The Lodestone Trilogy (Limited Edition) (The Lodestone Series) (107 page)
Read The Lodestone Trilogy (Limited Edition) (The Lodestone Series) Online
Authors: Mark Whiteway
Tags: #Science Fiction
“It’s…a very nice colour,” she offered.
Rael was snickering in the background. “He’s holding out on you. Here…” He held out his arm to Alondo who graciously relinquished the garment. “Actually, we have made a couple of further enhancements. First, there’s the addition of a power cell. It can be attached to a belt and connected to the lodestone here…” He indicated a place at the collar. “The cell stores electrical energy. When activated, it harnesses the electrostatic properties of the lodestone, increasing the power of the cloak by around forty percent. The boost will last about fifty dahns before reverting to normal. The cell can be recharged from a suitable electrical outlet.”
“It’s a way of flying higher and farther,” Alondo added with a grin.
Rael looked around at him. “That’s right. You’ll also notice another new control here. We’ve added a lower lodestone layer beneath the bronze.”
“That one was my idea,” Alondo pointed out cheerfully.
“Now, if the upper lodestone layer is damaged, the cloak should still function,” Rael explained. “More importantly, if you employ all three layers in conjunction with a deposit of lodestone, then the upward pressure on the bottom layer can be balanced with the downward pressure from the upper layer. With a little practice, we believe you should be able to hover, if only for short periods.”
It came as no surprise that Keris would want to try out her new toy at the earliest opportunity. She came to a halt on the deck in front of him. “The new cloak is powerful, but the controls are difficult to master. We should commence training exercises as soon as possible.”
Lyall shaded his eyes, looked up and saw that Shann was busy in the rigging once again. “Perhaps later. When we’re fully underway.”
“Very well.” Keris swept past him and headed for the afterdeck with Boxx in tow.
Lyall glanced about him and saw that everyone else was either occupied or looking the other way. He moved to the hatchway, lifted it carefully and descended the ladder. The hold smelt of new wood and caulking. As Patris had declared, there was no evidence of leakage.
Lyall stood at the bottom in the half-light and felt something hard and round in his left side pocket. He glanced up at the hatchway, checking that he had not been followed, then pulled it out and opened his hand slowly. The small flat silver annulus lay in his palm like a guilty secret. Keris had referred to them as ‘eaves’. During his time inside the dome of grey mist at Drani-Kathaar, he had been shown a way to save Aune. Call it a prophecy. In any case, he had been told that the one on the other end of this listening device could set her free. Only there would be a price to pay.
He did not know what the price would be, or indeed if the prophecy were true. All he knew was that he had no choice. He was set now on a path–a path that he had to pursue until the very end.
— End of Book Two —
Book Three:
The Crucible of Dawn
Science Fiction
by Mark Whiteway
Published by Mark Whiteway
Kindle Edition
Copyright 2011 Mark Whiteway
***
For my wife, Sandra
***
Book Three:
The Crucible of Dawn
“The stone of despair and the staff
of hope
—
may they be forged as one
in the crucible of a new dawn.
”
The Chronicles of Shann
Twenty-First Stanza, Thirty-Second Line
.
“I don’ like the look o’ them there clouds.”
Yonach came to a halt, his boots sinking slightly in the powdery snow. He raised his head to the sky.
Yaron, his younger brother and partner, caught up to him a moment later. The young Kelanni pointed at the darkening mantle obscuring the mountain peaks. “Weather be closin’ in. We should be turnin’ back.”
Yonach sized up the situation—wind speed and direction, distance to the ice field, distance from their avionic at the foot of the mountain. He checked the whirring timepiece at his belt, then clapped Yaron on the back. “Bein’ a lodestone hunter’s no fun without a little risk, y’know. C’mon, it’s not far now. We should be good fer a couple o’ ornahs at least.”
Lodestone hunter.
He liked the old epithet so much better than the new one—
prospector
—imposed by the Scientific Directorate
.
For generations, the lodestone hunters had scoured the glaciers and ice floes in search of the valuable ore while facing dangers of the mountain, answering to no one.
Then five turns ago, the Directorate had stepped in to control the supply and production of lodestone. Overnight, the proud and independent lodestone hunters were turned into ‘licensed prospectors’. The Directorate made registration mandatory, and ore could only be sold to the Metallurgy Division. Ore prices were fixed but fairly generous, and it could be argued that with a guaranteed market, the hunters were now better off than they had ever been.
Yonach shook his head. That was not the point. It felt as if his way of life had come to an end.
He lived for the challenge of the mountain—the bright snow; the crisp, clean air; the ever-present anticipation of a massive find just over the next rise that would make them both rich overnight. Damned if he’d be put off by a bunch of pen-pushing bureaucrats or a little bad weather.