Lodestone Book One: The Sea of Storms (34 page)

“Take off your
cloak,” Keris interrupted. Lyall reached to his neck and undid the
clasps, handing the cloak to her. She dropped her pack and
retrieved her own cloak, placing his cloak on the ledge, and
checking the settings.
One step at a
time
. She fixed her eye on the upper
ledge, bent her knees and flared her own cloak, pushing against the
lodestone in Lyall’s cloak. This time, she angled her body so as to
assume a more vertical path. The power of the refined lodestone
took her up and over the lip of the path, to land in front of Shann
and the others. Shann and Alondo looked too shocked to
applaud.

Boxx was moving around in tight
circles, although whether that was intended to signify excitement
or anxiety, Keris had no idea. Keris picked up Shann’s cloak and
handed it to her. “You are next. Put this on, and tie the rope
securely around your upper body.” Shann did so. Keris checked the
knots and nodded her approval. She undid her own cloak and placed
it on the path, adjusting it so as to uncover the lodestone layer.
Then she faced the girl. “As the lightest one here, you will need
to carry Boxx across. Can you do that?”

“I think so…yes.” Shann appeared
uncertain.

“I Will Fly Now,” Boxx
piped.

Keris was not sure whether this
was a question or a statement, so she replied simply,
“Yes.”

“Chandara Do Not Fly.”

Keris was not about to embark on
another fruitless exchange with the creature. “Then this will be a
first for your people.” She turned back to Shann. “Wrap your arms
around Boxx and hold it securely as you jump. You should be fine,
as your combined weight is no more than any one of us. Alondo and I
will be holding the rope securely in case anything goes
wrong.”

Shann’s lips were tightly pursed
as she fastened her cloak. Then she bent to pick up Boxx. The
creature squirmed like a small child. “Keep still,” she commanded.
Boxx stopped struggling.

“Make sure you
get a good push off the lodestone,” Keris counselled, “and try to
stay as tight to the cliff face as you can.” Shann nodded. Keris
could see the fear in her eyes. She held the girl’s gaze, trying to
instil confidence.
You can do
this
.

Shann walked to
the edge and hesitated.
Don’t lose your
nerve now.
Keris watched as if in slow
motion. Shann clutched the Chandara to her chest, bent her knees
and leapt upwards. The rope snaked outwards, with Keris holding
firmly on to the other end as she followed Shann’s
trajectory.
Higher…a little
higher
. The girl was falling short. Keris
felt a rising sense of panic. She tightened her grip on the
rope–there was nothing more she could do. Shann touched down on the
very edge of the broken path and began to topple backwards. Lyall
reached out and grabbed her with both hands. She fell forward,
landing on top of him, with Boxx between them. As they slowly
disentangled themselves, Keris breathed a sigh of relief.
Good girl
.

Boxx stood up on its hind legs.
“Again…I Fly Again.” Lyall and Shann burst out laughing.

Almost
there
. Alondo’s face was creased with
concern. Keris ignored him, retrieving her own cloak and fitting it
around her shoulders. Then she hailed across the gap. “Is everyone
all right over there?”

“We’re fine,” Lyall shouted
back.

“I will need to borrow Shann’s
cloak once again. Tie it securely to the rope.” Shann removed her
cloak and handed it to Lyall who did as he was bid. Keris tugged on
the rope hand over hand and pulled it up the cliff side. She placed
it once again on the ledge. Next, she checked the equipment still
on their side; Alondo’s instrument and pack, and Boxx’s pack,
containing the machine which Annata, the woman from the past used
to communicate with them. Boxx’s pack was the lightest. She faced
Alondo. “Please let me have your pack and your
instrument.”

Alondo removed the items and
handed them to her. “So, how am I getting over there?” He was doing
his best to sound nonchalant.

Keris hefted his instrument and
tied his pack to her belt. She tied the rope around herself once
more. Finally, she handed him the other end of the rope. “Whatever
you do, don’t let go.” she told him firmly.

Then, without another word, she
turned and launched herself skyward. The return journey was less of
a challenge. Although she carried Alondo’s instrument as an
additional burden, the presence of Lyall’s cloak on the other side
afforded her considerably more control during the latter part of
her flight. Keris touched down on the ledge, receiving a smile and
clap on the back from Lyall. She untied the rope, set down the
instrument and Alondo’s pack and then turned to view the ledge
above them. The others followed her gaze.

A round face appeared, topped off
by a jaunty red hat. “Er…hello?” he quivered. “Are you still there?
Because I’m still here.”

Keris cupped her hand to her
mouth to amplify her voice. “Alondo, can you hear me?”

“Yes.”

“Alondo, I want you to listen
very carefully and do everything I tell you. Can you do
that?”

“All right.”

Keris could hear the note of
apprehension in his voice. She made her own voice as even as
possible. “First of all, I want you to pick up Shann’s cloak and
put it in Boxx’s pack, then tie the pack around your
waist.”

There was a pause while they
waited expectantly. Eventually, Alondo’s head appeared once more.
“I’ve done that.”

“Good, very good. Now I want you
to tie the end of the rope under your arms. Be sure it’s
secure.”

Another pause. Keris signalled
for Lyall and Shann to take up the rope with her. Then Alondo’s
voice came back. “I’ve tied it good and tight.”

Well done. Now I want you to step
off the edge.”

“Excuse
me?”

“Step off the edge,” Keris
insisted. “Look, you will be perfectly safe. There are three people
here ready to pull you up. The best way is not to try to jump, just
step straight off. Keep away from the side of the canyon, but don’t
swing too far out or you will swing back and hit the rock
face.”

“Lyall?” Alondo
pleaded.

“Just do as Keris says and you
will be fine,” Lyall assured him.

“Come on, Alondo, you can do it,”
Shann called.

There was
silence. Then a tremulous voice from above, “Very well, I’m going
to count to three.” Keris, Lyall and Shann looked at one another
but said nothing. Alondo appeared at the edge.
“One…Two…Three.”
They watched as
Alondo stepped off and fell into nothingness. A moment later the
line went taut. They took the strain, pulling up the rope as
quickly as they could. At last, Alondo’s head appeared and his
hands grasped the broken path. Keris dropped the rope and lunged
forward, grabbing the back of his tunic and manhandling him over
the lip. As she pulled backwards, she sat and her foot kicked out.
Something broke free and fell over the edge. She hauled him the
rest of the way up and he turned back, panting with exertion. His
face was etched with alarm, no longer for his own predicament but
rather for something that affected them all.

“The pack with
the machine in it,”
he cried,
“it’s gone!”

Chapter
22

“I can see
it.”
Keris was lying with her head over
the precipice, Lyall keeping firm hold of her legs. She crawled
backwards over the uneven rock shelf. Lyall released her and she
got to her feet. “The pack is lodged part way down. The strap seems
to have become caught on a spur.”

“How far down is it?” Lyall asked
anxiously.

“We can reach it with the rope,
but it’s off to the side, back beyond where the path ends. We would
have to abseil down the rock face here, and then swing on the rope
to reach it.”

Lyall frowned. “It sounds risky,
but I don’t think we have a choice. We have to get the machine
back, not to mention Shann’s flying cloak.”

Keris bit her lip. “It was my
fault. The whole thing was my idea and I was the one who knocked it
off the edge. I should be the one to go.”

“But you were trying to save me
at the time,” Alondo chimed in. “I don’t know how, but somehow my
belt came off with the pack attached. I should have made it more
secure. If anything, I’m to blame.”

Lyall was insistent. “Forget it,
Alondo, we’re not sending you down there again.”

“I’ll go,” Shann heard herself
say. The others looked at her in surprise. Shann felt smaller than
usual under the questing gazes of the other three, but she felt a
knot of resolve forming within her. Keris had tried to destroy the
machine and make it look like an accident. If she let the woman go
down there on the pretext of trying to retrieve the pack, it would
be a perfect opportunity to finish the job. She could not say any
of that out loud, of course. Fortunately, she knew of another
effective argument. She addressed Keris directly. “You said it
yourself. I’m by far the lightest one here. Swinging to and fro
will increase the strain on the rope and the people who are
anchoring it. I am the safest choice.”

There was a pause as she allowed
her words to sink in. It was Keris who spoke first. “The girl is
right; she is the best choice.” Shann was a little surprised that
the woman had caved in so quickly. Maybe Keris was even now
formulating a plan to sabotage her efforts somehow. No matter.
Shann had to get the machine and her cloak back. She would have to
deal with whatever came.

Boxx was looking from one to the
other, as if trying to work out what was going on. Alondo appeared
distinctly unhappy. Lyall fixed her directly with his steady blue
eyes. “Are you sure about this, Shann?”

She was ready for him. She drew
herself up as tall as her slight frame would permit and met his
gaze. “I’m sure. Let’s get on with it.”

Keris had gathered the rope, and
was making a loop. She looked Shann over and adjusted the size,
before tying an elaborate knot. She then placed it over Shann like
a lasso, pulling the running noose, so that the loop was around her
buttocks. She spoke to Shann as she worked. “You’ve never done this
before, have you?”

Sure I have.
Every day after we finished working in the kitchen, we’d go find a
vertical drop and dangle from it.
“No,”
she replied.

Keris jerked the rope
experimentally, and Shann felt it tighten. She offered it to Shann
who took it from her hand. Their fingers touched briefly and a
distant part of Shann’s mind noted that in all the time they had
been travelling together, it was the first time they had made
physical contact.

“Keep hold of the guide rope at
all times,” Keris was saying. “Use the loop as a seat and face the
cliff side, using your legs to push against it as you descend.
Don’t push too hard, or you risk coming back and hitting the rock
wall. Remember, we will be on the ledge holding fast the rope, so
we won’t be able to see you from that angle. You will have to let
us know when to let out the rope and when to pull you up. You must
also let us know when you begin swinging, so that we can brace
ourselves for the extra strain. Don’t be in too much of a hurry.
Start with a small swing and when you reach the apex, push as hard
as you can in the opposite direction. If you get into any sort of
difficulty, let us know at once. Do you want me to repeat any of
that?”

The woman talks
to me as if I were three turns old.
Shann
felt like telling her to take her advice and shove it. Instead, she
simply answered, “No, I understand.”

Keris examined her handiwork once
more before turning away and nodding to Lyall and Alondo. The three
of them took up the rope. She turned back to Shann. “Whenever
you’re ready.”

Shann suppressed the sudden
desire to gulp. She grasped the rope and began to back slowly over
the edge.

“Please be careful, Shann,”
Alondo called after her.

She forced a smile for him. “I
will.”

The edge of the
path cut off her companions as her legs bounced lightly down the
side of the cliff. She could feel heat rising, a slight updraft
against her back which ruffled the ends of her short dark hair. The
side of the cliff was sandy brown, with occasional streaks of black
and yellow. There were cracks and indentations in the surface, the
wear and tear of ages past. Shann looked up. The taut line twitched
as it eased her descent. “Hold it.” She turned her head to the
right, scouring the side of the canyon. She couldn’t see the pack.
Her heart sank. Maybe it dislodged itself already and fell to the
canyon floor? Then she saw it, caught in a crack below and to her
right. “I can see it. Lower me a little more.” She started down
again with a slight jolt, keeping her eye on the position of the
pack. “Slowly.” She passed below it. “
Stop
.” The rope juddered to a halt
and she hung in silence for a moment. “I’m starting my
swing.”