Erin's eyes widened with real horror. I did not like the idea of locking anyone in a trunk, even the detestable Erin, but we had to make sure she was not found too quickly. If the Druid did come home early because of the bonding, he was unlikely to think to look for his missing daughter in a spare room in a box. With Kella's help, we lifted her into the trunk, leaving the lid slightly askew, so she wouldn't suffocate. Then we went into the hall where she would not hear us.
'Phew,' Jik said. 'If eyes were knives we'd all be dead.'
'Jow is outside waiting for the signal that she's out of the way,' Kella said.
Jik went to fetch him and we went into the kitchen in case Erin could hear us talking in the hall. She must not have the slightest idea we had help from within the camp.
'Where is she?' Jow asked, coming in the back door after Jik. I told him and, unexpectedly, he grinned.
'Do her good,' he murmured. Then his face became serious. 'Now, you know what you have to do?'
'We go to the place where the Suggredoon goes under the mountain, then climb across the foot of the mountains until we get to the other side. Then we make for the Lowlands,' I said.
He nodded. 'You'll be a bit soon now. You might have to wait until the soldierguards leave. I wish we could give you more help.'
'We'll be all right,' I said, sorry to be deceiving him. 'Gypsies know a few things about hiding.' I had let them go on thinking us gypsies. I could not afford to tell them about Obernewtyn while they meant to remain in the camp.
Gilaine opened a bundle and handed me boots, stout trews and a jumper and coat. I threw the silky red dress Rilla had made me wear aside without regret. Fine clothes were no substitute for freedom.
Outside, lightning cracked loudly.
'This is an ordinary storm?' I asked Jow.
He nodded. 'An ordinary storm, but bad all the same. Worse for the armsmen who will have to track you.'
I handed him the dress. 'You could use this to lead them astray.'
Jow shook his head. 'When we come to your tracks on the other side, the Druid would know for certain you had help.'
'What are we waiting for?' Kella asked, looking round uneasily.
'A signal from Peter,' Jow said. 'He should have been here, I'll go and look.'
A cold blast of wind swept through the back door as he left. I shivered, less from the cold than at what lay ahead. I wondered what Jow and the others would think when they found no tracks on the other side. It would look as if we had really vanished. I wondered if anyone would suspect the truth.
I thought of Matthew and Louis and prayed Domick had managed to reach Matthew. Rushton had to be warned about the Druid. He worried about the fact that most at Obernewtyn were scarcely more than children. I knew he hoped it would be years before the final confrontation with the Council. Time for Obernewtyn to grow up.
The waiting made me nervous and I began to wonder if Domick had taken my instructions seriously. My hands felt hot and sticky, though the rest of me was cold. I blew on them lightly. Going through the mountain was a gamble, but if it came off, we would be back on schedule, making up the time we had lost in the Druid camp. I had told Jik and Kella of Maryon's prediction, and they agreed we had no choice if there were no other way to complete the aims of our expedition before winter.
The door swung open, admitting Jow, Peter, the older musician, and, to my surprise, Gilaine.
She took my hands in hers. The others did not want me to come because I am known to have associated with you. But I wanted to say goodbye. I wish you did not have to go,' she sent wistfully.
I squeezed her fingers. 'We'll meet again some day. I'm sure of it.' I leaned forward and kissed a cheek that smelled faintly of honey.
'Come,' Jow said impatiently. 'There's no time to waste.'
Gilaine gave me a gentle push and waved as we followed Jow and Peter into the stormy night. Looking over my shoulder, I saw her disappear round the corner of the house.
It began to rain in earnest then, as if it had been waiting for us. To my consternation, the flashes of lightning lit up the streets. Anyone glancing through the window would see us.
Suddenly Jow stopped. 'It's no good. It's too light. A group of people out on a night like this is unusual and anything unusual will be remembered after this night's work. We'll have to split up.'
I went with Jow, and Jik and Kella followed Peter. I trotted to keep up, trying to ignore the pain in my feet. We met up in one of the alleys running down between the dark storehouses alongside the gate. Kella and Jik were panting, having come a longer way. Peter left at once with a terse farewell.
'I live near, so it's safest for me to be seen here,' Jow explained. 'I've left two horses in the front yard nearest the gate. They've agreed to run the minute they're let out.' Jow was a beastspeaker.
'Your job is to break the latch on the yard gate,' he was telling Jik. 'Wait until a crack of thunder and smash it with a rock. Then get out of sight. As soon as I hear the noise I'll come out and call the gatewarden to help me catch the horses. They're to run down to the other end of the camp. There'll be enough noise to attract the attention of the posted guards in the corner lookouts. Even so, you'll have to be quick. And don't leave any tracks showing which way you've gone. There must be no doubt you're making for the main road around the head of the river. You're sure you'll be able to lock the door from the outside?'
I nodded. 'It'll be all right if I'm touching it.' Jow looked up as a flash of lightning lit the alley. 'Count five and thirty once you're in position to give me time to get back to my hut. Then bash away,' he told Jik. Then he was gone.
We stared at one another, frightened and excited. 'Go on,' I prompted Jik. He darted off into the shadows and we edged closer to the main gate, one eye on the pens where the horses stood. The whole aim of Jow's plan was to give us a clear start. Jow hoped no one would even realize we had gone until we were discovered missing at nightmeal. And even then, the locked gates would make them think we were hiding somewhere inside the camp.
But everything depended on our getting away unnoticed.
I jumped as a loud crack of lightning mingled faintly with the sound of splintering wood. Two horses thundered past us into the street, their hooves making a great clattering noise on the stones. We watched as Jow burst out of a door in shirtsleeves shouting for help. Two other doors flung open and men came out, wondering what was happening. A man poked his head out of the gatewarden's hut and Jow called him to help catch the horses before someone was murdered. He pulled on a coat and ran after the shouting group without looking back. A man and a woman came into the street and there was more calling and exclamations.
As soon as they were all out of sight we hurried across to the gate, Jik running up behind us. My heart beat loud enough to drown the thunder. We were completely exposed, and my hand trembled as I reached for the lock. In the distance I could hear the babble of noise from those after the horses.
But even as my fingers closed around the bolt, a big hand shot out of the gatewarden's hut and fastened on my arm. Kella screamed and jumped back, knocking Jik to the ground.
Still holding my arm, the big-bearded man who had caught us in the first place came out into the rain, an unpleasant smile on his mouth. 'What have we here?' His eyes ran over our bundles and dress. 'Not running away are we? And Relward so eager to have a maid in his bed.' He laughed and rain shook from the wiry beard hairs under his chin. 'What a pity, since runaways here end up as bonfire fodder.'
Kella moaned in terror, snapping me out of my own trance. Anger flowed through me in a molten tide. If I did nothing, we would all Burn. I gritted my teeth.
There was nothing subtle in what I did next. The armsman's bruising grip on me made him vulnerable, since it negated Lidgebaby's static net. I simply lashed out with all the frustrated power in my mind. Even so, it was less effective than it should have been. He recoiled in shock and, instinctively, tried to let go of my arm. My other hand snaked out and caught his wrist, ke
eping the connection. He fought me in earnest then, and when I clung like a limpet, he struck me across the face. It was too awkward a blow to have full force, but my ears sang and I felt suddenly a long way from my hands. I could feel my grip weaken. Terrified of what would happen to us if I failed to get us away, I reached inside my darkest mind for the killing power I had once used on Madam Vega. I had not used it since the night we had taken Obernewtyn. I had tried to pretend to myself it was gone. But it rose at my call like a great black snake, and only fear of that dreadful secret power gave me the strength to temper it. Even muted, I was shaken with the strength of my attack on the armsman's mind. His mouth gaped wide in a soundless shriek and he slumped unconscious at my feet. I slid to my knees behind him, retching and coughing.
Kella looked down at me, stunned. 'What did you do to him?' Then her face changed. 'Elspeth, you're bleeding.'
I shook my head and climbed to my feet. 'No . . . time. We have to get . . . away before they find him.' I could taste blood and spat, but the taste persisted. Dazed, I wondered if it were my imagination that it was raining more heavily.
Kella visibly gathered herself, unlocking the gate and pulling Jik and me after her. I put my hands on the lock from the outside, and relocked it. With luck the door locked from the inside would make them think the unconscious armsman had been struck by lightning.
We picked our way with careful haste across the spine of rocks Jow had said would hide our tracks. When we had gone some distance, I decided speed was more important. 'Run!' I yelled over the noise of the rain. All around us trees creaked under the weight of the downpour. It was like standing right under a waterfall. I staggered after them, my head spinning and my feet hurting badly. I was too disorientated to know which way we should go and plodded after Kella, hoping she knew.
'As long as one of us knows . . .' I said with a bubbling laugh.
Then, abruptly, we were outside Lidgebaby's range. I sent a probe to Domick. Fortunately he was waiting for me, because I had no strength left to fight his defences. To my relief, Pavo was there already.
I stumbled over an exposed tree root and fell to my knees hard, losing mental contact. Kella and Jik helped me up. The healer's hair was plastered to her head and her face dripped with water.
I tried to speak, but my mouth refused to shape the words. Instead, I sent a call for help to Domick.
Kella and Jik half dragged, half carried me between them. I struggled to stay conscious, leading Domick to us. Crashing through the trees moments later, he ordered the other two to run, and hefted me effortlessly over one shoulder.
We reached the clearing where Pavo waited with Gahltha and Avra. My teeth felt as if they were rattling round behind my eyes. Like Domick, Pavo was still clad in the ragged remnants of the clothes we had worn from Obernewtyn that first day.
'What's happened?' the teknoguilder asked. 'Kella says you killed a man with your mind.'
Domick gave me a startled look.
'Not killed . . . stunned,' I said groggily.
'He hit her in the face. There was blood all over but the rain's washed it off. Wait . . .' Before I could stop her, Kella reached out and touched me, drawing my pain off into herself. At once the dizziness faded.
'Hurts . . .' moaned Kella, whitefaced. I pushed her away.
'That's enough. I can think now. You've stopped the faintness.'
Kella smiled wanly.
We were all huddled under an Eben tree, the only real shelter. Rain drummed down heavily on all sides.
'Did anyone follow you?' Domick shouted over the noise.
I shook my head. 'No one will come after us until this storm is over. And even if they do we'll be long gone on the raft.'
Something in Domick's expression struck me. 'You did make the raft?'
Wordlessly he pulled me to my feet and pointed through the trees to the water.
My heart sank.
Swollen by the phenomenal rains, the Suggredoon was a roaring torrent overflowing its banks, carrying whole trees and chunks of the bank. Domick's raft was fastened to the bank by a thick, twisted rope, and bobbed like a creature mad to be set free. Only a lunatic would set off on such a river.
Domick hauled the raft in, and looked at me panting. 'What do we do?'
I took a deep breath. 'We'll wait until daylight. Maybe the river will have calmed down by then?'
Before Domick could respond, I heard a bark and turned to see Darga pelting into the clearing. 'Many funaga coming,' he sent.
I translated. Domick's face hardened. Then we've no choice. We'll have to go now or face them.' He pointed to the raft. 'There are ropes. Tie yourselves down.'
'Quickly,' I shouted, when no one moved.
I helped Kella tie herself, and Jik tied Darga and himself down. Avra stepped into the large space in the middle obviously reserved for the two horses, and Domick bound her gently. I sat next to Pavo, trying not to look frightened.
My mind was reeling. How could anyone have followed so quickly? Unless we had been betrayed. Saul's face came into my mind.
Domick's cry broke into my thoughts. He was standing on the bank with Gahltha.
'What is it?' I shouted.
Domick waved his hand helplessly at the black horse. 'He won't move.'
I tried to reach Gahltha's mind but it was as smooth and unassailable as a mountain of glass. I looked at Avra and sent an urgent query. Through the noise of the rain, I could hear men's voices and shouts.
'They come,' Darga sent.
Domick threw his hands up and began to push the raft off the bank.
'Gahltha,' I sent, forcing his shield. He whinnied, a high quavering note, the whites of his eyes showing. But he made no move towards the raft.
'He's afraid,' Jik cried.
Domick jumped into the raft just as the water dragged it from the bank. There was a hard jerk as it reached the end of the tether rope. Still Gahltha stood on the bank unmoving, staring out at us.
'Gahltha!' I sent. 'Go back to Obernewtyn.'
He made no response. I saw figures running.
'They're coming. Cut the rope!' I cried.
Domick lifted his small axe.
'Gahltha. Go now or the funaga will trap you!' I sent forcefully.
Gahltha reared violently and plunged into the night. At the same time Domick let the axe fall. It landed badly and the rope was not severed. Several men had reached the bank and were attempting to reel the raft in. Domick raised the axe again and this time it fell true.
At once the roaring water carried us swiftly away from the bank. Lightning flashed, and in that moment, I saw the face of the armsman Gilbert among those who stood watching us, a look of utter anguish on his face.
Seeing me, even as I saw him, Gilbert cried out, but the sound of rain and rushing water made his words no more than a bird call.
Then the raft carried us from his sight and within seconds we were speeding towards the dark bulk of the mountains. For one moment it seemed we would be smashed to pieces against the side of the mountains, then the black gape of a cave opened up before us.
I looked back, and caught sight of Gahltha pawing at the raging water as if it were tongues of fire.
'Here we go,' Domick said grimly, and we plunged into the heart of the mountain.
13
The Suggredoon had borne us along its ancient course at the speed of a bolting horse.
Domick stood up on the raft, slipping his feet into rope loops and took hold of the paddle which gave him rudimentary steering. I was surprised to find a source of dim light in the cavern, instead of dense blackness. The walls glowed gently and eerily and, only when a cloud of insects stirred and rose, I saw that the light came from the tiny flying insects' bodies. A stiff, cold draught blew in my face from somewhere ahead, confirming that the tunnel was open through the mountain.
For a while it seemed we had exaggerated the dangers, then we came on the first turbulent stretch of rapids. The water boiled savagely sending the raft shuddering
and careening through foaming torrents, barely missing jagged rocks. Luck as much as Domick's steering kept us from being overturned or having a rock gouge a hole in the raft.
And there were many such stretches. Each time we began to breathe easy, thinking ourselves lucky to have survived, we would hear the familiar hollow roar ahead, and tighten our grip on the raft.
At one point the entire surface of the river seemed to tilt and we were as much sliding as being swept by the current. The wind whistled past me, whipping strands of hair wildly in my face.
We had known the water must flow down to the Lowlands, and I was convinced the cavern above the water would continue, but I had been afraid secretly that it might be too narrow for the raft to pass. It seemed my worst fears would be fulfilled when the walls began to close in around us. I took comfort in the breeze that must mean there was a way through, but would it be wide enough? For a moment the mountain seemed to throb with brooding malevolence.
Impatient with myself, I tried to ignore the walls drawing steadily nearer and more dim, as if the glowing insects disliked the closeness as much as we did.
Gradually, it became so narrow that Domick could not stand. I needed no empathy to sense Avra's fear. If the cavern became much more cramped, she would not fit. And we all knew there was no turning back.
But, just as suddenly, the way began to widen again and I shivered with reaction. In my wildest fancies, I had never imagined the trip to the coast would be such a road of trials. I had worried about soldierguards, yet in all that had befallen us, we had not even seen a soldierguard.
Hearing a roar ahead, I prepared myself for another battering, but instead, the raft flowed round a bend and through a natural stone arch, into a huge, dark ocean. If not for the stalactites and stalagmites and the rock columns rising from the water to the roof where some had met and fused, I would have thought we had somehow got out onto the Great Sea at night. Like the tunnel, the cave was lit by millions of the tiny insects.
The raft slowed but was still drawn along by a deeper current.
Our wonder at this sea under the mountain dissolved into greater amazement as we drew near to what we had taken as immense rocky mounds rising from the water.
The Farseekers Page 11
