Part 9 (1/2)

*Not by cras.h.i.+ng and losing a leg, I hope.'

*No. Here's hoping, anyway.'

It seemed to take them hours to reach the top. The stairs were steep and they took turns at being fore or aft to preserve their backs. Rest stops came with increasing frequency. Only as they neared the end of the stairwell did Chu explain that there was another way to get there, one involving counterweights and pulleys that took no more energy than crossing a room.

*So why are we bothering with all this? Why nearly kill ourselves when it's not necessary?'

*I think it's necessary. Consider it an initiation. You need to be acutely aware of how high you are before you take off. Otherwise you might get careless. I want you nice and primed before I put my life in your hands.'

*I thought it was the other way around.'

*You're the one with the licence, stone-boy.'

*But you'll be doing the actual flying, right?'

*It doesn't work like that,' she said a third time.

He felt like a kite on a line, tugged and jerked about by her slim hand. *Isn't it about time you told me how it does work?'

*Much easier to show than tell. Be patient. We'll be there soon.'

He didn't clarify the point that he wasn't so much impatient as terrified. It seemed a perfectly appropriate response to his situation.

Fading sunlight greeted them when they reached the top. He staggered out of the stairwell and put his end of the wing down on the ground to catch his breath. They were standing at the rear of the uppermost platform, looking south. To his left, nightfall turned the sky orange over a forest of spires, chimneys and onion-shaped roofs. Observatory Tower out-reached all of them, giving the skyline a focus and the flyers a ready point of reference. Silhouetted against the sunset were a number of gliding shapes as miners returned to the city from the Divide, sweeping in to land on their level or one of the others below. The air was full of the sound of voices, the rattle of wings, and the clatter of thin, hook-like tools with which he a.s.sumed they s.n.a.t.c.hed prizes from the Divide floor.

*It's going to be dark soon,' he said, feeling the wind stiffen around him.

*The best time to fly.' Chu secured the straps of her uniform. *Less traffic'

*We won't see much.'

*That's not our intention, this first time. It's just a practice run. Tomorrow we do the real work.'

If we're still alive, Skender thought. Marginally rested, he bent down to pick up his end. *Let's get this over with.'

She punched him on the shoulder. *Not exactly the spirit I'm looking for, but it'll do.'

Together they carried their awkward burden to a clear area of the platform well away from the other flyers. There the two of them unfurled the wing and made sure everything was secure. Chu checked the repaired struts and fussed with the harnesses. As the sky grew darker, her adjustments became progressively finer until he could barely see what changes she was making.

*Well, well,' said a voice from behind him. *This is an unexpected development.'

Skender let go of the wing and turned to see a leather-clad flyer standing nearby. He was a full head taller than Skender and elegantly muscled with it. His blue uniform hugged his body, except where it hung open down his chest, revealing an extensive network of angular black tattoos crisscrossing his skin. His hands were also tattooed, as was his face behind the beginnings of a reddish beard. Skender had rarely seen such extensive work, even on the most charm-mad Stone Mages. His eyes were a deep, impenetrable black.

Chu looked up from her work, then glanced pointedly back down. *What do you want, Kazzo?'

*Nothing, Chu. I'm just concerned for your wellbeing. The last time you went flying, you ended up impersonating a drowned cat being pulled out of a reservoir. Looks like you've landed on your feet. Does this mean you're back for good?'

*Only so long as it takes me to get out of your face.'

Kazzo laughed. *Perhaps you should try the mountains, if you're looking for easier nests. Do send us a clutch of eggs when you get there.'

*You need them that badly, do you?'

*That's not what Liris says.'

Skender could only see Chu's face in profile, but the effect Kazzo's remark had on her was p.r.o.nounced. She froze in mid-movement and her jaw muscles worked.

*I think you should leave her alone,' said Skender, hearing the words as they came out of his mouth but not believing he was actually saying them.

*You're a long way from home, stone-boy,' said Kazzo with a scornful glance. *What you think isn't relevant.'

Skender had seen Kazzo's type plenty of times, but had yet to find a good way to deal with them. Standing up to them would only start a fight, while backing down would set a dangerous precedent, one the bully would call on every time they met.

Skender wiped his hands on his robes and didn't look away.

*That's Stone Mage to you, Kazzo Niclais,' he said.

The tall miner performed a barely perceptible double take. Skender could practically hear the cogs turning as Kazzo considered calling his bluff. Laure might be a long way from the deeper deserts, but a Mage was not someone to lock horns with lightly. The Interior possessed considerable political weight even where the Change was weakest.

A young woman on the far side of the platform called Kazzo's name. The tall miner broke their stare and flashed a diffident wave at her. Skender wondered if he saw a hint of relief in his eyes.

*Yes, well,' Kazzo drawled, *I'll leave you two lovebirds to get better acquainted. You won't have long before the ground takes you. Better make it count.'

He swaggered away, affecting utter unconcern. Skender let out the breath he was holding and wiped a hand across his forehead. Lovebirds?

Then Chu was standing next to him, watching Kazzo's retreating back.

*I can fight my own battles,' she said, *but thank you, anyway.'

He looked at her, and was surprised to see something very much like tears in her eyes.

*You're welcome,' he said.

*Whatever. Now, come here,' she said, tugging him to the far side of the wing. *The waiting is finally over.'

She forced him to stand still while she raised the wing into position at his back. As the leather straps of the harness fastened over his shoulders and around his waist, he was dismayed at the thought of his own weight. How he and the wing - and Chu - were supposed to stay aloft for even a second was beyond him. He felt tired and irritated. And very, very heavy.

Some things are simply more important, his father had said. Finding his mother was more important than his fear, he told himself. Even if he died trying.

They didn't talk about Kazzo. They didn't talk at all.

When the harness was in place, she stepped back to look at him. With a water bottle tied around his neck he felt like a very ugly moth. The wing extended in a rigid sheet behind his back, vanis.h.i.+ng to the periphery of his vision when he looked directly forward. His arms hung at his sides. He had expected them to be lashed to the underside of the wing in a grotesque parody of bird-flight, but he was spared that indignity. As promised, his robes were firmly strapped where they wouldn't get in the way. A cool breeze trickled up his left leg.

*Remarkable,' she said. *You look almost convincing.' Someone whistled from the far side of the platform. Laughter smattered. *Ignore those idiots. Here's where you find out why I can't fly you in this wing.' She reached into her back pocket and produced the envelope she had stashed there. *This is your licence. Only you can use it.'

*What difference does it make whose name is on the piece of paper?'