The Keys to Paradise, page 50
Finally he turned to the man who had led their capture. ‘Who are these?’ he asked.
‘We took them prisoner along the river. They are spies sent by Lord Onyx to scout for the steel ones.’
‘We are not spies,’ Giles interrupted. ‘We tried to explain, but he wouldn’t listen.’
Keja said, ‘We were prisoners in the citadel. We escaped down the ice tunnels and don’t like Onyx any better than you do.’
The man looked at Keja with expressionless eyes. ‘The older one only will speak.’
‘We’re equals; he’s not our leader.’
Keja’s words were cut short. The sitting man made a small gesture, and a native seized Keja from behind, thrust a piece of leather into his mouth and tied a thong behind his head. He hauled Keja away and threw him into a nearby hut.
Petia started to protest, but a look from Giles stopped her. Petia hissed, angry at their captors and at Giles, but she held her tongue.
Giles faced the village leader. How could he convince the older man that they were not spies for Onyx? Would the leader believe him if Giles told the truth? When at last Giles spoke, he told their story carefully, leaving nothing out except their assistance from Bellisar.
There were may questions, and Giles answered them truthfully. He was pleased that the questioning never got around to their reason for being in Khelora. When the questioning got to Petia, she answered for herself. She wasn’t surprised that most of the questioning involved the feline qualities the Trans blood gave her and Anji.
At last the leader held a conference with other village elders. They spoke rapidly in their native language and Giles had no idea how the discussion was going. The leader smiled at Giles.
‘We hear truth in your word,’ he said. ‘Excuse our caution. We have been harried ever since Onyx came to our land and captured many of our people for slaves. Many died during the constructors of his citadel.’
The old man straightened proudly. ‘Khelora is Brada land. The Brada have always been here in peace with those who farmed the valleys. We are a simple people, hunting, fishing, doing some small agriculture. Onyx does not even allow us to do that. His soldiers and his steel beings push us from place to place.
‘Now we hide our villages, but when we are putting in our supplies for winter, we live in these temporary huts. We build these huts knowing that they will be destroyed whenever we are found.’
‘We know of Onyx’s cruelty,’ Petia said.
‘He tried to beat us down,’ the old man replied. ‘But Brada were here before he came and we will be here after.’ A rustling sound caused Petia to look up and see the natives slapping their right hands on the knuckles and their left hand. It was a curious applause, but she knew that his people agreed with the old leader.
‘Then we are of one mind,’ Giles said. ‘He has hounded us, too, even in other countries. We did not always know it, but we have found that he had injured us more than once. We intend to pay him back and to get something from him which we need badly.’ Giles did not intend to relate the story of the Gate of Paradise and the five keys. The old man’s next question surprised him.
‘What can we do to help? We have offended you by doubting your honesty. We must repay this debt.’
‘I don’t know,’ Giles replied, taken aback. ‘Maybe nothing more than food and drink. Perhaps you would release our companion now?’
Keja cursed loudly when he was brought from the hut and his bindings cut. He spit the taste of leather and then scowled at the serene old man, ready to charge him. It was all Giles could do to restrain him. ‘Easy does it, Keja. We’ve found allies. Don’t do anything to upset that.’
‘They had no right to…’
‘Neither did Onyx.’
Keja turned red, then scowled at the old man once more and turned away.
A scout ran into the village, came up and bowed to the old man, who signed to him to speak. ‘The steel ones have been seen. They march along the river plain.’ He described the location to the elders, who nodded.
So did Petia. ‘Giles,’ she whispered, ‘that’s where we were when we camped. Before we were captured. The steel ones must be what I sensed in the dark. Find out what they are.’
Giles waited patiently while the discussion went on around him. When they paused, he asked, ‘What are the steel ones?’
The leader’s eyebrows shout up in surprise at Giles’ ignorance. ‘Special troops of Onyx made of steel, but they look like men. They walk upright and cannot be killed. Sometimes they do not move at all, as if they sleep on their feet. We think that they have no minds of their own, or perhaps only tiny ones. They do not have a leader but get orders during combat. We do not know how.’
‘If they are Onyx’s creatures. I say attack,’ Keja said. ‘I’m tired of being hounded.’
Giles was cautious. ‘We haven’t seen these creatures. We don’t know what we’re up against. Petia, can you sense them?’ Petia shook her head. ‘Well,’ Giles continued, ‘this poses a problem.’
‘And I don’t think that we’ll get back to the citadel until we remove these steel ones, whatever they are,’ Keja snorted. ‘Caution is the hallmark of old age, I’m told. You said you were getting old, and I’m beginning to believe it.’
Giles frowned, but Keja continued. ‘this whole trip, ever since we left Bericlere, you’ve been holding me back. I’m getting tired of it. You don’t seem to have the drive any more. Perhaps you don’t want to see our adventure end. Are you afraid of being wealthy, is that it? Or don’t you want to lose the only friends you’ve got? Damn, Giles, I say let’s get on with it. Get what we came for, and if it’s where you think it is, then the steel ones are going to be in our way.’ He stopped finally, breathing hard, pleased that he had finally expressed his feeling.
Giles stared at the small thief, taken aback by what Keja had said. He would mull it over when there was time. Before he could respond, a Brada ran into the village shouting, ‘They come! They come!’
‘Do you not stand and fight?’ Giles asked when he saw the Brada beginning to flee. ‘Are there so many of them?’
‘We move away,’ and elder said. ‘They are slower and cannot catch us.’
‘Would you give us some help?’ Giles asked the leader. ‘Would you lend us some of your bravest young men? We wish to go and take a closer look at these steel ones.’
‘I don’t know.’ The leader rubbed his chin.
‘Please, Father.’ The voice came from a young man standing to the rear of the shelter. He was tall and slender, well-muscled. The old man stared at his son. He saw eyes pleading for a chance to go with the strangers against the steel ones. ‘We will take great care, Father. I will not endanger lives without need.’
The leader turned questioningly. Giles nodded approval. ‘We would welcome his assistance, and four more young men of his choosing.’
Keja was still muttering to himself, and Petia was attempting to mollify him. Giles went to the leader’s son.
‘Giles Grimsmate,’ he introduced himself.
‘I am Natabor, son of Veldon.’ Pride rang in the young man’s voice, pride of self, of father, of the Brada.
‘Choose well, as your father directed,’ Giles said. ‘There must be a way to fight these steel creatures, rather than running away. If so, we’ll find it.’
Natabor’s eyes narrowed, and for a moment Giles thought that he had offended the young man. ‘For long years we have sought a way – and failed. Yet there is something about you that inspires faith.’
‘I’ve seen a considerable number of good men die,’ Giles said, his thoughts returning to the war years. ‘Choose well, Natabor.’
The leader’s son picked four, then motioned to the runner who had brought the warning. Natabor knew the information Giles needed and interrogated the scout. From time to time he made gestures, while the other man nodded. Once they squatted and the scout drew a rudimentary map on the ground. Finally, Natabor, confident that he knew where the beings had been seen, rose and faced Giles. ‘We are ready,’ he said, simply.
‘You might be, but I don’t think we are,’ Giles replied. ‘We had a long run this morning when we were captives, and we need a bit of a rest. Unless those steel beings move fast. I think they can wait. Tell us of them.’
Natabor sent a man to fetch food, and while they ate, Natabor answered questions about the steel ones.
‘They are like men, but are not men,’ Natabor said. ‘While man-shaped they move slowly, as if uncertain of their actions – or have no control of their own bodies. But they are made of steel, and it does no good to fight them. Arrows bounce off their bodies, and a spear will not go through them. We have found no way to kill them.’
‘Strange,’ Keja said, forgetting his anger in his intensity of listening to the description. ‘Do they think? Do they have a leader? How do they attack?’
‘They do not appear to have a leader,’ Natabor answered. They move forward as a group, but not in any formation. Sometimes they change directions together, but sometimes one or two of them continue, as if they didn’t hear the order. Then finally they straggle along behind.’
‘Mind control,’ Petia said. ‘Someone tells them what to do. Are they good fighters?’
‘We have not fought them. When we found that spears and arrows could not stop them, we always ran from them. When they find our temporary villages, they tear them apart with their hands, tipping over the huts, and scattering the wood around.’
‘There may be a way to disable them,’ Giles said, wiping his hands on his trousers. ‘Ready?’ As he rose, he touched Natabor’s elbow. ‘Go slowly or we’ll never keep up.’
They skirted the marsh once more, sending up a cloud of wildfowl. Soon they entered the alluvial plain and moved along paths through the trees on the south river bank. Snow covered the tree boughs but for the most part, the path was clear. Giles had to remind Natabor that he and his companions needed to rest occasionally. While the pace was slower than in the morning, it was considerably faster than they were accustomed to.
When Petia sensed the steel ones, she cautioned Giles and he ordered the group to a halt. ‘They are near,’ he told Natabor, and saw the young man’s consternation.
‘How do you know?’ Natabor asked. ‘We have seen no sign.’
‘Petia is able to sense people and animals. She is Trans, part cat.’
Natabor nodded, but Giles knew that the young native did not understand. He wasn’t sure that he did himself, but he relied on Petia’s ability.
‘First we’ll have a look,’ Giles said. ‘Then we’ll see about setting a trap for them.’ He glanced at Petia and she pointed the direction of the steel creatures.
‘Quietly now,’ Giles cautioned Natabor.
They set off along the path. Natabor ducked to one side and under a bush. They followed and Giles found a hidden path that opened out into a forest clearing. He nodded to himself as he passed under the great trees. ‘You’ve got an idea hatching, haven’t you?’ Petia asked. Giles only smiled.
Anji, paying close attention to what his senses told him, touched Giles’ arm. Giles gave a low whistle and the natives halted. ‘They’re close now, according to Anji.’
Natabor frowned. ‘Him, too?’ he whispered.
Giles nodded. ‘Let’s take a look. Great caution is needed now.’
They crept ahead slowly until the forest ended at the river bank. Lowering themselves onto their stomachs, they peered out between dried grasses with seed heads covered in snow. Keja gave a small cry as snow dropped down his neck, but Giles’ angry look made him smother any further sound.
In the centre of the river bed a dozen of the steel beings moved west towards the sea. They seemed oblivious to their surroundings, plodding ahead through water channels and gravel bars alike. They were truly as Natabor had described, creatures of steel, mechanical beings with metal joints instead of knees and elbows. The unclothed structures looked obscene to the humans and Trans.
Their shape was more or less human. They even had a rudimentary head set on a slender neck. Giles looked quizzically at Petia. ‘What do you sense?’ he mouthed. Petia studied the creatures and opened her mind to them. She shook her head, then held up her hand to forestall interruption.
After a moment she put her lips close to Giles’s ear. ‘Someone directs them. Their own minds are so elementary that they merely get by, but they take orders from someone else. It feel like Onyx, or perhaps that dwarf advisor.’
Giles gestured to the others to retreat into the forest. When they reached the clearing, he called them around him. ‘Can we lure the steel creatures here?’ he asked Petia.
Natabor spoke up. ‘They follow easily. Often we send runners out to lead them away, while the villagers escape in a different direction.’
‘Can you lead them here?’ Giles gesture at the clearing in which they conferred.
‘Yes, but why?’ Natabor was clearly puzzled.
‘I have an idea,’ Giles said. As he outlined it, he saw smiles crease the faces of the Brada. In a half-hour all was ready.
Natabor explained carefully to his companions and cautioned them that they must go slowly to ensure that the steel ones followed.
‘Good luck,’ Giles whispered and sent them off. He turned to his own companions and they made ready to spring the trap.
They waited silently, hidden so they would not be notice by the pursuing steel beings, or, Giles hoped, by whomever was directing them. Soon they heard the Brada youths coming noisily along the forest trail. Behind them sounded the rustling of metal against the low bushes. The Brada broke into the clearing, turning as if looking for a way to escape. The steel ones plodded into the clearing after them. For a moment it looked as though all the steel soldiers would follow only one youth. Giles groaned inwardly. Then, haltingly, the steel beings sorted themselves out so that three of them pursued each Brada.
The youths turned and backed slowly across the clearing. The steel creatures plodded after them, raising shining steel swords which Giles recognised as Bellisar’s work.
Natabor shot an arm into the air and shouted, ‘Now!’
Giles, Keja, and Petia along with Anji, pulled hard on ropes in their hands. Loops enclosed the feet of the steel beings and pulled them off their feet. A loud clang echoed as they fell heavily to the ground. Giles and Keja pulled on their ropes and Natabor and the other Brada rushed to assist them. They hoisted the beings into the air. They wrapped the ropes around the trees and secured them, then ran to help Petia and Anji. The third group of steel soldiers was lifted into the air, twirling upside down at the end of the ropes.
Natabor sent several of the youths to climb the trees and secure the ends of the rope farther up, where they would be more difficult to reach. When done, Giles gestured to Natabor and the party faded back along the path.
‘Onyx is not happy,’ Petia said. ‘I can feel it.’
‘I didn’t expect him to be, but at least he gets a taste of defeat for a change,’ Giles said.
‘I think it’s all-out war now. Giles,’ Petia said. ‘I’ve never felt such rage in my life.’ She looked at Anji. The boy felt it so strongly that he put his hands alongside his head to ease the pain.
Lord Onyx would not let them live after this, keys or no keys.
Ten
The Brada village rejoiced when their warriors returned with Giles and his companions. Natabor’s eyes shone as he told his father about the trap and its success. The young men left behind, though jealous, pounded the backs of the heroes from their village.
The villagers stored their belongings in the huts, and by dusk life had returned to normal. Veldon ordered a feast in celebration. Fish from the sea cooked on planks set around a fire, and waterfowl roasted on spits above. Giles, Petia, Keja and Anji were treated as heroes and allowed to do nothing but enjoy the adulation.
‘Quite honestly,’ said Giles, ‘I’m thankful for a chance to sit. I wonder how many miles we’ve covered today?’
‘I don’t ever want to run like we were forced to this morning,’ Keja said. ‘These people are a marvel when it comes to running. When Natabor sent one with the news of the steel ones, he disappeared down the trail faster than a hare. By the time we returned, the news of our success had spread throughout the village.’
‘It’s not over, though,’ Petia said. ‘Onyx will cut the steel men down from the trees. We should have tried to smash their limbs and put them out of commission permanently.’ She sipped at a warm drink. ‘The Brada are foolish to stay here. Onyx won’t accept this easily.’
‘I’ll talk to Veldon,’ Giles said. ‘They know where the citadel is and can lead us back. Either the key is there or it isn’t. If it isn’t, we’ll have to find out where Onyx has hidden it.’ Giles subsided, the day’s events finally enervating him. He slept through most of the festivities and still found it difficult rising at first light.
Veldon embraced each of the companions as they prepared to go, saying, ‘You are always welcome at the Brada fire. When your quest is at an end, come and spend time with us. You have given us new hope that we will triumph over the black lord.’
The villagers gathered to watch the strange troop leave. Two humans, two Trans, and five of their own young men against the power of Lord Onyx. They stood quietly, neither waving nor shouting, but Petia and Anji felt the villagers’ strength pouring out, wishing further success. Petia shivered, impressed at the power derived from the closeness of these people.
* * *
For four days the group marched along coastal paths and secret trails through forests. Often they turned inland to skirt inlets, and once walked carefully through a marsh where a false step into the sucking bottom might have meant disaster. Natabor led and his fiends each guided one of the companions, staking reputations – and lives – on their knowledge of the route.
At last Natabor turned inland. On the afternoon of the fourth day they came within view of Onyx’s mighty citadel. From the edge of the forest they stared out across the open meadow towards the vast fortress.
