bleak smile.
“What do you need to do?” Ishbel said.
“The actual process is simplicity itself,” Maximilian said, “and it reflects somewhat the action Avaldamon took in order to save us.”
“The path .” Ishbel said.
“Aye, the path that connects this world to that of the Twisted Tower. The path is important . . . it must be negotiated exactly each time — which is the weakness Avaldamon exploited to save us. And if it is not whole, if it is not complete, then no one can enter or leave. The One’s connection to this world would be lost.”
“He couldn’t use the window?” Ishbel said. “He, as Josia, used it to communicate with Elcho Falling.”
“No,” said Maximilian, “The important connection is that path. When that is disrupted, even the window will be useless.”
“Are you certain?” Serge said.
“I am really reconsidering the wisdom of travelling with you,” Maximilian said, but this time there was no rancour in his voice.
Serge gave a small tip of his head in apology.
“You said it was dangerous,” Ishbel broke in, “and yet you also said it was simplicity itself.”
“All I need do is lift the initial stepping stone on the path,” Maximilian said. “Take away that first stone, that first step, and that will break the connection completely. But . . . while bending down and lifting a slab of stone is not too difficult, if the One knows I am there, and I can’t imagine he won’t feel it at all, then . . . all he need do is open the door to the Twisted Tower and, while he can’t actually walk out, he can unleash his power down the path. He could kill me right then and there. I don’t think he’d miss an opportunity like that, Ishbel.”
“So .” Ishbel said. “He needs to be distracted. At the window.”
“Yes,” Maximilian said. “If he is distracted at the window, and if he is not made suspicious by that distraction, then I might have a chance.”
“How can we distract him?” Ishbel said.
“We’ can’t do it,” Maximilian said. “It needs to be whoever he usually talks to within Elcho Falling. Hopefully, that will not arouse his suspicion.”
“How do we contact Elcho Falling to arrange that?” Ishbel said.
Maximilian gave her a weak and melancholy smile. “That’s what I have been worrying about. It will take us weeks to reach Elcho Falling, at best. I can’t leave it that long.”
“Maxel?” Ishbel said.
“I can’t leave it that long, Ishbel, it wouldn’t be —”
“Maxel, it is the rat.”
Everyone turned and looked to where she pointed.
There, trundling along as if nothing worrisome had perturbed its day, was Ishbel’s rat. It wandered to and fro at the edge of the circle for a bit then, having accepted a scratch of his whiskers from Ishbel’s fingers, he settled down on the pack which contained the Book of the Soulenai.
“If it wasn’t for him,” Doyle said, “we wouldn’t have found you.”
“Then he is welcome enough to the warmth of the fire,” said Maximilian.
Chapter 4
Isembaard, and the Outlands
Maximilian slept that night, so deeply he might almost have been dead, and while he slept, he visited with the dead. Once again he travelled into the Otherworld, feeling someone’s desperate need to meet with him.
This time, however, Maximilian met up with the person who had summoned him hither.
Josia.
Maximilian stopped dead, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
“It is I,” Josia said.
Maximilian said nothing.
“Really” Josia said.
“I have come to vouch for him,” said another voice, and Maxel looked.
There stood Boaz.
“Your father?” Maximilian said.
“He has moved further into the Otherworld to see his wife, my mother,” Boaz said. “Do not fret for him, Maxel. He is content.”
“This is Josia?” Maximilian said.
Boaz grinned. “Yes. This is Josia. Thank the gods you escaped, Maxel, although we had to cancel the welcome party we’d arranged for you and Ishbel.”
Maximilian allowed himself to relax a little. “Josia, forgive me for —”
Josia raised his hands. “I cannot fault you for your doubt. I tried to warn you, Maxel, but I couldn’t get through. I am sorry about what has happened. I had no idea I was so vulnerable to the One. I feel ill at the thought of him within the Twisted Tower.”
“Yes,” said Maximilian, “I need to talk to you about this.” He outlined to Josia and Boaz what he thought to do — isolate the One within the Twisted Tower. “Is this possible? Can the One then reconstruct some connection to the mortal world from the window?”
“Taking that first stepping stone will cut him off effectively,” said