Ian Irvine - Alchymist

The air-floater continued to circle within the base of the cloud. Irisis stalked from the watch to the cabin, and back to the watch, a dozen times. The mist thinned over Alcifer but still clung to the ridges. Scudding rain-showers obscured their view most of the time.

Irisis appeared in the doorway, breathing heavily. 'He's failing, Yggur. We've got to go now'.'

'I've seen it!' snapped Yggur, staring through his spyglass.

Nish swung his own glass in the direction Yggur was looking, sweeping it back and forth as he tried to penetrate the mist. He could not see a flying construct, but its metal skin would not be easy to pick out against the mist-hung forest.

There were more lyrinx in the air than before, and yet more rising out of Alcifer.

'Where is it, Yggur?' he called. 'You mightn't see it — it's under some kind of concealment and I don't dare try breaking it from here.'

'He's failing, Yggur,' Irisis repeated. He didn't seem to hear her.. She ran down and began beating him around the shoul-ders and head. He laid down the spyglass and caught her wrists, holding her easily. She tried to kick him.

'Stop it!' Yggur roared. He dragged her into the cabin, where Flydd lay panting on his bench.

Putting his hands to Flydd's belly, Yggur muttered a few words. The lines faded from the scrutator's face and his breathing eased. Yggur shook him, gently.

'Scrutator? Wake!'

Flydd's eyes opened. 'Yes?' he said in a scratchy voice.

'I've found the construct, but the lyrinx are rising and if we don't act now they must take it. And yet, Scrutator Flydd, you're very ill. Your resistance to the transfer controller must have burst something internally. I can ease the pain, as I just did, but I can't save you. Only a healer can.'

'Get on with it,' Flydd muttered, irascible to the last.

'But if we turn back now we must lose the construct, and all our plans fail with it. I give you the choice, Scrutator. What do you say?'

'You bastard!' said Irisis.

Flydd stared up at the ceiling.

'Do you understand what I'm saying, Scrutator?' said Yggur.

'I do,' he rasped.

'Well?'

'Of course you must take the flying construct. Why do you have to ask?' Flydd's head fell sideways and the laboured breathing renewed.

Yggur ran outside and focussed his spyglass. Not finding what he was looking for, he cursed and ran back, to lug out a wooden box.

'Hundreds of lyrinx are rising out of Alcifer,' he rapped.

'But where are they going? Flangers, you've got the best eyes, can you see the construct?' Handing him the spyglass, he began to unpack the transfer controller.

The rotor missed a beat. Inouye let out a frightened squawk.

'What the hell's going on?' said Yggur.

The mud terrace above the ridge erupted as a geyser roared thirty spans in the air. A roiling cloud of dirty steam burst out in all directions and they lost sight of the ridge, as well as the drama unfolding below.

'That can't have been an accident,' Fyn-Mah said quietly.

'Let's see what the result is,' said Yggur.

'The lyrinx are heading that way,' said Nish.

'I can see the construct!' Flangers hissed. 'There — at the end of that ridge. There are people around it, though I can't tell if it's on the ground or above it. No, it's flying. It's just gone out over the edge. There's a flying lyrinx there. Looks like it's carrying something. It's gone down into the trees. I think the construct's crashing. No, it's all right.'

Nish found it now, a shadow creeping in and out of the mist. Flangers was silent for a minute.

'It's coming up again,' said Flangers. 'It's landing on the ridge. Someone's getting in. Now it's lifting; it's moving very slowly. The enemy are coming fast, forming a circular wall around it.'

'Should I go down?' Inouye asked softly.

'Yes. No! Wait.' Yggur was uncharacteristically irresolute. 'No. They'll tear us to pieces. How is your power, Inouye?'

'Steady,' she said.

'Stay at this height.'

'Aren't you going to use your wonderful transfer controller?' Irisis ground the words out.

'When the time is right,' said Yggur. 'What do you see now, Flangers?'

'It's turned west, moving very slowly. They're going to catch it.' A long pause. Flangers adjusted the spyglass. 'No, it's shot up through the circle. It's leaving them behind.'

Yggur cursed. After it, Inouye! Stay in the clouds. We don't want them to see us.' 'Why not?' said Nish.

'It'll make it harder to seize control. Flangers?' The air-floater turned, the rotor whirring, and soon a vig-orous tailwind drove them swiftly west.

'It's slowing again,' said Flangers. 'The lyrinx are catching it.'

'They must be controlling its field,' said Yggur after they'd watched the construct's stop-start progress for some consider-able time. 'I wonder how they're doing that? I don't dare try to take control while it's having trouble drawing power. All that's keeping it ahead of them is the skill of the pilot. I can't duplicate that from here.'

'If at all,' Irisis said under her breath, and turned back to the cabin.

'It's going the way we want,' she heard Yggur say as she went through the door. 'Keep shadowing it, Inouye.'

Flydd's knees were drawn up into his chest, his face wracked. His breathing was barely detectable. She took his hand. He was going to die, uselessly. Even if, by some miracle, Yggur did succeed in seizing control of the construct, he'd never fly it. He'd barely controlled his little flier from the next room. The construct would fall out of the sky, destroying itself and everyone inside, and the lyrinx would feast on their remains.

She went out again. Far below, the situation was unchanged, though the construct seemed to have drawn a little further ahead. 'They're getting away,' Irisis said.

'I don't think so,' said Yggur, but it became clear the machine was outdistancing its pursuers, and shortly the lyrinx began to turn back. Soon there were none pursuing. The sun was just above the horizon.

After them! Full speed, Inouye,' Yggur ordered.

He whipped the transfer controller from his pocket. It was an oval made of metal with holes in it like a colander, though larger, concealing the crystals and wires at its core. Thrusting his fingers through the holes, he held the device above his head, closed his eyes and strained.

'Iit's still drawing away,' said Flangers. 'Which direction?' 'Continuing west.'

Yggur strained again. Irisis focussed her spyglass through the veils of cloud. The construct dipped sharply before continuing on.

Yggur was panting. He kept trying, but without success He doesn't have the strength, Irisis thought. He was very old despite his appearance. And, she reminded herself, he had not been tested in a long time.

'I can't help thinking that you're past it,' she said.

'The scrutator would have done the same, you know.'

Irisis knew it to be true, knew it to be the right thing to do, too, but it made no difference. Her loyalties were personal, not national.

'They're drawing further away,' called Flangers.

The sinews on Yggur's arms stood out. Still with eyes closed, he strained again. The construct sailed on, unaffected. He grunted with the effort. Sweat burst out on his forehead. The machine stalled, then dropped like a stone.

'I bloody well knew it!' Irisis raged. 'I knew this was all going to be for nothing.' She made a move towards him but thought better of it.

Yggur stood, hands straining above his head, eyelids bulging. They watched the construct plunge down and down. Irisis could imagine how the people inside must be feeling.

Yggur's eyes opened and closed again. He trembled from head to foot. A thread of saliva dribbled out of the corner of his mouth. 'Aaagh!' he cried, swinging the device around his head, then, Aah! I've got it.'