The Fall of the Readers Page 8
“Brother Isaac was able to melt the steel giant’s leg,” Dex said. She glanced at Flicker, who shook his head sorrowfully.
“I can’t make a flame that hot,” the fire-sprite said. “And melting rock would be even more challenging than metal.”
Alice took a mental inventory of their abilities. Spike wasn’t strong enough to crack rocks. Soranna’s powers were mostly defensive. Flicker’s flame wasn’t hot enough. Michael’s silver knives couldn’t cut solid stone, and neither would Dex’s caryatid blades. What does that leave?
“Dex,” she said, feeling the shadow of an idea worming its way into her mind. “What about your moon-stuff?”
“Shaped into a spear, you mean?” Dex frowned. “I do not think you could throw it hard enough to break rock.”
“Not a spear. A thread.” Her mind raced ahead. “But . . . a very thin thread. Have you ever seen a cheese slicer?”
None of them had, of course. There was a brief digression while Alice explained the need for slicing cheese, and then a somewhat longer one while she explained the concept of cheese for Flicker.
“It’s basically a wire, strung between two handles,” Alice said. “And you push it into the cheese, and it just cuts through easily because it’s so thin.”
Michael nodded. “It applies the force of your push over a much smaller area, the same as a knife blade. It’s the same reason you can get paper cuts. The only problem would be if the wire wasn’t strong enough.”
“Right!” Alice said. “But Dex’s moon-stuff is practically unbreakable, and you can make it very thin, can’t you?”
“I’ve never tried, but I believe so,” Dex said. “But how will we get close enough to cut the rocks with a wire?”
Alice felt her smile returning. “Here’s the plan.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHEESE SLICER
SORANNA WENT FIRST, WITH the threads rolled up and slung over her shoulder, while the rest of them watched from the narrow crack in the rock.
The rock-thing spun up a boulder as soon as it saw her, and she ran to the nearest pillar, ducking as a cascade of rock chips flew. She unwrapped the threads Dex had spun and laid one end on the ground. Then she took a deep breath—she couldn’t breathe while she was intangible—and ran.
Another boulder slammed out, well-aimed. It passed through Soranna without stopping, hit the cliff face, and bounced high into the air. That seemed to take the rock-creature aback for a moment, and as it paused, Soranna rounded the second pillar, leaving a silver line of moon-stuff lying on the ground behind her. She let out her breath with a whoosh and gasped for air, crouching low as another boulder hit the pillar. With her lungs full again, Soranna ran back to the pillar where she’d begun, a boulder narrowly missing her as she went.
Now the net was in position, but it was still lying on the ground. Alice signaled to Flicker and Dex, and just after the next boulder hit the wall, they both ran, Dex to the pillar where Soranna waited, Flicker to the far end of the threads. Alice held her breath, but they’d timed it well, and they reached cover before another boulder arrived.
Dex fused the ends of the moon-stuff into a single piece, and she and Flicker started climbing the pillars, tugging the bundle of threads behind them. When they were four or five yards off the ground, they let the bundle unroll, so an entire mesh of fine threads hung between the two pillars. They were as thin as cobweb, floating gauzy and frail-looking in the breeze.
Dex looked across at Flicker and waved, and the fire-sprite stopped climbing. When Dex touched the threads again, they contracted, pulling the whole thing taut. Flicker hopped down from his perch on the pillar, Dex following soon after.
The trap was set. Alice stepped out from the crack in the rock, keeping her eyes on the boulder-thing. The others had all volunteered for this job—bait, essentially—but she’d insisted on doing it. She wasn’t sure this would work, and if it failed, she wanted to be the one to suffer the consequences. After all, I’ve been hit by this thing once already, and I’m still alive. None of the others could say that.
That wasn’t to say she was looking forward to it, of course. She wrapped the Swarm thread as tight as she could without transforming herself, hardening her skin, and took a position near the cliff, with the net directly between herself and the rock-thing. It saw her at once, blank white eyes rotating in her direction, and a boulder began to spin, faster and faster. Alice forced herself to breathe deep, planted her feet, and waited.
The boulder hit the ground and shot forward, turning its spin into forward momentum. It came at her in a series of bounding leaps, low to the ground. In the time it took to blink, it passed between the two pillars that anchored the net, and—
Alice let out an excited whoop as rocks landed all around her. It works!
The boulder had simply come apart in midair. It went through the net without slowing down, and all the force of its motion was concentrated on the hair-thin strands of Dex’s unbreakable moon-stuff. Like the sharpest blades imaginable, they sliced through solid rock as if it were thick mist. A single hurtling rock was transformed into a loose collection of debris, chopped into odd shapes like dough under a cookie cutter. Pieces bounced wildly in every direction, a spray of small stones that pelted the ground all around Alice and caromed off the wall behind her.
Rock dust filled the air. No sooner had it cleared than Alice saw a second boulder coming at her. It met the same fate as the first, disintegrating in midair as it collided with the nearly invisible strands. A few fragments hit Alice, bouncing harmlessly off her Swarm-hardened skin. As a third boulder came in and hit the net, she started laughing out loud. She had no idea if it was possible to taunt a pile of rocks, but she certainly didn’t want it to stop.
It obliged her, hurling stone after stone from its diminishing stockpile. A pile of broken fragments built up around Alice, and she climbed up to keep it from covering her feet. Dex, crouching behind one of the anchor pillars, gave her a cheery wave, and Alice waved back, grinning like a loon, even as another boulder exploded.
When the last boulder had splintered and crashed to the ground, the rock-creature’s head simply sat watching her, apparently impotent to do any more than glare.
Dex stuck her head out from behind the pillar and waved cautiously in the rock-creature’s direction. It shifted to look at her, but made no other move. Dex touched the net with one finger, and in an instant the silvery moon-stuff dissolved into nothing.
“It worked!” Michael came out from the crack in the rock, with Ashes riding on his shoulder and Cyan prancing joyfully at his heel. They picked their way over the field of debris and met up with the others, who’d gathered near the center of the clear space.
“It worked,” Alice agreed. She glanced at the silent, staring rock creature.
“Let’s get moving. That thing gives me the creeps.”
There were general nods of agreement. They filed past the rocky head, which rotated to watch them go. Another crack led through the cliffs on the side opposite from where they’d come in. They squeezed through, in single file, and found themselves on another pebble beach, facing a landscape of small islands and distant, circling gulls not very different from the one they’d left behind.
“I suppose it was too much to hope that we’d be done with boats.” Ashes sighed.
“Okay, Cyan,” Michael said. “Go! Boat!”
Cyan yipped and jumped gleefully into the water, expanding rapidly into his furry boat form. Ashes eyed him with distaste.
“My opinion of canines is not rising on this journey.”
“He may be more vulpine than canine,” Michael said. “And I like him. Ow!” he added as Ashes swatted him on the side of the head and jumped down.
“I apologize for Ashes,” Alice said to Michael. “He’s a cat, and—” She paused, and decided that seemed like a complete description. “He’s a cat.”
He wandered over toward Cyan. Dex came over to clap Alice on the shoulder.
“My apologies if I was harsh earlier,” she said.
“No apology necessary,” Alice said. “And thank you. You were right, I was being stupid. If it happens again, please tell me.”
“A service I’m happy to provide,” Dex said. “Sometimes we all need a reminder that there are many ways to approach a problem.”
“And that I’m not alone,” Alice said. “I can’t do this by myself.”
“And you don’t have to,” Dex said. She grinned. “Though I must say, the Grand Labyrinth is proving friendlier than I anticipated.”
“This is friendlier? We nearly drowned and I was squashed by a boulder!” Alice paused and reminded herself that this was a girl who had once had her arm bitten off by a crocodile and apparently taken it in stride. “Let’s just hope it stays that way.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
A FEAST
SEVERAL HOURS LATER, ALICE was beginning to regret that remark.
The attacks had started almost as soon as they’d left the island of the first Veil. The sea began to froth with small jumping fish, whose wide-open mouths were thick with needle-like teeth. Dex and Michael had cut them out of the air with swords and flying knives, while Alice batted aside those that got through and Flicker skewered them with his spear.
No sooner had they passed through the school and out the other side than huge hairy spiders, floating on rafts of viscous white bubbles, had paddled in their direction. This time Alice took the lead, plunging into the water as the devilfish and shredding the creatures one after another while the other apprentices fought at the rail, like old-fashioned sailors repelling boarders.
The latest assailant had been an enormous crab, its legs arching out of the water and folding down over Cyan’s sides to pluck at his passengers with huge claws. Alice had fought with a sword made of moon-stuff and Spike’s prodigious strength, and she and Dex had cut the multi-legged thing to pieces. It reminded Alice of their progress through Esau’s labyrinth, the constant assault by hostile creatures too dumb to realize they were outmatched.
With a final slash, she severed the last of the claws, and it landed with a thud on the deck. Her muscles burned. Even with Spike’s strength, there was a limit to her endurance, and she knew she was coming up on it. But the sea, for the moment, seemed clear.
“Everyone okay?” Alice said.
Dex, still encased in silver caryatid armor, gave a nod. Michael and Soranna stood back to back at the bow, splashed liberally with crab goop. Flicker crouched in the center of the boat, a spear in his hands.
“Where’s Ashes?” Alice said.
The cat poked his head out from under an overturned basket. “Are they gone?”
“I think we left them behind,” Michael said. He patted Cyan’s rail fondly. “Good boat.” Cyan made a sound like brrriiiii.
“Can you find us somewhere we can pull up?” Alice said. “I think we all need a rest.”
Michael nodded and began stroking Cyan’s ears. Dex let her caryatid armor fade away and stretched, grinning broadly.
“On the plus side,” she said, “our food problem is solved!”
“Solved?” Alice said, frowning. “How?”
Alice had to admit that it smelled delicious. Michael remained skeptical.
“Crabs are basically water spiders, aren’t they?” he said. “You’re eating spider.”
“I’ve eaten spiders,” Soranna said. “They’re crunchy. Not as good as crickets.”
That turned Alice’s stomach a little. Soranna had grown up on another world, where her master kept humans in a primitive state. It wasn’t something she talked about much, and the others were content not to ask.
“I’m going to try it,” Alice said, leaning forward. “How bad can it be?”
They’d made a fire pit in the center of Cyan’s deck, a thin slab of moon-stuff to protect the boat piled with the rest of the baskets and some dry grass they’d found on a nearby island. Flicker had started the blaze, which now burned merrily. Dex had collected several of the enormous crab limbs that had fallen into the boat, cut them into smaller segments, and propped them above the flames. When she declared them done, they cracked the scorched shells open to reveal juicy, pinkish meat.
“The Most Favored and I ate crab regularly,” Dex said, picking apart the steaming meat with her fingers and popping morsels into her mouth. “She enjoyed all the fruits of the sea, but crab was her favorite.”
Soranna hadn’t taken any convincing. Now Alice pulled a sliver off, blew on it until it was cool, and took a tentative bite. Her eyes widened.
“It’s good!”
“It’d be better with some seasoning,” Dex said. “And butter, of course. But an improvement over nothing at all.”
Michael, watching the others eat with such evident enjoyment, eventually sighed and gave in, still muttering about spiders. Once she was full, Alice tore off some strips for Ashes, who also raised no protests.
“Are you all right?” she said to the cat while he ate. “We’ve had our hands full, and I haven’t been able to look after you.”
Ashes swallowed and licked his lips. “I’m a half-cat,” he said, “and I can take care of myself.”
“Of course you can.” She scratched him behind the ear, and he pushed his head against her hand. “I’m sorry your mother made you come with us.”
“I suppose I would have wanted to come along anyway,” Ashes muttered. “Someone has to make sure you stay out of trouble. I only wish . . .”
“Wish what?”
“Nothing.” He bolted another strip of crab. “I wish that this were over, and we were home safe. I have a bad feeling, Alice.”
“You’re not the only one.”
Ashes lowered his voice. “Has the Dragon told you anything more?”
“Not since he warned me not to trust Ending.”
“I’m sure my mother knows what she’s doing,” Ashes said, not sounding sure at all. “It would be nice if she would tell me a little more, of course.”
“Do you feel anyone manipulating this labyrinth against us?”
“I don’t think so,” the cat said, yawning. “As far as I can tell, it’s just awful all by itself.” He walked around in a circle once, and curled up against Alice’s side. “Fire-boy wants to talk to you.”
Alice looked up to see Flicker coming over. A piece of their cook fire danced on his palm, his fingers shaping and molding it like clay. He bit off a chunk, swallowed, and rolled the rest into a ball.
“How are you holding up?” she said as he sat down next to her.
“All right,” Flicker said. “It’s just . . .” He sighed.
“Just?” Alice prompted.
“I can’t help but think you would have been better off if I’d stayed behind. I’m not strong enough.” He stared moodily into the fire. “I should have known better, but I let my anger blind me to the obvious. I’m not a Reader, and I can’t keep up.”
Alice blew out a long breath. She was tempted to just tell him he was wrong, but Flicker deserved better than that. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t wondered the same thing—not that he was a burden, just whether he was only going to get hurt. But it’s not that simple.
“I’m glad you came,” Alice said. “That attitude is everything we’re fighting against, I think. The idea that it’s only the Readers who matter, and everyone else is just pawns on the game board. We’ve seen where that ends.”
“Very noble.” Flicker gave a weak smile. “It doesn’t change the fact that the Readers are more powerful than anybody else. You can do things that it scares me to think about.”
“But the others have had to rescue me twice a
lready,” Alice said. “No one is powerful enough to do everything themselves, not even the old Readers. They have servants. I’d rather have friends.”
Flicker nodded, though he didn’t look truly convinced. Alice sat in silence a moment longer, then gently dislodged Ashes and got to her feet.
“Time to move on,” she said, feeling out along the fabric of the Grand Labyrinth. She was getting better at interpreting its unique geometry, and she thought she sensed another barrier stretched ahead of them. “I think another Veil is close.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
HALOGELKIN
CYAN PULLED UP ONTO another beach, shrinking back into his fox form after everyone piled out and running in circles with excited yips. The island was smaller than the last Veil, but with high cliffs blocking any view of what lay beyond it. A broad, sandy path led into the interior, tufted here and there with clumps of wild grass.
“Will it be another guardian, do you think?” Dex said. “Or some kind of test?”
“A test sounds less dangerous,” Flicker said.
“Unless it means the island is full of traps,” Michael said. “Pits and spinning blades and collapsing rocks and so on.”
“Everyone keep an eye out for spinning blades,” Alice said. “Or anything else.”
Ashes scrambled up onto Alice’s shoulder, his tail shifting against her back. She scratched him absently behind the ear as they started forward, her mental grip hovering over her threads. Dex walked beside her, followed by Michael and Soranna, with Cyan trotting behind. Flicker brought up the rear.
The path curved around a rock wall and opened out into a large circular space, a sandy arena half ringed by cliff face. Set into the stone was a door, a huge iron thing easily twice Alice’s height, with massive hinges and an enormous keyhole. It was flecked with rust, as though it had stood untouched for decades.
“A door?” Michael said. “That’s the Veil?”
“Maybe we have to pick the lock,” Alice said.