Always the dream would be disturbed with the thunder of a horse's hooves, and the cry from somewhere of "StarSon!"

428 .

Caelum would turn about, thinking the call was for him, but, invariably, all he would see was a woman dressed in a simple white robe wandering knee-deep in colour and fragrance through the field. Thick chestnut hair flowed down her back, and she held the hand of a small girl who skipped at her side.

In her free hand she carried a single white lily.

A man rode towards her on a white stallion, its crest and mane shrouded with a glorious mist of stars. He halted the stallion before the woman and the child, and accepted the lily that the woman held up towards him.

"StarSon," she said, and the man smiled and leaned down to kiss her. And Caelum, seeing the man's face, wept in understanding - and a great deal of relief.

Sometimes the dream differed and he wandered the field of flowers, seeing no woman, nor man, nor stallion. But he did see the child. She would appear before him, holding a posy of flowers in her hand.

They would stare at each other, then the girl would hold out the posy of flowers, except every time she did that the flowers would turn to blood that stained her hand and dripped over Caelum's feet.

"Do you understand the need of sacrifice, Caelum?" she would ask, and whenever she said that, Caelum wept anew, and then listened as the girl pulled him down among the b.l.o.o.d.y flowers and spoke of love and of sacrifice.

Star Finger, once Talon Spike, had thousands of years of history in Icarii culture. Before the Wars of the Axe, when the Acharites had driven both Icarii and Avar from the southern lands, the great mountain had been the Icarii's summer playground, a place to laugh and sing and plan the pursuit of love.

After those desperate wars that had exiled the Icarii from so much of Tencendor, the mountain had become a thousand-year prison until Axis StarMan had led the Icarii southwards to wrest Tencendor from the Seneschal's control. Then most of the Icarii had flown southward to reclaim the spires and * 429 *

citadels of the Minaret Peaks, but many thousands had remained in Talon Spike with the previous Talon, RavenCrest SunSoar and his wife, BrightFeather. While SpikeFeather had been able to persuade the majority of the Icarii to flee the mountain before Gorgrael set his Gryphon to its inevitable attack, RavenCrest and BrightFeather and many of the Elders had elected to remain.

They had all died, torn to pieces by the ravening Gryphon. Then, expecting to find tens of thousands of Icarii secreted within the shafts and winding pa.s.sages of the mountain, the Gryphon had sunk ever deeper into the mountain's enchanted defences, seeking, seeking, seeking.

They had sunk to the very bowels of the mountain (although they did not find the entrance to the Underworld, which the Ferryman had hidden). They had almost sunk to the chambers that had been excavated many thousands of years earlier to hide the mountain's population from an attack such as this.

Of course, now they hid no Icarii.

But that which the chambers did hide, which was neither feathered nor strictly alive, was kept safe from the incursion of Gorgrael's creatures, although the sense that there was something there, something tasty, drove the Gryphon almost insane with rage.

And when the Gryphon finally crawled exhausted from the mountain, the object remained as safe - and as lonely - as it had been for countless thousands of generations.

Star Finger was as lacking in enchantment as were the Minaret Peaks, but the mountain also housed far less Icarii than did the southern city, and they had managed to remain relatively comfortable. The corridors were gloomy and cold, but the chambers that were needed could be lit adequately for those who required them.

From the entrance in the eastern wall of the mountain, Adamon and Xanon led Axis, Azhure and a Caelum now 430 .

rested enough to walk into one of the apartment complexes close to the peak of Star Finger. Here natural light filtering through thickened gla.s.s lit the chambers and coal-fired braziers warmed the air.

Two healers waited, and led Caelum and Azhure to benches so the healers could inspect their wounds and st.i.tch those that needed it. Azhure was clearly impatient, but Caelum appeared very calm, almost cheerful, and the others put it down to the relative safety of Star Finger.

Azhure grimaced at the bite of the st.i.tching needle, but managed a smile for Axis. "I have not endured a wound since the Skraelings scored my ribs in Hsingard."

Axis tried to return her smile, but found himself unable to. He'd never been able to regard the sight of Azhure bleeding, whether in field or childbirth battle, with equanimity, and he could not now.

So he touched her cheek, knowing she understood his concern, and turned to the healer attending Caelum.

Only two of the wounds needed any st.i.tching, and all were clean and healthy; Xanon's attentions at the cave had saved both Caelum and Azhure any lasting harm.

A movement caught his eye. Sicarius, moving among his pack, which was now lying close-grouped against a far wall. He was licking the wounds of the several hounds who had also been wounded in the fight with the Hawkchilds. Among them was FortHeart, who had a severe wound running down the left side of her skull. It oozed yellow effluent, leaving the pale fur of her neck and shoulder stained and fetid, and she bit off a yelp as Sicarius tried to clean it for her.

As Axis watched, Sicarius raised his head and stared at him. His golden eyes were flat and hard, and the corner of one lip raised very, very slightly, exposing the gleam of a fang.

Help her.

Axis jumped, stunned at the distinct request - nay, not a request, more a command. It had not sounded as voice, nor in the same way as the mind voice which all Icarii Enchanters 431 *

had once been able to employ, but more as sheer emotion seething across the s.p.a.ce between them. Help her!

"FeatherTouch," Axis said quietly to one of the healers a.s.sisting with Azhure, "will you and another see to the hounds?"

"Yes, StarMan."

Again Sicarius' lip curled, but after a moment he dropped his head, and continued cleaning FortHeart's wound until FeatherTouch arrived. Then, having satisfied himself that the other members of his pack would receive attention in due course, he sank down to the floor, his head on his forepaws, and watched Axis steadily.

Axis tore his gaze away - d.a.m.n those hounds! If they hadn't aided in repelling the Hawkchilds then he may have tried to persuade Azhure to have them placed under close guard in cells. He no longer trusted them, and knew that they no longer trusted him.

"Azhure," he murmured, and leaned back to her side. Sicarius watched the activities of the Icarii, G.o.ds and SunSoars. He no longer felt at home with them, no longer wanted to be with them, although he did not feel animosity towards them as such. More than ever before in his life he felt the roar of the bear in his veins, and all he wanted to do was run with his true master. When? When? When?

A movement in the open doorway caught his eyes. Sicarius p.r.i.c.ked his ears, and every muscle in his body tensed. Then he relaxed, his lips almost seeming to grin, and his tail wagged once in a barely discernible movement. There. Another of his pack. In a manner of speaking.

The blue-feathered lizard flared its emerald and scarlet crest, then scuttled back into the shadows.

Sicarius slid his eyes back to Caelum, who sat with his eyes closed as he patiently bore the ministrations of the healer.

Sicarius could sense the change in the man, sense the understanding, and as far as the leader of the Alaunt was concerned, that made Caelum an honorary member of the pack.

Caelum opened his eyes and caught Sicarius' stare.

He nodded slightly, and Sicarius' tail gave a single thump.

"You must rest!" Adamon threw up his hands in frustration, but Axis and Azhure would have none of his patience.

"You cannot say to us, 'I have found something', with such high excitement," Axis said, "and then expect us to sleep quietly and spend an hour or two at leisurely supper while Tencendor decays about us. Tell us!"

Adamon glanced at Caelum, who merely smiled and nodded his head.

He shrugged. "Xanon, will you fetch the others?"

She nodded and walked to the door. "Come," she called softly, and Pors, Silton, Narcis, Flulia, and Zest entered. They had previously greeted Axis, Azhure and their son, and now sat quietly on chairs scattered about the chamber.

Several of the hounds moved to make room for the G.o.ds, but most remained still and watchful. Even though their interest and hope lay elsewhere, they still held a respect for the Circle entire.

Two Elder Icarii also entered. Axis knew them well, for they were the senior scholars of the Star Finger complex, respected for their wisdom and learning. Their names had long lost any importance, and they were addressed only by their t.i.tles.

"Respected Preceptor," Axis said, and inclined his head. "Respected Historian."

Azhure and Caelum also murmured a greeting, and the Preceptor and Historian sat together on a couch close by the brazier. They were dressed in plain white robes, and their bodies were unadorned with any of the finery Icarii usually adored. Even their wing feathers seemed oddly dulled, as if the two scholars a.s.siduously bleached away their luminescence upon rising each morning.

433.

Adamon, the only one who remained standing, inclined his head at those gathered, and then spoke.

"I, as my companions," he glanced at the other Star G.o.ds, "returned to Star Finger in the hope that the acc.u.mulated knowledge of tens of thousands of years held in its libraries might contain an answer to our current lack of effectiveness against the TimeKeeper Demons.

"Caelum StarSon must be the one to meet them . . . but how? How? If all his power, as all our powers, have disappeared with the Star Dance? When at first we returned, we had no luck," Adamon continued. "Even with the aid of all the respected scholars in Star Finger, we could find no hint of a solution to the problem.

And yet where else could lie the answer to Caelum's dire need?"

Adamon's voice was tight with the frustration and anger of his initial lack of success. He sighed, and visibly relaxed his muscles.

"Then the Respected Historian came to me, and said there was an inconsistency. Historian, will you speak."

"Star Finger, once Talon Spike, has been used by the Icarii since their conception by the great Enchantress fifteen thousand years ago," the Historian said. His voice was rich and melodious, and Axis knew how he could hold a cla.s.s, as any audience, enthralled for many hours. "The mountain has been burrowed into and hollowed out for fifteen thousand years. It holds fifteen thousand years of memories - and fifteen thousand years of secrets. In the very roots of the mountains lie secret bas.e.m.e.nts, bas.e.m.e.nts thick with enchantment."

"Surely those bas.e.m.e.nts were always to be meant as hiding places for the Icarii nation," Azhure said, "should they ever come under attack. That SpikeFeather chose to evacuate the mountain rather than hide the people there speaks of the fear that all then regarded the Gryphon - and Gorgrael."

"Yes, yes," the Historian said, "but these were unusual enchantments. Preceptor, my friend, will you speak?"

,434.

The Preceptor nodded. "My primary task here in Star Finger was to instruct those Enchanters who chose to spend their years in study and contemplation of the most arcane and secret of enchantments. When my colleague the Historian came to me and engaged me in conversations about the enchantments surrounding the bas.e.m.e.nts, and after some days of investigation and study on these most forgotten of enchantments, I realised there was an unusual conundrum present."

Caelum shifted slightly, easing his sore muscles, and again caught Sicarius' eyes on him. How long have you known, my friend? Caelum thought. Did you run about Sigholt and Star Finger with my mother all these years and know the lie we all lived?

Sicarius' tail thumped once again.

"The current problem surrounding the enchantments guarding the bas.e.m.e.nt are twofold. One, why are they there in the first instance? The wards guarding the bas.e.m.e.nts from attack should be erected only after they are full with refugees. Second, given that they are there, they should not be working. The Star Dance is gone - how can they still be in place?"

"But some enchantments do remain," Azhure said. "The mists surrounding Sigholt, for example. The magic of the Maze Gate."

"Quite," the Preceptor said. "What enchantments remain are those which we may have connected with the music of the Star Dance, but they are enchantments that perhaps draw their power from somewhere else."

"The Lakes," Caelum said. "They draw their power from the Lakes, or from the craft that lie within the Lakes."

"Yes," the Historian said. "So we wondered if the fact that the enchantments have remained in place, and the fact they are in place in the first instance, means that they already guard something within the bas.e.m.e.nts*."

"Something connected to the Lakes, and the craft, perhaps!" Adamon said, now walking about the room, his *435.

movements restrained but tight with excitement. "We had to see. We had to search. We had to know"

"And?" Axis said quietly.

"And ..." Adamon took a deep breath. "My friends, do you feel you could manage the long walk down to Star Finger's cellars?"

They descended for hour past hour, and Adamon made them rest at regular intervals, pa.s.sing out food and liquid at each stop. A score of Icarii, bearing burning torches and light packs with the food, came down with the G.o.ds, Caelum and the two scholars.

Behind all trod the Alaunt. Axis had noticed them rise to follow the party, and again had thought about asking that the hounds should be detained, but had eventually remained silent. At first, as they descended the stairs that curved about the main shafts, the way was pleasant, if somewhat dark and chill. But after two hours they reached less travelled shafts, and then moved into stairwells that had lain forgotten for generations of Icarii. The odd feather and tuft of fur, covered with dust, lay as reminders that the only living beings who had descended into the bowels of Talon Spike had been Gorgrael's Gryphon, The stairwells stank, stank from disuse, damp and the foulness that still remained of the Gryphon. All had to watch their footing on edges that crumbled and surfaces that glistened with ice.

Several turns of the stairwell behind the main party trod the Alaunt, the feathered lizard openly travelling with them, albeit at the rear. "No-one had any idea, really, that these stairs existed," the Historian murmured as they descended. He, like everyone, kept one hand on the wall for support. "They had lain so long forgotten."

"We came down here once, last week," Adamon said, "and found what we ... well, found what we did, and then decided to await your arrival before coming back."

,436 .

"What's that noise?" Azhure said, raising her head.

"What we have come to see," Adamon said, and the next instant the stair levelled out onto undulating flagstones. "This way. Come." And he led them across the floor to a corridor.

As they walked down the corridor the noise became louder.

"Oh!" Azhure cried, and her eyes filled with tears. It was the sound of a child weeping, a girl-child, and Azhure was reminded of her own painful and lost childhood. "Let me past! I must -"

"No." Adamon caught Azhure's arm as she tried to push past him. "Please, Azhure, there is nothing you can do for her, and no point in rushing on this damp and slippery flooring."

They walked through the dark corridor - it felt as close as a tomb! Azhure thought - for another fifty or sixty paces, and then suddenly they were in a large domed chamber.

Empty, save for the figure of a five- or six-year-old girl huddled against the far wall, her arms wrapped about a great leather-bound book, crying disconsolately.

"Oh!" Azhure cried, and finally managed to push past Adamon and rush towards the girl.

Instantly, the girl's sobs became screams of terror and, as Azhure neared her, the girl literally convulsed with the strength of her fear. There was a flash of light, and Azhure was thrown against a side wall.

"No-one can approach her," Adamon said, as Axis hurried to Azhure and helped her to rise. She was uninjured, save for a bruise where her shoulder had hit the stone, and wheezing from being badly winded.

"All have been repulsed who tried to near her, or comfort her," Adamon continued.

"But look," he pointed to the book held tightly within the girl's arms. She was relatively still now, although she still cried, but her eyes remained terrified as she stared at the intruders. "Look at what you can see on the front cover."

437'.

Between the white flesh of the girl's forearms, three words could be seen gleaming in gold.

Enchanted Song Book.

"I think there lies the one way we can re-find the power of the Star Dance," Adamon said. "She waits, we think, for the StarSon. Caelum. Will you -"

Caelum had recognised the girl instantly as the child who had spoken to him in the field of flowers. He hesitated, knowing it would be useless for him to approach her, but everyone was looking at him, and so he started forward.

He hoped the girl would understand.

She had calmed even more now, and all watching thought, hoped, that Caelum might be able to approach her when no-one else could.

The girl's sobs stopped, and her blue eyes widened.

When Caelum was no more than seven paces away, the girl rose to her feet.

"You came!" she cried out with glad voice, and Caelum smiled . .. and then he realised that her eyes were fixed on something - someone - behind him. Very slowly, knowing who he would see, Caelum turned about.