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.“Can you help Cholayna?” Looking up, outside thecircle of her own preoccupation, she found that Cholayna had let go the chervine’s rein and sunk downin the snow.Vanessa was struggling with one of the horses, fighting to lead it over the rubble, and withone part of her brain Magda wondered why she bothered, while a small detached part of herself knewthat if they lost any more horses they would never make it to that village they had seen.She made her way to Cholayna’s side, bent and took the woman by the arm.“I’ll help you.Lean on me.”Cholayna’s face was a mottled mess of cream and half-frozen pale patches against her dark skin, hereyes reddened and sunken in her face.Ice clung to loose strands of her hair.Her voice was only a harshwhisper.“I’m never going to make it.I’m only holding you back.You others go on.Leave me here.Noreason the rest of you shouldn’t get across.But I’m done, finished.”Magda could feel , inside her own mind, the depth of Cholayna’s weary despair, and fought againstmaking it part of herself.“You’re only tired.Lean on me.” She bent to slip her arm under Cholayna’s shoulders.Part of herwas angry, she had barely strength enough for herself, but the other part knew that this was a finalstruggle.“Look, we’re only a little way from the summit, you can ride from there.”“Magda, I can’t… I can’t.I think I’m dying… ”And for a moment Magda, looking at Cholayna, believed it; she half released Cholayna’s hand…then something, anger, a final spurt of adrenalin, flooded her with rage.“Damn it, don’t you dare pull that on me! You bullied us into letting you come when I told you youcouldn’t make it, I told you you couldn’t travel past Nevarsin, you wouldn’t let us send you back fromthere! Now you haul your stubborn old rear end up out of that snow, or I’ll kick you to the top myself!You’ve got to do it, I haven’t the strength to carry you, and the others are worse off than I am! Get up ,damn you!” She heard herself, half incredulous.But the anger was flooding her to the point where sheactually raised her arm to strike Cholayna.Cholayna’s breathing rasped in and out for a moment, then she stirred, wearily.Magda held out ahand and Cholayna dragged herself upright, clinging to the outstretched arm for a moment.She saidbetween her teeth, “If I had the strength I’d—” but the words evaporated in a spasm of heavy coughing.Magda put an arm round her.“Here.Lean on me.”“I can manage,” said Cholayna, forcing herself to stand without Magda’s support, glaring at her withher teeth bared like an animal.She took an unsteady step, another.But at least she was walking.Magdaput her arm around her again, and this time Cholayna did not draw away from the offered support.Jaelle was in the lead; Vanessa struggling with the horses just behind her.Camilla had caught up withthe roped chervines, and was clinging to a saddle-strap as Cholayna had done for so long, and Magdalonged to go to her; yet she knew Camilla could, if she must, manage without her help, and Cholaynaneeded her.Somewhere below them there was the thunder of an avalanche and the mountain shook.Magdagasped and Cholayna clutched at her; but it was far below, and subsided after a few moments.We’ve got to get across this stretch; it could all go, any minute!“Look,” Jaelle called wildly from a few dozen steps above them.“Look, Vanessa! Across the slope,up there! Do you see? Lights! Lights, over there! It’s the settlement marked on the map! It’s really there,and we’ve found it!”Magda drew in a breath of relief.It hurt her dry throat, and the icy air burned in her lungs, but it hadcome just at the right time.Now they could go on.It did not even matter that it was starting to snow.With Cholayna clinging to her arm, they struggled up the last steps to the peak, and they all clusteredthere, staring at the faint glimmer of lights across the valley.From here it was downhill, and at least partof the way, they could ride.CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO«^»Partway down the slope, it began to snow; they rode through the deepening dusk as the snowthickened, Cholayna and Camilla riding, Jaella leading on foot with Magda and Vanessa behind her.Theextra horses and the chervines came after, jostling on the narrow downhill trail.From the position of thelights, Magda could tell that they were well above the valley’s floor, and she hoped there would be aroad or trail upward.She did not know how Cholayna would fare on another mountain path.As they went down, the road was lined more thickly with trees, sometimes blotting out the distantlights.The snow fell more and more heavily, and the wind began to rise.Suppose we cannot reach the village in this snow; suppose it becomes a full blizzard? Supposethey will not take us in, or they are a village of robbers like that one past Barrenscae? But Magdawas really too weary to care, to think any further than those welcoming lights.Lower and lower theydescended, sheltered somewhat from the fierce wind and snow by the twisted trees lining the road, andthere was a faint smell of resins; Magda was so chilled that it was a long time before she could be sureshe smelled anything.Down and still down, and then she was certain she smelled smoke and the faint farsmell of food cooking, so delicious that it made her eyes stream.The lights flickered faintly far abovethem, but they seemed too near to be across the valley, as if they were floating in the air.Magda could no longer see the lights.Then she bumped softly into Camilla’s horse, and all theanimals jostled together at the foot of a cliff.It was as dark as the inside of a pocket.“Somebody, strike a light?” It was Camilla’s voice.Cholayna was coughing.Jaelle fumbled in thedark and then there was a tiny flare.Gradually, by its light, Magda began to see why they had been soabruptly halted.They were clustered at the foot of a cliff which rose sheer before them.Someone a long time ago hadcut steps into the sheer face, too steep, too far apart, for climbing, as if the original designers had beennot quite human.But beside the steps hung a long rope, with a handle, a plain chunk of wood wrapped in greasy rope.With a quick glance round, Jaelle pulled at it, and heard, a long way above them, the sound of a bell.Then for a long time nothing happened at all.At least they were in the shelter of the cliff, and out ofthe wind; but the cold was still fierce and biting.Jaelle and Vanessa stamped about, striking their bootshard against the rock underfoot.Magda knew she should do the same, but had not the necessarystrength of will to force herself.Cholayna was coughing and wheezing again, huddled in her down jacket,a thick scarf muffling her face and the sound of her breathing.Magda shivered and waited.“Do you hear anything, Jaelle? Should you ring the bell again?”“Something.Up there.” Jaelle stepped back away from the cliff, trying to look through the thickdarkness and whirling snow.Now they could all hear it, a rough scraping sound.Jaelle struck another light; then into the tiny circle of flame, crossed with thick-falling flakes of snow,a booted foot descended, then another, quickly followed by trousered legs and a body wrapped in whatlooked like an assortment of thick heavy shawls [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]