The Lodestone Trilogy (Limited Edition) (The Lodestone Series) (25 page)

The sight of Keris jolted her out of her reverie. The woman came around the wagon and headed straight for her. Had she found out somehow that she had been followed last night? Shann steeled herself.

Keris strode up and stood right in front of her. Shann found the tall woman’s looming presence intimidating. “Give me your equipment.”

“Wh–what?”

Keris held out her hand. “
Give me your equipment
,” she repeated.

Shann scrabbled around, gathering up the broken shards of her courage. “
No!
”

Keris let out a massive sigh and closed her eyes. She opened them again and Shann flinched inwardly. “When was the last time you checked the condition of your cloak–or the staff, for that matter?”

“I…well, er…”

“I thought so. What do you think will happen when the Prophet’s men catch up to us? These are not dumb raleketh. There are trained Keltar among them. If your cloak fails or your staff breaks, they will not hesitate to kill you. Now let me have your equipment.” Shann felt numb as she went to her pack and meekly handed the items over.

As she did so, Keris’ severe manner seemed to dissipate. She softened her tone. “I will let you have these back as soon as I can. Try not to worry. When the time comes, just remember your training. I will do my best to watch your back.”

Shann watched her retreating form and felt a pang of guilt. Quickly, she shoved it aside, recalling the image of the woman speaking into her Ring, communing with her superior in Chalimar. She had to tell Lyall.

He was standing near the front of the wagon, talking to Alondo. Shann started towards him. She would have to get him alone. He would no doubt be sceptical at first, but he would know what to do. She was just a few steps away when Boxx suddenly appeared ahead of her. It was carrying the strange machine in its upper forelimbs. It stopped and carefully set the device down in front of Lyall. Lyall and Alondo had stopped their conversation and were regarding the creature curiously. It straightened up and addressed them in its thin high voice.

“It Is Time.”

~

Boxx touched a tiny switch set into a recess in the base of the device, and the line of lights came on, all glowing red. A light began to form in the air above the intricate mechanism–the image of a woman dressed in a kind of white coverall. Shann gasped in spite of herself. The woman turned to look behind her, and voice emanated from the machine.

“Is it working?...Keris...Keris, can you hear me?”

Keris, who was standing behind Shann’s left shoulder, stepped forward. Bewildered, Shann moved to let her past. “Yes, I am here,” Keris spoke in a strong, clear voice.

“Thank goodness. I’m sorry, but I do not have much time. Things are becoming chaotic here and power is erratic.”

Lyall spoke up. “Pardon me, my name is Lyall. We did not know whether we would hear from you. The Chandara said that it would be more than a whole turn before your next contact.”

“I see you have found friends willing to aid you. That is good. I am sorry for the confusion. I ought to have mentioned that the Chandara do not count in the same way that we do. Have you located one of the towers I spoke of?”

“I believe so,” Keris declared. “We should arrive there later today. However, we are now being pursued by soldiers loyal to the Prophet. They are hard on our heels.”

“Then you will need to make haste. I will tell you how to use the vacuum displacement transporter. Once you have transferred to the tower on the opposite side of the world, then you should be safe. Boxx?”

The creature lifted its head. “Yes?”

“Please, would you remove the access module?”

Boxx reached out with its front foreleg and found another small recess in the rear of the machine. There was a light hum, as a small panel slid out. Boxx reached inside with the three fingers of its front foreleg and extracted a flat object in the shape of a scalene triangle. It was made of a translucent substance. Encased within it were multicoloured workings, the significance of which Shann could only guess at.

“The module Boxx will give you will enable you to travel between any of the four towers situated on our world. Enter the base of the tower and make your way to the top. You may notice that the tower has some…peculiar properties, but don’t let that worry you. At the top you will find a large globe. Look around it and you will find a hole in the wall, the same size and shape as the module. Insert the module and wait a few moments. The module has its own internal power source and a door will appear. Retrieve the module again and enter the globe. Once inside, you will see a raised platform with four prominent levers. They correspond to the four towers of Kelanni; two on your side, coloured red, and two situated on the other side of the world, coloured blue. Pull the blue one on the left to the down position; then wait. You will know when the transport is complete. Then exit the globe. You will find yourself atop an identical looking tower, but you will be on the other side, not far from where the instrument that will neutralize the Prophet’s weapon is concealed.”

“Will this module give us access to the instrument as well?” Keris asked.

“No, the instrument is too dangerous for us to risk it falling into the wrong hands. For that you will need a different kind of key. Boxx is a crucial part of that. When you get to the other side, I will–”

The image fizzed and the light was extinguished. The red indicator lights at the base of the unit winked out. The four Kelanni stood speechless. Finally Alondo asked, “What happened?”

Keris frowned. “The message was shorter than last time. She said something about the power failing. I don’t know…”

They were all thinking the same thing, but no-one wanted to vocalise it.
Would they ever hear from her again?

Lyall stood erect. “Well, we have our instructions. Let’s pack up everyone. We need to stay ahead of the Prophet’s soldiers.”

Boxx picked up the apparatus ceremoniously, and waddled off towards the wagon. Keris followed Shann to where the graylesh were grazing and when Shann turned, she saw that the woman was holding out her cloak and staff. “Here, you’ll be needing these.”

Shann accepted them. “Thank you.” Her eyes met those of the Keltar. She did not know what to think. She had been so sure that the woman’s story had been a pack of lies. All she had to do was to uncover enough evidence to convince Lyall of that, and all would be well. Now it looked as if Lyall’s faith in her had been justified. She was certain that the sight they had just witnessed was beyond anything even a Keltar could manufacture. If the tower contained similar wonders, then the woman’s credibility would be enhanced even further. Yet Shann knew that the woman did intend to betray them. She
was
secretly communicating with her overseer in Chalimar–Shann had seen it with her own eyes.
What are you up to?
She needed more information, more evidence of the woman’s true intent, before she could confront her.

Far off on the eastern horizon the tower beckoned, eager now to reveal its innermost secrets.

~

The unnamed tower lifted itself up over the Eastern Plain, a definitive statement in stone. Keris, clad in full Keltar gear, inspected the entranceway
at the tower’s base; a sliding metal door left carelessly half open by its final occupants, as if in hopes that someone might one day take up residence there again.

It was an odd experience. The deserted tower was identical to the one that dominated the Dagmar manse, where Keris had spent her youth. As a little girl, she had been told not to play anywhere near there. This was a different tower, in a different part of the world. Yet it still felt as if going inside would be an act of disobedience to her parents, that she would be punished when they found out.

Boxx was standing on its hind legs, waiting patiently. Shann was just behind it, wearing the dark cloak, and holding the staff in both hands. Keris noticed that the girl’s knuckles were white with tension. Alondo had brought his odd musical instrument with him, although Keris couldn’t imagine why. She was going to make some acerbic comment, but then thought better of it. There were more important things to worry about.

Keris took point, checking the interior briefly and then moving inside. Motes danced in the sunlight which streamed through the opening. There were no windows; the space beyond was swathed in gloom. Keris allowed a moment for her eyes to grow accustomed to the reduced light and checked for signs of life; nothing, no movement nor any signs of recent occupation. She squatted down, tracing a finger in the undisturbed layer of dust. Finally, she drew herself up, signalling for the others to follow.

Boxx, Shann and Alondo entered the structure, casting their eyes about them.

“It Is A Vacuum Hole Tower. Tall, Like The Great Tree,” Boxx stated in reverent tones.

“Cosy,” Alondo observed.

Keris ignored both of them, moving beyond the pool of light. There was a rapid clicking sound. Keris whirled around to see Shann’s hand on the wall. An instant later, light flooded forth from somewhere above her. There were rectangular glowing panels, the likes of which she had never seen before, set into the ceiling at regular intervals. A number of the panels remained dark.

“What did you do?” Keris demanded.

Shann stammered, “I…I just touched this thing on the wall here.”

“Well, don’t touch anything else,” Keris warned.

Shann glared at her resentfully.

Off to one side, a set of stairs spiralled upwards. Keris headed towards it. There was a noise and movement from the direction of the entrance. Keris turned again to see the silhouette of a cloaked figure standing at the opening. The figure swept inside, and Lyall’s features became visible in the dim artificial light. “They’re coming,” he announced. “One of the Keltar, and about half a dozen soldiers; they will be here shortly.”

Why only one?
The thought flashed up and Keris dismissed it immediately. No time to speculate now. “Well there seems to be no-one here. Let’s get to the top.” She turned and led the way up the spiral stairs.

The first flight led to a floor with various rooms and cubicles. Some doors were closed; others were carelessly left open as if the last residents had left in a hurry. The doors that were open afforded strange views of oddly shaped chairs and banks of instrumentation that reminded Keris of the mechanism that the woman from the past used, to communicate with them. She was starting up the second flight of stairs when she saw Alondo entering one of the chambers. She stopped and snapped at him, “
What are you doing?
”

Alondo was wide eyed like a little child. “
Look
at this stuff.”

“
Forget it
. This isn’t a sightseeing trip. The Prophet’s men will be on us if we don’t hurry.
Now get a move on!
”

Lyall came up behind him and put an arm around his shoulder. “Sorry, old friend. There’s no time.”

Alondo looked as if someone had just confiscated his favourite toy. He followed Lyall dejectedly. Keris resumed her passage up the stairs, holding her diamond tipped staff at the ready. She led them up a second set of spiral stairs and then a third. Part way up the fourth, Shann spoke up. “Lyall?”

“What is it?” he called from behind her.

“This tower, there’s…something peculiar about it.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Just blip the bronze layer in your cloak once.”

Lyall reached up to his neck control and did as he was bidden. He winced, “Curious.”

“What’s the matter?” Keris inquired behind her.

“Shann has detected a large source of what can only be refined lodestone.” Lyall wore a puzzled expression. “Oddly though, it seems to lie
above
us.”

Keris adjusted her control experimentally. “Curious indeed,” she commented. “Let’s get to the top, quickly.” Keris increased the pace. Five floors...six…seven. Alondo was starting to pant.

You need to rest?” Lyall looked at him with concern.