Mirror 04 The Way Between the Worlds (41 page)

she nu che mo lo cha kso pi lu ta gwu va nu vo cha ru gwi sze ya ta sze pi no
sze lo je mu gwi ta sha sze e.
'What does it mean?' he asked hopefully.
'I haven't the faintest idea,' said Maigraith. 'But I'll bet Shand does.'
They found Shand hurrying down the main hall of the fortress. 'Come in here,'
said Maigraith, drawing him into an empty room. 'Have you any idea what this
means?' She handed him the piece of card with the glyphs and the jumble of
letters.
'It appears to be a message written out in the Charon syllabary,' he said.
'Sorry?'
'The Charon language is written in a script where each character represents a
syllable, rather than a letter as in our alphabet.'
'But these glyphs aren't the secret Charon script,' said Llian.
'No,' said Shand, 'unless it's an older version. And it may well be, because
the syllabary looks much the same. Where did you get it?'
Llian explained. 'What does it say?'
'I don't know. I'd have to work out how the syllables go together to form
words, first. But it must be some kind of message, from Yalkara.'
'Or warning!' said Karan.
'Can you put the syllables into words, Shand?' Maigraith asked eagerly.
'Possibly. I once knew the spoken Charon language fairly well, though I could
not read it. It'd take a fair bit of head-scratching, and the words would
still need to be translated. Make me a copy, Llian. I'll start on it as soon
as I get back. Sorry, but I'm in rather a hurry. I'll see you later.' He
hurried out without further explanation.
'Mendark's coming!' said Karan, who was guarding the door.
Llian sprang up guiltily and they ran outside, laughing.
'Come and dine with us,' called Karan over her shoulder.
'I have to work,' said Maigraith irritably, yearning for what they got from
each other. 'Besides, you look as though you'd planned a private evening.'
'Nonsense!' they said together. 'We can talk further while we eat,' Karan
added.
Llian linked his arm through Maigraith's and she could not resist any longer.
She wanted to be with them; she was hungry too.
They were going to a cafe Llian had found on one of his jaunts into the low
parts of the city and, he being Llian, they became lost three or four times
and went into several undistinguished little eating houses before they finally
found the place. Maigraith kept looking over her shoulder as they trekked from
one establishment to another.
'What's the matter?' asked Llian.
'Oh, nothing! Ever since Ellami's attack I've felt jumpy. Once or twice I
thought someone had followed us, but I must have been imagining it.'
Karan shivered, though no one noticed. 'Here it is,' cried Llian. 'It's pretty
basic!'
Even so, Maigraith was not prepared for quite the austerity of the place she
found herself in. It was a shack with a mud floor and a few plank benches and
trestles made from raw timber. There were no other customers either, but a
fire blazed in one corner. It was cosy by the fire, though a large puddle
under the table left Maigraith nowhere to put her feet.
The proprietor, a stooped fellow wearing a mouldy coat and slippers, shuffled
in. He bent over the table until his nose was almost touching Maigraith's. He
had a tiny wrinkled mouth like a cat's bottom and it stayed closed when he
spoke.
'Whoozipang?' he demanded. Black hairs sprouted out his cratered nose as
luxuriantly as a walrus's moustache.
Maigraith leaned away from him, but the hairy bugle followed her until he was
almost lying across the table. 'Whoozipang?' he asked again.
'She is!' Karan and Llian said together, pointing at Maigraith.
'Yooispang?' The bristles quivered. Maigraith stared up his nose in fascinated
horror.

'He wants to know who's paying the bill,' Karan said merrily. 'Obviously he
doesn't trust our looks. Tell him you will, or we'll never get our dinner.'
'I will pay,' Maigraith said with dignity, feeling conned. Karan caught
Llian's eye and they both laughed like penniless students who had just cadged
a banquet. Nose Hairs shuffled out again.
'He hasn't taken our order,' Maigraith grumbled.
'Doesn't need to,' said Llian. 'Everyone gets the same here.'
The host shuffled back in with a jug of golden wine. He spilled it into three
bowls, put the jug down in the centre of the table with a crash that rattled
the cutlery and turned away.
'Ll sen' Nuhnn,' he said over his shoulder and disappeared out the back.
'What did he say?'
'I have no idea,' said Karan boisterously. Just the smell of wine was enough
to get her going. 'Move up please. Your big backside is taking all the room.'
Maigraith, whose rear was rather smaller than Karan's, was offended. She
hurriedly slid up the bench. 'Ow!' she yelped.
'What's the matter now?'
'Nothing. A splinter in my . . . bottom.'
'Shall I call the host to get it out for you?' Llian asked mischievously.
Maigraith was not amused by personal jokes. 'I'll put up with it,' she said
through pursed lips.
Shortly a young woman came in, as plump and pretty as the man was grotesque.
She smiled at them, especially at Llian, took their orders, all the same,
naturally, and went out again.
Llian raised his bowl and they drank. The wine was better than Maigraith had
expected, and after the bowl was finished and she had poured another she felt
better.
'Now Maigraith,' said Karan, 'tell us what's bothering you. Apart from the
splinter.'
'I'm afraid.'
'Of what?'
'Everything! Afraid that I've done the wrong thing with Aeolior's birthright.
Afraid what Yalkara would think of me. Afraid what people will do with the
flute.'
'Then when it's made, take it and use it yourself.'
'How?' she shouted, then ducked her head and went red in the face as the host
appeared around the door, muttering imprecations. 'I don't know how, Karan. I
can't work out how the flute was meant to be used. No one knows, and the
Mirror can't tell me.'
'Or won't.'
'Or won't,' she agreed. 'I thought you might have some ideas, Llian.'
Llian drained his second bowl. He shook his head. 'It's not the sort of secret
that's left lying around.'
The pretty waitress came back with a tray containing many small dishes: fiery
spices, pickles, mustards and thin sweet vinegar. She set it down, returning
with another -equally small bowls of shredded raw meat and raw fish cut into
matchsticks. Finally she eased a smoking slab of granite onto the middle of
the table, and tossed the meat onto it to cook. The meal was accompanied by a
mound of steamed
vegetables and another of glutinous dumplings.
They ate without further talk. At the end Karan licked her fingers
contentedly. 'A tale would be a good way to finish this evening off,' she
said. 'What do you have for us, Llian? None of your Tales of Bawdry, mind,
like this afternoon.' She laughed at the memory. Llian blushed, which made
Karan laugh even louder. 'That's not the kind of thing Maigraith wants to
hear.'
Being on her third bowl of wine and her natural prudishness well overcome,
Maigraith would have been delighted to hear such a tale, but just then Karan
very loudly said, 'Hey!'
The other two sat up, wondering what was the matter. The host thrust his nose

whiskers around the door, said something like 'Rkle'bbos,' and slammed the
door again.
'What?' said Maigraith.
'Recall the tale you told in Carcharon, Llian? The part about Nassi, the young
woman who worked out how Shuthdar had tricked Bandiar the sorcerer.'
'Yes?'
'Was that really true?'
Llian looked pained. 'We already talked about that. It was true enough.'
'I'm serious. Was it true that Nassi escaped with Shuthdar and later became a
great mancer and a wise woman?'
'Yes, but I don't see what you're getting at.' Then suddenly he did. 'She
established a great house.'
'A dynasty? Or do you mean a college?'
'A dynastic house, but of course many students came to learn from her, and
after her death it became a college. I should have thought of that! Nassi knew
more about Shuthdar's mind and work than anyone, and she saw him use the
flute.'
'She would be dead three thousand years,' said Maigraith.
'Longer, but she may have written it in her Histories. Unfortunately, her
college is at Saludith. It would take months to go there.'
'I can take you there. I'll make a gate.' Maigraith reached into her pocket.
'Not here!' said Llian hastily.
Giving him a stare fit for an imbecile, she brought out a handkerchief which
she used to mop her brow. 'It's very hot'
'The spices, and the wine,' said Karan. 'Are we finished?' Suddenly they
needed to get outside. All thoughts of a tale were gone.
She called the waitress back. As Maigraith was paying the bill, which was only
a few coppers, she looked up to see Nose Hairs watching her like a hunting
skeet. His lips moved as she counted the tariff into the waitress's hand, then
he turned away and they went out.
'I don't know what all the fuss was about,' she said, 'for such a small amount
of money.'
'He's always like that,' said Llian. 'The war drove him mad. It's a tragic
tale, though a common enough one.'
'Oh?' said Karan.
'He was a rich man, but he volunteered to serve in the war against Yggur and
was struck down in the first hour of battle. He lay under a pile of dead for
days, they say. When he came home, his wife and children were dead, and the
house burned to ashes. He lost everything.'
Maigraith was silent, thinking of the tragic youth who had sheltered her and
Faelamor after the Conclave. The shivers running up and down her spine quite
took away the levity that three bowls of wine had given her.
Saludith
'In days of yore, old pirate Chaw, Was a'sailin' round the Horn - '
Llian roared out the verses, while leading them up a dark alley where the
smell of human filth and rotting rubbish was more pronounced than usual.
'Hush,' said Karan. 'Llian, where are you taking us?'
'A shortcut!' He broke into a tuneless whistle, listing like a yacht in a high
wind.
Karan looked anxiously into the darkness. 'I don't like the feel of this
place. It wouldn't be safe even in daylight. Let's go back.' She turned toward
the distant light from the street.
Llian walked into a pile of crates, sending them toppling with a crash of
splintered glass. He picked himself out of the debris. 'Sorry. Sorry!'
'Llian,' hissed Karan. 'You're drunk!' She stood in the middle of the alley
with her hands on her hips. 'Come on!' She set off again.
Before she had gone a dozen steps Llian made a gurgling noise, 'Karan,
gglmph!' and went down again.
Karan imagined it to be the kind of sound someone gave when their throat was
slashed open. She snatched for her knife, but it was not there. She had given

it to the Telt and forgotten to replace it. She stumbled up into the hungry
dark.
All at once a white light lit the alley from one end to the other, brighter
than day. It was Maigraith, holding aloft one of her globes. Four people were
revealed, advancing on Karan. Llian lay on his back in the muck. Maigraith
gave a cry that made Karan's hair stand up.
'Karan! Stay where you are!'
Maigraith's arm swung. The globe carved a trail through the air, landing at
the feet of the nearest two attackers. Bursting in a pulse of light and sound
it flung them against the wall. Neither moved after that. The second pair set
off, their legs working like dressmaker's scissors. Ghdshdd! Karan realised.
They came for me!
Maigraith, more calmly now, put her hand out towards the fleeing Ghashad. This
time there was no sound, light or fury, but their legs were snatched from
under them. One lay motionless. The other kept flinging out his arms and legs
then drawing them back up to his chest.
Maigraith raced past, pulling a second globe out of her coat. It flared up
where the attackers lay. She came running back. Karan was down on her knees
beside Llian, cradling his head in her hands. Llian groaned.
'I thought they'd killed him,' Karan said.
'I'm sorry, I lost my head,' said Miagraith.
Karan looked around. Maigraith's globe did not show the details further down
the alley. 'Are they dead?'
'No,' said Maigraith. 'They're .. . not dead.' She did not elaborate.
Karan lifted Llian up. 'I can walk,' Llian said, holding his head in both
hands. 'Let's get away from here.'
'They came from Shazmak,' said Karan. 'Thank you, Maigraith.' She still felt
awed by what she had seen.
'Sorry,' said Maigraith. 'My strength seems to come in blind rage or not at
all.'
'They were waiting for you,' said Llian. 'For you, Karan!'
'I know. They came to take me back. To Rulke!'
Four of Yggur's guard appeared at the other end of the
alley and challenged them. Maigraith lit up her globe. They all knew her of
course. She pointed to the crumpled figures. The soldiers saluted and ran that
way.
'I hate Thurkad,' Karan said, swearing under her breath. 'How I wish I was
back in Gothryme.'
'You won't be safe in Gothryme,' said Llian. 'At least you can be protected
here, as long as you don't follow idiots down dark alleys. Hold on a minute.'
Sitting down on the kerb he put his head between his knees. 'My head!' He felt
it with his fingers. There was a large lump and a small amount of blood. 'I
don't feel very well.' He got up again, walking between them with his arms
over their shoulders.
The guard smirked as they wavered in through the gate.
'Drunk, is he?'
'As a priest,' said Maigraith soberly.
'Or a Magister,' blinked Karan.
The guard guffawed, looked around uneasily in case they were overheard, and
waved them on, still grinning.
In Karan's rooms they helped Llian onto the bed, took off his boots and pulled
a cover over him. She blew out the lamp.
'Saludith?' said Karan, as Maigraith headed toward the door.
'I must! It's urgent now. Rulke must be ready.'
'I'll come with you.'
'No,' Maigraith said unconvincingly.
'I need to get away from here, Maigraith. Thurkad is like a prison to me. And
now, every day I'll be expecting Rulke to try again.'
'All right.' She looked relieved. 'What about him?'
'What a duffer he is! I'd better get someone to look after him, I suppose,'

said Karan with studied casualness.
'Haven't you forgotten something?' said 'him' coldly from the bed. 'How are
you going to get admittance to Saludith? How are you going to find what you're
looking for there? It won't be in common speech. You won't even get in without
a master chronicler.'
'I suppose we'd better take him along, just in case,' said Karan grudgingly,
then laughed and gave Llian a hug.
They sat down on the bed to plan. They would go before dawn, and' there was
much to be done before then. Saludith was a long way south and would be frigid
at this time of year. And they must prepare for the gate going astray.
'I'd like a few hours' sleep before we go,' said Karan, when all that was
done. Llian was asleep already.
'Meet me on the roof of the citadel an hour before sunrise,' Maigraith said,
picking up her pack.
Sometime during the night it had begun to rain, and it grew heavier with the
dawning, so that when Karan and Llian reached the rooftop there were pools
everywhere. A glimmer of light led them to Maigraith. Water was already
dribbling down the back of Llian's neck. He wished he had never heard of
Saludith. He wished he was back in his warm bed, with or without Karan. His
head hurt.
Maigraith had something small and dark in her hand, like a lightglass that was
not lit. She tucked its twin into a crevice on the roof. She concentrated
hard, and suddenly pale-blue fire made a tracery of lines all around them,
like a birdcage. The lines faded.
Maigraith swore and adjusted her hood. 'There is a difficulty I hadn't thought
of last night. I can't make a gate to a place I've never been to.'
'I've been to Saludith/ said Karan. She made a link and gave Maigraith her
memories of the city.
Maigraith tried again; again she failed. 'Gates can only be opened in certain
places, such as here, and they can only go to certain places. But it seems
Saludith is not such a place.' 'Maybe Nassi chose the site for that reason,'
said Llian. 'This college of hers, Llian, is it actually in Saludith?' 'No,
not in. Near, I think. I haven't been there.' 'Can you remember any places
near Saludith, Karan?' Karan thought for a moment. 'It was years ago. Nowhere
else near there has left so clear an image in my mind that I'd risk our lives
on it. Hang on! There was a place a day or two east of Saludith.' She closed
her eyes to conjure up the image. 'A narrow, deep valley where all the rock
was white -chalk! I remember it distinctly. I'd never seen chalk before. The
roads were white, and the grass a funny yellowy-green, and on my left a track
wound up to a high hill shaped like a cone. On the side facing the road, near
the top, there had been a landslide, leaving white rock peering out of the
side of the hill like a window. There was a cap of grass over the crown of the
hill, and on that an abandoned watchtower.'
It was just starting to get light. Karan renewed the link and Maigraith
concentrated on the image. It was a good one - clean and strong.
'I have it,' said Maigraith. 'Take my hands!'
The blue tracery glowed around them, Llian's head spun and they vanished from
the rooftop.
They reappeared in pitch darkness, in freezing cold and howling wind, right in
the middle of a blizzard. Karan gripped Llian's hand tightly to stop herself
being blown off her feet.
'Where's Maigraith?'
'I don't know,' Llian shouted.
'Hang on, I'll try to find my globe.'
'Don't let go!' he yelled.
Snow swirled between them and his groping fingers found only air.
'Where have you gone?' he screamed above the wind. He walked two steps and
fell down an embankment. At the bottom he kept rolling, finally coming to a
stop in a mound of snow.
'Karan!' he shouted, but there was no reply.