“Krark cult have secret place, huh?” said Slobad. “We stay with them while I fix the golem. Fix the golem and he tell us what ‘Memnarch’ means. Maybe Memnarch make serum, huh? We find Memnarch, he tell us who robed figure is, huh? Maybe Memnarch is robed figure.”
“Maybe Memnarch is the golem’s name or a pet he used to play with,” said Glissa sourly.
They walked on in silence. She stopped at the edge of a field of razor grass and glanced back at the goblin. He was perched on the golem’s shoulder, staring at the ground. “Do you think you can get him to talk?” she asked, gesturing toward the golem.
“Just needs good cleaning,” said Slobad, dully.
Glissa thought for a moment. “So, what do you need? Just some time to clean him?”
Slobad nodded. “ ’Dross muck up everything inside, huh? I think the golem actually fixing himself when we rest. Parts I clean fix themselves.” He started to brighten. “Amazing, huh? Slobad never see machine like it. Fixes itself. Just can’t clean self. Dumb, huh? But smart, too.”
“You need time to clean,” said Glissa.
Slobad nodded.
“Somewhere safe from the nim, the levelers, and globe-headed, silver birds.”
Slobad nodded again.
“And I need answers from someone who knows as much about this world as Ushanti.”
Slobad started to nod, then cocked his head and looked at Glissa. “You know place, huh?”
Glissa nodded. “Tel-Jilad, the Tree of Tales. It’s impregnable. No leveler has ever entered-and many have tried. There are only two entrances. One is heavily guarded, and the other is a secret known only by the trolls-and me. Besides, it’s time Chunth told me everything he knows about this destiny he’s thrust on me.”
Glissa almost smiled as she climbed into the golem’s broad hands. “Slobad,” she said, “I’m going home.”
* * * * *
It took them almost three rotations to get to the edge of the Tangle. Shortly after Slobad turned the golem around to head toward the Tangle, Glissa spotted silver specks circling in the sky ahead of them.
“We have trouble.” She pointed at the flyers.
“They looking for us, huh?” said Slobad. “Bad if they find us. Very bad, huh?”
“We need to hide,” said the elf. “I don’t know if they’re looking for us or not, but we can’t fight or outrun them here. It’s too flat and open.”
Slobad guided the golem back over a small hill. Glissa and the goblin slid down to the ground and lay flat against the bare metal hill. The golem dropped to the ground next to them. Glissa peeked over the hill and watched the silver flyers. They did seem to be searching for something, snaking their way back and forth across the sky.
Their flight was bringing the flock toward the travelers. Glissa turned to Slobad. “They’re coming closer!”
Slobad pointed down the hill. “Follow Slobad, huh?” he said. “We hide in old leonin lair.” The goblin began to crawl, followed by the golem.
Glissa glanced back at the flyers again, then scrambled down the hill. They backtracked across the rolling terrain, keeping low to the ground and skirting hills until they came to a mound Glissa recognized as a leonin den. It looked like all the others she had seen-a rounded mound of metal topped by a patch of razor grass that protected an opening.
“How do you know it’s abandoned?” she asked. “It looks like all the other lairs we’ve seen, and we never see any leonin when we pass anyway.”
“Razor grass overgrown on top, huh?” said Slobad. “Crazy elf not see that?”
Glissa looked at the patch of sharp blades on the top of the mound. It looked like all the others to her. She shrugged and followed Slobad up the slope. At the top, she glanced around to find the silver birds. They were still making their way methodically across the sky. Glissa pulled out her sword and cut a path through the razor grass.
“No straight lines, huh?” said Slobad. “Leonin cut narrow paths through grass. Hard for enemies to attack. Look natural.”
Glissa nodded. A wide swath through the grass would surely draw the attention of their pursuers. She began to cut a narrow, winding path through the grass toward the gash in the top of the hill that was the lair’s entrance. It was slow work, and she did not have time to be careful. She cut her legs several times when razor blades fell in her path as she moved forward. The party finally reached the entrance and climbed down into the lair.
It did not gleam like Taj Nar had, but Glissa could see remnants of past splendor. The floor bore an inlaid pattern of the leonin sun, and a large table in the corner appeared to be made of gold. Most of the other furnishings had been removed, but there was a large fire pit beneath the opening with an odd, six-legged spit standing over it. The spit didn’t look strong enough to hold a pot.
“Mirror-holder, huh?” said Slobad, pointing to the spit. “Leonin put mirrors over pit when sun up in sky. Lights up lair. Mirrors come off after sundown, huh? Light fire to keep dark away at night. They like dark less than you, huh?”
“Well, we need the dark now,” Glissa grunted. “We’ll stay here today and travel at night. I just hope those flying horrors can’t see in the dark any more than I can.”
Slobad nodded.
* * * * *
For several rotations they made their way across the Glimmervoid under the stars, resting in abandoned lairs while the moons were up. Each morning and evening Glissa looked for the globe-headed birds. They circled the sky, snaking their way across the Glimmervoid, searching. As the travelers grew closer to the Tangle, however, they left the four moons and the birds behind. Glissa, Slobad, and the golem entered the Tangle well after the last moon set on the fourth rotation. They had walked most of the afternoon. Glissa was glad for the night. They would need the cover of darkness to smuggle the golem through the Tangle.
“Can he climb?” she asked.
“You know as much about golem as me, huh?” said Slobad. “He do many things. Maybe he can climb, too.”
Glissa glared at the goblin and pointed to the Tangle tree beside them.
“Okay, okay. I ask him. Take it easy, huh?” From his perch on the metal man’s shoulders, Slobad pointed to the tree and said, “Golem, climb.”
The golem reached forward and grabbed the metal trunk. Spikes sprang out from his fingertips and feet, and he moved up the tree. He was almost as fast as the levelers, even with Slobad clinging to his back. The goblin clung tightly as the giant steadily mounted the tree. He eventually slung his pack over the golem’s head and slipped his torso under the strap. Glissa used the holes left behind by the golem’s passing to climb up behind the odd-looking duo.
Once in the trees, the elf led Slobad and the golem through the heights of the Tangle. She used unfamiliar routes, since she was unsure whether the narrower spires could handle the golem’s weight. As well, she wanted to avoid terraces where elves tended to congregate after the evening meal. The result was that a trip that would normally have taken her an hour occupied most of the night. As the sky began to brighten she saw a patrol of Tel-Jilad Chosen pass beneath them. She ducked into the nearest opening and froze. She had come home.
The debris had been cleared, including the remains of the leveler she had destroyed, but Glissa could still see dark stains on the floor. She breathed hard and fell back against the wall behind her.
“You okay, huh?” asked Slobad.
The golem crawled through the entrance, and Slobad slipped off his back. “Out of breath? Want to ride golem? Slobad think he carry both of us, huh?”
“Check to see if the patrol has gone by yet,” she said. “I’ll be okay.” Glissa closed her eyes and tried to keep the demons from her head. She was still panting when Slobad came back.
“All clear, huh?” he said. “See nobody in tree or below. You okay? We go now, huh?”
Glissa took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. She nodded and moved toward the door, keeping her eyes shut until she felt the cool air of the Tangle on her face. They didn’t see anyone else the rest of the way to the Tree of Tales. By they time they reached the terrace above the secret entrance, the moons were cresting above the horizon.