Geomancer

F IFTY -E IGHT

'Where the hell are we?' cried Nish, staring into the impenetrable darkness.

S'lound let out a mirthless chuckle. 'Not the sea, anyway. A bog, by the smell of it. And not a very deep one either.'

So it proved, when a cold day dawned some hours later. They had gone through thin ice into a waist-deep pond. There were reedy bogs all around, but little wind at ground level, so the balloon had stayed upright once the weight went off it. S'lound climbed up to the brazier, reporting nothing but mire in every direction. Ullii took one look at the place and retreated to her basket. Nish fed the skeet with a couple of half-frozen rats from a bin. The messenger bird screamed and tried to take his fingers instead.

'Now what?' said Nish as they ate bread and cheese for breakfast, washed down with swamp water.

'Gather reeds for fuel,' said S'lound. Nothing seemed to upset him. No doubt he'd had many worse days as a common soldier.

Nish picked a handful of reeds. 'No heat in these. We'll never get off the ground.'

'Soak 'em in tar spirits. That'll get us high enough that we can look for some wood.'

Nish doubted it. The expedition was turning into another disaster and this one was entirely his responsibility. Of course, they might not be able to walk out of this place at all. They might die here.

They spent the day gathering reeds. It was tedious work in the freezing water and sucking mud, and after labouring for about nine hours, all the daylight they had, the pile of fuel was depressingly small. Late in the afternoon Ullii came out of her basket and collected a bundle of reeds, handing it to Nish with the air of someone bestowing a great gift. It was, had Nish only realised it, but he was in no mood. He snapped at the seeker, who retreated to her basket, deeply hurt, and did not come out all night.

It was too late to take off that afternoon. The following morning, Nish's prediction proved correct – the damp, hollow reeds generated hardly any heat at all. The ones soaked in spirits of tar were better, exploding as soon as they were tossed in the brazier. The first time it happened Nish fell off the ladder into the water and emerged covered in smelly mud. Had it happened in the air, he would have been killed.

'Less spirits,' said the imperturbable S'lound, lifting him over the side all black and dripping.

It was nearly midday by the time they were ready to go but the balloon did not budge. The basket was stuck in the mud. They had to rock it free before it would lift, and then sluggishly. Once in the air they caught a breeze and drifted west over swamp, lake and yet more swamp. There was not a stick of wood to be seen.

S'lound leaned on the edge, cheerful as ever. Nish scrunched himself up in the corner next to Ullii's basket, pulled the coat over his head to keep the drifting flakes off, and felt a failure in every respect.

He was disturbed by a cold nose pushing against his cheek, an arm going over his shoulder. To his amazement it was Ullii.

'You are sad, Nish,' she said softly.

'We'll never get out of here. We'll never find her. I've failed again.'

She sat quietly beside him. Nish was touched. She cared about him.

'I can see trees!' called S'lound.

Nish jumped up. A scrubby patch of forest had appeared out of the foggy distance, and just as well. The reed bundles were exhausted.

It was almost dark when they landed by the forest. The following morning they chopped wood for several hours, and had a good bit stacked in the basket, when Ullii cried out.

'What's the matter?' yelled Nish.

'Someone coming.'

A tall man was advancing towards them, waving a wooden spear and shouting in an unknown dialect. There was a host of angry villagers behind him.

'Any idea what he's saying?' asked Nish.

'We're stealing his wood.'

'There's wood everywhere. It's rotting on the ground.'

'Nonetheless, it's his.' S'lound sprang up on the side and began shouting back, waving a menacing broadsword. 'Get the fire stoked up,' he said over his shoulder.

'We're ready to lift.'

'Untie the ropes.'

Nish climbed out. The balloon was already putting pressure on the knots. He got them undone but the balloon went up too fast. Afraid of being left behind, he gave a triple turn of the rope around his wrist. It tightened and jerked him up. A spear whizzed between his legs, close to parts he was particularly fond of.

Ullii gave a shrill scream. The rope felt as if it was going to tear right through his skin. If it came undone he was dead. They were already as high as the treetops.

He snatched and caught the rope with his left hand. It eased the strain a little. Then S'lound was leaning right out, hauling him up and grabbing his free hand to make sure he did not fall. Nish was pulled over the side and dumped on the floor. Ullii herself helped to bring him down, and when he lay there, gasping, she kissed him on the nose, an astonishing intimacy. 'I can see the sea,' S'lound said as the sun was setting.

Nish scrambled to his feet. 'We'd better put down. We can't afford to go over the water.'

'Then what?'

'We gather fuel and wait for a southerly to take us north to the mountains.'

'Shouldn't be too long a wait,' said S'lound. 'Feels like it's blowing from the South Pole right now.'

He was still saying that a week later. This time they'd gone to see the villagers and made an arrangement with them for fuel. Nish was canny enough to pay in coppers, which they were glad to have, and the villagers chopped and fetched a mountain of wood, enough to enable them to keep the brazier going the whole time. If the air in the balloon went cold it would take hours to fill it.

The wind blew from the west, the north and even the east, but never from the south. Nish fretted. What was Tiaan up to? Ullii had sensed great urgency the last time she'd seen her. They had, however, found out where they were, somewhere between the cities of Runcil and Tatusti. Ullii had managed a clear sighting on Tiaan. Assuming she had not moved, the intersection showed her to be near Mount Tirthrax.

Late on their eighth night in that place they were woken by a great buffet on the basket. The wind whistled through the ropes, a gale carrying not snow but stinging crystals of ice. It was a howling southerly that lifted the balloon with every blast.

'We'd better go,' said S'lound.

'I don't dare take it up in this.'

'It'll get worse! We'll lose it if we stay here.'

The wind screamed and flung the balloon right over. Nish thought it was going to smash against the ground. Before the craft could right itself another gust pushed it over again and the stakes on the windward side tore out.

'Cut the ropes,' S'lound roared, drawing his knife.

Nish did the same. Either way they were doomed. Before he could put his knife to the rope the other stakes tore free. The basket bumped along the ground. Flames belched out of the top of the brazier and he held his breath as they went close to the tarred fabric.

Bump, bump, then the basket struck an obstruction that caved in the side but kicked them into the air. They drifted sideways, almost parallel to the ground. The wind eased and the balloon pulled the basket up.

Nish climbed the ladder, hanging by one hand while he stoked the fire with as much wood as he could cram in. 'I want to get as high as I can,' he said when he was safely down. 'That's where the winds are, and the further we're blown the less we'll have to walk.'

Soon the brazier was glowing red, the distant ground racing by faster than it ever had. The whole balloon was shuddering, as if the air up top was moving faster than at basket level. The moon reflected silver off a thousand lakes.

'How far to go?' S'lound asked.

'A hundred and twenty, maybe thirty leagues.' Nish was watching the procession of lakes and rivers go by, comparing them with his map and making constant amendments. 'This is a very poor chart,' he said, peering over the side. 'That huge lake down there isn't even marked, and the river turns west, not east.'

'Hard place to map, I'd reckon,' grunted S'lound. 'Bad maps are the soldier's biggest problem.'

'Except from a balloon!' He had an idea that might earn him credit with the scrutator. 'Hey, S'lound, what if we were to fly over all the lands where the soldiers were fighting and make proper maps from balloons?'

'Good idea! Guess that's why you're in the favour of the scrutator and I'm just an old soldier.'

'I'm not… Really?'

'So I hear.'

'That was before I cocked up this mission.'

'Ain't over yet. How long to go, do you think?'

'At this rate we should be pretty close by lunchtime. Ah, balloons are wonderful. This trip would takes us months, through the snow.'

'If the wind lasts. And it takes us where it wants, not where we want to go.'

'Well, yes, but certainly closer.'

As the sun rose it reflected redly off the eastern flank of Tirthrax itself, a way to their left. They were no more than thirty leagues from the mountains, which thrust up in an east-west line from the hummocky plains.

'Oh, this is wonderful!' Nish cried. 'Come look, Ullii. You'll never see a sight like this again.'

She peeped out of the basket, earmuffed and begoggled, and even she gazed at the astounding spectacle with wonder.

'Can you still see Tiaan? Please say that you can, Ullii.'

'I can see her. Her crystal fills my mind.' She pointed to Tirthrax mountain, then darted back like a rabbit down a burrow.

'How close do you think we can get?' said Nish. The rugged foothills would be difficult country to walk in.

'The wind has turned more easterly,' said S'lound. 'It's carrying us in the right direction, at least.'

It was the first bit of good luck they'd had on the trip. 'And maybe it'll turn due east when it hits the mountains,' Nish replied.

'Or up and over, or fling itself at the cliffs. Might be an idea to set down sooner than later.'

'We'll keep going as long as we can. Most of those rivers look impassable.'

They drifted towards the mountains for another couple of hours. They were still east of Tirthrax, easily recognisable because it stood a good thousand spans above any of the other peaks. Great ice mounds covered the plain below the glacier falls.

Approaching the mountain wall, the winds did blow more from the east, carrying the balloon west towards their destination. They began to encounter turbulence, which grew worse the closer they approached, flinging the balloon about until they felt seasick. Nish could hear Ullii retching in her basket but she would not come out.

He let the fire die down. They were slowly losing height as Tirthrax loomed up before them. The buffeting diminished. Another hour passed. They crossed onto the middle flank of the mountain, the tree line a long way below them.

Nish called Ullii out, cleaned her up with a damp cloth, washed out her basket and asked her where Tiaan was now. Ullii pointed straight up the mountain, but as they drifted by her arm moved.

'We'd better put it down,' Nish said urgently. 'We'll get no closer than this.'

'There, ahead.'

It was a long slope stripped down to rock by ice falling from the hanging valley above. On the other side lay a great boulder field, beyond which was a clear space that looked safe, though it was rather small. More rough country extended beyond it. Making an instant decision, Nish pulled the rope to open the valve.

They drifted towards the boulders. 'Aren't we going down a bit fast?' yelled S'lound, who was hanging off the ladder near the stove.

Nish pulled the other rope. Nothing happened. 'The valve must have frozen open! Come down, quick!'

S'lound stayed where he was, fiddling with the brazier lid. 'Leave that!' Nish yelled. 'It won't make any difference.'

Nish kept trying the valve to the end. They were dropping too quickly and would smash into the rocks. The ground raced up at them but at the last moment a gust lifted them over the rocks, unfortunately carrying them beyond the clear area as well. They headed towards another cluster of boulders. Nish threw himself at the side of the basket, which swayed in the air, glanced off the side of a boulder, then another, and fell between them, thumping into the ground. S'lound cried out.

Nish was hurled off his feet, cracking his head against the corner of Ullii's basket. The slack went off the ropes; balloon and brazier seemed to be plunging straight at him. Momentarily he imagined the conflagration but the brazier stopped, resting on the rim of the basket. High above he heard a click that must have been the valve closing, for the balloon and brazier slowly drifted up until the ropes were taut.

The skeet let out shrill cries of rage. Nish picked himself up, bruised but unharmed. The basket was jammed between the boulders. He fixed the rope around a rock. 'Well, that's that. Are you all right, Ullii?'

'Yes,' she said softly.

Creeping out, goggles and muffs on, she surveyed the scene then slipped under Nish's arm. He gave her a gentle squeeze.

'Where is S'lound?' she said into Nish's armpit.

They found him around the other side, lying on his back with his head at a strange angle. He was dead. An unlucky landing had broken his neck.

Nish squatted beside him, head bowed. He'd never really come to know the soldier, but S'lound's company had been pleasant enough these past days. He'd provided a reliable solidity, a cheerful presence.

There was nothing to bury the man with, so they piled stones over him. At least, Nish did. Ullii had no concept of cooperative work. She sat watching while Nish laboured. At the end she picked up a small stone, studied it carefully, turned it around in her hands several times and placed it on the pile above S'lound's head.

Having done that, she slumped as if she'd done most of the work. Perhaps, for her, placing that small piece had been harder than Nish's labour. Who knew what went on in that strange, closed-over mind of hers?

'Let's eat,' said Nish, for it was well into the afternoon. 'Then I suggest we head up after Tiaan. What do you think, Ullii?' He did not expect much, but there was a mountainload on his shoulders and no one to help him carry it.

'I don't think anything.'

Nish sighed. The next few months, until they got back to the manufactory, were going to be harder than he had ever imagined. If they got back at all. He checked Ullii's pack, filled his purse with the scrutator's gold that would be needed for the return journey, and settled the sword on his hip. Lifting Ullii's pack on, he made sure the layers of padding under the straps were spread smoothly. They set off.

After about a hundred paces Ullii said, 'It hurts!' and threw the pack on the ground. By the time he'd fixed the straps the sun was low. Clearly they were going nowhere today.

Nish began to fret. Things were very different on foot. They had to find Tiaan quickly, for they could only carry so much food, and most was on his back. What was she doing here anyway? Presumably the lyrinx had brought her here because it was a place of great power. How could he possibly get her away from them? This mission was going to be a bigger failure than the last, he thought gloomily, and they would end up in a lyrinx's belly.

They camped among the rocks. Ullii, never comfortable out of doors, flung off the coat as soon as they stopped. The jerkin, blouse and spider-silk undershirt followed it. She rubbed at the red marks on her shoulders and the small of her back where the pack had chafed her, though she had only been carrying it for a few minutes.

Nish squatted by the tent roll, pegs in hand. He'd only ever seen her unclothed in a darkened room. Her figure was quite lovely. He could not take his eyes off her. He desired her more than he had wanted anyone in his life.

It was getting dark. He made a fire with bits of twisted shrub, since there were no trees this high. It would not last long, but hopefully long enough to cook their dinner. There was much to do and he had to do it by himself. But at least it kept the other thoughts at bay.

The flames leapt up. Ullii was sitting on a rock, staring at him, or through him into eternity – he could not tell. He wished she would put her shirt back on. The sight of her breasts, the nipples all puckered up with the cold… In suppressing the desire, Nish felt an overwhelming flood of anger at himself, and their predicament, and at her too.

'Are you going to sit there all night?' he said irritably. 'Do I have to do everything for you?'

Ullii reacted as if he had slapped her across the face. Her eyes screwed shut; then she cried out, hunching over and covering her face with her arms. She began rocking back and forth, mewling.

'Oh, Ullii, I'm sorry,' he whispered, careful not to alarm her further. After all, she had not asked to come. At his every step she twitched, much as he had done when the whip had been laid across his back months ago.

She hid her face. 'Don't beat me!' she said in the monotone of one who expects to be ignored.

'Of course I'm not going to beat you, Ullii. Have I ever hurt you?'

She did not answer. He rubbed one hand through his hair and slipped it under her nose. She went still as his forearm touched hers. Neither moved. Ullii gave a gentle sniff. Parting her forearms, she sniffed deeply. She sighed and he could feel the tension flowing out of her.

'I'm so afraid, Nish.' She spoke so softly he could barely hear her.

'Of me?'

'Not you.' Her hands pulled his palm against her nose.

'Then what?'

'I can see horrible things.'

'Is Tiaan one of them?'

'Tiaan is nice. I like her. But in the mountain… It's too much, Nish. Everything is so bright, I can't even see her crystal. There's some great…'

'Magic?'

'Some great magic there. It's not made yet, but already it's blinding me. It's awful. It's going to eat us, Nish.'

'Is it lyrinx?'

'I can't tell. There's too much light. Everywhere I look it's as bright as the sun. It hurts my mind. I can't shut it out.'

'Can you see anything else?'

She turned around, facing west. 'Nothing.' She rotated south and east, the way they had come. 'Nothing!' Ullii kept turning, and as she turned due east she cried, 'Clawers!' pointing up along the line of the mountains.

'What, flying? Or in the mountains?'

'I don't know. The Art is too strong.'

'Surely they are flying,' said Nish, 'otherwise they would not need to use the Art.'

She turned east-south-east, screamed and doubled over, protecting her face again. 'No!' She let out an ungodly shriek and began to rock furiously. The shriek came echoing back at them.

'Ullii? What is it?'

It took ages to coax her back this time. 'It… it's a black knot in my lattice. There's a pattern, a beautiful pattern, but I know if I tried to unravel it there's a monster hiding inside. Waiting to get me. It hates us.'

'Is it lyrinx?'

'No. It hates clawers too. It's a creeping, poisonous thing.' Her eyes sprang open. He saw himself reflected in them. 'It's hunting Tiaan!'

'Perhaps it's hunting her for the lyrinx.'

'No!' she shuddered and began rubbing her shoulder. The delicate skin was raised in red welts.

Nish went to his pack, found a flask of cooking oil and sat down beside her, lubricating his fingers. He slid his fingertips across the welts.

She stiffened, but the tension went out of her when his fingers slipped across the skin. 'That feels… nice.' Ullii slid off her perch onto the ground in front of him.

He worked the oil back and forth, ever so gently. The evening was cold but it did not seem to bother her. Finally, when all the marks were done, he let his hand slip away. He ached for her but was afraid to do anything.

'Don't stop!' she whispered. 'Oh, Nish, no one has ever touched me so gently. All my life people have hurt me. No one ever touched me but to cause me pain. Everyone wants to use me, except you. You are the kindest man in the world, Nish.'

If only you knew! Pouring oil into his palm, he smoothed it across her shoulders and down her back. Ullii sighed, and as he worked his fingers back and forth she began to talk about herself, as she had never done before.

'All my life I've wanted to be like other people. You can't imagine what it's like to grow up and never be touched, because you can't bear it. My brothers and sisters used to hug each other. My mother and father too. I wanted it so badly, but the feel of their clothes made me scream. My clothes did too. I screamed all the time and no one knew why.'

'Was it always like that?' He shaped her sides with his palms.

'It got really bad when I was two. After I lost my twin.'

'You had a twin sister?'

'No, I had a brother. I think he died. No one would ever tell me. I still miss him.' She gave a great shudder. 'Before that I don't remember. People have hard skin; their hands hurt me.'

He pulled up his sleeve, touching her with the soft skin on the inside of his arm.

She drew it across her cheek, wonderingly. 'You feel nice, Nish.'

'If I took my shirt off,' he said experimentally, 'you would see that underneath I have soft skin, just like yours.'

She did not respond, so he unfastened his shirt, laid it aside and pressed his chest against her back, very carefully. His fingers slid up to her ears.

She jerked away. 'Don't touch my ears,' she said sharply.

He pulled away, deflated.

She turned to see what the matter was. 'It makes a noise in my head like thunder, Nish.' She put his hands back on her shoulders.

He resumed, shortly feeling bold enough to run his fingers down her throat and onto her chest. When she did not react, he slid them all the way to the swell of her breast, and away again. She sighed and rubbed her cheek against his upper arm.

Nish circled her breast with a slippery finger, heading inwards. She sighed again. He continued, in and in, tracing the little bumps and up the peak of the nipple. Ullii sucked in her breath sharply and began to breathe very fast. She gasped. Her head drooped.

'That is… very nice,' she murmured.

At last he was getting somewhere. Nish lifted his finger. Her hand came up and put it back, pressing down hard. He took the nipple between finger and thumb, rolling it gently back and forth.

Then in an instant she had flung him backwards off the rock. She leapt to her feet.

'What have I done?' he cried.

She stood up on tiptoe, head forward, owl eyes searching the darkness. 'It's happening.'

'What, Ullii?' He rubbed the back of his head, which he had cracked on a stone.

'I don't know. It's like all the lights in the city went on at the same time, right in my eyes.' She turned until she faced the towering bulk of Tirthrax. 'It's coming from up there. Inside the mountain!'