The soldier disappeared under the ice blocks. Ryll gave a convulsive twist in mid-air, his vestigial wings flapping uselessly, and tumbled off the side. Tiaan saw her chance to escape them all. She ran around the corner but her legs stalled, as if she was hobbled. She tried to go on but the withdrawal would not allow her. She must be going the wrong way – away from the crystal.
Ryll hobbled into view, his muzzle darting from side to side. Not seeing her against the wall, he went the other way, disappearing into the driving snow.
Where could the crystal be? Probably in the main ice house. Creeping along the wall, she came face to face with Gi-Had. Each stopped, staring at the other. Gi-Had was terribly wounded. Claw marks across his chest had exposed ribs and breast bone. His coat was crusted with frozen blood.
Even so, his face lit up. 'Tiaan!' He threw out his arms. One bloodstained hand had two fingers missing.
Tiaan stalled, her mouth open. His reaction made no sense.
He took a staggering step toward her. 'What is the matter, artisan?'
She choked. 'I… can't,' she gasped. 'Must find the crystal…' She backed away.
'Why, artisan? Why?' Gi-Had fell to his knees.
She turned, desperate to escape the look in his eyes, but crashed into Ryll, who grabbed her. She struggled weakly. As the lyrinx carried her away, she caught a last glimpse of the overseer, supporting himself on the tumbled blocks of the ice house. He was staring after her. She knew she would never see him again. Despair and self-loathing boiled up inside her.
Ryll ran through the fog and ducked behind another ice house.
'Where are you taking me?' she gasped.
'Far away,' the lyrinx said.
'What about the other lyrinx?' Her mouth was dry.
'They will die defending us,' Ryll said gravely.
'Even the children?'
She could see the pain on his face now, more poignant because he was unlikely ever to have children of his own. 'Alas! There are many soldiers and four clankers. You humans are deadly ingenious. We had no chance. The catapults killed three of us in our sleep.' His head darted around, then he jerked her back.
Two soldiers ran across the gap between the ice houses, calling out to a third Tiaan could not see. 'The roof's collapsed. She must be under it.'
'Irisis was in there too,' said the other.
Ryll's hand went across Tiaan's mouth. He dragged her the other way.
'Where is my crystal?' she mumbled. Without it, her dreams were nothing.
'Gone with Besant. It is safe with her. You'll see it again, soon.'
The withdrawal eased at once. Tiaan looked around. Purple blood ran in a thin stream from his shoulder. Behind them the wind blew a clear passage through the snow clouds.
'There they go!' someone roared. Something flashed between the two furthest snilau. Nish squinted against the snow.
'Hey! It's Tiaan. The beast is getting away with her. Get moving, Ky-Ara.'
Pur-Did thumped on the roof and the clanker began to move, sluggishly and with much groaning of the drive trains. He tried to aim the javelard but the pair had disappeared. Nish opened the top hatch.
'What's the matter?' he yelled down.
'Oil has gone cold. I can't go any faster until it warms up.'
'Anything I can do to help?'
'Not a thing!' Ky-Ara was manipulating the knobs in jerky motions that betrayed his anxiety. 'Not a damn thing!'
Ullii huddled up against the back corner, shaking. Any kind of violence was unbearable to her. Nish wondered what had happened to Irisis. He'd not seen her since the skirmish started. She could well be dead.
The clanker ground around in a great circle before Pur-Did picked up tracks heading toward the edge of the plateau, which was not far away.
'Follow them!' Nish shouted, unnecessarily. The shooter smiled at his naive enthusiasm.
Ky-Ara called up through the hatch. He sounded uneasy. 'I must let the sergeant -'
'No time!' Nish yelled. 'If the wind comes up we'll lose them. They'll be over the edge, and by the time we get the clankers down they'll have gone into the mountains where we can't follow.'
If there's anyone left to follow, he thought. The carnage had been terrible. They might run their quarry down only to find themselves alone. And then, barring a lucky shot from the javelard, they would also die. How quickly the advantage had been lost.
The clanker turned onto the tracks, bumping lethargically along. Nish cursed their slow pace. The lyrinx had seemed to be limping but must be going faster than this.
Up ahead, the footprints descended into a gully, ploughed through deep snow, and up onto the side where the cover was thin. The operator kept going straight.
Nish swung inside, ignoring Ullii cowering in the corner. 'Down there!' he cried, pointing. 'Can't you see?'
'Deep drifts that way,' said Ky-Ara. 'We'll never get through them. It's quicker along the rim.'
The clanker did seem to be speeding up. They tracked along the edge, a shorter distance than the winding gully bottom.
'I can see them!' Nish roared. He stuck his head out the back. 'Fire! Fire, damn you!'
The man did not fire. 'Bloody fool!' said Nish, climbing onto the top. 'What's the matter?'
Pur-Did said patiently, 'I can't train the javelard that low.'
Nish threw himself back in, issuing instructions. 'Down there! He's got to have the front pointed down or the spear will go over their heads.'
'We know our jobs, artificer,' Ky-Ara said coldly. 'Keep out of our way and let us do them.'
He slowed, turned and tipped the front over the edge. The mechanical legs pounded. The lyrinx came into view, running down the valley, hauling Tiaan by one arm. The beast was limping badly. Oh, for a crossbow!
Fire! Nish said to himself. Now; now!
The shooter did not fire. The angle was still not right. Nish felt like kicking him off his seat and using the javelard himself.
'Just not low enough,' Pur-Did called through the hole, picking icicles from his warty nostrils. 'Try a bit further down, Ky-Ara.'
Ky-Ara reversed the machine, its iron footpads squealing as they cut through snow to stone beneath. Gravel showered down the side of the gully, the clanker turned and, moving much faster now, clattered along the rim. A few hundred paces on they tried again. Here the rim was benched, allowing the clanker to get further down. Ky-Ara moved it into position. They waited.
Tiaan and the lyrinx appeared. Her hands were bound, though surely she could have outdistanced the hobbling creature had she chosen to. Was she a traitor after all?
Agonising seconds passed but still the shooter did not fire. 'Go!' Nish roared, pounding on the roof.
'Damn thing's jammed.'
Soon it would be too late. The lyrinx had only checked for an instant. As it continued, Nish noticed something strange about this one. It had no wings.
'Free!' yelled the shooter. 'Turn around, Ky-Ara. If we can't get it coming, we'll get it going.'
'Blasted shooters!' cursed Ky-Ara. 'Useless clowns.' He turned, backed, turned again. Nish kept his eye to the porthole. The fleeing pair ran right below them. A pang struck Nish's heart. He did not want her to die.
'A bit further down at the front,' Pur-Did yelled.
Ky-Ara hesitated. 'We're too close to the edge.'
Nish's fury boiled over. Was he the only one who wanted to catch them? 'If you don't want to be a clanker operator, just say so!' he said in a deadly voice. 'I'm sure my father the perquisitor can replace you.'
Ky-Ara choked, looked around wildly, and then edged the machine forward, sideways and forward again. His teeth began to chatter as he waited for the call, 'Enough!'
It did not come, because rock beneath the right-hand side crumbled and they slipped sideways. A whole slab gave; the clanker tilted over. Ky-Ara moaned, frantically working to right the machine, but it was too late. The clanker rolled, crashed onto its roof and kept rolling.