Spell of the Crystal Chair (16 page)

T
he snowstorm that had trapped and almost killed Beorn was still sweeping across the land. Beorn led the company of Sleepers through it, for he best knew the countryside. After difficult travel, they neared the border between the Lowami and the Yanti tribes. At that point he called a halt. “We must save our strength,” he said.

“How can we rest in this storm?” Fairmina had to lift her voice to be heard above the screaming wind.

“I know this land well. There is a cave not far from here to give us shelter. Some supplies should be there. Our people use it from time to time when a storm catches them away from the village.”

“Let us find it quickly then,” Fairmina said. “This cold sucks the strength even from my bones, and the Sleepers cannot stand it. They are not bred to it as we are.”

Fairmina had spoken the truth, for the cold had penetrated Josh’s warm furs and insulated underwear. Cold seemed to reach its icy fingers down into his bones too. He noticed that Sarah was pale and her lips were pursed tightly together.

“Are you all right, Sarah?”

“As all right as I can be in this terrible cold.”

Beorn led them toward the sheer face of a cliff. “This way. It’s not far.”

They followed him for perhaps two hundred yards, and then he stopped, saying with relief, “We’re here. Get inside—quickly.”

The Sleepers stumbled into the cave. It was dark, but Beorn struck a light from flint and soon had a small fire going. He kept feeding it from the firewood that had been stacked there.

“We keep several places like this stocked with firewood and food in case someone gets trapped out. We can make some hot broth.”

The Sleepers all gathered around the fire, soaking up the warmth, while Fairmina took care of the cooking. She found a large pot and chunks of frozen meat, and the smell of hot stew soon filled the cavern.

When it was ready, she said, “We’ll have to take turns with the vessels. There aren’t enough to go around.”

Reb said, “I brought me a plate. I wasn’t taking any chances.”

It turned out that the rest of the Sleepers also were carrying their eating ware, and soon all were taking the delicious stew onto their plates.

“Best stew I ever had,” Reb said. “It’s even better than the black bug stew I used to eat back in Arkansas.”

“Black bug stew! You eat the awfulest things, Reb!” Abbey said.

Fairmina smiled. “Black bug stew does sound a little awful. What is it?”

“Well, it’s not really made out of bugs,” Reb said. “But we’d be camping out in the dark beside the river, and I’d be cooking something—and sometimes a big black bug would fly into it. It’d be too dark to see it, so it just kind of got mixed up with the rest of the stew. Maybe gave it a little extra flavor.” He nudged Abbey, who had wrinkled up her nose. “Maybe I could find a bug to put in your stew, Abbey.”

“Don’t you dare!” she warned. “This is good just as it is!”

“It’s a good thing you knew about this cave, Beorn,” Josh said. “I don’t think we could have made it much farther.”

“This is a hard land,” Beorn said. “We have to make provision for trouble. Getting ready for winter is just about like getting ready for war with the enemy. You store up supplies like this for those who get caught out in bad weather. People have to have plenty of food to last when they’re snowed in.”

“It’s a tough land, all right,” Dave said. “I don’t see how you live here all the time.”

“It’s very different from where you came from, I suppose,” Beorn said.

This set the Sleepers to talking about their homes back in Oldworld.

“And I suppose all that’s gone forever,” Fairmina put in.

“It is,” Josh said, “but I’m believing that Goél will make a better world someday. That’s what he says.”

“I too believe he will.” Beorn nodded. Then he must have noticed the weariness on everyone’s face, for he said, “And now let’s all get some rest.”

The Sleepers fell into their furs and instantly were asleep, exhausted by their journey. Only Beorn and Fairmina sat by the fire for a time.

Suddenly he said, “Are you warm enough?” He reached for a fur and put it around her shoulders.

Surprised, she looked up. “People usually don’t take care of me like that. I take care of myself.”

“You’re a strong woman, Fairmina.”

She seemed embarrassed. After a pause she said, “The other girls of our tribe know how to talk to men.”

“It is the same with us. But you never learned, is that it?”

“No,” Fairmina said quietly. “I knew I would have to take my father’s place, and so I had no time for the young men who came.”

“That’s a shame. You were robbing one of them of a great treasure.”

She didn’t answer. Perhaps she was struggling with her thoughts.

“Now, you must rest, also.”

“Do you think we have a chance to succeed in this mission?” she asked, standing and gathering up her furs.

“There is always a chance of success to those who are in the service of Goél.”

But for a long time Beorn lay awake, thinking about the future. He alone had seen the fortress that they must penetrate. He alone had seen the awful Shivea and knew how deadly she was. Even the wizard feared her—and he had the medallion that kept her from attacking.

Finally Beorn murmured under his breath, “Goél, this is impossible except with your help. But I’m believing that you will find a way to help us all.”

“There it is,” Beorn said quietly. “The White Palace of the pale wizard.”

The Sleepers stood gaping at the sheer walls that rose in front of them. Josh could see barred windows and wondered what sort of prisoners were kept behind them.

“Is there only the one gate?” Fairmina asked.

“So the wizard said. And it is well guarded.”

Josh was standing beside Beorn, his eyes searching the fortress. “It looks impossible, Beorn.”

“It will be difficult. There may be as many as twenty guards inside the gate. They expect an attack from nowhere else.”

The group fell silent, and Josh shivered.

“Well, the gate must be attempted,” Beorn said. “We will do what warriors can do. If we perish, we perish.”

“No, wait!” Everyone turned to look at Dave, who had an odd look on his face. “I just had a thought.”

“What is it, Dave?” Fairmina said. “Surely there’s no other way except to attack the gate.”

“But that’s exactly what they’re expecting.” He appeared to be thinking hard. “If we can get inside another way …”

“But there
is
no other way,” Beorn repeated. “This is the only opening.”

“It may be the only opening on this level,” Dave said, “but there are other openings.” He pointed upward. “There are windows all the way up.”

“They’re all barred,” Beorn protested.

“Not at the very top,” Dave said.

“That’s the
wizard’s
dwelling.”

“It may be, but there are no bars on the windows—that I can see.”

Josh, who had the keenest eyes of any of the Sleepers, tilted his head back. “You’re right, Dave!” he exclaimed. “There are no bars on those upper windows.”

“Then his idea is right,” Jake said. “Our only hope is to get in that way.”

“I wish one of us was a bird,” Wash said. “We could just fly up.”

Beorn kept on looking upward. “No one could
climb those walls. They go straight up, and there’s no place to get a handhold.”

“What are you thinking, Dave?” Sarah asked. “Do you have a plan?”

“I had a hobby back in Oldworld.”

“Like collecting stamps? What good is that?” Reb asked.

“No. I was into mountain climbing—rappeling and things like that.”

Josh motioned toward the White Palace. “But you couldn’t climb that!”

“I don’t know whether I can or not, but it looks to me as if I’ve got to try.”

An exclamation of surprise went around the group, and Fairmina cried, “Only a fly could climb that wall!”

“Well, there was once a climber called the human fly,” Dave said. “I read a book about him. A climb like this may not be impossible.”

“That first window is at least twenty feet up,” Josh argued. “Even if you could get up to it, what would you do then?”

“Go up to the next window. They’re right over each other.”

Josh eyed the windows. They were not staggered. One was directly above another.

“Look,” Dave said, frowning as he thought. “If we could rig up some kind of grappling hook …”

“What’s a grappling hook?” Beorn asked with puzzlement on his brow.

“It’s sort of a three-pronged hook. You tie it on the end of a rope, and you throw it up. One of the hooks catches, and then you pull yourself up.”

“I’ve seen those things,” Josh said. “But I don’t know how we’d make one.”

Jake said, “Well, I’m the inventor here. Let me see what I can come up with.”

Jake always carried an assortment of tools and supplies in his backpack. That made the pack very heavy, and the Sleepers were continually teasing him about it.

But now Josh said, “Jake, if you can come up with something like that, you’re a genius.”

Jake set to work. The others moved around, waiting and, for the most part, just looking at the forbidding heights.

Fairmina asked Sarah, “Do you think it can be done?”

“Jake’s pretty smart about things like this.”

But Beorn said, “Even so, could
anyone
go up that wall?” He shuddered. “I wouldn’t be able to do it.”

Sarah said, “I don’t know, but it does seem the only way.”

Jake found some metal pieces in his kit, and with pliers he fashioned them into hooks. He also carried some of the rawhide that the Lowamis used for rope. He bound the pieces together, making a triple hook. Then he sharpened the ends, and finally he held up his invention. “Well, there it is.”

“Let me see.” Dave took the grappling hook and pulled at it. “It’s strong enough,” he said. “I think it’ll hold my weight. Maybe not yours, Beorn, but mine.”

“But what will you do with it?” Beorn asked with puzzlement.

“I’ll attach a rope, then throw it up and hope it catches on the first window ledge. Then I climb up to that window, stand on the ledge there, throw it up to the next, and climb up to that. That way I get all the way to the top. At least,” Dave said slowly, with a careful
look at the sheer height of the White Palace, “that’s the way it should work.”

“Dave, you’ll kill yourself trying that,” Sarah said. “It can’t be done.”

All the Sleepers knew that Dave Cooper had not always been the best. He had even betrayed them once. Now he said, “I let you down once, and maybe this is my chance to make up for that. Let’s tie the best knot you can onto this grappling hook, Jake.”

As everyone watched, Jake attached a strip of rawhide rope. “I don’t know how strong this is,” he said. “If it breaks, you’re a goner.”

Dave managed to grin. “I’ve climbed worse than this in Switzerland. My dad took me there. We went up some pretty sheer slopes. Anyway, we’ve got to do it.”

“What will you do when you do get to the top?” Beorn asked. “You’ll be inside, and the rest of us will be out here.”

“I’ll have to play it by ear. All of you stay by the gate. If I make it, I’ll go down and see if I can draw the guards away. If I do, I’ll open the gate.”

Dave took the grappling hook and then drew a deep breath. “Wish me luck,” he said.

Abbey put a hand on his arm. “Be careful, Dave. I couldn’t stand it if anything happened to you.”

Dave patted her on the shoulder. “I’ll do my best. And when you all get in, be careful. It’s going to be pretty hairy.”

Josh and the others watched Dave approach the wall. There were no guards outside, and Beorn said, “They don’t really need any. But someone may see him if he gets to that first window.”

They looked on as Dave positioned himself and made a coil of the rope. He seemed to measure the distance,
and then he threw up the grappling hook. It sailed high in the air, but fell a foot wide of the mark.

Josh groaned. “He missed.”

But on the second try, the grappling hook caught. “He’s got it!” Reb whispered. “And look at him go up that rope—just like a circus acrobat.”

Josh could see that, indeed, Dave’s mountain climbing skill was coming in handy. He climbed hand over hand, until he reached the first window. Then he took hold of one of the bars and pulled himself up onto the ledge. It was a large window, and Josh half expected a big hand to grab Dave or a spear to fly out and kill him.

But Dave waved, rewound his rope, estimated the distance, and threw again.

“So far so good,” Wash said. “Ooh, look at him go! I wouldn’t do that for a million dollars.”

“I’ll bet he wouldn’t, either,” Abbey said. “He’s doing it for us.”

Dave went up, stage by perilous stage. Several times his grappling hook missed, and he had to try again and again.

And then Beorn whispered, “He’s at the last barred window. If he can do it one more time, he’ll be at the wizard’s rooms.”

“What if the wizard is there?” Josh said. “What then?”

“Then it’s all up with us. No way he could stand against the pale wizard.”

Breathlessly Josh saw Dave make the last cast. The grappling hook caught, he gave them one wave, made the sign of victory, and went up the rope. He reached the top, pulled himself onto the window ledge, and then disappeared inside.

“Well, he’s in,” Sarah said. “At least he did what he set out to do.”

“Let’s get over close to the gate. If it opens,” Josh said, “it won’t be open long.”

He actually thought there was little hope that Dave would be able to draw the guards away.

Hurriedly they crossed the clearing toward the palace. Josh desperately hoped that no one would see them. But all stayed quiet, and they stationed themselves on each side of the gate, where no one could see through the bars.

With his back pressed against the cold, hard stone, Josh turned to look at Sarah. “Here we are again,” he whispered.

“Yes. Seems like we’ve been here before.”

“Do you think we can make it, Sarah?”

“We’ve got to trust Goél.”

Josh kept himself pressed against the wall. The wait seemed unending. He imagined all kinds of things—that Dave had been caught, that he was already in a torture chamber, that he was dead …