remembering how she’d done it before in Tirthrax. And then a great roar echoed up from below, as from a hundred thousand throats.
Malien helped Tiaan to her feet, for she had no strength in her bones. ‘The gate is open. Let’s go down.’
Tiaan began to follow her, then looked back at the box. ‘But the port-all …’
‘It will stay open until you close it, or until the field is no longer sufficient to power it.’
At the bottom Tiaan smelled a sweet fragrance, as strong as citrus blossom. A gentle, humid breeze was flowing through the gate from Tallallame. The lyrinx waited outside, craning their necks to stare into the gate. The ones behind were standing up on their clawed toes, for just the tiniest glimpse of their new world.
‘I thought you would be gone already,’ she said to Ryll.
‘I would thank you first.’ There were tears in his eyes, and Tiaan did not recall seeing that before. ‘It is beautiful. The most beautiful of all worlds.’ He bowed, and at his side, even more surprisingly, Liett did too.
Tiaan gave him her hand, then took Liett’s. Ryll clasped Malien’s hand, Nish’s, and even Gilhaelith’s.
‘We will never forget this,’ he said. ‘Humanity has a side we never expected to see. Your deeds will be inscribed on the first page of our new Histories.’
‘Tallallame may not be such a kind place as you think,’ she said.
‘I’m sure it isn’t, but we’re strong. We will survive, and thrive, and rediscover our humanity.’
‘I don’t think you ever lost it,’ said Malien.
Ryll smiled at a private thought, then waved the first lyrinx towards the gate. ‘Ryll!’ said Tiaan.
He turned. ‘Yes?’
‘Your relics are still in the thapter.’
‘Ah!’ said Ryll. He held up his hand and the lyrinx who had been about to step through turned to one side. ‘We thought … when you did not produce them, we thought you had left them behind. Truly, you ennoble us all.’
‘Don’t stop,’ said Tiaan. ‘Precious lives –’
‘No lyrinx would choose to go through before our relics,’ said Ryll.
He selected an honour guard, who carried the three crates to the gate. Ryll stood to one side, his skin colours flickering, and Liett on the other, her wings upraised. Liett spoke to the people straining towards the gate, in her own tongue. Ryll did likewise. Then the guard ran though and vanished.
After that the lyrinx went through five abreast, as fast as they could be formed into lines. No more than five could fit at once and the gate could not be widened. It had been designed for thousands, not half a million.
‘This is going to take hours,’ said Tiaan.
‘If the field lasts,’ replied Malien. ‘Your people are attacking it furiously.’
They squeezed along the walls and outside, eyeing the funnel of the Well, which was larger than ever and lit up the salt, and one side of Nithmak, brighter than moonlight. ‘Is it coming at us?’ said Tiaan.
‘It seems to be.’
‘Could it be the gate attracting it?’
‘I don’t think so,’ said Malien.
They watched it in silence. Nish came up beside them. ‘How is the field going?’
‘Slowly fading,’ said Tiaan absently.
‘And if it dies?’
‘The gate will close and we’ll be trapped here, as will all the lyrinx who haven’t gone through,’ said Malien.
‘Can we do anything to maintain the field?’ said Nish.
‘No. The amplimet’s being used for the gate,’ said Malien.
‘Would Flydd really do this to us?’ said Nish.
‘There may be no Flydd any more.’
‘What?’ he cried.
‘He may have fallen all the way,’ said Malien. ‘Many mancers could operate the field controller.’
Tiaan had to put that possibility out of mind. She couldn’t cope with anything else. She went to the edge of the pinnacle and perched upon a rock, looking down. The lyrinx were scrambling up the steps and the sides of the peak, hundreds every minute, but there was still a huge throng at the base. Half the visible bed of the sea was covered with water now. Irisis came and perched beside her, spyglass in hand.
‘They’ve mostly reached the base,’ Irisis said. ‘Though there are still several bands of stragglers out there.’
Tiaan put out her hand. Irisis gave her the glass.
‘There must be hundreds of them, running for their lives.’
‘And they’re all going to drown,’ said Irisis.
‘But …’
‘We can’t do anything for them, Tiaan. Malien could barely keep the thapter in the air before she came down. She’d have no hope of ferrying them back now.’
Tiaan knew she couldn’t do anything either, for that would require using her amplimet. It