Part 37 (1/2)

That wasn't the end of their trials, though. A giant, hairless man with ornate tattoos all over his scalp and upper body - the quartermaster, s.h.i.+lly a.s.sumed - waved at them from the uppermost ramp. Chu guided the dirigible as close as she dared, and the wardens tossed out their ropes. The man caught them and tied them to rings at the edge of the platform. The heavy lifter strained against the ties as the sandstorm raged around it, but the knots held.

s.h.i.+lly shook her head in denial as rope ladders followed the ties. The gap between gondola and platform might be only a few metres but there was no way she was going to be able to cross the distance, not with her leg still sore from the chase that morning.

The first warden went across as soon as a ladder was in place, stretched horizontally through empty air. She crabbed from rung to rung to the far side, swinging like a child on play equipment, apparently paying no mind at all to the drop beneath her. Another rope ladder followed, allowing wardens to disembark two at a time. The gondola rocked as the weight it bore steadily lessened. Tom clambered over with his eyes tightly shut, followed by Kemp. All too soon there was only Sal, s.h.i.+lly, Marmion, Skender and Chu left. Mawson had been bundled up in a rope sling and swung over like a side of beef. Chu's wing had gone the same way. s.h.i.+lly would be cursed rather than suffer the same indignity. She shook her head violently when Marmion suggested it.

*We don't have time to argue, girl,' he said, a gust of wind making his thin hair wave like seaweed.

*The rest of you go,' she said, looking over the edge of the gondola. The storm hid any view of the ground, but she knew it was horribly far down. *I'll stay here with Chu.'

*I'm going too,' the flyer called back. *The quartermaster will take the lifter away and put it down in the hangar to distract the yadachi. They're tracking Skender's licence, so the quartermaster will take that with him as well. If we stay here too long, they might figure out what we're up to.'

s.h.i.+lly felt a mixture of shame and anger, the latter directed firmly at herself. The plan made perfect sense. She was the one thing holding it up.

Because she couldn't bear the thought of being separated from Sal for another moment, she finally agreed. Skender and Marmion lashed a rope seat around her waist and thighs and gave her another rope to hold onto. Then she was being hauled across the gap with all the grace of a reluctant cow herded onto a cart. She hoped her eyes weren't as wide with fear as they felt.

Hands caught her on the far side and helped her to her feet. Skender followed with her walking stick, and he handed it to her as the last of the ropes around her fell away. Marmion came next. The quartermaster went to relieve Chu, allowing her to cross while he kept the dirigible stable. Then it was Sal's turn.

s.h.i.+lly watched with concern as he climbed over the edge of the gondola and took hold of the ropes. His movements were slow and deliberate, so as not to break his concentration. Even so, the need to balance took its toll on the charm. Thick tendrils of sand curled around the dirigible with the sound of a brush fire, making him blink. He stopped halfway across, swaying, and it seemed for a moment as if distraction might get the better of him. s.h.i.+lly put a hand over her mouth, wis.h.i.+ng she could do something to help.

When he started moving again, it was all she could do not to cry out with relief and encouragement. One step, two steps, three - then finally he was within reach of the wardens. They hauled him to safety just as the bubble collapsed and the storm returned in full force.

*Cut it free!' The wardens took up Marmion's cry as s.h.i.+lly gripped Sal's arm and hurried him away. She could feel the platform bucking under her as the weight of the dirigible pulled at it. *Cut it free!' Ropes snapped with tw.a.n.ging sounds. The heavy lifter's engine throbbed. She felt rather than saw it pull away. The last thing she saw were the propellers glowing like eyes, fading into the swirling sand.

They hurried off the platform before the sheltering storm dissipated. *This way!' Chu led them to a wide, wooden cage suspended over a steep drop by thick chains. When they were all inside, she pulled a lever and it began to descend. The sound of the wind and the stink of sand faded.

*What are we going to do next?' asked Skender. *The quartermaster won't fool them for long.'

*When we reach the Black Galah, we'll split up,' said Marmion. *Half of us will get the vehicles. The rest will break the others out of house arrest.'

s.h.i.+lly wasn't thinking that far ahead. *I'll just be glad when I have solid ground back under my feet.' The cage was moving too slowly for her liking. She imagined them sinking into a ring of city guards like turkeys in a cage, ready for the chop.

The fear proved to be groundless. The base of the tower was deserted, the only sound the eerie, distant wail of the yadachi.

*The atmospherics have scared everyone off,' said Chu. *No one in their right mind would come anywhere near here right now.'

They bundled from the cage and out into the street. s.h.i.+lly shook gritty sand from her robes and hair. The heart of the storm was swinging away, following the heavy lifter. Echoes of the yadachi's wailing song s.h.i.+fted and faded around them, a constant, ululating background. The confines of the city seemed especially close after the endless vistas of the sky.

*I'll just slow you all down,' she said as Marmion gathered the wardens together. *You go ahead. I'll catch up.'

*I'm not leaving you here alone,' said Sal.

*I didn't mean you.' She took his arm. *You're staying to keep me company.'

*Me too,' said Skender. *You'll need me to show you the way.'

*Then I'll have to stay too,' said Chu, hefting her end of the wing.

*No,' said Marmion. *I need someone to give us directions too, and we have plenty of spare hands. Tom can help you carry the wing.'

*But -'

*Chu, please. The fewer stragglers, the better. We may have to leave in a hurry.'

Skender's mother looked like she might argue as well, but Marmion was making sense. Even s.h.i.+lly had to admit it.

There was no time for farewells as the wardens hurried off, furrow-browed Shorn Behenna bringing up the rear. The odd bunch moved as one, driven by grim determination. So much was left undone: the Caduceus, Pirelius, the Homunculus, Highson Sparre. A handful of outsiders versus an entire city. If Marmion thought it was hopeless, he didn't let it show.

Chu looked over her shoulder at Skender, her expression unreadable, then she rounded a corner and was gone.

The Alarum.

*In the flickering flame and the crumbling stone, in the stagnant water and air turned stale, we perceive the end that awaits us all.'

THE BOOK OF TOWERS, FRAGMENT 110.

T.

he three of them stood for a moment in the streets of Laure. It occurred to Sal that it was the first time they had been alone in one place since the Haunted City. He felt fourteen again, just for a moment. They looked awkwardly at each other, waiting for someone to take the lead.

The sound of booted feet approaching snapped him out of it.

*I think that's our cue.'

*Right behind you, Skender,' said s.h.i.+lly.

*Okay. Along here should do for a start.'

They hurried across the street and ducked down an alley lined with vases full of dead plants and painted-over windows. Sand pooled in the corners and drains. Sal called up a mnemonic he hadn't used since leaving Fundelry, one designed to divert attention from them, if they didn't move quickly enough.

*You came this way before?' s.h.i.+lly asked, the two-step rhythm of her gait echoing off the brick walls.

*Not exactly, but don't worry. I've seen the city from the air. It's all in my head now. And this way we avoid the yadachi.'

Sal allowed Skender's point. The longer they could keep the red-robed bloodworkers off their back, the better.

They took a left at the end of the alley and then an immediate right. The clouds parted and the sun appeared. Shadows lengthened as the day aged and the yadachi's song eased. The sky to the east remained brown. Sal could hear the storm howling in the distance. He was glad to be out of it, and even gladder to be no longer fighting it. Breaking was easier than creating - undoing the work of the yadachi took a lighter toll on him than had whipping up the brief flurry in the Divide that had saved him and Skender from falling to their deaths - but he still felt the cost of it. Something at the core of him was drained, as though his bones had gone soft. Maintaining the small concealment charm took an effort.

They hurried through the streets. Citizens gradually reappeared, people coming out to sweep off steps or wipe dust from windows. They gave the strangers in their midst no more than a quick glance. A chained guard dog barked at them from a fenced-off yard, making Skender jump. Two dark-skinned children with hair in plaits waved at them from an open doorway, and s.h.i.+lly waved back.

Skender had taken off the licence in the heavy lifter. The tattoos on his arms and face had dwindled back to nothing. His eyes had returned to their normal colour. His ochre robes remained ragged and his face bruised, but the lack of obvious Change-working made him slightly less conspicuous.

*So, tell us about your girlfriend,' s.h.i.+lly said to him, prompting a look of panic.

*Girlfriend? What? Did Chu say something to you about that?'

*No.'

*Oh.' A flurry of conflicting emotions pa.s.sed over his features. *Right.'