The Lodestone Trilogy (Limited Edition) (The Lodestone Series) (146 page)

Rael exhaled slowly. “Why is it so stuffy in here?”

Keris descended from the central podium and activated the opening. It slid open smoothly, admitting a warm draft of air. She climbed out onto an identical stone platform and gazed heavenward. The giant orb that was Ail-Mazzoth suffused the sky with its soft, warm rubescence.

We’re back.

<><><><><>

Chapter 32

“Quickly, let’s move.”
Keris’s cloak whirled about her as she glided unevenly towards the roof exit.

“What’s the hurry?” Shann called after her.

“Our arrival. The lightning storm above the tower will have been seen for a great distance—maybe as far as Chalimar itself. We don’t have much time.”

“Time for what?”

Keris pushed the access module all the way home. It lit up yellow, then red. The lock mechanism clucked its approval. “Come. I’ll tell you on the way.”

“What about the others?”

“Patris will explain it to them.”

“Patris?”
Shann ducked through the entranceway and into the tower’s pitch-dark interior. Flame erupted, casting Keris’s face in fire and shadow. Shann blinked away the after-images on her retinas as Keris reposited her tinderbox. “Keris, where are we going?”

The tall woman led the way down the spiral stairwell, limping slightly; dull yellow illumination from her hand-held lamp caressed the curving stone wall. “In a moment. First, tell me of your plan.”

Shann followed, hastening to stay within the meagre circle of light. “I don’t... I mean it isn’t my plan. It’s Lyall’s.”

“So you found him.”

“Yes.”

“Yet he didn’t come with you.”

“He’s convinced them that he’s gone over to their side. That’s all a part of his scheme.”

“Which is what, exactly?”

“I... I’m not sure.” Keris stopped in mid-stride, turned, and gave a look that made Shann feel as if she was on trial. “There were two humans with him. He could only reveal his plan to us in cryptic terms, so

they would not catch on.”

“What use is his plan to us if we don’t know what it is?”

“Rael believes that it involves something called ‘slag’. It’s a substance that’s left behind when—”

“Yes, yes, I know what slag is,” Keris interrupted. “What possible use could a waste product be?”

“I don’t know. But Rael is convinced that Lyall gave us all of the clues necessary to put it all together. He and Alondo are working on it.”

“I see.” Keris resumed her descent.

Shann trailed in her wake. “You don’t believe he’s still on our side, do you?”

“I am forced to wonder why he didn’t simply tell us his plan instead of running off and taking the four components with him.”

“Rael says that’s because he knew we would try and stop him. He didn’t want to put the rest of us in more danger than was necessary.”

“He wants to save his sister. That much is clear.”

“I think he believes that he has a plan that will do that and defeat Wang at the same time.”

“By offering him the thing he wants most—the power to create lodestone at will.” Keris nodded thoughtfully. “Risky. Add to that the possibility that we might not figure out his plan in time to be of any use.”

“Lyall has faith in us... in all of us.”

“Does that include the ‘Morela’?”

Shann concluded she must have misheard. “The what?”

“Morela,” Keris sighed. “You know, you really ought to familiarize yourself with shassatan strategy. Pieces are designated by the player as they are placed on the board. The Morela is named after a creature found in the shoals off the Borgoth Sea coast that changes colour with the tides. In Shassatan, the Morela is a very powerful piece, but it possesses one major drawback. When flanked by an opponent’s pieces, it changes colour—comes under the opponent’s control.”

“Why would anyone designate a piece in that way?”

“It depends on the player’s attitude towards risk. And I suppose it also says something about their estimation of their abilities. Either way, it’s a tactic that can easily backfire.”

Shadowy shapes danced on the walls, like flickering faces of the tower’s long-dead occupants. Watching her. “You’re talking about McCann, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am,” Keris said.

Shann took a deep breath. “The decision to include him was mine. I take full responsibility.”

“I do not mean to criticize. A leader sometimes has to make difficult decisions. I’m sure you had your reasons.”

“But... ” Shann prompted.

“But I would not be fulfilling my commitment to you if I did not point out the dangers. And... the debt we owe to one hu-man does not mean that we should trust them all.”

Susan Gilmer.
Were her feelings over the woman’s sacrifice distorting her judgment? Rael had challenged her on that very same point. She was not sure that she had an answer for either of them. In the end, it came down to intuition... instinct. Somehow, the pain etched into McCann’s face when she delivered Susan Gilmer’s message told her all that she needed to know. “I appreciate your counsel. But so far he has come through for us.”

Keris sounded carefully neutral. “Very well. What do you intend to do next?”

“Rael and Alondo need time to figure out what Lyall is planning. In the meantime, we should try to secure allies. The Sakarans are doing a great job of tying down large numbers of troops and Keltar, but they are too far away to be of any direct assistance. We need some local muscle. I propose we resurrect Lyall’s original plan and free the tributes at Gort. Having got possession of the four components, the Prophet will no doubt view gathering the natural ore as less of a priority, so security at the compound will probably be at a minimum... at least, I hope so.”

“I may be able to help there,” Keris put in.

“How do you mean?”

“Before he died, Mordal revealed that he had Ferenek, the garrison commander, secretly killed because he was asking too many questions. Ferenek was popular with his men. Some of them may already know what happened; others may suspect. In any case, if I can convince enough of them, then I might succeed in turning the garrison to our cause.”

Shann felt a flicker of hope. “Do you think that’s possible?”

“Don’t celebrate yet. I imagine it will take some doing. There may also be Keltar stationed at the fortress, in which case we could well have a tough fight on our hands. Even if we are successful, it will alert Wang to the fact that there is a rebellion in progress. We will have to move quickly.”

Round and round, Shann chased after the bobbing lamp. She had lost count of the floors they had passed. It felt as if she were running down an immense corkscrew as it tunnelled into the very depths of the world. “Would you mind telling me where we’re going now?”

“Drum,”
Keris replied.

“I suppose you’re going to tell me that’s another reference to shassatan.”

“That’s right. The ‘Drum’ is a piece designed to draw an opponent’s attention away from the player’s true strategy. That’s me.”

“You’re going to draw the Prophet’s forces after you.”

“Correct.”

“I can’t let you do that. It’s too dangerous.”

“Would you rather see the six of us try to fight our way out?”

“No. Of course not.”

“Then there’s no other option. Soldiers will already be on their way. Possibly Keltar as well. Someone has to lead them away from here to give the rest of you a chance to escape.”

“You’re injured. You’ll never outrun them.”

“I have the flying cloak. I’ll stay just far enough ahead of them so they’ll keep coming after me. Then, when they are far enough from the tower, I’ll shake them off, double back, and catch up to you.”

“What about the Keltar?”

“I’ll take them on if I have to.”

“No.”

Keris spun around to face her. “No?”

“No,” Shann insisted. “You are to stay out of range and not engage them. We don’t know how many there might be but they could very well be carrying lodestone grenades. I... we can’t risk losing you.”

Keris looked as if she were about to say something, then checked herself. “Very well.”

She led the way down one more flight of stairs and halted. With a start, Shann realised they were in the ground floor chamber.

Keris held the lamp aloft, located the metal door, and inserted the access module. The device’s inner workings cycled from amber to ruby. She extinguished the lamp, plunging them both into darkness. The door slid open, bathing their faces in a dull red glow. “After I am gone, reseal the door and return to the others. Observe from the roof platform, but make sure you are not seen. As soon as you are certain the coast is clear, exit the tower and head for Gort. I will join you as soon as I can.” She turned on her heel without waiting for an answer.

“Keris?” Shann hissed.

“What is it?”

“Please take care.”

Keris wafted through the open doorway and disappeared into the amaranthine beauty of a Dagmar night.

~

Shann stepped through the tower’s roof exit to find McCann waiting for her with arms folded. “Where have you been, may I ask? And where is the one you call Keris?”

She glanced beyond him to where the others were seated. “Didn’t Patris explain it to you?”

“No, he didn’t.”

She groaned inwardly. She was beginning to realise what an impossible job Lyall had had in keeping their disparate group together. Now that a hu-man was in the mix, ‘impossible’ had gotten ten times worse. If she didn’t do something soon, it would all blow up in her face.

“Follow me, please.” She led the way to the parapet and peered out over the manse. A movement caught the corner of her eye: a tiny troupe of dancing lights was bobbing and weaving its way towards the tower. “There.”

The hu-man at her shoulder raised his bushy eyebrows. “Friends of yours?”

“I doubt it,” Shann replied. “When the tower is activated it lights up the sky. Whoever that is will have come to investigate. Keris is providing a decoy so that the rest of us can leave here safely.”

“That sounds dangerous. Are you sure she will be all right?”

Shann’s gaze remained fixed on the flaming motes as they approached the base of the tower. “She is Keris.”

“I see,” McCann said. “Well, assuming she is successful, what then?”

“We are going to head for the desert fortress at Gort to free the tribute captives held there.”

McCann turned back, his eyes flickering over the gathering. “The five of us. Against an entire garrison. That’s your plan?”

“Six,” she corrected. “Keris will join us when she’s finished leading our friends down there in a merry dance.”

McCann made a sound in his throat as if he were suppressing laughter. “I’m sure that will make all the difference.”