Echoes of the Great Song

Chapter Twenty-Four

For Rael the events of the last month had been unremittingly bleak. Nothing seemed to have been right since the day Questor Ro returned with those four fully-charged chests of power. It was as if, at the point of greatest hope, the Source had turned against them.

Now three disciplined and deadly armies were marching on the twin cities, the Vagars were waiting to take control of their own destinies and the witch woman was growing in power daily. Rael was weary. Taking a white crystal from his pouch he held it to his brow. Cool, invigorating energy swept through him. He sighed, and his thoughts returned to Sofarita. Whenever he saw her Rael had to leave his crystals behind. Close proximity to her drained them. As a result he no longer invited her to the Council Chamber, but instead visited her at Ro's home.

Rael sat at his desk, staring down at the mass of paper there.

Lifting the first, he read of the food situation. From the day he had learned of the Almecs he had ordered massive imports of food and the grain stores of the twin cities were now bulging. Even so a prolonged siege would see the populations begin to starve within three weeks. Rationing would have to begin tomorrow.

Moving to his window he looked out over the bay. The Serpent was at anchor there, with some fifty smaller Vagar vessels. They had been supplying the city for days, but now there was nowhere for them to sail. The grain villages along the Luan were deserted, the people fled or slain.

Returning to his desk he shuffled through the papers, coming at last to the report from the Crystal Treasury.

Caprishan had taken a second chest to Anu, as requested. The third was in use now, re-powering zhi-bows. The last chest remained in the heart of the Serpent. Soon Rael would need to have it removed. Then the Serpent would sail no more.

In some ways Serpent Seven was like the Avatar — powerful but doomed.

Short of power, and short of men, Rael was in a grim mood. Talaban had called him the greatest strategist alive. Rael believed it. But there was little point in being a fine strategist if one did not have the means to execute those strategies.

Ideally Rael would have sent out several strong units to harry the advancing armies, cutting off their supplies, wearing them down. But with fewer than 200 fighting Avatars he could not afford such a move. And sending out lightly armed Vagars against the fire-clubs of the Almecs would have proved suicidal. Therefore the advancing armies could move at their own pace, dictating the course of the war.

The one advantage Rael possessed lay in the deadliness of the Almecs. Had their invasion been less bloody they could have used the captive population to keep them in supplies. As it was, they would need to take the cities with speed.

Rael pondered this. Pagaru's walls were not strong. They had been built fast in the early days of conquest.

They would be breached, he was sure. Egaru, with a smaller perimeter, could be held far more effectively. With this in mind he decided to despatch more Avatars to Pagaru.

Then he turned his mind to Ammon. The king was in the apartments chosen for him on the second level of the Council Building. Soon Rael would have to meet with him. His 5,000 men could help turn the tide, but how sensible would it be to invite 5,000 essentially hostile warriors into the cities? If, by some miracle, the Almecs could be massively defeated Ammon would find himself in a position he had longed for. In control of the Avatar Empire.

Empire?

What empire? The thought depressed Rael. There was no empire any more.

The door opened and Viruk stepped inside. 'What do you want, cousin?' he asked, irritated by the sudden intrusion.

'Don't cousin me, you whoreson!' thundered Viruk. 'You send me from an Avatar city to rescue an androgynous sub-human and what do I find when I return? The city being run by Vagar dogs. I ought to cut your throat, you treacherous bastard!'

Coldly angry, Rael rose from his desk and moved to stand in front of the outraged warrior. 'If anyone is guilty of treachery it is you, you arrogant fool,' he said. 'The village woman you bedded is the real power in the cities now. And do you know why? Because you broke the law and healed her, Viruk. She is crystal-joined. Surely even you will understand what that means. We tried to kill her. We failed.'

'I could kill her,' said Viruk. 'There is nothing that lives or breathes that I cannot kill.'

'It is not — at this time — an option. Her powers give us at least a fighting chance against the Almecs. But once Anu's pyramid is complete we may have a better chance.'

'What then? Do we seize back power?'

'Of course,' lied Rael, smoothly.

Viruk smiled broadly. 'That is more like it.'

'Now I must greet my guests.' Rael looked at Viruk's travel-stained clothes. 'I suggest you go to your home and bathe.'

'You wouldn't happen to know if my marsh marigolds arrived safely?' asked Viruk.

'No, I wouldn't,' the Questor General told him.

After Viruk had left, Rael walked down to the Council Chamber and sent a servant to request the presence of the Lady Mejana and Ammon.

Mejana arrived first, dressed in a voluminous blue robe. She nodded curtly at Rael, then sat down on his right without speaking. They sat in silence for several minutes before a servant announced the arrival of the king.

Ammon entered, dressed in a borrowed tunic of pearl-grey silk and silver-thonged sandals. His dark hair had been washed and perfumed and hung low to his shoulders, and his movements were languid and graceful.

Moving around the table he drew up a seat close to Rael. 'Charming apartments you offered me,' he said, 'but I would appreciate the talents of a tailor.'

'I shall have one sent to you as soon as we are finished here,' said Rael. 'But first let me welcome you to Egaru. It pleases me to have been helpful in your rescue.'

'No doubt there will be a price to pay,' said Ammon. His violet eyes flickered towards Mejana. 'And you are, lady?'

Rael cut in swiftly. 'Allow me to present the Lady Mejana, my First Councillor.'

Ammon bowed his head briefly. 'Is this a new fashion among the Avatar, lady, to eschew blue hair?' he asked, mischievously.

'I am not an Avatar, sire.'

Ammon assumed an expression of mock surprise. 'Indeed? Then how, one wonders, have you achieved such remarkable status?'

'As you are well aware,' said Rael, keeping his tone even, 'Mejana is the head of the Pajists, an organization funded by yourself and your minister Anwar. However, that is of small consequence now. We are all facing a terrible enemy. What we must decide here is how best to combat them.'

'My army should be here within a few days,' said Ammon. 'I would suggest we then defend the walls.'

'Certain assurances must first be given,' said Mejana.

'Such as?'

'Your promise that the soldiers will leave once the war is won.'

'I do not need to offer assurances, lady. This land was once under the direct rule of the Erek-jhip-zhonad. It will be again. It seems to me that it is I who should be making demands.'

The door opened and a servant moved across the wide room. He bowed to all three occupants then approached Rael. 'A message, lord, from the Lady Sofarita.'

Rael took it, read it, then leaned back in his chair.

'Good news, I hope,' said Ammon.

Rael rose. 'Your army was attacked in the Gen-el Pass. Three thousand dead, the rest scattered. Our conversation here is concluded.'

'I think the Source must have come to hate me,' said Rael. He had told her of the destruction of Ammon's army, and of the approach of the invincible Almecs. Taking him by the hand she led him to the roof garden. A long table had been set there, covered by soft towels. Beside it was a smaller table, upon which sat vials of scented oil.

'Take off your clothes, Rael,' she said.

'I have no time, Mirani.'

'Do as you are told, husband,' she said. Rael sighed and removed his tunic and leggings. She gestured for him to lie face down on the massage bed. Once he had done so she poured oil into her hands and gently began to knead the muscles of his shoulders. 'They are like bands of iron,' she told him. He groaned as she probed more deeply. 'You think the Source hates you? If that is true he has a strange way of showing it. You and I have known more than a century of love. Arrogant man!' Her fingers and thumbs eased the tension from his upper back then moved down along the spine. 'The Source does not hate you, Rael. But he must hate what we have become. Slave masters and tyrants. All our plans, all our ambitions, are for one purpose only: to retain control, to dominate. We live by stealing the lives of others. If the Source did not hate that, then I would have no time for the Source. Now do you understand why I refuse to join the Council?' He lay very still as her hands worked their magic. She continued the massage, using her elbow to stretch the long muscles above the hips. Rael groaned again.

'Are you trying to heal me or kill me?' he said.

'I am trying to make you see the truth,' she told him. 'Mejana is the bright light of dawn; Sofarita, the sunshine that follows rain. They are not evil, Rael, they are necessary. We were blessed with many children in the early days. All grew to adulthood. All died in the fall of the world. All except Chryssa.' He closed his eyes against the pain of remembrance. 'She lived for but a few years, and gave us great joy. Think of how Mejana must have felt when her daughter, the light of her life, was crystal-drawn. Think of her pain, Rael. Yes, she murdered Baliel, and ordered the deaths of others. Yes, she hates the Avatar. But her cause is just. She has dedicated her life to ensure that no mother will ever see her child crystal-drawn again. Do not hate her, Rael.

Admire her. Respect her.

'And as for these reverses you suffer… Did you expect all wars to be so easily won? You are the Questor General. You will find a way to win. I would expect no less of you. Now turn over.'

He rolled onto his back. Mirani loosened the ties of her dress, and let it fall to the grass. Then she climbed to the table, straddling him.

He reached up and stroked her shoulders. 'How did you get to be so hard?' he asked, with a smile.

'I married a soldier,' she said. And kissed him.

'The dangers are too great,' Questor Ro told Talaban. Sofarita sat silently on the grass, apparently lost in thought. The heavy scent of jasmine was in the air and the trio were sitting in the afternoon sunshine. Ro had not been pleased to see the tall officer arrive. He had noticed, with concealed dismay, the way Sofarita brightened with his presence.

'I think it is our only hope, Questor,' said Talaban.

Sofarita glanced up. 'Tell me again what you learned from the hunchback. Every detail.'

Talaban smiled. 'I could tell you his entire life, lady, but that would serve little purpose. The important fact is that the Crystal Queen did not intend to move a part of her continent to this world. What she was trying to do was, first, create a barrier over which the tidal wave would flow and then move her cities to a more clement part of their own planet. What she actually did was open a gateway between worlds. This, in itself, would be unimportant — save for the fact that she did not completely close the gateway. Tremendous forces are at play here, straining to draw her land back to its own place. She is using massive amounts of power merely to hold her continent in place. That is why she needs so many deaths. And why she fears you, lady. You can drain away some of the power she needs. But not from here. Rael tells me that he no longer dares to approach you carrying crystals. He leaves them back at the Council Chamber. Even there your power is drawing on them, but less so. It is my belief that if we travel to the west, and approach the realm of the Crystal Queen, you will be able to weaken her. Perhaps then the Almecs will be sucked back through the gateway.'

'Only those still on the continent,' said Sofarita, absently.

'You think I am wrong, lady?'

'No, not wrong, merely ahead of yourself. My powers are not yet great enough to attack her directly. First I must help Rael destroy this invading force. Then we can think of an assault in the west. Now let us talk of more pleasant matters. You have a beautiful garden here, Ro.'

'Thank you,' he said. 'It is not as fine as Viruk's, but it gives me great pleasure. I have always enjoyed watching—'

'She is gone,' said Sofarita, suddenly. 'Almeia was watching us, observing and listening. She will return. We do not have much time to plan our journey.'

'Then you think I am right?' asked Talaban.

'Yes, there is no other way. But as soon as we sail she will know what we plan. We will face many dangers.'

'She is not all-knowing,' insisted Ro. 'She did not anticipate the Sunfire, and the destruction of her ships, nor the arrival of the Serpent to save Pagaru. Nor did she succeed in the ambush of Talaban at the pass.'

'She knows,' insisted Sofarita, 'but she is limited by her need for others to carry out her commands. It is one matter to inform a general that a force is moving through a pass, quite another to direct the course of the subsequent battle. Her general, Cas-Coatl, communicates with her through the crystal he wears in his belt. She told him a small force was due in the Gen-el Pass. He sent two of his captains to oppose you. But they had no means of communicating with Almeia. Equally, Cas-Coatl was told of the Sunfire. He thought he could destroy it before the Serpent arrived. He was wrong. Trust me on this. She knows our every weakness. But our strength lies in the time it takes for her orders to be carried out. We will sail to the west. I shall choose a landing place, and tell no-one my choice until we are almost upon it.'

'I shall come with you, Sofarita,' said Ro.

'You are not a warrior, my friend. What will you do there?'

'I have other talents,' said the little man. 'And you will need them.'

'Then let it be so. We will sail at midnight.'

Viruk sat back in the open-topped carriage, his arm around the shoulders of the potter. 'Over there,' he said, 'is the Great Library.' Sadau had never seen such a building. He had thought the King's Palace in Morak was astounding, but this made it look like a mud hut. The Library was massive, two 30-foot-tall statues supporting a colossal lintel stone at the front. Upon the lintel was a statue of a seated man, his hands outstretched. It was the tallest building Sadau had ever seen.

'Who is the king seated there?' he asked.

The Fourth Avatar Prime,' said Viruk. 'Or the Fifth. I really don't remember. The building has over three hundred rooms.' A line of carriages waited outside the building and scores of servants were carrying chests inside.

'What are they doing?' asked Sadau. 'Moving treasure?'

'Of a kind,' said Viruk. 'It is the strongest building in Egaru. Avatar wives and children are being moved here for safety. Now, would you like to see something really special?'

'Special?' queried Sadau. 'It doesn't involve killing, does it?'

Viruk smiled and patted the man's back. 'Why would you think that?'

'Because I didn't deliver the head. Because I ran away and hid.'

'So, you think your death is so important to me that I would hire a carriage merely to transport you to your doom? Come now, potter. Had I wished you dead I would have done it before now.'

'Thank you, lord,' said Sadau, remembering how Viruk had reacted when the travellers had first come across the man Boru. Viruk had smiled at him, then drawn a dagger, leapt to the wagon, grabbed the man's hair and wrenched back his head. The blade was poised above Boru's throat when the king's voice rang out.

'Do not kill him, Viruk, for he is mine!'

The Avatar had stood frozen for a moment, then he had sheathed his blade, sat down beside Boru and placed his arm over the man's shoulder. Almost exactly in the manner he was doing now. 'Good to see you again, Boru,'

he said, with a wide smile. 'How have you been?'

Sadau shivered at the memory. The Avatar was insane. And here he was riding with him to the gods only knew where.

The carriage continued along a wide avenue, then on up a tree-lined road rising to a wooded hilltop. There were few houses here but the ones he could see were grand indeed. Viruk's home — as Sadau had expected — was the finest in the hills.

The carriage drew up outside the marble-fronted entrance. Viruk climbed down, paid the driver, then led Sadau through into the rear of the building. Here the Avatar threw open the doors to the garden. 'Behold!' he said.

Sadau gazed out over a landscape of exquisite beauty, of matching colours and sweet scents. There were flowers here he had never seen before. He stood open-mouthed. It was like a vision of paradise.

'Well?' said Viruk.

'Heaven cannot look this fine,' whispered Sadau. Ignoring the Avatar he walked out onto the paved pathway.

A set of wide steps led up to the rockery. On each side of the steps were large terracotta pots filled with flowers.

Viruk strolled out alongside him. 'This is my world,' he said. His voice had changed, and Sadau looked at him sharply. Gone was the menace, and even his grey eyes seemed softer.

A middle-aged servant came walking along the path. Over his shoulder was a sack made from straw. It was full of weeds. He grinned as he saw Viruk. 'The marsh marigolds are thriving, lord,' he said. 'You must see them. They are wonderful.'

Leaving Sadau standing Viruk and the servant disappeared along the pathway.

The potter kicked off his shoes and wandered around the rockery. The ground was luxuriously damp. Moving on, he came to a small stream. He sat on the grass and lowered his feet into the water. For the first time in many days he felt at peace. Stretching out on the grass he closed his eyes.

When he awoke it was growing dark. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. Then he scrambled to his feet, gathered his shoes and made his way back to the house. A servant saw him. He was a tall thin man, long-nosed, with sharp small eyes.

'Can I help you?' he asked primly, staring with obvious distaste at Sadau's travel-stained clothing.

'The Lord Viruk brought me to see his garden,' said Sadau. 'We travelled together.' The servant seemed un-impressed. 'We rescued the king.'

'Which king would that be, sir?'

'King Ammon. We brought him to Egaru. The Lord Viruk took me around the city in a carriage. I saw the Library.'

'Well, sir, the Lord Viruk has gone to the Council Chamber. And he did not mention that he had a guest.'

'I expect he forgot me,' said Sadau.

'Where are you staying, sir? I shall send for a carriage for you.'

'I don't know. I sat in the Council Chamber for hours. Then the Lord Viruk brought me here.'

At that moment the gardener entered. 'There you are,' he said. 'I have been looking for you. My name is Kale.' He thrust out a large hand.

'Sadau,' said the potter.

'The Lord Viruk says you are to stay with me tonight. I have a small house about a mile away.'

Sadau started to speak, then hesitated. 'What is it?' asked Kale.

'I… er… haven't eaten anything in two days. Is there some food at your house?'

The gardener chuckled.

'The Lord Viruk is a fine gentleman, but he does not entertain guests very often.' He glanced at the servant.

'We'll have the rest of that pie, and some bread and salted butter,' he said. 'We'll eat it in the garden. Fetch us some lanterns.'

To Sadau's surprise the servant merely bowed and backed away.

'You must be a very important man,' he said. 'I thought he was going to spit upon me.'

Kale smiled. 'I am merely a gardener. But I am the Lord Viruk's gardener. And believe me, that is almost like being a king.'

The first Almec army arrived before the walls of Pagaru just before dusk. Across the bay Rael watched the message from the flashing lanterns high on Pagaru's eastern watchtower. 'Four thousand men,' said his aide Cation, reading the lights. 'But no siege towers or other weapons in sight. They are making camp just out of zhi-bow range.' On the south side of the river there was no sign yet of the enemy. 'The Lady Mejana is coming, sir,' said Cation.

Rael turned and offered the Vagar woman a slight bow. She was wearing a heavy cloak against the evening winds and she looked older, more tired than Rael had seen her. 'I received your message,' she said.

'Best not to speak of it, for the reasons I wrote in my letter.'

She nodded. 'There are two thousand militia men to call upon in this district,' she told him. 'I have assigned runners to every two hundred yards of the wall. If any of your officers need reinforcements the runners will fetch them.'

'You have worked well and efficiently, Mejana. I commend you,' said Rael absently. Once more he was staring out at the low-lying hills.

Mejana leaned against the battlements and closed her eyes in exhaustion. For the first time Rael saw her not as the leader of the murderous Pajists, but as a woman, weary and bereaved, doing her best in an impossible situation.

Taking a crystal from his pouch he reached out to her. She opened her eyes and backed away. 'I don't want your damned magic!' she said.

Rael sighed. 'I understand. But you will need all your wits about you, lady, in the hours and days ahead.'

'That might be so, Rael. But I will do my best in this frail, aching body. It is mine. Its strength is mine and its weakness also. All mine. But I thank you for your offer, and hope you will excuse my sharpness of tone.'

Her words surprised him. He leaned forward, placing his hand on her shoulder. 'Perhaps the coming excitement will help to revitalize you. But, failing that, I suggest you go home and sleep for a couple of hours.

Even when they come it will take time to set up their battle lines and their weapons. I shall send a messenger for you.'

'No,' she said. 'Already I am feeling a little better. Would you mind if I wait?'

'Not at all.' Turning away from her he slipped the crystal back into his pouch. He caught Cation's eye and knew the officer had picked up the emanations from the crystal use. Rael smiled at his aide. The signal lights flashed again from Pagaru. Rael missed the first part of the message but caught it when it was repeated moments later. From their vantage point across the estuary the Pagaru defenders could see the army approaching Egaru.

'Many wagons,' said Cation. 'Mounted bronze? What does that mean?'

'Bronze weapons are mounted on the wagons,' said Rael. 'Signal back. Ask how many they can see.'

Cation moved away. Mejana touched Rael's arm and pointed to the east. The first line of marching men could be seen silhouetted against the skyline. Mejana glanced along the wall then looked back at Rael. 'You cannot hold a two-mile wall with two thousand men.'

'No, I cannot,' he agreed. 'But they cannot destroy the whole wall. Where they breach it is where the hard fighting will be.'

Hearing movement behind him Rael turned to see Caprishan climbing to the ramparts. The fat man was breathing heavily and his face was sweat-drenched. 'Did you get through to Anu?' asked Rael.

Caprishan nodded, then took a moment to catch his breath. 'We shouldn't have,' he said at last. 'We were seen by a group of Almecs. A large group, maybe two hundred strong. I thought we would all be killed. But they drew back, offering us no harm. What do you make of that, Rael? It makes no sense to me.'

'Nor me,' said Mejana.

'It makes perfect sense,' said Rael bitterly. 'Think of what Anu is doing. He is recreating the White Pyramid.

It will draw power from the sun and feed all our crystals. As Sofarita has told us, the Crystal Queen has an insatiable hunger. A great need. Once the pyramid is complete she will feed from that.'

'Then we must stop Anu,' said Mejana. 'He must not complete it.'

'I couldn't stop Anu even if I wanted to,' said Rael. 'But there will be no more supplies to him now and no way to contact him. That is why he requested the second chest. He will feed his workers with crystal power. He is cut off from us, Mejana. We can only hope to defeat the Almecs before he completes the pyramid.'

'There is other news, cousin,' said Caprishan.

'Good news, I hope.'

Caprishan shrugged. 'The king of the Mud People has fled the city. He requested a horse for a ride through the parks. Then he fled. Is that good or bad news?'

'Neither. There is no time to rally the tribes. We stand alone.'

Caprishan gazed over the battlements at the advancing lines of men. In the dying light they looked inhuman, moving in harmony. From this distance they could have been a line of ants. Caprishan shivered. He did not like to think of insects. It made him itch. 'Well-trained soldiers,' he said. 'Look at the way they move. Perfect discipline.'

Behind the defenders the sun dipped low into a blood-red sea.

And Serpent Seven slid from view over the horizon.

Methras had insisted that Talaban stay in his old quarters and the Avatar had accepted gratefully. Now he stood on the small deck of the captain's cabin and gazed back at the towers of Egaru. They were bathed in the light of the dying sun. He felt a shiver run through him as the city faded into the distance, a brooding sense of farewell that he could not shake. Talaban had few friends among his Avatar comrades, but this did not mean that he disliked them. There were some people he had known for almost 200 years, men and women he respected, or admired. Above all else they were family. Almost all the Avatars who had survived the fall of the world were related.

Now he was leaving them to their fate.

It did not matter that his mission was to save them. At this moment it felt like desertion.

'Yet it is not,' said Sofarita. Talaban turned slowly. She was standing by the desk, a goblet of water in her slender hand, a blue robe covering her exquisite form. Her hair had been pulled back into a ponytail and her neck was sleek and joyous to behold.

'Eavesdropping is said to be rude,' he told her.

'I cannot always control the power,' she told him.

'Especially when the emotions of people close to me are raised.'

'When you say close…?' He looked at her and smiled.

'I mean in close proximity,' she replied, a blush coming to her cheeks.

'Since you have read my mind you know my feelings for you. Do they cause you concern?'

Now it was her turn to smile. 'No. It is sometimes pleasant to be… held in such high regard. What is it you desire about me, Talaban? My body? My talent? Both?'

He took her hand and kissed it. 'I wish I could tell you,' he said. 'I wish I could find the words. But the first moment I saw you it was as if lightning had flashed in my mind. Since then you are always in my thoughts.'

Gently she withdrew her hand. 'We cannot be lovers,' she told him. He thought he sensed regret in her voice.

'My powers are growing daily. If I made love to you I think you would die. It is not only the crystals which I draw upon. I am beginning to…' she faltered. 'Let us not speak of that.' She walked out onto the small deck.

Egaru was almost out of sight now. Moving behind her he placed his hands on her shoulders. She shivered at the touch. 'Do not fall in love with me, Talaban,' she warned him.

He laughed then. 'As if I had a choice.'

'We all have choices,' she said, turning her back to the rail. He started to step in closer. She raised a hand and he felt a pressure on his chest pushing him back, even though she was some feet from him. 'Think about what you are doing,' she advised him. 'You see a woman, but I am no longer fully flesh and blood. I am turning to crystal. Slowly, it is true. But crystal nonetheless. Did you learn nothing from loving Chryssa?'

The question shocked him. 'This is not about Chryssa.'

'How strange then that you should fall in love with two crystal-cursed women.'

'That is unfair. I did not know you were so afflicted when first I saw you. And when Chryssa and I were betrothed she was also fully flesh and blood. Do not play mind games with me, Sofarita. I believe I would have loved you had I ridden into your village and seen you working in the fields. If you doubt me, read my mind.

Look into my heart. Do you see anything base there?'

'No,' she admitted. 'Nothing base, Talaban. You are a good man. But I am no longer the village girl. I am something far more, and greatly less.' She winced suddenly. 'I must go and rest,' she said.

'You are in pain?'

'A little. It will pass.'

He watched her move across the cabin. The sway of her hips made him feel breathless. When she had gone he sat down at the desk, his mind in turmoil. What he would not give to be able to hold her close, to slip that blue robe from her pale shoulders.

He heard a tapping at the door. 'Come in,' he called. Questor Ro entered.

'Am I disturbing you, Talaban?'

'Not at all. May I offer you some wine?' Ro shook his head and sat down. He seemed troubled.

'How did Sofarita seem to you?' he asked.

'In what way?'

'Her health.'

'Fine,' said Talaban. Then he paused. 'She is in a little pain, I think.'

Ro nodded. 'It will increase. We may have a problem.'

'I'm listening.'

'Her power comes from her ability to draw on crystals. There were thousands of them in Egaru. Not so here.

There is the chest, the zhi-bows, and our own personal stones. Rael had the Sunfire moved to the city walls. I have warned her of the danger of this journey and she is trying to block herself from drawing on the power here in the ship.'

'And the problem?'

'Think of the Vagars who become addicted to narcotics. When they are separated from their opiates they become agitated, sometimes violent. They are filled with cravings. Some have even killed to gain coin to satisfy their desires. Sofarita is suffering now, and we have only just left the city. It will take three weeks to cross the ocean. If she cannot fight the craving she could drain the ship. Or worse.'

'What could be worse, Ro?'

The Questor tugged at his beard. 'We feed the crystals with human life. The gems merely hold the energy. If Sofarita became desperate we could all be crystal-drawn by her.'

'She would not do that,' said Talaban. 'She is a fine woman.'

'It may prove beyond her control,' said Ro.

'What then do you suggest?'

'How fast can we travel?'

Talaban considered the question. 'We are already moving at speed. Sailing vessels would take two months to cover the distance.' He paused. 'However, if we do not concern ourselves with conserving power, and if there are no sudden storms, we could make the journey in twenty days. But there are perils, Ro. Travelling at such speed if we struck a whale, or a reef, we could suffer serious damage.'

'Twenty days is too long,' said Ro. 'Sofarita's hunger will overcome her before then.'

'What time scale are we talking of here?' asked Talaban.

'I would guess three days.'