The Five Elements (29 page)

Once abovedeck, Shanna saw that it was night, the sky a layer of darkness lit only faintly by a sparse moon. A light rain fell, but the deck remained mostly dry as the
Griffin
floated along with the clouds. In the distance, lightning brought flashes of light to the darkness; a promise of more storms to come. Now, however, with conditions nominal, the scene abovedeck was quiet.

Engus Rul moved fast. He was almost onto the waist deck before Shanna called out to him.

"Return to your master," Engus Rul said from over one shoulder as he kept walking.

Shanna ran after him, leaping down from the quarterdeck and circling around the dwarf so that she blocked his way. Engus Rul had no choice but to barrel through her, go around, or stop. He chose to stop. Inwardly, Shanna breathed a sigh of relief at that.

"He's not my master."

The dwarf flashed her a look of impatience. "Get out of the way, girl, before I—"

"Tell me what happened."

One of the man's brows turned up. "Don't play games with me—"

"I'm not! I—I didn't know. Not until you—Erlek promised not to hurt anyone else. I mean, he promised to leave the others from Norwynne alone." Shanna's gaze strayed from Engus's. "I didn't know that he'd… I'm sorry."

Engus Rul said nothing. Shanna felt his eyes weighing her down, though, until he released her by stepping to the railing. He rested both hands there and stared out into the gray evening.

Shanna remembered Mirna. "Mirna, why don't you go below? Use my room if you want. Get some sleep."

Mirna bowed. Then she was gone.

Shanna joined Engus. The moment she drew near, the dwarf spoke.

"He's a damn, bloodsucking vampire, that savant. Sent his sitheri to ambush Herg when he was alone. Erlek sucked him dry. Took his soul. The others expect me to return with the savant's head. 'To the Thirteen Hells with the oath', they say. Damn fools! I'll take
their
heads before any one of them dishonors Fire Rock. They know it, too. The oath stands. It will be honored."

"What oath?" Shanna asked in a quiet voice.

Engus Rul took a deep breath. He exhaled slowly. "Our clan-lord, the one called Kelgin, struck a bargain with Erlek at the start of this… adventure. Though Kelgin has gone to the Beyond, his promise remains, for it is as much ours as it was his. We of Fire Rock do not take such oaths lightly." Engus Rul turned his head a moment. "I wonder how much of this Erlek knew when he came seeking our clan's help?" Then he spat over the side. "It doesn't matter now. We'll see it fulfilled. Then, when it is done, I'll kill Erlek myself."

"No," Shanna said without thinking. "You can't."

Shanna felt the weight of Engus Rul's stare on her once more.

"I can't? Why not?" His voice was gruff, almost angry, as if she had any right to impede or question his desires.

Shanna crossed her arms at her chest and suppressed a shiver. "Because
I'm
going to kill him." The moment she spoke the words, she regretted it. Engus Rul had just told her where he'd placed his loyalties, at least as long as his oath remained, and here she was telling him the one thing that could cause everything to unravel. She wondered if, right then and there, he might go to Erlek to tell him exactly what she'd said. The moment's fear dissipated as soon as the dwarf let out a long, slow chuckle.

"So," Engus Rul said, "that is why you boarded the ship when I offered to let you go."

Shanna said nothing as she leaned out over the edge and peered into the endless darkness. She thought she saw a sliver of crimson below, like the stroke of a painter's brush, far off in the distance. Another shiver ran through her. "You won't tell him, will you?"

"I'll not tell that bloodsucker a thing." He laughed again. "Perhaps you'll even beat me to him."

Shanna smiled. It was a quick gesture that did not last long. "Perhaps."

They stood in silence after that, both watching the darkness and the approaching line of scarlet that was soon joined by other veins that streaked the land as if rivers of flame. As they sailed ever closer, Shanna realized that was exactly what they were: flows of hot lava flowing down gulches, gullies, and canyons.

"The flows are new," Engus said at her side. "Anaktoa has sensed our approach and has awoken. I must tell the others." The dwarf turned to go, but stopped at the last moment. He fixed his stare on Shanna. "Erlek is a dangerous man, Shanna. Watch and ward yourself." Then he went to rejoin his dwarves and tell them of the volcano's activity.

No sooner had he disappeared belowdeck than the airship sprang to life. An aft bell clanged, summoning the airmen to their stations. Shanna heard the shouting of mates and the stamp of booted feet rising from below. Moments later men spilled out from gangways and the deck became a scene of controlled chaos.

Shanna made herself small, trying to find a place where she'd remain out of the way but also where she didn't have to surrender her vantage point. Seen from this high up, the molten rivers were beautiful as they cut across the landscape. Cauldron Mountain, Erlek had called it. Anaktoa, to Engus Rul. Despite the increasing glow from the molten rivers, it remained too dark to see the mountain itself. That didn't stop Shanna from painting its image in her mind.

It was tall, taller than the airship's current elevation, and massive, with slopes dark and hot with lava. Its top was a witch's pot of steaming, bubbling liquid. Aaron had shown her its picture—or one very much like it—in one of his books. Aaron had shown her lots of things like that. He was always carrying books around, most of them filled with words and formulas that made her head ache to look at them. But there was always one book in his stack filled with hand-painted pictures of the most wondrous places: river-carved valleys, spacious canyons lined with evergreens, meadows punctuated by rocky outcroppings and wildflowers. Someday, we'll go there, he had told her. He said it mostly to cheer her up, when she was feeling down. She knew full well she was never going anywhere except to that miserable, stinking hole where she helped Nora make the soap. But Aaron's pictures and the way he described the places they depicted always made her feel better anyway.

She let out a heavy sigh. She wondered where Aaron was and what he was doing. She hoped he was safe and hadn't spent too much time mourning her death, for he must think her gone, drowned after the whirlpool had sucked her in. She wished there was some way she could get a message to him, to tell him she was alive. But even if a means existed, she had no idea where to send it. Back to Norwynne perhaps. By now, they must be taking stock of the damage, rebuilding. Aaron was probably there, helping with the cleanup and architecting the restoration if Shanna knew him half as well as she thought she did. Aaron was doing just fine. She was sure of it.

Erlek appeared on deck and headed straightaway for her position, cutting through the airmen with little effort, many of whom had stopped to take in the rivers of flame below.

"We are here, then," Erlek said, making no effort to hide the excitement in his voice. "Cauldron Mountain."

Shanna peered over the side again, following the line of flaming rivulets to where she presumed the mountain must lie. Still, she didn't see its great peak. She said as much to Erlek.

"You have not seen a true mountain because there is none to see. Cauldron Mountain is no mountain at all, not in the common sense of the term. It is a caldera. Once, it was as you no doubt imagine it. Called Karak-Tur, it was great, towering, magnificent. But the earth called to it. It answered with fire and destruction. The whole of the mountain was wiped away, leaving only a depression in the land to mark its presence. Look, there!" Erlek pointed to a spot that was utter blackness, but where, at the edges of that spot, the largest of the flows originated. "That is Cauldron Mountain. It appears the bowl of it yet remains empty. The Element of Fire is ours for the taking." Erlek called across the ship to the captain. "Fast ahead! We land there!" He pointed again, as if anyone could see precisely where he was indicating.

The captain shouted something that was not to Erlek's liking, for he let out a snarl in response. Right before storming off to the steering deck to confront the man, Erlek said to Shanna, "Go below. Gather what you might need for a short trip. Meet me in my chamber." Then he was off to test his will against that of the captain, leaving Shanna alone.

Despite the savant's order, she continued to stare out into the night's darkness. She waited, and waited, until finally the clouds parted just enough so that moonlight streaked to the ground and, at last, she saw Cauldron Mountain. It was a great bowl, carved as if by a giant scoop. It was empty—Shanna presumed Erlek had meant of lava—though red-orange liquid bubbled up from all around it to form the streams and rivulets that ran across the land. The
Griffin's
progress was slow. Erlek continued to argue with the captain for some time, though they must have come to some compromise, for Erlek finally broke away and returned belowdeck. The moment he did the
Griffin
altered course to head directly for the great depression. An hour later, assaulted by a great abundance of smoke and the noxious odor of sulfur, the ship passed over the cauldron's rim. They maintained their distance from the ground. As they moved further into the bowl that distance grew even greater as the inside of the caldera sloped away. Wary of what might happen should they drift too near to its bottom, the
Griffin
held its altitude as it sailed for the centermost point of the depression. The air about them grew more heated, the aroma of sulfur more pronounced. Moonlight reflected from tendrils of steam that rose from fissures both great and small in the caldera's surface. Black rock, jagged and malformed, along with gray, sandy ash, lay strewn about everywhere.

Only when they reached the center of the caldera did the captain give the order to descend further. The vibration of the airship's engine lessened as it was turned down. Men on the main deck scrambled about the pipes feeding the balloon, twisting cranks and monitoring dials. The pipes hissed as the
Griffin
began its descent. The airship halted with forty feet still to go. From the activity on deck, Shanna saw the captain meant to go no further. She took it as her cue to go find Erlek.

He was in his chamber, the savant's lean frame wrapped tightly in a thick robe of earth tones. He'd traded his sandals for heavy boots and held a metal-shod walking stick in one hand. Shanna saw a robe similar to the savant's laid out on the divan. Erlek gestured at her to put it on along with a pair of boots. Both the robe and shoes were big on her, but not unmanageable. There was a satchel there—empty—that she swung over one shoulder. When she was finished, Erlek said to her, "Take the Element."

Surprised by the request, Shanna just stood there.

Erlek chuckled. "It is time, dear girl. Time to see what you've learned, if anything." He said the last with a certain sourness. "Go on. Take it."

Shanna did as she was asked, lifting the Element of Earth from its resting place. The familiar tingle pulsed through her hands, down her arms, and into her core.

"Once abovedeck," Erlek said, "we will descend from the ship into the caldera. The Element will remain safe at your side."

He gestured to the satchel, and Shanna placed the device inside.

"Once we stand upon the rocky surface, you will lead us into the volcano."

"What?" Shanna wasn't sure he'd heard him right. "How?"

"That, unfortunately, is something that remains to be seen. Have no fear, though. You have with you the Element of Earth. Look to it now for answers. Now, come." Erlek walked past her, unnecessarily allowing the metal end of his staff to fall heavy on the wood floor as he made his way abovedeck. The sitheri, who waited outside the room, waited for Shanna to follow their master. Shanna sighed, then she followed. The sitheri trailed at her heels.

Engus Rul was there. The dwarf's accoutrements hadn't changed at all except that he now carried the axe, Soljilnor. It remained wrapped in canvas. His dwarves stood nearby, though by their casual dress and lack of armor it did not look as if they would be accompanying their lord. A hard-faced lot, their stares never left the savant.

Erlek either hadn't seen the looks or simply didn't care as he went about examining a knotted rope that was secured to the ship and that hung out and over the railing. Shanna made the mistake of looking over the side, tracing the line of the rope as it swayed with the ship's motion all the way to the ground. Her head swooned from the distance.

Engus Rul joined them. Together, they made a motley lot of five, including the pair of snakemen.

"Soljilnor will better serve us with its head exposed," Erlek said to Engus Rul.

"You said the axe will protect us regardless," the dwarf said.

Erlek lifted his brow. "It will."

"Then it stays as it is."

There was a finality to Engus Rul's words that Erlek chose not to challenge as the savant stepped away. He motioned for the dwarf to descend first. Before he could, an airmen came forward, offering each of them a waterskin. Shanna slung it over her shoulder opposite the satchel. Erlek and Engus Rul each took one as well. The sitheri seemed to have no need. Without even a glance over the side, Engus Rul swung over the rail and, hand-over-hand, lowered himself. Several crewmen stopped at their duties to watch the dwarf go down until a deck officer shouted at them to get back to work. Others cast sidelong glances at the lot of them. There was little well-wishing in those stares. Shanna went after Engus Rul. She followed his lead, swinging herself over the railing without looking down this time. It made the effort easier, but only slightly.

It was a single-minded task, with just herself and the rope for the minutes it took for her to reach the ground. There were knots tied into it in intervals. Her feet found purchase at each of them, lessening the strain on her arms, though the robe Erlek had provided with its wide sleeves and extra weight was an added hindrance. She wondered why she was even wearing it or why she hadn't taken it off before she'd started down the rope, but it was too late now. If nothing else, it eased the rope's strain along her thighs. Then she was down. Having both feet planted on solid ground never felt so good. Drenched with sweat as much from her effort as from the heat, she took a few wobbly steps, realizing it might take some time to regain her land legs.