Echoes of the Great Song by David Gemmell Read Free Book Online

was annoyed and swung towards the man.
    'What?' he shouted.
    'Your boots, lord. You are not protected.'
    Questor Ro glanced down. In his excitement he had forgotten to slip on the wooden overshoes. 'Give me yours,' he snapped at the man who had saved his life. The overshoes were far too large, and Ro was forced to slide his feet forward, rather than walk. He flashed a warning glare at the Vagars. No-one smiled. Kneeling by the engraved chest Ro looped the golden wire over two bronze spheres on its front. The other ends he attached to the first of the pyramids. A low humming noise began to emanate from the chest.
    Questor Ro raised his hands to the heavens. 'We have Communion,' he said.
    'Praise be!' chorused the Vagars loyally. Ro knew they did not care. All they wanted was to be free of the ice, safe and warm in their cabins on the Serpent. It did not matter. This was what he had promised the Council. This is what he had fought for, risked humiliation for.
    He had achieved Communion with the White Pyramid, buried now in an eternally frozen city. The line of power had been caught and held, drawn through the gold rods, swirling along the golden wires, and feeding the tiny diamonds that filled the silver poles of the pyramids. Here it was changed by the gems, filtered and re-energized to flow into the chest, the power stored in the mica, gold and crystal interior.
    Removing the thimbles he dropped them into his pocket then pulled clear the white lace glove, which he lifted to his lips and kissed. Tears formed in his eyes, but he blinked them away. Such displays of emotion were not seemly in the company of Vagars. As if in cosmic punishment for his mistake, one of the pyramids flickered, the light fading. The humming from the chest was subsiding.
    Fighting down his panic Questor Ro kicked off the overshoes and ran to the man holding the mobile receiver.
    'Move a little to the right,' he said, trying to keep his voice calm. 'Gently now! Seek the line!' The man edged to the right. Once more the pyramid glowed and the humming began. 'Watch the pyramids closely,' he told him. 'If the light begins to fail try to find it again.'
    'Yes, lord. I am very cold, lord.'
    'We are all very cold,' snapped Questor Ro, moving away. His assistant Onquer was lying on the ice. Questor Ro nudged him with his boot. 'This is no time to be sleeping,' he said. 'On your feet!' Onquer did not move.
    Questor Ro knelt alongside him. Onquer's face was grey. 'Stupid man,' whispered Questor Ro. Summoning two Vagars he ordered them to carry Onquer to the silver longboat. 'When you get him back to the ship remove his clothes and gently warm the body. Massage him with warm oils.'
    'Yes, lord,' they said in unison. Both were glad to be leaving the ice.
    For an hour the chest continued to hum, showing no sign of full recharge. Weariness had long since returned to Questor Ro, but he could not yet go back to the ship. The box-holder stumbled, then righted himself. For a moment only the lights flickered on the pyramids. Questor Ro trudged over to the man and relieved him of the box. 'Go back to the ship,' he said. 'You are useless here.'
    'Thank you, lord,' said the man.
    Questor Ro stood with the box in his hands, feeling the gentle vibration of Communion. Some sixty miles away, buried beneath the ice, the Great Pyramid was even more closely linked to him now. And less than a mile from the pyramid was his home, and the icy, unmarked grave of his beloved wife Tanya and his children.
    Questor Ro sighed.
    'If I could I would have died with you,' he whispered.

Chapter Four
    Karesh Var heeled his pony into a run and led his men out onto the plain. Far ahead he could see the outline of the black ship against the white ice and just make out the tiny insect figures upon the glacier itself. Why did they keep returning to the ice? What were they looking for? he wondered, as his pony steadily closed the distance between his riders and the coast.
    Two years ago just such a ship