They were ready to fly to Bartyronis.
Liana arrived at the packaging warehouse before the time agreed. The time by the clock. There had been no clocks in Seren-ila – people worked out when to do things by the sun's place in the sky, or the position of the moon, or just when it felt right. But the Bartys were obsessed with time. Things had to be done at particular times; time to get up, time to work, time to sleep. There were clocks all over the place. The strange thing was that the Bartys counted time according to the Seren system. The numbers went up to twil, not dak, as you'd expect. Twelve, not ten. Why did they do that? Liana wondered. Usually, the clocks were annoying to Liana, reminding her of how the Bartys had to measure everything, even the time itself. But tonight it was a good thing that they would be able to tell when it was 'ten-clock', time to meet.
A clock chiming told Liana that the time had come.
Herago wasn't there. She began to get worried. If she was caught by a Guardian, she could be in trouble.
The packaging warehouse stood exactly where the House of the Green Jewel had been, but of the old, beautiful building with its fine decorations, not a fragment remained. It had been replaced by an ugly square box – a pile of boxes, one on top of the other. Liana moved to the side of the building, so as to be out of sight of any passing Guardian patrols. As she did so, she realised that she was now in the old courtyard where she had spent so much time with her friends. She looked around on the ground, half-hoping to find one of the stones that Herago had used in his Impossibles, or even a piece of Silmoa's charcoal. The ground was empty, flat and lifeless.
Silmoa. Liana hoped she was OK. If things had gone to plan, Silmoa would have called out 'yes' to Liana's name, or rather to the name 'Ling', and arranged her bedclothes to make it look like she was sleeping there. It was brave of Silmoa to do that. If she was caught, she would probably be sent away somewhere, or worse. And if they discovered that Liana and Herago weren't in their beds, they would probably have Guardians out looking for them. Suddenly, Liana wondered if this had been a good place to agree to meet. Wouldn't this be one of the first places the Guardians would look? Too late now to worry.
Then Liana saw a figure coming towards the building. Was that Herago? No, this person was taller, with a strangely humped back, and he was walking carefully, as though he was trying hard to hold himself upright. Liana moved back into the darkness of the shadows. As the figure got nearer, she saw that indeed, it was Herago. She moved out of the courtyard, so he could see her.
'Sorry I'm late. Couldn't get away when I wanted to.'
'Well, you're here now,' said Liana. It must have been difficult getting out of that place, and maybe some time she would ask Herago how he had managed it. But now there was no time. She suddenly thought, perhaps this could be another type of Impossible that they hadn't thought of – a dak type of Impossible – getting out of a place that you're locked up in.
Liana looked hard at Herago. He was older, his skin less smooth than when she had last seen him in reality, and she realised that the Herago she had seen in her dream was not the Herago she saw now. She had seen the Herago that lived in her mind, the Seren-ilian – not the Grabbler. She wondered how much she had changed, also. Did she look very different from her Seren-ilian self?
'You recognised me, then?' Liana said.
'Of course. I'd know that red hair anywhere.'
Yes, everyone knew her red hair.
Liana moved towards Herago to hug him, but he held his hand up to stop her.
'Just in case,' he said. 'Bartys never hug one another. They might be suspicious if anyone saw us looking too happy.'
'All right, but take this, quickly,' Liana said. She held out a piece of paper.
'Is this...?'
'Yes. No need to stare at it.'
Herago put the permission slip in his pocket. 'Silmoa did a good job,' he said.
Silmoa had all her old drawing things hidden away – while she was working for the Bartys, they had allowed her to keep them, and when she fell out of favour they forgot about them. Liana had the slip given to her by the people in the making place – Silmoa copied the intricate design on the permission slip, even though Liana had shown her only for a few seconds. The slip was the only beautiful thing made by Bartys that Liana had seen, but its only purpose was to keep the Grabblers in their place.
Silmoa had kept the beauty, but changed the function.
They might not need the slips, but they might. There were Guardians out, patrolling the streets, and if they were seen, they would be asked for their slips to show that they were allowed out at this time of night.
The likelihood was that the Guardians would only glance at them, but even if they looked very carefully, they would be unlikely to detect that it was a copy. Every line and squiggle on Herago's slip was a perfect reproduction of Liana's document, apart from the name, Herago's Barty name, Heng Grabbler, in red on the dotted line.
Liana looked again at Herago. This time, not at his face, but his body. What was that hump? It must have been something to do with the hard work he had been doing, breaking up .
'I'm sorry about your back, Herago,' Liana said.
'What?' asked Herago. 'What about my back?'
'The big hump on your back. Is it painful?'
Herago laughed. 'No, it's not painful, but it's going to be tiring, having to carry all this equipment for the showing all the way to Tyropolis.'
'What?'
'It's not my back,' said Herago. 'It's all the stuff I'll need for the show. I couldn't really carry it all in a bag, you know. Come on, let's move away from here.'
Where they were standing was lit, though not with the herb lights that were used in Seren-ila, but with the harsh lights that the Bartys preferred. They moved back into the shadowy courtyard.
Herago was wearing a long, loose shirt, and Liana noticed that he was holding his arms in a strange way, so that his sleeves came down over the backs of his hands. Now, in the gloom, he stretched his hands out. There, on Herago's wrists, were a pair of beautifully decorated wrist-flyers.
Liana recognised them. They were the pair that Trentaya used.
Did Trentaya know that she had left her wrist-flyers with Herago? Why hadn't she asked for them back? She wouldn't have forgotten about them, surely?
'Here you are,' Herago said. He took the wrist-flyer off his left wrist, and handed it over to Liana. She started to put it over her right hand, but Herago stopped her.
'No, you need to put it on your left hand,' he said.
'You can wear them on either wrist,' said Liana.
'Yes, but if we are flying together, we have to wear them on opposite wrists. You know that.'
'Oh, yes,' said Liana, moving the flyer.
'Now,' said Herago, 'hold my hand.' His voice was strained.
Yes, they would need to hold hands, so that the energy in each of their bodies flowed into one another. It would take some concentration. They needed to be just like one person, so they would have to remain as close together as they possibly could.
Liana grasped Herago's hand, and pushed the right side of her body against the left side of his. She felt warmth spread through her body, with a prickly feeling in her fingers and toes, and a buzzing in her head. Suddenly she had a memory of being carried by her parents when she was very, very small. She remembered these feelings in her body. She looked over at Herago. He looked uncomfortable.
'Here we go!' said Herago, nervously.
As he said it, Liana left the ground by just a short distance – her feet at the level of Herago's knees. Herago stayed quite still, looking even more uncomfortable. Liana willed herself to return to ground level, and she came back alongside Herago.
'Come on, Herago,' Liana said. 'You've got to accept the force, otherwise you won't get anywhere.'
'I know, I know. I just need to calm myself.'
Liana heard a noise above, and looked up. There was a Guardian patrol flying just above them. Liana pulled Herago down, so that their shapes were lost in the shadows. It was just as well that they hadn't both taken off when Liana first left the ground. They would certainly have been seen.
The patrol moved on, but then, as they got up off the floor, it circled back. It was right above where they stood, circling round and round. The two dropped to the floor again. Liana glanced up and seemed to see one of the Guardians looking down directly at them.
The patrol kept circling. It came down towards them, but then went back up again. At last it moved on, towards the old meadow where the flying machines were kept.
'Now,' said Liana. 'We've got to go, before they return. Come on!' She lifted herself off the ground, more easily this time than last. But once again she found herself pulling at Herago's weight. He jumped, but fell heavily back to the ground.
'I ... I don't know, Liana. Maybe you had better go alone.'
'No,' said Liana. 'You are coming with me. Just stop worrying. Think about your Impossibles!'
'I'll try,' said Herago.
'I know,' said Liana, 'we'll say the Impossible words. Remember the Impossible words?'
'Of course,' said Herago.
'Right,'said Liana. Then, together, they said the words:
'Ir, deg, mek, Elbissopmi!'
Immediately, the two flew up in the air. Liana was conscious that she was pulling Herago, but he was supplying some of his own force. Higher and higher they went. In the distance Liana could see the patrol that had circled over them before, and with alarm, Liana saw they were moving in their direction. Herago hadn't noticed.
'Come on, get a move on,' said Liana. 'We've got to get there before it's light.'
'All right, all right,' said Herago, 'but I've got all this heavy stuff on my back...'
'The flyers will make it weigh nothing,' said Liana. 'Just hold on tight to me.' Liana found that by concentrating, she could squeeze more of her energy into Herago, and he could go faster. The wrist-flyers they were wearing were the most powerful ones you could get in Seren-ila, and having been used by Trentaya, they were used to going fast, doing aerial displays, and flying very high. Liana started flying in zig-zags, to confuse the patrol. Herago still hadn't noticed that they were being followed. Liana had to keep him calm.
'Why are you doing this?' said Herago. 'The quickest way is a straight line!'
'I know,' said Liana, 'but the air pockets we're running into mean that we need to dodge about a bit. Trentaya used to do this all the time. Probably best if you just shut your eyes. We don't want you to feel uncomfortable.' If Herago began to get nervous again, he might drop.
Herago closed his eyes. Liana felt his whole body begin to relax.
'That's better,' said Liana. Suddenly she found that she could go much, much faster. She soared away at double speed. Soon, the Guardian patrol was just a bunch of dots in the distance.
Liana decided it would be best not to tell Herago about the chase that they had both just been through. But she was worried herself. Would they be reported by the Guardians? They were too far away for a patrol in Seren-ila – the Grabble Lands – to reach them now, but a patrol could be sent out from Tyropolis to meet them. Liana felt her body tense, and she started to slow down. This was no good. She had to put it out of her mind so that they could go quickly. With an effort of will she relaxed, and started to speed up again.
'You can open your eyes now,' said Liana. 'Look around. It's beautiful, isn't it?'
Herago opened his eyes and gasped. For a moment the pair dropped a little way, but Liana held on tight to Herago. She could feel her energy pouring into him, and as she did so, Herago gained in confidence. They soared upwards again, and both stared at the landscape. The moon was almost full, so they could see for some distance. Broken as it was, Greblara mountain still looked magnificent. The Bartys were trying their hardest to break it, but it was not giving up so easily.
The wrist-flyers were extremely responsive to Liana's wishes. She just had to think about a new direction they needed to go in, and immediately their course changed. They saw owls and bats, flew blindly through wisps of cloud, and watched the changing landscape below. Herago allowed Liana to lead, and it was clear that he was less than comfortable. In fact, a lot of the time he had his eyes closed, which Liana thought was a shame, considering how beautiful everything was in the moonlight. Only the things that the Bartys had interfered with were painful to look at – the broken rocks, and, as they crossed the mountain peak, a great metal tower. It was an ugly object with noisy, moving sections, and from it came a loud sound of splashing, flowing water.
Also in the distance was another tower, this one more impressive – a pointy topped building that sparkled in the moonlight. This, Liana realised, was Tyro's palace. The building had appeared in many of the stories that came onto the screens in the making place, and it had often appeared in pictures of Tyropolis. This was where the Festival would take place. Suddenly Liana felt afraid. Her flying slowed down and she dropped some way.
Looking down, Liana wondered again about Trentaya and her party that had set off to cross the mountain. Could they really have climbed to the top, and then climbed down the other side? The moonlight only gave glimpses of the rock faces. They all looked too steep to Liana. Why hadn't Trentaya got these wrist flyers back, and crossed with them? Maybe because she didn't want to go alone to Bartyronis. It had to be a mission for a group of people. Even if Trentaya remembered about the wrist-flyers, she wouldn't have wanted to use them on her own. Was that it?
Now that they were past the peak of the mountain, they saw the lights of Tyropolis twinkling in the dark. It actually looked quite beautiful – a second thing made by Bartys that she thought was pretty. What's more, there were lights in the sky towards the horizon that also looked beautiful - glowing red, green and blue strips which no Seren-ilian would ever have been able to see behind Greblara. The colours kept changing, taking Liana's breath away. She looked at Herago beside her, and he was also open mouthed.
Herago had been silent for almost the whole journey, but now he spoke.
'That tower, the metal thing with the moving arm, that's where our friends wanted us to land, I think.'
'Yes, that looks like the place they described. What is it, do you think,' said Liana.
'Looks like some sort of pump.'
The pair were getting closer to the structure, and now it was getting windy. They held on very tight to one another, afraid of being pulled apart, which would be the end of both of them at this height. Liana concentrated all her energy on Herago, and managed to keep him calm enough to fly straight, in defiance of the wind.
'Sorry, Liana,' said Herago.
'Don't worry. Just hang on.'
'I never could swim.'
'This isn't swimming,' said Liana.
'It feels like it to me,' said Herago. 'Worse. It's terrifying.'
'We're going to be all right. Don't worry.'
An instant later, they were flying directly upwards at a great speed.
'What's happening?' said a startled Herago.
'Sorry,' said Liana, 'The wind.'
'I didn't feel anything,' said Herago, puzzled.
'No, as the secondary flyer, you wouldn't. But the wrist-flyers give me advance warning when we are about to fly into whirling air. Close your eyes. Now, now! There's more coming up.'
Herago shut his eyes. He didn't see what Liana had seen – a group of flying Guardians who had spotted them. When Liana was sure Herago couldn't see, she started to move swiftly back towards the mountain, in zig-zags and circles. Making wheels and spirals in the sky. She could feel Herago's body tense up, and as she moved to the top of the circle her body was describing, she felt him pulling back, slowing her down.
Liana looked back and down at Herago. 'What's happening?' he said.
'Nothing to worry about,' Liana replied. She tugged at him again, trying to use her own energy to pull him up, but it was no use.
As she pulled up, his wrist slipped from her hand. The worst thing had happened. They had separated. Herago was on his own.
For a second, Herago stayed still in space, but then his body started to fall. Not at the speed he would fall without a wrist-flyer, but falling he was.
'Liana! What's happening? Where are you?'
'Keep your eyes closed! It's OK. I'm right here.' But Herago was moving away from her.
The Guardians were getting closer. Liana changed direction, quickly moving down towards Herago. His falling was getting faster. Liana wouldn't be able to catch him at this speed. There was only one thing Liana could do. Quickly she pulled the flyer off her wrist. She had heard from Trentaya many years ago that this could be done. It was a game that Trentaya and Ralkino used to play.
The flyer hovered in the air. It wouldn't stay there long.
Now she was falling with gravity, so she was going faster than Herago. She reached out her right hand just as she was level with him. As she touched his hand, energy flowed instantly into her body. But not nearly as much as she'd felt before. She looked up. The other wrist-flyer was still hovering above her head. She reached up and just as her hand got to it, the device started to fall. She touched it, but then it slipped from her hand, moving down below her body. Quickly, she pulled Herago down to follow it. She heard him gasp, but took no notice. The flyer was moving down at speed now, but she and Herago were moving just a bit faster. Liana shoved her hand into the ring as she passed, and it fastened on to her wrist.
She and Herago changed direction, quickly moving up, up, up.
All this had happened in only a few seconds. Herago saw none of it.
'Are we past the whirling air yet?' Herago asked, nervously.
'Yes,' Liana said, trying to stay calm. She breathed heavily, 'but we need to go high now. Hang on.' She could still see the Guardians moving towards them, but they were moving slowly. They didn't have the sort of control that she had. And their flyers, she realised, were limited in height. She continued to pull Herago higher and higher. Herago spluttered.
'Difficult... to... breathe,' he said.
'Yes, we had to go high. Stay calm. We're fine.' She saw the Guardians below her. They were looking up, but now they were far, far below.
They turned and started to move towards Tyropolis. Liana gasped for air.
The pair continued to fly at high altitude.
'Can I open my eyes now?' Herago asked.
'Yes, it's OK up here.'
'I never realised that whirling air could be so powerful. For a second there it felt as though you weren't holding me.'
'I was with you all the time. I will always be with you, Herago,' Liana said.
'Good.'
The two carried on flying for a little while. Close to the pump now.
'Where are we supposed to meet Pritch and Pring?' asked Herago.
'I don't know. We never got to the point of them telling us that. I think we should just land somewhere now.'
They moved towards a flat piece of land hidden by a large, upright metal panel. The sun was rising now, slowly coming up above the mountain, but they were still in shadow here.
As they landed, they saw the shape of a person wearing dark clothes, partly hidden from sight. Herago made to fly back up, but Liana pulled him down.
'Hello Pring,' said Liana.