The Lodestone Trilogy (Limited Edition) (The Lodestone Series) (106 page)

Shann watched the cart carrying her parents until it passed out of sight.

Goodbye.

The scene faded to grey and she was standing once more amid the mist with Boxx in front of her.

“Trial Is Complete,” the Chandara announced. It raised its round head and looked directly upward. Shann followed its gaze…and gasped. High above them, a hole had appeared–a small patch of starlight. It grew bigger, slowly at first, then faster and faster as it rolled back the grey to reveal the magnificence of the night sky, the Dais, and the plains of Akalon bounded by the Vannath range and the glittering line that was the faroff Arlan Sea.

Alondo, Rael and Keris were running toward them now. Behind she could see Patris and Lyall. They surrounded Shann and Boxx. “Are you all right? What happened?” Alondo demanded.

“Trial Is Complete,” Boxx repeated. “Alondo, Rael, Keris And Shann Are The Four Controllers.”

“You passed,” Rael exclaimed. “But how–?”

Lyall stepped forward. His voice sounded hoarse. “It doesn’t matter. We have what we need.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Well done, Shann.” There were murmurs of assent, but Shann was not paying attention. She looked into Lyall’s blue eyes and for the first time saw an emptiness there, as if the light of his life had suddenly passed behind a cloud. She gave him a look that said ‘I want to help’. The moment passed, and Lyall turned to Boxx. “Where are the components?”

Boxx led them back to the pedestal. The circular bulge in its upper surface was still giving off a steady crimson light. The Chandara raised its head and spoke again in a high clear voice. “Urien-Kathaar.” The light was extinguished as the pedestal lowered itself into the surface once more.

Shann’s eyes grew wide as the section of the Dais that had been occupied by the dome of fog split into curved segments like the spokes of a wheel, which then retracted, leaving a perfectly round hole. A set of stairs followed its circumference, spiralling down into the interior of the structure. “The Controllers Will Follow,” Boxx instructed.

Shann’s eyes turned to Lyall once more and saw that same empty expression. He smiled at her with some effort. “Go ahead.”

Reluctantly, she followed the others down the metal stairway and into the depths of the opening.

~

It doesn’t matter.
That’s what Lyall had said. And yet it did matter. It was Lyall who had set her on a new course, who had given her life meaning and purpose–he who had trained her in the cloak and the staff, had watched over her, had made her feel like a grown woman and not a child. Everything she was, she owed to him. Yet now it felt as if she were leaving him behind forever. Which was crazy, because he was there, only a few feet above her and they would surely be reunited in a few minutes. So why did parting from him feel almost as painful as leaving her parents behind?
You’re being foolish,
she told herself.
These are nothing more than mechanical devices. Soon all of this will be over and things will get back to the way they were before.

The four of them and Boxx were standing at the bottom of an open circular pit made of the same silvery metal as the Dais. In the centre of the pit was a plain metal cube, topped with a four-sided pyramid. “You Must Each Take A Side,” Boxx directed.

Shann took up a position facing one side. Alondo took the place on her left, with Rael on her right. Keris was opposite–Shann could not see her face.
What do we do now?
Link hands?

Boxx appeared to draw itself up to its full height. “Urien-Kathaar–Melpomene. Trial Is Complete–Release.” The sides of the pyramid parted silently, opening like the petals of a flower. A soft golden light shone forth from the interior, illuminating each of their faces. As her side of the pyramid dropped away, Shann saw a disk the size of her palm set into the pyramid’s inner surface. It was pure white–the colour of Kelanni blood.

“These are a different shape and colour,” Rael said. He glanced up and saw that the others were looking at him. “Sorry…never mind.”

“I Am Boxx,” the Chandara announced. “My Task Is Complete. The Four Components Are Yours. Take Them. Use Them With Wisdom.”

They each reached out and claimed a disk. Shann held it reverently. She could not help but remember her last night in Corte, when she had examined a smaller lodestone disk given to her by a stranger with penetrating blue eyes. Then, she had not dreamed of the power that smooth dark stone represented. Yet here in her hand was the ability to create it–as much as one wanted.
Such power cannot be allowed to exist. It must be used and then destroyed without fail.

The four of them fell into step after Boxx and ascended the spiral stairs once more, each consumed by their own thoughts. Lyall and Patris met them at the surface of the Dais.

“Do you have the components?” Lyall asked. Each of them nodded in turn. “Then it’s time for us to leave.” Shann felt weary from lack of sleep. However, she made no attempt to argue. She too felt the need to finally get away from this place.

“Where to?” Alondo asked cheerfully.

“We need to find out where the lodestone weapon is being constructed, and then disarm it,” Lyall declared.

Rael frowned. “You said that the weapon is on an island.”

“That’s what Annata told me, yes,” Keris affirmed.

“The island where the hu-mans were banished to after the war is called Helice,” Rael explained. “It lies in the Erigone Sea, far to the north. Unfortunately, it’s well beyond the range of our avionics–we would fall into the sea long before we got there. There is no way for us to reach it.”

Shann and Keris looked at each other. “The ship,” Shann said.

Keris nodded, “I was thinking the same thing. Patris, could Annata’s Reach be made seaworthy again?”

Patris’ eyes became unfocussed. “The sail and cordage could be replaced easily enough. The only other real damage is the breach on the port side, just above the waterline. Sure, she could be patched up and re-floated if I had enough manpower and the right materials–and if the sea where she’s beached hasn’t battered her too badly. I’m no shipwright, you understand. The result might not look too pretty. But it could probably be done. I suppose you’ll expect me to skipper her as well.”

Lyall flashed an ingratiating smile. “I appreciate the offer, thank you. No doubt you’ll be adding all of that to our bill?”

“No,” he said. “This I’m doing for myself.” The others regarded him strangely. Keris looked positively shocked. Patris was not the same person since his experiences in the dome. None of them were. He turned to Boxx. “One thing I still don’t understand. Why put us through all of this? What was it you were supposed to be testing for?”

The Chandara stood up on its hind legs once more and cocked its head to one side, fixing Patris with eyes of unfathomable black. “Integrity,” it said.

~

(Eighteen days later.)

With a single creak from its protesting hull, the Reach moved smoothly backwards down the slipway, gathering speed, until it hit the water. Lyall did his best to hold on to the rigging as the deck bucked and heaved before settling onto an even keel. The slender avionic stayed immobile, its landing struts held fast to the foredeck by iron hasps.

Lyall, Alondo and Shann stood together on the main deck. They were each dressed in loose fitting, light grey tunic and trousers, suitable for deck hands. Over on the stern deck, four drach in their customary blue surcoats stood watch, sunlight reflecting off the peculiar staff weapons they carried on their backs. Their commander, whose name was Frang, had a flat face and a strong, forbidding jaw line. He looked like a man who had never given an inch in his life.

Lyall was beginning to have some misgivings about the deal he had struck with the Scientific Directorate. To begin with, the chain of command was less than clear. He was in overall charge of his people and he counted Rael in among those. The boy might be from this world, but he had repeatedly demonstrated where his loyalties lay. Frang, on the other hand, took his orders from the Directorate. Ostensibly, he and his drach were there to provide protection and to secure the ship, but Lyall could not help but wonder what clandestine orders they might have been given. It seemed highly unlikely that they would interfere with the mission to disable the hu-man weapon. However, if a conflict of interest arose, there could be problems. He thought of discussing the situation with Keris, but he did not want to risk precipitating the very conflict he was seeking to avoid.

Patris’ head appeared above the hatchway. He hauled himself up and joined the others assembled on the main deck. “No leaks,” he announced. “She seems to be watertight. I see no reason why we shouldn’t get underway immediately.” He addressed Lyall. “With your permission.”

Lyall nodded. “By all means.”

The sailor’s eyes narrowed as he scanned the sky overhead and checked wind direction. “Shann, shin up the yardarm and loosen the sail ties. Lyall, Alondo, get ready to pull in the halyard.” Now that he was in his element once more, Patris seemed more settled–more sure of himself than he had been in a long time. He headed aft to take charge of the rudder.

Lyall hauled the line hand over hand and watched the sail unfurl, displaying their new emblem–two hemispheres, linked together at top and bottom. To begin with, the Directorate had insisted that the party sail under their insignia. Adopting Lyall’s alternative design had been their one and only concession.
Kelanni from both worlds united in common purpose. Let’s hope we can live up to the ideal.

The ship began to come about, turning away from the crowd assembled on the shore. They stood in respectful silence. Perhaps each of them was giving thanks that he or she was not preparing to cross a turbulent ocean to face an island full of dangerous hu-mans.

The sail flapped briefly in the crosswind, then filled out like a chest puffed with pride. Lyall tied off the halyard and brushed off his hands.

Rael was over by the avionic, checking its moorings. He wore a smart green jacket which, he had explained sheepishly, was the official garb of the Directorate’s Physics and Astronomy Division. As with everything else he wore, it looked too small for him. The boy had freely admitted that hands-on maintenance was not his forte. However, the flying machine was the property of the Directorate, bearing their crest on the fuselage just below the cockpit, and that made it his responsibility.

“The hu-mans exiled on Helice are violent and dangerous,” Hannath had told him. “The spy that you encountered at the Tower of Akalon had an avionic. There may be more of them on the island. You should be prepared.” The flying machine looked quite incongruous, perched on the foredeck like an absurd figurehead. However, Lyall was not about to quibble over anything that might give them an edge.

Alondo was standing by, waiting for orders. “Have you talked to Oliah yet?” Lyall asked.

“I haven’t Ringed her yet today, no.”

“Why don’t you head for the stern castle and Ring her from there? With everyone else out on deck, you should have some privacy. Let her know we’re underway, and ask her how things are progressing in Sakara?”

Alondo smiled warmly. “I’ll do that. Thanks.” He headed aft.

Patchy white clouds scudded across an azure sky. Lyall felt the stiff breeze against his cheeks. The Reach was gathering speed, heading out into the open sea. He watched as the sail began to luff. Shann trimmed its leading edge, and the windward edge settled down once more. Soon they would veer north and begin the long journey to the unexplored island that lay in the midst of the Erigone Sea.

Lyall turned to see Keris approaching with Boxx. The tall woman seemed to glide over the deck. She wore the magnificent new red cloak that Alondo and Rael had jointly presented to them the previous evening. Alondo, as usual, had used it as an opportunity to test the limits of Keris’ patience.

As they had gathered in the observatory sitting room, its walls lined with ticking and whirring timepieces, the musician had taken centre stage. “The combined genius of two worlds has come up with something special. I give you…” he reached into a nearby chest and pulled forth its contents with a flourish, “the red cloak.” Lyall had not been able to suppress a smile. It was a cloak, and yes, it was red. “We decided that having to dress as Keltar wasn’t too good for morale. So we thought we would create something a little more distinctive.” He looked pointedly at Keris. “What do you think?”

“It’s a nice colour,” she said.

“Is that all you have to say?” Alondo blustered. “Do you have any idea how much time I put into that thing?”