Alchymist (32 page)

'With
flight,' said Vithis, pacing back and forth, 'we can recover all that we've
lost.'

'Except
the lives!' Urien countered. 'I forbid it, Vithis. We must cut our losses,
abandon the stranded constructs and go.'

'Flight
is the only thing that can save us. I won't give it up.'

'Tiaan
doesn't know how to explain what she does,' said Urien. 'We can't indulge you
any longer, Vithis.'

'I'm
not walking away from a fleet of constructs, carrying my goods on my back like
a homeless vagabond.'

'You
don't have any choice.'

'I
want to put Tiaan at the controller of a construct,' said -Vithis. 'If she
truly needs no more than the amplimet, she can make it fly. And if not, she can
tow the other constructs to safety.'

'You'll
only succeed in destroying her, and probably yourself as well.'

'She's
been using it for months, so she doesn't have our vulnerability.'

'It
can develop over time,' Urien said ominously.

Tiaan
looked from one to the other, fearful of the consequences no matter who
prevailed.

'Those
who fear the crystal can walk to Gospett,' snapped Vithis. 'I got us into this
situation and I will get us out, with our fleet intact. And if I don't, you may
elect a new leader. Just give me the chance, Urien.'

Urien
stared at him, unblinking, for a very long time. 'Very well,' she said. 'But
you may make one attempt only.'

'I'll
begin right away,' Vithis said.

Tiaan,
afraid as she had never been afraid before, was carried to the nearest
construct and strapped into die seat. The night was as black as the pits at
Snizort.

Vithis,
holding the amplimet between a folded sheet of platinum, slid it into its
cavity. Tiaan, find a suitable field and make this construct fly.'

She
was going to be exposed as a liar. What was she to do? Tiaan took a deep breath
then drew just enough power to lift the construct off the ground. She pretended
to strain for more as she drew upwards on the flight knob. The construct did
not move, of course, and then the field slipped from her mind. She couldn't
concentrate for fear of the amplimet taking charge, as it had done to Ghaenis.

'What
are you doing?' said Vithis sharply, as if suspecting her of sabotage.

'This
is how I made my thapter fly,' Tiaan lied. She wiped her face and tried again.
'It's not working,' she said in a small voice.

'Try
harder!'

'Don't
push her,' snapped Urien. 'That kind of talent must be coaxed.'

'I'm
sorry.' Vithis bowed to the Matah. 'Zeal overcame my good sense for the
moment.'

After
pretending to make several more attempts, Tiaan said, 'I can't seem to work the
balance correctly. The field isn't oscillating at all.'

'You're
not trying,' said Vithis. 'You made Tirior's construct fly in a few minutes.'

'That
was different,' Tiaan said, white-faced. 'We were all going to die. My talent
just flowed.'

'If
you're keeping the secret from us,' Vithis said fiercely, 'I'll make sure you
regret it.'

'Threats
aren't the answer,' said Urien. 'If she goes the way of Ghaenis, we've got
nothing.'

He
regained control of himself. 'Will you try again, Tiaan?' Vithis said softly.

Urien
had shown Tiaan the way out, though she had to make it convincing. She drew
power hard, as much as she could bear safely, then a little more. To her
relief, the con-struct's mechanism spun up to a roar. Could she make the field
oscillate, to convince them?

She
fed power into the field, drew hard, then fed it back even harder. The roar
from below rose to a screech, died to nothing and rose again. Suddenly the
construct whirled like a top, throwing the Aachim against the side, though
Tiaan had not moved the controller.

Vithis
let out a muffled curse, Urien a cry of fear. Tiaan could feel her hair
standing up, smell the ends beginning to smoulder. Her cheeks grew hot; her
vision blurry. She rubbed her eyes. She could just make out Vithis and he
wasn't convinced. She had to make him believe, and it had to be done quickly.
She could not withstand him much longer.

She
forced more power through the controller, then back into the field, then out,
then back again, until the field began to go whoomph-whoomph, whoomph-whoomph
like a fire driven by a bellows. Even with her eyes open, she could see its
patterns beating all around her.

So
could Urien, for she cried out in alarm, 'Enough, Vithis. This isn't right.'

'Keep
on, Tiaan,' he grated.

The
mechanism let out a metallic screech and began to thump itself to pieces. A
burning pain flared up Tiaan's middle. She tried to cut off the field but power
kept flowing -the amplimet had taken over. She'd gone too far.

She
opened her mouth to scream but only steam came out. The burning intensified.
Even her eyes felt hot. Tiaan had no idea what to do about it. She could no
longer think straight.

Vithis
was staring at her in horror. He cried out a warning but his words emerged as a
dry croaking, like a frog caught in a forest fire. .’

Urien
slammed her fist down on the release. The amplimet shot out of its cavity and
she fumbled it out of the air in agetwisted fingers, grimacing as though it had
burned her. Still holding it, she uttered three words in a guttural tongue.
Tiaan's pain eased. Urien hastily wrapped the crystal in the platinum sheet and
thrust it into her pocket.

Tiaan
fell off her seat, hanging by the belt. As she swooned, Urien's crackling voice
came to her.

'You're
a bigger fool than I thought, Vithis. Are you satisfied now?'

He
was staring at Tiaan as if he expected her to explode in his face. He looked as
if he were going to be sick.

Tiaan
came to as she was being carried to the healers' tents Vithis and Urien were
still arguing.

'You
will abandon the search for flight, as of now,' Urien said coldly, 'or I will
dismiss Inthis from the Register of the Eleven Clans.'

'Inthis
has always been First Clan!' he cried. 'And it was re-chosen just one year —’

'Only
because you manipulated the votes,' came Tirior's voice from the other side.
'Inthis is not fit, Urien. Do you know what Vithis really did to my son?'

'Go
on,' said Urien in a deadly voice.

'He
made it a matter of honour for Ghaenis to use the amplimet, knowing that he was
too noble to refuse. Vithis killed him —’

'He
begged me for it,' said Vithis, rigidly controlled.

'You
didn't have to agree.'

'He
convinced me that he had the best chance of anyone, because you had taught him
how it was to be used.'

'Tirior?'
Urien said sharply. 'Is that so?'

'Ghaenis
and I had spoken about it; Tirior said reluctantly.

'I
knew it,' said Vithis. 'You put him up to it and now blame me to ease your own
guilt.'

'That's
a lie! Dismiss him and his clan, Urien. Put them below Clan Elienor.'

'You
hypocrite!' Vithis cried furiously. 'And all this after you took Minis, the
sole survivor of Inthis First Clan, into Snizort, in defiance of my direct
order that he remain in our main camp.'

'So
that's what this is all about,' said Tirior. 'Your shabby revenge.’

‘Explain
your actions, Tirior,' Urien said sharply.

Minis
begged me, over and over, to take him with me. I rightly refused but he kept
pestering me, and finally used his rank to countermand my order. There are
witnesses, not of my clan.'

'I've
spoken to them,' said Vithis. 'They say you preyed on his weakness for Tiaan.
You took Minis into Snizort hoping he would die there, and Clan Inthis with
him. Clan Nataz has always chafed at its inferior status and you'd take any
risk to raise it above its station.'

'I
brought Minis safely out of Snizort,' said Tirior. 'You killed my son and
heir.'

'Tiaan
brought Minis out. She saved your life, and his.'

'Enough!'
said Urien. 'The clan leaders will determine the rights and wrongs, later. Put
your grievances aside. We must find a way out of here.'

'We
must, but who dares risk the fate of my son?' said Tirior.

They
were walking across uneven ground. Tiaan kept her eyes firmly closed, though
brightness on her eyelids indicated that it was morning. It was hard to
concentrate on what they were saying, for she hurt inside as if scalding water
had been poured down her throat.

'Urien
could use it,' said an unknown voice.

The
person who was carrying Tiaan stopped dead. Someone let out a shocked cry.
Another said, 'How dare you insult the Matah of all the Aachim?'

'I'm
sorry,' said the unknown voice. 'I allowed myself to be carried away.'

'No
need to apologise,' said Urien. 'The Matah has a duty to her people, as much as
they to her. And here is my reply. I might use the amplimet once or twice, and
get away with it, but not even I could employ it every day for weeks, as would
be required to save our constructs.'

'What
if we took it in turns?' said Vithis. 'If our strongest, all volunteers, could
iust use it for a few hours each, we could save some of our constructs.'

'Yes,
show us the way, Vithis,’ Tirior said venomously.

The
silence was finally broken by Urien.

'How
can I do that and leave my clan undefended?' he said.

'Inthis
Last Clan,' sneered Tirior. 'Cowards all!'

'There
will be no volunteers,' said Urien, 'for most would die as horribly as Ghaenis
did. And there are greater risks . . .'

'Not
here!' cried Tirior.

'We
must talk about the other problem I said Urien.

'What
problem?' said a dreary voice that Tiaan recognised as Luxor, chief of Clan
Izmak.

'The
amplimet communicated with the nodes at Snizort, Booreah Ngurle and Tirthrax,
where it went close to unbinding the trapped Well of Echoes.'

'So
it is like the one that nearly brought down our world in ancient times,' said
Luxor heavily. 'I feared as much. It would be better to destroy the amplimet
and walk away from our constructs. Even if we abandoned all these here, we
still have five thousand near Gospett, and elsewhere. Nothing on Santhenar can
match them.'

'The
old humans would take apart the abandoned ones,' said Vithis, 'and soon learn
to make their own. Where would we be then? And there's another matter. The
lyrinx have not gone very far. If they attack in the night, they could wipe us
out. We can't risk it.'

'What
are we to do?'

'How
is Tiaan?' asked Urien.

Tiaan
felt the cool hands of a healer on her brow. 'She'll recover,' said an unknown
voice, 'though she'll be in much pain when she comes round. You'll get nothing
out of her today or tomorrow.'

'Give
her the best treatment we have,' Vithis ordered. 'Don't spare our most precious
medicines. Tiaan must be ready by dawn the day after tomorrow. She must use the
amplimet to tow our constructs to safety.'

 It
seemed that other Aachim had joined them on their long walk. 'Even if Tiaan
were an enemy, this would be a dishonourable act. But she's a hero who saved us
from extinction. This is sheer infamy!'

Two
more voices, both unknown, objected just as strenuously.

'What
do you say, Urien?' said Vithis. Do you still forbid it?'

She
did not answer at once. There was silence for several minutes, broken only by
the tramping of many feet. 'I have agonised about this all evening and night.
I've weighed the arguments. Every choice represents a hazard.'

'And
your decision?' said Vithis.

'You
may use Tiaan to try and save our constructs, but for no other purpose, and it
must be done with great care.'

'I
will not put my name to it,' cried Luxor.

'Overruled,'
said Urien. 'My position on this amplimet is well known — I hate and fear it — but
Vithis has convinced me that we have no choice. We must wield this perilous
crystal for our very survival.'

'Then
our Syndic must be told of these matters,' said the second unknown voice, 'and
given the opportunity to debate —’

'There's
no time,' said Urien. 'Vithis, your leadership is suspended. In this emergency,
I've no .choice but to rule by decree. We will use Tiaan and deal with the
consequences afterwards.'

'How
dare you subvert the very founding principles of our Syndic?' cried a new
voice, high in outrage.

'The
Matah is above the clans, and even the leader,' Urien reminded them. 'In an
emergency that threatens our survival, it is my duty.'

That
only raised more outrage, until Urien declared in a voice that brooked no
disobedience, 'It is done in the name of the Matah. Let anyone challenge it at
peril of their life and their clan!’