Alondo smiled painfully and looked down at his boots. “Every day. Only don’t tell her I told you so.” He reached inside his russet coloured jerkin and pulled something out, holding it in his hand. It sparkled green in the late afternoon sunlight, an emerald set in a silver chain. “This is hers. I keep it with me always.”
Shann’s face lit up. “It’s beautiful.”
Alondo shrugged. “Well, the stone is common enough, but it reminds me of home.” He tucked the gem away again.
“Do you think we will return home one day?”
“Of course. Don’t you?”
“Well it’s just that I’m no longer sure I have a home. Poltann is dead and Gallar–well I don’t know. If anything has happened to her, then I’m alone.”
Alondo put an arm around the girl’s shoulders. “You are not alone, Shann.” They sat silently for a moment, Shann enjoying the unaccustomed feeling of security. Then he spoke up again. “What about your real mother and father?”
“They were taken by the Prophet’s soldiers. I was very young at the time.” Shann’s eyebrows knotted together. “I don’t even remember my parent’s faces clearly.”
“Well, when all of this is over I will help you find them.”
“Really? You mean it?”
“Of course,” Alondo assured her. “And in the meantime, you and Gallar can come live with me and Hedda. That is, if you don’t mind putting up with Hedda’s nagging and my late night playing sessions.”
Shann leaned back against Alondo’s shoulder, feeling happier than she could remember. Eventually Alondo stretched and got to his feet. “Well how about helping me get a fire going?”
He held out a hand and pulled her up. She set off with him to gather wood. As they started towards a copse on their right, there was a disturbance behind them. They both turned to look back at the camp. A tall figure was standing in a dark robe, topped by a mass of fair hair. Lyall had returned. Shann ran back to meet him, slowing only as she saw the troubled look on his face. Alondo came up behind her. Keris walked over from the direction of the graylesh. Boxx hopped down from the back of the wagon, scuttled over the rough soil and raised itself up on its hind legs, head cocked to one side.
Lyall looked around at each of them in turn before delivering the news. “They are on our trail again.”
Chapter 18
It was late the following morning when they happened on the vale of floating stones. The track had been rising steeply, causing the graylesh to move into low gear. All of a sudden, it levelled off and dropped towards a narrow ravine. Lyall who was riding out in front, raised a hand, signalling the wagon to stop.
Keris rode around the wagon to join him. “What’s the problem?” Lyall pointed above the ravine. Rocks of varying sizes and at different heights were hanging over the pass, like a rock fall, frozen in an instant of time.
Shann pulled up to Lyall’s other flank, eyes filled with wonder. “What is it?”
“I’m not sure… Keris?”
Keris patted her mount’s striped sides. “Lodestones, obviously, although I’ve never seen them floating like that.”
“They’re ‘Kal’ stones,” Shann blurted out. The other two looked at her. “You know, from the sacred texts.”
Lyall extended his lower lip. “You may be right… I think it must be a naturally occurring phenomenon.” He pointed again, his finger moving from the steep incline to the narrow floor of the gorge. “The ravine must act like a funnel, so that when lodestones fall they are collected at the bottom. Then other stones tumble down the sides and occasionally become suspended like that. Of course, that leaves us with a problem…”
Shann turned towards him. “What do you mean?”
“Recall the lesson I gave you at the farmhouse, Shann.”
“Kal stones are unstable,” she recalled. “So that means…”
“Precisely. If we are not very careful, we could easily end up bringing an avalanche down on our heads.”
“But don’t other people use this path?”
It was Keris who answered. “Not for many years, I think. It isn’t even marked on the map. The main road east lies well to the north of here. We only ran across this trail by accident.” She pulled her mount back and urged it over to one side of the path and then the other. “I don’t see any other way around, not for the wagon at any rate.”
Lyall was deep in thought. “I think we can make it through, if we are careful. I don’t want to take any chances, though. “Alondo!”
“Yes, my liege?” Alondo called in a tone of mocking respect.
Lyall smiled wryly. “Get down from the wagon, would you? We have some preparations to make.”
Alondo swung himself down and walked over to the three mounted figures. “I assume it has something to do with that?” He indicated the pass with its silent stone sentinels.
“That’s right. We are going to need to muffle the wheels of the cart.” He glanced at Shann and Keris. “Let’s see if we can lend him a hand, shall we?”
They all dismounted and followed Alondo. In a short while, they had broken out the blankets and had them tied to the wheel rims. Boxx had climbed down from the rear of the wagon and was eyeing them curiously.
Lyall assembled the group. “All right, when we enter the pass, it’s important that we maintain silence. Any sound might set off a rock fall. If you need to communicate, then signal to each other. We will travel on foot. Avoid the temptation to move too quickly. Any questions?”
“We could all travel in the covered wagon,” Shann suggested.
Lyall shook his head. “If a large enough stone falls, it will rip right through that canvas and we’d never even see it coming. Out in the open, we at least have a chance of moving out of the way.”
“What about Boxx?” Alondo asked.
“Boxx can travel in the wagon. Rolled up in that tough shell of his, he’s probably safer than any of us. Right now, I wish we were all Chandara.”
Boxx seemed pleased. “You Would Make Good Chandara,” it declared. There was a ripple of laughter, which seemed to puzzle the creature.
The party prepared for departure. Then, at a signal from Lyall, they began their slow progression. Lyall walked in front, leading his graylesh by the reins, followed by Alondo, driving the wagon gingerly. Boxx was curled up somewhere in the back. Behind the covered wagon came Shann and Keris, leading their graylesh in single file.
As they entered the ravine, Shann realised that she was holding her breath. She exhaled slowly. Every sound appeared to be magnified in her ears: the grating of her boots on the rough scree, the step of her animal dislodging a pebble, the rhythmic creak of the wagon’s axle. She could not resist the temptation to look up. Rocks of varying sizes floated motionless overhead. The sight was terrifying, yet fascinating at the same time, like watching an accident in slow motion.
There was a hissing from behind her. She turned her head to see Keris frowning and firmly pointing to her eye and then to the ground. Embarrassed, Shann snapped out of her hypnotic state, forcing herself to concentrate on the effort of putting one step in front of the other.
They were a little more than half way through when Shann heard the ominous sound of clattering rocks. Lyall raised his hand and the column came to a halt. Shann did not dare to breathe. After long moments, the sound died away. The party continued to stand frozen in mid-step. Eventually, Lyall motioned them forward once more.
Just when Shann was thinking that there was no end to it, she looked and saw that the cut opened out a short way ahead onto the wider hillside. They were almost through. Crash! A large stone dropped to their left, bouncing and striking against the side of the wagon. Crunch! Another fell behind them, kicking up shards of loose shale. She heard Lyall shout, “Run!”
Shann pulled at the reins, urging her graylesh to a canter. Keris was yelling at her rear, “Shann, get moving.” Rocks continued to rain down as Shann broke into a run. Suddenly they were clear. Dust billowed up behind t
hem as the aerial avalanche eased and finally died back to a low rumble.
Alondo looked back at the pass, mopping his brow. “That was close.”
“Is everyone all right?” Lyall called.
Keris, fulfilling her role as rearguard answered, “We’re all here.”
Lyall relaxed. “Well done, everyone. Let’s take a rest.”
Shann tied her graylesh to the wagon and walked over to where Lyall was standing. She smiled at him. “Well, there’s one good thing. The Prophet’s men will have to face the same obstacle. It may slow them up a bit.”
Lyall looked back at the ravine as the clouds of dirt settled back, obscuring all signs of their passing. “I don’t know, Shann. They don’t have a wagon to worry about. They will find a way around. Or they may set lodestone charges to bring down the rest of the floating stones. In any case, I have the distinct feeling that they are not going to be so easily put off.”
~
Shann dropped out of the sky and alighted on a rocky outcrop. The flying cloak settled about her shoulders in a soft embrace. She shielded her eyes from the midday suns and squinted at the trail as it twisted back and forth through the Hills of Gilah. The landscape was sparse, copses of stunted trees and scraggy brush clinging to the sandy slopes. She glanced around at the stone slab on which she was standing. It was a perfect vantage point from which to view the soldier column as they approached. Satisfied, she sat down on the stone with her cloak tucked under her and took a swig of water from her canteen. It tasted cool and sweet.
A small creature rolled across the rock in front of her. It was round like an orange-yellow ball, with various protuberances, but no limbs that Shann could discern. It stopped in front of her, extending what looked like eye stalks in her direction. A hole opened in the side of the strange being–a mouth? Gas expelled from the hole, and the ball shot away in the opposite direction. The gas was fetid; Shann screwed her nose up.
She had already journeyed farther than she could ever have imagined and had encountered many strange sights. Not all of them had been pleasant, however. Some, like the vale of floating stones that they had encountered three days ago, had been positively dangerous. They had come through that incident relatively unscathed, but Lyall’s prediction had been correct. The Prophet’s men were still trailing them.
Her task, as ever, was to report back when she saw them stop in order to make camp. Lyall’s instructions had been very clear: observe their position, but keep well away. “I don’t want to have to come rescue you again.”
“If I recall correctly, I rescued myself last time,” she countered.
Lyall chuckled and rubbed the back of his head theatrically. “I remember.”
Keris had been given the same injunction but with her, it was little more than a charade. Shann was not fooled for a moment. Keris was acting for them as their agent, so she was in no danger. Still, she seemed to be doing a good job of keeping up the pretence as far as the others were concerned.
It was evident that Keris did not fit in. The woman was like refined lodestone, repelling everyone she came into contact with. She spent much of her time on her own and did not tend to talk beyond the limits of operational necessity. Lyall did his best to include her, but Shann sensed that his only interest was in trying to mould them all into a cohesive team. She was convinced that he didn’t actually like the woman. Alondo, on the other hand, liked everybody. That was part of his charm. Often he would make a comment to her with a twinkle in his eye, using humour to test her vulnerable spots. This would confuse and irritate her, which only added to the joke. But he did not seek out her company in the way that he would seek out the company of Lyall and of Shann herself. The only one in the group that seemed to gravitate towards her was Boxx.
In the evening, when they settled round the campfire, Boxx would scuttle over and lay beside her. Keris seemed strangely comfortable with its presence; in fact, she seemed more comfortable with it than with any others of her own race. When it spoke, it would choose to address her first, more often than not. Shann found its preference for Keris impossible to fathom, but perhaps that was not so surprising. Everything about the Chandara was near impossible to fathom.
As Shann contemplated the enigma that was Boxx, her eyes registered a movement on the winding trail far ahead. She ducked down instinctively and leaned forward. It was the contingent of mounted soldiers moving inexorably through the hills. Shann could not discern individuals clearly, but the banner they carried was clearly visible; a rectangular black cloth mounted lengthwise on a pole, bearing three concentric circles, one red, one yellow and one white, and above the three rings, like an abomination, an orange flame–the symbol of the Prophet. She tore her eyes from the banner and forced herself to concentrate on the approaching column. It seemed to her that she could only make out one dark cloaked figure at the front. Maybe the other was bringing up the rear, she speculated. However, as the column swung fully into view, there was still no sign. Where is he?
A nagging insistence at the back of her mind told her that she could not hang around too long. Shann drew herself erect and turned to head back the way she had come, when she sensed a movement, a subtle displacement of air. She wheeled around. A figure clad in a black cloak that mirrored hers rose up into the air and dropped lightly onto the outcrop in front of her. He was close enough for her to make out the cruel line of his mouth set into craggy features, the keen eyes watching her. She stood, rooted to the stone in shock. Her hand reached for her staff. Then, without a word, the Keltar turned, stepped over the edge of the rock platform and was gone.
Shann’s mind felt as if it were swimming upstream, fighting the flow, struggling to comprehend what had just happened. Maybe the Keltar had not seen her? No, that was impossible–he had looked directly at her. So why was she still here? A realisation began to dawn in her, a confluence of the events of these many days. It was like a strong current, sweeping her towards a conclusion. And with the conclusion came something else, something that would finally expose Keris for who and what she was. At last, Shann had a plan.
~
Shann sprinted and leaped to catch up to Lyall and the others as if the Keltar she had encountered were breathing down her neck the whole way. Finally, she spotted the covered wagon, and touched down just behind the party, breathing hard. Keris, who was bringing up the rear, regarded her with an odd expression but said nothing. Shann ignored her and went to the front of the wagon. Alondo greeted her with a warm welcome and she bade him stop for a moment, so that she could untie her graylesh. She jumped onto the beast’s back and squeezed its striped flanks, waving her thanks to Alondo and then riding to catch up with Lyall.
Lyall nodded to her as she drew alongside. “You’re back early. Are our ‘friends’ up to something?” he asked.
Shann ignored the question. “Lyall, I want us to make camp.”
He checked the position of the suns overhead. “What…you mean now?”
“That’s right.”
“Why? Did the others camp early?”
“No, not exactly.”
Lyall looked at her uncomprehendingly. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Shann. We have a fair amount of daylight left. If we camp now, it will give the Prophet’s men a chance to gain on us considerably. It could be dangerous.”
Shann’s voice was insistent. “Please, Lyall, this is important. I want us to make camp here and now. Then you and I will both go back and check on the soldiers. If they are still pursuing us, then we will return and get moving again.”
“But why–?”
“Let’s just say that I’m testing a theory. If I’m wrong, you and Alondo can make fun of me all the way to the Aronak Sea, if you like. But I have to do this. Please.”
Lyall looked into her eyes for a long moment. Then he called out behind him, “Alondo, pull over. We’re making camp.”
He turned back to face her and she smiled. “Thank you,” she mouthed. They dismounted together and as they bo
th patted their animals reassuringly, Shann touched Lyall’s arm. “One more thing,” she whispered. “Don’t say anything to Keris.”
~
Shann was hiding in the shadow of a boulder, peeking out from time to time for any signs of movement along the trail. She was relieved at last to see the tall form of Lyall bounding towards her. He reached her position and she got to her feet.
Well?” she prompted.
Lyall urged her back along the way they had come. “Come on, let’s go.” She followed him down the track, jogging to match his long stride. He seemed lost in thought. Finally, he opened up. “You were right, Shann, they are camped just as we are, burning daylight. Would you like to tell me what’s going on?”
She paused to organise her thoughts. “I don’t think the Prophet’s soldiers want to catch up to us. Back on the plains, they were pursuing us for days. We were travelling as rapidly as we could, but we could only move as fast as the wagon. Didn’t you ever wonder why we were never overtaken?”
Lyall extended his cloak and leaped up the hillside to his right. Shann followed suit, her boots kicking up dust as she landed beside him. They started to cut across country. “You’re forgetting the incident at the tower,” he countered. “They attacked us, remember?”
Shann studied the ground as she walked beside him. “I’m not sure about that. Maybe that was a mistake. Or maybe they got wind of what we were trying to do, somehow. But everything else points to the same conclusion: the fact that they didn’t catch us on the plains, the fact that they camp when we do–and then there is what happened earlier today.”
Lyall stopped and turned to face her. “What do you mean?”
“One of their Keltar surprised me.”
“What?”
“He just…dropped out of the sky in front of me. I think it was an accident. At any rate, he immediately turned tail and disappeared out of sight.”
Lyall’s face was creased with anxiety. For a moment she thought he was going to berate her for her carelessness. “He said nothing?”
“No.”
“Maybe he didn’t see you?”
She faced him squarely. “Lyall, he was standing not much farther away than you are now and he was looking straight in my direction. There is no way he could have missed me.”