'I'm not sure, he admitted. 'I don't know what this place is.
A black circle expanded on the wall. It vanished, leaving an equally black opening. Edeard and Salrana shared a look, and walked over to it. Some of the red light seeping out exposed what looked like rock walls beyond. Edeard extended his farsight, and confirmed there was some kind of cave outside. They stepped through cautiously on to a sandy floor. The air was dry and stale. Edeard's farsight couldn't see far through rock, of course, but the cave extended for some distance. After they walked a few steps the red light began to fade. Salrana spun round in time to see the circular opening seal up. She let out a little squeal.
Edeard held up a hand, and did the spark trick Kristabel had shown him back at the beach lodge. A layer of cold white flame licked round his fingers, throwing the cave into stark relief.
'But it's just rock, Salrana exclaimed, studying the hole that had closed.
'I don't understand the city, Edeard said. 'I just talk to it.
'How? she asked, a strong flash of curiosity shimmering through her veiled thoughts.
'Well… He shrugged. 'I just do, really.
'This is like before, she said and shivered. 'You and me hiding alone at the bottom of a hole while outside our lives are destroyed.
The fatigue really hit Edeard then. It wasn't just his body that was exhausted by the ride back to Makkathran, the emotional turmoil he'd suffered was even more debilitating. He just wanted to curl up and go to sleep — for a very long time. The light scintillating round his hand began to fade.
'Edeard, his mother said. 'Don't give up. Not now.
He took a moment. 'All right, he said miserably.
Salrana looked at him.
'Come on, he said. 'Let's see where this leads us to.
The cave wasn't always as wide as where they'd entered it. Some places they had to squeeze and push their way along, with the rock grazing their clothes. The cave took them upwards, which worried Edeard. After farsighting the tunnels diving down into the depths of Querencia he wondered just how far underground they were.
It took an hour for them to squirm and worm their way through the cave before Edeard finally saw a pale sliver of daylight up ahead. They had to crawl up a steep slope with a roof of rock barely three feet above it before they emerged into a level cave. The entrance was curtained by a thick layer of eaglevine, whose red and green leaves muted the afternoon sunlight.
Edeard sent his farsight probing through the lush vegetation to discover the cave mouth was halfway up a vertical cliff. He could sense no one outside, not even an animal. When he pushed the strands of eaglevine apart he found himself staring north east across the Iguru Plain, with the Donsori Mountains in the distance.
'This is one of those little volcanoes, he told Salrana. Far below him, a verdant forest of palms and vrollipan trees boiled around the lower slopes before giving way to the rich fields that divided up the plain. He twisted his head and looked up. 'The top of the cliff is closer than the bottom. I think I can get there okay.
'Edeard! Be careful.
'Don't worry, he said. His farsight was examining the rock below the swarm of eaglevine. It was a rugged surface, providing innumerable hand and foot holds. He stretched out and secured a grip, then began to climb.
'I'll scout round ahead, Dinlay's soul said, and drifted upward. For the first time, Edeard began to envy the dead. The climb actually wasn't so easy. He had to use his farsight to locate every grip, then shove his hands through the scratchy vines. It was even more difficult to get his feet through, he was constantly having to use his third hand to part the ancient rope-like cords.
Over ten minutes after leaving the cave, the tips of the vines gave way to.bare rock. The cliff began to curve, and Edeard scrambled his way up off the rock and on to the slope of thin soil and reedy grasses.
He used his longtalk to tell Salrana: 'Made it. His third hand gripped her carefully, and he lifted her out of the cave and up through the air.
'I can't see anyone, Dinlay said. 'And there's a pavilion a quarter of a mile round the mountain, where the ground flattens out a bit. Nobody home.
'Thank the Lady for that, Edeard muttered.
He settled Salrana gently beside him. She produced a nervous grin. 'I think that was worse than the city tunnel, she said apologetically.
'We need to take cover and decide what to do, Edeard said. 'This way.
The pavilion was exactly as Dinlay indicated. Belonging to some Grand Family, it was perched on a moderate slope with its front looking towards Makkathran, some fifteen miles away from the base of the volcanic cone. Built mainly from wood, its frontage was a long veranda with an overhang supported by a series of wide arches. Small polygonal turrets on each end had high sweeping roofs. Its white paint was starting to fade, splitting open to peel away on some of the long boards. Green spores were taking hold in the cracks and corners.
The doors were closed but not locked. Edeard and Salrana walked across the pavonazzeto tiling to find a building that had already been closed for the winter. Furniture had been covered in thick sheets. Shutters were bolted. The oil lamps drained. Bedding, carpets and rugs had been taken away. The saucers of poison laid out for vermin.
'Not a lot of food in the kitchen, Salrana called out as she explored. Mars of fruit preserves and some flour. I suppose I
could bake a loaf if you like. There's some wood and coal for the stove.
Edeard had gone through the only bedroom out on to the veranda. The slope outside was in shadow now the sun was low in the sky on the other side of the volcano. He leaned on the handrail, staring out at the city. Just the sight of it produced an ache in his heart; he longed to return, to put things right. But too much had happened, Owain had destroyed everything of value. 'No fires, he said. 'Nor lights. They'll be looking for us.
She came out on to the veranda and put her arm round his shoulder. 'Of course. I wasn't thinking. What do we do?
'Get away, he said. 'Travel into the east and find a province where the Waterwalker is just a tale from the city that nobody really believes.
'Aren't you going to stay and fight?
'No. Owain and his kind are in power now.
'Nobody wanted them. People will expect you to do something.
'Buate was right, all I can do now is kill. That's not the answer.
'But, Edeard—
'No.
'I understand, she said solemnly. 'Come inside.
He let her lead him back into the big bedroom. Edeard settled back on the fat mattress, staring up at the ceiling while Salrana went back to rummaging in the kitchen. Now he'd actually stopped moving the pain in his legs and buttocks began plaguing him. The horse ride back to Makkathran had been brutal. When he probed his tender flesh he found his trousers were damp from blood and skin fluid. It hurt, making him wince.
'I sensed that, Salrana said, standing in the doorway holding on to a couple of large fruit jars.
He knew her farsight was concentrating on him, and didn't protest.
'Edeard! What have you done to yourself?
'I had to get back here, he said. 'We thought I might still have time. He knew the tears were going to spill out again. Even now he didn't want Salrana to witness that.
'Eat something, she said, and put a jar on the bed beside him. 'I'll have a hunt round for some medicine; there's bound to be some here somewhere. And, if not, I saw some falanpan leaves outside. I can make a poultice.
Edeard didn't have the energy to protest. The jar contained plums preserved in a sugary syrup. He ate several before she returned, holding up a tube of ointment.
'I didn't realize I was so hungry, he admitted. Then he had to grit his teeth as she gingerly stripped his trousers off. Her expression at the sight of his raw flesh wasn't reassuring. She did her best to brush her own concern away.