The Lodestone Trilogy (Limited Edition) (The Lodestone Series) (20 page)

“But…what about the tributes at Gort?” Shann sounded agitated.

“It seems we have a bigger problem now,” Lyall declared. “If the Prophet manages to complete this weapon, then all Kelanni will be threatened, not just the tributes. We have to stop him. It is up to us.”

“But the tributes will be
executed
after the incident at the compound,” Shann protested.

“I seriously doubt that,” Keris reassured her. “The tributes were not involved in what happened. Ferenek is a ruthless man, but he is also ambitious. Execution of tributes would lead to a drop in lodestone ore production, and Ferenek would not want to be in the position of having to explain that to the authorities at Chalimar.”

Shann clammed up but still looked distinctly unhappy.

“Well, I am sure there will be a lot more to discuss, but for now, I think we could all do with some rest. I will take first watch. Then Keris, Alondo and Shann. All right?”

There was a murmur of agreement. Alondo and Shann made preparations to bed down in the shade of the awnings. Keris lingered. In a few moments, she was alone with Lyall. She had not known what to expect of this lanky, fair-haired man who had posed as a Keltar and tried to free tributes all on his own. She had wondered whether he was madman or saint, and was relieved that he seemed to be neither. He had a way of taking charge of a situation and of inspiring those around him. She could see why Alondo and Shann had attached themselves to him. He was regarding her curiously.

She decided to come straight to the point. “There was one more thing that the woman from the past said that I didn’t mention, because it didn’t seem relevant and to be honest, I’m not sure what it means. You have heard the Prophet referred to as the ‘Unan-Chinneroth’?”

Lyall was nodding, “Yes. It’s Ancient once again, I believe.”

“Annata said that it means ‘without a tail.’ She said that the Prophet’s skin is white and his blood is red, and that he is not Kelanni.

Lyall frowned in consternation. “But if he is not Kelanni, then
what is he?
”

<><><><><>

Chapter 12

Shann had had just about as much as she could stand.

She had left the farmhouse near Lind with a clear mind and a strong purpose. They were going to free the tributes and break the power of the Prophet to oppress the Kelanni people. Now, an arrogant woman, a Keltar with a story that beggared belief, had dropped in out of the sky and somehow hijacked their mission. How could Lyall and Alondo simply go along with it? Could they not
see
what she was?

It had started from the moment they roused themselves to begin the night’s journey across the desert, away from the fortress of Gort and the tributes she had pledged herself to free. Keris had gathered them all together as if she were somehow now in charge. Shann felt dismay as she watched Lyall meekly fall into line. Someone had to put a stop to this.

Keris had unfurled a large scroll of paper on the sand. “I took this from Ferenek’s office. It is called a map,” she explained. Shann was intrigued, in spite of herself. It was like being a perridon, looking down on the ground from high up, only it showed far more than a perridon could ever see. There was Chalimar and Corte, Lind and the road south through the Southern Desert to Gort.

“All right, we are here.” Keris’ index finger pointed to a point north-east of the fortress. If we make reasonable time, we should pass beyond the edge of the desert in less than two days. Beyond the desert lie the Eastern Plains. There are few settlements. The Kelanni who live there are…different. They are mostly hunters, nomadic. And some of them are little more than rogues. If we should meet any, watch out for yourselves.” She looked at them one at a time, before returning her attention to the map.

“I believe our destination lies here.” She indicated a point on the south-eastern edge of the plains. There was a representation of a tower on the map, but there was no name next to it. “I calculate that we should be able to make the journey in about twenty days. We will need to exchange your morgren for graylesh. There is a trading post there, near the edge of the desert.”

“What about Boxx?” Alondo asked. “I don’t think it could ride one of those.”

“You have a point,” she acknowledged. “I suggest that we attempt to procure a wagon for supplies, and for Boxx to ride in.

“I did manage to acquire some other items at Gort that we might find useful in a pinch.” Keris got up, went to her saddle pack and returned with two boxes, one a lot smaller than the other. She opened the larger container first. Set in ten velour recesses were ten silver globes. Shann had glimpsed such a globe only once before, during Lyall’s battle with the Keltar in Corte, but she recognised them instantly–
lodestone grenades.
Keris handed five of them to Lyall and put the remaining five in her own pouch. “Use them only in an emergency,” she counselled. “I do not think it likely that we will be able to get replacements any time soon.”

Shann’s brow knotted. “What about me; don’t I get any?”

Keris’ expression was one of strained patience. “Have you ever used one of these, child?”

Shann felt her hackles rise. No-one had called her “child” since she was little. It was demeaning. Her eyes blazed at the older woman. She forced herself to answer. “No.”

“Then you are more likely to blow a hand or an arm off–or somebody else’s. Just…try and stay out of the way.”

Shann looked at Lyall for support, but his head was down, stowing the grenades in his pouch. She felt alone, isolated, powerless. She lapsed into a morose silence.

Keris selected the smaller receptacle and opened it. Within it were two Rings; bronze in colour, each set with a stone, the colour of midnight. “These are Speaking Rings,” she explained. “When you speak into them, they can reproduce your voice at great distances. However, they need to be Linked with each other, so that they resonate. One Ring can only be used to communicate with one other Ring to which it has been Linked. And the Link cannot be undone; it is permanent. I could only find the one pair, so we need to use them wisely.” She snapped the container shut and placed it in her pouch.
Making sure that you keep control,
Shann brooded.

Keris stood up and began making preparations to leave. Lyall and Alondo meekly followed her cue as if she was a queen and they were a part of her retinue. The two men packed away the awnings and then began coaxing the morgren forward. Boxx fell in behind the two beasts of burden. Keris addressed Lyall and Alondo directly, ignoring Shann as if she were beneath contempt.

“Follow the road east,” she commanded. “I will head back and check for signs of pursuit and then catch up with you.”

“Be safe.” Alondo called out.

Sure, don’t fall down any holes or anything.

Keris adjusted her cloak and trotted back the way they had come. In a few moments, she flared her cloak and leapt into the ferruginous twilight.

Shann waited until she was sure the Keltar had gone. Then she caught up to the other two. They were side by side leading the animals and engaged in quiet conversation. Whatever it was they were discussing, Shann didn’t care to know. There was an issue that was far more pressing.

“Lyall,” she interrupted him in mid-sentence. “What are we doing?”

He turned from Alondo to her. “Excuse me?”

“What are we
doing
?” She repeated.

“How do you mean?”

“That woman is a
Keltar
, and we are taking her orders.”

“We have to know if the Prophet’s men are tracking us, Shann.”

“That’s not what I mean. Ever since she arrived, you two do exactly what she says, and it’s like I don’t
exist
.”

Lyall brought his animal to a stop and turned to look at her directly. She saw the same clear blue eyes; the same unruly fair hair and felt oddly reassured. “Shann, I brought you into our group because I believed you were courageous and sincere. Since that time you have demonstrated integrity and resourcefulness far beyond anything I might have expected. I regard you as a full member and an equal partner in this enterprise, and I value your opinion. If you have something to say, then I would gladly hear it.”

Shann felt her confidence growing. “All right then. Why are we following the orders of a Keltar?”

“I am not following her orders. And she is not a Keltar; not anymore.”

“
Yes she is
. Keltar are the sworn servants of the Prophet. They don’t change.”

“I did,” Lyall observed.

“
You
were never actually a Keltar–you told me as much. Look at what has happened so far. We came to Gort to rescue the tributes and to cut off the Prophet’s supply of lodestones. Now we are headed in the opposite direction. She has already succeeded in diverting us from our purpose. She will
destroy
us the first chance she gets.”

“I don’t think so, Shann. If she had wanted to destroy us, she could have done so very easily by simply doing nothing. When Alondo and I entered the compound, we had no idea that a trap had been set for us. She saved our lives.”

He glanced at Alondo. Alondo looked down at his feet; then raised his eyes to meet Shann’s. He had become accustomed to siding with Shann against Lyall during their banter on the journey to Gort. It was a source of humour and it had helped to cement them together as a group. Now he looked most uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, Shann; I have to agree with Lyall. We would be lying dead in that guardhouse if it wasn’t for her.”

“How do you know she isn’t manipulating you somehow?” Shann pressed on. “And what about that crazy story of hers about being spoken to by someone from the past? You’re not telling me you
believe
all of that.”

“I don’t know, Shann,” Lyall mused. “I think that if I had to make up a story to deceive someone, I could come up with a hundred better ones than that one. The fact that it is so fantastic makes it more believable, in a way. And there are other things. That machine, for example.

“I don’t know much about machines, but Alondo does. He’s a virtual genius when it comes to mechanics. If he says it is something unique, then I believe him. Finally, there’s the presence of the Chandara.”

“It might be lying.” Shann protested. “She could have influenced it somehow.”

Lyall looked at her askance. “Shann, I don’t think you really believe that.”

She felt as if the sands were shifting beneath her. “…All right, I don’t. But that doesn’t mean what it says is right, either.”

Lyall glanced over at Boxx. It was lying with its head resting on the sand, as if patiently waiting for the debate concerning it to end. “Chandara are odd creatures,” he began, “but I have never heard of one of them leaving their forest, let alone attaching themselves to a Kelanni. People say that they are primitive and dull-witted but I believe that they simply have thought patterns that are different than ours. One thing I am fairly convinced of ,though, after a single conversation with one of them, is that there is no way you could persuade it to lie for you, or even get it to do something it did not want to do.

There was a silence as Lyall’s words sunk in. Finally, it was broken by Lyall himself. “If the warning from the past is genuine, then we cannot ignore it. If it is some sort of deception, then that fact will become clear over time. I suggest that for the moment we should remain watchful. Are we all agreed?”

Alondo and Shann both nodded. Lyall put a hand on each of their shoulders, in silent symbol of unity. After a moment of reflection, he released them, and they resumed their journey in contemplative silence. Shann felt calmer. She felt as if she had the old Lyall back, the man she had come to trust. And the bond the three of them had forged together had been reaffirmed and strengthened. Yet despite all of Lyall’s good and fine arguments, there was still something about the Keltar she did not trust.

I will be watching you.

~

“As soon as we are judged to be safe, I would like to conduct
hariath-sharana.
”