The Map Maker's Daughter

by Caroline Dunford

  Sharra didn’t wait for him to finish, but climbed through. Maven followed. They found themselves in a small chamber with a hatch on the other side. There was a lever on the other side. There was a loud clunking sound and the hatch closed.

  They were plunged into darkness. Sharra caught her breath in her throat. She could feel panic rising within her, but before she could give it voice a faint light flickered from beneath their feet. It threw the chamber into an eerie half-moonlight. Maven pulled the other lever. The second hatch opened.

  They climbed through into a small spherical room. The floor sloped down and up slightly and the roof was domed. There were seats with belts all around the wall, but nothing else. No levers. No further hatches. A bell sounded three times.

  ‘What do we do?’ asked Sharra.

  ‘I’m not sure.’

  A bell sounded twice.

  ‘It’s such an odd shape,’ said Sharra, confused. ‘Like a ball.’

  Light dawned behind Maven’s eyes. ‘Quickly,’ he yelled. ‘Get into one of those and tie the belt tight.’

  ‘OK.’

  ‘Now,’ urged Maven. ‘Now.’

  ‘OK. OK.’

  A bell sounded once more. The hatch behind them closed. Sharra had her head down fiddling with her belt. There was a strange sensation as if the ground was lifting beneath her feet. She finished tightening the buckle and looked over at Maven. He was very pale. ‘I think this is going to be worse than the tube.’

  A clunking noise sounded around them. ‘The whole chamber is moving,’ cried Sharra. Maven nodded grimly. The chamber rocked from side to side. The rocking grew progressively more violent. ‘Is this meant to happen?’

  ‘It’s a ball, Sharra. A ball in an airstream. What do you think it’s going to do?’

  Sharra’s eyes opened very wide.

  As if on cue the whole chamber tumbled out fully into the airstream. Within moments Sharra found her seat was on the ceiling. ‘Oh my –’ she began only to have the air stolen from her lungs as the ball turned over again and she found herself the right way up. Her stomach felt as if it stayed behind. She looked appealingly at Maven, but he’d closed his eyes.

  ‘Deep breaths,’ he murmured.

  The ball bobbed a little, then it caught a main airstream and began to tumble over and over. The world spun around Sharra. She grew so dizzy her vision blurred. One minute her stomach was in her mouth, the next her heels. Her hair tangled in her face. She quickly lost any sense of which way was up. She was so hot it was hard to think.

  Sharra had gone past the point of feeling she could no longer bear this when the ball began to slow. The tumbling became less frequent until it was merely a gentle rocking. Sharra pushed her tangled hair from her face and checked on Maven. His skin had a greenish hue and his lips were white, pursed together firmly. There was some more lifting and lowering. Then the ball juddered to a complete stop.

  ‘I cannot believe my father ever travels in this thing,’ gasped Sharra.

  The hatch popped and a bell rang three times.

  ‘We have to get out of here,’ exclaimed Maven, fiddling with his belt. ‘I’m stuck.’

  Sharra unbuckled her seat belt and hurried over to him. A bell rang a second time. ‘You have to go.’ Sharra shook her head and pulled hard on his belt. She managed to free it as the last bell sounded. ‘Go!’ yelled Maven. ‘Go! I’m right behind you.’

  Sharra leapt through the hatch. She felt it start to close around her, but she was through. She turned as Maven tumbled past her and landed in a heap on the floor. The hatch closed behind them. Sharra sat down shakily. They were in an ante-chamber. There was nothing in the room except the other exit hatch. Maven sat up slowly. Behind them they heard the ball launch. ‘We should move. Even if they didn’t notice us leave the Hold I bet someone will notice that ball coming back.’

  ‘That was awful.’

  ‘It was designed for speed not for comfort. As you said, I can’t imagine your father or anyone else choosing to use that often.’

  ‘Does that mean it will have set off some kind of alarm?’

  ‘I don’t know. I imagine we’ll find out when that hatch opens.’ He indicated with a nod of his head at the other door. ‘If there’s someone waiting for us then the answer will be yes.’

  The hatch creaked as the surrounding bolts released. Sharra swallowed hard. She and Maven rose to their feet. Without thinking she reached for his hand. They stood side by side, waiting.

  The hatch began to open.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The hatch opened inwards revealing an empty stone tunnel. The walls were rough and the floor uneven. The air smelled damp. They had only walked a few feet before Sharra began to shiver.

  ‘We’re moving into a larger area,’ said Maven.

  ‘I don’t like this. Maybe we should see if we can get that ball to go somewhere else.’

  Maven shook his head. ‘Didn’t you hear? The hatch closed. It’s gone.’

  They moved forward a few more feet then suddenly Sharra’s hand struck something hard. Maven came quickly up beside her. Together they felt around the way until they covered the outline of a door.

  ‘Give a push,’ suggested Maven. ‘You’re the one secret doors open for.’

  Sharra shrugged and pushed. Nothing happened. ‘I think this one might need something you can supply.’

  Maven raised an eyebrow.

  ‘Brute force.’ Sharra gave a half-hearted smile.

  Maven shouldered the door. It didn’t budge. ‘It’s going to need both of us.’

  The door creaked and groaned and finally swung open. A huge gust of wind blew in. The cobwebs behind them billowed into nothing. Gasping and brushing themselves down Sharra and Maven stepped through the door and into a huge underground cavern. Some distance away they could see the cavern opened out into daylight. A large shadowy mass loomed at the opening, blocking much of the light. A stiff breeze blew in from outside carrying with it the scent of fresh, cold air. Sharra thought she could detect the faint scent of ligon trees. There was no smell of smoke or anything that suggested civilisation.

  ‘What is that?’ whispered Sharra, pointing at the shadow. ‘Do you think it’s alive?’

  ‘You mean like a nest of giant spiders?’

  ‘That’s not funny.’

  ‘I take it this is not the Central Archive?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘It must be the next stage.’

  ‘Transport?’

  ‘Exactly.’ Maven took her by the hand and together they walked over to the edge. As they grew nearer Sharra noticed a long, curving track that was embedded in the ceiling.

  ‘That looks like metal,’ she gasped. ‘There’s more metal on that ceiling than in the whole of Milton Hold.’

  Maven nodded. ‘Those box-like things hanging from it are metal too. Carriages of some kind.’ Maven began to check around the boxes. The strong light from outside cast them into deep shadow.

  Sharra cautiously peered over the edge. It was high. A vast green, canopy stretched out below her. Forest ranged off as far as the eye could see. Directly opposite was a mountain that looked as if someone had taken the top off it with a knife. On the resulting level plateau stood the buildings of the Central Archive.

  Sharra had seen many pictures of it before, but nothing had prepared her for the gloriousness of the reality. Great spires reached into the clouds, buildings carved into the shape of giant trees, pointed archways and stone walkways supported so finely that at this distance they looked as if they floated on air, surrounded the central body of the Archive. The heart of the Archive was a long low building that sheltered within the fantastic arms of the outbuildings. Sharra could make out little of it except the golden, burnished roof that sparkled brightly in the sun.

  ‘I can see the Archive,’ she cried. ‘Come and look, Maven! It’s beautiful!’ She turned round and Maven was nowhere in sight.

  ‘Maven!’ she shouted. ‘Maven!’

  The
re was a clanging sound. The side of one of the hanging boxes slid back and Maven peered out.

  ‘How did you get in there?’

  ‘I was feeling around the sides and the panel just popped. It opens inside with this tiny lever. Get in.’

  Sharra put her foot on the edge of the box. It moved. ‘Get out of there! The whole thing’s loose.’

  Maven sighed. ‘It’s meant to be. If I’m right, this is a carriage that’s meant to carry us down from here. Did you see any towers or ropes or tracks or anything out there?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Could you go and look?’

  Sharra knew that tone. It meant Maven was getting to the thin end of his patience. She hurried over. Now she knew what she was looking for it was so obvious she could hardly believe she’d missed it.

  ‘Yes,’ she called. ‘The metal track goes out over the edge. There are towers on the way down that stand out from the forest to support it. They’re very thin. I mean really thin. I’m not sure this is safe.’

  ‘We’ve come this far.’ He held out his hand to her and reluctantly Sharra climbed on board. Once she was inside it was much easier to see. The box had windows made of some dark material that meant she hadn’t been able to see in, but once inside she could see outside quite clearly. Three sides of the carriage were lined with plump red seats. Each seat had a small wooden table next to it that had a raised edge. The fourth side was a bank of instruments set into a sloping table. Opposite were two swivelling green seats. Maven took one. ‘I can’t figure out how to start it,’ he said. ‘I did spot this.’ He twiddled a small knob and a section of the table opened up revealing the Legend ‘Camden’. Next to it was a strangely shaped indentation. ‘What do you think it’s for?’

  Sharra traced her fingers round the inside. ‘That’s the insignia for Camden Hold. Each head of the Hold has a pendant bearing the insignia. My father has one. He never takes it off.’

  ‘Does anyone else in the Hold have a necklace like that? Do you?’

  ‘No, Gareth can’t have realised we’d need one.’

  ‘I think we may have a problem. We could search the Milton Box – assuming there is one – but I’ve been over and over the inside of this one and I think that fitting something in there,’ he pointed at the indentation, ‘is what makes this whole thing work.’

  Maven flicked the little lever to open the door again. He hopped out. ‘C’mon. I didn’t fancy that much anyway.’

  Sharra followed him out. At the edge of the cavern they found a walkway down, a series of stone steps carved into the mountain. It was a very long way down. ‘This is going to take forever!’

  ‘Do you have a better suggestion?’

  Sharra was silent. Maven stepped out into the bright sunlight. ‘Nice day out here.’ He started down the steps.

  They climbed down for the rest of the day. The steps descended in flights first left then right making the way much less steep, but long. At each change there was a small observation platform that looked out over the green below. The first two times they came upon them they stopped, but as the sun began to move across the sky and the ground remained a long way below they paused less and less often.

  The sun was bobbing lower on the horizon when they came to the last platform. Sharra looked down at the valley below. ‘It’s going to be dark before we reach the bottom. How can we make our way across the valley floor in the dark? Let alone find the stairs on the other side – presuming there are stairs.’

  ‘The second moon should be full tonight.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘I’m a fisherman. I know the phases of the moon.’

  ‘Of course.’

  As they reached the last step the sky was almost completely dark.

  ‘There, by that copse of ligon trees. We can wait there until the second moon rises. It won’t be long.’ He looked up. ‘So far no one seems to be following us.’

  ‘I know. That’s worrying me more than anything. You don’t think there’s another way of getting to the Archive, do you? It doesn’t seem possible that we could just walk in there and pick up the Map.’

  ‘They will follow. Every moment counts, but breaking a leg in the dark would slow us down even more.’

  The sun vanished. ‘I’m sorry. For everything.’ She turned to kiss him on the cheek, but in the darkness their lips touched and neither drew back. Maven ran his fingers through her hair. Sharra pressed against him. Very slowly Maven lowered them both to the ground.

  Hours later the second moon had almost risen when there was a strange whirring noise from above. Sharra looked up and saw one of the boxes passing overhead on the high cable.

  ‘They’re coming.’

  ‘It may be some of them will be on our side.’

  ‘Do you believe that?’

  ‘Your father? His supporters?’

  ‘He didn’t want us to come.’

  Maven squinted up at the towers. ‘Those wires are very frail.’

  ‘What are you thinking?’

  ‘We need to destroy one of the towers.’

  ‘That works.’ Sharra hurried towards the base of the nearest one.

  ‘Sharra, be careful!’

  Even in the moonlight it was clear that the tower was huge. It stretched up into the darkness. Gingerly Sharra reached to touch the strands that wove high into a tall structure in the night. They were cold. ‘It’s metal,’ she said. ‘There’s nothing we can do.’

  ‘Maybe.’ Maven took off his cloak and handed it to her. ‘We don’t have to bring the tower down. We have to stop the carriages going along the wire. It’s not the same thing. I’m going up to have a look.’ He leapt nimbly for the tower and began to climb.

  ‘You can’t! You’ll be killed.’

  ‘Easier than climbing rigging in a storm,’ called back Maven.

  ‘But what if another one comes?’

  Maven didn’t answer. She stood watching and feeling helpless. Maven climbed higher and higher into the night. He was almost at the top when she heard a distant whirring sound that heralded another carriage. ‘Get down!’ she screamed. ‘Get down or it’ll knock you off.’

  But Maven kept climbing. He reached the top and stopped. Why wasn’t he coming down? Sharra peered into the darkness. Her heart beat hard in her chest. The whirring grew louder. ‘Maven,’ she called frantically. ‘Maven!’ Still he didn’t come down. Now she could see the carriage gliding high over the valley. It was too dark to see the cable, so it appeared to be flying through the night sky. As it descended the valley it grew faster. It was almost upon the tower. ‘Maven,’ cried Sharra desperately one last time, but she could see there was no time left. She closed her eyes and focused. If she could Shift the land, make the tower before her buckle and fall, but even before she called the talent she felt within her, she knew how dangerous is would be to Shift this close to the Archive. The world here was at its most stable and if she unpicked any part of it here she could cause chaos across the planet. ‘Maven,’ she called. ‘I can’t Shift here. You have to jump.’

  The whirring of the approaching car stopped abruptly. Sharra turned her attention from the tower and saw the carriage was no longer moving. Maven landed softly beside her. Even in the moonlight she could see he was feeling very pleased with himself.

  Relief, then anger, washed through Sharra. She lashed out with her fists and hit him, once, twice, before he caught her hands in his. ‘You could have been killed!’

  ‘I did cut it a little close.’

  ‘I hate you!’

  ‘Don’t you want to know how I did it? The carriage runs on two cables and I managed to loosen one. The clasps were very rusty. The safety must have cut in and stopped the carriage.’

  ‘But you couldn’t have known that would work!’

  ‘No. But it seemed the best chance.’

  Sharra threw his cloak at him and started off. The valley floor was very flat. Both Sharra and Maven frequently had to bend under low branches, push bram
bles aside and step over fallen logs; they were constantly moving up, down and from side to side. There was no chance for conversation. Maven pushed forward in the lead once more.

  The sun had barely hit the midpoint when they reached the other side of the valley. They broke through the tree line as the levelled mountain loomed before them. The side of the mountain before them was steep, covered with foliage and jagged rocks. Sharra looked up. ‘I hope you’re right about those stairs.’

  ‘I’m guessing they were built before the car system.’

  This side of the mountain was damp and rich with the smell of mould. More than once spiders dropped into Sharra’s hair. Maven found them both long branches to pull back the strands of ivy and brambles that covered the mountain way. Behind them the sun began to rise. Maven turned to look at the dawn, his face closed and grim.

  ‘It’s a new day. Have you ever tried?’

  ‘What?’ asked Sharra pulling ivy out of her hair.

  ‘To draw something real? I said I would ask you every day.’

  ‘Maven, please don’t.’

  ‘Have you?’

  Sharra sighed. ‘I drew a dog once to amuse my cousin Clem.’

  ‘Did it live?’

  ‘No,’ said Sharra. ‘I tore the picture up.’

  ‘Because it was coming alive?’

  ‘Because it felt wrong.’

  ‘She wasn’t meant to die. You said yourself it was an accident. An accident caused by a Map Maker. By you. I have the feeling I won’t be seeing the sun rise tomorrow. This is the last thing I will ask of you. Bring her back.’

  Sharra felt a cold chill within her. ‘If it was possible to bring the dead back don’t you think someone would have tried before now? The way the boundaries of the world have been moved is wrong. It brought the black fire. If we were to disturb the dead something worse could – would – happen. Besides I never saw her.’

  Maven looked at her directly in the eyes. ‘I can describe every inch of her. If it cost me the world to bring her back I would. If you bring her back it will rid you of your guilt. I see it in your eyes, Sharra.’

  Sharra wanted to turn, to run, to be anywhere else, but she stood her ground. ‘If I could give her back to you, Maven . . .’