Kiteman of Karanga (13 page)

"But what do we do once Athgar is on the roof?" Rika asked.

"This is what we do," Karl said. As the boat moved slowly upstream and the evening mist from the river rose up around them, Karl explained his plan for freeing Athgar. Soon Murthdur's castle was a fading yellow spot in the fog and the city's lights had become a diffuse glow. Not long after that, the mist and the darkness closed in around them, and the world seemed to extend only as far as the torches mounted bow and stern on Zanzu's boat. Then the boat was anchored for the night.

"By the Lizard!" exclaimed Zanzu when Karl had finished. "I like your idea, Karl, but do you realize how much it would cost? It's so expensive, it's almost incomprehensible." Zanzu laughed. "Maybe that's why it would work. Only someone who had no notion of the price of oja could think of it."

"Do you really think it might work?" Rika asked.

"Yes, it has a chance," Zanzu answered. "But make no mistake, it's risky and very expensive."

"Then maybe these will help," said Rika. She lifted the sack of gemstones out from under her shirt and poured them onto the table in front of the lamp.

Silently, his eyes gleaming, Zanzu inspected the gems one by one. By the way he handled them, Karl and Rika could tell that he was skilled in examining such merchandise. Karl reached over and took a last look at the opal. Then he put it back.

Zanzu looked up. "You want to spend these to rescue Athgar?"

"Yes," said Rika.

"Okay, we'll do it. These will help." Zanzu put the gems back into the sack and stuffed it into his pocket.

Zanzu guided Karl and Rika below decks to sleep. The last sound Karl heard as he climbed into his hammock was the slapping of the gentle river waves against the hull.

When dawn came, casting a pink glow through the mist, Karl climbed onto the deck and found that the boat was tied up back at the wharf. Zanzu was at the table inspecting the things Karl would need that day, including four round pottery lamps with wicks pulled through tight slits. Karl shivered at the spicy smell of oja.

"Let me show you one of these," said Zanzu. Taking one of the lamps, he held its wick to the burning lamp on the table. Instantly the wick with the oja on it caught fire and burned with a fierce flame. Zanzu blew on it as hard as he could, but the flame only fluttered and burned more brightly. Finally, to put the oja flame out, Zanzu wrapped the wick with a damp cloth.

Zanzu grinned at him. Karl grinned back, but inside he was already apprehensive. Through the excitement and talk of the night he had been confident, but now he was worried.

"There," said Zanzu as he set the container of oja back on the table beside the other three. "I wish I was going to be there to watch this extravagance. Never in the history of the Hrithdon Empire has so much wealth been annihilated so quickly."

He laughed heartily as if it were a great joke, but it only made Karl more uneasy. They were risking so much. He hoped their plan wouldn't turn out to be suicidal.

When Rika came on deck, she looked over the oja-filled lamp bases. "Is everything ready?" she asked.

"Yes," said Karl. He noticed his voice quavering and stared out at the river. He felt the same way he had before going on the terry hunt with Bron. He knew he could probably do all right if something took him by surprise, but thinking about it in advance made him feel ruined and hopeless inside. He wondered if he would ever be brave in that way. Perhaps he just wasn't meant to hunt terrys and do dangerous things like this.

As if she could read his thoughts, Rika took Karl's hand and squeezed it.

Before Karl could say anything three men dressed as farmers came on board. Zanzu strode forward to them and motioned Karl.

"These men will go with you to make sure you don't get lost or stopped for questions." The smuggler gave Karl's shoulder a shake. "Good luck."

A few hours later, Karl was back on the ridge where he and Rika had taken their wings. He set up the Asti and loaded it with the things he would need—several wet towels, his spear, a metal knife, the new kitewing, and the four lamps filled with oja oil. The lamps were set in a wicker rack lashed to the Asti framework. The long bundle of the new kitewing was slung under the Asti, tied on with terry leather laces which Karl hoped he could undo in a hurry.

At last it was noon. One of Zanzu's men lit the oja lamps. The short wicks flamed fiercely—even the wind of a dive would not put them out. Thanking the men who had helped him, Karl started down the slope. On the tenth step he was off, and he eased his heavily loaded Asti forward to pick up speed before he soared out over the city.

Feeling the choppy bumps of a thermal, Karl turned into it. He didn't need much height, just enough to get over the castle and then spiral down. He headed straight for Murthdur's fortress. The whole city lay spread out beneath him. The streets, the boulevards, the market, the bridge, and the waterfront looked as if they could fit in his hand. Glancing ahead at the castle, he could see men on the roof, but he was too high to tell if Athgar was among them.

As Karl flew directly over the castle, a heavy sensation of dread settled in his stomach. Trying to ignore it, he banked his wing sharply and spiraled downward. Below, the men on top of the fortress were watching his descent. He spotted Athgar, hands tied and flanked on each side by two armed guards, just as Zanzu had predicted. Karl noted the two stairwells that went down from the roof. If he could just seal them off for a few minutes....

Karl grabbed one of the oja lamps and threw it into the first stairwell. A tongue of orange raced down the stone steps. Suddenly, with a gigantic
whoosh!
a ball of flame exploded out of the shaft and mushroomed into the air. Great Terry! Karl had expected flames, but not this!

"Steady," he told himself. Grabbing the next oja bomb, he banked sharply and came across the second stairwell even lower. Now! He plunged the lamp down into the second shaft, and another fireball shot up, this time rocking his wing and singeing his feet and legs. But he hardly noticed the pain. "Land, now land," Karl shouted to himself.

Once on the flat roof, Karl snatched the third oja bomb and ducked out of his straps. Their plan was working perfectly so far, and Karl relaxed a little as if he heard Zanzu telling him again exactly how to do it. He ran straight toward the surprised guards who were still holding Athgar, two on each arm, even though his hands were tied tightly. Now for the hardest part! The third oja bomb high above his head, Karl brought it down on the stones just a few feet in front of Athgar.
Whoosh!
Instantly Athgar and the guards were knee deep in flames. Forgetting Athgar, the guards leapt away for their lives, their legs on fire, but Athgar sprang toward Karl. Together, they ran to the kitewing, and Karl wiped the flames from Athgar's legs with the wet towels he had brought. Then, taking the metal knife Zanzu had provided, he cut the ropes on Athgar's hands.

"What next?" said Athgar with a calmness that gave Karl a surge of confidence.

Karl gave him the last lamp. "Hold this up high like I did. Keep them off while I set up the other wing."

Athgar grabbed the last oja bomb and Karl's spear and ran toward the two closest guards.

"Back, dogs," shouted the huge man, and with a roar like a dread lizard he drove Karl's spear through one of them.

Despite their burning legs, the other two guards joined the third and attacked, choosing death by fire over death at Murthdur's hands should their captive escape. Realizing that the oja bomb wouldn't deter them, Athgar hurled the pottery container at one of the guards. As it crashed into the man's skull, an explosion of flame engulfed him. Now it was Athgar who pressed the attack, and the two remaining guards fled before him. Another died on the spear and then, as if growing tired of weapons, Athgar disarmed the last with his bare hands and threw him over the battlement. Cut, bloody, and burned, Athgar returned to Karl with the speed of a lizard. In a few seconds the oja oil in the stairwells would be burned out, and the castle roof would be swarming with more guardsmen.

Karl tied Athgar into the harness of the Asti. "Athgar, hold the bar like this. Push for up, pull for down, lean for right or left. Jump straight out as far as you can. We're going to land in the river."

As Athgar climbed onto the battlement, Karl slipped into his new wing. He heard metal clanking and shouts in one of the stairwells. They hadn't a second to spare.

"Jump, Athgar! Go!" Karl shouted, and he too kicked free from the wall, diving for speed. A clatter rose from behind.

"Spear them! Shoot them out of the sky! Fill them with arrows!" a voice shouted hoarsely.

Glancing sideways at the Asti, Karl gasped. Athgar was slow, dangerously slow.

"Athgar, pull!" Karl shouted. "That's right. More, more, pull more!" The Asti picked up speed and flew beneath him. Arrows whizzed around them, and several ricocheted from the top of the Asti. Great Angastora! Terry leather was tough, but then an arrow punctured the Asti from above.

Was Athgar hit? Karl couldn't tell, but the Asti was diving too fast now.

"Back, Athgar, back! Steady, back, steady!" Somehow, Athgar responded. "Steady, steady, hold it right there."

The grounds of the castle swept beneath them and the shouts faded away. They skimmed over the treetops along the bank of the river, then glided straight for Zanzu's boat.

"Athgar, back, back!" Karl shouted.

With jerky motions Athgar pushed the Asti back through the flare and on into a stall, then dropped twenty feet into the water. Karl landed gently on the river, a few yards away. His soles skimmed along the surface until his momentum stopped and then he sank into the water.

Even before Karl could get out of his straps, Zanzu's men were all around him, buoying him up.

"I'm okay," Karl told them as he swam out from under his wing. "Help Athgar."

But Zanzu's men disregarded his protest and helped him toward the boat.

A few moments later, both Karl and Athgar were safe on board.

"Athgar, are you all right?" Karl shouted.

"Fine," he bellowed, "except for the arrow in my armpit."

Karl looked. A wound under Athgars left arm was bleeding profusely.

"Zanzu!" Athgar shouted, and he strode toward his friend and gave him a bloody embrace.

"Athgar," Zanzu roared. "By the Lizard, it's good to see you alive. Now lets get that bleeding stopped." He led Athgar below decks.

"Karl," Rika cried, "you did it. I knew you would." She ran to him and engulfed him in a fierce hug.

When Zanzu's men brought the kitewings up to the stern of the boat, Karl and Rika ran to help them. Carefully, they lifted the wings out of the water, dismantled them, and set the two long bundles lengthwise along the center of the boat. Rika found some rope, and they began tying the wings to the deck.

"Lash 'em down tight," one of Zanzu's men said with a wink before scrambling off to his oar. The rest of the crew were already at their stations. In a moment every oar was poised in the air.

Zanzu appeared at the tiller. "Athgar's fine," he shouted to Karl and Rika. "It's just a shallow flesh wound that I can sew up later." The smuggler turned to his oarsmen.
"Reeeeeaaaady,
pull!" he cried as the big boat surged forward. "One, two, pull. Three, four, pull. One, two, pull. Three, four, pull." Zanzu continued counting cadence for the oarsmen.

At first there seemed no reason for the speed, then, looking behind, Karl saw half a dozen sleek boats filled with Murthdur's guardsmen heading after them.

"They'll catch us," cried Rika.

It appeared at first glance that the Hrithdon boats would easily overtake them.

"I think we're in trouble," Karl shouted. "Let's find out if we can help!"

Although the big boat was now moving fast, the Hrithdon boats were gaining steadily. Karl and Rika made their way to the stern where Zanzu stood counting cadence and manning the tiller, his voice booming across the water.

"I suppose you'd like to pour oja on the water and set it afire!" Zanzu shouted with a laugh. "Nothing doing! Lash yourselves to the deck and hang on!"

Karl looked around. Every crew member, even Zanzu himself, had a rope tied around his waist, with the other end lashed to the gunwales. Karl grabbed Rika's arm and pulled her forward to the bow. They found some more rope and tied themselves to the boat.

Ahead the river narrowed and disappeared around the bend. The Hrithdon boats were still closing the gap and were now only a few hundred yards behind. It seemed to Karl that Zanzu had slowed the cadence on purpose to let the Hrithdon get even closer. As they came to the bend in the river, a distant roaring filled the air. In front of them a half rainbow rose up out of a cloud of mist.

The roaring grew louder; the riverbank had changed to the steep cliffs of a canyon. Nearer yet came the cloud of mist that hung above the river. Karl noticed that two crewmen had left their oars to help Zanzu at the tiller. Ahead was a huge, horseshoe-shaped waterfall. A narrow portion of the center had broken away, creating a chute toward which the big boat was now aimed.

Karl and Rika gasped as the bow hung in the air. Then the boat dove straight for the surge at the bottom of the falls, plunging into the white water. For an instant they were both completely submerged; then the bow shot upward. Sputtering and wiping the water from their faces, Karl and Rika gasped for air. They looked back to see one of the Hrithdon rowboats plunge down the chute. It struck the surge at the bottom, but, too light for the current, it bounded into the air, spilling all its occupants. One by one the rest of the Hrithdon boats attempted the chute, and all but two capsized in the same manner. Zanzu's crew gave a rousing cheer to each one that turned over.

"Forward!" commanded Zanzu. "Forward!"

Karl and Rika looked ahead at the white-water maelstrom before them. With a smashing jolt they were slammed into the gunwales as the bow careened against the wall of the canyon. The boat raced down the maddened river, plowing straight through the surges in the current and splashing them with spray. The hull of the boat shuddered as it rebounded again and again from the rock walls. All at once the boat lifted up almost out of the water. Its forward motion stopped, and it began to turn sideways to the current.