The Keys to Paradise, page 49
Bellisar dumped the food on the table. ‘Nonsense,’ he bellowed. ‘You ever hear of fasting? It’s good for one with a bloated belly like mine. The body gets too accustomed to being filled. Deprive it once in a while, show it who’s boss.’
Giles looked at the smith and failed to find even a hint of fat anywhere on his muscular body.
‘We’d be grateful,’ Petia said, shooting a dark look at Giles. She fetched her pouch and began to pack the food.
‘Thank you, Bellisar. But even more than the food, we could use directions out of this godforsaken mountain.’
Bellisar fetched a piece of paper and the stub of a crude pencil. On one side of the paper was a drawing of a beautiful weapon. Bellisar drew a large X across it. ‘It wasn’t a good design,’ he said. He closed his eyes for a second and his head bobbed and turned as he mentally traced a route through the complicated tunnel system.
Finally satisfied, he opened his eyes and began to draw. ‘This will get you to an exit on the west of the mountain. But there are several tricky parts. See here…’ For the next fifteen minutes he went over his drawing, describing certain places carefully, and occasionally writing notes with arrows drawn to the points where special care must be taken. Finished, he looked to Giles for any questions. Seeing none, he rose and tugged on the bellows rope, bringing the forge fire to life and preparing for another day at his solitary craft.
Giles rose and fetched his pouch. Keja nodded behind Bellisar’s back and mouthed, ‘I don’t trust him. It’s too easy. Why should he give us a route away from our enemy, who also happens to be his lord?’
Giles shrugged and touched Petia’s arm. He nodded toward Bellisar.
Petia closed here yes, concentrating on any emotions emanating from the smith. She found only delight at beginning a day’s work at a task the man truly enjoyed. Bellisar had already dismissed them from his thoughts. His work, whether craft or art, was all that was on his mind.
Petia shook her head at Giles and motioned that they should depart.
* * *
The twisting tunnels and dim light had long ago confused them. They gave their trust to the map and Bellisar’s notes and only once did they come to a juncture which gave them pause. They debated the meaning of the note, and finally agreed which tunnel to follow. Keja, only partly trusting the map, made a large X on the cavern wall in case they had to retrace their steps.
When they grew tired, they slept, keeping watches. But time ceased to have meaning. For Giles, after it became apparent that Bellisar’s route avoided the ice demons’ lairs, all that existed was the gnawing fear of the tight tunnels. At last the light became brighter, the tunnel walls changed gradually from ice to solid rock, and they knew that they were nearing the exit. They emerged blinking into a mid-morning sun reflecting from a valley. Immediately below them the snow slope was darkened by the shadow cast from the mountain at their backs.
Giles muttered, ‘At last.’ He didn’t quite run out into the freedom offered by the valley, but the pressure lifted from him and he allowed himself to relax for the first time in what seemed an eternity.
* * *
Three days later the companions followed a rapidly descending river valley to a broad plain. They saw the river rushing in many directions and finding its own pleasure in carving myriad paths through the gravel surface. It was a strange delta-like vista, several miles cross, and Giles wondered how close they were to the coast.
They staggered, leg-wary, onto the river bed. Logs lay scattered, torn up by the roots and brought down from the slopes above by previous spring floods. They sat and rested.
Giles pulled out his maps. He folded the sketchy map that Bellisar had drawn and was about to toss it away when he thought better of it and slipped it back inside his tunic. The other he flattened onto his lap.
‘Is this where we turn north?’ Keja asked.
‘I’ve been giving that some thought. I wonder if we should reconsider,’ Giles said.
‘What? Give up?’ Petia glared at Giles, and Keja leaped to his feet.
‘You misunderstand. The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that the key isn’t in the Mountains of the Lions. We know that Onyx retrieved the original, the one Bellisar melted down. Now, I believe Bellisar when he says he made a duplicate. I don’t think Onyx would take that back to the mountains.’
‘Why wouldn’t he?’ Keja asked, finally sitting down again.
‘He obviously knew that we had the other keys. He told us so and wanted to bargain our lives in exchange for them. He knew about the Callant Hanse, Bandanarra, everything. I don’t know if he’s a god or not, even a minor one. But he has immense powers. That is unquestionable.’
‘So?’ A ‘prove it’ tone tinged Petia’s question. ‘Why does this convince you that the final key isn’t where Bellisar says?’
‘Think about it,’ Giles said. ‘If you had found the key, would you put it back in the same place? Might not someone have a map, like we do, and come looking for it? I’d hide it somewhere else so nobody could find it even if they had the map.’
‘So where would he hide it?’ Keja asked.
‘Ah, good question, Keja. Where would he hide it? He knew that we would come looking for it. He intended to capture us and bargain for our four keys. He knew we’d all have to travel to Callant Hanse if we agreed. He’d have his own key, the fifth, somewhere close by.’
‘At Callant Hanse?’ asked Keja.
‘Somewhere in the citadel?’ Petia suggested.
‘Exactly,’ Giles said. ‘At least, that’s what I think. Why don’t we stop here for the rest of today and tonight? You three think about it and see if you can tell me where I’m wrong. If you persuade me I am, we head north. Otherwise, we have to head back to the citadel.’
The others agreed and each of them spent the afternoon alone. Keja and Anji had their knives out, Keja whittling sticks away to nothingness, and Anji concentrating on his first attempt to carve with his new knife. Petia, tired of sitting, paced along one path of the river. She threw rocks, trying to fathom answers in the showers of water that splashed up.
By morning they had come to agree with Giles. Keja glanced at Petia, who nodded. ‘You’re right, Giles. Nothing else makes sense. But what do we do now?’
‘Follow the river. Down to the delta, find a boat and sail to a sea town and do our planning there. Even with the map, I’m not absolutely sure I know where we are.’
They set off, braving the frigid spray from the river. Only when night fell did they stop to rest. Warmed by the fire and with food in their stomachs, all felt better.
‘Petia,’ Anji said nervously. ‘Are there huge dogs over there?’ He gestured with his head.
‘Wolves,’ she told him. ‘I sensed them earlier today, but now it looks like they’re getting bolder. We’ll have to be careful tonight.’ She raised her voice. ‘Giles, wolves approach.’
Giles looked up from staring into the fire and brooding. ‘They won’t give us any trouble if we have the fire and keep watches. They’re interesting animals, have a society of their own. Look at them pacing back and forth. They’re curious, but unless they’re absolutely ravenous, they won’t attack us.’
‘What makes you think so?’ Keja asked. He moved closer to the fire, hand on his knife. Keja preferred the city – and its human wolves.
‘I’ve had some experience with them. On Bericlere during the War.’
‘By the gods, is there anything you haven’t done or experienced?’ Keja asked. ‘You must be a thousand years old.’
‘I feel like it,’ Giles said glumly. ‘I’m getting too old for these adventures. I wish they’d end. It’s too late now but I could give you a good argument for leaving this search for the last key until spring.’
‘That doesn’t sound like the Giles we know,’ Petia said. ‘What’s bothering you?’
‘Sorry, Petia. I’m tired and getting old, and I don’t feel like wandering any more. What are we doing out here, anyway? Wading through water, fighting ice demons, running from some black lord. For what? Some wealth hidden behind gates on another continent. Why don’t we just go home and take up thievery with style?’ Giles hunkered down before the fire and warmed his hands.
‘You don’t mean that,’ Keja said. ‘Tell me you don’t. Not after everything we’ve gone through to come this far.’
Giles sighed. ‘I don’t know, Keja. Ask me again in the morning.’ He turned to warm his backside.
Petia looked at Keja and shook her head. Turning to Giles, she said, ‘Meantime, O downcast one, what are we going to do about the wolves? It’s too dark to see them any longer, but they’re prowling out there. You might have had some experience with them, but I haven’t. And remember, Anji and I are part cat. They make us uncomfortable.’
‘How many are there?’ Giles asked.
‘About a dozen, I think. Four or five big ones and some smaller ones.’
‘Probably two families running together, with cubs. We’ll watch tonight and keep the fire built up. No sleeping, not even nodding off. Wolves are discerning. They know when you’re not on watch and they can attack swiftly. Keep a burning brand close to hand. They don’t like fire. Not at all.’
‘Something else’s out there,’ Anji said. ‘To the left and upstream.’
Petia looked at him, disconcerted that he was aware of something she had missed. Her thoughts had been elsewhere. Now she concentrated, facing upstream and closing her eyes. ‘Anji’s right,’ she said. ‘There are deer grazing up along the bank. They’ve come out of the forest into a clearing.’
‘Can you influence them?’ Giles asked. ‘If you can steer them down to where the wolves can pickup their scent, we wouldn’t have to worry about ending up as wolf meat.’
‘I can’t communicate with animals, but I’ll try, no guarantees.’
The others remained silent while Petia put her empathic powers to work. Giles and the others watched, wondering what went on in Petia’s mind at a time like this. They were puzzled when, after a long time, Petia turned her face in an entirely different direction. At last her body relaxed, her rigid concentration ebbing away.
‘Well?’ Keja asked.
‘I don’t know. At first the deer became uneasy when my emotions empathically touched theirs, but soon they settled back to browsing. I think they may be heading this way, but I can’t tell whether they’ll come within scent of the wolves. We’d better post watches to be safe, Giles.’
Giles nodded. ‘What else is out there, Petia? We saw your head turn and lookin a different direction.’
‘I don’t know. I can’t tell if it’s human or animal, if it’s intelligent or not. Something’s out there, but it’s not moving. But not thinking, almost as if it can’t.’
‘Another good reason for keeping watch. Is it moving?’
‘It’s not doing anything. Or they aren’t, oh, it’s all confusing. I can’t tell if it’s one or a dozen.’ Petia shook her head in desperation.
‘Don’t worry about it,’ Giles said. ‘We know it’s out there, whatever it is. We’ll be extra careful.’ He turned and checked the wood supply that Keja had gathered. ‘Looks like plenty for the night. Wolves still pacing?’
Petia peered off into the dark, as if trying to penetrate the blackness that lay outside the firelight. In a moment, she nodded. ‘Yes, although one has gone off. Let’s hope it’s to investigate some faint scent. Like deer, maybe. I’ve always said that venison is much tastier than human flesh.’
Keja made a disgusting face. ‘Petia, do you have to?’
Giles chuckled. ‘Don’t you agree with her, Keja? I do.’ He threw a few more sticks of wood onto the fire, and laid one stick carefully so that only one end would burn. It was a brand to pickup quickly in case of attack. ‘I’m for sleep. Keja, take the first watch.’
* * *
For once in his life, Keja stayed fully alert during his watch. Sometimes he had been known to nod off, but tonight he determined that wolves and some other unknown were enough to keep him alert. He tended the fire and thought about Giles, how the man seemed to be growing older and tireder with every passing day. He wondered if they would ever collect all the keys. Keja snored. Beyond that, he didn’t want to think about the Gate of Paradise and the hardships of reaching it.
These thoughts disturbed him, and he turned to daydreaming of settling down with his hard-earned wealth and entertaining the ladies in a respectable manner. He’d own his own house, dress fashionably, serve special wines and rare viands. A stable with beautiful horse, perhaps even a carriage. A respected gentleman of the town, that’s what he’d be.
He added wood to the fire and stepped beyond its light to peer into the darkness. Staring upstream, he saw nothing but the blackness of the sky and a star or two where the clouds parted. He turned and cupped his ears in the direction of the wolves. He heard nothing.
Turning downstream, he was startled to see dancing light motes against the night sky. A column of sparks erupted skyward, and Keja knew a fire similar to their own burned. He grew uneasy and spent the rest of his watch staring downstream. He still faced that direction when Petia relieved him.
She came up to him and touched his arm. Keja pointed and Petia hosted herself up on the log for a better look. ‘I don’t feel any danger in that direction. Probably natives. They’re not hostile, I’m sure.’
‘Should we wake Giles?’ Keja asked.
‘I don’t think so. He was so tired tonight. And depressed. I’m worried about him, Keja.’
‘I was thinking about that earlier tonight. Maybe we should wait until spring.’
‘No matter, for the moment,’ Petia said. ‘Let’s not wake him. Soon enough when he takes his watch. I don’t think we’re in any danger. But we’d better be on our way again in the morning.’ She shuddered. ‘Wolves, and humans, and something else. How do we get into these situations?’
But Keja was already wrapped in his cloak. Within minutes Petia heard his snores. She sat staring, wondering, beginning to fear what lay out there awaiting them.
Nine
Daylight climbed slowly over the mountains they had left several days before. The dawn showed little of the alluvial plain, but to the west Giles saw morning light reflecting from the sea.
Petia had told him about the fires farther downstream, but he saw no sign now.
‘Giles, I’m not easy with this place. Let’s go now.’ Petia’s earnestness convinced Giles.
As Giles turned, four tall, young men stood with drawn bows in their hands and four arrows aimed directly at Giles’ chest. He turned to grab the halberd stuck in the river’s sand and saw four more of the natives standing to his left. On his right were more.
Giles dropped his hands and said, ‘Wake up, Keja. Petia.’ He kicked them. ‘Come up easy. We have company.’
Keja rolled, caught in his cloak. straining his neck, and saw the natives and their weapons. He waved half-heartedly, hoping the men would not take his gesture as threatening. He disentangled himself and sat up.
‘I didn’t do a very good job of standing watch,’ Giles said. ‘Or these people are good stalkers. I didn’t hear a thing. Better wake Anji.’
A middle-aged man stepped forward, motioning them to stand in a line facing him so that they would have their backs to the arrows. The natives had the advantage, Giles admitted ruefully. He still didn’t understand how they had been able to sneak up without his hearing. ‘You are getting old,’ he muttered to himself.
The older man spoke. ‘So Lord Onyx sends spies to dog the Brada. Do the steel warriors follow in your footsteps?’
Keja, always quick to take offence, stepped forward. ‘We weren’t sent by Onyx. We’re not spies and we don’t know anything about any steel warriors.’
The man gestured slightly; Keja winced at the arrow point in the middle of his back. He stepped away cautiously.
Giles warned him to control his tongue, and said to the leader. ‘We’re not from Onyx. In fact, we escaped from him and fled through the ice tunnels.’
‘You lie!’ the man snapped. ‘No one escaped from the Lord Onyx – not through the ice tunnels. The ice demons would get you.’
‘But we did escape,’ Giles said. He was determined to keep secret Bellisar’s assistance. ‘What are Brada?’
The man drew himself up, and Giles saw that the others stiffened as well. ‘We are Brada,’ the leader hit his chest with a closed fist. ‘We will not be harassed by Onyx. You will come with us, but first we will tie your hands. You must not escape and tell Lord Onyx of us.’
He gestured to the four young men on his right. The stepped forward, pulled the arms of the companions behind them and bound them with rawhide thongs. When they were bound, the leader pointed for others to pick up the captives’ packs. They set off at a brisk pace.
‘What are we going to do, Giles?’ Petia asked between breaths.
‘Wait. They’re obviously taking us to their leader. We’ve got to convince him that we weren’t sent by Onyx. If we can do that, we might find some valuable allies.’
For two hours they marched, with only one rest. Giles tried to wriggle loose from his bonds but found them too tight. Neither asking for them to be loosened nor promising that they would not attempt escape brought the slightest response.
They had not yet reached the seacoast when the leader led them up the south river bank and into a forest of scrubby, wind-blown confers. A trail led south and skirted a salt marsh. As they passed it, Giles saw long-legged birds, frightened by their appearance, explode upwards and wing their way north across the river.
At last they stopped. The leader yelped several times like a wolf cub, then repeated it. When he heard an answering call, he urged them over a rise and down into a village. It was a temporary affair, Giles saw, with the dwellings made of beach driftwood, their roofs of tree boughs.
Giles and his companions were hustled to an open shelter in the village square. People dropped their tasks and came to stare at the prisoners. An old man sat on a stool in the centre of the building, and the war party leader shoved Giles forward until he faced the man. The man examined Giles silently, before turning to Petia, Keja, and Anji.
