Into Battle

  Tal slowly worked his way around to the other side of the pylon. He was about to launch off deeper into the lake in the hope that the next pylon wouldn't be far away when he saw a faint glow off to his right. A soft violet light, diffused by the ash.He hesitated for a moment, then decided to investigate. Just in case, he kept one finger on the red loop on his chest, the one that would make the suit super-hot on the outside--and only on the outside. He hoped.When he got closer, Tal saw that the light came from a cluster of Sunstones. They were grouped at the top of a long pole that was thrust deep into the lakebed. Tal lumbered closer still, and saw that it wasn't a pole. It was actually a giant harpoon, made from Chosen crystal, one of the few materials that was identical in both the Dark World and Aenir. There were Sunstones all along the shaft, though most were long extinguished. Only the cluster at the end of the harpoon and some Sunstones on the part of the point that was exposed were still shining."Weird," said Tal. Why was a giant harpoon stuck in the lakebed?

  "How long do we have to stay in here?" Adras asked plaintively. "I want to fly. I need to see the sky.""Soon," soothed Tal. The harpoon was an interesting mystery, but Adras was right. They shouldn't be wasting time. He turned away from it and started walking.Fortunately the Chosen who had built the bridge had also smoothed the lakebed underneath it. Tal discovered that this helped his navigation a lot. Whenever he encountered tumbled stones or broken ground, he worked back to where the lakebed was undisturbed.Even on the smoother ground it was hard going. Adras tried to cooperate, but they had both reached the limits of their dexterity in the suit, and still rolled, lumbered, and tripped up. Their Chromatic armor walking would make a great show for Chosen children, Tal thought as they got their legs un-synchronized and came to a sudden, swaying halt.As they got going again, Tal saw another glow ahead. It looked the same as the one he'd seen a hundred stretches back. Had they gotten turned around somehow?He headed up to it, and for a few seconds was convinced that they had ended up back where they'd been. There was another harpoon, glowing with Sunstones.

  But, Tal noticed, this harpoon had different patterns. It was another one, so at least they hadn't turned around.This time he went right up to the harpoon and gingerly touched the crystal. It didn't move at all, even when he pushed quite hard. He was about to withdraw his hand when Adras suddenly decided to help, shifting his cloud-flesh around to the front of Tal and exerting his full strength.The harpoon shifted very slightly. Instantly the remaining Sunstones on it flashed brightly and Tal felt a vibration run through the lakebed and up through his boots."Stop!" he shouted. He pulled his hand back, but it just bounced on the inside of the glove. Adras did stop, but not for a second or two. In that short time, the harpoon shifted a finger-width, and the Sunstones flashed again.This time the vibration through the lakebed was strong enough to shake Tal's teeth. He looked down and saw faint cracks running through the stone around the harpoon's point."We'd better leave this alone," Tal said.

  Whatever the harpoons were part of, it was serious magic and he had been stupid to interfere with it."You don't want me to pull it out?" asked Adras. Tal had the unpleasant sight of the Storm Shepherd's eyeball floating under his chin so Adras could take a look. "It could be useful. We could stick Sushin with it, like Milla did.""No," replied Tal hastily. "Come on."They backed away, almost falling over, then took a wide circle around the harpoon. As Tal had half expected, there was another pylon just beyond the harpoon. He went around it and when he saw a familiar glow on the other side, didn't go and investigate."Concentrate on the task," Tal whispered to himself as he successfully put one foot in front of another."What?" asked Adras. The Storm Shepherd apparently couldn't walk and talk at the same time, because the next step stalled as Tal moved his leg forward and Adras didn't. They only managed to recover by taking a series of tiny, hopping steps that Tal knew looked particularly stupid."What did you say?" Adras asked again. Tal took a deep breath. Adras wasn't the only one who wanted out of the suit.

  "I didn't say anything to you," Tal said, as calmly as he could. "I was talking to myself."

  Adras snorted, nearly blowing Tal's eardrums in. "How much farther is it?""I don't know!"

  Adras didn't talk after that for quite a long time, as they found and went around two more pylons. Unfortunately it wasn't a companionable silence. It was a sulky semi-silence punctuated by snorts and long-suffering sighs. Adras also kept his eyeballs floating around at the edge of Tal's vision, just in front of the boy's ears, though he could see perfectly well if he left them on Tal's shoulders.

  Tal was thinking they should hit the sixth pylon soon when Adras spoke again."What's that?""I don't know!"

  Tal answered automatically, before he even saw what Adras was referring to. When he did see it, his hand went instantly to the red loop and pulled it.For once, Adras cooperated perfectly. Unfortunately they should have stopped first. Their last, fateful step had carried them straight into the thing Adras had spotted a second before.A wall of white scales, higher than Tal, stretched as far as he could see to the left and right.

  As they touched it, the scaly flesh rippled, but the thing didn't move. Tal looked up and along, his heart hammering in his chest. It was some sort of worm or snake-thing, but far larger than it had a right to be. As far as he could tell, it was actually wrapped around the next pylon.The scales rippled again. The worm flexed a little and the section in front of Tal slid along a few stretches, sending waves through the ash."The head must be that way," Tal whispered. He didn't know why he was whispering.He started moving the other way, but as he moved, the worm moved, too. It seemed to be irritated, the huge body rippling sideways as well as moving forward. Tal looked down at the front of the suit. It was no longer rainbow-colored, but a deep red that was verging into black. Tal felt no difference, but the armor was clearly working as Lokar had promised. It was turning red-hot.It was turning red-hot while they were right next to a gigantic worm, which at any moment could get annoyed and sweep its body across and turn Tal and Adras, armored or not, into pulp."Back up," Tal said urgently as the worm got more and more agitated. It was sliding back and forth and rolling its body, the scales lifting as if it sought to cool itself underneath.The worm rolled again, its vast body crashing down right where Tal had been a moment before."Back, faster!" shrieked Tal. He was windmilling his arms to stay upright as they staggered back. If they fell now, it would be all over.Then they hit something else. Tal tried to turn left and Adras tried to turn right. Adras won, but the suit spun out of control, pitching them to the lakebed.

  They landed face-up. Tal stared as the worm rolled closer and closer. Then he looked to see what they'd run into. He caught the briefest glimpse of a cavernous, bony mouth big enough to snap up a dozen suits of armor.Then it closed over him.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Whatever had swooped in and eaten them accelerated away so swiftly that Tal momentarily blacked out. Then he started to struggle, punching wildly and kicking, until Adras joined in to help and made it too difficult.In his initial panic, Tal hadn't looked around. Now he saw that they were still in the creature's mouth. Whatever it was didn't seem bothered by the heat, possibly because the armor was totally surrounded by ash swallowed at the same time.

  Tal tried to sit up, but fell over as their swallower suddenly tilted one way and then the other. It felt like it was still moving very quickly, though it was hard to tell from inside."At least it hasn't swallowed," Tal said after a while. It was still impossible to sit up. They'd twice flipped over completely and if he hadn't been cushioned by Adras, Tal would have been seriously bruised inside the armor."I want to get out," replied Adras. "Out of the monster, out of the armor, out!""So do I!" said Tal.

  He thought furiously. What was the story Milla had told him? About Ulla Strong-Arm when she was swallowed by a broken-jawed Selski? She'd cut herself out of the Selski's stomach. But he didn't have a sword. Maybe he could burn his way out… Tal started swimming through the ash to reach the side or the floor of the creature's mouth. But eve
ry time he got close there was nothing to hang on to and the next sudden swerve or turn threw him back where he started, suspended in the middle.Then Tal saw two protruding bulbs of flesh at the rear of the mouth. They were about as big as he was. Though they were constantly quivering, he could at least try and hold on to them.They weren't tonsils, but Tal thought they might be the monster's equivalent. If he could tickle them, or annoy them, or burn them, the monster might throw up."Let's grab whatever they are and see what happens!" he said, and pointed. A moment later he was hurled across the mouth by a sudden zigzag, but Adras got the message. Together they struggled to swim across to the fleshy appendages.It was a case of two strokes forward and one fall back, but finally they were close enough. Tal hesitated. For a fleeting moment he wondered if it could get any worse. Then he embraced the closer appendage with his now black-hot arms.It wriggled and shook as Tal held it, but the exposed gray-blue flesh didn't seem to burn. He gripped it tighter and tried to throw himself backward and forward. But it was like holding on to a tree trunk in a gale. It went wherever it wanted to and Tal only just managed to hang on.Then the mouth opened a fraction and a fresh current of ash swept through the mouth. Tal shouted in triumph, and prepared to let go so they could get vomited out.But the monster didn't vomit. The mouth snapped open wide and a huge wave of ash came crashing in. Tal was picked up and hurled past the tonsil-things and down a tunnel that was all too gulletlike. Halfway along, the suit was gripped by a tremendous suction and fired like a spitball down a tube. Tal and Adras were twisted and turned and spun about so Tal could hardly see where they were.

  They exploded out into a large chamber that Tal guessed was the creature's stomach. It was only half full of ash and crystal, and besides Tal and Adras in the armor, there were several things floating on the surface. Things that had obviously once enjoyed some sort of life in the lake.Two long gray tendrils came out of the stomach wall, reached down, and picked up a big chunk of what looked like a Kerfer. The tendrils held it above the ash while another thicker tendril moved across it, coating it with a sticky yellow substance. Then the first two tendrils shoved the Kerfer tidbit hard against the stomach wall. A tiny hole there expanded to admit the chunk. The tendrils pushed it in and the hole snapped shut."I feel sick," said Tal. The tendrils swooped back down. They almost touched Tal, but recoiled at the last moment. The third tendril hovered close, but it didn't touch the suit, or spew forth any of the yellow mucus.Then the suction started again. Ash rose up all around Tal and Adras, almost pure ash without the crystals that made it more see-through. The ash coated the suit's helmet so they couldn't see at all.A second later Tal was slammed down one end of the suit as it was gripped in a mighty suction. The suction increased. The suit was being buffeted and Tal shook around like a pea in a pod as they accelerated. There was an explosion that deafened Tal and rattled his teeth and they spun end over end before coming to a crashing halt that would probably have killed Tal if Adras hadn't spread around him and cushioned the blow.After a few seconds of wondering what in the name of Light had just happened, Tal wiped the front of the helmet, to clear the ash. After a few wipes, he had it clear enough to see that they had collided with a huge block of stone.They were out of the monster, free and clear in the lake. Tal closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't how Ulla Strong-Arm would have done it, and it wasn't the stuff of legend. But he didn't care.He looked up at the stone. It was smaller than the bridge pylons, but it was shaped stone and it went straight up. It was probably the foundation of a Chosen house."Let's climb up and see where we are," he said to Adras. "The sooner we get out of this lake, the better."It was a long climb. Evidently the creature that had swallowed them was a denizen of the deepest part of the lake.

  It was a nervous climb, too. Tal found that it took all his willpower to concentrate on the climb and not look over his shoulder every few minutes. He kept expecting to see the shadow of those giant jaws. What if the thing decided to keep them next time?By the time they reached the top, Tal had almost decided not to go back under again. Whatever the risks of detection, they would leave the suit and sneak along a bridge. Then he would steal a boat to get to the Empress's island. He couldn't face being eaten and…

  ejected…

  by a monster again.But when they got to the top of the stone, Tal discovered that it didn't join a bridge or a house. It just stopped, about half his height below the surface. Tal crouched on top of the stone and looked around. It was still night, which was good. Without having his Sunstone accessible to check the time, he had feared it would be past dawn already. The moon had risen, though, and it was two-thirds full and far too bright for comfort.It took him a while to get his bearings. They had been brought by the monster to the other side of the lake, the less inhabited side. There was the main cluster of Chosen homes off in the distance, and the Big South Bridge. There was the East Bridge, and the Orange Common House he knew well.

  And there, no more than two hundred stretches away, was the dark shape of the Empress's island. He could only see the bright pools of light from a few Sunstones on it, most on the far side closer to the main part of the Enclave. There were no lights at all on the lakeshore facing Tal.

  Tal looked at it carefully. There was a time when he would have just headed for it straight away. He was more thoughtful now. Why was the island and the closer shore the only place that wasn't lit up? How was it defended against all the creatures that could crawl up its shores out of the lake?"Out," said Adras, cutting into Tal's thoughts."Soon, very soon," said Tal. He thought for a moment longer. There was no way he was going to climb back down and walk across the lakebed to the island. They would have to take a chance, even with the moon shining so brightly.

  "Adras. Are you strong enough to fly us both to the island?""Yes," Adras confirmed instantly. Tal worried about that for a moment, since he knew Adras would say anything to get out."All right. I'm going to open the armor. As soon as I step out, I want you to pick me up and fly me just to the edge of the island. To the edge. Got that?"

  Adras nodded, pushing Tal's head forward so sharply he nearly cricked his neck. Tal grabbed the violet loop and pulled it, before Adras could nod again.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The suit of armor didn't open. It blew apart. Thousands of red-hot shards flew in all directions, falling into the lake like strange hail. One fell near Tal's foot. He could feel the heat from it, even through the ash and crystal.

  Adras didn't spring up into the air as Tal had planned. He stayed where he was, until the last flaming fragment of the armor fell to earth.

  "Lokar didn't tell me it would do that," croaked Tal. His mouth had gotten suddenly dry. "What if I'd been standing next to someone?""They'd be very cross," replied Adras. He was slowly billowing out to his full size."I hope no one… nothing noticed." Tal looked around. The surface of the lake was still and there was no sign of any activity off in the lit-up areas.

  Adras launched out of the ash and floated above Tal's head. He didn't look any the worse for having supplied breathing air for several hours, or for being compressed in the suit of armor. But he was clearly much happier to be out. Tal held up his arms and winced even before Adras grabbed him. For some reason the Storm Shepherd knew only one shoulder-dislocating technique for picking Tal up.Cloudy hands met around Tal's wrists and the expected savage jerk came. For a few seconds Tal's legs trailed in the ash, bringing unpleasant images of fishing expeditions and brightly colored lures.] Then Adras rose higher and Tal came free. "Don't get too high," cautioned Tal as they rose up to forty or fifty stretches above the lake. The moon was bright, bright enough to cast a shadow from the flying Storm Shepherd and the Chosen boy dangling beneath him. Tal watched the shadow flicker across the lake. It was strange to think that here in Aenir, shadows were only ever dark reflections and nothing more.The Empress's island looked peaceful enough by moonlight. Looking down at it, Tal could see that most of the place was taken up by carefully ordered gardens. There were statues spread among the garde
ns, and several pools of what must be real water, silver in the moonlight. Off on the southern side there was an L-shaped house, its windows mostly dark. It was roofed with crystal tiles that had to be sprinkled with Sunstones, for they twinkled in different colors rather than reflecting the moonlight. In front of the house there was a courtyard covered by a canopy of crystal leaves. There were Sunstones shining brightly under that canopy, but Tal couldn't see what they illuminated.It all looked very pretty and comfortable. But there must also be guards of some sort, Tal thought. He would have to evade them, and somehow get enough time to tell the Empress of the danger Sushin presented, of the threat to the Veil and the whole Dark World.

  Adras glided down as instructed and set Tal down on the very edge of the island. The landing was as gentle as could be expected, which meant that Tal fell over. He was surprised to find that he had landed on soft grass. As he got up he saw that it grew right up to the lakeshore and the ash. No normal grass would do that. It felt normal enough, though, just like the lawns in the garden caverns of the Castle.There was a path not far away. Tal cautiously crossed the grass to it, and studied it before he stepped onto it. It was made of bricks, but not normal ones. These were violet crystal and had Sunstone fragments suspended in them. As his foot came down, the bricks under it sparkled, but nothing sinister happened.

  Adras hovered in the air behind Tal.

  "Something smells funny," whispered the Storm Shepherd. "Oily."