‘Soon,’ I murmured. ‘We have a little time and there might be something we can use. I found some pots and a good knife.’

The others moved away and I wondered why I was delaying. The sooner the climb was done with the better. The last thing I wanted was to delay so much that we would end up having to descend by moonlight.

Chapter 24

24

I went outside onto the white terrace and was delighted to find that the dark clouds had again opened up to let the late sunlight shine down on the bluff. After the chilly interior of the observatory, the light seemed very bright. I squinted against it and turned to study the strange building. It was almost as bright and I went round the terrace to the shaded side, wondering why the Beforetimers had built it. I thought of the deadly weapons that had flown up from the hole where the Skylake had been, and wondered if the people who had been here had seen them fly, and had understood what they meant.

‘She came here,’ Maruman said dreamily, padding along at my side.

I looked down at him. ‘Hannah?’

‘Hannah carrying Hannah’s bones and following her mother’s dream,’ Maruman sent. I frowned, the nonsense he was talking making me uneasy.

‘There is nothing but a lot of devices that mean nothing to me,’ Swallow said, coming up behind me. I gathered my wits and turned to him as he added, ‘I brought a few small things that would fit into my pockets but whether we can figure out how to work them or not, I do not know. The pots and the knife you found were the best of it.’

Ahmedri came out too, and closed the door behind him. Hearing the heavy thud, I wondered if anyone would ever open it again. The tribesman went to stand on the edge of the terrace gazing east. Was he thinking of his brother? He must question his presence on the expedition, and yet, in a strange way, he had become part of it. An expedition always had the effect of bonding even very different people, because in the end, you had to rely on one another. I had so completely accepted the tribesman by now that I spoke freely of my quest in front of him, for if he had not been chosen by Atthis, then she had surely foreseen that he would go with us.

‘Do you hear that?’ Swallow asked suddenly.

I looked at him. ‘Hear what?’

‘Water,’ he said.

I listened and realised he was right. I could hear the faint but unmistakable sound of running water.