The Lodestone Trilogy (Limited Edition) (The Lodestone Series) (101 page)

Shann touched down and then raced up the deserted street, making a beeline for the young Keris.

The tall girl sized her up and down, and then held up one hand. “Leave her to me.”

Shann pushed off a deposit to her left and leaped to her right in an attempt to outflank her opponent. Keris leaped to her right, keeping her face to the smaller girl. The two of them landed a few feet apart and began to circle one another.

The Keris she knew was highly skilled–Shann’s chances of besting her in a one on one confrontation would be slim indeed. But this girl…this girl was different. Despite her height, Shann judged her to be approximately the same age as herself. She was thinner than her older counterpart, lissom, yet somehow lacking the other’s grace and economy of movement. Fresh out of the keep, she would have the benefit of the keep’s formal training, which Shann lacked. However, Shann fancied it was she who could claim greater actual battle experience. Shann would take experience over training any day. The other girl could claim superior height and reach. That could be a problem. However, Shann was determined to free her parents at any cost. All in all, she judged it to be an even match. Except that she could not afford to lose. She could only hope that it would be enough to tip the balance.

Keris took a long stride forward and lunged with her staff. Shann dodged the thrust easily and knocked the other girl’s staff away. The young Keris was courageous and aggressive, but lacked caution. Ironically, that was a quality Shann had learned from the girl’s older self.
All right.
Let’s see what you have.

Shann darted off to the side, flaring her cloak and took to the air in a high arc, landing on an adjacent rooftop. The young Keris seemed to experience a moment of uncertainty, then ran back and launched herself skyward, alighting on the pitched roof opposite. In the street below, one of the soldiers was still lying on the ground where she had been felled by Shann. Two of their number were kneeling next to the prone figure. The rest stood by the cart, transfixed by the scene being played out high above them. A little way off, the older Keris looked on unnoticed, still standing in the place where Shann had left her.

Shann dashed along the eaves, scanning for lodestone and mapping out the configuration in her head. She was careful not to take her eye off Keris. Again, there was that same split second hesitation, then the girl began moving over the rooftop, maintaining a parallel course. Shann jumped the gap between two gable ends, sprinted across another section of stone tiles and hauled herself up the next gable to a slightly higher roof. A push on her shoulders told her that there was another sizeable deposit beneath the street just below her. The other girl was moving rapidly along the rooftops on the opposite side of the deserted thoroughfare, lagging only a short distance behind. She would make the same discovery at any moment. If Shann was going to seize the advantage, it would have to be now.

She launched herself from the rooftop.
Find the lodestone deposits, then “own” them.
No doubt the young Keris had been taught the same thing. However, when your heart is pounding, your adrenaline is pumping and a real life opponent is out to destroy you, things look rather different. Shann angled her body toward the large deposit, extended her cloak again in midair and allowed the massive push to carry her toward the roof opposite.

As she descended, she realised that something was wrong. Her quarry had vanished. Shann’s eyes flitted rapidly over the ground and the sloping roof. There was no sign of the young Keris. Shann alighted on the overhang, staff at the ready.
Where are you?

All of a sudden, a figure rose from behind the ridge above her.
How did she get up there so fast?
Before Shann could decide her next move, the young woman twisted something in her hands. A dull whine rose rapidly in pitch and a silver ball bounced down the stone tiles.
A blast of light and sound.
Shann felt herself falling. As she hit the cobbled street, the breath was knocked out of her and pain lanced through her left shoulder. Saccath’s staff bounced against the cobblestones and skidded to rest several yards away.

She struggled to her feet just as Keris dropped lightly to the roadway in front of her, cutting her off from where Saccath’s staff lay. The young Keltar bore a twisted smile of triumph. Shann fought for breath and braced herself for the inevitable assault. Keris removed one hand from her staff and reached into her pouch for another grenade. Shann saw her chance and pounced. Before the tall girl could recover, Shann had covered the ground between them and grabbed the smooth darkwood with both hands.

Shann gritted her teeth as the two of them grappled for the staff. Her chest still hurt and her shoulder ached, but she fought through the discomfort as they strained against each other. The young Keris was strong–wiry like a vara-cat–but Shann was no weakling either. And she was determined.

They swayed together back and forth, grunting from the effort, finally dragging each other to the ground. Soldiers and captives alike looked on in rapt silence as the two figures in black scuffled together, clutching the staff between them like a point of bitter contention.

Unable to wrest the weapon from her opponent, Keris manoeuvred on top and began to push down toward Shann’s face. Shann brought her legs up and kicked savagely. Keris’ eyes widened and her mouth opened as she was propelled up and over her opponent’s head, losing her grip in the process. She landed on her back, sprawled against the cobbles.

Shann sprang to her feet and whirled, the staff in her hands, bringing the diamond blade down against the prone Keris’ throat. The keen edge pressed against her olive skin, bringing forth a thin line of white blood. One slight thrust…

Her young adversary looked up at her with a curiously calm expression. “You cannot save them.”

Shann felt her muscles tense.
No, I won’t accept that.

A bright flash.
The street, the prostrate figure of Keris and the staff in her hands all dissolved and she was suddenly back in the midst of the uniform grey fog.
“Nooo.”

~

Alondo glanced up to see Shann come careening out of the dome of fog as if she were being pursued by a ravening horde of scaran beasts. He could see no sign of Boxx. The musician had been seated near the threshold, keeping vigil so that he could be the first to greet her on her return. He got to his feet, only to see her go rushing past as if she were oblivious to his presence. Something was very wrong.

Lyall had begun walking toward her, and his walk now became a run. Shann skidded to a halt with her staff held before her in attack posture, although there was no visible enemy. Her eyes were wild and her face was streaked with grime and dried tears. “Where is she?”

Lyall stopped short. “Where’s who?”

“Keris.” Her voice cracked. “Keris, where is she?”

Alondo cast an eye around the flat metal surface of the Dais. At first he did not see the former Keltar, but then he spotted her, kneeling down near the tents. She looked as if she were examining something. She stood up and began walking toward them, her pace unhurried. Shann saw her and her expression became a twisted mask. “It was you–you took them away to die.”

Keris stopped in her tracks and her eyes flicked from one to the other. “What’s she talking about?”

“I don’t know,” Lyall confessed. “Shann? What’s the matter?”

Shann made a strangled cry and rushed the other woman. Keris calmly drew her staff and gripped it in both hands, blade pointing outward.

“Keris. No,” Lyall yelled.

Shann raised her weapon as she hurtled toward Keris, aiming for the other’s head. Keris sidestepped neatly and made a low pass with her own staff, sweeping Shann’s legs from under her. The girl fell, tumbling over and over, carried by her own momentum. As soon as she came to rest on her back, Keris was over her. The tall woman sheathed her own weapon, then reached down, grabbing and twisting Shann’s arm painfully. In a moment, she had wrested Saccath’s staff from her grasp and tossed it away. The girl sagged against the metal platform. Her eyes squeezed shut and her body convulsed, but there was no sound. It was as if all of the tears within her had already been shed.

Keris stepped back, allowing Alondo to take over. The musician spoke quietly into her ear, then picked up her limp, frail looking body and carried her towards the sanctuary of the tents.

When he returned a while later, Lyall was still waiting in the same place. Of Keris there was no sign.

“How is she?” Lyall asked.

Alondo scratched his head. “I don’t know. She’s resting now. She still seems pretty traumatised. Whatever her experience was in there, it’s clear that Keris was at the centre of it. It would do her good to talk about it, I think, except that…”

“Except that we’re not allowed to do that,” Lyall completed. “Maybe when this is all over, we can get together and help each other to heal. One more piece of bad news, I’m afraid–Boxx says she failed her trial.”

Alondo’s face fell, then he pursed his lips. “Well, maybe it’s for the best. She’s in no condition to deal with anything right now. We still need one more component carrier, so I guess it’s all up to you.” He smiled. “No pressure or anything.”

“Thanks,” Lyall said. “Oh, one more thing. After you and Shann left, Keris handed me this.” He held out a folded piece of paper. The musician regarded him curiously, then took the paper, unfolded it and read:
Lyall. Meet me behind the tents when darkness falls. Bring Alondo, Rael, Patris. Above all, do not speak about this note openly. Keris.

Alondo read the note twice, re-folded it and handed it back to Lyall. His smile twisted. “Is it my imagination, or does it seem to you that the females on this expedition are getting stranger?”

~

The suns had fled from the sky, revealing a firmament studded with thousands of twinkling stars. Lyall rounded the collection of tents with Alondo and saw that the other three were already assembled. Keris had not called for Shann to be present, but perhaps that was just as well. After the events of this afternoon, it seemed best to allow the girl time to rest. If anything of importance came out of this meeting, he could fill her in later. Besides, it seemed to Lyall that there might be a more subtle explanation for her being excluded.

Lyall had been contemplating the purpose of Keris’ cryptic note. He had to agree with Alondo that this was odd behaviour, even for her. However, it had been obvious for some time that there had been a continuing problem between her and Shann, so he strongly suspected that this might be an attempt by the former Keltar to oust Shann from her position within the party, following the latest incident. No doubt she would cite the girl’s inability to pass the trial as well as her inherent instability as reasons why she should perhaps be returned to Kieroth. She might even argue that it was unfair to put a youngster under that kind of pressure, figuring that might sway those who felt most protective towards her–Alondo and Rael. With Patris unlikely to oppose the will of the other three, that would leave Lyall isolated and in a tough position.

The girl had saved his life twice. He was not about to see her cast off. That meant taking the initiative. “Shann has been through a bad experience,” he began, “but she will come through for us. We just need to give her time and support.” He looked pointedly at Keris.

The tall woman blinked. “I assume you’re referring to her outburst earlier?”

“That’s right,” Lyall said. “We have to be patient.”

Keris waved a hand. “The girl will just have to come to terms with her experience like the rest of us have. Right now we have a much bigger problem. Alondo and Patris, I want you to go over there and start an argument.”

Patris’ eyes widened. “Excuse me?”

“Look, just humour me, all right?” Keris said. “All will become clear shortly.”

Alondo gave Lyall a questioning look.
Only one way to find out where this is headed.
Lyall nodded once. The musician turned back to Keris and shrugged. “What do you want me to argue about?”

Keris appeared flustered. “I don’t know…anything. It doesn’t matter. Complain about Rael’s cooking if you like. Just make it fairly loud.”

“Why me?” Patris demanded. The others looked at him. “All right, all right.”

As they wandered off, Alondo was shaking his head. “…definitely getting stranger...”

Keris’ brow furrowed as she watched him go. “What’s he talking about?”