The girl turned and stepped closer. She began to walk toward him on unsteady legs, uncertain until she took Ico’s hand. He squeezed and felt her squeeze back-weakly, but it was enough.
Beyond the columns, the roof gave way to open air. This place was wider than a terrace-it seemed like they were atop a tower. In one corner another staircase rose to a small elevated section of the roof-a watchtower maybe, Ico thought.
The sun was bright, and the blue sky seemed close. This was the first place he had come to in the castle where there weren’t any shadows from the sun.
“Looks like some kind of observation deck,” Ico said to the girl. She squinted against the sunlight as the wind gently ruffled her hair and shawl. The air up here didn’t smell of the sea. It smelled like the woods. Here the seabirds were silent.
They went up the staircase to the highest point of the tower, where Ico could see that it formed a semicircle enclosing a beautiful stand of trees below. Shielding his eyes from the sun, he looked around, then crossed over the deck and went down the stairs he had spotted on the far side, where a narrow walkway ran along the side of the building. There, a narrow ladder descended to a small platform, beside which ran a long set of rails. The tower shaded them from the sun, but they were still far above the ground below.
Ico jumped down onto the rails, following them off to his left where he soon found what it was that rode them. At the end of the line sat a small, flattop trolley with a high railing around the sides. He had seen something like it before in the mine just beyond the outskirts of Toksa.
The wheels of the trolley rested evenly on the rails. Ico clambered on top, and the trolley squeaked but did not move. He found a lever and pushed it, and the trolley began to sway back and forth. So this is how it moves. Ico felt revitalized. I can ride this, and if any of those creatures attack, my club will be moving that much faster!
7
“HUEEEEH!”
Ico called out cheerfully to the girl. He worked the lever on the trolley, jumping to get it going faster, enjoying the feel of the wind on his face. The girl was standing at the edge of the stone platform. She turned at the sound of his voice.
Ico waved. “Come on, get on!”
He reached out and grabbed hold of her hand, lifting her onto the trolley. She looked around the trolley with a bit of wonder in her eyes, then stood beside him and held onto the railing with both hands.
“That’s right,” Ico said. “Hold on tight. Ready? Let’s go!”
The trolley started off with a squeak, but once they got going, the wheels rolled effortlessly, as though the cart had never been abandoned at all. They picked up speed, and the girl knelt, still holding onto the slender railing.
Ico smiled and took her hand, keeping a firm grasp on the lever with the other.
“It’s okay, it’s safe. Doesn’t the wind feel great?”
The rails ran along the edge of the building in a straight line. Ico took a deep breath, feeling the air rush over his body and clear away the lingering darkness of the tower. For a moment, he forgot his questions, his doubts, and his fear over what was to come.
Ahead, the rails curved gently to the right. Ico slowed the trolley. Feeling the wind ripple along the Mark on his chest, he turned to the girl with a smile.
She was gone. In her place stood a little girl of only three or four years. She was wearing a white sleeveless dress that went all the way down to her ankles. Instead of a shawl, the dress had a collar embroidered with a pretty flower pattern. The girl’s hair was long, and she wore it tied into a single ponytail at the back. It sparkled a bright yellow, like flax.
The girl grabbed hold of the railing of the trolley with her little hands and laughed out loud. The laughter made her chestnut eyes glow a bright amber.
“Faster! Faster!” she called out. “Isn’t this fun, Father?”
The world swam past them. Though the girl’s laughter still rang in his ears, Ico saw that she was looking at him, speaking to him. Like she knew him. Or maybe she sees somebody else here, not me.
Then she was begging him, still in that bright, childlike voice, wanting to know if he would play with her again on his next visit home. If he would give her a ride on the trolley again, to promise that he would.
The trolley sped like the wind, making Ico’s tongue feel dry when he opened his mouth to speak.
“Thank you, Father!” the little girl was saying. “Thank you!”
With a start, Ico realized that the little girl was gone, replaced by the girl he had rescued from the cage-still holding his hand, her other hand gripping the metal bar of the railing. The transition between vision and reality had been so seamless it was hard to tell which was which.
They were approaching the curve. Ico applied more pressure to the lever. The trolley swayed in protest, then began to slow, its inertia carrying it smoothly around the bend.
Who was that little girl? Was she a younger version of the girl at his side? Ico felt like he had been dreaming with his eyes open, like he had plunged into someone else’s memory-happy memories of a childhood long past.
Thank you, Father!
The rails ran along the edge of a cliff. Beyond, Ico could see only blue sky and the sea below. I’d better slow down more.
When he looked up from the lever, Ico noticed more of the shadowy creatures standing along the wall above them, as though they were seeing the trolley off. They were there only an instant, but Ico sensed their glowing white eyes following their passage.
They’re not chasing us.
Something about the way the creatures stood there made them look lonely. Or maybe it was just another vision. It was getting harder for Ico to tell.
Farther ahead, the rails came to an end at another platform. Ico carefully let go of the lever. The trolley slowed, its wheels making a loud rattling noise before the cart settled to a stop.
Ico scrambled up onto the platform, sure that the shadow creatures would be waiting, but there was nothing. He saw a passageway with an arched roof leading from the far end of the sun-drenched platform. At least it’s not a dead end. He took the girl by the hand and helped her off the trolley.
Through the arch, they passed along a narrow corridor, exiting onto a terrace with square pillars. The terrace led to the balcony of another vast hall with a high, peaked ceiling. A latticework of thick beams crossed overhead, supporting a massive chandelier lit with dozens of candles that hung in the middle of the hall.
A bridge crossed to the far side of the hall. Leaving the girl behind for a moment, he walked to the center of the bridge, testing it carefully with each step. He grasped the handrail and looked down. Below, he saw the decayed remains of furniture. Here was a toppled candelabrum, there a large pedestal where a statue of a woman had once stood, the statue itself now lying broken on the floor. The great hall was nearly round, and he could see a pair of double doors leading outside. Both of the doors were open wide, letting sunlight spill in-perhaps from the courtyard. He could see green grass beyond the threshold.
Ico wondered how far down the cart had taken them. They had been traveling quite fast-they might have come a very far way down in the castle indeed.
The thought put Ico at ease. Maybe if we can get down to those doors, we can get outside.
The only problem was, there didn’t seem to be any way to get from the top of the bridge on the second floor down to the floor of the great hall. What stairs he could see went up toward the ceiling, not down to the floor below, forming a sort of catwalk that seemed without purpose.
Maybe, he thought, in the distant past, well-appointed ladies and knights would pass back and forth over the walkways and the bridge, waving down to the guests on the floor below in celebration of some great victory in battle. Cheers would rise up from both levels as they welcomed their hero…