Part 5 (1/2)
11 - Arach.
Without hesitation, Lief caught Jasmine in his arms and tumbled with her into the weed-filled water.
Surfacing, he heard Barda splas.h.i.+ng and shouting somewhere behind him. He shouted back, then, holding Jasmine tightly against his chest, he struck out, kicking aside the sodden cloak that clung around his legs, fighting his way through the weed.
Jasmine was gasping, choking, trying to speak.
aI know what you want to say, and you can save your breath,a Lief panted. aI will not leave you.a Barda came up beside him. Supporting Jasmine between them they clawed through the matted growth, struggling forward with painful slowness.
aWhat are you doing? Make haste!a screamed Penn from the dimness beyond the weed. Then, amazingly, she was leaving safety, plunging towards them, cutting through the water and weed like a fish.
Her head bobbed up in front of them, pale eyes wide with terror. She reached for Jasmine.
aWhere is she injured?a she demanded.
aNot injured. Cannot swim!a Lief panted, and saw the history-keeperas jaw drop in stunned amazement.
Then she was swimming away, pulling Jasmine expertly along with her. And Lief and Barda were thras.h.i.+ng behind, hearts pounding, chests aching, through the weed and, at last, out into the open sea.
There Penn stopped and turned, treading water, supporting Jasmine easily with one arm.
aWhy have you stopped?a gasped Barda.
aWe are safe here,a said Penn. aArach do not hunt beyond the weed. The dome waters are their territory.a Then her face twisted with pain. aAh, no!a she wailed. aAh, what wicked waste!a There was a sound like crackling dry leaves. Panting, the breath rasping in his lungs, Lief turned himself around in the water.
The Arach had halted at the edge of the seaweed band. One of them had seized the boat. It was lifting it high into the air, crus.h.i.+ng it like paper. The other was fighting for a share, tugging at the frail craft, scrabbling inside it, looking for prey.
Lief stared, dumbfounded. The Arach were like vast, deformed spiders. Their bloated bodies were covered by glossy black sh.e.l.l, as though plated with armour. Their long, thin legs looked like wires of steel, p.r.i.c.kling with spurs and spikes. Their armoured heads seemed nothing but greedy red eyes and dripping fangs.
With a dull, angry roar, the second Arach jerked violently, tearing the boat in half. Provisions, buckets, the lantern, and two small objects that Lief realised were the cages of the fighting spiders, sailed high into the air, scattering and falling with dull splashes.
Furyas cage plunged into the water just in front of Lief. Fury was scrabbling desperately inside. Lief grabbed for the cage and lifted it up, gasping as he worked at keeping himself afloat with one hand.
This is madness! he thought. I cannot save myself, let alone this spider. But he could not bring himself to let the creature drown before his eyes.
Neither, it seemed, could Barda leave Flash to his fate. Barda was floundering towards the other cage, reaching out for it as though his life depended upon it.
aThe Arach have had enough,a muttered Penn.
Lief looked up and saw the monsters creeping back to the dome. The shredded remains of the boat lay scattered on the weed bed.
Without warning, Penn plunged her head under the water. Jasmine, still clasped firmly in her arm, spluttered in panic. Bubbles rose in a great stream around Pennas head and Lief thought he could hear a strange, m.u.f.fled cry.
aWhat is she doing?a shrieked Jasmine. But Penn was already lifting her head, shaking it to clear her eyes.
In moments there was a swirling movement in the water around them. Then Lief, Barda and Jasmine were shouting in shock as four giant eels surged up from the depths, wicked mouths gaping horribly.
aTake hold of their necks,a said Penn. aThey have come in answer to my call. They will carry us home.a In a shorter time than Lief would have believed possible, they were back at the rafts. Never had he felt such speed. Never would he forget that journeya”the spray beating against his face, the desperate clinging to the slippery neck of the eel.
To his shame, he had to be hauled off the eelas neck and onto the platform by the guards. He could do nothing to help himself. His legs and arms would not move. His head was spinning. The children who ducked and played like fish in the water at the platformas edge stared and giggled. The workers mending nets and weaving rope nearby sniffed in amused contempt.
Barda was in the same state as Lief himself, and Jasmine little better. Together, bedraggled, unsteady on their feet and sick at heart, they shuffled after Penn to her hut, trying to ignore the sharp-faced, silent crowd which had gathered to watch them.
The hut door was standing open. Inside, a bent figure in long robes and a tall silver head-covering stood waiting. So old, wrinkled and toothless was the face below the head-covering that if Penn had not already spoken of the Piper as ahea, Lief would not have known if he was facing a male or a female.
Penn ushered the dripping companions into the hut, and closed the door behind them. aDo not mind the water,a she murmured. aThis floor has been drenched more times than you could count.a Jasmine darted at once to where Kree sat by the stove. She knelt down and lifted poor, s.h.i.+vering Filli from her shoulder to share the warmth. Lief and Barda took the cages containing the motionless spiders over to her, then returned to Pennas side, trying to stiffen their trembling legs.
aWell?a asked the Piper. And even in his exhaustion Lief thrilled with wonder at the sound of the voicea”smooth, rich and sweet as wild honey.
Penn folded her hands, then spoke flatly, as if delivering a report. aTall and brave they may be, with weapons of steel,a she said. aBut in the water the males, Lief and Barda, are helpless as new-born babes, and the female, Jasmine, cannot swim at all. They would have no hope of taking the Arach by surprise, or evading them.a She turned away. aI have done all you require of me, Piper, and it has cost me dearly,a she muttered. aBut you must abandon your hopes.a The Piper closed his eyes as though in pain. aDid you tell them of my belief, Penn?a he asked softly.
Lief and Barda glanced at one another, then at Penn. What was this?
Penn was hesitating. aNo,a she said at last. aOnce I saw that they could not swim, I felt there was no need to torment them further.a aTell them now,a said the Piper. It was not a request, but a command.
Penn moved restlessly. aThe Piper believes that if you could reach the dome, the mouthpiece of the Pirran Pipe would give you entrance,a she said, without looking at Lief and Barda. aHe believes that the stem of the Pipe within would call to it and draw it through the magic screen. The Piper hopeda”a aI hoped many things.a The Piper opened his eyes and fixed Penn with a steely stare. aIt seems my hopes were in vain.a But Lief had clutched Bardaas arm. And Jasmine had jumped up from the floor and hurried over to them, her face alight with hope.
aWhy did you not tell us this before, Penn?a she demanded. aIf we can penetrate the dome we cana”a aYou cannot reach the dome!a cried Penn. aYou saw the Arachs! And there are many more! Their webs net the waters of their territory. The moment you enter it, the moment you touch a web, they will sense you.a aThere must be a way,a growled Barda. aThere is alwaysa”a aThere is no way!a shouted Penn, eyes blazing. aIn a boat, should we be so mad as to give you one, you would last only a few moments. To have any hope at all of reaching the dome you would have to swim to it underwater, beneath the webs. And you are not capable of that! Nothing is more certain.a aThe eels!a Jasmine exclaimed. aThey could surely tow us beneath the webs. We could hold our breath for that time. They swim so fast aa Penn sighed. The Piper smiled thinly. aIt could be done,a he admitted. aIf the eels could be persuaded to enter Arach territory. But they cannot. It has been tried many, many times. They will not do it.a He shook his head in disgust. aWe knew that you would not be able to swim as we can,a he muttered. aIt is written that Doran could not defeat even our youngest children in a race. But never did we consider such weakness as this!a He glanced back at Jasmine. aAnd one of you cannot swim at all! It isa”beyond belief!a aI grew up in a forest where the only water was a shallow stream,a snapped Jasmine, heartily sick of being criticised for something she could not help. aHow could I learn to swim? Any more than you could learn to climb a tree, Piper! Or Penn could learn to swing on a vine!a Lief gave a sharp exclamation. Jasmine swung round to him, scowling. aI do not care what you say, Lief!a she raged. aPalace manners might do for you, but they will not do for me. I will not be polite to these people any longer!a But Liefas face was alight with excitement. aJasmine, you have it!a he exclaimed. aDo you not see? You have told us exactly what we must do!a
12 - Suspicion.
It did not take long for Lief to explain the plan that had suddenly come to him. aYou see?a he finished triumphantly. aWe do not use our weaknesses, but our strengths!a aIt isa”incredible!a the Piper exclaimed, his cold eyes s.h.i.+ning. aIt would never have crossed my mind that such a thing could be done.a aI am not surprised. A more hare-brained idea I have never heard!a snorted Barda.
aWe can do it!a Lief urged.
aWe can try. And it is worth the chance,a said Jasmine. aUnless, of course,a she added dryly, athe Piper is wrong, and the mouthpiece of the Pirran Pipe will not allow us to penetrate the dome.a Penn buried her face in her hands. The Piper gripped her arm. aYou must not weaken now, Penn,a Lief heard him muttering. aThey can do what we cannot. They could be our salvation!a He turned to Lief, his hard, ancient face wearing a mild expression that Lief could not quite believe in.
aWe will give you what help we can,a he said. aIf you gain the stem of the Pirran Pipe, it will be yours to keep for as long as you need it. All we ask in return is that you use your best efforts to convince the dome-dwellers to return the light to the caverns.a It will be yours to keep for as long as you need it a Those words were carefully chosen, Piper, Lief thought, studying the cold face. You speak the truth, I am sure. But for how long will we need the stem of the Pipe, once it is actually out of the dome? Once it is where you can lay your hands on it? No-one needs anything after they are dead. Is that your plan?
He moved his gaze to Pennas bent head. The Piper told Penn to make friends with us, he thought. So that we would want to help her people as well as ourselves. And of course she succeeded. In spite of herself.
Penn had carried out her orders reluctantly. That had been plain from the start. Perhaps she did not believe that the dome could be penetrated by the mouthpiece of the Pipe, and feared encouraging the visitors to go to their deaths.
Or perhaps Penn knew very well that once they had gained the Pipe, they would be betrayed.
aPlease do not blame yourself for our decision, Penn,a he said aloud. aWe are doing only what we must.a Penn did not raise her head.
aYou accept my terms, then?a the Piper asked.
Lief met his eyes squarely. aWe will do all we can to help you once we are inside the dome, Piper. We cannot promise success. But I swear that we will beg the dome-dwellers to return your light as earnestly as we beg them for the stem of the Pirran Pipe.a The Piper bent his head. aI ask no more of you than that,a he murmured. He remained utterly still for a few moments, as though in the grip of strong feeling. Then he looked up, his face calm again aYou must dry yourselves, and rest,a he said. aI will have a boat prepared. Penn? A moment, if you please.a Penn scurried after him as he swept to the door. They went outside, and Lief saw them speaking in low voices.
aThat Piper makes me uneasy,a said Barda, walking to the stove to warm his chilled hands aHe reminds me of people I knew in the Palace, in the old days. He is a schemer, and he is bending Penn to his will.a aI think he is using us to gain the stem of the Pipe for himself,a Lief said. aThe raft-dwellersa magic, the magic that should be the birthright of every Pirran, is trapped inside the dome. But the stem of the Pipe has its own powera”power which would light the caverns and do much more.a Barda nodded agreement. aIt must seem to the Piper that fate has brought us to him, as once it brought Doran when he was needed most.a aI agree, buta”a Jasmineas brow was creased in thought. aBut why bother to deceive us, when surely there is a simpler way to gain magic? Why not seize the part of the Pipe we already have?a Liefas hand rose, almost without his willing it, to touch the piece of k.n.o.bbly wood beneath his s.h.i.+rt.