Divided (#1 Divided Destiny) (16 page)

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” Leo quoted. “Might not be magic; could just be advanced science.”

“He made it in a cauldron by mixing some herbs,” Don pointed out. “Doesn’t really get much more magical than that.”

Leo couldn’t really think of a counter-argument to that, but appearances could be deceptive. Did they really see what they thought they had? It could have been misdirection, something to impress the locals, divert attention from reality. If it was magic, real honest-to-God magic, then—and this wasn’t the first time he’d considered it—they might have a serious problem.

It was something he’d been trying not to think about. How could they find something here to defend Earth if they didn’t know whether magic even worked on Earth? Everything here could be useless to them.

Not that any of that mattered unless they managed to find the return platform to get back home. One step at a time. First they would get the moonbeam plant, then Cyrus would locate the rest of their unit. Once they were reunited—and Cyrus would by then have proven he could be trusted—then they could begin their real mission once more.

“Then there’s the knights, can’t forget those.” Nick tapped his side, where his wound had been. He would definitely not forget the sight of an armored knight swinging a sword anytime soon.

“That’s not strictly magical, though, more medieval,” Don told him. “Now the dragon that’s roasting villages, that’s pretty magical.”

“We haven’t seen that. It could be an illusion, it could be a robot, it could be anything,” Leo argued, his mind flashing back to the burned-out village—the smoke still rising black into the sky, the twisted, cremated remains of Gunnery Sergeant Rogers.

If it was a creature that had done it, then that creature had intelligence beyond normal animal instinct. To just torch the wood of the buildings and not the surrounding forest, that alone made Leo suspicious. The fact that the fire had burned itself out, again without spreading to the trees—it just wasn’t natural. That supported his theory that it wasn’t a dragon; no animal could have that much control.

“So what you are saying is that there is some magic in this world, like the potion that the sorcerer made. However, you draw the line at dragons?” Don summarized with a grin. “I never took you for such a skeptic.”

“How do you think there are people here? I mean, when we came through, I was expecting anything, like giant furballs with a gazillion eyes, or tiny little bugs with ten-foot tongues. You know, something alien.” Nick shrugged. He seemed almost disappointed, actually. “But instead, we got humans, and not just that, but humans that speak English. I’m serious; how does that even work?”

“There must be an explanation. Transport platform, maybe,” Leo suggested.

In truth, he’d been wondering the same thing ever since he’d stepped out in front of Mathis on his horse. It was so far beyond what he had expected. However, he didn’t want to question it too much, because it was extremely convenient. There might be many obstacles to them completing their mission, but the language barrier wouldn’t be one of them.

“That thing was tiny,” Don scoffed. “It would take forever; you’d never fit a planet full of people on there. Hell, we barely fit the twelve of us.”

“No, I have to agree with Leo. That’s what links the two worlds; don’t know how it does or why, but it kinda has to be that,” Nick said.

While they’d been walking, Leo had contemplated the platform. It had split them up on arrival, and he wondered whether that was supposed to happen. The carbon dating at the shrine had suggested it was a couple thousand years old. He would almost have been more surprised if it was still working perfectly after all that time. Maybe it just needed fixing or recalibrating.

If that was true, it raised an option they hadn’t yet considered. The platform was tiny, but even at a dozen people a time, they could still evacuate some people from Earth. It would give them a way out. They couldn’t evacuate a lot of people regardless, due to the lack of resources.

It wouldn’t save their world, or even a fraction of its population. Until they had arrived here, Leo would have said it was about the survival of the human race. Now, he supposed it was more about survival of Earth’s culture and heritage. It was a decision that was above his paygrade, and it could only be made if they fixed the platform. Just like with the question of magic, they had to take the platform one step at a time. They had to find it first.

Leo groaned at the sight ahead of them. “Please tell me one of you has rope.”

Up ahead, the trees thinned out. The ground was sloping downwards, which was why they hadn’t seen it before. Their path was blocked by a thirty-foot cliff. At this angle, it was difficult to see much beyond, but there were trees up there; the forest continued.

“Maybe we should find a way round it.” Don looked to the left and right with a dubious expression on his face.

There was no clear path to be seen. With the landscape in this area, the ridge had to extend for at least a couple of miles; it would be a long trek, and then they would have to hike back. That would mean leaving the path, and the sorcerer’s directions hadn’t been that great to begin with; they could easily get lost. It would be easier to scale the ridge than chance finding a way around it.

From a distance, the rock face looked intimidating to climb. There was obviously some texture to the gray stone, creating a rippling effect. As they drew closer, some cracks could be seen. They reached the foot of the ridge. Leo reached out and lightly touched the stone. It was cool but rough; there would be plenty of handholds, but it still wouldn’t be an easy climb.

“I got rope.” Nick unclipped his pack and dug in the depths of the bag, withdrawing a strong steel-wired black rope. “I got a couple of carabiners. Couple of cams, too. Staff Sergeant Ortiz didn’t know what we were jumping into, so he spread some extra gear around to try and prepare for anything.”

“Yeah, Max and I talked about that,” Leo told them. “Didn’t know we were going to get split up on this side, though.”

Leo watched as Nick eyed the cliff face critically, clearly mentally picking out the route they would take. Nick ran his hands over the rocky surface until he found a comfortable grip. He pulled himself up, boots grappling for purchase. He reached up and ascended further. Nodding, he pushed off, jumping the few feet he’d climbed, bending his knees to cushion the impact.

“We can do this,” Nick said with confidence. “We’ve all had climbing training. I had a blast, actually; did some sport climbing during liberty for fun afterwards. That’s nothing like a trad climb, of course, but we know how do this. I can go first,” he offered.

“Alright,” Leo agreed.

He didn’t relish the climb, but it was all risk assessment, deciding what chances were worth taking. With the climbing gear, it should be relatively safe. If they tried to walk around, they wouldn’t reach the lake before they had to make camp. Cyrus had said it was a day’s trek with his directions. Leo tried to put aside the big picture; no sense wasting energy worrying about what he couldn’t change. However, that didn’t mean he wasn’t conscious that time was likely running out for Earth.

Don looked hesitant, and Leo remembered that Don really hadn’t liked the climbing training. Climbing was more about technique than strength.

“You lead, I’ll belay,” Leo suggested. “We can winch Don up afterwards.”

Nick nodded. “That works. We can winch the gear, too. It’ll be easier not to climb with it.” He clipped the carabiner around his belt.

Leo frowned and did the same. It wasn’t a harness, but there was a limit to what they could carry. It was only a protection against a fall he hoped wouldn’t happen. They would take it steady, only a few feet at a time. It would hold.

With practiced hands, Nick tied the requisite knots, looping the rope through and preparing them both for the climb. Leo saw him eye the cliff face once more, checking the path he was going to follow before starting his ascent. This time, once Nick had climbed a few feet, he inserted the cam into the nearest crack. He then continued up past it for a few feet before using the second.

“Start climbing,” Nick shouted.

Leo took a deep breath and wiped his sweaty palms on his combat trousers. With confidence he didn’t feel, he grabbed the first hold and started pulling himself up. To his surprise, the climb wasn’t that bad; his long limbs and slight build were an advantage here. He reached the first cam and removed it, reaching up to Nick’s outstretched hand and passing it over.

*****

Nick climbed higher and placed the cam again. Leo followed behind him, removed the lower cam, and passed it up. They continued repeating those steps until Nick was halfway up the cliff. Then Nick frowned. He was stuck. His limbs were starting to shake from the effort, and he couldn’t reach any holds that would work.

His heart in his throat, Nick pulled his right leg up as much as possible, fumbling against the rock for purchase. Once found, he practically jumped, reaching up to a hold he’d spotted and had not been able to reach. His fingers flailed, but then he got a firm grip. Nick let loose a shuddering breath and refused to look down. He just kept on going until he got to the top. This wasn’t training, and this wasn’t a sport climb. He was placing the protection himself, and there was no safety net.

He pulled himself up another few feet and then his boot slipped. He tried to steady himself, but his sweat-slickened hands just couldn’t hold it, and he started to fall. Desperately, Nick scrabbled against the rock, trying to regain a grip. Leo swore, but the rope did its job; he fell just a few feet before it snapped taut, catching him. That had been close—too close.

“You good?” Leo called, worry clear in his tone.

“No harm,” Nick panted, regaining a hold on the cliff, taking his weight off the rope. He placed his cheek against the cool rock of the cliff. He was okay. They were okay, and it was going to be fine.

After the near miss, Nick scaled the top half of the cliff without incident. He pulled himself over the top and lay there for a long moment, sinking into the grass with sheer relief at having firm ground beneath him once more. His arms shook with exertion, and he felt sick from the adrenaline, but he’d done it. Leo wasn’t far behind him, pulling himself over the edge just half a minute later. They shared a relieved grin.

“Hey, guys, don’t forget about me,” Don yelled.

Nick looked around. There was a tree not too far from the edge which would do for fastening the top rope. He untied himself and looped the rope around and pulled hard, throwing all his weight into it. He nodded with satisfaction. The tree was going nowhere; it would hold.

He tied the rope off, set up the belay, and then threw the loose end down. Wary of the crumbling edge, Nick dropped to the floor, onto his stomach, and peered over the edge. His head spun slightly; it looked a lot higher up from here. Don was a tiny speck on the ground.

“Watch out,” Nick called, raising the carabiner before tossing it down. It hit the ground with a thump, sending dirt flying.

Don tied the rope around the packs and they winched them up. He then tied himself to the rope, reached up, and started to scale the wall. He was barely three feet off the ground—they were still giving him slack on the rope—when he slipped. He came crashing back down and swore badly.

*****

Leo winced. It wasn’t a problem; they could winch him up. Don would be safe, but it would be his pride that was damaged.

Don scowled and attacked the wall with vigor, determined to make up for his poor first attempt. This time, he made it almost halfway before he slipped again. He swung off the wall, dangling on the rope like a fish on the end of the line. He swore as his boots hit the rock ineffectively, unable to find a good hold.

“Hold on,” Nick yelled from the top. He nodded at Leo, and between them, slowly but surely, they started to pull Don up. The rope rubbed against the edge of the ridge, but it was good, quality rope; it wouldn’t fray just from this.

After a few feet, Don found purchase again and resumed the climb. When he reached the top, he pulled himself over and collapsed to the ground. Nick ignored him and busied himself untying the rope from the tree, letting his fellow sergeant regain his composure. Leo knelt next to Don and handed him his canteen. Don took it gratefully. They had to ration their water, so he could only take a few small sips, but it was enough to get his equilibrium back.

They rested a while at the top of the ridge. As they sat there, a random thought crossed Leo’s mind, and not for the first time. It was a thought that wouldn’t leave him.

Mathis had said that the sorcerer, Cyrus, would help them if they proved worthy. Cyrus sending them on this mission to retrieve the moonbeam plant, that could just be a test on its own. However, they had encountered two obstacles thus far. First, the rabid wolf, which they’d easily dispatched. And second, the cliff blocking their path, forcing them to make a difficult choice.

Leo honestly didn’t believe in magic, and he wasn’t superstitious in nature, but something was prickling at his senses. He didn’t want to call it magic, but he was starting to wonder whether Cyrus was behind these incidents, and what else he might have arranged.

Chapter Thirteen

After they’d finished scaling the cliff, Leo and his team made good time, reaching the lake in question before nightfall. The small island with the plant was in the center; it was indeed silver like the moon. It grew on the ground like a shrub, its silver leaves fanned outwards. There was a white sphere in the center nestled within the leaves, but there didn’t seem to be anything particularly remarkable about it. There were several dotted over the small hump of earth; it wasn’t even unique.

Leo looked at the murky water. He could hear a waterfall in the distance, and the lake didn’t seem stagnant. However, its depths were clouded. He couldn’t see how deep it was or if there were any hidden dangers within the water. The sun was starting to set but it wasn’t impairing visibility yet. There was no reason to wait.