instinctively, Shann reached behind her and plucked Saccath’s staff from its sheath, adopting a defensive stance.
A sudden thought prodded at her. This was not about victory or defeat—it was about buying time. Time for Keris and Rael to deactivate the second orb, retrieve all of the components, reset their components on the final device and then return, so that she and Alondo could go in and finish the job. Maybe Susan Gilmer was wrong. Maybe Saccath’s staff was not the only weapon at their disposal after all.
She relaxed her grip, drew herself erect, took a step forward and raised her left hand, palm outwards.
“Wait,” she said. “I wish to talk.”
<><><><><>
Chapter 18
The hu-man in the lead position came to a dead stop as if he had been poleaxed. His face registered a comparable level of surprise. He was big-boned and barrel-chested—larger than any Kelanni she had ever seen; larger even than the oversized asoli who had accosted Keris in the Port of Sakara. He towered over the diminutive Kelanni girl—yet standing before him as she was, defiant, hand raised in silent command, she appeared to dwarf him in a tableau that defied logic.
The diorama shattered and the big man glanced questioningly over his shoulder, looking for support. Instructions. Anything. The faces that met his were a collection of blank pages. A moment later a tornado erupted at the rear of the arrested group as blue-uniformed figures were blown aside and the short, florid figure of the Captain emerged. “Ni shi ben dan... Idiots.”
The huge man at the front had his head bowed like a small child who had just been castigated. In any other setting it would have been humorous.
The fleshy-faced Captain rounded on Shann. “I don’t know who you are or what you are doing here, Kelanni, but you will get out of our way. Now.”
Shann had not thought this far ahead. Her only interest in initiating a conversation had been to buy time for the others. Now that the time for talking had arrived, she found she was lost for words. This was The Prophet. Ruler of her world—yet not of her world. Revered by thousands—loathed by tens of thousands. Oppressor. Destroyer. Murderer. She scrabbled around desperately for something to say. “You... your name is Charles Wang.”
She felt stupid as she said the words; yet they brought about a transformation as the hu-man’s face screwed up and he jerked his head in Susan Gilmer’s direction. “I suppose that woman over there told you that.”
“Actually, no,” she said. “It was another hu-man. One named McCann.”
“McCann?” Wang’s eyes hardened to points. “You killed him, I suppose.”
“No. We allowed him to escape,” she replied honestly.
“Then where is he now?”
She lifted her head. “I don’t know.”
The Prophet’s gaze held her. The pressure was palpable, as if he were penetrating the depths of her soul. Then his mouth twitched. “It doesn’t matter. The fool failed in his mission. Your presence here is evidence of that. Now get out of our way.”
Shann stood her ground. “Thirty-six turns ago you tried to take over this world. When you lost, you agreed that you would stay on this islan
d. You have violated that agreement. You must now leave.” Fury gathered on Wang’s features like a thunderhead. The tiny Kelanni girl continued, undeterred. “You have a vessel here that is capable of taking you back to the stars—back to where you came from. We have seen it. If you surrender now, then we will allow you to depart in peace.”
She swallowed the bile that had accumulated in her throat and waited for the storm to erupt. The Prophet’s mouth opened, he threw his head back, and the sound of laughter washed over her. Hard. Without mirth. A wave of forced amusement rippled through the humans behind him. He made a cutting off gesture, and the wave died instantly. He took a step back and addressed the big man at the front. “Get rid of this one and the others. Bring Susan to me.”
The giant nodded and turned towards her. His face bore an unpleasant smirk. Shann tightened her grip on the staff and whirled it hand over hand like a spinning shield. The smirk disappeared, and he brought his large silver weapon to bear. Wang’s voice behind him was like a steel whip. “Wei! We’re dangerously near to the ADs. Don’t fire that thing unless you have to.”
The big man scowled, then hefted his weapon and swung it clumsily at her like a club. Shann jumped nimbly backwards, flared her cloak, and hurtled towards him. Before he could react, the diamond blade slashed his arm and torso. As he doubled up, she brought the darkwood down on the back of his neck in a deft finishing move.
“Ooomph.” He collapsed face-first onto the walkway, causing the metal supports to reverberate from the impact.
The other blue uniforms began to back off. “Zao gao,” Wang yelled savagely from behind them. “Get her.”
They wiped the fear from their faces and began to surge forward once more. I can’t fight them all. If I try, they’ll overwhelm me, I’ll go down, Susan Gilmer will fire that lightning weapon of hers, and if the crew fire back... There was one other possibility—if she had managed to buy enough time.
Shann turned on her heel and pelted back along the walkway towards Susan Gilmer’s position. As she came to a halt in front of her, the blonde woman smiled encouragingly, but her frown betrayed puzzlement. Behind her, Alondo stood ready, with Boxx at his side. She gave him a single nod. He returned her nod and then turned to face the approaching hu-mans. Her sudden retreat had emboldened the crew. They began pounding along the walkway towards the defenders.
Susan Gilmer levelled her stubby silver weapon and took aim. “Not yet,” Shann commanded. The figures were getting closer, heads bobbing up and down. She could feel the reverberation of their boots through the iron grating. “Not yet.” The sound of their laboured breathing carried across the walkway. Susan Gilmer shot her a sideways glance. “Not yet.” The crew were almost on top of them. “Get down.”
“What?” Susan Gilmer exclaimed.
“Down!” Shann shoved the blonde hu-man flat against the grating and then dived alongside her. Above them the air distorted, congealed, and then twisted like an uncoiling serpent. It struck the oncoming crew, stopping them dead in their tracks, driving them back, causing their arms and legs to flail uselessly like puppets in a gale. Susan Gilmer raised her head and gaped as she observed the impossible spectacle.
Shann twisted around to see Alondo hammering at the strings of his vortex arm. He made rapid adjustments to several dials and then began a rhythmic strumming. The spinning tornado died and a shimmering torus formed around the tubular neck, growing as it rippled towards the stunned figures on the walkway. Another ring followed it. And another.
The first wave hit the nearest hu-man, who cried out as if he had been struck. As the quivering rings impacted and passed over the rest of the crew, cries became screams and the retreat became a rout. They jostled and shoved against one another in panic, desperate to get away. Finally, they were gone. Alondo relaxed and the atmospheric disturbance gradually dissipated. Shann stood up, helping the hu-man woman to her feet.
Susan Gilmer blinked. “That was... quite something.”
Shann felt another, gentler rush of air. They all turned to see Keris landing on the walkway behind them. Her carmine cloak settled about her shoulders.
Shann looked past her. “Where’s Rael?”
“He’s on his way. I went on ahead, as I supposed you would be in need of my help.” The tall Kelanni woman cast an eye over the walkway, now empty and littered with discarded equipment, and raised an eyebrow. “I see that I was in error.”
~
“I’m sure you’re putting on weight.”
Shann supported Alondo as the two of them made their way towards the great bronze globes that lay at the heart of the complex. Keris had suggested that Boxx use his skills to help the musician, but moments later, the hu-mans had attacked and there had been no time. Still, it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered, other that the fact that their great journey—their great task—was almost at an end.
“That is not true,” Alondo replied in an affronted tone. “I’ve tracked across deserts and fire pits, climbed towers and run from enemies more times than I can remember. By the time we’re through, I’ll probably be the fittest entertainer in all of Kelanni—if I don’t wind up dead first.”
For the first time in a long while, Shann permitted herself a smile. The three spheres loomed before them—two now neutralised, the lodestone within them rendered quiescent, and the third with two discs affixed to its surface, giving forth a gentle maroon radiance. All they needed to do was to position the two remaining discs, wait until they began to glow in sympathy, and it would be done.
They reached the innermost circle that gave access to the spheres. Far off, Shann caught the sound of shouts and the clashing of darkwood on metal. It seemed that the hu-mans had recovered their wits and renewed their assault. It came as no surprise to her. Neither side could afford to yield; there was too much at stake.
The final sphere stood before them. Shann released Alondo, who leaned against the curved metal for support. “Let’s get this over with,” she urged.
Alondo winced. “Right.” He fumbled in an inner pocket and produced his blood-white disc, identical to hers other than the stick-man with the funny hat he had etched into it. He selected a spot and placed it on the bronze surface. He withdrew his hand and the disc stayed firmly in place. “Mind if I ask you something?”
Shann set her disc next to his. “Of course not.”
“Do you have any idea how we’re going to get out of here?”
It was not something she had thought about. Her entire focus had been on getting to the hu-man weapons and deploying Annata’s instrument. The minutiae of the plan, including the exit strategy, were left up to Keris. However, Shann discovered that the older woman had convinced herself that premature detonation was the only option, and so she had not bothered to formulate an exit strategy. Only after Boxx’s appearance and the announcement of Alondo’s sudden and unexpected release had she acquiesced and agreed to go along with Annata’s method, but the question of their escape remained unresolved.
No doubt Keris would say that the success of their mission was the only thing that mattered. Still, survival was certainly preferable to the alternative. “Don’t worry. We’ll just sweep any remaining hu-mans aside with that vortex arm of yours.”
Alondo shook his head. “I don’t think that will work. The moment they realise that these devices have been disabled, there’ll be nothing to prevent them using those lightning weapons of theirs. They’ll cut us down in an instant.”
Shann forced a smile. “I thought you were supposed to be the optimist of our group.”
“Sorry,” he said. “But I also happen to have played a lot of shassatan. The game forces you to think strategically—to assess odds.
And right now, the odds of us getting away from here in one piece are not good.”
She fixed her gaze on the blood-white disc as if she could make it turn red by sheer willpower alone. “You’re starting to sound like Rael.”
Alondo laughed. “He is a remarkable young man, isn’t he?”
“Nothing, I... I just meant that... well, he has a fascinating way of looking at things. I wish I had a tenth of the knowledge that he possesses.” He looked like fish struggling on a hook. “If by some miracle we do make it out of here, I would love to spend more time learning about the wonders of this world.” His face suddenly brightened. “Of course, I haven’t forgotten my promise to help you find your parents, either.”
“They’re dead.” Her words fell to the floor like a shattered pane of glass.
“How do you... ?”
“I saw it during my experience in the dome of grey mist.”
Alondo looked as if he were on the brink of tears. “I’m sorry, Shann.”
“It’s all right, really,” she soothed. “Actually, it gave me something I would otherwise never have had—the chance to say ‘goodbye’.”
There was a long pause. Then Alondo looked at her in earnest. “You know that my other promise holds good, don’t you—the offer to stay with Mother and me for as long as you wish.”
“I know. Although I need to find Gal first and make sure she’s all right.”
Alondo nodded. “My mother promised before we left the farmhouse near Lind that she would find your adoptive parents and let them know you were safe. If there’s one thing she’s good at, it’s finding things and people. Trust me, if your Gallar is still alive, then Hedda will find her.”
A companionable silence fell between them once more. The two discs remained a stubbornly opaque white. At length Shann frowned. “It should have worked by now. Something’s wrong.”
“The four components worked perfectly with the other two weapons,” Alondo pointed out. “There’s no reason they shouldn’t work now. Let’s just be patient.”
As time stretched to breaking point, a worrying thought occurred to Shann. This was the same sphere that Keris had attacked with such gusto in her earlier efforts to detonate the devices prematurely. If she had damaged it somehow...
The Lodestone Trilogy (Limited Edition) (The Lodestone Series) Page 87
