Lodestone Book One: The Sea of Storms (31 page)

Keris, Keltar that was, turned on
her heel and strode away. She did not look back.

~

Keris stopped at the bank of the
stream and dropped to her knees. Without warning, she felt overcome
by a wave of nausea. She began retching uncontrollably. The
swirling waters enveloped the contents of her stomach and
mercifully swept them away. When it was over, she washed her face,
and bathed her wound, ripping off a part of her tunic to form a
makeshift bandage. She rose up again, her legs feeling unnaturally
weak, and made her way back to camp.

Lyall and Shann were waiting for
her standing side by side in the rosy half light. Keris noted that
they were both clad in their flying cloaks. “You left your watch,”
Lyall declared. It was almost an accusation, but not
quite.

Keris felt wracked by pain and
exhaustion, but her expression betrayed nothing of her true state.
“I…thought I heard a noise. I went to investigate.”

“And what did you find?” Lyall
enquired.

“Nothing,” Keris replied, her
heart heavy and dead as stone. “Nothing at all.” She turned and
headed for her blanket to catch whatever fitful moments of sleep
she could before morning came.

~

Saccath stood
silently over the body of Mordal, allowing a cold rage to consume
him. His hand opened, revealing the Ring that had been left next to
the body, as distinctive as a calling card.
Keris
.

Somehow the woman had convinced
him to leave their camp at night without an escort and had then
lured him into a trap. His neck was broken with no other sign of
injuries. Efficient. Mordal had clearly underestimated the former
Keltar. Saccath would not be making the same mistake.

The Captain of the guard, dressed
in a crimson surcoat, marched over, stopping at a respectful
distance. “Orders?”

Saccath allowed the rage to
settle in his belly, giving him a new sense of purpose. “We will
bury His Excellency. Then you and your men will return to the keep
and report all that has happened.

“But…what of you?” the Captain
asked.

“You will report that I am
pursuing the rebel, Keris, and her group. I will exact penance for
her actions.”

The Captain seemed as if he were
about to object, then looked down at the figure lying on the ground
and appeared to check himself. “Very well, My Lord.” He bowed once
and turned away towards the knot of soldiers gathered around the
black banner. The three suns and the flame of the Prophet fluttered
defiantly in the breeze.

Saccath
regarded the body of Mordal once more.
I
am coming for you, Keris. You cannot escape. I will pursue you to
the very ends of the world.

Chapter
20

Lyall, Keris, Shann, Alondo and
Boxx looked down from the Gilah Hills at the country spread before
them. It was a rural landscape, dotted with what appeared to be
small farms. Shann could make out fields of crops, ripening in the
summer heat, and pastures containing what looked like domesticated
raleketh. To the north and east, there was a river flowing from the
hills; a bright ribbon which twisted back and forth before flowing
into a shimmering lake. It was a welcome sight after so many days
trekking through the barrenness of the Gilah.

The path
through the hills had suddenly opened up onto a bluff overlooking
the panorama beyond. Keris was standing near the edge, one leg
resting on a small boulder. She was closely examining a small
instrument in her left palm. It contained a type of lodestone, one
that always pointed south, that travellers used to help find their
way. Keris, of course, had never permitted her to have a close
look, so she could only guess at its operation. Shann had a wild
fantasy where she saw herself creeping up behind the Keltar. One
good shove would send her tumbling over the edge.
Problem solved
. Would
any of her travelling companions seriously
object?

Suddenly the tall woman pointed
towards the south-east. “Over there.”

Alondo peered along the line
indicated by her finger. “I don’t see anything.”

“There,
” Keris insisted. Shann
looked out over the distant lowlands and saw a faint irregular
patch of dwellings. “The village is marked on the map as Pinnar in
a stretch of land known as the Distrada. Just beyond is the
north-south road and a day’s journey east of that lies
Kharthrun.”

“Pretty.” Boxx was standing on
its hind legs. Lyall and Shann looked at the Chandara, but as
usual, no-one was quite sure what it meant.

Alondo was still squinting at the
horizon, as Lyall placed a hand on his shoulder. “What is the
situation with our stores?” he asked the musician.

Alondo pressed his lips together.
“Too low. The food we stockpiled on the Eastern Plains is gone and
it’s been slim pickings in these hills. We need
re-supply.”

“Then Pinnar is our next
destination. Keris, what can you tell us about these
people?”

Keris gave a blank look.
“Nothing, really. The settlements are on the ‘tribute circuit,’ but
I was never sent down this way.”

Lyall sounded
cheerful. “Well, let’s see if we can’t make some new friends. Time
to move out.” Shann tore her eyes away from the seductive view and
followed him to where the sleek graylesh stood patiently. She
mounted her animal, patting its neck, and waited for Alondo and
Boxx to board the wagon. Keris took up what had become her
customary position during the journey along the narrow hillside
trails: alone at the van. It was a prudent defensive measure for
someone to watch their rear, but no-one had asked Keris to assume
the responsibility. The manner in which the older woman had fallen
naturally into the role suggested much about her place within their
group. She travelled with them but she was apart from them by her
own choice–to preserve her secrets, no doubt, and to make it easier
for her to betray them all when the moment came. Shann watched her
as she sat high in the saddle, aristocratic and aloof.
I know what you are about
.

Since that fateful night by the
stream when she and Lyall had lost the woman’s trail, there had
been two significant events. The first became evident later the
following day, when Lyall returned from his scouting mission and
gathered the others before announcing, “They’re gone.”

“How do you mean?” Alondo
asked.

“The Prophet’s men no longer
pursue us.”

Shann’s brow furrowed. “Are you
sure?”

“Quite sure. I even found the
remains of their last encampment. I think we should continue to
backtrack in order to check, but they seem to have
withdrawn.”

Alondo looked worried. “But… why
would they do that?” He looked at Keris and the others followed
suit.

Keris, who had been silent up to
now, seemed to wake from a stupor. “Why are you all looking at
me?”

“I don’t know,” Lyall interceded.
“Maybe we have travelled far enough from the keep that they no
longer view us as a threat.” That did not seem very likely to
Shann. “In any event, I choose to interpret this as good news.”
Despite Lyall’s optimism, the air was one of sombre reflection
rather than celebration. Keris turned her back on the others and
walked away without a word.

The second
development occurred later that evening, as they sat consuming a
portion of their dwindling rations. Alondo was doing his best to
keep things light with his generous smile and easy manner. As Keris
chewed on a piece of dried raleketh meat, Shann glanced idly at the
older woman’s right hand.
Her Speaker
Ring–it was missing
.

Shann bit into a flatbread and
flicked her eyes towards Keris’ other hand. Nothing there. Of
course she might easily have taken it off, or placed it somewhere
for safekeeping, but during the entire time since she had first
encountered their group on the desert road leading from Gort, Shann
had never seen her without the Ring.

Later that night she called Lyall
to one side and shared her observations. Lyall absorbed her
comments thoughtfully. “Maybe our Keltar has finally renounced her
loyalty to her former friends.”

Shann registered shock. “You’re
not serious.”

“I’m not sure,” Lyall admitted.
“It could equally be a sign that she knows somehow that we are on
to her. But the Prophet’s men do seem to have turned back from
following us. It is tempting to think that there may be a
connection. Let’s continue to be watchful, all right?”

During the
intervening days there had been no further sign of pursuit and
Keris’ Ring did not reappear on her hand. Shann, however, was not
about to be deceived. Somehow, the woman had altered the rules and
was playing a different game now. As the party got underway and
began descending through the Gilah Hills towards the pasture land
below, Shann imagined she could feel the Keltar’s eyes boring into
her back. Biding her time.
Awaiting her
chance to strike
.

~

Alondo urged the graylesh forward
as the covered wagon pitched and rolled over the rough track
between the fields of the Distrada. Lyall pulled up his mount and
called over his shoulder, “How’s it going back there?”

Alondo’s face showed signs of
strain. “Well, it would help if you could get down off that beast
and fill in a few of these potholes for me.”

Lyall smiled. “No problem. And
while we are at it, Shann and I can jump on those bumps and flatten
them out for you, if you’d like.”

Shann chuckled. “You’d have to
make it worth my while. A nice juicy raleketh steak and a cup of
narrian wine, I think.”

“I’d appreciate a four course
meal, too, if you could manage it.” Alondo ventured.

“Well, I’ll buy
you both the finest meal in Pinnar, how’s that?” Lyall’s expression
became pensive. “Of course the place
is
pretty small, so that may not be
saying much.”

Shann didn’t care. Right now she
was starving, and the talk of food only made her juices run in
anticipation. After so many days of living rough in the hills, with
the Prophet’s men chasing them, she was looking forward to being
able to relax at last with a good meal, a bath and a warm bed. She
could smell that steak already.

Up ahead, the
squat stone built dwellings of the tiny rural settlement were
clearly visible. To either side of them, a patchwork of fields
stretched away. Sounds of animals, wild and domestic, played in her
ears and the scent of growing things filled her nostrils. People
clothed in rough browns and reds could be seen, bent over and
absorbed in their labours. Without warning, one of them pointed at
their small caravan and hollered something. His voice was echoed by
others, who dropped their implements and began running towards the
village. The sound of the repeated shouts carried over the open
field to reach Shann’s ears as a single word.
Keltar
.

She glanced
over her shoulder to see Keris riding around from the rear to join
them in the front. The tall woman was wearing the distinctive black
flying cloak. As she drew level with them, Shann let fly at her.
“
Look what you did. You scared them
off
.”

Keris’ face was impassive. “So it
would seem. Their reaction is quite puzzling.”

“Puzzling?
You’re dressed as a
Keltar. People are terrified of them,” Shann
blustered.

“You don’t know what you’re
talking about, child. People normally come and do obeisance rather
than run away. Ignoring a Keltar can bring about their
wrath.”

“Nevertheless,” Lyall interposed,
“we do not want to give the impression that we are in the service
of the Prophet.”

“It seemed a good way to get
their attention.” Keris was watching the fleeing
villagers.

“I would rather begin any
encounter with honesty.” Lyall was insistent.

Keris turned to look at him. “I’m
not sure that’s wise.”

Lyall turned
his mount and faced her squarely. “
We will
not gain allies by beginning with deception or by posing as our
enemies.
” His voice softened. “Let’s see
if we can talk to these people, shall we?”

The party rode on into the
village of Pinnar and came to a halt in the midst of an open area,
ringed by low stone cottages with roofs of rough thatch. Gundir
barked at their approach. A flock of black birds with red tipped
wings lifted from the gables, flapping against the thick air. There
were no other signs of life. Lyall looked around and behind him.
“Where is everybody?”

“Hiding,” Shann
scowled, “
from her
.” Keris did not react.

“What’s going on?” Alondo called
from his seat on the wagon.

“We’re not sure,” Lyall returned.
“Just stay where you are for now.”